Diplomacy

The UN special envoy for Libya Jan Kubis submitted his resignation to the Security Council, which was accepted, just about a month before Libya scheduled presidential elections. Kubis did not give any reason for his sudden departure.

The "Strategic Compass" is designed to answer three questions: Which challenges and threats does Europe face? How can the EU better pool its assets and manage them effectively? And what is the best way to project Europe's influence both as a regional and global actor

A US Department of Defence official said that the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will assure Gulf countries of the US commitment to security in the region. Austin will also stress the need to refrain from normalisation with the Assad regime in Syria. The United States is committed to diplomatic means and sanctions to counter Iran’s nuclear file. 

The foreign ministers of the EU27 and the Eastern Partnership countries met in Brussels this week to take stock of the progress to date and actively prepare for the upcoming Summit. Various sources told commonspace.eu that it was a positive meeting.

The recent visit of the head of the CIA to Moscow had two objectives: first to renew the contacts between the CIA and the FIS on operational issues related to countering international terrorism; the second to pave the way for further high level contacts including possible meetings between Biden and Putin. Professor Lieutenant General (ret.) Hayk Kotanjian in this op-ed says the importance of the visit should not be underestimated.

Iranian foreign ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh in his weekly press conference announced that border issues and management of shared water resources will be on the agenda of the talks with the Turkish side.