Israel’s far-right finance minister announced approval of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday 14 August, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. The announcement, reported by international agencies, comes as many countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, said they would recognise a Palestinian state in September. “This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a ceremony on Thursday.

Israel’s far-right finance minister announced approval of contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday 14 August, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. The announcement, reported by international agencies, comes as many countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, said they would recognise a Palestinian state in September. “This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a ceremony on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Berlin on Wednesday (13 August) to join German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a video call with other European leaders and US President Donald Trump. The talks, initiated by Merz, are seen as a last-ditch attempt by Europe to influence Friday's meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

European Union leaders have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday 15 August over the war in Ukraine. EU leaders are doing their best to exert some influence over the summit that they have been sidelined from. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine will take part but EU leaders underlined that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” According to AP, Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war now in its fourth year. In a statement on Tuesday 12 August, EU leaders said that they “welcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” The European Union will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine’s cause on Wednesday at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part, but he stated: “I’m going to get everybody’s ideas” before meeting with Putin.

The agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, initialed at the White House in Washington DC on Friday, 8 August 2025 has been published. The preamble of the agreement states: The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as the Parties), Recognizing the urgent need to establish a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, Seeking to contribute to the achievement of this goal through the establishment of interstate relations, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1970), the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (1975) and the Almaty Declaration of 21 December 1991, and aiming to develop relations on the basis of the norms and principles enshrined in the aforementioned documents, Expressing their mutual desire to establish good neighborly relations between them, have agreed to establish peace and interstate relations between themselves on the following basis: There follows a 17 article agreement. The website of the Armenian Foreign said that, by mutual consent, the initialed agreement "On the establishment of peace and interstate relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan" is hereby published. You can read the full text.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been agreed, a Kremlin official said on Thursday 7 August, the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress toward ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, quoted by AP, said a summit could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided “in principle.” Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced “a little later,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is contemplating a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, and was to meet senior security officials on Tuesday 5 August to finalize a new strategy in the 22-month war. It was unclear, however, whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages. Mediation between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has collapsed despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave.