President Rouhani earlier said that "Iran attaches importance to its cooperation with neighboring states from security and economic points of view" and hoped that during his visit to the neighboring countries "he would be able to solve regional problems and lead the region towards further stability and security".

Jean Claude Juncker described the discussions as "frank and open", which in diplomatic discourse is often a term used for a difficult set of discussions. However no one was expecting the meeting to be easy, so the positive tone at the end of the meeting can be a sign that Varna was an important turning point.

The South Caucasus is full of talented people, and among the younger generations one can also find many of the skills needed to address the current needs of society. Governments have a responsibility to create conditions for these people to fulfil their capacities, writes Dennis Sammut

Turkish President Erdogan and EU leaders will meet in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna at a summit hosted by the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU and at a sensitive time in relations.

The European Union condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury. EU leaders agreed with the UK government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation.

Georgian-Belarus relations improved after 2008, when unexpectedly Belarus did not follow Russia in recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia despite Kremlin pressure.

First Vice-President Aliyeva noted that Azerbaijan is located at the crossroads between the civilizations of the East and West, and is one of the few countries that are a member of both the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The transfer of the body of Tatunashvili back to Georgian jurisdiction was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is now expected that the Georgian authorities will hold an autopsy on the body to ascertain the cause of death.

The Armenian president told the leadership of the Armenian army "attempts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem through military means are doomed to failure"

The three thousand year old festival marking the arrival of Spring and Persian new year is celebrated in Iran, Azerbaijan, parts of Georgia, Central Asia and among diaspora communities world-wide