Diplomacy

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday 13 October under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as U.S. President Donald Trump declared the end of the two-year long war in the Middle East. Hours later, Trump convened Muslim and European leaders in Egypt to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip and the possibility of a wider regional peace, even as Hamas and Israel, both absent from the gathering, are yet to agree on the next steps. The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer form Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. In Gaza, thousands of relatives, many weeping with joy, gathered at a hospital where buses brought home some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be freed by Israel as part of the accord. "The skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace," Trump told the Knesset, Israel's parliament, saying a "long nightmare" for both Israelis and Palestinians was over.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tajikistan in Central Asia to attend meetings with leaders of other ex-Soviet republics likely to focus on regional development and their relations with Moscow, according to Reuters. A Kremlin announcement said Putin would take part, on Thursday 9 October, in a Russia-Central Asia summit, also to be attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. They will then be joined by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus at a meeting of the broader Commonwealth of Independent States bringing together former Soviet republics.

Israel and Hamas agreed to pause fighting in Gaza to free the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, accepting elements of a plan put forward by the Trump administration that Palestinians greeted reluctantly on Thursday 9 October as a possible breakthrough toward ending the devastating two-year-old war. Under the terms, Hamas intends to release all 20 living hostages in a matter of days, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an agreement that has not fully been made public.

Thousands of people converged on southern Israel on Tuesday 7 October to mourn the dead as the nation marked two years since the attack of two years ago that plunged the region into a devastating war, while Israel and Hamas hold indirect talks in Egypt. The negotiations between the two sides being held in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh have been "positive" so far, two sources close to the Palestinian militants' negotiating team told AFP, with discussions set to resume later on Tuesday. Mediators were shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations under tight security. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters in Cairo, negotiations were underway for a "first phase" of the agreement, adding the discussions were focused on creating "the climate on the ground to complete the step of releasing the hostages". Trump has urged negotiators to "move fast" to end the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued on Monday. Trump told Newsmax TV that "I think we're very, very close to having a deal... I think there's a lot of goodwill being shown now. It's pretty amazing actually".

“Welcome to Armenia,” the pilot’s voice came over the tannoy as the Turkish Atlasjet flight touched down in Yerevan some time in 2011. “The temperature outsider is…” A normal announcement on any flight. This one, however, came in Turkish before being repeated in English. In Armenia. That was 14 years ago now. Despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the flights have existed for years albeit with some interruptions and later operated by Pegasus and Flyone.

On 1 September 2025, LINKS Europe launched the regional campaign 'Landmine Free South Caucasus 2025'.While the world's attention is focused on new conflicts and crises, and some countries have withdrawn from the Ottawa Treaty due to heightened security concerns, the South Caucasus remains trapped by the deadly remnants of wars, some fought decades ago, others more recent. Although recent months have seen breakthroughs in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, suggesting that sustainable peace is within reach, landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose a daily threat in the region and remain a contentious issue in relations. They claim innocent victims, hinder economic development, and cause ecological damage.

US President  Donald Trump on Monday 29 September laid out a 20-point proposal  supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would end the war in Gaza and free remaining hostages, leaning heavily into conditions that Hamas has previously rejected. Hamas is reviewing the plan while the Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank said it welcomed Trump’s plan to end the war and pledged to implement the reforms called for in his plan. Trump’s plan calls for establishing a temporary governing committee that would be headed by Trump and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. A Palestinian committee of technocrats would oversee civilian affairs, with power handed over later to a reformed Palestinian Authority. 

On Tuesday (23 September), the high-level General Debates opened at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York under the theme “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” The title may sound uplifting, almost celebratory, but beneath the polished words lies a chilling undertone: a desperate plea for unity. The General Debates unfold during a time when the world order faces multiple challenges: global conflicts at their highest level since World War II, genocide and famine in Gaza, humanitarian crises in Sudan and Yemen, a grinding war in Ukraine, bombings in the Middle East, accelerating climate breakdown, deep cuts to international aid and among many others a dangerous surge in human rights and international law violations.