John Irish

A senior Belarusian diplomat has held meetings with Europeans after his country sent out invitations last month, in what European diplomats called an overture to reduce Minsk's isolation after a thaw with Washington under Donald Trump.

The United Nations' cultural agency selected former Egyptian tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Enany as its new chief on Monday, handing him the keys to revive UNESCO's fortunes after the U.S. withdrew from it for a second time.

Egypt's foreign minister said on Thursday that Cairo was working with Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to accept U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end a nearly two-year-old war in Gaza, and warned the conflict would escalate if the militant group refused.

European officials are uneasily digesting U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations this week, where he blasted the world body and attacked Europe’s immigration policies, energy transition and commitment to climate action.

Greece will guarantee the safe sailing of boats currently in its waters as part of an international flotilla heading to Gaza, its foreign minister said on Thursday, adding that Athens had informed Israel that Greek citizens were in the flotilla.

Iran has no intention to build nuclear weapons, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, just days before international sanctions could be reimposed on his country over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Norway and Denmark are in close contact over separate drone incidents that halted airports in Oslo and Copenhagen, but as of yet their investigations have not yet established a connection, Norway's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Slovakia on Wednesday pushed back on pressure it is facing to cut back its purchases of Russian energy, saying it was ready to discuss the issue, but singled out some European states for increasing their gas purchases from Moscow.

The United States' Baltic allies continue to lobby and are hopeful that Washington will keep thousands of its troops in Europe, notably in countries closest to Russia, but they have yet to receive the assurances they seek, ministers said.

Urging the population to move south, Israel has meanwhile pressed on with its military campaign on Gaza City despite repeated calls for it to pull back.

It's a landmark diplomatic shift nearly two years into the Gaza war.

Iran and European powers remained at loggerheads on Tuesday to strike a last-ditch deal to avert the reimposition of U.N. sanctions before a September 27 deadline, but both sides left the door open for further talks.

Ukraine should be fully integrated into plans for a "drone wall" to protect NATO's borders because it has the experience and know-how to be able to do it, Lithuania's foreign minister said on Monday.

Iranian and European ministers made little progress in talks on Wednesday aimed at preventing international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme being reimposed at the end of this month, two European and one Iranian diplomats said.

European officials say peace looks a distant prospect for now but they want to be ready whenever the war ends.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday the United States' decision not to grant visas to Palestinian officials for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York was "unacceptable" and should be reversed.

Ukraine backers to discuss post-war guarantees at Thursday summit

Britain, France and Germany on Thursday launched a 30-day process to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, a step likely to stoke tensions two months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran.

Britain, France and Germany on Thursday launched a 30-day process to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, a step likely to stoke tensions two months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran.

France, Britain and Germany met with Iran on Tuesday to try to revive diplomacy over its nuclear program before they lose the ability to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Tehran.