When the presidents of China and South Korea meet in Beijing this week, they will likely use a rapport that blossomed eight years ago to find common ground on North Korea as well as seek ways to boost already vibrant economic ties.

• June 24, 2013

The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc anytime soon and damage its relations with Brussels.

• June 24, 2013

Turkish activists have held a mass protest in Istanbul, hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied his own supporters in a seaside resort.

• June 24, 2013

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during 1-15 June 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• Despite heavy police action to clear Taksim Square, the protests continue.
• Erdogan’s hard line stance towards the demonstrations is opening a rift inside the AKP, with one camp supportive of President Abdullah Gul’s conciliatory approach towards protesters.
• The prime minister hints at foreign and domestic plots behind the Gezi Park situation, making him look increasingly out of touch with the reality on the ground in Istanbul.
• Turkey’s play in Syria falters as Sunni extremists come to the fore of the opposition. Meanwhile Bashar alAssad’s forces secure victories against the fractured opposition.
• Exxon and TPAO in talks to secure an exploration block for shale gas in the Black Sea.
• Tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan ebb as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visits Erbil.

• June 21, 2013

The Black Sea has lost none of its geopolitical significance over time. Historically, the Black Sea has played an important economic and political role in a wider-region. The realignment of geopolitical and security strategies in Eurasia during the last two decades has led to the “re-discovery” of one of the world’s most significant geostrategic areas. Securing access to new energy deposits from the Caspian has heightened the strategic significance of the Wider Black Sea (WBS) in Western external policy thinking. Unfortunately, since the early 1990s, the region has been bogged down in a belt of protracted conflicts that could potentially threaten both European stability and energy supply, while trans-national crime and other asymmetric security threats are thriving. READ MORE

• June 21, 2013

US President Barack Obama has called for greater efforts to be made to reduce US and Russian nuclear arsenals.

• June 20, 2013

Afghan officials have said the removal of the flag and nameplate from the Taliban's Qatar office is not enough.

• June 20, 2013

North Korea has expressed willingness to restart long-stalled nuclear talks with international partners, China's foreign ministry has said.

• June 20, 2013