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Turkish Parliament Approves Troop Observer Deployment to Karabakh

Armenians living in the Kalbajar district, which had been controlled by Armenian forces since the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war, set fire to their homes rather than hand them over to Azerbaijan. (AFP)
Armenians living in the Kalbajar district, which had been controlled by Armenian forces since the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war, set fire to their homes rather than hand them over to Azerbaijan. (AFP)
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Turkish Parliament Approves Troop Observer Deployment to Karabakh

Armenians living in the Kalbajar district, which had been controlled by Armenian forces since the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war, set fire to their homes rather than hand them over to Azerbaijan. (AFP)
Armenians living in the Kalbajar district, which had been controlled by Armenian forces since the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh war, set fire to their homes rather than hand them over to Azerbaijan. (AFP)

Turkey's parliament on Tuesday approved the deployment of troops to join Russian forces at an observation post in Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal to end fighting over the enclave.

The mandate will allow Turkish troops to be stationed at the center for one year as part of an accord between Ankara and Moscow to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire, which locked in territorial gains by Azerbaijan. Some 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops are now also deploying to the region.

In a letter to parliament asking for the mandate's approval, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the presence of Turkish troops and, "if needed, civilian personnel from our country, (will) be to the benefit of the peace and prosperity of the regional people, and necessary for our national interests".

The ceasefire signed on Nov. 10 halted military action in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians, after the worst fighting in the region since the 1990s.

Turkey has accused Armenia of occupying Azeri lands and pledged solidarity with its ethnic Turkic kin in Azerbaijan.

Ankara has blamed the Minsk group - formed to mediate the conflict and led by Russia, France and the United States – of freezing the issue for nearly 30 years.

A Russian military delegation held talks in Turkey last week to discuss the parameters of the Turkish-Russian center. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday Ankara and Moscow's cooperation would continue.

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Putin Tells His Annual News Conference that the Kremlin's Military Goals Will Be Achieved in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
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Putin Tells His Annual News Conference that the Kremlin's Military Goals Will Be Achieved in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine, voicing confidence that the Kremlin's military goals would be achieved.

Speaking at his highly orchestrated year-end news conference, Putin declared that Russian forces have “fully seized strategic initiative” and would make more gains by the year's end, The Associated Press said.

Russia's larger, better-equipped army has made slow but steady progress in Ukraine in recent months.

The annual live news conference is combined with a nationwide call-in show that offers Russians across the country the opportunity to ask questions of Putin, who has led the country for 25 years. Putin has used it to cement his power and air his views on domestic and global affairs.

This year, observers are watching for Putin’s remarks on Ukraine and the US-backed peace plan there.

US President Donald Trump has unleashed an extensive diplomatic push to end nearly four years of fighting after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but Washington’s efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.

Putin reaffirmed that Moscow was ready for a peaceful settlement that would address the “root causes” of the conflict, a reference to the Kremlin’s tough conditions for a deal.

Earlier this week, Putin warned this week that Moscow would seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands.

The Russian leader wants all the areas in four key regions captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured yet — demands Kyiv has rejected.

World

Hundreds of Migrants Land in Greece after Search Operation at Sea

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
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Hundreds of Migrants Land in Greece after Search Operation at Sea

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, a Turkish coast guard vessel approaches a life raft with migrants in the Aegean Sea, between Türkiye and Greece. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

Greece's Coast Guard rescued about 545 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe's southernmost island of Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.

The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, Reuters quoted a Coast Guard statement as saying. ‌They are all ‌well and are ‌being ⁠taken to ‌the port of Agia Galini on the nearby island of Crete, it added.

Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the ⁠Middle East and Africa landed on its shores ‌before moving on to ‍other European countries, mainly ‍Germany.

Flows have ebbed since then, ‍but both Crete and Gavdos - the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast - have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and ⁠deadly accidents remain common along that route.

Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc's pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.

The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected ‌asylum seekers

World

China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
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China Says Will Take 'Forceful Measures' after US Arms Sales Package to Taiwan Announced

The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)
The Taipei 101 building is seen among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on December 18, 2025. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng / AFP)

China's military will step up training and "take forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," its defense ministry said ‌on Friday ‌in ‌response ⁠to a ‌planned $11.1 billion US arms sales package to Taiwan.

The ministry urges the US to "immediately ⁠cease arms ‌sales to Taiwan" and "concretely ‍abide ‍by its ‍commitment not to support 'Taiwan independence' forces," according to a statement the ministry released on its Chinese ⁠social media account.

"Taiwan separatist forces... are using the hard-earned money of ordinary people to fatten US arms dealers," the ‌statement added.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island.

The Taiwan arms sale announcement is the second under US President Donald Trump's current administration, and comes as Beijing ramps up its military and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

The proposed arms sales cover eight items, including HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Altius loitering munition drones and parts for other equipment, Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

"The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capabilities and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability," it added.

The package must be approved by the US Congress, where Taiwan has widespread cross-party support.

In a series of separate statements announcing details of the weapons deal, the Pentagon said the arms sales serve US national, economic and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a "credible defensive capability."

Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage "asymmetric warfare," using mobile, smaller and often cheaper weapons which still pack a targeted punch, like drones.

"Our country will continue to promote defence reforms, strengthen whole-of-society defence resilience, demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves, and safeguard peace through strength," Taiwan presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking the United States for the sales.