The European Union's lack of action over Belarus is undermining the credibility of its foreign policy, Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Linas Linkevicius told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

Germany, the current president of the Council of the EU, will discuss possible sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny if the Kremlin does not provide an explanation soon, its foreign minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday

NATO is to convene today for a special meeting to discuss the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, news wires reported. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to speak at a press conference after the meeting. "We'll consult with Germany and all NATO Allies on the implications," Stoltenberg said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced growing pressure on Thursday to reconsider the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will take gas from Russia to Germany, after she said Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, Germany's government says, cited by the BBC. Toxicology tests had shown "unequivocal proof" of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, it pointed out adding that it would inform the EU and NATO of its findings.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday on his first visit to Iraq and the first by a western head of state to the country since a new Iraqi government took office four months ago. He hopes to help Baghdad reassert its "sovereignty" despite simmering US-Iran tensions, AFP reports.

The US announced on Tuesday that it would lift for one year its three-decade-old arms embargo on Cyprus to allow "non-lethal" military goods to be sold to the Mediterranean island, AFP reported. The move drew an immediate rebuke from Turkey The Turkish foreign ministry said the US move "poisons the peace and stability environment in the region" and does "not comply with the spirit of alliance" between the US and Turkey.

Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil on Tuesday vowed to further defend values of democracy and freedom in a speech delivered to Taiwan's lawmakers in Taipei, dpa reported. "I'm a Taiwanese," Vystrcil said in Mandarin, in a speech inspired by the phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner," delivered in 1963 by US President John F. Kennedy during his anti-communist speech to people in West Berlin.

Czech Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil will pay a "heavy price" for making an official visit to Taiwan, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi warned on Monday. He said Vystrcil's ongoing visit to Taiwan to promote business ties between the Czech Republic and the self-governing island was a provocation, dpa reported. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and prohibits other countries from having official ties with the island nation. China’s policy toward Taiwan is known as the "One-China principle."

France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday blamed the stalemate in Brexit talks on what he called Britain's intransigent and unrealistic attitude, news wires reported.