A political solution is necessary to end the crisis in Syria, the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran said on Monday, meeting in Ankara, despite many disagreements especially over the threat from Islamic State, news wires reported. “We are in a period when we need to take more responsibility for peace in Syria, when we (three countries) need to carry more weight,” Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani. Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad while Turkey backs Syrian rebels seeking to oust him.

China and the United States are currently deadlocked over an UN resolution to extend a mission in Afghanistan, with Beijing signaling it will cast a veto because there is no reference to its Belt and Road project, diplomats told Reuters on Monday.

Oil prices made their biggest jump since the Gulf War on Monday after President Donald Trump warned that the United States was "locked and loaded" to respond to attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure that Washington blamed on Iran. It is the first time the president has hinted at a potential American military response to the drone attacks, which slashed Saudi oil production by half and led both the kingdom and the US to announce they may tap their strategic reserves.

Israel votes in its second election in five months Tuesday. The outcome will decide whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's term as the country's longest-serving prime minister despite corruption allegations against him. The stakes could not be much higher for the 69-year-old right-wing leader who, as in April polls, faces a strong challenge from ex-military chief Benny Gantz and his centrist Blue and White alliance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host his Russian and Iranian counterparts today, 16 September, for their latest summit on Syria, with attention focused on Damascus's push on the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.  Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani will join Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara for their fifth summit on the conflict since 2017, as reported by AFP.

The delivery of a second battery of Russian S-400 missiles to Turkey was completed on Sunday with the controversial defence system expected to become fully active by April 2020. Efforts to mount the missile system and train military personnel to use it were continuing, a Turkish defence ministry statement said, despite repeated warnings from the US.

The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet on Monday in Ankara to try to secure a lasting truce in northwest Syria, news wires reported. Recent attacks by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad risk deepening regional turmoil and pushing a new wave of migrants toward Turkey.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the firing of his National Security Advisor John Bolton. The move is widely seen as boosting the president's push to negotiate with US foes in Afghanistan, North Korea and other trouble spots.

Russia's ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, lost about one third of its seats in the Moscow city assembly at the local elections held last Sunday, according to final data cited by Russian news agencies. Nevertheless, the party retained its majority in the assembly, and its candidates for regional governors won in St Petersburg and in 15 other parts of the country.

he third edition of the EU-Western Balkans Media Days will be held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 12th and 13th September, ANSA reported. The event was launched in 2017 by the European Commission.