Iran is seeking to sign an agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in 2015 to facilitate mutual trade, according to Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei.

The President of Uruguay, José Mujica, delivered a speech on national television and radio on Jan. 27 to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, which he described as “a real affront to humanity,” and used the occasion to also remember the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey’s human rights record has come under criticism at the UN, with diplomats condemning intimidation of journalists and police crackdowns on demonstrators.

Israel is interested in the creation of a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

ISTANBUL—Two prominent human rights groups in Turkey have announced that they will take part in the pending Armenian Genocide denial case at the European Court of Human Rights, known as the Perincek Case. The Human Rights Association from Turkey and The Center for Truth Justice Memory will partner with the Toronto-based International Institute for Genocide [...]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again called on foreign countries to shut down schools operated by supporters of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based ally-turned-foe, saying the Turkish state would happily replace those schools.

Thursday morning, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the World Community of Yezidis.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree authorizing foreign citizens to serve in the Russian army and Interior Ministry troops, according to a document published on the Kremlin website.

The U.S. State Department says its concerns about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan are deepening after authorities there raided and closed RFE/RL’s Baku bureau and interrogated its employees and contractors.

A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a former ally turned arch-enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The member states of the Southern American Common market (MERCOSUR) intend to develop cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the participants in the MERCOSUR summit held in the Argentine city of Parana said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The European Parliament overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state “in principle” on Wednesday, following a series of votes on the issue in EU nations that have enraged Israel, AFP reports.

Russia’s parliamentary upper house, the Federation Council, ratified a treaty for Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union on Wednesday, TASS reports.

With the end of the South Stream pipeline project, Russia will have to adapt to a new market where it will no longer provide gas delivery to end users in Europe, Aleksey Miller, CEO of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said in an interview confirming the closure of the South Stream project.