Athens / AFP Russia seeks “honest cooperation” for a political solution in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday as Moscow declared a brief truce in the war-ravaged city of Aleppo. “We hope our partners will draw (the) necessary conclusions (so that) we will all aim for honest cooperation… for a political process involving both the government and opposition …

  Moscow / AFP Amnesty International said on Wednesday that Russian authorities had sealed off its office in Moscow and changed the locks with no warning or explanation. “Staff found the office was sealed around 10 am (0700 GMT). The organisation had not received any warning and the premises was sealed in their absence,” the rights group wrote on its website. …

Ankara/ AFP Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi of weakness as tensions rose on Wednesday after Ankara deployed tanks and artillery near Iraq. Abadi had warned Ankara not to provoke a confrontation and said any invasion would see Iraq’s northern neighbour repelled after Turkey sent the 30-vehicle convoy to the southeastern district of Silopi on Tuesday. …