Diplomacy coverage

SerbianAleksandar Vučić told Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky during an official visit to Belgrade that Serbia will do everything possible to help Ukraine on its 'European path,' including opening and closing EU clusters quickly. Zelensky thanked Serbia for a new humanitarian aid package covering medicine and energy and said the countries are preparing a free trade zone agreement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Serbia for his first official visit. He is set to hold talks with President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Duro Macut on economic ties, EU integration and regional security.

Poland's government is pressing SpaceX to reverse new Starlink rules that exclude Poland from its European roaming zone, with Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski accusing Elon Musk's company of treating Polish users as second-class customers facing higher costs and unequal treatment compared with other European nations.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Wednesday it is continuing efforts to facilitate U.S.-Iran dialogue and advance the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, noting that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is currently visiting Iran for peace talks.

Britain wants to resume high-level military contacts with Russia; British military chiefs fear the risk of 'unintended escalation' due to the absence of dialogue, The Times reports. The question was raised after the Russian frigate Grigorovich fired warning shots in June in the English Channel near a British-flagged yacht; the last contact between Russian Chief of theStaff Gerasimov and the UK Chief of the Defence Staff was in September 2022.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets Libyan officials in Tripoli during a visit to Libya, holding talks with PM adviser Ibrahim Dbeibeh, Presidential Council President Mohamed al-Menfi and High Council of State Chairman Mohamed Miftah Takala, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.

Donald Trump said in an interview with American TV host Wayne Allyn Root that the United States sells weapons and fighter jets to the European Union at full cost, and EU countries are free to do as they wish with them, including transferring them to Ukraine.

Georgia'sIrakli Kobakhidze stated that Tbilisi will not restore diplomatic relations with Russia as long as Moscow maintains recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He emphasized that peaceful resolution of the conflict with Russia remains a foreign policy priority and expressed hope it will become possible through future political changes.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that meeting the country's healthcare needs was among the most challenging tasks undertaken by his ministry during the 40-day war with the United States and Israel. He spoke at a ceremony in Tehran where a memorandum of understanding was signed between Iran's Foreign Ministry and Health Ministry on cooperation in rebuilding infrastructure damaged during the war.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum on Tuesday to abide by the one-China principle and properly handle Taiwan-related issues ahead of the forum's annual leaders meeting scheduled in Palau from August 30 to September 4.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Tuesday condemned recent Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon that killed and wounded civilians and damaged infrastructure and homes, calling the U.S. an accomplice in Israeli actions across Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territories and West Asia, and expressing Iran's full solidarity with Lebanon's sovereignty.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese President To Lam agreed in Canberra on Tuesday to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership, signing agreements on the digital economy, agriculture and sustainable development, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting at Parliament House.