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Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Friday with, including a top Russian official saying that Istanbul is becoming the “main platform” for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish president hailing the strategic cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, and a US envoy saying that President Donald Trump plans to declare Syria a “state that doesn’t sponsor terrorism.”

TOP STORIES

• Istanbul becoming ‘main platform’ for Moscow-Kyiv negotiations: Top Russian official

A senior Russian official said the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul is becoming the “main platform” for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, where the two countries held their first direct talks in three years earlier this month.

“The Istanbul platform is becoming the main platform for conducting negotiations in all areas -- concerning the Black Sea, the Black Sea deal, the grain deal, and now the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,” Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoygu said during a meeting with Türkiye’s National Security Council Secretary General Okay Memis, according to the state news agency Tass.

The report further said that Shoygu thanked Türkiye’s leadership for providing the platform for holding direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.

• Türkiye-Azerbaijan strategic cooperation beacon for other OTS countries: Turkish president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that the partnership between Türkiye and Azerbaijan is a beacon for all “brotherly countries” within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

“Türkiye and Azerbaijan are developing partnerships in many areas, and we consider defense, energy, agriculture and livestock farming to be strategic areas. Now, we want to establish even closer cooperation with Azerbaijan on food supply security,” Erdogan said.

He said this deepening of ties is a beacon for “our other brotherly countries that are members of the Organization of Turkic States. “

• Trump to declare Syria ‘state that doesn't sponsor terrorism’: US envoy

US President Donald Trump will soon declare Syria a state that doesn't sponsor terrorism, said US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack.

Barrack, who arrived in Damascus on Thursday, said Trump's goal is to empower Syria's current government.

Earlier this month, the US president ordered the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• A navy patrol plane carrying four people crashed on a mountain in southeastern South Korea
• China slammed a US move to revoke visas of Chinese students, calling it “unreasonable and discriminatory.”
• The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal, a “people’s tribunal” established as an independent initiative to investigate Israel's ongoing war crimes in Gaza, condemned the Israeli "regime" and its actions.
• The British minister for the Middle East condemned the Israeli government’s approval of new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
• The Palestinian resistance group Hamas confirmed that it has received a new proposal from mediators for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he accepted US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s outline for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange.
• The White House said it hopes Russia and Ukraine will begin negotiations next week in Istanbul to advance efforts to end Russia’s war on its eastern European neighbor.
• Israeli warplanes launched intensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
• Russia claimed that it took control of three settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Kharkiv regions amid its continuing offensive in the country’s east.
• Spain and Slovenia called on the EU to impose an arms embargo on Israel, suspend its trade relationship and sanction more individuals over the conflict in Palestine, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
• A federal judge extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University's certification to enroll international students, according to reports.
• The government of Italy's southern Puglia region has severed all relations with Israel in protest of the genocide of Palestinians, local media reported.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY​​​​​​��

• US economy contracts by 0.2% in Q1, better than expectations

The US economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year on a quarterly basis, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed.

The BEA said that US GDP decreased at an annual rate of 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025, according to the bureau's second estimate, while the first estimate was at minus 0.3%.

The bureau said the decrease in GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports and a decrease in government spending.

"These movements were partly offset by increases in investment, consumer spending and exports," it added.

• Turkish, Qatari, US firms sign $7B energy deal in Syria

Turkish conglomerates Kalyon Holding and Cengiz Holding, Qatar-based UCC and US-based Power International have signed an energy investment agreement worth $7 billion in Syria.

In the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the Syrian Ministry of Energy and the companies.

Under the agreement, natural gas power plants with a total installed capacity of 4,000 megawatts and a solar power plant with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts will be built in Syria.

The power plants covered by the project are expected to be launched gradually.

The natural gas power plants are expected to be completed within three years, while the solar power plant is expected to be built within approximately two years.