Emmanuel Macron went off script this week when he indulged Donald Trump's belligerence towards Iran, calling for a "new nuclear deal" with Tehran. Germany's Angela Merkel needs to pull rank on Macron to avoid a Middle East war.

Macron did later call pulling out of the Iran accord "insane," but he nevertheless gave Trump a green light to do so, instead of urging US commitment to an international treaty.

The French president took a radical turn in Washington from Germany and the rest of the European Union regarding the Iran deal. When Chancellor Merkel arrives in Washington Friday - the day after Macron's departure - she should let the American president know in no uncertain terms that the French leader was out of his depth.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has drafted a bill that aims to eliminate the US dollar and the euro from trade between CIS countries.

This means the creation of a single financial market between Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

"This would help expand the use of national currencies in foreign trade payments and financial services and thus create preconditions for greater liquidity of domestic currency markets", said a statement from Kremlin.

The bill would also help to facilitate trade in the region and help to achieve macro-economic stability.

Within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) the countries have also discussed the possibility of switching to national currencies. According to the agreement between Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan, an obligatory transition to settlements in the national currencies (Russian ruble, Belarusian ruble, dram and tenge respectively) must occur in 2025-2030.

Today, some 50 percent of turnover in the EEU is in dollars and euro, which increases the dependence of the union on countries issuing those currencies.

Outside the CIS and EEU, Russia and China have been trying to curtail the dollar's dominance as well.

Moscow and its allies, Iran and Turkey, will resist any attempts to "divide" Syria and undermine a peaceful solution to the crisis, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said, while condemning the illegal US-led strike on Syria.

Russia's Lavrov, Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif have gathered in the Russian capital to discuss the progress of Syrian de-escalation effort as well as other issues of regional importance, like the risk of the US withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Iran.

The three ministers reiterated their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the seven-year war in Syria, and dismissed criticism from some other nations that the Astana negotiations, which the three nations kick-started, were somehow harmful for the UN-sponsored negotiations in Geneva.

The withdrawal of some 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea may be on the table in future negotiations between the US and North Korea, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said on the heels of a landmark inter-Korean summit.

Asked if US forces will remain in South Korea provided Seoul and Pyongyang replace their 1953 truce with a formal peace treaty, Mattis indicated that the continued US military presence in South Korea may become a part of the bargain with the North.

"Well, that's part of the issues that we'll be discussing in the negotiations with our allies first and, of course, with North Korea," he said, speaking alongside Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak at the Pentagon on Friday.

Mattis then appeared to take a step back, saying that "for now, we have to go along with the process...and not try to make preconditions or presumptions about how it's going to go."

The Pentagon is moving away from the war on terror, choosing instead to primarily focus on deterring "strategic competitors" China and Russia, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis stressed while testifying before a Senate panel on Thursday.

Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee via written testimony:

The global situation is sobering. Russia is modernizing its full range of nuclear systems while espousing a theory of nuclear escalation in military conflict. China, too, is modernizing and expanding its already considerable nuclear forces, pursuing entirely new capabilities. China is also modernizing its conventional military forces to a degree that will challenge U.S. military superiority.

While recent events have given rise to a sense of positive movement, North Korea's nuclear provocations threaten regional and global peace and have garnered universal condemnation by the United Nations. Iran's nuclear ambitions also remain an unresolved concern. Globally, nuclear terrorism remains a tangible threat.

Mattis testified alongside Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In addition to China and Russia, the Pentagon identified Iran and North Korea as strategic competitors that threaten the United States.

On April 20, in Pyongyang, the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea was held "to discuss the policy issues of a new stage in line with the demand of the important historic period of the revolution's development." A plenary session ranks second in importance in intraparty actions after a congress, and typically is not assembled for ordinary matters.

The decree "On the announcement of the great victory of the course for parallel management of economic development and the development of nuclear armed forces" announced triumphantly that:

• ". . . critical nuclear tests and underground nuclear tests were conducted. Nuclear weapons were miniaturized and reduced in weight. Extra-large nuclear weapons and their launch platforms were developed, resulting in the solid achievement of nuclear weapons armament." In other words, although some military experts do not believe it, the program for creation of strategic nuclear forces is declared complete.
• Since April 21, 2018 North Korea has ceased nuclear tests and test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Moreover, "to ensure a transparent guarantee of the cessation of nuclear tests, North Korea will stop use of the northern testing site."
• Also, a promise has been made "not to use nuclear weapons in the absence of a nuclear threat and provocations toward our government, and by no means spread nuclear weapons and technology."
• These steps are being billed as an "important process for global reduction of nuclear weapons, and our Republic has been supporting the international goals and efforts for comprehensive cessation of nuclear testing." North Korea "will create a favorable international situation for socialist economic development, and for the protection of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, and on the entire planet. It will activate a close bond and dialog with neighboring countries and the international community."

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday sent legislation to the full Senate floor that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller if President Trump decides to make changes to leadership atop the Justice Department.

The bipartisan legislation, finalized earlier this month, gives Mueller and other special counsels 10 days to challenge their firing through a judicial review in the courts. All the committee's Democrats and four Republicans helped send the bill to the floor.

Democrats had originally said they were hesitant to support the language because of an amendment proposed by Chairman Chuck Grassley. But Grassley unveiled a revised amendment later Wednesday that removed language that mandated Mueller's office to report to Congress if the scope the probe changed.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives will continue to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election despite the House Intelligence Committee report released on Friday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

"House Democrats will continue to investigate Russian attacks on our elections," Pelosi said on Friday. "We will not relent in our effort to follow the facts and secure our elections from foreign interference. We have no time to waste."

Earlier on Friday, the US House Intelligence committee has revealed its final report, sharing its findings regarding alleged Russian meddling in the vote and accusations of collusion between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign team.

Pelosi said Republicans on the Intelligence Committee must release the transcripts from the investigation in order to ensure the public has all the information about the "Trump-Russia scandal."

According to the document, entitled "Report on Russian Active Measure," the panel concluded that there was no collusion between the sitting president's election campaign and Russia. The committee, however, suggested that Moscow had allegedly attempted to sow division in the United States by carrying out cyberattacks and influencing social media users.

James Clapper may have misled Congress regarding his contacts with the media during his tenure as the director of national intelligence, according to a report on Russian election meddling released by congressional Republicans Friday.

Clapper initially told the House Intelligence Committee, which produced the report, that he had no contact with the media regarding the infamous Steele dossier during his time serving in the Obama administration.

"Clapper flatly denied 'discussing the dossier [compiled by Steele] or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists,'" the report states.

Clapper later admitted that he had discussed the dossier with CNN's Jake Tapper after lawmakers confronted him about that specific disclosure, and "admitted that he might have spoken with other journalists about the same topic," according to the report. But he maintained that the discussion did not constitute a leak because a number of media outlets, including CNN, were already in possession of the dossier when he spoke with Tapper.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned his Turkish counterpart against purchasing a Russian surface-to-air missile system.

Meeting on the sidelines of a NATO gathering on April 27, Pompeo told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that the S-400 system, radars, and missile batteries will not be integrated with those of Ankara's NATO allies, a senior U.S. official said.

"The secretary underscored the seriousness of U.S. concerns...if [the Turkish authorities] go ahead," the official said in a briefing with reporters in Brussels.