Armenia’s prime minister has visited Moscow and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid spiraling tensions between the estranged allies. Putin hosted Nikol Pashinyan for talks following a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union, a Moscow-dominated economic alliance they both attended earlier in the day. In brief remarks at the start of Wednesday's talks, Putin said that bilateral trade was growing, but acknowledged “issues concerning security in the region.” Armenia’s ties with its longtime ally Russia grew increasingly strained after Azerbaijan waged a military campaign in September to reclaim the Karabakh region, ending three decades of ethnic Armenian separatists’ rule there. Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to stop the onslaught.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has confirmed the U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns the country was approaching a decision to launch a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S. Confirmed Wednesday, the shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, with the focus of U.S. concern being the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting. More than 1 million civilians are sheltering in Rafah after evacuating other parts of Gaza amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which came after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Israeli forces have taken control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the Gaza Strip, pressing on with an offensive in the southern city as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain precarious. The incursion comes after the militant group on Monday said it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

The Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind verdict on whether Israel's conduct of its war in Gaza complies with international and U.S. laws. The decision is due from the administration Wednesday. But a State Department spokesman says that deadline may slip. The formal assessment of whether Israel has used U.S. weapons and other military assistance lawfully is mandated under a directive issued by President Joe Biden in February. The White House agreed to the review under pressure from Democratic lawmakers. A growing number of those Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders have demanded the U.S. start conditioning military aid to Israel in light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.