Author: Steven Sahiounie

Special Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, Luna Al-Shibl, stressed that the strategic relationship between Syria and China was built decades ago, hailing China’s role on the international arena and its foundation for a new path in the common development. The importance of the Syrian-Chinese diplomatic relations lays in their strategic relations that were built for 70-year ago and that those relations are based on common goals and political language, in addition to the unity of approach in dealing with common issues, which formed the deep compatibility between the two countries based on the joint principles and interests, Al-Shibl…

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “On September 22, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and First Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic held a meeting,” the ministry said. The sides discussed issues on the bilateral and international agenda and stressed a mutual focus on further dynamic development of Russian-Serbian strategic partnership, it said. The ministry said Moscow and Belgrade expressed their commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 regarding…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator More than 30 years of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is drawing to a close, and Armenia is the loser. On September 19, following the death of four soldiers and two civilians, Azerbaijan pushed aggressively to control Nogorno-Karabakh, and the next day the Armenian forces agreed to lay down their arms in the Armenian majority enclave.  Azerbaijan previously had waged a war of attrition to cut off supplies to the 120,000 Armenians. Despite Russian peacekeepers being stationed there since December 2022 tasked with keeping the Lachin corridor open, Azerbaijan blockaded the narrow mountain road…

Mohsen Khojastehmehr said Iran’s rank in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has returned to the pre-sanctions level in the field of crude production. He added that Iran’s oil output volume stood at 2.250 million barrels per day (bpd) before the current administration took office in August 2021 and has currently reached 3.3 million barrels per day, registering a considerable hike. Iran’s daily output volume is to reach 3.4 million barrels in the upcoming days, the NIOC chief stated. The deputy oil minister also said that Iran’s oil output will hit 5.7 million bpd in the next eight years. In addition, gas production…

Reza Dehghan pointed out that the projects are aimed at increasing the country’s oil and gas output. Similar projects worth $33 billion will be also implemented in the future, he said. He made the remarks in the NIOC-Insurance Companies Forum on Wednesday, adding that Iran’s oil and gas production capacities will reach 5.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and 1.5 billion cubic meters per day (bcf/d) respectively from the current 4m bpd and 1 bcf/d by 2029. To that end, it is necessary to invest $160 billion, two-thirds of which should be funded by foreign investors, he explained, Shana reported.…

During their meeting at the UN, the Brazilian leader offered to help with the peace effort, according to diplomatic sources Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has told his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky that the best way to move forward in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow is to stop the fighting and agree to a peaceful settlement, a diplomatic source told CNN Brazil. The two leaders met behind closed doors on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York on Thursday. Lula made it clear to Zelensky that he believes there can be no military…

Another two nominees were running for the post, namely Ivan Shumakov and Igor Shepelin Vladimir Saldo was elected governor of the Kherson Region at a meeting of the local legislature on Saturday, according to a TASS reporter. Apart from Saldo, another two nominees were running for the post, namely Ivan Shumakov and Igor Shepelin. “First of all, I would like to congratulate all lawmakers on their election [as members of local parliament]. This is the debut makeup of the Kherson Region’s legislative assembly of the new era when the region rejoined Russia,” said First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration…

Foreign ministers of Astana guarantor states, (Russia, Iran and Turkey affirmed that sanctions imposed by Western countries and the continued presence of terrorist organizations still represent the main challenges facing Syria. “The economic problem and sanctions imposed by Western countries, terrorism and the terrorist organization of Daesh which is still present in parts of Syria are the main challenges in this country,” Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Turkish regime’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan along with the United Nations special envoy for…

UAW President announces a strike of all 38 US parts and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis, following stalled negotiations. The US auto workers union expanded on Friday a strike against two of Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers and invited President Joe Biden to support workers on the picket line. UAW President Shawn Fain announced a strike of all 38 US parts and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis, where negotiations are stalled. He did not expand the stoppage at Ford, which has offered important concessions since the strike was launched a week ago. “As we have said for weeks, we’re not…

Trade turnover between Russia and the Netherlands has seen a year-on-year decline of 200%, RIA Novosti reports Mutual trade between Russia and the Netherlands saw a threefold year-on-year decrease to €620 million ($662 million) in July, having plunged to its lowest level since 2015, RIA Novosti is reporting on Saturday, citing Dutch customs data. In July, the EU country’s imports of Russian goods dropped 14% month-over-month to €419 million, marking a decline by 250% compared to the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, exports of goods from the Netherlands to Russia amounted to €201 million in July, marking a month-on-month…