Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Russia-Africa Summit 2023 will be attended by fewer foreign leaders largely due to their own plans, but there is also pressure of the United States that has played a role in it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. “As regards reduction in number of foreign leaders that have arrived [to attend the summit], it has indeed happened. It is largely due to working plans of leaders, but of course, there is a bit of what we have discussed with you earlier. It is absolutely undisguised, brazen interference of the United States, France and other countries through their diplomatic missions in…

The international community must take steps to prevent Israel’s annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory or risk being seen as accepting the Israeli Government’s systematic violation of international law, UN experts said today. “Israel’s continuous annexation of portions of the occupied Palestinian territory, now focusing on large swathes of the West Bank after unlawfully annexing east Jerusalem, suggests that a concrete effort may be underway to annex the entire occupied Palestinian territory in violation of international law,” the experts said. “In 2020, 46 UN experts urged the international community to firmly oppose Israel’s plans for annexation of parts of the…

The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson announced plans for a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the recent sacrilegious moves against the Holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark. Nasser Kanaani said on Tuesday that the OIC is going to hold a virtual emergency meeting of its foreign ministers on July 31. “Following the joint proposal of the Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq, and after the calls made by Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, with his counterparts in Islamic countries, his sending of messages to them, talking with and sending…

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi underlined Beijing’s willingness to enhance communication and coordination with Tehran to promote bilateral relations. In a meeting with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, held in Johannesburg on Monday, Wang emphasized China’s commitment to implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, according to Xinhua News Agency. He stressed the importance of fostering steady and long-term development in bilateral relations. Wang noted that China stands against any external interference in Iran’s internal affairs, and the country will continue to support Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, dignity, and…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian will pay an official visit to Pakistan next week, sources said. Pakistani daily The Nation quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the senior Iranian diplomat will travel to Pakistan on August 3 for a two-day visit. Amirabdollahian is expected to hold meetings with Pakistani officials on August 3 and 4. The Iranian foreign minister and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are planned to hold formal talks and attend a joint press conference during the upcoming visit. In a meeting with the foreign secretary of Pakistan in Tehran in June, Amirabdollahian described Pakistan as one…

Nizhneangarsktransstroy LLC may choose partners on the condition that it performs at least 50% of the work on its own The Russian government has extended the deadline for repairing the Crimean bridge until December 31, 2023, the cabinet said in a decree, uploaded to Russia’s official database of legislative information. In October 2022, the government appointed Nizhneangarsktransstroy LLC as the sole contractor for Crimean Bridge repairs. The company may choose partners on the condition that it performs at least 50% of the work on its own. The Crimean Bridge connects the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea to the Taman Peninsula in the…

Russian Security Council deputy chairman underlines that the sanctions and cyberattacks “require active efforts to protect critical information infrastructure” Russia should develop ways to minimize attacks on domestic resources given that a real war is now underway against the country in cyberspace, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. “All manner of challenges and threats in this field have increased dramatically since the start of the special military operation. A real war has been unleashed against Russia in cyberspace,” Medvedev pointed out in an address to participants in a strategic session conducted by Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosatom.…

The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Abiy Ahmed opens a series of contacts between the Russian leader and the heads of delegations coming to the forum and the Russia-Africa summit Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have begun talks in St. Petersburg. The meeting is being held at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna. The meeting between Putin and Ahmed opens a series of contacts between the Russian leader and the heads of delegations coming to the forum and the Russia-Africa summit. Over the next few days, in addition to attending the summit and the forum itself,…

Egypt is part of a group of seven African countries that are working on a plan for a peaceful resolution to the situation around Ukraine An Egyptian delegation headed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday to participate in the Russia-Africa summit, according to a TASS reporter. The presidential plane landed at Pulkovo Airport. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov earlier told reporters that the day the Egyptian leader arrived he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Egypt is part of a group of seven African countries that are working on a plan for a…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to end its silence and shoulder its responsibility toward Israeli crimes in Palestine. The Ministry condemned the Israeli army killing this afternoon of Mohammad Nada, 23, in Nablus, stressing that this crime, as previous ones, will be followed up with the ICC, which has an obligation to hold Israeli war criminals accountable and bring them to justice. It considered the killing of Nada a war crime and crime against humanity added to the crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people. The Ministry…