Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Defense meeting called for by France seeks to offer an alternative to the German-led Euro air defense plan known as European Sky Shield initiative. A European Defense Ministers meeting will be hosted on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, on Monday, after France felt snubbed by a German-led plan that isolated its manufacturers. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu called for the meeting and announced that it will not only include about 20 EU members but will also include the European Commission’s internal market chief Thierry Breton. While German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had been reluctant about joining his EU counterparts, he confirmed…

There is “no room for compromise” on Taiwan, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken The US should respect the One China principle and stop supporting Taiwan’s push for independence from Beijing, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “China has no room to compromise or concede” on the status of Taiwan, Wang told Blinken during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on Monday. “The US must truly adhere to the One China principle… respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and clearly oppose ‘Taiwan independence’,” the…

“Germany will continue to be a staunch supporter of Ukraine as long as it takes,” Olaf Scholz stated The West should adjust its policy with the expectation that the Ukraine conflict may go on for an indefinite period of time German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday. “We have to brace ourselves that the Russian [special military operation] act could last for a long time,” German Chancellor Scholz said speaking at a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “This is what we are preparing for and this is what we are orienting our policy toward,” Scholz told…

The alliance’s Secretary-General welcomed Germany’s efforts in providing military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as its recent decision to “deliver another 64 Patriot missiles to Ukraine” NATO is against freezing the conflict in Ukraine and agreements on Russia’s terms, the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. “We all want this war to end, but a just peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting a deal dictated by Russia,” Stoltenberg said during his visit to Germany, according to a NATO Press Office broadcast. This is the NATO chief’s first statement since talks in Kiev and Moscow…

In the first in-depth testimonies of survivors, Greece’s coastguard is accused of neglect and cruelty, waiting hours before saving migrants with a broken engine. After a boat capsized and sank in the Ionian Sea last Wednesday, reports that show a contradicting tale that led to the tragic event have begun surfacing. In the first in-depth testimonies of survivors to The Sunday Times, Greece’s coastguard is accused of mass neglect and cruelty. Greece’s coastguard reported that so far, 78 bodies had been found, while nearly 500 remain missing. Two days ago, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, based on the accounts of survivors, presented a different account of…

“Among the concrete deliverables [of these processes] we envision the provision of mutually beneficial, interlinking infrastructure and the creation of a continent-wide architecture of peace, development and cooperation throughout Greater Eurasia,” the top diplomat noted Building support for the Greater Eurasian Partnership project could be seen as the flagship project of Russia’s foreign policy, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. “Our flagship foreign political project is to [build] support for the concept of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. What we’re talking about is facilitating the objective process of forming a broad integrative configuration that is open for all countries and…

The world is big enough for both Beijing and Washington to prosper, the Chinese leader says Stable relations between China and the US are vital for the international community, which doesn’t want to choose sides between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing on Monday. “Planet Earth is big enough to accommodate the respective development and common prosperity of China and the US,” Xi told Blinken, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The Chinese leader said that the world is interested in “generally stable” ties between Beijing…

The Iranian diplomat said that his country has placed a high priority to the bolstering of relations with African nations.  During a meeting with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Issa Borro on Saturday in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that that the strengthening of diplomatic and economic relations with African countries is on Iran’s agenda, MEHR news agency reported on Monday. Speaking on matters pertaining to the latest developments in Iran and Burkina Faso’s relations, the Iranian diplomat said that his country has placed a high priority on the bolstering of relations with African nations. Both parties agreed…

The Russian armed forces foil Ukrainian attacks on Zaprozhye as the counteroffensive continues. The Russian Armed Forces successfully repelled two Ukrainian attacks on the village of Mala Tokmachka in Zaparozhe over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday. “Two enemy attacks were repelled near the village of Mala Tokmachka, Zaporizhzhia Region, during which two tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and two armored fighting vehicles were hit,” the ministry said. Ukraine’s ambitious counteroffensive against Russia – which it launched in a bid to take the lands captured by the country through the war effort – is proving to be quite…

The bloc expects the conflict to last “several months” more or even longer, its industry chief says The European Union will speed up deliveries of weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton has said. Speaking to French daily Le Parisien on Saturday, the EU industry boss said the bloc must ramp up its production to live up to its pledge to supply a million high-caliber munitions over the next 12 months. “We are going to step up our efforts to deliver arms and ammunition – this is a war of…