Author: Steven Sahiounie

Stoltenberg to hold bilateral meetings with President Erdogan, other senior officials NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to arrive in Türkiye on Saturday for a two-day visit, the military alliance has said. In a statement on Friday, NATO said Stoltenberg will attend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s swearing-in ceremony in the capital Ankara. “The Secretary General will also have bilateral meetings with President Erdogan and with senior Turkish officials,” the statement added. Erdogan won the second round of the Turkish presidential election with 52.18% of the vote, while opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.82%. Source: Anadolu

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has vowed Budapest would never go to war with Moscow under the current administration Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has pledged not to “fight” Russia or let the country get dragged into the Ukraine conflict as long as his government remains in power. The prime minister made the remarks on Friday during an interview with local Kossuth Radio. Budapest sees the ongoing hostilities between Moscow and Kiev as a “close” yet “outside threat,” Orban explained. “We are not involved in the war, Hungary is not at war with Russia, and will not be for as long as this government is in place, certainly…

Dozens of Israeli settlers, backed by military soldiers, stormed today various locations in the city of Jericho, according to WAFA correspondent. Dozens of settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, stormed Ein el-Sultan camp, Tel Jericho (also known as ancient Jericho), and the archaeological area in Wadi Qelt in a provocative manner, spurring confrontations with Palestinian youths. No injuries or arrests were reported. Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by the Israeli authorities. Source: WAFA

Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin said that the United States has supported mercenaries in Ukraine by all available means to weaken Russia and this policy was pursued in Syria before. What is happening in Ukraine today is not unlike what was happening in Syria, as the Western security services led by the United States have brought terrorists and mercenaries, funded and armed them to fight the legitimate government in Syria, and this is what is happening now against Russia in Ukraine, Pushilin said in a statement to SANA correspondent in Moscow. Pushilin noted that the people…

“China calls for avoiding any actions that could threaten nuclear facilities and making every effort to avoid abnormal situations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said China appreciates the efforts of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi and his organization to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday. “China appreciates the efforts of Director General Grossi and supports him and the IAEA in their constructive role in promoting the safety and security of nuclear facilities,” the Chinese diplomat said. She pointed out that China “calls on all…

According to a joint statement on Thursday, foreign ministers of the BRICS nations urged the international community to strengthen the arms control system. According to a joint statement released on Thursday, the BRICS foreign ministers urge the international community to improve the weapons control system. The statement details how the ministers call for “strengthening the system of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC) and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on…

Shrapnel hit cars carrying civilians in Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov says Two civilians were killed on Friday in a Ukrainian shelling attack on Russia’s Belgorod Region, local Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said. Several settlements in the region came under cross-border fire, Gladkov wrote on Telegram, adding that “there are fatalities.” The governor said Ukrainian forces shelled a road in the village of Maslova Pristan, in the region’s Shebekinsky District, which had already been targeted by intense attacks this week. “Shell fragments hit cars as they were passing by. Two women were traveling in one of them. They died on the spot…

BRICS countries have welcomed the return of Syria to the Arab League. In a ministerial joint statement, BRICS welcomed Syria’s return to the Arab League, affirming their support for efforts that aimed to a political and comprehensive solution that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, The Russian RIA Novosti Agency quoted a statement issued by the ministerial meeting of the group, which was held in the Republic of South Africa. BRICS group is an international organization includes Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, and their economies constitute 23% of the world economy and 18 % of the international…

Dmitry Peskov drew attention to the fact that both experts and representatives of the European authorities were heard making statements, although abstract for now, “about some kind of peace process” There are no prerequisites for negotiations between Moscow and Kiev at the moment, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday. “We have repeatedly said regrading a dialogue – there is no such option right now. It is not in sight, and there are no prerequisites,” Peskov said about the situation around Ukraine. He was commenting on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s call for not letting the Ukrainian…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a meeting in Cape Town with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor, says Iran looks forward to join the BRICS and engage with the SCO as the world is changing. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group of emerging economies can have a significant impact on the formation of a new global order, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor during a meeting in Cape Town. As the world is changing, Iran prepared to join the SCO, which was founded in 2001 by a number of Asian countries,…