Author: Steven Sahiounie

The bloc is reportedly unwilling to pursue the hawkish stance on trade with Beijing and Moscow being promoted by Washington. The European Union does not intend to condemn Russia and China for “economic coercion” in its joint trade strategy with the US, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday citing a draft document. According to the outlet, the US has been advocating a more confrontational stance on China, while members of the EU have been reluctant to adopt a hawkish approach despite embracing the concept of “de-risking” regarding outbound investment, which is endorsed by both Washington and Brussels. The EU reportedly seeks to…

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new measures will target drones and “disinformation” The US will unveil a new round of Russia-related sanctions on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told reporters. Washington’s latest restrictions will target the supposedly Iranian-built drones that have been used to devastating effect in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Sweden on Tuesday, Blinken said that the new sanctions would impose “export controls on the technology that’s found in Iranian drones used to target Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.” The sanctions package will include additional measures “to counter Russian misinformation and disinformation, [and] to protect human…

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, said that the US and its western allies are escalating their hostile statements and provocative measures in order to intervene in Syria’s domestic affairs and obstruct efforts aimed to achieve security and stability in the country. “The US forces, present illegally on Syrian territory, continue violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, support separatist militias and loot Syrian resources,” Sabbagh said at UN Security council session on the humanitarian and political affairs in Syria He added that the Israeli occupation inflame situation in the region through mounting its attacks on the Syrian…

Washington should “show sincerity” and correct its “wrong practices,” Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said Washington can remedy the communication breakdown between the US and Chinese militaries by heeding China’s concerns, Mao Ning, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said on Tuesday. Her comments came shortly after the Pentagon claimed China had turned down a meeting between the two nations’ defense chiefs in Singapore. Speaking at a regular briefing, Mao did not outright confirm having refused the meeting, but pointed out that the reason the US and China are at an impasse in terms of dialogue “is clear” to Washington. “The US side should…

President Ebrahim Raisi hoped for the expansion of Iran’s relations with Turkey in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will remain in power until 2028 after winning the run-off presidential election. In the telephone conversation on Tuesday, Raisi once again congratulated Erdogan on his election victory, expressing hope that the economic, political, security, cultural and trade relations between Tehran and Ankara would grow further during the new term of the Turkish leader. Highlighting the influential role of cooperation between Iran and Turkey in strengthening security and stability in the region, the Iranian president called for accelerated interaction…

The US has been trying to arrange a face-to-face conversation between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu China has rejected Washington’s proposal that their respective defense chiefs meet this week, the Pentagon said on Monday. The news comes amid a renewed diplomatic spat between the two countries. “Overnight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary [Lloyd] Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore,” the Pentagon said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “The Department…

A White House spokesperson claims that the US was only providing Ukraine with the needed training and equipment to retake their own territory. While Washington does not support attacks inside Russia and concentrates on aiding Ukraine to retake its territory, the United States is still collecting information on reports of drones hitting Moscow, the White House said on Tuesday. “We saw the news and are still gathering information about what happened. As general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement. Washington was “focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need…

Beijing says it attaches great importance to its relations with Türkiye and hopes to further develop strategic cooperation Chinese president Xi Jinping has officially congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on securing his re-election on Monday, and underscored the “extensive common interests” between China and Türkiye. In a message quoted by state news agency Xinhua, Xi said he “stands ready to work with Erdogan to promote mutual understanding and mutual support” and to boost “the two countries’ cooperative relationship.” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, also stated that Beijing attaches “great importance to its relations with Türkiye” and supports Ankara in “taking a development path that suits its…

Israeli settlers tonight attacked Palestinian homes and vehicles in Khirbet Emreha, a neighborhood in the town of Yabad to the south of Jenin, and closed the nearby main road that connects the governorates of Jenin and Tulkarem, said witnesses. They told WAFA that settlers, backed by Israeli forces, attacked Palestinian residents’ homes and vehicles with stones, causing damage to a number of cars. They further chanted anti-Arab slogans calling for the killing of Arabs. Israeli settlers’ vandalism in the occupied West Bank is routine and is done with full backing by the Israeli authorities, said the Israeli human rights group…

“Last September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that we were ready to deliver 300,000 tons of our fertilizers, illegally seized in EU ports, to African countries free of charge. Fully in line with colonial practices and habits, the EU leadership blocked this initiative,” the Russian top diplomat recalled Moscow intends to deliver a shipment of Russian fertilizers to Nigeria free of charge in the near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following his visit to Burundi. “Last September, President [Vladimir] Putin announced that we were ready to deliver 300,000 tons of our fertilizers,…