Author: Steven Sahiounie

Rafael Grossi expressed hope that he will visit Kiev and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi expressed hope that he will visit Kiev and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and also possibly Moscow soon. “I’m planning to try to go to Kiev <…> and to Zaporozhye. <…> Probably, in Moscow,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s session of the UN Security Council. Grossi expressed hope that he would travel to Ukraine soon, but gave no exact timeframes. He said he expected to visit Russia as well, because he needs to maintain…

On Wednesday, Erdogan will hold the last session of the current government Turkey’s president-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be sworn in on June 3, while the country’s new government may take the oath on the following day, a source in Ankara has told TASS. “The president will take oath and assume the office on Saturday. On Sunday, cabinet members are expected to be sworn in, and the new government will begin its work,” he said. Spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Omer Celik said that Erdogan may announce the make-up of his new cabinet immediately after taking…

Damascus names its former UN delegate as a representative to the Arab organization. Syria announced on Tuesday the appointment of Hussam Edin Aala as its representative to the Arab League. Last February, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad issued a decree appointing Ambassador Aala as Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs and International Organizations. The newly assigned delegate held a series of senior diplomatic positions in recent years. He served as a diplomat in his country’s mission to the United Nations, as Syria’s ambassador to Spain, and as the former director of the office of Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. Despite opposition from…

Thirty Russian banks have been linked to the Chinese payment system CIPS, which is a system equivalent to the banking system “Swift”, and dozens of banks are now waiting for approval of their applications to join the Chinese payment system. Thanks to the move, trade between Russia and China will become easier and logistics (shipping period) more predictable, not only for large companies but also for small and medium-sized businesses in Russia. The growth of trade between Russia and China (a growth of about a third in the past year) requires that financial payments be made smoothly and quickly. The…

Oil prices fell today, Wednesday, in light of indications of weak demand for black gold, with the approach of the “OPEC +” meeting that will be held this weekend. And by 09:45 Moscow time, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by 0.14%, to $69.36 a barrel. Brent crude futures fell by 0.26% to $73.35 a barrel, according to Bloomberg. This article was originally published by RT.

Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank of Syria (the Central Bank of Syria) set the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the dollar for remittances and exchange at 8,150 pounds for one dollar. According to the remittance and exchange bulletin issued today by the Syrian Central Bank, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the euro was set at 8716.82 Syrian pounds for one euro. This bulletin is issued according to the Central Bank for the purpose of cash disbursement and the purchase of commercial foreign transfers and incoming transfers to natural persons, including incoming transfers through global transfer…

Iran is a responsible partner and the country’s full return to the oil market will be welcome when the US lifts its sanctions, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais told Iran’s Shana news agency on Monday. Iran, which is a member of OPEC, is capable of delivering significant production volumes to the market over a short period of time, Al Ghais said on his first visit to Tehran. However, the country has been the subject of US sanctions over its nuclear program, which target the oil and gas industry among other things. Nonetheless, the restrictions have failed to completely stop…

The NDB was established in 2014 to provide funding for infrastructure and sustainable development projects. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov talked up the potential of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) as he attended the opening ceremony of the NDB’s eighth annual meeting in Shanghai on Tuesday. The current aim of the NDB is to expand links and infrastructure across the bloc and boost the quality of life in member states, the Russian minister stated. “The task of the BRICS is to unite, not to divide. Therefore, when the BRICS countries decided to create the NDB, we pursued one simple…

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…