Author: Steven Sahiounie

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Monday reiterated Egypt’s unequivocal rejection of Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Salah El-Din axis, stating that such control is unacceptable. Foreign Minister Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s long-standing rejection of Israeli control over the Rafah crossing during a meeting with Egyptian editors-in-chief on Monday in Cairo. He reiterated that Egypt will not accept any alternative arrangements other than the Egyptian-Palestinian crossing between Gaza and Egypt. “Egypt insists on operating the Rafah crossing from the other side under Palestinian supervision and demands a return to the situation as it was before 7 October,”…

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has submitted a letter of resignation, Verkhovna Rada speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said. “The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received a statement from Ukrainian Foreign Minister D.I. Kuleba on his resignation. The statement will be considered at one of the upcoming plenary sessions,” he wrote on Facebook (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist). Stefanchuk also published a photo of Kuleba’s letter where he asks to resign without specifying any reasons for his decision. The document is dated September 4. Earlier, Verkhovna Rada member Alexey Goncharenko (listed as terrorist…

Saudi Arabia has condemned Israeli statements about the Gaza-Egyptian border and said the Kingdom stood with Cairo on the issue. A Saudi foreign ministry statement issued late on Tuesday denounced Israeli ambitions on the Philadelphi corridor, in southern Gaza bordering Egypt, as well as “the absurd attempts to justify the continuous Israeli violations of international laws and norms.” The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants to keep troops in the corridor for the foreseeable future. “The Philadelphi Corridor — or to put it more correctly, the southern closing point (of Gaza) — must be in our hands.…

The arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not be able to limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s contacts with interested countries, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This whole story with the ICC <…> cannot and will not be a limitation in the development of Russia’s relations with partner states that are interested in developing bilateral relations and covering international contacts,” he said. “The global majority has a much broader vision of the prospects for international cooperation than the blinkers of the ICC,” he added. According to Peskov, the authorities see “great interest in the country [Russia]…

Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PlO) Hussein al-Sheikh met today with the British Consul-General, Diane Corner. During the meeting, Al-Sheikh briefed the Consul General on the latest developments, including the unprecedented escalations and violations committed by Israeli forces and colonists throughout the West Bank and the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. They also discussed developments and measures in Britain aimed at ending the war and humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, and stopping violations in the West Bank. In turn, the British Consul affirmed her country’s support for the political track that guarantees calm…

​Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Ankara on Wednesday afternoon, marking his first visit to Turkey since assuming office in 2014. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed El-Sisi at Esenboğa Airport. Upon arrival, both leaders met briefly at the airport’s Hall of Honor before travelling together to the Turkish Presidential Complex in the same official vehicle. An official reception ceremony was held for El-Sisi upon his arrival at the complex. El-Sisi’s “historic visit to Turkey,” comes at the invitation of Erdogan, ushers in a new phase in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, both bilaterally and at the…

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi is expected to pay his fifth visit to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) on Wednesday. The international agency’s chief earlier described the situation around the nuclear facility as serious, saying that his goal was to assist in preventing a nuclear disaster. Grossi’s first visit to ZNPP took place on September 1, 2022 and resulted in establishing a permanent IAEA mission there. The team of experts is rotated on a regular basis. Grossi departed on his fifth visit to Energodar, the satellite city of the ZNPP, on the evening of September…

Sisi visit comes at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a statement from the Turkish Directorate of Communications. During the visit, both leaders will co-chair the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. This council was established following the Joint Declaration signed during Erdogan’s visit to Cairo in February. According to the Turkish Directorate of Communications, the meeting will also involve a comprehensive review of the Egyptian-Turkish bilateral relations and discussions on potential steps to further enhance the Egyptian-Turkish cooperation. El-Sisi and Erdogan will also exchange views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual…

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met on Wednesday with the UN Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, in Ramallah, where they discussed the latest developments and joint coordination for relief and humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister briefed the UN official on the international contacts to stop the genocide waged against the Palestinian people in the Strip, as well as on the aggression of the occupation army and colonists in the West Bank. They also tackled the mobilization of support for reconstruction and economic recovery in coordination with international partners immediately after the…

By: Malik Ayub Sumbal, Journalist and geopolitical analysis The logo of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) near the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China, August 29, 2024. The FOCAC summit is taking place in Beijing from September 4 to 6. /XinhuaEditor’s note: Malik Ayub Sumbal, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an award-winning journalist, geopolitical analyst and author of the book Tovuz to Karabakh, A Comprehensive Analysis of War in South-Caucasus. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. Beijing is all set to host African…