Author: Steven Sahiounie

As the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council said, the current ‘ultimatums’ are a warm-up for kids, a preview of demands to be made in the future Russia’s current negotiating position on Ukraine is nothing but a “warm-up for kids,” because the eventual demand may be the total surrender of the Kiev regime, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel on Monday. He drew attention to the Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s statement about his refusal to conduct a dialogue with those who put forward ultimatums. “The current ‘ultimatums’ are a warm-up for kids,…

The deputy chief of the Russian Reconciliation Center says three cases of shelling by Al-Nusra Front were recorded in Idlib de-escalation zone, Syria. The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria announced that the militants of Al-Nusra Front carried out three bombing attacks against the Idlib de-escalation region in northwest Syria during the last 24 hours. Oleg Yegorov, deputy chief of the Center, said on Sunday that three cases of bombing by the terrorist Al Nusra Front were recorded in Idlib. On Friday, the Russian Center announced the liquidation of more than 20 Al-Nusra Front leaders and officials who were responsible for…

Six people were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in the Hasakah region of northeastern Syria on Sunday. The six victims, whose identities have not yet been released, were ambushed by Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorists on the Khurafi route heading to the eastern region of Deir ez-Zur, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. According to the UK-based monitor, Daesh has carried out 130 terrorist attacks in 2022 in regions of northeastern Syria that are under the control of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), leaving 104 dead, including 37 civilians and 67 SDF fighters. Meanwhile, the…

Europe’s largest economy is expected to shrink next year The German economy is headed for a sharp decline next year, researchers from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy warned on Thursday. “The German economy is in a downward spiral. The recent price jumps for electricity and gas will reduce the purchasing power of private households and lead to a decline in private consumer spending. In addition, the slowing world economy will dampen not only exports but also investment activity. As a result, the German economy will slide into recession once again, at a time when it was just recovering from the…

The two leaders didn’t see eye to eye on who is to blame for the dangerous situation at the facility Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone on Sunday, trading blame over the precarious situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine. During the “detailed and frank exchange of views,” Moscow drew attention to Ukraine’s repeated shelling of the plant’s facilities, including its radioactive waste storage, “which is fraught with catastrophic consequences,” the statement from the Kremlin read. The Russian side also informed Macron of the steps Moscow is taking to protect…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Thousands of Iraqis flooded the streets on Friday demanding a political overhaul. In scenes reminiscent of similar past protests in Lebanon, the Iraqi people are frustrated by the endemic corruption of political leaders. This anti-government protest began in October 2019 and has remained a constant source of unrest in Iraq. As in Lebanon, the corrupted ruling elite failed to form a government, which left the country in stagnation, and the people’s feelings on the boiling point. Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Rafid Sadeq, well known Iraqi journalist and political talk show host, to get…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is headed by Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, who said on August 18 that the OPEC+ oil production deal wants to keep Russia part of the alliance beyond 2022. “We would love to extend the deal with Russia and the other non-OPEC producers … it’s very hard for me to imagine that the deal will not continue,” Al Ghais said. “This is a long-term relationship that encompasses broader and more comprehensive forms of communication and cooperation between 23 countries. It’s not just in terms of production adjustment,”…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan told reporters recently, that Ankara needs to “secure further steps with Syria.” He added, “You have to accept that you cannot stop political dialogue and diplomacy between countries. There should always be such dialogue.” Ankara’s goal, he added, was not to defeat Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu disclosed previously that he spoke with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, at a Non-Aligned Movement summit held in Belgrade in October 2021, in the first public high-level meeting between Turkish and Syrian government officials since 2011. In…

Vladimir Rogov earlier told that Ukrainian saboteurs, according to preliminary information, were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant Ukrainian saboteurs who planned to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant were trained in the UK, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye Region, said during a Rossiya-1 TV broadcast on Thursday. “Not just studied English <…> but underwent special training under the guidance of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI-6. After that they returned to Ukraine, <..>, through Warsaw, ending up in Odessa and from there,…

A number of unmanned drones from the United States, “Israel”, and Gulf allies are aimed at targeting Tehran in the Gulf region. The US Navy, along with “Israel,” Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern countries, is working to establish a network of unmanned drones to limit Iran’s military in the region; a program that the Pentagon hopes will serve as a model for operations around the world. US commanders declined to reveal the number of airborne and marine drones deployed by the US and its partners or to provide data on where and how they are employed, citing secret information.…