Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Chinese government is calling on NATO to stop trying to destabilize Asia in the wake of the crisis in Europe, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said while commenting on Bloomberg’s report that China would be called a “systemic challenge” in NATO’s new strategic concept. “What NATO needs to do is to abandon the Cold War mindset, zero-sum games and the practice of creating enemy images. After the turmoil in Europe, NATO countries should abandon their attempts to destabilize Asia and the world,” Zhao told a news conference on Tuesday, TASS reported. “As a product of the Cold War and…

Sri Lanka is sending two government ministers to Russia to negotiate for fuel — one of the necessities nearly exhausted as a result of the Indian Ocean nation’s economic collapse. The plan comes as Washington and its allies aim to cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war against Ukraine. Since its invasion in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed, prompting a number of countries to seek out Russian crude, which is being offered at steep discounts. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the two ministers will leave for Russia on Monday to continue talks that…

Washington and other G7 capitals will target defense industry supply chains, the White House has announced The US and other G7 members are about to impose restrictions on “hundreds of individuals and entities” as part of its new round of sanctions on Russia, the White House announced on Monday. The measures will target Moscow’s military-industrial complex to deprive it of key technologies, a statement said. The leading Western economies – the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan – will “aggressively target” Russia’s major state-owned defense enterprises, defense research institutions, and other “defense-related” entities with “blocking sanctions,” the White House outlined. The goal of the restrictions is…

Russian Deputy Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky says the US was behind the Israeli strike on Damascus airport in Syria. “Israel” conducted airstrikes and hit Damascus International Airport earlier this month with tacit US approval, Russian Deputy Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on Monday. “On 10 June, Israeli air force again launched strikes against the territory of Syria, this time targeting the international airport of Damascus. The airport sustained heavy material damage – the tarmac was badly hit, which put on hold all flights, including humanitarian,” Polyansky said.  According to him, Israeli actions were conducted after receiving…

On June 27th, the Kiev regime claimed another Russian attack on a civilian target in Ukraine. A shopping center on an area of over 10 thousand square meters is burning in the city of Kremenchug in the Poltava region. Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed that Russian missiles hit the building. According to him, there were more than a thousand people inside. However, the number of victims is extremely low. The head of the Poltava regional military administration Dmitry Lunin reported in his Telegram channel that as of 6 pm local time it was known about two dead and 20 wounded. The…

At the same time, Yury Ushakov was uncertain whether Putin would attend the meeting in person or participate by video link Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted Indonesia’s invitation to take part in a summit meeting of the Group of 20, but the details are still being specified, presidential aide Yury Ushakov told the media on Monday. “Yes, we have confirmed. Our participation is due,” he said. At the same time, he was uncertain whether Putin would attend the meeting in person or participate by video link. “I do not know. For now, they have invited to participate personally, but…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on June 20 on his first stop of his Middle East tour that comes ahead of a visit from US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia next month. During the two-day visit to Egypt, companies from both countries signed agreements worth a total of $7.7 billion. MBS is a financial backer of the Egyptian government, with trade between Egypt and the kingdom up more than 62 percent last year compared with 2020, reaching $9.1 billion. Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia are…

On June 27, the assistant to the head of Chechnya in the power unit Mr Alaudinov claimed that Russian-led forces found evidence that the Severodonetsk airport should be turned into a large military base of NATO. He claimed: We have all the information and evidence that the airport of the city of Severodonetsk was being prepared for a NATO base. It was supposed to become the main airport in the area that is adjacent to the territory of the Russian Federation, to our borders. Large camps with planes, weapons, and military equipment were to be deployed there. In fact, probably…

Turkish Presidency Spokesperson says there are intelligence channels between Ankara and Damascus that are used periodically. There are periodic direct contacts between the Turkish intelligence agencies and their Syrian counterparts for the sake of national interests, Turkish presidency spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Monday. “Currently, there is no political contact with Syria, but as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, our intelligence agencies have periodic contact with their Syrian counterparts to serve our national interests,” Kalin told Haberturk. “It is not easy to convince the Syrian refugees to go back; they have fled from war and suffered greatly,” he added, noting that there…

High prices are caused by the lack of oil supply, the agency noted Brent oil prices may rise to $135 per barrel in the second half of the year amid insufficient supply on the world market, the IHS Markit consulting agency (part of S&P Global) forecasts in its analytical report, which was available to TASS. Currently, Brent oil price is $110 per barrel. However, already in the third quarter of 2022, the price may rise to $136.3 per barrel, IHS experts believe. In general, in the second half of the year, the price of oil will stay at $135 per…