Author: Steven Sahiounie

by Tim Korso The US recently announced its intent to stay in the Arab Republic in order to “keep the oil” and channel revenues from it to the local Kurdish militia, despite protests from Damascus. Syria is considering filing an international suit against the American government over its actions in the eastern part of the country, Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV. “Syria is looking into the possibility of filing an international lawsuit against the United States, due to the fact that they steal Syrian oil”, she said. Previously, Syrian Ambassador to UN Bashar al-Ja’afari accused…

The office of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) officially requested Turkey’s military aid. The head of the Russian Contact Group for the intra-Libyan settlement, Lev Dengov, confirmed that GNA officially requested military aid – “air, sea, ground” support – from Turkey. Earlier in the day, several media reported that Tripoli-based GNA had made a formal request. “Yes, it is true. The office of GNA confirmed that it had officially asked Turkey for military aid — air, sea, ground,” Dengov said. Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara is still ready to consider the possibility of sending troops to Libya if such a…

Russia and Turkey have conducted joint patrols in Syria’s Aleppo province along the Syria-Turkey border, Major General Yuri Borenkov, the head of the Russian Centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Thursday. “Another joint Russian-Turkish patrol was conducted along a route … in the province of Aleppo”, Borenkov said at a briefing, adding that air patrolling was also being conducted by the Russian forces. In addition, he said that patrols by Russian military police continued on several routes in Hasakah and Aleppo provinces. These patrols are part of the Russia-Turkey deal on the buffer zone in northern Syria. Following talks between Russian…

Syrian and Russian companies began joint work on oil and gas geological exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, said Wednesday. “This is the first time I say this — Syria began joint work with Russian companies on oil and gas geological exploration in the Mediterranean Sea,” Shaaban said in an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen broadcaster. She added that the Syrian authorities began preparing for this project several years ago. In 2017, Syrian President Assad said that the Syrian government has reached contracts with a number of Russian oil and gas companies and would continue…

By Tim Korso The Trump administration is trying to find a new approach to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as it believes that further pressure on him and his country over the purchase of Russian defence systems and Turkey’s operation in Syria could push Ankara to develop closer ties with Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in the US. Despite this understanding, however, the US still intends to impose economic sanctions against Turkey, the sources told the media outlet, explaining that President Donald Trump would have to “contend with angry US lawmakers”, who recently passed bills that envisage…

Twenty American soldiers have been recorded this year among those killed during the US conflicts in Afghanistan, making 2019 the deadliest year since Washington officially announced an end to operations in 2014. A 33-year-old US Army Green Beret was the 20th person to die on Monday after sustaining injuries in an explosion in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz on December 22. Sgt. 1st Class Michael James Goble was on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, when he got killed. Sgt. 1st Class Goble was more than just a member of the 7th Special Forces Group,” the group’s commander,…

Hong Kong marked Christmas Eve with a new round of clashes between rioters and Police officers. The main clashes took place in the shopping hubs of Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. In order to contain the violence, in some cases, Police were forced to use tear gas and pepper balls at the rioters. Police added that a “large group of rioters” had built barricades, damaged traffic lights and dug up bricks on the area pf Peninsula Hotel. The scale of riots in comparison with the previous rounds of violence remained relatively low. However, the fact that the leaders of the…

Drones from the US base in Al Tanf conducted a strike against oil facilities in the Syrian province of Homs on December 12, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on December 23 at the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “The US, using its illegal military base in Al Tanf, sent drones to Homs and committed air strikes by them against the oil refining infrastructure. It took place four days ago,” the Minister commented. “I would like to note that this occured in winter, when we have a pressing need for oil and gas. Yesterday Israel made an attack…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that 2,000 Russian and 5,000 Sudanese mercenaries are participating in the Libyan conflict on the side of the Libyan National Army (LNA). The Turkish President made this claim in Tunisia on December 25. He arrived in the country to discuss with its leadership the situation in neighbouring Libya, in which Ankara supports the LNA’s rival – the Government of National Accord (GNA). The main reason of the Turkish ‘friendship’ with the GNA is that it had signed a maritime memorandum that helps Ankara to legalize its controversial drilling activities in the Eastern So, now,…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator The more than 1,200 US troops illegally occupying eastern Syria are not coming home anytime soon. They are acting as the security guards of the newest American ‘state-owned’ oil company.  The US has always billed itself as a Capitalist nation, and the current US administration has used the word, Socialist as if it was the plague; however, the Trump government is now operating as a Socialist regime, with ‘state-owned’ companies generating revenue, and the US soldiers working as security guards.  The Pentagon lawyers are busy trying to find a legal footing to defend the US position…