Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, expressed confidence that relations between Beijing and Minsk will develop rapidly. Xi and Lukashenko met on Thursday in Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. “I am convinced that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, relations between China and Belarus will continue to develop healthy and rapidly,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as saying. The Chinese leader noted that Lukashenko visited China twice in 2023, and together, they developed a new plan to enhance the China-Belarus comprehensive strategic partnership. “Since the beginning…

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has urged European nations to impose sanctions on Israeli officials violating international human rights laws as he warned that Israel’s war on Gaza was affecting the entire Middle East, including southern Lebanon. “The situation in the Gaza Strip does not only affect the Palestinian issue but the entire region and contributes to further escalations, which is currently happening in southern Lebanon,” he said on Thursday. He was speaking at a panel discussion titled “Wars and shadow wars: What are Europe’s options in the Middle East?” at the European Council on Foreign Relations…

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Kremlin. Last time, the two politicians met in October, 2023, at the Belt and Road forum in China. For the next six months, Hungary will chair the European Council. On June 2, Orban visited Kiev as the leader of a European Council presiding nation, where he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Orban offered Zelensky conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine, but Zelensky rejected them, according to his office. The prime minister himself explained that he represented the European continent, and peace is in its…

The Hamas movement revealed that its political bureau head, Ismail Haniyeh, held several phonecalls with mediators in Egypt and Qatar over the past few hours, to discuss an agreement that would halt the Israeli aggression against Gaza. In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Hamas affirmed that it was dealing positively with the ongoing deliberations, noting that Haniyeh also contacted officials in Turkey regarding the latest developments. The Mossad announced that mediators Qatar and Egypt have conveyed Hamas’ updated response to the proposed hostage and ceasefire deal to the Israeli negotiation team, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported Wednesday, adding that “Israel” was currently examining…

The European Union has imposed steep new tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China following an anti-subsidy probe

US sanctions policies will eventually result in the dollar losing its longstanding dominance in the global economy

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, received on Wednesday a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Saudi Press Agency said. The pair discussed the latest developments in Gaza and Sudan. Separately, Prince Faisal congratulated Badr Abdel Aaty, Egypt’s newly appointed foreign minister, on assuming his new post. In a call, Prince Faisal expressed his keenness to work together to build on the deep-rooted bilateral relations between the two countries, and to continue cooperation and coordination in a way that serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples.  Source: Arab News

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, at a meeting of the Council of heads of SCO member states in Astana on Thursday, that ensuring the security of member states within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) remains a primary focus of the organization’s efforts. Putin highlighted plans to enhance the SCO regional anti-terrorist structure to effectively address this objective, adding, “Of course, one of the priorities in the SCO’s activities has been and remains the maintenance of the security of state participants along the perimeter of the external borders. This is exactly what the decisions taken today on the transformation of the…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, and discussed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. “The meeting addressed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Qatar, Israel’s attacks on Palestine, the Israeli threat to Lebanon as well as regional and global issues,” Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on X. Emphasizing that the spread of Israel’s aggression in the region is “dangerous,” Erdogan said: “The international community, particularly the Islamic world, must take immediate steps and work together to prevent this and to stop Israel.” He highlighted the importance of increasing…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to visit Kazakhstan in November. “I believe this is simply necessary to maintain the pace of cooperation between our countries. I hope to see you again, this time on a state visit to our country,” Tokayev said. “I would like to express my gratitude to you for the invitation to pay a state visit to Kazakhstan. Of course, it is most rational to do it in connection with the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Thank you for the invitation, I certainly accept it,” Putin…