China's President Xi Jinping: "changes have not happened since 100 years ago. When Russia and China come together, they will lead this change"

China's President Xi Jinping: "changes have not happened since 100 years ago. When Russia and China come together, they will lead this change"

    Wednesday, March 22, 2023   No comments

China's President Xi Jinping, Russia, on Wednesday, later expressed the country's solidarity with Moscow in the West, noting that the country's position on the war in Ukraine is a "neutral position".

Before leaving, Xi said that "changes have not happened since 100 years ago. When Russia and China come together, they will lead this change."

Butin's words: "I agree with you". Xi added: "Take care of yourself, my dear friend, please."

Regarding the visit, the statement issued by Beijing said that "the two leaders share the view that this relationship has far exceeded the bilateral scope, and has gained great importance for the world scene and the future of mankind."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement to the online Kremlin magazine that Russia and China are working to establish a "more just and democratic" world system with multiple poles.

He added that "this system must be based on the central role of the United Nations and the Security Council subordinate to it, international law, the objectives of the United Nations Charter and principles".

Regarding Ukraine, Putin praised the Chinese president for the peace plan he proposed last month and blamed Kiev and the West for rejecting it.

The Chinese leader arrived in Moscow on March 20, in his first foreign tour since the re-election of the third presidential term. The Russian and Chinese presidents signed documents to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, yesterday, Tuesday, in Moscow.

The former national security adviser in the White House, John Bolton, has said that "the alliance relations between Russia and China are a real problem for the Western countries, regardless of what is happening in Ukraine."

He added that the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow "will force the Western countries to think about their security", claiming that China has supported Russia since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, and did not try to remain neutral.

Replicating US State Department practice, China's Foreign Ministery issues a report on "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022"

Replicating US State Department practice, China's Foreign Ministery issues a report on "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022"

    Monday, March 20, 2023   No comments

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a report entitled "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022" on Monday. The report collects a multitude of facts, media comments and expert opinions to present a complete and real picture of American democracy over the year.

The full text of The State of Democracy in the United States report is published by Chinese FM and many Chinese media outlet. A PDF version is linked below.

From Moscow, Russia, Chinese president: "complex problems have no simple solutions"

From Moscow, Russia, Chinese president: "complex problems have no simple solutions"

    Monday, March 20, 2023   No comments

Chinese President Xi Jinping said, upon his arrival today, Monday, in Moscow, that "China is ready to stand by Russia to protect international law," stressing that his visit "will be fruitful and give a new impetus to the development of relations between the two countries."

And the Kremlin announced today, Monday, that the Chinese president and his Russian counterpart will discuss the plan proposed by Beijing to settle the conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "The topics mentioned in this (Chinese) plan on Ukraine will form part of the talks," adding that "the United States insists on its existing positions to continue fueling the conflict, obstructing the reduction of hostilities, and continuing to flood Ukraine with weapons."

Referring to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Chinese president said that "complex problems have no simple solutions," but there will be a way out if there is equal dialogue.

In an article by the Russian RIA Novosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspapers, Xi said that Beijing is convinced that a "rational way out" of the Ukrainian crisis will be found if everyone is guided by the concept of common, integrated and sustainable security, and they continue dialogue and consultations "in an equal, prudent and pragmatic manner."

He also noted that since the beginning of last year "there has been a complete aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis." "China has always taken an objective and impartial stance, and is making active efforts to promote reconciliation and peace negotiations," the Chinese president said.

The Chinese president also addressed the trade relations between China and Russia, stressing that "they need to increase the volume and quality of cooperation in the field of investment and trade." China-Russia trade in Jan-Feb soars 36.4% so far this year.

In the same context, the Chinese newspaper "Global Times" quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying that "China calls on the United States to stop blaming Beijing for the alleged arms supplies to Russia, and to start acting constructively on the issue of the crisis in Ukraine."

"China does not send weapons to the battlefield in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but the United States does," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was quoted as saying.

He also indicated that it is time for the United States to stop "fanning the flames and pointing fingers" on this issue, and "must play a constructive role in the Ukrainian crisis, not the other way around."

20 Years ago, Today, the United States Government and Allied Illegally Invaded Iraq

20 Years ago, Today, the United States Government and Allied Illegally Invaded Iraq

    Sunday, March 19, 2023   No comments

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in the UAE on a surprise official visit, and meets his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in the UAE on a surprise official visit, and meets his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

    Sunday, March 19, 2023   No comments

Today, Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the UAE on an official visit, where he met his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Syrian presidency stated, in a statement, that President al-Assad arrived "this afternoon in the United Arab Emirates on an official visit, during which he is accompanied by First Lady Asma al-Assad."

She added, "He was received upon his arrival at the presidential airport in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates," noting that they went to the Al-Watan Palace in the capital, Abu Dhabi, to start the talks.

In turn, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed said, "We held constructive talks with the Syrian president to support and develop brotherly relations for the benefit of the two countries."

"We are working to strengthen cooperation and coordination with Damascus on issues that serve stability and development," Mohammed bin Zayed added.

The delegation of the accompanying Syrian president included Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Samer Khalil, Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Azzam, Minister of Information Boutros Hallaq, Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Sousan, and Chargé d'Affaires of the Syrian Embassy in Abu Dhabi Ghassan Abbas.

It is noteworthy that the Emirati Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, on the 12th of last February, in the first visit by a prominent foreign official, in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the north of the country on the 6th of the same month.

China, Iran, Russia hold joint naval drills in Gulf of Oman

China, Iran, Russia hold joint naval drills in Gulf of Oman

    Saturday, March 18, 2023   No comments

Media review: China's GT, reported today about the navies of China, Iran and Russia holding a joint maritime exercise starting Wednesday in a move to enhance cooperation as well as to safeguard maritime security and regional peace.

Based on the consensus reached by the armed forces of China, Iran and Russia, the navies of the three countries will be holding the Security Belt-2023 joint maritime military exercise from Wednesday to Sunday in the Gulf of Oman, China's Ministry of National Defense (MOD) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Security Belt-2023 joint naval drill is a development of the two joint naval drills among China, Iran and Russia held in 2019 and 2022, with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy dispatching the guided missile destroyer Nanning to the exercise, mainly participating in training courses including aerial search, maritime rescue and maritime march past, reads the MOD statement.

  This video of the drills was released by the Russian military today:

  

Chechen Republic President explains why his troops are fighting in Ukraine

Chechen Republic President explains why his troops are fighting in Ukraine

    Friday, March 17, 2023   No comments

The President of the Chechen Republic has sent troops to Ukraine since the start of the military operation there. He offered many reasons for doing so—from protecting the Russian federation (fatherland), to fighting evil. With the increased number of Chechen and central Asian Muslims joining the “International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine”, the foreign armed group founded by order of the president of Ukraine, the leader of the Muslim republic found it necessary to justify his decision to send troops to fight for Russia to Muslims inside and outside Chechenia. In his most recent statement, Kadyrov showed a video that allegedly show Ukrainian government fighters burning the Quran, to recall the event of burning the Quran in Europe. He captioned the video with the following statement:

Turkey's ruling party considers Assad's conditions to meet Erdogan "inappropriate"

Turkey's ruling party considers Assad's conditions to meet Erdogan "inappropriate"

    Friday, March 17, 2023   No comments

A member of the Central Decision and Implementation Authority of the Turkish "Justice and Development" Party, Orhan Miri Oglu, confirmed today, Friday, that Damascus' conditions regarding negotiations between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are "inappropriate" to normalize relations between the two countries, pointing to the possibility of holding a meeting between them after the elections. Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14.

"Al-Assad demands Turkey to withdraw from Syrian territory as a condition for normalizing relations with Turkey. It is not permissible to raise the ceiling of demands in diplomatic relations with the start of the talks if the negotiating parties intend to reconcile, understand and find a solution to the differences," Merioglu said in an interview with "Sputnik" agency.

He continued, "Al-Assad's start to set preconditions for talks with Turkey gives the latter the right to demand that Damascus stop supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces."

He added, "The possibility of a meeting between Erdogan and Assad before the Turkish elections is very low. As for their meeting after the elections, it will become clear according to the results and balances of the elections."

Yesterday, Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said from Russia that "there is no disagreement between the Syrian and Turkish peoples, and the problem lies in the private ambitions of Turkish politicians."

Commenting on the possibility of meeting Erdogan, al-Assad affirmed that the priority is in "the withdrawal of illegal foreign forces, i.e. Turkish and American," noting that "Erdogan's priority is the elections and nothing else. As for Syria, the priority is the withdrawal and restoration of sovereignty."

And the Syrian president added that if the conditions are met, "there is no specific date for Erdogan's meeting, it may be today or tomorrow, and the timing is not a problem."

Last November, Erdogan hinted at the possibility of reconsidering relations with Damascus after the 2023 elections in Turkey, saying: "We can reconsider our relations with the countries with which we face problems, after the elections."

Likewise, the Turkish president said that he is "ready to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when the time comes," and he confirmed earlier that "low-level talks with the Syrian side are still on the way."

The Garden of Prosperity Today

The Garden of Prosperity Today

    Thursday, March 16, 2023   No comments

Scenes not from the jungle; from the garden of prosperity; Paris today:

After striking a security deal that opened the door to political normalization between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Shamkhani eyes security upgrades with UAE

After striking a security deal that opened the door to political normalization between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Shamkhani eyes security upgrades with UAE

    Thursday, March 16, 2023   No comments

The UAE National Security Adviser, also self-described as the architect of UAE national security, Tahnoon Bin Zayed, confirmed during the reception of the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, in the UAE, on Thursday, that cooperation with "strong Iran" is very important for the UAE. 

Tahnoun bin Zayed said, as quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, that "cooperation and friendship with the great and powerful country of Iran is very important and one of the priorities."

The Emirati adviser added that "the development of fraternal relations between Abu Dhabi and Tehran is one of the priorities of the United Arab Emirates", stressing that "the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a building block in the expansion of peace, stability and sustainable security in the region".

He continued: "I hope that Admiral Shamkhani's visit will be a turning point in the relations between the two countries and the development of cooperation between them", adding that cooperation and friendship with Iran is one of the priorities of the Emirates.

For my part, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of National Security of Iran considered this trip to the Emirates "a useful start for the two countries to enter a new stage" in political, economic and security relations.

Shamkhani said that "cooperation and rapprochement should be replaced by enmity and distance" in order to overcome the challenges that cannot be sustained in the interest of the countries of the region.

Earlier today, Shamkhani asserted, before leaving Tehran for Abu Dhabi, that "Tehran's goal in neighboring diplomacy is to create a strong region".

And at the end of 2021, the Minister of National Security of the UAE visited the Iranian capital, Tehran, and met with Shamkhani, in response to the latter's invitation.

A few days ago, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced their agreement to resume diplomatic relations and open embassies between the two countries within two months.

Shamkhani also met the president of UAE, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.