Lavrov receives Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh

Lavrov receives Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh

    Monday, September 12, 2022   No comments

Today, Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with a delegation of the Hamas movement headed by the head of the Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

"On September 12, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, received the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, who is in Moscow at the head of the movement's delegation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement pointed out that "the talks focused on the developments in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian problem."

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow stressed "the importance of speeding up the restoration of Palestinian national unity on the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the need to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of international law, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the United Nations General Assembly and the Arab Peace Initiative."

On Saturday, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian "Hamas" movement, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in the Russian capital, Moscow, accompanied by a delegation from the movement's leadership.

In a press statement, Taher al-Nono, media advisor to Hamas leader, said that Haniyeh "has arrived in Moscow on a visit during which he intends to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and a number of Russian leaders and officials."

This visit comes after a high-level delegation from the "Hamas" movement, headed by the head of the International Relations Office, Musa Abu Marzouk, visited Moscow last May, aimed at holding talks with Russian officials on a number of important files related to the developments of the Palestinian cause.

Moscow criticized the position of Western countries in dealing with the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, noting at the time that "the West is very concerned about the situation in Ukraine... while it is indifferently watching the Israelis kill the Palestinians and destroy the Gaza Strip," describing the matter as a continuation of the "Western propaganda machine."

Will the Chechen armed forces help the Russian military regain control in Ukraine?

Will the Chechen armed forces help the Russian military regain control in Ukraine?

    Monday, September 12, 2022   No comments

The Chechen unit that helped secured Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Lisichansk, and Popasna forces took a vacation. 

Now, with Russian troops struggling in the face of a Ukrainian counterattack, the elite unit is back in action, led by Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov, one of Ramzan Kadyrov’s, president of the Chechen Republic, closest associates,

Adam Delimkhanov is a Chechen politician, serving the Russian State Duma since 2007. He is a member of the United Russia. He heads the Chechen branch of Rosgvardia.

In this video, he is seen reminding his troops of their accomplishments during their previous tour and explaining to them their new mission.

  

Russia forces in Ukraine concede territories previously under Russian control; blame tactical error for their losses in the east

Russia forces in Ukraine concede territories previously under Russian control; blame tactical error for their losses in the east

    Sunday, September 11, 2022   No comments

Russian military leaders admit that they fell for a Ukrainian plan that threatened a major attack in the south when in fact it was planning all along to attack in the northeast.

"The Russian forces concluded that the Ukrainian side tried to lure them into the Kharkov battle to launch the main attack in the direction of Uglidar,” one source said to media outlets.

Russian sources have also claimed that “American generals effectively contributed to the planning of this operation, and provided abundant intelligence information to the Ukrainian army, which is fighting in the ranks of hundreds of mercenaries.”

Now, they are assessing that Ukrainian forces are planning to retake territories in autonomous region. Some of the regional military leaders were dismissed due to this failure.

Russian sources now say that Ukrainian forces "are clearing minefields that they had previously set up on the outskirts of Ugledar in the Donetsk People's Republic, which indicates that they are preparing to launch an attack."

To regain their footing, Russian military leaders are deploying more Chechen military assets, as confirmed by the president of the Chechen Republic last week, in this video release.

However, today, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, voiced a rare public criticism of Russia's military mistakes in Ukraine pointing out "loss of strategic areas in eastern Ukraine," and pledging to restore all these areas recovered by Ukrainian forces during their counter-offensive that has been going on for days.

The Chechen news agency quoted Kadyrov as saying that "the Russian forces made mistakes, and if there are no changes, I will talk with their leadership to explain to them the situation on the ground," adding, "We will recover all the areas we lost in Kharkiv."

In an 11-minute audio message posted on his Telegram channel, Kadyrov rejected the loss of Izium, a vital supply hub, and acknowledged that the military campaign was "not going according to plan".

The rapid fall of Izyum in the Kharkiv region is the worst military loss for Russia since its forces were forced to withdraw from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, last March.

Video showing Chechen armed forces preparing to leave for Ukraine:

 

There will be no new agreement reviving the Iran Deal until after the November elections in the US, if ever

There will be no new agreement reviving the Iran Deal until after the November elections in the US, if ever

    Thursday, September 08, 2022   No comments

When the EU submitted what it called the final draft of an agreement that would allow the US to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), commonly known as the Iran Deal, and when EU foreign policy coordinator described Iran’s response to the text as “reasonable”, many observers thought that a signing was just days away. Now, after receiving the US response to the text, many are skeptical that a deal is possible. Considering all the factors at play, it is unlikely that the US administration will be able to sign off on a deal before the midterm general elections. That is our best informed prediction, regardless of what the reporting seem to suggest. The conflicting statements, over this past few days, appear to bolster this prediction.

Just today, Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stressed that Iran is still in the process of reaching a good, strong and sustainable agreement, but that America should refrain from using vague literature in the draft final text of the agreement.

 

Amir Abdullahian's statements came during a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, during which they discussed and exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues and negotiations to lift the embargo.

 

In turn, Wang Yi said: "We reject unilateralism at the international level and support Iran's reasonable demands in the nuclear negotiations."

 

Today, the Coordinator of Strategic Communications in the US National Security Council, John Kirby, confirmed that the United States at the present moment is not close to an agreement with Iran on a deal regarding its nuclear program.

 

Earlier, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he was "less optimistic" about a quick agreement to revive the Iran nuclear deal than he was a short time ago.

Russia’s war strategy in Ukraine and the role of the Chechen armed forces

Russia’s war strategy in Ukraine and the role of the Chechen armed forces

    Thursday, September 08, 2022   No comments

The war strategy in Ukraine is now emerging: use air and missile strikes to degrade Ukrainian defensive positions and then send the infantry forces to clear and hold territories. That is what happened in the city of Mariupol during the first four months of the operation, and this is what is happening now in the south near Kharkov and in the east. In Mariupol and the Donbas region, the infantry consisted mainly of 10,000 Chechen troops. Those forces returned home in June. Since then, there appeared little progress on the ground but constant bombardment from air and from distance. 

With Ukrainian troops leaving their defensive positions in the south to execute a plan to retake Kharkov and push Russian forces east of the river, Russian forces were able to target the exposed Ukrainian troops and plan for the next phase, which appear to aim at taking more ground and increasing the buffer zone it has created around the areas that will be declared autonomous republics. This is where ground troops will be needed. Again, Chechen armed forces seem to be the go-to option. Today, Chechen officials arranged for the transport of thousands of elite fighters who will be deployed in areas “beyond the Donbas” region.

Meanwhile, today, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces repelled an attack by Ukrainian forces on the Kharkov axis, inflicting losses on the attacking forces of more than 50 people.

According to the ministry, the nationalist battalion "Kraken" opened fire on the retreating, killing most of them.

The Defense Ministry also announced the downing of eight Ukrainian drones over the Kharkov and Kherson provinces, as well as the interception of two American-made AGM-88 Harm missiles over the Antonov Bridge area.

The Russian Air Defense Forces also intercepted a "Tochka-O" ballistic missile in the Bezymyanoy district of Kherson Province, and 48 missiles, including 44 "Himars" missiles, were intercepted in the "Mozikovka", "Znamenka", "Vesuloye" and "Kamenka" regions, "Darievka", "Novaya Kakhovka", "Perslav", "Dnebriani" and "Tomarino".

Simultaneously, the Ministry announced that the units of the 72nd Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade, in the Artemovsk region of the Donetsk People's Republic, refused to carry out orders and left their positions and left, due to heavy losses, low equipment, and lack of fire support.

Also, the Ukrainian forces lost another 350 personnel on the Nikolaev-Krivoy Rok axes, during the past 24 hours, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

"During the day, the Kyiv regime continued its unsuccessful attempts to conduct offensive operations on the Nikolaev-Kryvi Rok axes," the ministry said in a statement.

Video documenting Chechen armed forces deployment to Ukraine:

From the Croatian capital, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Ukrainian grain is exported to rich countries but not poor ones

From the Croatian capital, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Ukrainian grain is exported to rich countries but not poor ones

    Thursday, September 08, 2022   No comments

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country wants to start exporting grain from Russia as well, similar to the export of Ukrainian grain.

Speaking at a press conference with his Croatian counterpart, Zoran Milanovic, in the capital Zagreb, which he is visiting as part of a tour of the Balkans, Erdogan added, "Grains are exported to rich countries, but not poor ones. Unfortunately, Ukrainian grain is exported to rich countries but not poor ones."

Erdogan recalled the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his annoyance over the export of Ukrainian grain to countries that impose sanctions on Russia.

He continued, "There is a delay in the start of grain exports from Russia, and I will discuss this issue in detail during my meeting with President Putin next week, and all we hope for is that the grain reaches poor countries."

And he added: "Most of all this is the issue of energy. Energy prices are rising. Now Europe is confused about how to face the next winter, and I hope this crisis ends well."

The Turkish President and his Croatian counterpart chaired the meeting of the two countries' delegations, after the end of their bilateral meeting at the Croatian Presidential Palace in the capital Zagreb.

On Wednesday, Putin stressed that "the West was not fair enough regarding the grain shipment deal from Ukraine, because most of the grain shipments did not go to the poorest developing countries, but to Europe."

Earlier, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, said that "Ukrainian grain ships are heading to places other than those they were intended to go to."

Last July 22, a Russian-Ukrainian memorandum of understanding was signed in Istanbul, under the auspices of the United Nations Secretariat, on facilitating the movement of Russian food products and fertilizers on world markets.

In another context, the Turkish president announced that the volume of trade exchange between Turkey and Croatia amounted to $900 million last year.

Russian-Chinese agreement: “Siberia Power” gas payments in rubles and yuan

Russian-Chinese agreement: “Siberia Power” gas payments in rubles and yuan

    Tuesday, September 06, 2022   No comments

Russia's Gazprom and China's CNPC have agreed to transfer payments for gas supplied through the "Siberia Power" to the ruble and yuan.

In a related context, the Russian government is studying a proposal saying that "Moscow may buy between three and four billion dollars worth of Chinese yuan, per month, until the end of the year, to help stop the rise of the ruble."

On August 12, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, announced Friday that "China will continue to increase national currency settlements in trade with Russia."

"Currently, the sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries on Russia have caused certain obstacles in trade cooperation between Russia and China. The competent authorities of the two countries need to improve coordination and interaction in order to solve all the difficulties associated with this," the ambassador told Sputnik.

In related news, and commenting on the energy crisis in Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, Tuesday, that Europe will witness a difficult winter against the background of the gas crisis, stressing that Russia was forced to use this weapon after European sanctions, noting that "Turkey does not face that problem."

"Ankara does not have a gas problem, and Putin was forced to use the gas weapon against Europe's position and its sanctions," Erdogan told reporters, before heading to the Balkan countries, including Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia.

The Turkish president explained that "Europe will live in a difficult situation this winter because of the gas outage... However, we do not have any problem with natural gas so far," noting that "Europe is reaping the fruits of what it sowed by taking measures and decisions against Russia, and the latter used the weapons that it has sown." With her hand, the most important of which is gas.

A document seen by Reuters on Monday showed that European Union energy ministers are set to discuss options to rein in high energy prices, including setting gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants.

On August 28, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that the European Union will face, in the short term, serious challenges with regard to sanctions imposed on Russia, due to the situation in Ukraine.

Macron: Dialogue with Russia must continue; Iran: Iran: A senior European president asked Iran's president, Raisi, to mediate in the Ukrainian crisis

Macron: Dialogue with Russia must continue; Iran: Iran: A senior European president asked Iran's president, Raisi, to mediate in the Ukrainian crisis

    Thursday, September 01, 2022   No comments

 Macron: Dialogue with Russia must continue

French President Emmanuel Macron called today for the continuation of dialogue with Russia, stressing that "we must assume that we can always continue talking with everyone", especially "with whom we do not agree."

"Who wants Turkey to be the only power in the world that continues to talk to Russia?" Macron asked in front of the French ambassadors meeting at the Elysee Palace.

He continued, "We should not give in to any form of wrong morale that may make us helpless," stressing that "the diplomat's profession is to talk to everyone, especially people with whom we do not agree."

He added, "We will continue to do this ... in coordination with our allies," recalling that "the division of Europe" is "one of the objectives of Russia's war."

The French president is one of the few European leaders who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24, in a strategy that has been criticized.

The last phone call between the French president and his Russian counterpart dates back to August 19, during which they discussed the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant and the organization of a visit by a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the facility.

For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played the role of mediator between Moscow and Kiev at the beginning of the war. An agreement was reached between Moscow and Kiev in July in Istanbul, under the auspices of Ankara and the United Nations, to export Ukrainian grain from the ports bordering the Black Sea.

Iran: A senior European president asked Iran's president, Raisi, to mediate in the Ukrainian crisis

The Iranian President's Assistant for Political Affairs, Mohammad Jamshidi, revealed that "one of the senior presidents of Western Europe asked Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to help mediate a solution to the war crisis in Europe."

And he said in a tweet on Twitter, "After assessing the matter, an initiative was developed that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, would bring to Moscow with an important message."

For its part, the Iranian news agency ISNA revealed that "the Western president who asked Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi to mediate a solution to the war crisis in Europe is French President Emmanuel Macron."

It is noteworthy that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is visiting Moscow today to hold consultations with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Before leaving Iran, Amir Abdollahian said, "Western parties want Iran to play an active role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis."

Russia's Complex and complicated relations with Iran--Religion, communism, Islam, Gorbachev, Khomeini, Putin and Khamenei

Russia's Complex and complicated relations with Iran--Religion, communism, Islam, Gorbachev, Khomeini, Putin and Khamenei

    Tuesday, August 30, 2022   No comments

About 33 years ago, the founder and the first leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran sent a letter to the (would be last) leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tell him, among other things, that he "must face the truth: the principal problem of your country is not the question of property, economy and liberty, but the lack of true belief in God. The same problem has led or will lead the West to decadence and deadlock." Khomeini died six months after sending the letter, on June 3, 1989, at the age of 86. The Soviet Union, which was officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was dissolved on December 26, 1991--at the age of 69, when Vladimir Putin, now the president of Russia, was 39 years old. Gorbachev died today, August 30, 2022, at the age of 91. Putin, now 69, just visited Iran (July 19, 2022) to establish a strategic partnership with Iran, now led by Khomeini’s successor, Ali Khamenei, 83 years old, who was 50 years old and president of Iran when the letter was sent. The Picture of the current two leaders, Putin and Khamenei, may capture the transformation the two nation-states and these two leaders went through.

The letter is being republished here to reflect on where these two countries (and the world) and these two leaders were then and where they are now.

Environmental degradation is a crime whose effects are disproportionately shouldered by the poor and the future of humanity--the childen

Environmental degradation is a crime whose effects are disproportionately shouldered by the poor and the future of humanity--the childen

    Monday, August 29, 2022   No comments

Pardon this editorial rant; but it has to be said; for the lives lost, and the lives to be lost, the lives that did not have to be lost if it were not for our greed and gluttony.

-- The Editors