Tag Archives: Russia

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy to broker peace in Libya, although Russia and China abstained from voting on the resolution that also extended the U.N. mission in the country. Ghassan Salame, who headed the U.N. political mission and was also …

Acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told a former top aide to stop providing assessments of the threat of Russian interference in the Nov. 3 election and to play down U.S. white supremacist activity, according to a whistleblower complaint released on Wednesday. Brian Murphy, a former Homeland Security deputy …

Russia has stepped up its logistic support for private military contractor Wagner Group in Libya with some 338 military cargo flights from Syria in the nine months to July 31 to aid Wagner fighters backing eastern-based Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. …

Seven years after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the mass surveillance of Americans’ telephone records, an appeals court has found the program was unlawful – and that the U.S. intelligence leaders who publicly defended it were not telling the truth. In a ruling handed …

The United States was further isolated on Friday over its bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran with 13 countries on the 15-member U.N. Security Council expressing their opposition, arguing that Washington’s move is void given it is using a process agreed under a nuclear deal that it quit two …

Chinese government-linked hackers have been targeting U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the 2020 presidential election, White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday, indicating a more active level of alleged Chinese interference. O’Brien’s comments appeared to go beyond a statement released on Friday by the Office of the …

President Donald Trump’s suggestion on Thursday the Nov. 3 presidential election be delayed due to voter fraud was immediately rejected by lawmakers and dismissed by legal experts, but it raises the specter of a disputed election that could take weeks or even months to resolve. Here are some of the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called this week to discuss peace talks to end clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan that broke out mid-July. Both Russia and Turkey are fighting proxy wars in Syria and Libya, and if the situation in the Caucasus escalates the …

There’s no other place in the world where you can find more myths than reality, than in the vast domain of “Lebanese politics”. The charade of “lying”, producing “very special” effects, going by “exceptions” instead of rules and “inventing” circumstances, is in Lebanese politics always at its best. By Patricia …

After having concluded a $400 billion strategic deal with China Iran now aims to sign a long-term partnership agreement with Russia. From the Islamic Republic’s perspective, good relations with Moscow and Beijing, as well as possibility to expand economic cooperation with the two countries, will help Iran to easier cope …

Syria held a parliamentary election on Sunday, gripped by a collapsing economy and new U.S. sanctions after President Bashar al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country. People voted across government territory at more than 7,000 polling stations, including for the first time in former rebel bastions that the …

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday approved aid deliveries to Syria through one border crossing from Turkey, a day after its authorization for the six-year-long humanitarian operation ended, leaving millions of Syrian civilians in limbo. The United Nations describes the aid delivered from Turkey as a “lifeline” for Syrians …

A Russian bid to halve access for humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey to just one border crossing failed at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, garnering just four votes in favor from the 15-member body. Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the council from …

The US Treasury imposed mandatory sanctions on Syria on June 17, targeting foreign persons and entities for economic activities that support the Syrian government’s ability to wage war. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act targets beneficiaries of the Syrian conflict including Iran, and signals that the United States will not …

The civil war in Libya is currently on hold as Russia and Turkey are expected to reach a deal over the control of the strategically important city of Sirte. If no compromise is made, the conflict will likely escalate again, and other foreign powers are expected to directly involve in …

Russia flew a batch of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria, Moscow’s embassy in Damascus said, with Syrian pilots already using the planes to conduct missions within the country’s airspace. President Vladimir Putin last week ordered Russia’s foreign and defence ministries to hold talks with its close ally, Syria, to …

By James M. Dorsey | May 22, 2020 The United Arab Emirates and Turkey are locked into a regional power struggle that has fuelled conflict in Libya and could spark renewed fighting in Syria. It is a struggle, like that between Saudi Arabia and Iran, that threatens to keep the …

The U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty will affect the interests of all of its participants, who are also members of NATO, RIA state news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Thursday. Russia has not violated the treaty and nothing prevents the continuation of …

Lebanon is at risk of a major food crisis and many Lebanese may soon find it hard to afford bread because of an acute financial crunch and the fall-out of COVID-19, the prime minister warned. Writing in the Washington Post, Hassan Diab also warned of a global food security emergency …

Turkey accused the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its interventions in Libya and Yemen, allegations which are likely to inflame tensions between the regional rivals. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was responding to criticism of Turkey’s role in the Libyan conflict, where it …

Shells landed near the Turkish and Italian embassies in central Tripoli late on Thursday, they said, in an apparent expansion of bombardment by eastern-based forces to a central district of the Libyan capital. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has been bombarding Tripoli for months as part …

Syrian air defences thwarted an Israeli missile attack on a research centre and a military base in the northern province of Aleppo state media said on Monday in the fifth such strikes in two weeks on suspected Iranian targets. The Syrian army said in a statement that Israel hit military …

Behind a Saudi-Russian truce to stabilise oil markets with a record output cut, market players are seeing the two production heavyweights still trading blows in the physical market. The rivals said last week they were ready to take measures if necessary to balance the market by cutting combined output with …

In Russia, the proposed revision of the constitution has become a fight over history. One of the amendments on which Russians will vote at some point this year declares the right and obligation of the state to “protect historical truth.” It seems the establishment of a Russian equivalent of the …

President Donald Trump said on Monday that OPEC had not pressed him to ask U.S. oil producers to reduce their output to support global prices, which have been hard-hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump said U.S. oil production had already fallen, anyway. “I think it’s happening …

The OPEC+ crude oil exporter group is debating cutting global supply by 10 million barrels per day (bpd), an OPEC source said on Friday, adding that any further cuts must include producers from outside the alliance. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had brokered a deal that could …

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has invited U.S. oil executives to the White House to discuss ways to help the industry “ravaged” by slumping energy demand during the coronavirus outbreak and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Trump also said he had talked recently with the leaders …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed in a phone call the need to maintain stability in global energy markets as the world responds to the deadly coronavirus pandemic, with Pompeo saying Saudi Arabia can reassure markets, the State Department said on Wednesday. …

India plans to take advantage of low prices for oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to top up its strategic petroleum reserves (SPR), two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Global oil prices have fallen around 40% in March as the impact of the coronavirus …

Oil’s $30 price plunge this week has sharply increased strains on a number of pegged currencies in energy-exporting emerging markets, above all in Nigeria and Oman where currencies have come under pressure in forward markets. The coronavirus threat to an already fragile global economy and an oil price war between …

The United Arab Emirates joined Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in promising to raise oil output to a record high in April, as the two Gulf Arab oil producers in OPEC took a united stand in a standoff with Russia that has hammered global crude prices. The extra oil the two …

The Trump administration on Monday accused “state actors” of touching off an historic slump in global oil prices, and urged Russia’s ambassador to the United States to consider the importance of calming the markets. Oil prices suffered their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War on Monday as top …

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, plans to raise its crude oil production significantly above 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, after the collapse of the OPEC supply cut agreement with Russia, two sources told Reuters on Sunday. State oil giant Aramco will boost its crude output …

OPEC ministers are beginning to arrive to Vienna on Tuesday as the group debates whether to further reduce oil production to tackle deteriorating demand from the global spread of the new coronavirus. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia agreed in December a collective cut …

Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on Sunday and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers last week. Ankara has ramped up its attacks, including drone strikes, against the Russian-backed Syrian …

The United Nations reiterated its appeal on Friday for a halt to hostilities in northwest Syria, saying it feared that the violence “may end in a bloodbath”. Some 60% of the 900,000 people who have fled but are trapped in a shrinking space are children, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told …

Turkish forces have hit 115 Syrian government targets and destroyed 101 of them in retaliation for an attack that killed five Turkish soldiers in Syria’s rebel-held northwest, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Monday. The ministry said Turkish forces would continue to retaliate any attacks on its troops, which have …

Iran is ready to help Ankara and Damascus resolve their disputes, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. In a meeting between the visiting United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and Iranian officials, Tehran underlined the importance of resolving issues in Syria through diplomacy, it said on its …

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday repeated a call for all parties to respect the Iranian nuclear accord, despite Iran’s decision to intensify its enrichment of uranium and moves by the United States to impose economic sanctions. Under a deal brokered in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of …

Russia, backed by China, on Friday cast its 14th U.N. Security Council veto since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 to block cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey and Iraq to millions of Syrian civilians. The resolution, drafted by Belgium, Kuwait and Germany, would have allowed cross-border humanitarian deliveries …

A U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, the latest move in the chamber to push Republican President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara. The Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations …

The Dubai Business Women Council, DBWC, and a high-level European delegation yesterday discussed ways to foster cooperation and develop networking mechanisms with business communities. The business delegation, comprising 11 businesspersons representing some of the most prominent start-ups in Europe, including France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, Estonia and Italy, was …

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to discuss Iran’s nuclear deal and situation in the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at their bilateral meeting in Armenia on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Source: Reuters

Saudi Aramco has booked at least 120,000 tonnes of naphtha for September loading from Europe in a rare move as it seeks to plug a supply gap following attacks on its oil facilities on Saturday, industry sources said. Data from Refinitiv Oil Research shows that Aramco chartered vessel British Resolution …