English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For 25 July/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus teaches His Disciples the Holy Prayer: Our Father
Luke 11/01-04: “He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.Give us each day our daily bread.And forgive us our sins,for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’”

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 24-25/2022
 Al-Rahi tells those who moved against al-Hajj that 'collaborators' are somewhere else
Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj in his homelytoday: I will not retreat from my apostolic work.
Archbishop Aoudi: What happened with Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj is unacceptable and warns of a new approach to security and judicial dealings that will lead to serious repercussions
Consensus on Lebanese president still elusive, Suleiman Franjieh, Joseph Aoun lead pack
Lebanon's basketball team beaten in Asia Cup final by Australia
Beyond an Archbishop and Sending Money and Medicine/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 24/2022
Three initiatives for post-Aoun Lebanon ....If Mikati becomes caretaker president, Christians are likely to be horrified/Sami Moubayed/Gulf News/July 24/2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 24-25/2022
Pope arrives in Canada on tour of ‘penance’ for indigenous abuse
US Doubts Khamenei Wants a Nuclear Agreement
Iran Says Foils Attacks on 'Sensitive' Sites
Iran Carries Out 1st Public Execution in 2 Years
Russia Says it Struck Ukrainian Warship, Harpoon Missiles Depot in Odesa
Israeli forces shoot dead 2 Palestinians in West Bank ...60 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since start of the year
Russia FM visits Egypt, part of Africa trip amid Ukraine war
Kuwaiti emir’s son named prime minister by decree
Jordanian King condemns border attacks by ‘Iran-tied militias’
US special envoy begins tour of Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia
King Salman receives Kazakhstan’s highest award during president’s visit
Closing Jewish Agency would hurt Israel-Russia ties: Lapid
Attack on Syria church gathering kills 2: state media
UN health agency chief declares monkeypox a global emergency

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 24-25/2022
Why Putin Must Be Defeated/Guy Millière/ Gatestone Institute./July 24/2022
Biden should count on diplomacy to save his presidency/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/July 24/2022
Who will call the shots in the Indian Ocean?/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/July 24/2022
Turkey returns empty-handed from Tehran summit/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/July 24/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 24-25/2022
Al-Rahi tells those who moved against al-Hajj that 'collaborators' are somewhere else
Naharnet/July 24/2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday slammed those who "fabricate cases," in reference to the measures that have been taken against Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj. "What Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj was subjected to has violated the dignity of the church, and authorities' attempt to turn it into a merely legal issue is futile," al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. "It is unacceptable to harrass a bishop without consulting with his authority, which is the patriarchate. We reject these police-state actions that have political motives and we demand that everything confiscated from Archbishop Hajj be returned to him," the patriarch added. Addressing those whom he said are "insulting Lebanon," al-Rahi said: "Stop saying that the aid is coming from collaborators and search for the collaborators somewhere else, because you know where they are and who they are."

Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj in his homelytoday: I will not retreat from my apostolic work.
LCCC/24 July 2022
Archbishop Moussa El-Hajj presided over the mass that was held in the Church of Our Lady in his town of Aintoura. In his sermon he dwelled on thef "The Spirituality of the Messenger". He said, “In the face of the rise in hostility to Jesus without reason on the part of the Pharisees, Christ did not respond with a spirit of hostility, nor did he demand revolution and violence, nor did he confront them with his popular account among the people, but chose to stay away from them and continue his apostolic work with his disciples in the spirit of love and meekness. and fame." He added, "His turning away was not fleeing or fearing. When the hour comes, he himself will come and surrender himself spontaneously and voluntarily to pain, crucifixion, and death." The audience understands the implicit message. The bishop is a disciple of his "master" who humbly tries to follow in his footsteps. As for preacher he said, "What happened to me last Monday, at the Naqoura crossing, I will summarize it in some points. I had a feeling that something apparently negative would happen to me, but it would be positive on the spiritual and ecclesiastical level. Just as the Pharisees were waiting for Jesus, so there were people waiting for me because they did not me to do good to those who hate you, up to the verse" Whoever hits you on the right cheek, submit to him the left one.” And “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, then disgrace him.” To conclude, “With these intentions and purposes, I trust in God and am going, as Christ said, “Go like sheep among wolves, (...) and I hope that difficulties will be overcome and disagreements will be resolved because my help is from the Lord, so who shall I fear?”

Archbishop Aoudi: What happened with Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj is unacceptable and warns of a new approach to security and judicial dealings that will lead to serious repercussions
LCCC/24 July 2022
Orthodox Archbishop Elias Aoudi considered that "what happened with Archbishop Moussa Hajj is unacceptable and warns of a new approach in security and judicial dealings that leads to serious repercussions at the national level." He described it as "dangerous and unacceptable, and we hope it will not happen again." He added: "If the arrest of Archbishop Al-Hajj is a message to the church in order to silence its voice, then the church does not submit to intimidation and maliciousness, does not fear but its Lord, does not implement except His teachings, and hears only the voice of conscience and duty, and its duty is to respect and love man, preserve his dignity and defend his freedom." Aoudi said: “What happened in the past few days calls for questioning and suspicion: the arrest of a defenseless bishop except for some humanitarian aid to citizens whose state has impoverished them, while smugglers and those who drain the people’s money, food and medicine are released and smuggled, and questioning an honorable official who performs his duty instead of questioning and punishing the law and the constitution. And whoever exploits his influence and position, and whoever transcends the state, its authority, prestige and sovereignty.”

Consensus on Lebanese president still elusive, Suleiman Franjieh, Joseph Aoun lead pack
The Arab Weekly/July 24/2022
Analysts say that the more likely option so far is the candidacy of Franjieh, whose profile seems to fit Hezbollah’s conditions. This, however, will not preclude the emergence of the army chief as a compromise candidate. Lebanese political sources say the head of the Lebanese Forces (LF) party, Samir Geagea, has said he was ready discuss the option of the Lebanese army chief, Joseph Aoun's nomination for president, as part of efforts by the LF to unite the opposition behind one candidate. In the meanwhile, the parties in power have not decided yet whether to nominate the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh, or the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, for the position. Geagea, who had previously announced within his own party that he was considering running for president, said, "I do not know what are General Joseph Aoun's chances of reaching the presidency, and I hope they are good, because, as he succeeded in his small role, he can succeed in the big role as well. If it turns out that his chances are good, of course we will support him." He added, "He managed the army quite well, improved the situation in that institution and acted as a real statesman at its helm. He did not accept, despite the pressures to which he was subjected from the highest level of government, that the army to deviate from the course of its duties, i.e. protecting the external borders, as well as ensuring internal security, which is today in a very acceptable situation".
The Lebanese president is generally elected based on internal and external consensus. For all practical purposes, it is easier to agree on a president who enjoys a favourable consensus than on a president who is affiliated with the “March 8 Alliance”, such as President Michel Aoun. However, no regional or international understandings on the matter have yet been reached. Analysts say that the most likely option so far is the candidacy of Franjieh, whose profile seems to fit the conditions of Hezbollah and some other political forces. This, however, will not preclude the emergence of the army chief as a compromise candidate, especially if a maritime border demarcation agreement is reached with Israel. Sources say that, contrary to speculation, Hezbollah does not oppose the nomination of the commander of the Lebanese army just because of his close relations with the United States and other international powers. But a political arrangement is needed for Joseph Aoun to be the agreed candidate. If no such political deal is reached, re-election of the incumbent could come up as an option in order to avoid disrupting constitutional institutions, creating a presidential void or jeopardising the Christians’ political role. The opposition faces an even more daunting task in building support for a consensus candidate for president than in its ill-fated attempt to elect a new speaker of parliament earlier this year. Just as the Hezbollah-Amal alliance managed to re-elect Nabih Berri by 65 votes as speaker of the House of Representatives, they may succeed in handing over the presidency to Franjieh by half plus one of the votes in the second round. But opposition and pro-change forces need to unify their ranks in order to meet the presidential nomination challenge. But initial indications do not suggest the opposition is likely to unite behind the Joseph Aoun’s candidacy. Most political parties have not put out clear positions on the nomination of the army chief. But sources close to the independent and pro-change forces speak of opposition to the army chief’s nomination based on their opposition to the “militarisation” of the regime. Analysts say Joseph Aoun's nomination by the opposition could be a test balloon about reaching an agreement on the choice of the army chief himself, especially since the choice of army leader has historically also been reached by consensus.

Lebanon's basketball team beaten in Asia Cup final by Australia
Jamie Prentis/The National/Jul 24, 2022
The form of The Cedars was a rare bright spot for a country suffering from a devastating economic collapse
Lebanon’s men's basketball team fell agonisingly short in their attempt to win the Fiba Asia Cup after they were beaten 75-73 by Australia in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday evening.
The Cedars were behind by 14 points heading into the fourth quarter, but a dramatic late charge saw them close the gap to two by the final whistle. The team's stunning run to the final, which also saw them defeat Jordan and Asian powerhouse China in the knockout stages, has been a rare bright spot for a country enduring one of the worst economic downturns in modern history. An economic collapse, that first became apparent in 2019, has plunged much of the population into poverty and led to the local currency losing more than 90 per cent of its value. There are also widespread shortages in water, electricity, medicine and other basic necessities. The August 2020 explosion at Beirut’s port, which killed more than 200 people and injured at least 7,000, and the Covid-19 pandemic have only exacerbated the situation. The 2020 explosion has been blamed on mismanagement and corruption, and is viewed as a symptom of — but also symbolic of — the country's mounting systemic problems. “What we've done is already enough for the Lebanese people to have a breath of fresh air again," said Rami Naamani, an ardent basketball fan from Beirut. "Just to see there's a light in this country, somehow, through a sport. Because otherwise, there's no hope I think. Whatever they do today, we have our heads held high." Wael Arakji, who top-scored with 28 points, was named the tournament’s most valuable player. The Fiba Asia Cup takes place every four years and comprises teams from Asia and Oceania as of 2017. Its predecessor, the Asia Championship, in which Lebanon appeared in the final three times, comprised only Asian teams. But that last appearance was in 2007 and the team was suspended in 2013 amid infighting at the country’s basketball federation. Mr Naamani, a follower of both the Lebanese national team and the National Basketball Association, said it was the team's chemistry that made them so great. In the last three or so years, the team has been in the process of being rebuilt, he added. “They're very unselfish. You can feel this. They are one unit, we have been missing that for a while. Now we have a young team. They are growing together and getting better together. I think this is the main reason [for their success]. It's not all about skill. It's more like the chemistry and the fight they're showing us,” he said. Lebanon politicians were quick to heap praise on the team following the end of their campaign. President Michel Aoun said they had shown that "nothing is impossible" with willpower. He said the team had sent a message to the world "that you are from a country that has not and will not surrender". But the intervention of politicians, who are held responsible for Lebanon's competing woes, is not without controversy. When Lebanon beat China, which has a population of 1.4 billion, Arakji responded strongly to a message from Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati congratulating the side. In a Facebook message, he said: "Tell him we don't need his congratulations and we're trying to clean the excrement he and his fellow politicians put us in. So [if] he can keep his mouth shut, it'll be better. "We come from a broken country. We come from a country that’s full of sadness. So, we just want to make our people happy.”

Beyond an Archbishop and Sending Money and Medicine
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 24/2022
Creating what has become known as the Maronite Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj affair after he was apprehended at the Naqoura Crossing in southern Lebanon sums up the entire country’s state of affairs: What mindset and kind of governance are intended for it? How the country is intended to be?
This incident could have played out in several ways different from the actual chain of events: The whole thing could have been avoided altogether. It could have served as a reminder of the situation we currently find ourselves in. Collaborators who had fled to the “occupation entity” sent money and medicine to their families in the “country of resistance.” The incident’s interesting symbolism could have been noticed amid the country’s sectarian stark polarization: a religious cleric carries money and medicine to compatriots from a different sect, as well as those of his sect...
What happened, once again, is that the incident was rendered an occasion for raising tensions, agitating, and slandering. Treacherous collaborators and spies are all over the place. Brute normalization is knocking on our door!
By the way, if one of the arguments for opposing normalization is that we must not benefit Israel and improve its economy, in this case, money and medicine are being taken out of Israel and sent our way! Yes, we do not want to benefit it nor benefit from it.
In other words, turning the incident into a closed case whose protagonists are conspirators takes us back to the start. This approach, as we well know, is the unrelenting objective of all the parties who do not see a national association or human association, as anything but a domain for mobilizing supporters, stirring hostility, and leaving us all on the brink of war.
The objective this time, as has already been noted by several Lebanese observers, is “sending a message to the Maronite Patriarch,” whose political stances have become explicitly divergent from the policies of those running the country. Here, we should keep in mind that previously, the circumstances surrounding the Amer Fakhoury (a warden at the Khiam Detention Center) affair allowed for him to be treated differently. Fakhoury was very respectfully taken from his cell to an American plane that flew him to Cyprus.
Today, we only have collusion and collaboration files opened against a particular community, whose spiritual leader is the Patriarch.
This ability to go back, time and again, to the same pattern of behavior stems from one of two things:
- Either the faction stirring the tensions and slandering its rivals is convinced of what it is saying when it claims that those who oppose it are nothing but a handful of agents and spies...
- Or it realizes that those who oppose it are solid civil communities, a broad segment of society that does not share its opinion and must thus be ruled by the boot.
In all likelihood, the latter hypothesis is more probable, as today, no one, be they with or against Hezbollah’s resistance, is under the illusion that there is a consensus around this resistance and its vision.
And so we are facing a community that wants to impose its opinion, domination, and views of the world on another community. This is the heart of the matter. The actual divergences among Lebanese blocs have always been bigger than those explicitly expressed by these blocs because a blend of timidity and attempts at appearing to be part of a non-existent consensus have prevented these divergences from being expressed as they are.
This difference is not ideological like that between left and right for example. It is between hard population blocs that will not change or wither away in the foreseeable future. Each of these blocs has its reading of history, and with it, its own experiences and subculture, which determine how they understand the nation, patriotism, the enemy, enmity, and the lengths they are willing to go to in this or that conflict. The fact is that a great many Lebanese simultaneously dislike Israel and do not want to be in a state of war with it. Their priorities derive from the national interest as far as they see it. As for the decisions they take based on a particular reading of their history, we find equivalent cases in countries whose national composition resembles that of Lebanon: In Syria, for example, the term “enemy,” for Syrian Kurds, applies more to Turkey than it does to Israel; in Iraq, this term applies to Iran more than it does any other country for Sunni.This difference cannot be resolved through discussion because there are as many versions of the truth as there are communities that claim to hold the truth, and if there is a way to resolve this difference, it will come from lived experience.
In the meantime, however, if we want to succeed in our attempt to build national unity and allow citizens to live together in a single country, we must reach a compromise that combines all the communities’ readings of history and the sentiments they have about it together, and then extending this compromise between communities into laws and traditions.
Pre-1975 Lebanon witnessed the only attempt to build such a compromise by combining boycotting Israel with a military armistice with it, and it was far better than the alternative formula that uprooted compromises and imposed a single view on others. Today, in any case, this is all long gone. Awaiting it is like waiting for it to snow in the middle of the summer. What exists is only the opinion of a single group; an opinion which is intended to be the only opinion, either through force in order of blackmailing or through the mere force of blackmailing.

Analysis: Three initiatives for post-Aoun Lebanon ....If Mikati becomes caretaker president, Christians are likely to be horrified
Sami Moubayed/Gulf News/July 24/2022
Damascus: On October 31, 2022, Michel Aoun’s six-year tenure at the Lebanese presidency will end. Attempts are presently underway, led by Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), either to extend his term for an indefinite period or bequeath the post to his son-in-law and political heir Gibran Bassil.
But, a third option is now making the rounds, which calls on Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati to assume the presidential seat, albeit temporarily, if no candidate is chosen anytime between now and next October.
FPM Initiative
The Aounists are peddling an extension of their boss’ term, citing a clause in the Lebanese constitution, which says the president cannot be sworn into office unless there is a full-fledge cabinet of ministers, approved by the Lebanese Parliament.
Mikati is currently in designate mode, tasked with forming his fourth government last May. In Lebanon, that is a process that can take weeks, or months.
A Prime Minister-designate cannot supervise a presidential election, nor inaugurate a new president, giving Aoun a legal pretext to extend his term at the Baabda Palace. Although he has often said that he has no intention of staying in office longer than his presidential term, he has also said he won’t surrender office to a “power vacuum”.
And it’s a power vacuum that the Aounists are trying to create, in order to keep Aoun as president. They have been trying to obstruct Mikati’s attempts at cabinet formation, to keep him in prime minister-designate capacity.
A suggested cabinet reshuffle was sent to Aoun on June 29, which he automatically rejected, because it suggested replacing the FPM’s current Minister of Energy Walid Fayyad with an independent.
They hope to keep finding more excuses to delay cabinet formation, saying that they will only facilitate the process if Mikati agrees to support Bassil for president. And that is something which Mikati refuses to commit, given that Bassil is an extremely unpopular figure, even among Lebanese Christians, and is sanctioned by the United States.
The Berri Initiative
Bassil’s presidential bid is being challenged by everybody who matters in Lebanon, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Forces chief Samir Gagegea, the Marada Movement of Suleiman Frangieh, Walid Jumblatt’s Social Progressive Party, the Amal Movement, and the 13 independent newcomers to Parliament.
Only two parties support him, apart from his own FPM: the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Armenian Tashnag Party. Combined they are not enough to secure a 65-vote majority in the Chamber of Deputies for Bassil to be become president.
A counter-proposal is now making the rounds, put forth by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, saying that if no cabinet is formed between now and October, then Mikati’s caretaker cabinet will assume full executive and presidential powers “for lack of alternative.”
This would make Mikati acting president of Lebanon, which will be music to the ears of Lebanese Muslims. It’s nightmare for Christians nonetheless, who abhor the thought of surrendering the presidency - which has traditionally been held by a Maronite Christian - to a Sunni Muslim.
None of the mainstream Christian parties would agree to the Berri initiative, however, considering the presidency to be the last vestige of Christian power in Lebanon, which has gradually eroded since the end of the Civil War.
If Berri goes down that path, then Bassil plans to call on his six ministers to step down, forcing the caretaker cabinet of Najib Mikati to dissolve itself completely, and lose all legal standing ahead of the presidential elections.
The Hezbollah Initiative
For its part, Hezbollah is leading another initiative, hoping to convince Bassil to abandon his presidential bid in favour of its friend and ally, Suleiman Frangieh. The two men were hosted over a Ramadan iftar at Hasan Nasrallah’s home last April, and on July 9, 2022, Bassil met with Frangieh’s parliamentary ally Farid Al Khazen, who happens to be on good terms with both Hezbollah and Amal.
Khazen is carrying an initiative for Bassil to shelve his presidential bid and support Frangieh for president. In exchange he will get to help chose a new premier and be rewarded with a handful of important posts in the new government.
Bassil is yet to respond to the Hezbollah offer. He might take it up, however, seeing that a secured presidency in six years is far better than one forced on the Lebanese public today.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 24-25/2022
Pope arrives in Canada on tour of ‘penance’ for indigenous abuse
Reuters/ 24 July ,2022
Pope Francis landed in Canada on Sunday to kick off a five-day trip that will center around his apology on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church for the abuse that indigenous children endured at mostly church-run residential schools. “This is a trip of penance. Let's say that is its spirit,” the pope told reporters in his traditional comments after his flight took off from Rome.He touched down in Edmonton in the western province of Alberta, where he will visit a former residential school and meet with indigenous peoples on Monday. He is also visiting Quebec City and Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut. He will depart on Friday. Aboard the papal plane, the pope said he yearned to visit Ukraine in his efforts to try and bring an end to the five-month-old war that he has repeatedly decried. “I have a great desire to go to Kyiv,” the pope said when asked about a possible future trip to Ukraine. In an exclusive interview earlier this month, the pontiff told Reuters that he hoped to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv soon after his trip to Canada.The first full day of his Canadian tour will be dedicated to indigenous peoples and the apology, with a Mass to be held in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Tuesday. Between 1881 and 1996 more than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools. Many children were starved, beaten and sexually abused in a system that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called “cultural genocide.”While Canada's leaders have known about high numbers of children dying at the schools since 1907, the issue was thrust to the fore with the discovery of suspected unmarked graves at or near former residential school sites last year. In response to pressure stemming from those discoveries, the pope apologized for the Catholic church's role in the schools earlier this year during a visit by indigenous delegates to the Vatican. Now he is coming to apologize on Canadian soil. But survivors and indigenous leaders have told Reuters they want more.Many have called for financial compensation, the return of indigenous artifacts, the release of school records, support for extraditing an accused abuser, and the rescinding of a 15th-century doctrine justifying colonial dispossession of indigenous people in the form of a papal bull, or edict.

US Doubts Khamenei Wants a Nuclear Agreement
London, Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 24 July, 2022
The US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, said she doubts the Iranian leadership wants to return to the nuclear agreement, saying if the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei "doesn't take the deal, we're going have to increase the pressure, of course."Nuland recalled the benefits Iran could reap if it agreed to the deal US President Joe Biden offered. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Nuland said it is up to Iran to agree to the deal that has been on the table."It would get their oil back on the market. It would get them some relief from some of the sanctions that have come on. But for so far, they haven't chosen to go in that route," she stated, adding that Iranians are paying the price with high prices and inflation. Nuland suggested that Tehran is still interested in reaching an agreement, noting that "they haven't thrown over the table yet" and "they haven't walked away when they could have done that over these many months where the deal has been ready and sitting there." Meanwhile, the head of MI6, Richard Moore, recently said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is "the best means still available" to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, adding that he is skeptical that Khamenei would agree to it.
"I'm not convinced we're going to get there," Moore said at the forum. "It could be a bit academic having that discussion because I don't think the supreme leader of Iran wants to cut a deal, so the Iranians won't want to end the talks either so that they could run on for a bit."Moore argued that even if the deal did pass, there would still be "plenty of work" because Iran continues to work at "destabilizing activity around our region.""What they're doing in Iraq, in Syria, even down in Yemen through sponsoring the Houthis," he said. "They're still assassinating or attempting to entrap dissidents overseas, so there's plenty to do."CIA Director William Burns noted that under the nuclear deal, "which the last administration pulled out of several years ago, that breakout time to produce that amount of fissile material was a little more than a year."
He said Friday that the "same breakout time can be measured not in a year-plus, but weeks."Meanwhile, Tasnim Agency said Saturday that the repeatedly setting of deadlines by Western powers for Iran to reach a nuclear agreement has become an "empty threat."
Tasnim ridiculed Western diplomats and governments for repeatedly threatening that just a few weeks were remaining for concluding a deal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal or else they would walk away from the negotiations. "Setting deadlines has been one of the main tactics used by Westerners" in nuclear talks, Tasnim said, "but they used it so often that today it has turned into an empty threat."
Tasnim cited for the first time Washington's deadline in December 2021, when National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US and others had not publicly set a date on the calendar, "but behind closed doors, there is a deadline, and it's not far away." In the coming weeks, the participants in the Vienna talks will discover "whether Iran is ready for a diplomatic solution." In February, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that time had become "very, very short" to restore the JCPOA, arguing that once Iran reached a certain degree of enrichment, there would be no point in returning to the nuclear deal.
CNN quoted US officials saying three weeks are left to reach an agreement. The Biden administration believes it has until the end of February to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement, otherwise, the US will have to change tack and launch aggressive efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to three administration officials. After 11 months of talks in Vienna, negotiations stalled in early March, but Western governments continued to say there were still "a few weeks" to salvage the deal while Iran continued to enrich uranium to 60 percent. In July, the US refused to give a deadline saying the time to conclude that negotiations would be when Iran's nuclear program was technically determined to have passed the point when restoration made sense.

Iran Says Foils Attacks on 'Sensitive' Sites
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 24 July, 2022
Iran's intelligence ministry announced Saturday the arrest of agents linked to Israel's Mossad who entered the country to carry out attacks against "sensitive" sites, state news agency IRNA reported. The suspects were arrested before they could carry out their mission, IRNA said, citing a statement from the ministry. "The members of the terrorist organization work for the Zionist spy agency Mossad who were sent to (Iran) to carry out terrorist operation... against sensitive sites," IRNA reported. The statement did not say how many suspects were arrested or give their nationalities, nor did it identify the targets of the purported plots. Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war, with Tehran accusing its arch-foe of carrying out sabotage attacks against its nuclear sites and assassinations of key figures, including scientists. But tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents that Tehran has blamed on Israel. Iran has pointed at Israel for the killing of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai at his Tehran home on May 22. Two other senior Guard members have also died -- one in a reported accident and the other in a shooting -- earlier this year. In April, Iran said it arrested three people linked to Mossad and a month earlier claimed it had foiled an attack on a nuclear plant also planned by suspects linked to Israel.

Iran Carries Out 1st Public Execution in 2 Years
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 24 July, 2022
Iran on Saturday carried out its first public execution in over two years, an NGO said, as concern grows over rising repression in the country. Iman Sabzikar, who had been convicted over the murder of a police officer in February 2022 in the southern city of Shiraz, was hanged in the early morning at the scene of the crime, Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said. It said that Iranian state media has reported on the public execution taking place and that the convict had been identified as Sabzikar, whose sentence of being hanged in public had been confirmed by the supreme court earlier this month.
"The resumption of this brutal punishment in public is intended to scare and intimidate people from protesting," AFP quoted IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam as saying. "We can raise the cost of carrying out such mediaeval practices by people protesting more against the death penalty -- particularly public executions -- and the international community taking a strong stance," he added. Images circulating on social media claiming to be of the execution showed a man dressed in Iran's standard light blue and black striped prison clothes hanging several meters above the ground on a rope attached to a crane on a truck. Executions in Iran usually take place within the walls of prison and activists say public executions are used as a deterrent, especially when the crime concerns the killing of a member of the security forces. IHR said that the last recorded public execution was carried out on June 11, 2020. It added that four other men who were all also sentenced to death for the murder of police officers in separate but similar cases are currently at risk of the same fate. In recent weeks, activists have expressed concern over a growing crackdown in Iran as the country sees unusual protests in the face of economic crisis.
Prominent film directors and other intellectuals have been arrested while IHR has said that the number of executions in 2022 doubled in the first half of the year compared with 2021.

Russia Says it Struck Ukrainian Warship, Harpoon Missiles Depot in Odesa
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 24 July, 2022
Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian warship and US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, Russian news agencies quoted the defense ministry as saying on Sunday. "A docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse with US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles were destroyed by long-range precision-guided naval missiles in Odesa seaport on the territory of a ship repair plant."“It took less than 24 hours for Russia to launch a missile attack on Odesa’s port, breaking its promises and undermining its commitments before the UN and Turkey under the Istanbul agreement,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said. “In case of non-fulfillment, Russia will bear full responsibility for a global food crisis.”“The invaders can no longer deceive anyone,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. Zelenskyy denounced the strikes as blatant "barbarism" that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement Friday's deal, mediated by Turkey and the United Nations. The Ukrainian military had said Russian missiles hit the southern port on Saturday. It was not clear how Saturday’s Russian airstrikes would affect the plan to resume shipping Ukrainian grain by sea in safe corridors out of three Ukrainian Black Sea ports: Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Ukraine and Russia signed identical deals Friday with the UN and Turkey in Istanbul backing the plan. Zelenskyy previously called the agreements “a chance to prevent a global catastrophe — a famine that could lead to political chaos in many countries of the world, in particular in the countries that help us.”The head of Zelenskyy's office, Andriy Yermak, said on Twitter that the Odesa strike, coming so soon after the endorsement of the Black Sea deal, illustrated "the Russian diplomatic dichotomy.”

Israeli forces shoot dead 2 Palestinians in West Bank ...60 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since start of the year
Gulf News/July 24/2022
Nablus, West Bank: Israeli troops and special forces on an arrest mission exchanged fire with Palestinians barricaded in a house in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli police said. The local rescue service said two Palestinians were killed.
Israeli police said a number of armed Palestinians were killed during the hours-long battle deep inside the city of Nablus, without specifying. Police said no Israeli forces were wounded. The Palestinian Red Crescent said the two men were killed in clashes with the military in Nablus and identified them as Aboud Sobh, 29, and Muhammad Al Azizi, 22. The rescue service said 19 Palestinians were wounded, including two critically. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the suspects had been wanted for a series of shootings. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the violence, saying it was a result of Israel’s occupation of lands Palestinians seek for an independent state. “The region will remain in a cycle of violence until the occupation is ended and a just peace achieved,’’ he said. Israeli forces have been carrying out near-daily raids in the West Bank for months, in a bid to quell a spate of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis that has since subsided. The military has faced resistance during some of those raids, which in several instances have turned deadly. The Palestinian attacks on Israelis earlier this year killed 19 people. More than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the year, according to an official Palestinian tally. The Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, for their hoped-for state.

Russia FM visits Egypt, part of Africa trip amid Ukraine war
Associated Press/July 24/2022
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo for talks Sunday with Egyptian officials as his country seeks to break diplomatic isolation and sanctions by the West over its invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov landed in Cairo late Saturday, the first leg of his Africa trip that will also include stops in Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Russia's state-run RT. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry was holding talks with Lavrov Sunday morning. The Russian chief diplomat was scheduled to meet later Sunday with the Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. He will also address the permanent representatives of the pan-Arab organization, RT reported. Russia's war in Ukraine has had dire effects on the world economy, driving up oil and gas prices to unprecedented levels. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but Russia's invasion of the country and naval blockade of its ports have halted shipments. Some Ukrainian grain is transported through Europe by rail, road and river, but with higher transportation costs. The war has disrupted shipments of Russian products because shipping and insurance companies did not want to deal with Western sanctions on the country. African counties are among those most affected by ripples of the war. The prices of vital commodities skyrocketed and billions of dollars in aid have been directed to help those who fled the war in Europe. That has left millions of people in conflict areas in Africa and the Middle East suffering from worsening growing shortages in food and other assistance. In an article posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website, Lavrov rejected the West accusations that Russia is responsible for the global food crisis, as "another attempt to shift the blame to others."Seeking to rally African nations on his country's side, he hailed what he called "an independent path" such nations took when they refrained from joining the West in sanctioning Russia. "We know that the African colleagues does not approve of the undisguised attempts of the U.S. and their European satellites to gain the upper hand, and to impose a unipolar world order to the international community," he wrote in the article, which also was published in four African newspapers. Lavrov's meetings with Egyptian officials and Arab envoys in Cairo come less than two weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden's Mideast trip. Biden met with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, before convening a summit with the leaders of Arab Gulf countries, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq in Saudi Arabia.Egypt, the Arab World's most populous country, refused to take sides since the war in Ukraine began in February as it maintains close ties with both Moscow and the West. Egypt is among the world's largest importers of wheat, with much of that from Russia and Ukraine. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has cultivated a close personal rapport with Russia President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders have strengthened bilateral ties considerably in the past few years. Lavrov's visit to Cairo came as Russia's state-owned atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, began last week the construction of a four-reactor power plant it is building in Egypt.

Kuwaiti emir’s son named prime minister by decree
Arab News/July 24, 2022
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait named the emir's son Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Sabah as prime minister on Sunday, replacing caretaker premier Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid, Kuwait News Agency reported on Sunday. Sheikh Ahmad was deputy prime minister and interior minister in the outgoing government, which had submitted its resignation in April. In his late 60s, he began his career with the police force and then entered the interior ministry. After his father Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad took power in 2020 he was appointed deputy head of the National Guard. He was named interior minister, and a deputy prime minister, in March after his predecessor resigned.

Jordanian King condemns border attacks by ‘Iran-tied militias’
Arab News/July 24, 2022
DUBAI: King Abdullah II protested on Sunday what he described as regular attacks occurring near Jordan’s borders by “militias linked to Iran”, in an interview with Al-Rai newspaper. King Abdullah called for “a change of behavior by Iran” and said that Jordan “does not want tensions in the region.” The remarks by Jordan’s King refer to incidents of deadly clashes with drug smugglers on the frontier with Syria. “Jordan, like the rest of the Arab countries, seeks good relations with Iran, with mutual respect, good neighbourliness, respect for the sovereignty of other states and non-interference in their affairs,” the king said in the interview, published on the state news agency Petra. “Drug and arms smuggling operations are a threat to us and to fellow Arab countries. Smuggling operations have reached Arab and European countries,” he added. “Our security agencies are alert, professional, and dedicated; and Jordan is capable of thwarting any threat on its borders,” the king continued. King Abdullah II reassured the public that Jordan continues to coordinate with other countries in order to counter this threat, which is both a regional and global issue. He added that the ramifications stemming out of the Syrian crisis are many and disastrous and will need a strategic approach. “Resolving it requires reaching a comprehensive political solution that addresses all its implications, ends the suffering of the Syrian people, creates the conditions to allow for the voluntary return of refugees, and restores security and stability in Syria,” explained King Abdullah II. The Jordanian army conducts regular anti-smuggling operations on the border with Syria, where Iran-backed fighters support the Damascus regime in a civil war that erupted in 2011. On January 27, Amman said its forces killed 27 drug traffickers supported by armed groups, seizing a large quantity of drugs. An officer and a border guard were killed in a similar clash earlier the same month. According to organizations which monitor drug trafficking, the increasingly popular amphetamine-style stimulant captagon is produced in government-controlled areas of Syria and marketed almost exclusively in the Middle East. King Abudllah II touched on topics such as Jordan’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the country’s overall economy and the Palestinian cause. He also congratulated Saudi Arabia on the Jeddah Summit during his interview because it “reflected the centrality of the Palestinian cause as a priority, and the level of coordination among Arab countries.”(with AFP)

US special envoy begins tour of Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia
Arab News/July 24, 2022
CAIRO: The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa began a regional tour on Sunday to resolve tensions caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Mike Hammer will hold talks in Egypt, the UAE and Ethiopia until Aug. 1, according to the US State Department. The GERD has raised tensions between Ethiopia on one hand and Egypt and Sudan on the other. The latter two countries are demanding a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, which they fear will reduce their share of Nile waters. Hammer’s regional tour coincides with that of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting Egypt, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.Hammer will also consult with the African Union, under whose auspices GERD talks have taken place. US President Joe Biden, after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development earlier this month, affirmed Washington’s support for Egypt’s water security and a diplomatic resolution that achieves the interests of all parties.

King Salman receives Kazakhstan’s highest award during president’s visit
Arab News/July 24, 2022
RIYADH: King Salman was given Kazakhstan’s highest award during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to the Kingdom, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. The award, the Order of the Golden Eagle, was given to King Salman as an expression of pride and appreciation in the deep-rooted relations between the two countries.The award was received on behalf of the king by the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a meeting with the president. Prince Faisal thanked the president on behalf of King Salman.Tokayev is currently in the Kingdom and arrived on Saturday.
He was received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al-Salaam Palace and the two leaders held an official session of talks.They also reviewed bilateral relations, aspects of cooperation in various fields, and a number of issues of common interest.

Closing Jewish Agency would hurt Israel-Russia ties: Lapid
AFP/July 24, 2022
JERUSALEM: A Russian decision to shut down an agency that processes the immigration of Jews to Israel would be a “serious event” impacting bilateral ties, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday. A Moscow court said last week that the justice ministry had requested the “dissolution” of the Jewish Agency because of unspecified legal violations, and set a hearing for July 28. Some experts interpreted that as a warning shot from the Kremlin toward Lapid, who has taken a tougher rhetorical line over the Ukraine conflict than Israel’s former premier Naftali Bennett, who stepped aside on July 1.
Lapid told a meeting of senior officials Sunday that “closing the Jewish Agency offices would be a serious event that would affect relations,” a government statement said. He also ordered that a “legal delegation be prepared to depart for Moscow as soon as the Russian approval for talks is received and to make every effort to exhaust the legal dialogue,” on top of diplomatic efforts to ease the dispute. The Jewish Agency, established in 1929, played a key role in the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. It began working in Russia in 1989, two years before the end of the Soviet Union, after which hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over the USSR left for Israel. More than a million Israeli citizens today are originally from the Soviet Union. Closing the agency’s Russian branch would not stop Russian Jews from moving to Israel — only a full Russian border closure could achieve that — but it could slow down the process.
Immediately following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Lapid as foreign minister accused Russia of violating the “world order,” while Bennett stressed Israel’s strong relations with both sides, withheld direct criticism of the invasion and subsequently tried to play a role of mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.
Lapid has renewed his criticism of Russia since becoming prime minister, but has still tried to walk a cautious line in order to preserve ties with Moscow, which are seen as crucial to preserving Israel’s ability to carry out air strikes in Syria where Russian forces are present.

Attack on Syria church gathering kills 2: state media
AFP/July 24, 2022
DAMASCUS: Two people were killed and 12 injured Sunday by bombardment of a church as it was being inaugurated in Syria’s central province of Hama, the official SANA news agency reported. “A rocket fired by terrorist organizations targeted a religious gathering in the town of Al-Suqaylabiyah near Hama, killing two people and wounding 12,” it said. SANA said the attack came during a ceremony to inaugurate the Ayia Sofia church. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a vast network of sources on the ground, confirmed the attack. Giving a toll of one civilian killed and several wounded, the Observatory said shelling or a drone attack by nearby rebel groups could be to blame. Sunday’s attack came two days after bombardment killed seven people including four children in the rebel-held Idlib region. The Observatory said Friday’s fatalities in the Jisr Al-Shughur countryside of northern Syria were caused by Russian air strikes. Around half of Idlib province as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces are controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the former franchise in Syria of Al-Qaeda. Other rebel groups in the last pocket of armed opposition to the Damascus regime also remain active, with varying degrees of Turkish backing. In March 2020, Russia and Turkey brokered a truce in Idlib and neighboring areas that still holds, despite sporadic attacks from both sides, including Russian air strikes. Syria’s war began in 2011 and has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country’s pre-war population from their homes.

UN health agency chief declares monkeypox a global emergency
Associated Press/July 24/2022
The expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an "extraordinary" situation that qualifies as a global emergency, the World Health Organization chief said, a declaration that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines. A global emergency is WHO's highest level of alert but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal. Similar declarations were made for the Zika virus in 2016 in Latin America and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision on calling monkeypox a global emergency despite a lack of consensus among experts on the U.N. health agency's emergency committee, saying he acted as "a tiebreaker." It was the first time a U.N. health agency chief has unilaterally made such a decision without an expert recommendation.
"We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little," Tedros said. "I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process and that there are divergent views."
WHO's emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said the director-general declared monkeypox a global emergency to ensure that the world takes the current outbreaks seriously. Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Last month, WHO's expert committee said the monkeypox outbreak did not yet amount to an international emergency, but the panel convened this week to reevaluate the situation. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since about May. To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where a more dangerous version of the virus is spreading, mainly in Nigeria and Congo. In Africa, monkeypox mainly spreads to people by infected wild animals like rodents in limited outbreaks that typically have not crossed borders. In Europe, North America and elsewhere, however, monkeypox is spreading among people with no links to animals or recent travel to Africa. WHO's top monkeypox expert, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said this week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men who have sex with men. Experts suspect the monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were spread via sex at two raves in Belgium and Spain."Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern for the moment, this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners," Tedros said. "That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies."Britain recently downgraded its assessment of monkeypox after seeing no signs of widespread transmission beyond men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with other men and noting the disease does not spread easily or cause severe illness.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was "supportive" of WHO's emergency declaration and hoped it would galvanize international action to stamp out the outbreaks. The U.S. has reported more than 2,800 monkeypox cases and sent more than 370,000 vaccine doses to U.S. states reporting cases.
Some experts had questioned whether such a declaration would help, arguing the disease isn't severe enough to warrant the attention and that rich countries battling monkeypox already have the funds to do so. Most people recover without needing medical attention, although the lesions may be painful. Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Southampton University, said WHO's emergency declaration could help donors like the World Bank make funds available to stop the outbreaks both in the West and in Africa.
In the U.S., some experts have speculated whether monkeypox might be on the verge of becoming an entrenched sexually transmitted disease in the country, like gonorrhea, herpes and HIV. "The bottom line is we've seen a shift in the epidemiology of monkeypox where there's now widespread, unexpected transmission," said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of public health and epidemiology at Yale University. "There are some genetic mutations in the virus that suggest why that may be happening, but we do need a globally-coordinated response to get it under control." Ko called for testing to be immediately scaled up, saying there are significant gaps in surveillance. "The cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," he said. "The window has probably closed for us to quickly stop the outbreaks in Europe and the U.S., but it's not too late to stop monkeypox from causing huge damage to poorer countries without the resources to handle it."WHO's Tedros called for the world to "act together in solidarity" regarding the distribution of treatments, tests and vaccines. for monkeypox. The U.N. agency has previously said it's working to create a vaccine-sharing mechanism for the most-affected countries, but offered few details of how it might work. Unlike the numerous companies that made COVID-19 vaccines, there is only one maker for the vaccine used against monkeypox, Denmark's Bavarian Nordic.
Dr. Placide Mbala, a virologist who directs the global health department at Congo's Institute of National Biomedical Research, said he hoped any global efforts to stop monkeypox would be equitable. Although countries including Britain, Canada, Germany and the U.S. have ordered millions of monkeypox vaccine doses, none have gone to Africa. "The solution needs to be global," Mbala said, adding that any vaccines sent to Africa would be used to target those at highest risk, like hunters in rural areas.
"Vaccination in the West might help stop the outbreak there, but there will still be cases in Africa," he said. "Unless the problem is solved here, the risk to the rest of the world will remain."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 24-25/2022
Why Putin Must Be Defeated
Guy Millière/ Gatestone Institute./July 24/2022
The Ukrainian military urgently needs long-range air defenses and longer-range artillery. It does not have them.
[Zelensky] said he wanted the war over before Russia could rebuild its forces, and that each additional day of war meant more death and destruction. Above all, he said, not only Ukraine is at stake, but the security and values ​​of the West.
"History teaches that prolonged conflicts bleed both sides, but dictatorships have an advantage over democracies. They are not accountable to their societies and can pay the price of blood, even with opposition from their citizens.... Does the transatlantic free world still want to occupy a position of leadership? Do we still believe in the universality of values ​​such as freedom and the right of national self-determination?" — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Politico, June 27, 2022.
The almost total destruction of entire cities... has no precedent in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Neither do the horrific war crimes committed in Bucha and other towns on the outskirts of Kyiv and Kharkiv. Nearly two million Ukrainians have been deported and sent to Russia, with some in detention camps in Siberia.... The invasion of Ukraine without a declaration of war is itself a war crime.
The Baltic states, Finland, Sweden and Poland have every reason to feel threatened: if Putin is not defeated, he will not stop at Ukraine.
Russia, in 1994, signed the Budapest Memorandum, committing itself to respect the borders of Ukraine. Twenty years later, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and created secessionist militia in the Donbass. In 2022, Putin showed that the Budapest Memorandum had absolutely no meaning for him.
Putin is leading a campaign of annihilating Ukraine's infrastructure and industrial base. He appears to want Ukraine to become a ruined, non-viable country, virtually impossible to rebuild because the costs would be too high. The more time passes, the higher the costs.
To achieve his ends, Putin is apparently perfectly willing to hold hundreds of millions of innocent people hostage, and even sentence them to death by starvation. Meanwhile, his propaganda services cynically claim to the countries concerned that the risk of famine results from the Western sanctions against Russia.
Failing to give Ukraine every means to win... or letting a stalemate set in -- or even worse -- rewarding Russian aggression by ceding Ukraine's Donbass and declaring that Russia had "won", would effectively be announcing to China and all the enemies of the Western world that the power of the West and its ability to command respect belong in the past. Such an outcome would also be telling them that the rules of international law established after the Second World War, and the values ​​that the Western world claims to embody, are now rules and values ​​that the West is incapable of defending.
A war only ends when there is a winner and a loser. In the present situation, Putin is the ruthless aggressor who tramples all the rules and values of the West. He must be defeated. If he is not, the consequences will not be limited to Ukraine. They will be devastating.
The Russian military is not invincible. On the contrary, it has shown itself to be extremely deficient and vulnerable. It is the army of a weak state: Russia's GDP is lower than that of Italy. The Russian army can be crushed and the murderous destruction inflicted on Ukraine can end. What is missing is the clear and concrete will from the West. The United States must lead.
In Madrid, Biden said, "We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes to, in fact, make sure that they are not defeated". He did not say what he should have said, had he wanted to show some strength: Ukraine must win. If it receives the required armaments, Ukraine will win.
Only an American president has the political and military means to show strength in a credible way. It is tragic that the United States has a weak president just when the future of the world is threatened by so many predatory regimes -- all doubtless aware of the small but irresistible window they have at this time.
"We must aid Ukraine, for to do so in part is our first duty to America and to Americans.... By supporting Ukraine, we prevent larger European conflict. A war that would almost certainly involve America's military because we have a deep commitment to the NATO treaty and Article Five therein." — Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
"Putin will not stop, unless he is stopped... if the West is aware of what is at stake and sees this war as its own, then this price is not too high. After all, Ukrainians are paying a much higher price. Ukrainians have no choice, since they are defending their country. But the West has no choice either—it is about its future as a community, driven by values ​​and the ability to project these values ​​globally." — Iryna Solonenko, Senior Fellow at the Zentrum Liberale Moderne (LibMod), Berlin, Internationale Politik Quarterly, April 13, 2022.
The almost total destruction of entire cities in Ukraine has no precedent in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The Ukrainian military urgently needs long-range air defenses and longer-range artillery. It does not have them. Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier passes by a destroyed building in the Ukrainian town of Siversk, Donetsk region on July 22, 2022.
May 9, Moscow. The annual military Victory Day Parade was held in Red Square, but with fewer soldiers and military vehicles than in other years. The parade had been cut by 35%. Russian President Vladimir Putin's short, sober speech tried to justify the war of aggression he had launched against Ukraine on February 24. Putin seemed on the verge of defeat. A month earlier, in an apparent debacle, the Russian Army had hastily left the Kyiv area. Countless Russian soldiers had been wounded and killed; the loss of military equipment was unimaginable. A report from the UK Ministry of Defence on May 15 said that Russia had lost a third of its combat forces and much of its heavy equipment.
On May 14, Russian troops withdrew from ​​Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; they had been pushed back by Ukrainian forces to the Russian border. Russia's only "victory" was the total destruction of the city of Mariupol, by the Sea of ​​Azov. Communications intercepted by American intelligence services showed that the Russian military had a low morale and that cases of insubordination, mutiny, and refusal to obey orders had multiplied. Russian generals had been killed at the front.
Russian forces then began concentrating their efforts on the Donbass and has been waging a war of attrition ever since. Much of Russia's modern military equipment has been destroyed; its older equipment dates from the 1960s, but Putin has lots of bombs. Russia has now been bombing Ukrainian positions for weeks. It advances just a little but destroys everything in its path. It has razed not only much of Mariupol, but also Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
The Ukrainian Army courageously resists, but does not have enough heavy weapons to end the destruction, stop Russia's offensive or carry out an effective counter-offensive.
Putin seems to be counting on time; he seems betting that the Western world will lose interest in Ukraine and turn to other matters.
The Biden administration at first seemed ready endorse regime change in Kyiv, and US officials even offered Zelensky safe passage out of the country. Zelensky famously answered, "I need ammunition, not a ride."
When it appeared that the Russian Army was failing and that Zelensky had succeeded in mobilizing the opinion of the Western world, Biden finally supported Ukraine -- but certain categories of American weapons that Ukraine had asked for were supplied late or not at all. Ukraine, for instance, had requested HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) -- essential to countering Russian artillery -- as early as March. Biden sent four units, but before sending them asked that their range be limited to 50 miles. Recently, four additional HIMARS units were sent, and four more are reportedly to be sent soon. That makes 12 units in all -- far too few to reverse the balance of power on the battlefield. The Ukrainian military urgently needs long-range air defenses and longer-range artillery. It does not have them.
European NATO member countries also supported Ukraine and sent weapons, but no European country has a sufficiently powerful military or a significant amount of materiel. While the countries of Central Europe, the Baltic states and the United Kingdom took a firm stand from the start and said that Putin had to be defeated, the large countries of Western Europe -- France, Germany and Italy -- initially sought to appease Putin. They gave Ukraine only part of the materiel and with extreme reluctance. French President Emmanuel Macron opined that Putin should not be "humiliated," although Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled to Kyiv on June 16 supposedly to show support.
Two international meetings recently took place. The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States -- meeting in Germany on June 27, reaffirmed their support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes". A NATO summit was held two days later in Madrid, Spain, where the summit's Final Communiqué stated:
"We condemn Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. It gravely undermines international security and stability. It is a blatant violation of international law... Russia must immediately stop this war and withdraw from Ukraine... We reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders extending to its territorial waters... The Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area."
The Communiqué also defined Ukraine as a "close partner" of NATO.
An international conference was organized on July 4 in Lugano, Switzerland to envision the reconstruction of Ukraine. The destruction perpetrated by Russia has so far been valued at $750 billion. Discussing reconstruction when the war is not even over is, to say the least, a bit premature. The destruction continues. The statements made in Germany and Spain, albeit important, will remain just statements if they do not lead to acts fully consistent with their words.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at both the G7 and NATO summits. He said he wanted the war over before Russia could rebuild its forces, and that each additional day of war meant more death and destruction. Above all, he said, not only Ukraine is at stake, but the security and values ​​of the West. Similar ideas were recently expressed in a June 27 column written by Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki:
"Without more forceful intervention in Ukraine's war, the consequences for the U.S. and Europe could be devastating....
"History teaches that prolonged conflicts bleed both sides, but dictatorships have an advantage over democracies. They are not accountable to their societies and can pay the price of blood, even with opposition from their citizens...
"The war in Ukraine puts before us one crucial question: Does the transatlantic free world still want to occupy a position of leadership? Do we still believe in the universality of values ​​such as freedom and the right of national self-determination?"
The security and values ​​of the Western world are unquestionably at stake, as are the leadership of the transatlantic free world and values ​​such as freedom and the right of national self-determination. If they are not defended with force and conviction in Ukraine, they may well not survive.
The near total destruction of entire cities, along with civilian homes, has no precedent in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Neither do the horrific war crimes committed in Bucha and other towns on the outskirts of Kyiv and Kharkiv. Nearly two million Ukrainians have been deported and sent to Russia, with some in detention camps in Siberia, thousands of miles from their homes and country. The accumulation of crimes committed by Russia since February 24 has led legal scholars to say that Russia is committing genocide, and the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in America and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights in Canada published a damning report on the subject. The invasion of Ukraine without a declaration of war is itself a war crime.
Putin, in a recent speech, compared himself to Tsar Peter the Great and equated Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Peter's expansionist wars three centuries ago. The Baltic states, Finland, Sweden and Poland have every reason to feel threatened: if Putin is not defeated, he will not stop at Ukraine.
The statements made by propagandists of the Putin regime on Russian state television daily, in a hateful tone, evoke extremely bad associations -- as, to deter the West, they are doubtless intended to do. They imply the destruction and enslavement of the whole of Europe, as well as nuclear attacks against France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev went so far as to say that Russia can end the existence of mankind.
Russia, in 1994, signed the Budapest Memorandum, committing itself to respect the borders of Ukraine. Twenty years later, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and created secessionist militia in the Donbass. In 2022, Putin showed that the Budapest Memorandum had absolutely no meaning for him.
Putin is leading a campaign of annihilating Ukraine's infrastructure and industrial base. He appears to want Ukraine to become a ruined, non-viable country, virtually impossible to rebuild because the costs would be too high. The more time passes, the higher the costs.
Putin is preventing the export of Ukrainian wheat and is threatening to create widespread famine and major unrest in many of the poorest countries in the Arab world, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. He is exercising unprecedented blackmail, telling Western countries that he will allow the delivery of wheat only if the sanctions on Russia are lifted. To achieve his ends, Putin is apparently perfectly willing to hold hundreds of millions of innocent people hostage, and even sentence them to death by starvation. Meanwhile, his propaganda services cynically claim to the countries concerned that the risk of famine results from the Western sanctions against Russia.
China did not and will not intervene militarily in Ukraine, yet it remains Russia's helpful ally. Chinese President Xi Jinping does not hide his ambitions of world domination and servitude for the rest of us. The agreement signed by Putin and Xi on February 4 in Beijing, three weeks before Putin attacked Ukraine, draws the contours of a new world order within which the notions of freedom, democracy and rule of law would no longer have any meaning. The enemies of the Western world are watching. Several of them -- North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran – have allied with Russia and China.
The Biden administration, since coming to power, has shown little but weakness; America's spectacular debacle in Afghanistan revealed extreme weakness. The Western world is losing ground. In 1975, when the G7 was created, its members accounted for 70% of the world's GDP. Today, they represent just over 40% of it.
The words spoken in Germany and Spain were filled with strength. Failing to give Ukraine every means to win, however, or letting a stalemate set in -- or even worse -- rewarding Russian aggression by ceding Ukraine's Donbass and declaring that Russia had "won", would effectively be announcing to China and all the enemies of the Western world that the power of the West and its ability to command respect belong in the past. Such an outcome would also be telling them that the rules of international law established after the Second World War, and the values ​​that the Western world claims to embody, are now rules and values ​​that the West is incapable of defending.
A war only ends when there is a winner and a loser. In the present situation, Putin is the ruthless aggressor who tramples all the rules and values of the West. He must be defeated. If he is not, the consequences will not be limited to Ukraine. They will be devastating.
The Russian military is not invincible. On the contrary, it has shown itself to be extremely deficient and vulnerable. It is the army of a weak state: Russia's GDP is lower than that of Italy. The Russian army can be crushed and the murderous destruction inflicted on Ukraine can end. What is missing is the clear and concrete will from the West. The United States must lead.
In Madrid, Biden said, "We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes to, in fact, make sure that they are not defeated". He did not say what he should have said, had he wanted to show some strength: Ukraine must win. If it receives the required armaments, Ukraine will win.
That Biden could show some strength is far from certain. Only an American president has the political and military means to show strength in a credible way. It is tragic that the United States has a weak president just when the future of the world is threatened by so many predatory regimes -- all doubtless aware of the small but irresistible window they have at this time.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an inflection point in the post-Cold War politics", former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said.
"Vladimir Putin's utter lack of basic humanity ensures that as long as he remains in power, Russia will be virtual prison and no nation that borders its expanse will ever be safe... We can do what President Zelenskyy has asked. We must aid Ukraine, for to do so in part is our first duty to America and to Americans.... By supporting Ukraine, we prevent larger European conflict. A war that would almost certainly involve America's military because we have a deep commitment to the NATO treaty and Article Five therein. By helping Ukraine, we prevent Russia's reconstitution of the Soviet Empire... In 2005, Putin declared the demise of the Soviet Union as one of the greatest tragedies in history. In 2007, he enunciated his rationale for conquest in terms that would be familiar to dictators who ruled Europe almost 90 years ago. Putin's been consistent. He's been consistent in his revanchist objectives. In Grozny in 1999. In Georgia in 2008. And in Ukraine in 2014... A mass murderer is someone who kills a large number of people at one time. A serial killer murders sequentially. Only in war therefore can a man be both a mass murderer and a serial killer. Putin is that. I pray that Russia will reclaim its soul, its country's soul. But it cannot do so as long it is led by a man who does not evince any concern for the horrific carnage he has wrought, or any concern for his own people."
"Ukraine's fight is also a fight for the West's future...", wrote Iryna Solonenko, Senior Fellow at the Zentrum Liberale Moderne (LibMod) in Berlin.
"Putin will not stop, unless he is stopped... Economic inconvenience and stress, resulting from the need to go beyond the usual bureaucratic procedures, are part of the price that needs to be paid. Yet, if the West is aware of what is at stake and sees this war as its own, then this price is not too high. After all, Ukrainians are paying a much higher price. Ukrainians have no choice, since they are defending their country. But the West has no choice either—it is about its future as a community, driven by values ​​and the ability to project these values ​​globally."
*Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
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Biden should count on diplomacy to save his presidency
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/July 24/2022
It has been nearly six months since Russia invaded Ukraine. And doubts are now beginning to surface about America’s ability to continue providing military, financial and diplomatic support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his country.
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska traveled to Washington last week, at the invitation of US First Lady Jill Biden, for a series of high-level meetings to mobilize military support for her homeland and to convey the suffering of her people directly to an American audience.
The highlight of her visit was her emotional 15-minute address to bipartisan lawmakers at the US Capitol on July 20. Zelenska urged them to provide the Ukrainian government with more weapons to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, something she said she would “never want to ask.”
“I am asking for weapons,” she said. “Weapons that will not be used to wage war on somebody else’s land, but to protect one’s home and the right to wake up alive in that home.”Earlier in the day, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that the next tranche of weapons would include more high mobility artillery rocket system launchers.US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown said last week that America and its allies are considering providing Ukraine with non-Russian fighter jets, according to USA Today. Washington has provided about $8 billion in military aid alone since the war began in late February, including about $2.2 billion in the past month.
Given that inflation is at a four-decade high, and that energy and food bills are rapidly increasing globally, many commentators feel that the American people may soon begin to question the wisdom of the government placing such a heavy obligation on taxpayers for a war in which America is not directly involved.
Already, the latest developments in Ukraine no longer headline US news bulletins and photos of Zelensky and the Ukrainian flag are disappearing from Americans’ social media accounts. The American public is increasingly focused on domestic issues, including crime; the upcoming midterm elections; new abortion legislation; the Jan. 6 congressional hearing; and a new wave of COVID-19 infections.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating is dropping, and he needs to convince his party and its base that his administration has made the right decisions. At the same time, it seems that high-profile politicians from both parties want to avoid discussing this issue for fear of a backlash that could make it more difficult for their party to connect with its base. The gap is widening between Democratic and Republican voters regarding the extent to which they are willing to accept the consequences of America’s role in Ukraine, according to a recent opinion poll published by the University of Maryland.
“Seventy-eight percent of Democrats are prepared to see higher energy costs, compared to 44 percent of Republicans, and 72 percent of Democrats are prepared to accept higher inflation, compared to only 39 percent of Republicans,” the poll stated. It added that Democrats and Republicans see Ukraine as faring better than Russia in the conflict so far.
The White House faces a dilemma. President Joe Biden’s approval rating is dropping, and he needs to convince his party and its base that his administration has made the right decisions.
There is no doubt that Washington needs to open a diplomatic channel with Moscow to create a middle ground and find a reasonable settlement for all parties involved. Otherwise, there will be no option for the White House other than to keep providing aid to Ukraine until it is able to defeat the Russian invasion, regardless of how long that might take.
That would be a costly and challenging path that could cost Biden his presidency in 2024.
• Dalia Al-Aqidi is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

Who will call the shots in the Indian Ocean?
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/July 24/2022
Indian Ocean security is an enduring maritime issue. Tensions on the high seas also include focusing on the Indian Ocean. As an area of water, policing and securing these sea lanes has always been a challenge. Today, the issues are becoming more complicated but manageable with deconfliction measures when necessary. Size matters in terms of the scope of Indian Ocean area of operations. The Indian Ocean covers a vast area stretching from the coasts of East Africa in the west, to Malaysia and Australia in the east, to South Africa in the south. Its broader territory runs from the waters of the Arabian Gulf to the South China Sea, covers 70 million sq. km, or a whopping 20 percent of the world’s water surface, hosting one-third of the world’s population, one quarter of the world’s landmass, three quarters of global oil reserves, iron and tin, and more than 70,000 ships cross its expanse every year by hugging the coastal outline of the maritime arena. About 65 percent of the world’s oil reserves belong to just 10 of the Indian Ocean littoral states. The Indian Ocean hosts the world’s most significant “sea lanes of communication” and as such already played a pivotal role in the global economy, even before COVID-19 interrupted supply chains.The world’s major choke points are also located in the Indian Ocean. These are: The Strait of Hormuz, Bab El-Mandeb (west) and Malacca Strait (east), creating “brackets of troubles” for seafarers, shipping companies and international security. A large portion of global trade and most Gulf oil en route to Asia passes through these chokepoints. As such, they are strategically important for global trade and economic development.
Despite its significant strategic position as a trade route and home to a large part of the world’s population, the Indian Ocean was for a long time rather neglected. The rise of India and China as global economic powers has significantly increased their energy needs and their dependence on Gulf oil supplies. Consequently, their energy security interests give these two Asian players direct stakes in the security and stability of the Indian Ocean, in particular the safety of transit lines form the Arabian Gulf toward the east coast of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which surround India’s long coastal area. This has positioned India and China as major contenders for the share of the ocean’s dominion. Increasingly, China and India are bumping up against each other on East Africa’s coastline.
Historically, regional merchants moved throughout the Indian Ocean network and established diaspora communities. Through these diaspora communities, merchants introduced their cultural traditions to local indigenous cultures along coastlines. Often native customs and outside traditions existed side-by-side in relative peace, and local communities sometimes even adopted new practices and beliefs from the merchant diaspora. That peacefulness becomes interrupted by nation-state competitions over sea lane access.
Indian Ocean countries and those who access its sea lanes need to begin thinking in the long term to guarantee the safety and security of this broad expanse of sea.
For quite a long time, the Indian Ocean has been largely dominated by the US. With the economic rise of both India and China in the past two decades, the division of world power has started to change from a unipolar toward a multipolar world in the Indian Ocean basin. This shift has brought the Indian Ocean back into the center of geopolitical attention and strategic gravity as a potential field of malign activity.
The Indian Ocean’s sea lanes are also key factors in global trade and economic stability as oil and other trading material passes through its waterways on the way to Asia, Africa, Europe and other parts of the world. Any disruption in trade causes significant stress and strain in many world economies. This is why supply chain interruptions have a recoil effect when ports are unable to accept cargo — either because of disease or local violence that destroys port facilities, or political moves making access illegal through legal means.
Who will call the shots in the Indian Ocean in the coming decades depends on many factors. The world is progressively moving toward a new international energy order, which for better or worse will be dictated by the supply and demand of key energy resources: Oil, gas and coal on top of the sanctions by the West on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Countries rimming the Indian Ocean have greater potential through the growth of supply chain networks, closer international cooperation with all the states of the Indian Ocean, increased defense ties with those states, and the injection of money in states across a broad spectrum of security issues — whether maritime, food, climate or economic capacity building. The more that countries try to band together on Indian Ocean security issues, the better for potential deconfliction.
There are multiple scenarios of how the Indian Ocean affects global power sharing. The creation of the I2U2, or the West Asian Quad, is an example of a quadruple alliance that has port connectivity as part of its commercial outlook. To be sure, population control, wealth distribution, investment in human capital, development of new technologies and use of clean energy sources will be decisive factors in keeping both the supplier and consumer countries in the playing field. Opposite the West Asian Quad are China, Russia and Iran, creating the potential for high seas hijinks.
As always in this age, with a plethora of international security issues boiling, Indian Ocean countries and those who access its sea lanes need to begin thinking in the long term to guarantee the safety and security of this broad expanse of sea.
• Dr. Theodore Karasik is a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @tkarasik

Turkey returns empty-handed from Tehran summit
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/July 24/2022
The seventh trilateral summit in the “Astana Format” between Turkey, Russia and Iran was held last Tuesday in Tehran where the situation in Syria was reviewed. As announced beforehand, bilateral meetings were also held between the leaders.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s declared intention to carry out a military operation in Syria dominated consultations during the summit. He must have guessed before going to Tehran that he would face pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to give up this idea. The US was another country that was opposed to Turkey’s military action. It voiced this view on several occasions. Turkey is vulnerable to the US for several reasons: The purchase of 40 new F-16 fighter aircraft and the upgrading of about 80 of them already in the Turkish air force inventory is being negotiated between these two NATO allies. There is strong bipartisan opposition in the US Congress to this sale. Turkey’s ties with Russia and its ambivalent position as a NATO member country during the present tough NATO-Russia confrontation makes it further vulnerable.
When three such important actors — plus Syria — are opposed, the operation — even if it is eventually carried out — is likely to become a symbolic move to give the impression to the domestic public in Turkey that the government has fulfilled its promise.
Erdogan did his best to explain his case at the Tehran summit. He pointed out that a consensus was reached in 2019 to establish on the Syrian side of the border a 30 km to 40 km corridor to be patrolled exclusively by Turkish soldiers to ward off terrorist attacks on Turkey. The project, however, never materialized.
Turkey was expecting support from Russia and Iran — and partly from the US — to clear the areas controlled by Kurdish fighters. Washington withdrew the Kurdish fighters from the border area but provided them a more advantageous position by transferring the right to control the Syrian oil wells.
Furthermore, with a view to giving the impression that the strongest Kurdish political party in Syria, the Democratic Union Party or PYD, was not solely composed of Kurds, it established another organization called the Syrian Democratic Forces, while its backbone continued to be composed of Kurdish fighters.
Erdogan’s attitude is difficult to tell, but his body language said more than the statement that he delivered at the Tehran summit. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was the first to say to Erdogan that not only the PKK and PYD terrorists but the militants protected by Turkey had to be eliminated as well. Raisi went one step further and said that all foreign forces should leave Syria, meaning Turkish and American forces and Turkey-supported militants, because unlike Russia and Iran, they had not been invited to Syria by the legitimate government of the country.
To what extent these remarks affected Erdogan’s attitude is difficult to tell, but his body language said more than the statement that he delivered at the plenary. At no stage during the summit did Erdogan look relieved. On his way back from Tehran, he told reporters in the presidential plane that Putin and Raisi had different views from that of Turkey on the Syrian question.
Putin and Raisi also objected to the construction of houses by Turkey on the Syrian side of the border — firstly because it was Syrian territory and secondly because the refugees to be returned to Syria should not be forced to settle in an area that is not theirs. They have said that the ideal solution would be to settle them in the places where they originally came from. Russia, Iran and the Syrian government have already started to strengthen their military presence in areas where Turkey might attempt to carry out an operation.
Although not part of the summit agenda, there were other important issues taken up during the bilateral talks between the leaders. The opening of a corridor for the shipment of a million tons of Ukrainian grain trapped in besieged Ukrainian harbors was discussed by Erdogan and Putin, and two parallel agreements resulted last Friday from their discussion: One agreement between Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, and a second agreement between Turkey, Russia and the UN. Another controversial issue was Russia’s veto of the continued food supply to northern Idlib through the Bab Al-Hawa/Cilvegozu border crossing. Turkey is in favor of keeping the crossing open while Russia insists that the supplies have to go through the official Syrian authorities. The question was solved in the UN Security Council with Russia postponing its veto for another six months.
In this summit, Turkey inadvertently achieved something difficult by bringing together four countries — Russia, Iran, US and Syria — which never usually act in accord on a foreign policy issue.
• Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar