Category: Government

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his UN General Assembly speech, according to a statement by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.

 

No addition details have been provided.

 

Erdogan is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly’s 77th session.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan departed Friday for New York after finishing a two-day visit to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

 

Erdogan will attend the general debate Tuesday of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

 

The General Assembly will be held under the theme of “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges.”

 

Erdogan will meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and hold talks with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the UN meeting.

 

The Turkish president is also expected to receive representatives of US-based Turkish nongovernmental organizations and Jewish groups and will attend the event to be held by the Türkiye-US Business Council with the participation of representatives of the business world.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the military to support the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

 

He also urged unity in the ranks of BARMM leadership, expressing support for the transitional government.

 

The president made his inaugural trip Thursday in the autonomous southern region where he addressed the re-appointed 80-member parliament.

 

“I think the role of the military is to support the peace, that is the peace process, that is what the peace process is now, and that is what we need to continue to support,” Marcos told soldiers of the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army’s that is deployed in Central Mindanao.

 

“I bring this up to you to explain that perhaps the mission of — not only the political leadership but also the mission of the military here is going to change. And that will be because I am hoping that we can look forward to a period of lasting peace and progress,” said Marcos, who won the presidential election in May by a landslide.

 

A transcript of the address was released Friday by Philippine News Agency.

 

Addressing the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) parliament earlier in Cotabato, Marcos urged BARMM leadership to “work together for the attainment of peace and progress in the region.”

 

“We know that with unity and solidarity, the BTA will be successful in facilitating the institution of the Bangsamoro government, one that is centered in promoting good governance and lasting peace for its people,” he said.

 

Marcos re-appointed Murad Ebrahim as interim chief minister of the BTA and the parliament in July and the new term will conclude in May 2025 when elections are expected in June that year.

 

In 2018, a decades-long insurgency by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led to peace talks with the Philippine government, and the BARMM was formed.

 

The regional government is run by the BTA, led by Ebrahim, who was elected first chief minister in February 2019.

 

The mandate of the transitional authority was due to end this year but the Philippine government, under former President Rodrigo Duterte, extended it to 2025 to allow Ebrahim and his team to achieve targets, including the decommissioning of former MILF fighters.

 

Urging the BTA parliament to pass crucial legislations on fiscal policy, particularly taxation, and to facilitate the conduct of elections in BARMM in 2025, Marcos told Moro lawmakers: “We walk this path together because even if it is difficult, we know that at the end of the journey is historical justice, progress, peace, stability, and the unity that our peoples and our nation have long aspired for and so rightly deserve.”

 

– ‘Beginning of new chapter’

 

Ebrahim said the day marked the “beginning of a new chapter in the Bangsamoro’s quest for lasting peace and development in our homeland.”

 

“Just like what we did three years ago during the inauguration of the BTA, we once again take our oath of moral governance as a symbol of our renewed commitment to dutifully finish the transition priorities, fight the ills of governance, and fulfill Amanah — trust of the Bangsamoro people,” he said in his address to parliament,

 

He said his administration, in the past three years, has enacted 31 laws.

 

The chief minister credited a “significantly better peace and order situation” that has led Bangsamoro to “a vibrant investment destination.”

 

The swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister and 80 members of parliament was held last month in Manila.

 

Of 80 members, 39 are new faces, while the rest were re-appointed from the last parliament.

 

Under the peace agreement, the government will be led by the MILF and most lawmakers will be from the organization.

 

Forty-one of the 80-member parliament represent the MILF and 39 others were picked by the Philippine president from nominations made by local governments in Bangsamoro, members of the Philippine Congress and Senate and other organizations from the semi-autonomous region.

 

Of the six priority codes of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the last parliament completed four and two are expected to be completed this year.

 

The Bangsamoro parliament has completed codes on administration, civil services, education and local government while revenue and electoral codes are under process.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Foreign Minister the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met on Thursday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog as part of his official visit to Israel.

 

The top Emirati diplomat delivered a message from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Israeli leader, according to Herzog’s office.

 

“The world respects the Abraham accords. There is a new Middle East now,” Herzog said.

 

Bin Zayed, for his part, termed the Emirati-Israeli relations as “historic.”

 

The Emirati foreign minister also visited the Yad Vashem Museum, which commemorates the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

 

Bin Zayed arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday on an official visit that coincides with the 2nd anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel.

 

In September 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored deal to normalize their relations. Since then, the two countries have exchanged official visits by senior officials and signed dozens of bilateral agreements in various fields, including investment, banking services, and tourism.

 

Three other Arab states – Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – joined the UAE in the controversial move that came to be known as the Abraham Accords.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The UN paid tribute Thursday to Queen Elizabeth II with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying, “The sun has set on a most extraordinary reign.”

 

The 193-member UN General observed a minute of silence for the late queen of Britain.

 

“Queen Elizabeth was a pillar without peer on the world stage for more than 70 years,” Guterres told the General Assembly. “She assumed the throne in a different age: the era of Churchill, Truman, Stalin, and Mao. A reassuring and inspiring presence, she was an anchor of stability across decades of often turbulent history.”

 

He said Elizabeth defied geopolitical gravity and was a “consummate” diplomat.

 

The funeral for Elizabeth, who died last Thursday at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after 70 years on the throne, will be held on Sept. 19 in London.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russia on Thursday called on the EU to publicize records to prove grain was delivered from Ukraine to poorer nations.

 

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cited UN figures showing that 44% of the Ukrainian grain goes to Europe.

 

Contrary to the initial reassurances of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the need to feed the poorer nations of Africa and Asia, the main recipients of the shipments are “such states that call themselves developed and are proud of their well-being, such as Spain, the Netherlands, South Korea, Italy, Romania, Germany, France, Greece, Ireland, and Israel,” she said.

 

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

 

Although not part of the formal agreement, it was negotiated that if things go smoothly, sanctions on Russian exports through the Black Sea will eventually be lifted.

 

Russia has been pushing for the expansion of the scope of the deal to include Russian goods.

 

On Wednesday, Guterres said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on increasing the deal’s scope, including having it cover Russian fertilizer exports via the Black Sea.

 

Security Council status

 

Asked about possible attempts to create a mechanism designed to deprive Russia of the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Zakharova said it is an “unrealistic scenario.”

 

“To deprive Russia of the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it is necessary to make appropriate changes to the UN Charter.

 

“To do this, it is necessary that two-thirds of the UN General Assembly members vote for them, then these amendments must be ratified by two-thirds of the member states, including all permanent members of the UN Security Council, one of which is our country.

 

“Therefore, everything is clear here — there is simply no other legal way to implement this plan,” she said.

 

UN chief, Russian foreign minister to meet

 

Zakharova said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will address a meeting of the UN General Assembly and plans to hold about 20 bilateral meetings, including with the UN secretary-general.

 

In general, the Russian delegation at the General Assembly intends to pay special attention to the fight against attempts to undermine the UN authority and subordinate it to the whims of the “collective West,” she said.

 

“They are simply engaged in denigrating states that pursue an independent foreign policy, as well as trying to exclude or limit their participation in the structures of the UN system,” she said.

 

The Russian official stressed Western countries cut the participation of other countries in UN activities through visa restrictions.

 

Asked about the ammonia pipeline through which the fertilizers were delivered to Europe, Zakharova said it was closed by Ukraine and if Kyiv reopens the pipeline, Moscow will welcome the move.

 

– ‘Red line’ on Ukraine

 

Zakharova warned that possible deliveries of longer-range missiles to Kyiv by Washington will mean crossing the red line, with the US becoming a direct party to the conflict.

 

“If Washington decides to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles, it will cross the red line and become a direct party to the conflict. In such a scenario, we will have to respond adequately,” she said.

 

“US officials make frank admissions that the US military has been preparing the recent ‘counteroffensive’ of Ukraine for several months. Then I have a question: Is it still the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the West?” she said.

 

Zakharova claimed that the financial aid for Ukraine provided by the US and NATO is a part of a “major money laundering corruption scheme.”

 

Zakharova also touched upon the meeting of Ukrainian authorities at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Sept. 8, adding that an additional $675 million in security assistance for Ukraine was allocated by the US administration.

 

This authorization was the US administration’s 20th drawdown of equipment since August 2021.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

 

During the meeting, Putin referred to Pakistan as one of Russia’s priority partners in Southeast Asia and Asia as a whole.

 

Offering condolences for the loss of precious lives in the floods, Putin expressed his country’s willingness to assist affected people in Pakistan, saying Russia has already sent humanitarian aid.

 

The president stated that relations with Islamabad are improving and that a meeting of the Russian-Pakistani Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) will be held this fall to discuss ways to not only restore but also increase trade turnover.

 

“We have good prospects in various sectors: in the field of railway transport, in the energy sector, and there are very interesting and large-scale projects here. This is the so-called Pakistani Stream; we are talking about creating the necessary infrastructure for the supply of liquefied natural gas,” the president said.

 

Putin noted that gas deliveries to Pakistan are possible through Central Asian infrastructure – Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

 

“We need to resolve the issue with Afghanistan,” he said, adding, “of course, there are problems related to political stability, but bearing in mind our mutual good relations with the Afghan people, I hope that this problem can be solved,” he said.

 

For his part, Sharif thanked Putin for sympathy and humanitarian aid, saying that 33 million people have been affected by floods in Pakistan, which also claimed the lives of over 1,400 people, many of whom were children.

 

“Thank you so much for your support. We received it at a very important (critical) time. We are grateful to you for this,” said the prime minister.

 

Sharif said he has good memories of his trip to Russia, recalling that the first metallurgical plant in Pakistan was built with the support of the former Soviet Union.

 

It was the kind of inclusive relationship that developed between Pakistan and your country, he said, adding that he believes Russian-Pakistani cooperation has great potential.

 

Sharif discussed the devastating impact of this climate-related disaster with Putin during the meeting, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister’s office in Islamabad

 

He expressed satisfaction with the steady expansion of Pakistan-Russia relations, which he described as based on strong mutual trust and understanding.

 

“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work closely with Russia to further expand and strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all areas of mutual benefit including food security, trade & investment, energy, defense and security,” the statement said.

 

It was agreed to hold the next IGC meeting in Islamabad at an early date.

 

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this report from Islamabad

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed growing ties with Tehran as he met his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Thursday.

 

Putin said Iran will soon join the SCO, a security group formed by Beijing and Moscow, as a full-fledged member. Iran signed a memorandum of commitment Wednesday for its permanent membership in the regional organization.

 

Russia and Iran are finalizing a new major Russian-Iranian treaty that will elevate bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, he said, adding that trade turnover has grown over the years.

 

Next week, a large business delegation involving about 80 Russian companies will travel to Iran, and inter-regional ties continue to develop, the president said.

 

For his part, Raisi called relations with Russia “strategic” and thanked Putin for Moscow’s contribution in facilitating the process of Iran’s accession to the SCO. All members will benefit from Iran’s membership, he added.

 

Raisi slammed US sanctions against Iran and Russia, saying restrictive measures only strengthen ties between countries.

 

“We believe that given the good partnership that is developing or has developed between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation, we can make good steps forward in order to fully ensure the interests of our countries,” he said.

 

On the possible revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Raisi said Tehran does not leave and will never leave the negotiation table, but “it has been proven to everyone, the whole world knows that the United States of America is non-negotiable, they violate all obligations.”

 

“And, of course, everyone saw that the European Union is also passive, they are not able to fulfill their promises,” he added.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s foreign minister arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday on an official visit to Israel.

 

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed is leading a high-level delegation during his several days’ visit, which coincides with the 2nd anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel, the state news agency WAM reported.

 

Bin Zayed is expected to hold talks with Israeli officials to discuss a flurry of issues of mutual concern and horizons of cooperation between the two countries.

 

In September 2020, the UAE and Israel signed a US-sponsored deal to normalize their relations. Since then, the two countries have exchanged official visits by senior officials and signed dozens of bilateral agreements in various fields, including investment, banking services, and tourism.

 

Three other Arab states – Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – joined the UAE in the controversial move that came to be known as the Abraham Accords.

 

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report

 

Source: Anadolu Agency