Talks on Iran's nuclear program have resumed

 

Diplomats from the EU, Iran and Russia sounded optimistic after Iran and world powers held their first talks in five months on Monday to try to salvage their 2015 nuclear deal, although Tehran has publicly taken a firm stance, which it says Western powers will not work, Reuters commented.

Diplomats say the time is running out for a revival of the treaty, which the former US administration of President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, angering Iran and embarrassing other participating powers - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.                                                            At the talks, the delegates of the European Union, Iran and Russia gave an optimistic assessment, after the new round began with a meeting of the other parties to the deal, without the United States, with which Iran refuses to meet face to face.

"I feel extremely positive about what I saw today," said Enrique Mora, the EU's presiding officer after the meeting, the seventh round of talks aimed at reviving the agreement, under which Iran has curtailed its controversial uranium enrichment program. replacing the easing of US, EU and UN economic sanctions.                                                                            Mora told reporters that the new Iranian delegation had adhered to its demand that all sanctions be lifted. But he also added that Tehran has not categorically rejected the results of the previous six rounds of talks between April and June.

"They accepted that the work done in the first six rounds was a good basis for building our work forward," he said. "Of course, we will include the new political sensitivity of the new Iranian administration.".                                                    The Vienna meeting put an end to a long hiatus caused by the June election of Ebrahim Raisi, an anti-Western hardline Iranian judge as the country's president. The talks are, in fact, indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, with officials communicating between them.

Tehran's negotiating team has made demands that US and European diplomats find unrealistic, Western diplomats say.Iran has taken an uncompromising stance, demanding the lifting of all US and European Union sanctions imposed since 2017, including those unrelated to its nuclear program, in a process that can be verified.

The Islamic Republic's chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, also said the United States and its Western allies must offer assurances that no new sanctions will be imposed in the future.                                                                                                   "It is a great achievement that all parties to the meeting accepted Iran's request to first clear the situation with illegal and unjust US sanctions and then (we) to discuss other issues and decide on these issues," he told reporters.

There was no immediate comment from other parties on Bagheri Kani's words about the sequence of topics.

Austria imposes a serious fine for refusing vaccination

 A bill to introduce compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 in Austria provides for a fine for refusing vaccination of up to 7,200 euros, the Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported, citing a document developed by the Austrian government.

According to the draft law, compulsory vaccination against coronavirus will apply to all people living in Austria from February 2022. The penalty for refusing vaccination will be 3,600 euros or four months in prison. Those who ignore two notifications from the authorities about the need for vaccination will face a huge fine of 7,200 euros.                             Exceptions will include people who are at risk for life and health due to vaccination, pregnant women and children under 12 years of age. The bill is due to be submitted to parliament around 6 December, after which it must be approved by the two chambers of the Austrian parliament.

Due to the fourth wave of the pandemic, the Austrian government announced a plan to introduce a mandatory vaccine against Covid-19 from February 2022. This measure proved unpopular in Austrian society and provoked mass protests across the country involving tens of thousands of people in support of the right to vote. for vaccination.

Russia is unlikely to re-establish its NATO membership

 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and former Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Alexander Grushko ruled out the possibility of restoring his country's representation in NATO in Brussels. Russia announced the termination of its NATO mission in mid-October in response to the Alliance's decision to revoke the accreditation of eight members of Russia's permanent mission to the organization. The work of the NATO Information Bureau and the military liaison mission in Moscow has also been suspended, reminds the Russian newspaper "Kommersant".                       "Everything is developing in such a way that we will hardly return there," Grushko said during a discussion at the Valdai club, answering the host's question whether Russia would return to Brussels.

In early October, the NATO Secretariat informed the Russian side of the decision of the Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg to revoke the accreditation of eight employees of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation from November 1, 2021, and to reduce the total number of diplomatic missions to 10 people. . According to Stoltenberg, the expelled diplomats were "unannounced spies.".                                                                                         Commenting on the termination of the dialogue with NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the North Atlantic Alliance itself was to blame for the closure of Russia's permanent mission to the organization. The Russian president noted that Moscow "does not want to cooperate with NATO anyway."

Moscow will react reciprocally to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United States

 Moscow will respond to the forthcoming new expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United States. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"We have warned the Americans that in order to avoid further staff reductions there, we cannot fail to respond," he said, urging the United States to stop this policy.                                                                                             About 27 Russian diplomats with their families will have to leave the United States on January 30 next year. The same number of employees of the diplomatic mission will have to leave the United States by June 30, 2022, said Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov late Saturday night.

"Our diplomats are being persecuted. On January 30, a large group of my comrades will leave - 27 people with their families, and on June 30 - as many more," Antonov said.

Erdogan voiced Turkey's readiness to mediate between Moscow and Kiev

 

Turkey can mediate between Ukraine and Russia amid growing tensions in the region, President of our southeastern neighbor Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Daily Sabah.

"We hope that this region will not become a war-dominated region," the Turkish leader said. "Let this region enter the future as a region dominated by peace."

"We want the relations on this issue to develop in a positive direction. There may be mediation for this, we will discuss this issue with them, we would like to have a share in solving the problems by developing these talks with both Ukraine and Mr. Putin, "he added on his return from Turkmenistan.

A giant US military transport ship lands in Alexandroupolis

 

The impressive American military transport ship ARC Independence docked in the port of Alexandroupolis on Saturday, Protothema reports.

His arrival is in support of the great Atlantic Resolve military exercise and transports helicopters and vehicles that will begin unloading in the coming days. At the same time, the ship's staff will pick up military equipment, as well as helicopters that have already arrived in the port of Alexandroupolis from Romania and have already been dismantled, as well as vehicles to be transported to the United States.                                                                                 This is not the only cargo ship that will arrive in the port of Alexandroupolis to unload and then load military equipment of the US military. They will follow, because, as the American ambassador to Athens Jeffrey Payette stated, the biggest arrival of military equipment in the port of the city will happen in the next period.

The event, to be held in Alexandroupolis, in the presence of Mr Payet and government ministers, is scheduled for 3 December.

The military alliance between Russia and China could deprive the United States of its status as a leading superpower

 

On Tuesday, Moscow announced it was expanding military "cooperation" with Beijing in light of alleged threats from Washington, including US nuclear bombers flying near Russia's borders, The Sun reported.

Tensions between the West and Russia have reached a boiling point over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the migration crisis in Belarus.

Isabel Suckins, a fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and an expert on Russia, told The Sun that the unification of Russia and China threatened catastrophic consequences for Western powers.                     This development is extremely detrimental to the West and undermines America's position in the world, she said. The combined efforts of China and Russia will cause panic in Western capitals.

"China is gaining strength, and it's not so much about its impressive economy as it is about the scale of power. "Cooperation between China and Russia and their shared concern for the West's actions is a really terrible prospect."

In August, Moscow and Beijing participated in a joint military exercise and signed a memorandum of understanding.                             And this week, in light of alleged US exercises near Russia's borders, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the strengthening of the military alliance between the two powers. He said: "Against this background, Russian-Chinese coordination is becoming a stabilizing factor in world affairs."

During the video meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen co-operation between the armed forces through strategic military exercises and joint patrols, the Russian Defense Ministry said.               Sokins described the development of a military partnership as a "horror" for the West. "If Russia and China eventually unite, they will want to take control of America in several ways. Events in Afghanistan have tarnished the Biden administration's reputation, and many have begun to lose credibility in its military interventions and overseas activities.

Speaking about the consequences for Europe and the United Kingdom, she said: "For the United Kingdom, this is terrible because we are much closer to Russia than the United States. We are very, very close to Moscow. ".                                                                                        Sokins said that in the event of a Russian-Chinese attack on US troops, Britain would have to intervene. Europe will be involved in all this confusion. "We need to make sure we are ready in the event of hostilities. And in general you need to keep your ears open. America cannot fight Russia and China alone. She will need help from Western partners and I think she will be one of the first to contact us. "

Earlier this month, Russia warned that relations with the West were nearing a boiling point due to growing tensions over the accumulation of migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border.                        As NATO and Russian forces play cat and mouse, Putin says he will easily eliminate any aggressor who attacks the country. In recent days, US officials have repeatedly warned of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the Kremlin has already amassed 100,000 troops at the border.

In addition, Putin has been accused of fueling the current migration crisis between Belarus and Poland and even sending nuclear jet bombers there.                                                                                                     Belarus, formerly known as the last European dictatorship, has been accused of using migration as a weapon against the EU, sparking tense opposition along its border with Poland, involving troops from both sides.

This was preceded by EU sanctions against Belarus following the brutal actions of the authorities against the protesters, which swept the country in response to the outcome of the general election.