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Kremlin says not optimistic on US talks

By
IFP Media Wire
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday it was positive that Monday’s talks in Geneva had been held in an open, substantive and direct manner, but Russia was interested only in results.

“There are no clear deadlines here, no one is setting them – there is just the Russian position that we will not be satisfied with the endless dragging out of this process,” he continued.

Russian and the US negotiators gave no sign of narrowing their differences in briefings after the first session in Geneva.

Peskov noted the situation would be clearer after two further rounds of talks that Russia is due to hold this week – with NATO in Brussels on Wednesday and at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on Thursday.

During an interview with the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to task over her remarks that Russia would spread disinformation over the Geneva talks.

“What you are talking about is no longer a matter of bewilderment but of deep pity. After all, this is a great nation, a great country. And when left to the mercy of people who do not have a good grasp of the subject matter and do not feel responsible for the words they utter, this evokes deep pity,” the diplomat insisted.

“Let’s presume that we heard yesterday’s statement made by their negotiators, and we heard the expert statements yesterday. In some ways, they were the same as ours, in other ways we had different assessments. I would still keep those statements in mind. By those people who were present at the negotiations,” the spokeswoman noted.

Following the most recent talks, Psaki stated that the US was bracing for Russia to spread disinformation about commitments related to the bilateral consultations in Geneva on security guarantees.

 

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned his American counterparts that some form of military response to the US stationing advanced weapons in Europe could be possible in the future. Moscow and Washington gave no sign that they had narrowed their differences on Ukraine and wider European security in talks in Geneva, Switzerland, which lasted for more than 7.5 hours.

He insisted that if NATO proceeds toward the deployment of new capabilities in weaponry, “which are being developed very rapidly in the US”, the Russian military may reply in a way that “will inevitably and unavoidably damage the security of the US and its European allies”.

Speaking to the media after a day of crucial US-Russian negotiations on security guarantees in Geneva, Ryabkov also said that there has been no progress so far on Russia’s proposals to curb NATO expansion. He added that the ball is now in NATO’s court, which, in his words, has to finally make a “real step” toward finding common ground with Russia.

“We are calling on the US to demonstrate a maximum of responsibility at this moment. Risks related to a possible increase of confrontation shouldn’t be underestimated,” Ryabkov said, adding that “significant” effort has been made to persuade the Americans that “playing with fire” is not in their interests.

Following discussions on Monday in Switzerland over the future of European security, the Russia’s chief negotiator has warned that his American counterparts “underestimate the gravity of the situation”.

While the US delegation came to Geneva for “serious” discussions on Moscow’s European security proposals, they failed to show an understanding of how key issues need to be resolved, Ryabkov claimed.

Russia laid all of its cards on the table in proposals made public last month, Ryabkov insisted, and those represent “demands that we cannot retreat from”.

The diplomat described the Geneva talks as useful because they discussed matters previously considered off the table, and noted he did not think the situation was hopeless. The greatest difference of views between the US and Russia was on the further expansion of Washington’s NATO military bloc.

“Unfortunately we have a great disparity in our principled approaches to this. The US and Russia in some ways have opposite views on what needs to be done,” the deputy FM told reporters.

“For us, it’s absolutely mandatory to make sure that Ukraine never ever becomes a member of NATO,” Ryabkov said, and Moscow is insisting that the institution amend its policies to reflect this reality.

“We are fed up with loose talk, half-promises, misinterpretations of what happened in different negotiations behind closed doors,” he added, referring to the State Department’s claims in recent days that NATO and the US never promised Moscow that NATO would not expand to the east.

“We do not trust the other side, so to speak,” Ryabkov said, adding, “It’s over, enough is enough.”

Following Monday’s talks in Geneva, Ryabkov will meet with NATO representatives on Wednesday, and with the OSCE on January 13, after which Moscow will make a decision whether to continue the negotiations further.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has told reporters that Russia’s proposed limit on the expansion of NATO further into Eastern Europe is a “non-starter”. However, she said that progress in talks with Moscow is possible.

Sherman on Monday met with Ryabkov in Geneva. Called to discuss a series of security proposals offered to the US and NATO by Moscow, the Cold War-style meeting lasted more than seven hours.

Afterwards, Sherman told reporters that the pair found some room for progress. She added that US officials are “open to discussing” the size and scope of NATO military exercises in Europe “on a reciprocal basis”, and suggested that the US could alter its placement of missiles in Europe to better accommodate Russian security concerns.

Both sides remain deadlocked, however, on one of the most crucial of Moscow’s demands: that NATO cease taking in new members from the former Warsaw Pact states. Sherman called this idea a “non-starter”, saying that the US “will not allow anyone to slam closed the door to NATO membership to anyone”.

Declassified documents have previously revealed that during the dying days of the USSR, Western leaders promised their Soviet counterparts that NATO would not expand into Eastern and Central Europe. However, the US’ current position is that no such promise was ever made, and that NATO’s membership books must remain open – even for states bordering Russia.

At the core of the dispute is Ukraine. Pro-Western factions in Ukraine aspire to join the military alliance, a move that would put Western troops and arms on Russia’s border. Moscow considers such a situation unacceptable, but NATO leaders insist that Ukraine needs protection from a potential invasion by Russia, something that Moscow has repeatedly dismissed as “hysteria”.

Sherman noted that no decision on issues affecting Ukraine would be made without Ukrainian involvement, and stated that talks aimed at resolving the crisis would continue.

However, she described the overall tone of Monday’s meeting as “frank and constructive”, and stated that herself and Ryabkov would continue to find common ground on arms control issues. This statement echoes Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments to US cable news networks on Sunday, in which he suggested that the current talks could possibly revive the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, a Cold War agreement that banned the deployment of medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe by either the US or Russia. Under President Donald Trump, the US pulled out of the treaty in 2019. However, Moscow insisted that any such possibilities rely fully on whether Russia’s main demand about the expansion of NATO is heard.

Preventing nuclear war is something both sides can easily agree on.

Sherman said that herself and Ryabkov reiterated a promise signed in writing last week by the US, Russia, and the world’s other nuclear powers that “a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought”.

Resolving the crisis in Ukraine is a different matter.

After the meeting, Sherman insisted that Russia must pull back any troops stationed near Ukraine’s border, even though they may be on Russian soil.
“It is on Russia to de-escalate tensions”, she told reporters.

However, talk of military solutions to the standoff have come from both sides, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg openly suggesting that the West may take military action if talks fail.

“We have significant capabilities,” he stated on Friday, adding, “We have troops, we have forces. We have the readiness. We have the plans to be able to defend, protect all allies … to make sure that we preserve peace in Europe.”

The US State Department has said the US and Russia have a better understanding of each other’s concerns following a meeting between the two sides in the Swiss city of Geneva, but again threatened Moscow with “financial sanctions” and other “costs” if it launches any military action in neighboring Ukraine.

“If Russia stays at the table and takes concrete steps to deescalate tensions, we believe we can achieve progress,” stated Sherman, the number two diplomat in the State Department.

She reiterated potential actions that Washington and its allies are prepared to take if Russia launches an invasion, despite the fact that Moscow has rejected Washington’s allegations of preparing to invade the neighboring country.

“Those costs will include financial sanctions, and it’s been reported those sanctions will include key financial institutions, export controls that target industries; enhancements of NATO force posture on ally territory; and increased security assistance to Ukraine,” Sherman added.

China’s Iran oil imports hit record high despite US bans

By
IFP Media Wire
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China doubled down on imports of Iranian and Venezuelan crude in 2021, taking the most from the US-sanctioned governments in three years, as refiners brushed off the risk of penalties to scoop up cheap oil.

Crude processors in the world’s biggest importer were observed to have bought 324 million barrels from Iran and Venezuela in 2021, about 53% more than the year before, according to data from market intelligence firm Kpler. That’s the most since 2018, when China took 352 million barrels from the two nations.

Chinese buyers, particularly private refiners, have benefited from Washington’s tough line on Iran and Venezuela, continuing to buy their oil long after their counterparts elsewhere in Asia ceased purchases. The risk that non-US entities may lose access to the US financial system or have their American assets frozen if found guilty of breaching the sanctions hasn’t dissuaded them.

A glut of unsold cargoes, rising international prices, and the issuance of more crude import quotas by Beijing, have incentivized the private refiners, known as teapots, to snap up more oil from the pariah states. These shipments typically don’t show up in official customs data.

“This surge was triggered by rising crude prices, making Iranian crude, anecdotally, up to 10% cheaper when delivered into China,” said Anoop Singh, head of tanker research at Braemar ACM Shipbroking Pte Ltd.

The US also eased sanctions enforcement as it tried for a nuclear deal with Iran, he added.

Sanctioned oil is typically transported on old ships that would have otherwise been set for the scrapyards, providing cost savings, according to Singh. Cargoes may be shipped directly from the country of origin on tankers that have gone dark — meaning their transponders are turned off — or transferred between vessels at sea to mask where the crude has come from, he noted.

Iranian and Venezuelan crudes are often re-branded and passed off as oil from Oman and Malaysia. China hasn’t received any Iranian crude since December 2020, while imports from Oman and Malaysia have risen, official data show.

Chinese imports of sanctioned crude should stay elevated around current levels early this year amid slow progress on the nuclear talks, according to Braemar and industry consultant Energy Aspects Ltd.

Global oil prices that have jumped almost 50% over the past year are also making cheaper, sanctioned barrels more attractive. That could be exacerbated by tax and pollution probes into Chinese teapots, which are putting more pressure on them, stated Yuntao Liu, an analyst at Energy Aspects in London.

The price of sanctioned oil will always be discounted, said Emma Li, a Singapore-based analyst at Vortexa Ltd.

“For teapots, the incentive is always the low price, compared with other popular grades,” Li added.

‘Afghanistan not to pose threat to other countries’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Muttaqi, who was talking with Afghan citizens in the United States in a video conference, stated the government has pledged to not allow foreign countries to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, and that Afghanistan will open a new chapter of good governance and relations with neighbors and regional and world countries.

He added that the political isolation of Afghanistan is not in the interest of anyone.

“We seek positive and constructive relations with our neighbors, region and the world. We want positive interaction based on mutual respect with all nations,” Muttaqi told the participants of the conference.

Referring to the fall of Kabul in mid-August, Muttaqi said that Islamic Emirate forces sought to enter Kabul through dialogue but the security organization of the previous administration ran away and created a power vacuum in Kabul, so Kabul residents requested Islamic Emirate forces to enter and maintain security.

“We sought to enter Kabul city through dialogue and understanding, but as the head, and security organs of the previous administration chose to run away and a power vacuum gripped Kabul, public figures and residents of Kabul requested our forces to enter the city and establish security, he added.

The acting foreign minister once again announced that the Islamic Emirate entered Kabul with a message of national unity and had no plans of killing or detaining anyone. Some of former opposition are still living a dignified life under the shade of the Islamic Emirate, he said.

“The Doha agreement is a good framework for relations between Afghanistan and the world, specifically with the United States of America. We believe that the complete implementation of the Doha agreement can remove existing impediments in relations between us and the United States of America along with its allies, therefore, it is needed that all sides remain committed to contents of the Doha agreement,” Muttaqi noted.

He added that Afghans deserve to have a good life in their own country. The new government does not want its citizens, specifically its educated and professional cadres, to be encouraged or forced to migrate to Europe.

Iran MPs back investigation into Rouhani admin performance

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The proposals were ratified with 138 votes in favor, 28 votes against and 10 abstentions.
The ratification calls for an investigation into the following issues during Rouhani’s term in office:

1. What was the role of deputies and directors of the presidential office in its ‘wrongdoing’, especially in terms of finances, intervention in the nuclear talks and control over “bottlenecks that create rent”?

2. Investigation into the role of presidential aide Hossein Fereydoon in the nuclear talks and the ‘negative consequences of his intervention.’

3. The role of the presidential chief of staff in appointing directors of economic institutions, factories, banks and other sensitive centers with high revenues.

4. Examining the role of the economic team of Rouhani, especially his deputy for economic affairs Mohammad Nahavandian, in injecting 18 billion dollars into the foreign currency market and distribution of 60 tons of gold to help control prices, which the lawmakers said had no positive outcome.

Rouhani’s opponents have long accused his administration of mismanaging the foreign currency and gold markets amid biting US sanctions.

The critics also accuse his aides of abusing their positions of power for personal gains.

Rouhani at the time repeatedly rejected the accusations saying sanctions left no space for doing a better job on the foreign currency and gold markets.

Council: Iran ranks 4th in global nanotech rankings

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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“The global rank and standing of Iran in the field of nanotechnology is assessed in quantitative terms.

Of course in terms of quality, Iran also ranks among the top 10 countries in the world given the articles published on the subject,” the INIC Spokesman Saeed Sarkar said.

Sarkar stressed that, in nanotech Iran is ranked higher than such countries as South Korea, Germany and Japan, among others.

He said Iran has so far produced around 850 certified products, which have been industrialized and have helped improve people’s lives.

The official added that Iran produced some 2.7 billion dollars worth of nanotech products last year. He said the construction and pharmaceutical industries are the key sectors, where nanotech products are more widely used.

Kazakhstan govt. says coup attempts failed, 10k arrested

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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“Interior Ministry: 9,900 people were detained by law enforcement officers,” a report in a Telegram channel, which posts information from Kazakh departments, said.

The Kazakh president stated on Tuesday that a terrorist war was unleashed against the country.

“A terrorist war was unleashed against our country. The enemy showed extreme cruelty and readiness to take any steps. He sowed fear among the population in order to suppress even the very idea of resistance. The plan of attack on Kazakhstan included a number of different aspects: military, political, ideological, disinformation and others,” Tokayev told lawmakers.

The leader lashed out at the country’s National Security Committee, noting that the committee failed to detect the threat to the country’s national security.

“Professionals worked on the preparation of the seizure of power in Kazakhstan,” the president added, noting that the attempted coup failed.

Tokayev also signed on Tuesday a decree on the appointment of former First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, who is currently the acting prime minister, as government head, the presidential office said.

“To appoint Alikhan Smailov … the prime minister of Kazakhstan,” the office added citing the decree.

Earlier in the day, the lower house approved Smailov’s candidacy.

Violent protests erupted in Kazakhstan earlier in the month over an increase in prices for liquefied gas.

Despite the government’s attempts to quell the crowds and now-fulfilled promises to decrease prices, peaceful demonstrations turned into violent clashes with law enforcement officers, as well as looting, arson and acts of terrorism across Kazakhstan.

Tokayev declared a nationwide state of emergency, effective until 19 January, and also invited the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeeping forces to help bring the situation under control. The peacekeepers were helping with protecting vital facilities in some regions

Foreign militants, including some recruited from Afghanistan and the Middle East, have participated in the aggression against Kazakhstan, Tokayev claimed on Monday.

The State Secretary of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Erlan Karin, noted that the unrest in Kazakhstan was a “hybrid terrorist” attack carried out with the participation of both internal and external forces and aimed at overthrowing the government.

Tokayev said that the withdrawal of a CSTO peacekeeping contingent, sent to the nation to restore order, would begin in two days and would take no more than 10 days.

“The main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed, in two days a phased withdrawal of the united CSTO peacekeeping contingent will begin. The process of withdrawal of the contingent will take no more than 10 days,” Tokayev added.

Kazakhstan has appealed to the CSTO, requesting peacekeepers assistance, on legal grounds since control over Almaty could have been lost, Tokayev noted.

“The plan of attack on Kazakhstan included a number of different aspects … Since it was an armed aggression on the part of international terrorism, Kazakhstan legally appealed to its partners in the Collective Security Treaty with a request to send a peacekeeping contingent … We could have completely lost control over Almaty,” Tokayev told lawmakers.

Additionally, he stated that the acute phase of a counterterrorist operation in Kazakhstan had been generally passed, noting that the situation is stable in all regions.

Appointment of Iran petrochemical giant’s chief triggers criticism

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The former president of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has replaced Jaafar Rabeie who held the post for four years.
With more than 15 manufacturing and service companies, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corporation is known as the second largest petrochemical holding company in the Middle East.

Ali-Asgari’s appointment has been met with criticism as he lacks expertise and experience in the field.

Former IRIB chief Mohammad Sarafraz joined the chorus of criticism on Tuesday saying ironically in a twitter post that Ali-Asgari who addressed all the problems of the IRIB in the past will now resolve the administration’s financial woes.

12 Asiatic cheetahs left in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Iran’s Deputy Head of the Department of Environment Hassan Akbari says measures taken so far to increase protection, reproduction, and the installation of road signs have not been enough to save the species.
“There are currently only nine males and three females against 100 in 2010 and their situation is extremely critical,” the deputy head of environment department added.

Akbari blamed drought, hunters and car accidents, especially in the country’s central desert for the feline’s decreasing population.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Asiatic cheetah is critically endangered.

Iran is one of the last countries in the world where the animals live in the wild.

In 2001, the Islamic Republic launched a United Nations-supported protection program to save the endangered species.

Iran UN envoy calls on US to deliver Achaemenid tablets

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said, “About 90 years ago, Achaemenid tablets went to the American Institute of Oriental Studies in Chicago for a three-year loan and have not been fully returned since then.”

Stating that these tablets are part of the culture and history of the country and belong to the people of Iran, Takht-e Ravanchi added, “The United States postpones every time under the pretext of doing so, while the Americans themselves admit that the tablets came to the United States on loan, but were not fully returned.”

Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations called Tehran’s request “clear” and stressed, “The loan must be returned in full, orderly, and safe and handed over to the Iranian government.”

The Achaemenid tablets contained more than 30,000 tablets and were shipped to the Institute of Oriental Studies of the University of Chicago in 1915 with the approval of the then Iranian government.

These tablets were to be returned to Iran during three years of studies.

This did not happen in the first few years, but with Iranian pursuits, some of the tablets were returned to Iran in 1948 and some in 1971. Another part of these tablets was returned to Iran in 2004, but some of these tablets remain in the Oriental Institute of Chicago.

Iran produces rapid test kits for Omicron Covid

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The managing director of Barekat E-Health Company says only three countries in the world currently possess the technology to produce the kits.

Sajjad Moraveji says the kits enable tracking of the new variant in just 15 minutes.

“After testing, the kit’s barcode, the patient’s national number and the sampler’s national number as well as the date and venue of sampling are digitally registered and then people who were in contact with the infected person are tracked,” he said.

Moraveji added that the diagnostic kit has been produced by Iranian researchers and is now available on the Iranian market.

He said the kit has an accuracy rate of 92 percent and a sensitivity rate of 98 percent.

Moraveji further stressed that his company is now producing 200-thousand kits a day, but its capacity can be increased if there is demand inside the country.

Iran has seen a 25-percent leap in the number of its daily coronavirus infections since Friday, after weeks of low infection numbers that raised hopes the disease had subsided across the country.

Officials say the surge is due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. They say currently more than one in four of the new infections are diagnosed as omicron and have called on people to pay greater attention to observing health protocols.

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