Iranian, Iraqi oil ministers discuss joint field development

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and his Iraqi counterpart Hayan Abdel-Ghani discussed expanding cooperation, including the development of joint fields, on the margins of the 7th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Algeria, the Iranian government said.

"The Iranian and Iraqi oil ministers discussed during the meeting the expansion of cooperation in the field of complex development of shared fields, trade in gas and petroleum products, payment mechanisms and development of infrastructure for trade in products [of oil and gas refining]," the government said on Telegram.

The parties agreed to select one or two fields with small reserves for joint development at first, then move to larger fields, the government said.

The ministers also discussed oil drilling and the creation of infrastructure such as gas pipelines by Iranian companies in Iraq, Iranian authorities added.

The 7th GECF summit was held in Algeria's capital from March 1-2. The GECF is an intergovernmental organization that brings together the world's leading gas producers and exporters and provides a framework for the exchange of views, experiences, data, cooperation and collaboration among its member states on gas-related issues.

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Russia’s Galuzin, China’s Li Hui discuss Ukraine crisis

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has held a meeting with Chinese Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, during which the parties exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Galuzin received in Moscow the special representative of the government of the People’s Republic of China for Eurasian Affairs, the head of the Chinese delegation to resolve the Ukraine crisis, Li Hui. An interesting and detailed exchange of views took place on the topic of the Ukraine crisis," the ministry said in a statement.

The diplomats noted that "the ultimatums put forward by Kiev and the West to Russia and the associated ‘dialogue’ formats only harm the prospects for a settlement and cannot serve as its basis," the statement added.

"It has been stated that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement is impossible without the participation of Russia and taking into account its interests in the security sphere," the ministry said.

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Arab League welcomes results of inter-Palestinian talks in Moscow

The League of Arab States (LAS) is welcoming the meeting of Palestinian factions in Moscow, LAS Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told Sputnik, adding that this endeavor by Russia could lead to mutual understanding between them.

Moscow hosted talks between various Palestinian factions, including the Hamas and Fatah movements from Thursday to Friday, with the sides issuing a joint communique. Following the meeting, Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, told Sputnik that there were no differences between it and other Palestinian factions that could not be bridged to form a unity government.

"We have read the final statement of the meeting. This is a good endeavor by Moscow, and we hope that Russia's efforts will lead to the establishment of mutual understanding between Palestinian factions in the aftermath of the war," Zaki said on the sidelines of the 2024 Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

There is still no consensus on many issues related to the ceasefire in Gaza, he added.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 30,000 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.

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Russia's air defense systems have destroyed 38 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, the Defense Ministry said

"Tonight, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using 38 fixed-wing drones on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was prevented. All Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems over the territory of the Republic of Crimea," the ministry stated.

The conflict in Ukraine represents a major defeat for powers who have gotten used to “dominating planet Earth for hundreds of years” and are going to have to “get accustomed to a bitter new reality,” Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of History at the University of Houston told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.

The topic of discussion was French PM Emmanuel Macron’s comments that he would not rule out sending NATO troops into Ukraine to fight Russia.

Horne explained that NATO’s position is “the worst of both worlds,” because “it is enmeshed in a war it cannot win, but it can’t afford to lose. And when you are in such a corner, inevitably, it leads to the kinds of intemperate remarks of Mr. Macron, it leads to Rishi Sunak of London dispatching the flower of British youth to an uncertain fate in Ukraine,” he said, referring to comments by Scholz that there are already UK personnel in Ukraine operating Storm Shadow missile launches.

“I think taxpayers and US citizens should ask themselves how all these think thanks and bureaucrats at the State Department and Pentagon… manage this kind of potential quagmire that NATO and the United States are now enmeshed in?”

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni acknowledged there are "objective difficulties in legal and financial terms" if Russia's sovereign assets are used to benefit Ukraine.

Ray McGovern: ‘Sheer incompetence and ignorance’ led to plan to attack Crimean Bridge

“Here’s this wise man, Bobby Gates, saying ‘Oh let's get into World War Three,” Ray McGovern, a peace activist and former CIA analyst with over 27 years of experience, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour, referring to comments made by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that matched the leaked German audio that included plans to destroy the bridge. “I mean, if he is speaking for an influential element not only in the White House but also the German Army, my God.”

“It’s just sheer incompetence and ignorance,” McGovern continued later. “He reads the intelligence. Previous presidents and previous CIA directors are given special treatment, they can read the latest and most sensitive intelligence. … The intelligence has been so bad that Bobby Gates could be led to believe this would teach the Russians a lesson.”

“If I were Putin, I would have my focus on full alert because one of these acolytes [might] say ‘hey, Mr. Biden… we did the cluster ammo, we did the depleted uranium, who’s going to complain if we do just a mini-nuke?’ So that’s the danger here,” McGovern warned.

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Italian warship shoots down drone in Red Sea

"This afternoon, guided by the principle of self-defense, the ship Duilio shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Red Sea. The unmanned aerial vehicle, similar in its characteristics to those already used in previous attacks, was approximately 6 kilometers [3.7 miles] from the Italian ship and was flying towards it," the Italian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the Houthi attacks "terrorist," adding that they were a "serious violation of international law" and an "attack on the safety of maritime transport" on which the country’s economy depends, the statement read.

Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led the US to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. Forces of the US and the UK later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels' ability to target commercial vessels.

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🎯 Russian sniper units continue to carry out combat missions near Kupyansk

Snipers of the 1st Guards Tank Army covertly destroy crucial targets and troops from a distance of over 1,000 meters, to support motorised rifle and tank units, and also cover AGS grenade launchers.

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▪️ How likely are tensions between Berlin and NATO following the intercepted conversation between high-ranking German officers?

▪️ Ray McGovern: ‘Sheer incompetence and ignorance’ led to plan to attack Crimean Bridge

▪️ Sputnik’s expert explains why the Ukraine crisis is a major defeat for powers which had become used to ‘dominating Earth for hundreds of years’

▪️ Russia intercepts and destroys 38 Ukrainian drones over Crimea overnight

▪️ ‘Largest CIA operation in history’: ex-US State Dep. official predicts outcome of the Ukraine conflict

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A secure line was not used during an online meeting in which Bundeswehr officers discussed the possibility of attacking the Crimean Bridge, German newspaper Bild reported.

The conversation was organized via the Bundeswehr office’s landline phone on the US WebEx conference software installed on the officers' mobile phones. The use of WebEx by the officers was previously also pointed out by the DPA news agency.

German security services are now checking whether the WebEx version used is authorized for the exchange of information of the lowest level of secrecy ("Classified information - for official use only").

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Germany to stick to its 'no Taurus missiles to Ukraine' decision – report

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not revise his opinion on the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine in the wake of the leaked conversation between high-ranking German military officials, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing sources close to the chancellor.

Scholz remains opposed to the transfer of the long-range cruise missiles to the Kiev regime, the publication added.

The outlet noted that Russia had “turned the tables” on Berlin by publishing the intercepted telephone conversation involving Bundeswehr representatives discussing a potential attack on the Crimea Bridge with the weapons. The bombshell leak, coupled with Olaf Scholz's acknowledgment that British and French troops are assisting Ukrainians to fire SCALP and Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles at Russian targets feed into Berlin’s Taurus “fiasco,” the German outlet summed up.

Scholz can be expected to stick to his decision, while his “allies” will have increasingly more reason to doubt Germany, it added.

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The audience is packed minutes before Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, is set to address participants of the World Youth Festival on the Sirius Federal Territory. The topic of the event is “Russia Today: History in Every Day”

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❗️ WATCH LIVE: Rossiya Segodnya Editor-in-Chief Simonyan Speaks at World Youth Festival

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📹 The Russian media is successfully fighting Western imperialist propaganda in various parts of the world, said Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, at the World Youth Festival on the Sirius Federal Territory.

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Russia ‘delivers blow to NATO ranks’ with trannoscript of leaked German war talks - experts

By publishing the Bundeswehr officials' alleged attack-plotting, Moscow did more than “shed light on the hybrid war waged by a united Western front against Russia for years,” Iranian political scientist Ruhollah Modabber, told Sputnik.

Russia also “blew a hole in NATO ranks,” while demonstrating its own "strength and capabilities," stated the expert stated.

The possibility being mulled of striking Russian territory with Taurus cruise missiles indicates the “military bankruptcy of Berlin,” Nabil Surur, Lebanese expert on Russian affairs, underscored.

As for the West, it is “now in a critical state, having exhausted its forces by providing weapons, equipment, artillery and aviation to the failing Kiev regime,” Surur added.

Ahmed Al-Haj Ali, Lebanese international and regional relations expert, said that Moscow has enough similar files “that could affect the reputation of major Western countries,” adding: “Now the [NATO] alliance will have to admit its defeat, signs of which have become clearly visible in the fighting in Ukraine, and American help and an ‘umbrella’ this time will not protect it from collapse.”

Germany's denial of leaks of military conversations “will not protect Berlin, and will not change the fact that the West is involved in supporting Ukraine in many attacks that threaten Russia’s national security,” Ali Hamud, another Lebanese expert, warned.

“NATO policy since the bloc’s creation has been aimed at defeating Moscow and controlling Russia in all aspects, but pumping the Kiev regime with weapons and money has not, and will not, cause serious harm to it.”

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📹 Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, has shared her advice on how to make Vladimir Putin feel at ease without saying anything silly

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❗️ Fierce fighting with counterattacks is taking place in the village of Rabotino on the Zaporozhye front line, Vladimir Rogov, head of the regional public movement "We Are Together with Russia," told Sputnik