The (mis)numbers of US Mideastern diplomacy

The Middle East conflict has been escalating for more than a year, with Israeli operations affecting both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. The US, while Israel’s main ally, tries to act as a mediator, maintaining diplomatic contacts with regional states.

Sputnik has looked into US diplomatic contacts with the region.

Israel. US is keeping regular contact with the Israeli side. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on October 12, 2023, and US President Joe Biden arrived to Israel four days later. In total, since the conflict started, Blinken has visited Israel five times while Biden senior adviser Amos Hochstein made the trip four times. In late July 2024, Biden hosted Israeli PM Netanyahu in the Oval Office.

Palestine. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declined to meet with Biden in October 2023, he has met with Blinken five times. The main topics discussed were the delivery of US humanitarian aid.

Jordan. The US planned visit to Jordan in October 2023 was canceled. However, in February 2024, King Abdullah arrived in the US on an official visit. Blinken visited Jordan twice, meeting with both King Abdullah and Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister.

Egypt. Biden has never met with his Egyptian counterpart al-Sisi since October 2023, maintaining only phone calls. Blinken visited Egypt three times, with each nation's delegations maintaining contacts via the negotiating group on Gaza.

Lebanon. Top American politician or diplomat had no visits to Lebanon since October 2023. The only time Blinken spoke by phone with acting Lebanese PM Najib Mikati in late October 2023, he warned that Lebanese people would suffer if drawn into a conflict with Israel.

Yemen. American diplomats have also failed to communicate with the internationally-recognized Yemeni government despite efforts to counter Houthi actions in the Red Sea.

Iran. Since the US and Iran have no diplomatic ties, neither country maintains any official contacts - even against the backdrop of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

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The Israel Defense Forces announced the elimination of Muhammad Abdullah, the leader of the radical Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, in the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank of the Jordan River.

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The total insured losses from hurricanes in the United States in 2024 after the Milton strike in Florida will exceed $100 billion, the international rating agency, Fitch Ratings, said.

Milton made landfall on Wednesday as a "dangerous Category 3" storm near Siesta Key, on Florida's central west coast. It caused considerable economic damage from high winds, substantial storm surge, heavy rainfall, tornadoes and flooding.

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📹Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in Laos for the 19th East Asia Summit

The East Asia Summit is a forum for dialogue between leaders of the Asia-Pacific region on a wide range of strategic political and economic issues, including the task of strengthening the regional security architecture. 

Meetings in this format are held annually in conjunction with ASEAN high-level events. Since 2011, Russian and American leaders have also been invited to the forum of heads of state of East and Southeast Asia.

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📹Russia's President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Turkmenistan on a working visit

In addition, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

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How US defense contractor Raytheon makes billions of blood money from weapons for Ukraine

Raytheon, the world’s largest producer of guided missiles, has significantly boosted its earnings, thanks to military supplies linked to the Ukrainian conflict, Sputnik’s analysis of the company’s earnings reports shows.

🔸Before the conflict escalated in early 2022, Raytheon faced a steep sales decline, reporting four consecutive quarters of falling revenue. New orders for its missile production subsidiary, Raytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD), began to dry up in late 2021, with an 8% year-on-year drop in orders. By mid-2022, sales had plunged by 11%. But with the onset of the Ukraine conflict, demand for systems like NASAMS, Stinger, Javelin, and Patriot missiles surged, reversing the trend. 

🔸Since the fourth quarter of 2022, Raytheon has reported five consecutive quarters of sales growth, driven by new contracts for Ukraine and other countries. Its backlog of unfulfilled defense contracts swelled from $63 billion at the end of 2021 to $77 billion by mid-2023, showing how Raytheon capitalized on the geopolitical crisis. 

🔸Recent major contracts include a $1.15 billion deal for AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and multiple Patriot system orders from Germany, each valued at $1.2 billion. These deals alone accounted for a significant portion of Raytheon’s multi-billion-dollar quarterly sales in 2023. 

Market research firm, Vertical Research Partners, have forecasted that the top five US defense contractors, including Raytheon, are projected to generate $26 billion in cash flow by the end of 2026.

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Key statements by Russia's President Vladimir Putin: 

💬Russia is open to discussing the parameters of the new world order with all partners in the international arena, including within the framework of associations. 

💬The principles of respect and equality between nations are in demand in the modern world against the background of global changes.

💬Universal peace and development can be ensured only by taking into account the opinion of each state and people, with respect for their sovereignty.

▪️Putin invited the participants of the Ashgabat forum, that's taking place in Turkmenistan, to Kazan for the BRICS summit.

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The final declaration of the East Asia Summit has not been adopted due to the actions of the US and its allies to politicize it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Any kind of ideas on the creation of military blocs carry the risks of confrontation, which may turn into a hot phase, Lavrov said, commenting on Japan's proposal to create an analogue of NATO in Asia. 

He noted that Moscow is observing the risks of militarization of the Asia-Pacific region, and that the West wants to direct the work of ASEAN against the interests of Russia and China.

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🔸Fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut resulted in 22 deaths and 117 injured.

🔸Putin arrives in Turkmenistan for expected talks with Iranian President Pesezhkian

🔸Watch Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov greeted at the 19th East Asia Summit in Laos

🔸How US’ Raytheon rakes in billions of blood money from Ukrainian conflict

🔸Why strength of US nuclear attack sub now a shadow of former self?

🔸All for the money? Analyst weighs in on why MI5 spy chief peddles ‘threats’ of ISIS and al-Qaeda

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If Israel strikes Iran's nuclear facilities, it would be a very serious provocation - Russian Foreign Minister 

The International Atomic Energy Agency tightly controls Iran's nuclear activities, but the organization does not see evidence that Tehran is transferring it to a military channel, Lavrov added.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳Footage of the joint patrol of the Coast Guard services of Russia and China

Russia and China conducted the first joint patrol of coast guard ships in the North Pacific Ocean, the Russian Federal Security Service said. 

In the period from September 20 to October 10, the Russian-Chinese maritime group crossed the Sea of Japan and entered the zone of operation of the Convention on the Management of Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean. It then moved into the waters of the Bering Sea and entered the Chukchi Sea.

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Biden referred to Trump as president and asked him to help those affected by Hurricane Milton.

"Mr. President Trump... Get a life, man. Help these people," Biden said.

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Should Zelensky brace for public anger over tax hike?

“We will be hated, but we don’t have any other option,” Ukraine’s deputy economy minister said.

Ukraine's parliament voted on Thursday to approve its biggest tax hike since 2022, resorting to a politically unpopular measure to raise funds for its gruelling war effort.

New taxes:

🔸 on personal income 1,5% 👉 5%
🔸 on banks profits 25% 👉 50%
🔸 on other financial institutions 18% 👉 25%

"When Mr. Zelensky returns home, he may have to face the wrath of his population over the tax increase — an unpopular measure in any nation, but especially so in a country whose economy has been ravaged by the war," according to Western media reports.

Ukrainian officials earlier admitted that the country can only cover military budget items on its own, with everything else being financed with the help of allies.

Ukrainian government has submitted to the Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) a draft budget for 2025 that includes a deficit of $38.68 bn, while the country's public debt will reach 101.8% of GDP by the end of next year and it is planned to attract $34.8 bn in foreign loans.

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📹Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov inspected the work of the new Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies of the Russian Defense Ministry, the military department said.

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🇮🇷'Israel has violated all sorts of international agreements because it knows it has the backing of the US and the EU' - Iranian President.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian calls on Israel to 'stop'. Stop killing innocent people, stop bombing homes.

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🇷🇺🇮🇷Russia's President Putin holds first bilateral talks with his Iranian counterpart, President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

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What are the pillars of Turkmen economy?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently visiting Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, where he has taken part in the "Interconnection of Times and Civilizations - Basis of Peace and Development" international forum. 

The visit comes amid the sustainable growth of the Turkmen economy, with the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 6.3% in the first seven months of this year, as compared to the same period of 2023.

What is driving the Turkmen economy?

🔸 Oil and gas industry comes first when it comes to the economy of the ex-Soviet republic, which boasts the world’s fifth-largest natural gas reserves (estimated at about 14 trillion cubic meters), accounting for about 70% of Turkmenistan’s total exports. 

🔸 The country consumes about 60% of its oil production domestically and exports the remainder over the Caspian Sea to international markets. Turkmenistan’s oil reserves are estimated at around 600 million barrels.

🔸 Apart from oil and gas, Turkmenistan’s subsoil contains such valuable minerals as sulfur, lead, mirabilite, iodine, as well as raw materials for the finishing industry, including limestone, dolomite, granite, gypsum, quartz sand, and gravel. 

🔸 The Turkmen economy is also driven by iron and steel, textile, сhemical, and shipbuilding industries. 

🔸 Turkmenistan's two largest agricultural crops are cotton and wheat, with the country ranked among the top ten producers of cotton in the world.

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🇷🇺🤝🇮🇷An enduring handshake between the presidents of Russia and Iran

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❗️Putin invited the Iranian president to pay an official visit to Russia. Pezeshkian gratefully accepted the invitation.

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❗️The Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Ostrovskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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❗️The Russian Sever Battlegroup liberated the settlements of Novaya Sorochina and Pokrovsky in the Kursk region.

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's weekly briefing on the special military operation's progress:

◻️The Russian Vostok combat group liberated the settlement of Zolotaya Niva in the Donetsk People's Republic. Ukrainian losses amounted to 780 militants;

◻️The Russian Tsentr Battlegroup liberated Grodovka in the DPR, repelled 58 counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The enemy losses amounted to 3,370 soldiers;

◻️Ukrainian losses amounted to 2,920 militants in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup zone;

◻️The Russian Dnepr combat group eliminated four Ukrainian field ammunition depots. The enemy lost up to 480 fighters;

◻️The Russian Yug Battlegroup eliminated up to 4,790 Ukrainian militants;

◻️43 Ukrainian servicemen surrendered;

◻️In a week, Russian air defense systems shot down 603 drones, 33 HIMARS projectiles, three ATACMS missiles, three Hammer bombs, and a converted C-200 missile.

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