Middle East Experience

Ukraine on Saturday denied suggestions that it was refusing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia but said it was also not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Reuters Ukraine has prepared a negotiating position but was faced with impractical negotiating conditions from Russia.“It was yesterday that the aggressive actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation escalated, up to evening and night mass air and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities,” he said in a message. “We consider such actions only an attempt to break Ukraine and force it to accept categorically unacceptable conditions.”Read more: Kremlin: Ukraine prolonging conflict by refusing talks with Russia
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukraine not refusing negotiation with Russia, but not ready for ultimatums: Official

After the government of Ukraine has asked for volunteers from the country's hacker underground, 6 Russian government websites including the Kremlins official website are down.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Six Russian government websites including Kremlin website down

Russia sees its military coordination with Israel over Syria continuing, the Russian embassy said on Saturday, after Moscow signaled displeasure with Israeli statements about the Ukraine crisis.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

Russian troops resume full-out offensive * At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children killed * all the live updates here:
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Russian forces fire at a bus, kill 5 and injure 6 in Kharkiv Oblast.

"Dear compatriots ... The Embassy has begun the formation of lists of volunteers who wish to participate in the protection of Ukraine from the Russian military aggression!"
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israelis invited by Ukrainian embassy to participate in the war against Russia

PA President Mahmoud Abbas is still hoping that Russia would play a major role in any future peace process between the Palestinians and Israel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Close ties with Russia stop Palestinians from taking sides in Ukraine war - analysis

The diplomatic adviser to the UAE president Anwar Gargash said on Sunday that the UAE rejects military solutions and encourages a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict.“We believe that taking sides will only lead to more violence. [When it comes to] the Ukraine crisis, our priorities are encouraging all sides to adopt diplomacy and negotiations to reach a political settlement that ends this [conflict],” Gargash said on Twitter.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.He also said that the UAE has a “firm stance” regarding the basic principles of the UN, international law and sovereignty of countries.Gargash added that the “sharp polarization” which the world faces as a result of the conflict in Ukraine “increases the factors of instability.”“Based on our experience in a region full of conflicts, we [believe] that [reaching] political solutions and creating balances that strengthen security and stability are the best way to confront crises and mitigate their consequences,” he added.Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.On Friday, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, while China, India and the UAE abstained from the vote.Read more:Zelenskyy hails international ‘coalition’ backing UkraineUkraine conflict could last ‘number of years’: British Foreign Secretary TrussZelenskyy ready to talk with Russia, but not in Belarus
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE official Gargash says UAE encourages political solution to Ukraine conflict

The UN refugee agency said Sunday more than 368,000 people had fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on Thursday.“The current total is now 368,000 and continues to rise,” United Nations High Commission for Refugees or UNHCR said in a tweet, adding the new figure was based on “data made available by national authorities.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.A large number of those escaping to neighboring countries have crossed over into Poland, where the authorities have counted some 156,000 crossing since the invasion started early Thursday.Border guards counted some 77,300 arrivals from Ukraine on Saturday alone.The refugees have arrived in cars, in packed trains and even on foot.Those who arrive with nowhere to go can count on the help of volunteers, both members of NGOs and private citizens.Others have also headed to Moldavia, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.Read more:Turkey, overseeing passage to Black Sea, calls Russian invasion ‘war’Greece is to send Ukraine ‘defense equipment’ and humanitarian aid: PMGoogle blocks RT, other Russian channels from earning from ads on websites, YouTube
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukrainian refugee tally tops 368,000: UN

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani will return to Vienna on Sunday evening for talks on resolving the remaining issues in indirect negotiations with the United States to revive a 2015 deal, the official IRNA news agency reported. Bagheri Kani, who flew to Tehran last week for consultations with Iranian officials, will “pursue the negotiations with a clear agenda aimed at resolving” the remaining issues, IRNA said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Nournews, which is affiliated to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council that is in charge of the nuclear talks dossier, said a council meeting stressed “the need to quickly resolve the remaining issues that border between agreement and dead end”. It did not name the sticking points, but the main remaining disputes appear to include the extent of sanctions rollback and questions about uranium traces found at several old but undeclared sites. “No restriction on time can prevent the continuation of the talks for a good agreement,” Nournews added. Iran has made clear it wants an end to the oil and banking sanctions that are hurting its economy, while insisting also onthe lifting of human rights and terrorism-related curbs. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Tehran was ready to “immediately conclude” a deal in talks to revive its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers if Western powers show real will. “Seriously reviewing draft of the agreement...Our red lines aremade clear to Western parties. Ready to immediately concludea good deal, should they show real will,” Amirabdollahian said on Twitter. Ambirabdollahin is due on Tuesday to report to the Iranian parliament on the progress of the talks, local media said. On Friday, a senior US State Department official said negotiators had made significant progress in the past week or soon reviving the deal but very tough issues remained. The pact was abandoned in 2018 by then-US President Donald Trump, who also reimposed extensive sanctions on Iran. The deal between Iran and world powers limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium to make it harder for it to developmaterial for nuclear weapons, if it chose to, in return for a lifting of international sanctions against Tehran. Other parties to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia -- have shuttled between the two sides during the Vienna talks.Read more: Iran says ready for ‘immediate’ nuclear deal if Western powers show real will
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran’s nuclear negotiator returns to Vienna for talks on resolving remaining issues

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in four regions of the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday, citing Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. The fields were found in the central area of the kingdom, in the Empty Quarter desert, near its northern border and in the eastern region, he said, according to SPA. Saudi Arabia wants to increase gas production and boost the share of natural gas in its energy mix, replacing crude and fuel oil, to meet growing electricity consumption and to make more crude available for export. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The minister said an unspecified number of fields were discovered and he mentioned five by name, without indicating in the SPA report if these were all the reservoirs that has been found.The fields he mentioned are Shadoon, in the central region, Shehab and Shurfa, in the Empty Quarter, in the southeastern region, Umm Khansar, near the northern border with Iraq, and Samna, in the eastern region.Two of the gas fields, Samna and Umm Khansar, are “non-conventional,” he said. Non-conventional deposits, also known as shale, are usually trapped in tight pore spaces, requiring special extraction techniques. Read more:India pledges to release emergency oil reserves to calm surging pricesAramco shares rise to record high as oil tops $100 for first time since 2014Oil prices jump nearly 5pct, shares sink as Russia forces edge toward Ukraine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s Aramco finds new gas fields in four regions