https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

---

Putin heads to Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey Posted: 19 Jul 2022 05:36 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran — Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran starting Tuesday is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow's challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.In only his second trip abroad since Russian tanks rolled into its neighbor in February, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a United Nations-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe US sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran's weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House has alleged.But perhaps most crucially, Tehran offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member, has found itself opposite Russia in bloody conflicts in Azerbaijan, Libya and Syria. But Turkey hasn't imposed sanctions on the Kremlin, making it a sorely needed partner for Moscow. Grappling with runaway inflation and a rapidly depreciating currency, Turkey also relies on the Russian market.The gathering has symbolic meaning for Putin's domestic audience as well, showing off Russia's international clout even as it grows increasingly isolated and plunges deeper into confrontation with the West. It comes just days after US President Joe Biden's visited Israel and Saudi Arabia—Tehran's primary rivals in the region.From Jerusalem and Jeddah, Biden urged Israel and Arab countries to push back on Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence that has expanded with the perception of America's retreat from the region.It was a tough sell. Israel maintains good relations with Putin, a necessity given Russian presence in Syria, Israel's northeastern neighbor and frequent target of its airstrikes. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have so far declined to pump more oil beyond a plan approved by their energy alliance with Moscow.But all the countries—despite their long-standing rivalries—could agree on drawing closer to counter Iran, which has rapidly advanced its nuclear program since former President Donald Trump abandoned Tehran's atomic accord with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions. Talks to restore the deal have hit a deadlock. On his trip, Biden said he'd be willing to use military force against Iran as a last resort.Backed into a corner by the West and its regional rivals, the Iranian government is ramping up uranium enrichment, cracking down on dissent and grabbing headlines with optimistic, hard-line stances intended to keep the Iranian currency, the rial, from crashing. Without sanctions relief in sight, Iran's tactical partnership with Russia has become one of survival, even as Moscow appears to be undercutting Tehran in the black market oil trade.The focus of the talks among the three presidents will be the decade-old conflict in Syria, where Iran and Russia have backed President Bashar Assad's government, while Turkey has supported armed opposition factions. Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, pooling efforts with Lebanon's Hezbollah militants and Iranian forces and using its air power to shore up Assad's fledgling military and ultimately turning the tide in his favor.Ushakov said the parties will discuss efforts to encourage a political settlement, while Erdogan is expected to take up Turkey's threats of a new military offensive in northern Syria to drive away US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters from its borders. The operation is part of Turkey's plans to create a safe zone along its border with Syria that would encourage the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.Russia strongly opposes the planned Turkish incursion, Ushakov stressed. Humanitarian issues in Syria have also come into focus since Russia used its veto power at the UN Security Council last week to force a restriction in aid deliveries to 4.1 million people in Syria's rebel-held northwest after six months, instead of a year.Talks to lift a Russian blockade and get Ukraine's grain into global markets will also be on the agenda. Last week, UN, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials reached a tentative agreement on some aspects of a deal to ensure the export of 22 million tons of desperately needed grain and other agricultural products trapped in Ukraine's Black Sea ports by the fighting.Tuesday's meeting between Putin and Erdogan could help clear the remaining hurdles, a major step toward alleviating a food crisis that has sent prices of vital commodities like wheat and barley soaring. (AP)

Authorities in south China apologize over Covid-19 break-ins Posted: 19 Jul 2022 05:28 AM PDT BEIJING — Authorities in southern China apologized for breaking into the homes of people quarantined for being suspected of contracting Covid-19 in the latest example of heavy-handed measures that have sparked a rare public backlash.The Communist Party newspaper Global Times reported Tuesday that 84 homes of people sent for isolation in Guangzhou city's Liwan district were opened in an effort to find close contacts remaining inside and to disinfect the premises.The doors were later sealed and new locks installed, the paper reported.The district government apologized for such "oversimplified and violent" behavior, the paper said. An investigation team has been set up to investigate and "relevant people" will be severely punished, it said.China's leadership has maintained its hard-line "zero-Covid" policy despite the mounting economic costs and disruption to the lives of ordinary citizens, who continue to be subjected to routine testing and quarantines, even while the rest of the world has opened up to living with the disease.Numerous cases of police and health workers breaking into homes around China in the name of anti-Covid-19 measures have been documented on social media.Authorities in Beijing have taken a gentler approach, concerned with prompting unrest in the capital ahead of a key party congress later this year at which president and party leader Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term amid radically slower economic growth and high unemployment among college graduates and migrant workers. / AP

You are subscribed to email updates from SUNSTAR. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States