Western negotiators warn: We have only weeks to save the Iran nuclear deal
The European powers and the coordinator of the talks said that negotiators in the indirect talks between Iran and the United States have a period measured in weeks, not months, to reach an agreement, after delaying negotiations Friday for at least 10 days.
The European powers and the coordinator of the talks said that negotiators in the indirect talks between Iran and the United States have a period measured in weeks, not months, to reach an agreement, after delaying negotiations Friday for at least 10 days.
Talks to salvage the nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers in 2015 have made little progress since they resumed more than two weeks ago. The appeal was the first since the election of hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in June.
Iranian envoys are seeking massive amendments to the outlines of the agreement crystallized in six previous rounds of talks, exposing the talks to a dead end as Western powers warn clearly that time is running out for efforts to curb Iran's fast-moving nuclear activities.
"We don't have months, but weeks, to reach an agreement," European Union envoy Enrique Mora told a news conference following the final formal meeting of the seventh round of talks. He added that he hoped to resume talks this year, and some officials had tentatively referred to December 27.
Officials said Iran had requested a halt to the talks, which Western powers had planned to continue until Tuesday.
Mora said that all parties have included Iran's demands in the current text so that there is a common basis for negotiation, but the three European powers that signed the 2015 deal seemed less optimistic.
"We hope that Iran is ready to quickly resume talks, and engage constructively so that the talks can move at a faster pace," negotiators from France, Britain and Germany said in a statement. They added: "We are on our way to quickly reach the end of the road to these negotiations."
Yedioth Ahronoth: The United States pledged to Israel its reconstruction in the event of a war
The Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reveals details of a pledge by the United States of America to Israel to rebuild it, in the event that its infrastructure is destroyed, following a war, for example with Iran.
An Israeli newspaper revealed that the United States of America pledged to rebuild it, in the event that its infrastructure was destroyed, following a war.
The Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported on Friday that the United States pledged to help Israel rebuild civilian infrastructure that would be damaged by the outbreak of a regional war, including, for example, the outbreak of armed conflict between it and Iran.
And the newspaper said: “In the last chapter of the secret Israeli-American joint defense plan for a regional emergency, there is a clause that few in the Israeli political and security establishment know. Building civilian infrastructure that would be damaged by a regional war, for example between it and Iran.”
She indicated that this includes the reconstruction of "ports, electricity, communications, water, roads, and any other assistance that Israel will seek to rebuild the home front."
"This provision is less familiar, perhaps because it did not become effective until 2018, and perhaps because no one believed it would destroy infrastructure at the scales that extreme scenarios would expect," she said.
"It is doubtful that the United States has a similar agreement with another country," she added.
She noted that the agreement "is intended for extreme scenarios: a large-scale missile attack on seaports, electricity and water supply systems, and other vital sites."
However, the newspaper added: "But the joint (US-Israeli) attack on nuclear facilities is still a distant dream."
In recent weeks, Israel announced that it was preparing to carry out attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In turn, Iranian officials said that any Israeli attack would be answered.
Ukraine's ambassador denies his country's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel
From a previous meeting between the Ambassador of Ukraine with former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin - Ambassador's Facebook page.jpg.jpg
Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Kornichuk, denied his country's recognition of Jerusalem as the "sole capital" of Israel, according to Israeli media reports.
The ambassador stressed, through a post on his Facebook page, that "the issue of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations, on the basis of the resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly."
"Ukraine strongly supports the efforts of the international community to achieve peace in the Middle East, where all peoples can live side by side in peace and security," he added.
In what looks like a retreat, the ambassador considered that the Times of Israel quoted some of his statements, in which she stated that "Ukraine could recognize Jerusalem as the sole capital of Israel next year, and open a branch of its embassy during a visit by the President Volodymyr Zelensky".
The ambassador’s statements, or the newspaper’s quotations, sparked widespread controversy, prompting the Palestinian Foreign Ministry to summon the Ukrainian representative to Palestine, Maxim Tyukin, who repeated what Ambassador Kornichuk said in his denial.
Opening of a diplomatic office
But the ambassador, and in the same post on Facebook, said that close historical and cultural relations bind the two countries, and that these relations have flourished in recent years.
"As a next step towards strengthening our special relations, Ukraine is studying the possibility of opening a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, to enhance economic and technical cooperation, while the Ukrainian embassy continues to work in Tel Aviv," he added.
For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba congratulated Ukraine and Israel on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and noted, during the activities of the Third Jewish Forum in Kiev, that the friendship between the two peoples goes back centuries, and the Israeli-Ukrainian relations are very "promising".
He explained that "the Jewish community played an important role in Ukrainian history, and prominent Jewish political, cultural and religious figures, of Ukrainian origin, played a major role in making the history of the State of Israel."
He also spoke proudly about the free trade agreement signed between the two countries, which increased the volume of trade exchange by 10% over the past 9 months, and about Israel's investments in Ukraine, which amounted to $100 million.
He considered that "Israel is a country that has suffered from external aggressions, and therefore it knows two things well, the first is the importance of showing strength in order to succeed and defend the right to life, and the second is the importance of having strong friends."
"This is a lesson we learned from our history, as well as from the history of the State of Israel," he said.
Turkish police take over duties on Hungary's borders with Serbia and Romania
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu signed a protocol with his Hungarian counterpart Sandor Pinter, according to which the Turkish police will assume duties on Hungary's borders with Serbia and Romania.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu signed a protocol with his Hungarian counterpart Sandor Pinter, according to which the Turkish police will assume duties on Hungary's borders with Serbia and Romania.
Soylu signed the protocol on an official visit he started to Budapest, on Friday, where he held a bilateral meeting with Pinter, and another at the level of delegations, according to what the two ministers mentioned in a press conference.
Soylu pointed out that the signed protocol comes within the framework of the agreement concluded between Turkey and Hungary during the meeting of the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries on November 11, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
According to the protocol, 50 Turkish police will assume duties on the Hungarian borders with Serbia and Romania, to combat irregular migration, human smuggling and drug trafficking.
Ukraine: We want to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said that her country wants to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey, and stressed Kiev's keenness to attract Turkish investors to Ukraine by creating important opportunities in the private and public sectors.
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said on Friday that her country wants to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey, in order to achieve the greatest benefit for all sectors in the country.
Speaking to Anatolia, Sviridenko added that her country has held 11 official meetings with Ankara since 2011, with the aim of reaching a free trade agreement, noting that talks between the two sides are still continuing.
She explained that Ukrainian businessmen support opening up to the Turkish market, noting that the main areas of bilateral cooperation are information technology, innovation, industry, energy and ways to raise its efficiency, logistics, infrastructure and transport, in addition to tourism.
She pointed out that there are joint plans between the two countries to raise the volume of trade exchange to $10 billion annually in the coming period.
Sviridenko stated that the first nine months of 2021 witnessed a 50% increase in the volume of merchandise trade between the two sides, compared to the same period last year.
She also stressed Kiev's keenness to attract Turkish investors to Ukraine, by creating important opportunities in the private and public sectors.
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