European official: Updating the customs union agreement with Turkey is beneficial for both parties

The head of the European Union delegation to Turkey stressed during a meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce that updating the customs union agreement between Ankara and the bloc will bring benefits to both parties.

The head of the European Union mission to Turkey, Ambassador Nicholas Mayer-Landrut, said that the modernization of the customs union agreement between Ankara and the bloc will bring benefits to both parties.

In a speech, Wednesday, during a meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, he added that technical discussions between Turkish officials and their counterparts in the European Union are continuing regarding the modernization of the agreement.

He referred to the expected capabilities of Turkey and the European Union in the event of updating the customs union agreement, noting that "Turkey is an important part of the European industrial chain."

In a related context, the European official said that Turkey is the sixth largest partner of the European Union, indicating that economic relations constitute one of the most important points of the existing relations between the two sides.

Turkey calls for expanding the scope of the customs union agreement in force for a quarter of a century, that is, since its entry into force in 1996, to include agricultural products, the service sector and e-commerce.

Is the deal close? Israel seeks German help for prisoner exchange with Hamas

During the meeting of the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholzen asked Germany to help reach a deal to exchange prisoners with the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas".

On Wednesday, Israel asked Germany to help reach a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas".

The request came during a meeting with Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) Mickey Levy, in Berlin, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In a written statement, the Israeli parliament said: "The Speaker of the Knesset asked the German chancellor to help in the issue of the Israeli prisoners and missing persons."

"In light of the previous success of German mediators in prisoner exchange transactions, we would like additional help from you," the Knesset speaker added.

Germany played a role in the prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was brokered by Egypt, in 2011.

For several years, Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Hamas on a prisoner exchange deal.

Tel Aviv says that 4 Israelis are being held in the Gaza Strip, and it believes that two of them, two soldiers, were killed during the 2014 war.

Hamas refuses to reveal the fate of the four Israelis, before Israel agreed to release the prisoners who were released in a deal in 2011, and who were subsequently re-arrested.

The Speaker of the Knesset is on a visit to Germany, to participate in the commemoration of the Holocaust memorial ceremonies.

Indications of the possibility of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in mid-February and Moscow: we will take our measures

Washington announced that indications indicate the possibility of the Russian President using force against Ukraine in mid-February, while Moscow threatened to take the necessary measures if there was no constructive response from the United States and NATO to the Russian security proposals.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Wednesday that all indications point to the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin's use of force against Ukraine in mid-February.

"I don't know if President Vladimir Putin made his final decision to invade Ukraine," Sherman added, during a virtual chat hosted by the Yalta European Strategy Forum.

And she continued, "But we certainly see all indications that he will use military force at some point, perhaps now or by mid-February."

And she added, "We are all aware that the opening Olympics in Beijing will start on February 4, and President Putin is expected to attend, but I think it is possible that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be happy if Putin chooses that moment to invade Ukraine."

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that if there is no constructive response from the United States and NATO to the security proposals submitted by his country, the latter will take the necessary measures.

And on Wednesday evening, Moscow announced that it had received Washington's response to the security proposals for the Ukraine crisis, according to local media.

Lavrov pointed out that radical changes had taken place in the international arena, noting that these changes were "not positive."

He explained that the West is trying to impose its own rules on the international community and seeks to undermine international law.

He continued, "The West is not ready to accept the realities of the new multi-polar world. This world needs more justice and democracy, not the rule of one country."

And he added: "Western countries, led by the United States, are trying to oppose the objective flow of history and gain unilateral advantages for themselves, without caring for the interests of other countries."

The Russian Foreign Minister indicated that the United States and its allies in Europe are trying to undermine Moscow through imposing sanctions and applying pressure.

And he added, "Provocative military exercises near our borders, attempts to bring Ukraine into NATO, sending weapons to Kiev, and Ukraine's direct provocations against Russia are enough to prove attempts to undermine Russia."

Lavrov noted the importance of implementing the Minsk agreements on the issue of eastern Ukraine, calling on the United States, France and Germany to put pressure on Kiev to comply with these agreements.

Commenting on the statements made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Lavrov said: "I do not pay any attention to these statements, as for me Stoltenberg, they relate to reality."

In the same context, Russia announced, on Wednesday, its intention to hold military exercises in the "Rostov" region, close to the border with Ukraine.

A statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry said that some military units of the Southern Military District were sent to the Rostov region for maneuvers.

The statement indicated that the maneuvers are aimed at monitoring the readiness of military units to move over long distances.

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously announced that the army would conduct a series of military maneuvers in all areas for which it was "responsible" during January and February of this year.

Relations between Kiev and Moscow have been strained for about 8 years, against the backdrop of Russia's illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea and its support for separatists loyal to it in the "Donbass".

Recently, Western countries accused Russia of amassing its forces near the Ukrainian border, while Washington threatened to impose sanctions on Moscow if it "launched an attack" on Ukraine.

For its part, Russia rejected the accusations about the movements of its forces inside its territory, and denied the existence of any "aggressive" plans it had towards Ukraine.

France The Senate approves a law of apology to the Algerian activists

After long debates, the French Senate voted in a first reading on a bill to request an "apology" to the Algerian harkis and to try to "repair" the damages they have suffered.

The French Senate voted in a first reading on a bill to request an "apology" to the Algerian harkis and an attempt to "repair" the damages they have suffered.

This came after long discussions that resulted, on Tuesday evening, with the approval of the text of the law by the unanimous vote of the voters, according to what was reported by France 24 channel.

331 members voted in favor of the law, while only 13 abstained.

On November 18, the National Assembly (Parliament) deputies approved a draft law recognizing “unsuitable conditions” for receiving 90,000 activists and their families, who fled their country, Algeria, after independence in 1962.

The law provides for "repairing" the damage, by providing a sum of money according to the length of stay in unsuitable camps and places.

The French government estimates the number of potential beneficiaries at about 50,000 people, at a total cost of 302 million euros (about $340 million) over about 6 years.

The bill's introduction came a few days after more than 100 Algerian parliamentarians presented a bill criminalizing French colonialism at the level of the National People's Assembly office (lower room).

It is noteworthy that the French law is a direct legal translation of President Emmanuel Macron's speech, which he delivered on September 20, in the presence of representatives of the activists, during a ceremony in honor of him.

During the Algerian war of liberation in the era of French colonialism (1830-1962), up to 200,000 Harkis were recruited as assistants to the French army, and at the end of the war, tens of thousands of them, accompanied by their wives and children, were transferred to France, where they were placed in “temporary camps” where living conditions were not available. Generous.