Day: December 14, 2023

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We are open to discuss any arrangement or initiative that could end the (Israeli) aggression,” Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, said in a televised speech aired on Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV, adding that without Hamas, any arrangement regarding the future of Gaza would not succeed.

Haniyeh said Hamas welcomed the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and applauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the ministerial committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit to end the Gaza conflict.

He confirmed Hamas’s rejection of any post-war political arrangements that exclude Hamas and other Palestinian factions, and urged for increased international pressure to halt Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Earlier, Israeli media reported several Hamas leaders’ departure from Qatar to undisclosed destinations, suggesting potential relocations to countries such as Lebanon, Iran, or Algeria.

No confirmation from Hamas has been obtained regarding these reports.

Israel’s conflict with Hamas since Oct. 7 has resulted in extensive casualties. At least 18,608 Palestinians have been killed and 50,594 others wounded in the Israeli attacks on Gaza and about 1,200 people have died in the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Palestinian children are seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 13, 2023. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Palestinian children are seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 13, 2023. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian child is seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 13, 2023. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian child is seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 13, 2023. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian child is seen at a temporary shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 13, 2023. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction is ready to discuss with Israel any arrangement or initiative that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Netherlands is contributing €10 million to the Global Concessional Financing Facility for Armenia – Public Radio of …  en.armradio.am

On the eve of the EU Council meeting, President Salome Zurabishvili hosted a reception for the diplomatic corps and pro-European politicians, marking the end of the public campaign – “Our Voice to Europe.” President Zurabishvili addressed the guests at the reception, expressing her hope for receiving EU candidacy and continuing on the European path with double responsibility. At the reception, she symbolically handed over the signatures collected during the pro-EU campaign to the EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński. In turn, Ambassador Herczyński thanked the President for her EU efforts, promising to send the signatures to Charles Michel’s office.

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On the eve of the EU Council meeting, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili addressed the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, in a capacity of the Spanish EU presidency, expressing hope that the European Council will take a “strategic and forward-looking decision” to grant Georgia candidate status. In a letter sent to European leaders, PM Garibashvili pledged to continue working on the necessary reforms, emphasizing that the future of Georgia lies in the EU.

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The ruling Georgian Dream party has enlisted the services of Israeli spin doctors Moshe Klughaft and Miri Michaeli, co-founders of ACT News, an AI-generated news company, to prepare for the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia. Klughaft, an experienced election strategist and campaign manager, previously collaborated with Georgian Dream in 2018, contributing to Salome Zurabishvili’s victory in the presidential elections. The opposition claims that Klughaft’s political tactics include aggressive rhetoric and hate speech in election campaigning.

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Speaker Shalva Papuashvili lambasted “multimillionaire NGOs,” saying they are “not loyal to Georgia but to their funders.” The speaker’s statement on NGOs was made in the context of adopting the Defense of Democracy Package by the EC, which is billed as an effort to “shed light on covert foreign influence” in the EU. Speaker Papuashvili reflected ironically that the EU had slammed the government last March for adopting the law on the “Agents of Foreign Influence,” while today, “the European Union is asking for the same today by initiating a Directive.”

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Although the European Parliament has no formal say on the EU enlargement process, it has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling the European Council to grant Georgia EU candidate status and open accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzogovina. In a resolution, the MEPs stressed the strategic importance of the EU enlargement process as a key geopolitical tool for the EU amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, strongly criticizing Hungarian Prime Minister Orban’s stance on Ukraine’s accession talks.

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The Kremlin’s man in charge of occupied Abkhazia’s foreign relations, Inal Ardzinba, is visiting Syria, where he met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, discussing prospects for deeper cooperation, including the possible opening of a “consulate” in Damascus. “Abkhazia and Syria are fighting for a fairer world order – multipolarity. We represent the global majority – this is more than 85% of the world’s population. These are people who do not want to live under the diktat of the West,” – Ardzinba told the Syrian media.

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Data of the Day

National Statistics Office (Geostat) published express data indicating that Georgia’s external merchandise trade (excluding non-declared trade) increased by 14.7% in January-November 2023 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, reaching USD 19 626.4 million. According to Geostat, external merchandise trade saw exports rise by 11.1% to USD 5 583.3 million, while imports increased by 16.3%, totaling USD 14 042.1 million. At the same time, the trade deficit amounted to USD 8 457.8 million, representing 43.1% of the overall trade turnover.

Through the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) the Netherlands supports middle-income countries that receive large numbers of refugees but are not usually eligible for concessional financing from development banks. One such country is Armenia, which has taken in over 100,000 residents from the enclave Nagorno-Karabakh since September.  

On 19 September, Azerbaijan launched offensive operations against Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result, more than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes, nearly all of whom found refuge in Armenia. Those from Nagorno-Karabakh taken in represent about 3% of the Armenian population.

The sudden population increase has put a great deal of pressure on the country’s social services, labour market and overall economy. Taking in so many people also entails considerable costs. To help Armenia in this regard, the Netherlands is contributing €10 million to the Global Concessional Financing Facility.

NPR News: 12-14-2023 12AM EST

Shortly after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) came to a successful conclusion in late October, 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong became the first foreign leader to visit China.

This time, the state visit to Vietnam as the successful culmination of China’s diplomatic efforts this year is of great importance, said General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday as he concluded his two-day state visit to Vietnam.

Xi made the remarks as he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, bid farewell to Trong and his wife, Ngo Thi Man, before returning to China.

Throughout the years, leaders of both parties and countries have consistently maintained close communication, reaching numerous crucial agreements to guide the cooperative development of bilateral ties.

Noting that it is a good tradition for leaders of the two parties to draw up plans for the development of relations between the two parties and countries, Xi pointed out that during this visit, he and Trong jointly announced the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

The decision has brought China-Vietnam relations to a new historical starting point and will push China-Vietnam relations to a new level, Xi said.

The announcement came as the two sides are marking the 15th anniversary of establishing a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. China was the first country to forge such a partnership with Vietnam, the latter’s highest level of diplomatic ties.

Over the past 15 years since the inception of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Vietnam and China have made substantial progress in cooperation in various fields, laying a solid foundation for both sides to push bilateral relations into a new stage, said Dao Ngoc Bau, deputy director in charge of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

During Xi’s visit, both leaders quoted on several occasions late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh’s well-known remarks, which defined China-Vietnam relations as a bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”

Xi said that what impressed him most was Trong’s repeated emphasis that the China-Vietnam bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood” is the starting point and foundation of the China-Vietnam relationship.

As long as the two sides continue to steadfastly follow this path, China-Vietnam relations will surely achieve new developments, bringing greater benefits to the people of both countries, Xi said, thanking Trong and his wife for “the warmest reception and most grand hospitality” during the visit.

Xi added that he stands ready to continue to maintain close communication with Trong through various flexible means.

On the second day of his visit, apart from meeting senior Vietnamese officials including Chairman of National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, Xi also met with representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to China-Vietnam friendship.

The foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies among their people and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people, Xi said during his meeting with those representatives together with Trong.

As he said goodbye to Xi and his wife, Trong congratulated Xi on the complete success of his visit.

Noting that Xi’s visit had a tight schedule and far-reaching significance, Trong said that they had not only witnessed the signing of dozens of bilateral cooperation documents, but further enhanced mutual understanding and trust.

The decision to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance is of decisive significance to the future relations between the two countries, he said.

Noting that no long ago, he and Xi met with representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to China-Vietnam friendship, Trong expressed hope that they will inherit the traditional friendship of comrades plus brothers between the two countries and carry forward the cause of Vietnam-China friendship.

Newspaper: There are still dozens of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan  NEWS.am