WASHINGTON, 26 November 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the agenda for the November 30 – December 1 NATO Foreign Ministerial and the reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine.

Secretary Blinken noted that he looks forward to the Foreign Ministerial in Riga and dialogue on the full range of issues facing NATO.

TRIPOLI, 26 November 2021, (TON): Libya's top electoral body said that the son and one-time heir apparent of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is disqualified from running in presidential elections that are supposed to take place next month.

According to a list of barred candidates issued by the country's High National Elections Committee, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is ineligible because of previous convictions against him.

He can appeal the committee's decision in court within the coming days.

Seif al-Islam was sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2015 for use of violence against protesters who were calling for his father to step down, but that ruling has since been called into question by Libya's rival authorities.

He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising against his father.

Libya is set to hold the first round of its presidential elections on Dec 24, after years of United Nations-led attempts to usher in a more democratic future and bring the country’s war to an end.

WASHINGTON, 26 November 2021, (TON): The United States warned “there is no military solution” to Ethiopia’s civil war and said “diplomacy was the first, last, and only option after state-affiliated media said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was at the front line.”

With government forces fighting rebels from the northernmost Tigray region, Ethiopian media reported that Abiy was at the front “giving leadership from the battlefield” in an escalating year-long crisis that has prompted growing international alarm.

A State Department spokesperson said in a statement “there is no military solution to the conflict in Ethiopia.”

The official added “we are aware of reports that Prime Minister Abiy is on the front today, and media reporting of high-profile Ethiopian athletes, parliamentarians, party and regional leaders who have also announced that they will join the Prime Minister on the frontlines.”

“We urge all parties to refrain from inflammatory and bellicose rhetoric, to use restraint, respect human rights, allow humanitarian access, and protect civilians.”

MOSCOW, 26 November 2021, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that Moscow invariably supports Belgrade’s position on the Kosovo settlement.

The Russian head of state addressed “regarding our efforts and joint steps in the intern-ational arena, including ar-ound the Kosovo settlem-ent, you know that our po-sition is of a principled nat-ure, it is not subject to the current political environment.”

Putin said “we support your position on the Kosovo settlement, I hope that the situation will ultimately develop in such a way that will meet the interests of all people living in the region.”

As Vucic previously noted, he intends to discuss in detail with Putin the situation in the Balkan region, first of all, the growing tension around Kosovo and Metohija, where the situation has sharply escalated twice during the fall due to the aggressive actions of the Pristina authorities.

NEW YORK, 26 November 2021, (TON): The Lithuanian practice of pushing illegal migrants from Asian and African countries out of the border, trying to enter the country from the territory of Belarus, does not comply with international law.

Renata Kulesh, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced this to the Russian-language weekly Express-Nedelya, which is published in Lithuania on Thursday .

She stressed “we have repeatedly expressed that because of the turnover of people [illegal migrants] their lives are in danger. This does not meet the norms of international law. It is necessary to avoid actions that pose a threat to the lives of refugees and migrants.”

The UN representative is critical of the emergency measures applied by Lithuania in connection with the migration crisis.

“There is a risk of violation of the integrity of the system for receiving asylum seekers,” she said. As Kulesh noted, the country must “guarantee conditions of admission [of refugees and migrants] that meet human rights standards.”

Since the beginning of the year, over 4,000 illegal migrants from Asia and Africa have been detained at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.

WASHINGTON, 26 November 2021, (TON): The US Commerce Department put a dozen Chinese companies on its trade blacklist citing national security concerns and in some cases their help with the Chinese military's quantum computing efforts.

The department also said 16 entities and individuals from China and Pakistan were added to the blacklist for contributing to Pakistan's nuclear activities or ballistic missile programme.

In total, 27 new entities were added to the list from China, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement that the move will help prevent US technology from supporting the development of Chinese and Russian "military advancement and activities of non-proliferation concern like Pakistan's unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program".

The Commerce Department said Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Hunan Goke Microelectronics, New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Co. Ltd., Xi'an Aerospace Huaxun Technology, and Yunchip Microelectronics were placed on the Commerce Department's entity list for their "support of the military modernisation of the People's Liberation Army".

It also added Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, QuantumCTek, and Shanghai QuantumCTeck Co. Ltd. to the list for "acquiring and attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of military applications".

JERUSALEM, 26 November 2021, (TON): A Palestinian official said “Israeli authorities are working to build more than 17,000 settlement units in different parts of Jerusalem.”

In a statement, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Fadi al-Hadmi described the Israeli settlement plan as a "crazy tsunami."

He said “the acceleration in the construction of settlements through a series of projects eliminates any possibility of a two-state solution."

Al-Hadmi added “the Israeli government is progressing toward implementing a series of major settlement projects in the north, south, and east of the city, with the aim of isolating it completely from its Palestinian surroundings in the West Bank.”

The Palestinian minister said the projects include a plan to build 10,000 housing units on the land of Jerusalem International Airport, in Qalandia, in the northern part of the city.

Israeli authorities also plan to construct 3,500 housing units within the E1 area in eastern Jerusalem, 1,250 units within the Givat Hamatos settlement, 2,000 in the French Hill settlement and 470 in the Pisgat Zeev settlement, he added.

ABU DHABI, 26 November 2021, (TON): Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, opening a new chapter in relations between the regional rivals.

The first high-level visit to Turkey since 2012 comes a day after the Turkish lira crashed, the latest crisis in a tumultuous period for the economy.

Erdogan greeted Sheikh Mohammed on the ceremonial blue carpet at the presidential palace in Ankara before they went into talks.

The meeting was followed by a signing ceremony for several agreements whose content was not divulged. A formal dinner was planned later at the palace.

The groundwork was laid for the rapprochement with a visit in August by a UAE delegation, as well as a phone call between Erdogan and Sheikh Mohammed, UAE's de facto ruler.

The UAE and Turkey-backed opposing sides in the Libyan conflict and have diverging opinions on other regional issues such as gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Relations were particularly tense after a Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar by Arab countries including the UAE in 2017. Doha is one of Ankara's closest allies.

MOSCOW, 26 November 2021, (TON): The Russian Helicopters holding of the Rostec state corporation will present at the International Defense Industry Exhibition EDEX-2021, which will be held from November 29 to December 2, 2021 in Cairo, Ka-52 and Mi-35P attack helicopters, as well as the military transport Mi-17V -5.

This was reported to reporters on Thursday at the holding’s press service.

Press service said “the partnership of the holding with the countries of the Middle East in the military-technical sphere has already become traditional, and within the framework of EDEX, the specialists of Russian Helicopters will continue the work begun at Dubai Airshow 2021, where the Mi-28NE and Ka- 52. At the same time, the holding is interested in further developing cooperation on civilian issues, considering the recent international premieres of the Ka-226T Climber and Ansat Aurus helicopters as an aid for the possible expansion of the portfolio of orders in the region.”

They also noted that within the framework of the exhibition, local operators of Russian helicopters will be presented with various service solutions to ensure airworthiness and timely maintenance of machines.

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa have one of the world’s largest fleets of Russian helicopters today, over 500 Russian and Soviet-made helicopters are in operation in the region.

DUBAI, 26 November 2021, (TON): Abu Dhabi Crown Prince held separate talks with leaders from Egypt and Iraq to discuss regional security.

During his calls with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the crown prince discussed bilateral relations and various aspects of cooperation and joint work, and ways of developing and expanding them.

State news agency reported “they also reviewed a number of regional and international development and “affirmed their mutual keenness to continue consultation and coordination on many issues” and enhance security, stability and development in the Arab region.”

The crown prince recently concluded a trip to Turkey, the first in 10 years.