ANKARA, 16 March 2022, (TON): A diplomatic source familiar with the situation told media “representatives of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with Russia held discussions with the Turkish side in Ankara.”

The source said “this morning in Ankara, discussions were held between the Turkish side and representatives of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with Russia. Both tete-a-tete meetings and telephone conversations will take place this week.”

“Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will present an extensive report to the Cabinet of Ministers on these negotiations at meeting.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the information about holding talks with the Ukrainian delegation on Tuesday in Ankara.

SANAA, 16 March 2022, (TON): The Gulf Cooperation Council is sponsoring unprecedented and comprehensive peace talks between warring factions in Yemen, including the Iran-backed Houthis that could begin in Riyadh before the end of this month.

A senior government official told “the Gulf Cooperation Council will invite all Yemeni components, both supporters and oppositions, and the putschist Houthis would have some seats in the talks.”

They added ‘the talks might start on March 27 and would continue for at least one week.”

The official said “Former Yemeni government ministers and outspoken politicians such as Ahmed Al-Maysari, Saleh Al-Jabwani and Abdul Aziz Al-Jubari would be invited.”

“Almost no one will be excluded.”

According to a report that quoted a military official “meanwhile, a car bomb attack on Tuesday on a convoy in which a Yemeni southern military commander was traveling in Abyan province killed two soldiers and seriously injured two more.”

NEW YORK, 16 March 2022, (TON): Russia’s proposed UN Security Council draft resolution on Ukraine calls for a ceasefire to evacuate all civilians.

The draft resolution underlines deep concern at reports of civilian casualties, including children, as well as “the deteriorating humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine, the growing number of internally displaced persons and refugees in need of humanitarian assistance.”

In addition, the call of UN Secretary General António Guterres to return to the path of dialogue and negotiations is supported.

The document also calls for a ceasefire for the rapid, safe, voluntary and unhindered evacuation of all civilians and the need for all parties to agree on humanitarian pauses.

Russia’s draft UN Security Council resolution on Ukraine also calls for funding for the UN’s humanitarian response program.

JEDDAH, 16 March 2022, (TON): A counterterrorism workshop began in Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a collaboration between Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism.

The two-day event, “Necessary Considerations for Decision-making to Investigate Terrorism Crimes,” will bring together 55 researchers and specialists from around the world.

It comes within the framework of a deal signed between UNOCT and NAUSS that was signed last October to strengthen cooperation and joint efforts in counterterrorism and violent extremism.

The workshop discussed the obstacles facing officials in combating terrorism, the factors that affected decision-making in the field of combating terrorism, and a review of problem-solving models to conduct investigations in the field of terrorism and clarify steps.

Experts from security and legal institutions and bodies related to combating terrorism from Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Spain and Mexico are taking part.

WASHINGTON, 16 March 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden will discuss issues related to Russia’s containment and defense at the upcoming NATO summit, he will also take part in the meeting of the European Council.

This was stated by White House press secretary Jen Psaki at a briefing for reporters.

According to her “the American leader will travel to Brussels (Belgium) later this month, where he will attend an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in light of Russia’s operation in Ukraine.

Psaki added “he will also take part in the planned European Council summit to discuss issues of common concern to us regarding Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to ensure that Russia bears the economic costs, to provide humanitarian assistance and to overcome other challenges related to the conflict.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said “the US Treasury and Justice Ministers will hold on Wednesday the first meeting of the Western working group to counter the “oligarchs” of the Russian Federation.”

MOSCOW, 16 March 2022, (TON): Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, in a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, urged to stop the war as soon as possible, and Russia is doing just that.

This was stated on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following talks with his Iranian counterpart.

He said “during the negotiations, the Minister infor-med about the telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, conveyed Mr. Kuleba’s wishes that the war should be stopped as soon as possible. I can assure you that this is exactly what we are doing.”

As Lavrov stressed, Russia “stops the war that the Kyiv regime has waged against the population of Donbass for at least eight years.”

“This war must stop,” the minister pointed out.

“We see once again confirmation of the true face of the Kiev radicals, who yesterday attacked the city center of Donetsk from the Tochka-U system with cluster munitions, killing 20 and injuring even more civilians.”

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the West is strenuously hushing up all the facts about the actions of the Kiev radicals and continues to whip up hysteria, spreading outright fakes.

MOSCOW, 16 March 2022, (TON): The notice of Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe was handed over to the organization’s Secretary General Maria Pejcinovic-Buric.

This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The statement said “the states of NATO and the European Union, abusing their majority in the Council of Europe, are consistently turning this organization into an instrument of anti-Russian policy, refusing an equal dialogue and all the principles on which this pan-European structure was created. On February 25, they made a discriminatory decision to suspend representation Russia in the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe.”

The Foreign Ministry noted “under such conditions, our country will not remain in the Council of Europe. On March 15, Secretary General Maria Pejcinovic-Buric was given a notice of the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the organization.”

BRUSSELS, 16 March 2022, (TON): NATO is not currently considering the issue of introducing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. This was announced during an online briefing by US Permanent Representative to NATO Julian Smith.

She said “issuing a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not being discussed right now. NATO is not pursuing that goal. “

“We don’t want to expand this conflict. We don’t want to expand the context. I think that considering a no-fly zone would take us in the wrong direction.” At the same time, Smith noted the importance of the assistance provided by NATO countries to Ukraine.

She explained “aid comes in many forms. Several of [our] allies provide weapo-ns, some provide humanitarian aid, most of them offer both.”

Smith said “the idea of supplying Polish MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine is untenable.”

She said “as for Poland, they received a number of requests through their contacts in Kyiv with a clear request to supply Soviet [aircraft] MiGs.

 LVIV, 16 March 2022, (TON): Three European prime ministers headed to Kyiv by train in a show of solidarity with Ukraine even as Russian air strikes and shelling hit the capital and invading forces tightened their grip.

At least five people were killed in the renewed bombardments on Kyiv on the 20th day of the Russian assault, authorities said. Buildings were set ablaze and people buried under the rubble.

The city council said “in the besieged port city of Mariupol, about 2,000 cars managed to leave, ferrying civilians to safer areas, and a further 2,000 were waiting to follow.”

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said “but a convoy with supplies for Mariupol, whose residents have been sheltering from repeated Russian bombardments and are desperate for food and water, was stuck at nearby Berdyansk.”

She accused Russia of lying about fulfilling agreements to help trapped civilians.

WASHINGTON, 16 March 2022, (TON): U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four individuals and one entity pursuant to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (the Russia Magnitsky Act).

These Russia Magnitsky Act targets were involved in concealing events surrounding the death of renowned Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, or were connected to gross violations of human rights against Russian human rights defender Oyub Titiev.

Treasury is also redesignating Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, the head of a corrupt government in Belarus whose patronage network benefits his inner circle and regime, and newly designating his wife pursuant to Executive Order.

OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said “today’s designations demonstrate the United States will continue to impose concrete and significant consequences for those who engage in corruption or are connected to gross violations of human rights.”