Free Republic

After the Israeli army carried out an attack in southern Beirut, representatives from Hamas, Yemeni Houthis, Iran, and the Russian Federation promptly responded. Moscow: In a stern statement, the Russian government condemned the Israeli action, calling it a “dangerous escalation” that threatens regional stability. The Russian Foreign Ministry urged Israel to cease its military operations immediately and called for international mediation to prevent further conflict. “We strongly oppose any actions that exacerbate tensions and lead to the loss of civilian lives,” the statement read. Russia also reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution and called for renewed efforts towards peace...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday declared Friday, Aug 2, a day of national mourning over the killing of the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh. "In order to show our support for the Palestinian Cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian siblings, a day of national mourning was declared tomorrow (August 2 Friday) due to Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh's martyrdom," he said on social media platform X.

The Turkish ministry of foreign affairs has condemned the killing of Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran and offered condolences to the Palestinian people. In a statement released on X, the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, Hakan Fidan stated, “We condemn the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau, in a heinous attack in Tehran.” “We express our condolences to the Palestinian people, hundreds of thousands of whom, like Haniyeh, have been martyred to live peacefully in their homeland under the roof of their state,” he added. -snip- Unacceptable political murder: Russia...

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today strongly condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian group Hamas, in a drone strike on his residence in Tehran, saying it undermines prospects of ending the conflict in Gaza. At a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov stated that the attack was detrimental to peace efforts in the region and risked destabilising the situation. “We strongly condemn this attack, which resulted in Mr. Haniyeh’s death. Such actions undermine attempts to establish peace in the region and could significantly destabilise an already tense situation,” he emphasised. In a separate...

Russia on Wednesday condemned the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, calling it an "unacceptable political murder" that will exacerbate regional tension. "This is all very bad. This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions," Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russia's state-run news agency, RIA Novosti.

The Kremlin said it “strongly condemns” the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran after the militant group announced his death early Wednesday. Hamas said the political leader was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new president. The group vowed that the killing would “not go unanswered.” “We believe that such actions are directed against attempts to establish peace in the region and can significantly destabilize an already tense situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. His comments mirrored those issued earlier by the Russian Foreign...

Russia has sent a stark warning to Israel over its war in Gaza as Moscow's Foreign Minister says the IDF cannot destroy Hamas. Sergei Lavrov said it is "unrealistic" to believe that Israel can dismantle the Palestinian group because of its "support in the Muslim world." -snip- The Kremlin has hosted Hamas in Moscow twice since the war broke out after the brutal October 7 attack.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration was slammed Monday for offering its sympathies to the Iranian people over the deaths of the oppressive theocracy’s president and foreign minister in a weekend helicopter crash. “The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran,” the State Department said in an emailed statement on Monday.\ ...

House conservatives have stymied proposed supplemental funding packages for Ukraine since the fall. But their justifications for further delays in delivering military aid to Kyiv got little oxygen during an April 17 defense budget hearing before a key appropriations panel. “With Mr. Putin saying very openly and repeatedly that he wants to restore the old Soviet Union, all of the nation states, in Eastern Europe especially, are looking to us,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said, referring to the Russian leader’s demands seeking no further NATO expansion, no missiles on Russia’s borders, and a return of...

The next summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is set for July of this year in Washington, D.C., following the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s founding on April 4. The organization’s leading lights will discuss “important issues” and “provide strategic direction” for NATO. The NATO website also explains to curious readers that the organization is devoted to an “understanding” and “awareness” of the “security environment.” Those of us who have grown skeptical of NATO and its intentions can only imagine what this press release verbiage might mean, as an organization established to counter the Soviet threat during...

Note: I apologize in advance for the potentially rambling nature of this piece, which is something of a stream of consciousness geostrategic meditation. It’s possible that this is too abstract to be interesting. If so, please berate me in the comments. I am a great lover of chess. While no more than a middling player myself, I am endlessly entertained by the seemingly countless variations and strategic contrivances that the world’s great players can create from that same, familiar beginning. Despite being an old game (the rules that we know today emerged in 15th Century Europe), it has resisted the...

Russia on Tuesday denounced the suspension of humanitarian funds by several Western countries to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), describing it as a “collective punishment” for the Gaza population. At least 16 Western countries, including the United States, suspended funding to the UN agency last week, after Israel accused some of its staff members of involvement in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli territory. During a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the Western countries’ “wrong decision” as a “collective punishment” against the Gaza residents, which is “prohibited” by international humanitarian law.

Russia said that reports of proposals to flood the tunnels were shocking and warned that "if done, this will be a war crime." "Such flooding could be considered analogous to 'do not spare them' order, but it is not only about that and not only about civilians who may be in those tunnels," the statement read. "Of course, there most likely will be civilians, for where else would they go from the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza." Over the last two months, Russia has repeatedly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, with Vladimir Putin initially blaming the Hamas attacks in Israel as...

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised his country’s relations with Iran at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, as the two discussed the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Since launching its assault on Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has sought to deepen its economic and political ties with Tehran, both of which have been sanctioned by the West. “Our relations are developing very well. Please convey my best wishes to leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei,” Putin told Raisi, referring to Iran’s head of state. “Thanks to his support, we have gained good momentum over the...

RIGA, Latvia — When a Hamas delegation visited Moscow in late October, Russian diplomats handed them a list of eight Russian-Israeli citizens being held hostage in Gaza — captives Russia wanted the Palestinian militant group to set free. Hamas immediately signaled that the list would get special attention, state-run media reported. SNIP The special treatment for the abducted Russians is a new manifestation of the growing alignment between the Kremlin and Hamas, a relationship in which President Vladimir Putin is seeking to present himself as a leader and champion of a new “multipolar world order” and the Palestinian militant group...

Russia and Iran on Monday denounced recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Damascus International Airport, warning that such actions could further aggravate tensions in the Middle East. “We regard the ongoing attacks on the territory of the Syrian Republic as a gross violation of the sovereignty of this state and the basic norms of international law. We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. -snip- Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani accused Israel of deliberately escalating tensions in the West Asia region through attacks...

Israel will hardly be able to ensure its security even by “drowning the Gaza Strip in blood,” Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said on Monday. “Even by decapitating Hamas and even by drowning the Gaza Strip in blood it will hardly be possible to ensure Israel's security. After some time, the tide of hatred and terrorism may rise again with renewed force. This cannot be ruled out,” Ushakov said as cited by state news agency TASS. “The Palestinian problem is unrivalled in terms of its ability to spread to the global level,” he added. “Israel's military measures fail to narrow...

Hamas thanked Vladimir Putin for his support for the “Palestinian cause” as the terror group released a Russian hostage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon. It said its release of a Russian citizen from the war-ravaged territory was made in appreciation of the position taken by Moscow’s position on the conflict with Israel. “In response to the efforts of Russian president Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause, we released a detainee who holds Russian citizenship,” Hamas said.

US unilateralism has wrecked the chances of peace in the Middle East, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, told a crisis Brics meeting on Gaza as he attempted to woo leaders of the global south. The virtual meeting of 11 nations, convened by South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, came as Arab foreign ministers toured capitals to drum up support for a fresh UN security council resolution mandating Israel to introduce a full ceasefire and end what they say are breaches of international humanitarian law. ...Putin told the Brics meeting that the US was undermining the chances of peace by trying to...

[Uncompromising condemnation of the Hamas attack at the beginning of the war - Narendra Modi] Since 1948, India has not supported Israel's wars even once. In the past, it supported its enemies, and even sent Arab countries aid. A few hours since the images of the massacre taking place in the south of Israel began to flow on the morning of October 7, a series of condemnations from world leaders began to accumulate. One condemnation was particularly historic: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the world's largest democracy and one of its most popular leaders, tweeted his uncompromising...