由路透社

2021年4月15日22:01

華盛頓/莫斯科-美國周四對俄羅斯實施了一系列 制裁 ，包括遏制其主權債務市場，以懲罰其乾預去年的美國大選，網絡黑客，欺凌烏克蘭以及其他所謂的“惡性”行動。 。

美國政府將俄羅斯公司列入黑名單，驅逐俄羅斯外交官，並禁止美國銀行從俄羅斯中央銀行，國家財富基金和財政部購買主權債券。美國警告俄羅斯，可能會加重處罰，但表示不想升級。

俄羅斯外交部對此作出了憤怒的反應，召集美國大使進行外交修整，以告訴他“不久將採取一系列報復措施。” 工信部發言人還表示，可能的首腦會議可能會陷入困境。

俄羅斯否認干預美國大選，策劃了一次利用美國科技公司SolarWinds Corp滲透美國政府網絡的網絡黑客活動，並利用神經毒劑毒害克里姆林宮評論家阿列克謝·納瓦尼（Alexei Navalny）。

美國總統拜登週二與俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京（Vladimir Putin）進行了對話，對這些問題以及俄羅斯軍隊在克里米亞和與烏克蘭接壤的邊界地區的集結提出了關切，儘管美國最高將領僅看到了“中低”的威脅。在接下來的幾週內俄羅斯入侵。

拜登還提議召開美俄首腦會議，他試圖在製止華盛頓認為的俄羅斯敵對行為的同時避免避免美俄關係的進一步惡化和保持合作空間之間取得平衡。

白宮發言人詹·普薩基（Jen Psaki）說：“我們的目標不是升級。我們的目標是為我們認為是俄羅斯政府不可接受的行動增加成本。”

在拜登的舉動中，拜登簽署了一項 行政命令， 授權美國政府制裁俄羅斯經濟的任何領域，並以此限制俄羅斯發行主權債務的能力，以懲罰莫斯科干預2020年美國大選。

從6月14日起，拜登禁止美國金融機構進入以盧布計價的俄羅斯主權債券的主要市場。自2019年以來，美國銀行已被禁止進入非盧布主權債券的主要市場。

但是，他沒有禁止他們在二級市場上購買此類債務，這一舉措可能會對俄羅斯債券和貨幣市場產生更為顯著的影響，由於製裁的消息傳出後才收回部分損失，這一舉措因此而下跌。

美國財政部長珍妮特·耶倫（Janet Yellen）在一份聲明中說：“總統簽署了這項全面的新授權，以對付俄羅斯持續和不斷增長的惡性活動。”

財政部還將32個實體和個人列入黑名單，據稱這些實體和個人進行了俄羅斯政府指導的嘗試，以影響2020年美國總統大選以及其他“虛假信息和乾預行為”。

分析師：俄羅斯繼續對我們進行測試

與歐盟，英國，澳大利亞和加拿大合作，財政部還制裁了八名與俄羅斯對克里米亞的持續佔領和鎮壓有關的人，俄羅斯於2014年將其從烏克蘭吞併。

白宮表示，將驅逐華盛頓特區的10名俄羅斯外交官，包括俄羅斯情報部門的代表，並首次正式任命俄羅斯外國情報局（SVR）為SolarWinds Corp黑客的肇事者。該機構說，這些指控是“胡說八道”和“大張旗鼓”。

一位美國官員告訴記者，美國政府計劃制定一項新的行政命令，以加強其網絡安全，並暗示其中可能包含加密和多因素身份驗證等元素。

白宮還表示，將對有報導稱俄羅斯向與塔利班有聯繫的激進分子懸賞以殺害在阿富汗的美軍士兵做出回應。但是，它表示不會公開回應以保護美軍，並表示將通過“外交，軍事和情報渠道”處理此事。

它說，美國情報機構對這些報告的評估有“低至中等”的信心，部分原因是它們有時依賴被拘留者的不可靠證詞。

長期以來，俄羅斯一直拒絕對在阿富汗的美軍懸賞賞金的指控。

卡內基國際和平基金會智囊團分析師安德魯•魏斯（Andrew Weiss）懷疑美國的製裁措施會在短期內改變“具有很大競爭性和對抗性的關係”，或者從長遠來看會阻止俄羅斯。

他說：“如果拜登政府今天的精心調整的聲明會在任何一個方向上實質性地改變關係，我會感到驚訝。”他說，俄羅斯願意在某些問題上進行合作，但是就烏克蘭而言，召開會議的可能性不大或選舉干擾。

他補充說：“我預計新的製裁不會從根本上改變俄羅斯的風險計算，這是不現實的。” “可以預料，俄羅斯人將繼續探測和檢驗我們的決心。”

US sanctions Russia for 'malign' acts, Moscow reacts angrily

The measures blacklisted Russian companies, expelled Russian diplomats and placed limits on the Russian sovereign debt market in steps sure to anger Moscow.

By REUTERS

APRIL 15, 2021 22:01

US President Joe Biden speaks as he announces executive actions on gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 8, 2021

(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW - The United States on Thursday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for interfering in last year's US election, cyber-hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged "malign" actions.

The US government blacklisted Russian companies, expelled Russian diplomats and barred US banks from buying sovereign bonds from Russia's central bank, national wealth fund and finance ministry. The United States warned Russia that more penalties were possible but said it did not want to escalate.

The Russian foreign ministry reacted angrily, summoning the US ambassador for a diplomatic dressing-down to tell him "a series of retaliatory measures will follow soon." A ministry spokeswoman also said a possible summit could be imperiled.

Russia denies meddling in US elections, orchestrating a cyber hack that used US tech company SolarWinds Corp to penetrate US government networks and using a nerve agent to poison Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin to raise concerns about these issues and the build-up of Russian forces in Crimea and along the border with Ukraine, though a top US general saw only a "low to medium" risk of a Russian invasion in the next few weeks.

Biden, who also proposed a US-Russian summit, is trying to strike a balance between deterring what Washington sees as hostile Russian behavior while avoiding a deeper deterioration in US-Russian ties and preserving some room for cooperation.

"Our objective here is not to escalate. Our objective here is to impose costs for what we feel are unacceptable actions by the Russian government," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Among his moves, Biden signed an executive order authorizing the US government to sanction any area of the Russian economy and used it to restrict Russia's ability to issue sovereign debt to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2020 US election.

Biden barred US financial institutions from taking part in the primary market for rouble-denominated Russian sovereign bonds from June 14. US banks have been barred from taking part in the primary market for non-rouble sovereign bonds since 2019.

He did not, however, prohibit them from buying such debt in the secondary market, a step likely to have a far more dramatic effect on the Russian bond and currency markets, which fell as news of the sanctions seeped out before recovering some losses.

"The president signed this sweeping new authority to confront Russia's continued and growing malign activity," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

The Treasury also blacklisted 32 entities and individuals that it said had carried out Russian government-directed attempts to influence the 2020 US presidential election and other "acts of disinformation and interference."

ANALYST: RUSSIA TO CONTINUE TESTING US

In concert with the European Union, Britain, Australia and Canada, the Treasury also sanctioned eight individuals associated with Russia's ongoing occupation and repression in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The White House said it was expelling 10 Russian diplomats in Washington DC, including representatives of the Russian intelligence services and for the first time, formally named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpetrator of the SolarWinds Corp hack. The agency said the allegations were "nonsense" and "windbaggery."

The US government plans a new executive order to strengthen its cybersecurity, a US official told reporters, suggesting it could include such elements as encryption and multifactor authentication.

The White House also said it would respond to reports Russia had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan. However, it said it would not make its response public to protect US forces, saying the matter would be handled via "diplomatic, military and intelligence channels."

US intelligence agencies have "low to moderate" confidence in their assessment of these reports, in part because they rely on sometimes undependable testimony from detainees, it said.

Russia has long brushed off allegations of putting bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan.

Andrew Weiss, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank analyst, was skeptical the US sanctions would change a "largely competitive and adversarial relationship" in the short term or deter Russia in the long term.

"I'd be surprised if today's very calibrated announcements by the Biden administration materially shift the relationship in either direction," he said, saying Russia was willing to cooperate on some issues but there was unlikely ever to be a meeting of the minds on Ukraine or election interference.

"I don't think it's realistic to expect the new sanctions will shift Russia's risk calculus in a fundamental fashion," he added. "It's to be expected that the Russians will keep probing and testing our resolve."

土耳其以烏克蘭為代價支持烏克蘭和北約的團結-分析師

多年來，安卡拉一直在加強與莫斯科的聯繫，但表示在烏克蘭衝突中將與西方並肩。

通過KRISTINA JOVANOVSKI /針對媒體線

2021年4月15日15:41

土耳其國旗，上面有新清真寺和Suleymaniye清真寺，於2019年4月11日在土耳其伊斯坦布爾的客輪上飛行。

（照片來源：MURAD SEZER / REUTERS）

分析人士告訴《媒體熱線》，俄羅斯週四開始對 往返土耳其的航班實施限制將損害土耳其的經濟，但安卡拉已表示，將通過支持烏克蘭與俄羅斯的衝突來優先考慮與北約的關係。

莫斯科一直在烏克蘭東部邊境增兵，自2014年以來，親俄分裂分子一直在該地區與基輔軍隊作戰。

土耳其總統雷傑普·塔伊普·埃爾多安在星期六與伊斯坦布爾總統沃拉迪米爾​​·澤倫斯基的會面中說，他支持烏克蘭的領土完整，而澤倫斯基說，他們對地區威脅的看法是一致的。

專注於土耳其和烏克蘭的經濟學家蒂莫西·艾希（Timothy Ash）表示，埃爾多安（Erdogan）與Zelensky的會晤將有助於增進與美國總統喬·拜登（Joe Biden）的關係。阿什（Ash）預計，兩國領導人之間將很快打通電話，這是土耳其領導人自拜登（Biden）於1月上任以來一直在尋求的電話。

“埃爾多安已經採取了一個下巴，”阿什說。“我認為華盛頓會明白這一點。”

莫斯科週一宣布，它將把飛往土耳其的航班限制在六月，也就是埃爾多安會見並表示支持烏克蘭同行兩天之後的第二天。

克里姆林宮否認限制飛行的舉動與這次會議有關，並援引土耳其增加了COVID-19案。

但是，阿什（Ash）對媒體熱線（The Media Line）表示：“我認為這一決定完全基於地緣政治和普京試圖孤立烏克蘭的嘗試。普京所做的一切都是戰略性的。”

埃爾多安（Erdogan）一直試圖通過包括武器協議將土耳其拉近俄羅斯，但兩國政府之間存在重大分歧。

例如，他們在敘利亞的對立兩側，克里姆林宮支持總統巴沙爾·阿薩德（Bashar Assad），其中包括造成土耳其士兵死亡的空軍部隊。

Soner Cagaptay是《埃爾多安帝國：土耳其與中東政治》的作者，他稱飛行限制是俄羅斯的“警告鏡頭”，並說俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京不久將對從土耳其的農產品進口進行限制，再減少一些百分比從該國的經濟增長來看。

他告訴《媒體熱線》，此舉還將使埃爾多安的支持基礎減少“幾個百分點”。

華盛頓近東政策研究所土耳其研究計劃主任卡加普泰（Cagaptay）補充說，安卡拉熱切希望與美國合作，並希望雙方加深關係，包括在烏克蘭。

土耳其對烏克蘭的支持超出了言辭。安卡拉向基輔提供了無人駕駛飛機，該飛機幫助這個陷入困境的國家面對被指控從俄羅斯獲得支持的分裂勢力。

土耳其對航班限制特別敏感，因為其國內生產總值的很大一部分來自旅遊業，而俄羅斯是其最大的外國遊客來源。

去年，超過200萬俄羅斯人訪問了土耳其。

與土耳其西方盟友的貿易在該國經濟中也起著重要作用，在冠狀病毒大流行之前，該國一直在苦苦掙扎。

自大流行以來，旅遊業出現了大幅下滑，土耳其的貨幣里拉在埃爾多安（Erdogan）卸任該國備受尊敬的央行行長後，最近進一步下跌。

埃爾多安（Erdogan）非常了解公民財務狀況可能產生的後果，這體現在他的正義與發展黨在2019年伊斯坦布爾市長選舉中的失利證明，這是自他上台以來總統最大的失敗。

分析人士說，埃爾多安目前在財政上的擔憂和區域隔離感使土耳其的西方盟友發動了進攻。

在東地中海的緊張局勢導致人們擔心與希臘發生意外衝突之後，安卡拉重新開始了與雅典的談判。定於週四與希臘外交大臣舉行會議。

但是沒有哪個盟國比美國更重要。

與華盛頓的外交爭端引發了導致伊斯坦布爾市長失利的經濟麻煩，這導致對土耳其的製裁和其貨幣自由貶值。

土耳其周六宣布，兩艘美國軍艦將穿越黑海，烏克蘭和土耳其的海岸線很長，這是安卡拉在烏克蘭衝突中對北約的支持的高調顯示。

但是，隨著埃爾多安的知名度在國內逐漸下降，他的重點將放在這些關係如何在公民為通貨膨脹和失業率上升而掙扎的情況下如何幫助該國的經濟。

伊斯坦布爾的經濟學家阿蒂拉·耶斯拉達（Atilla Yesilada）表示，經濟和大流行將優先於外交政策。

耶斯拉達告訴媒體專欄：“除非埃爾多安先生解決了這兩個問題，否則他在國外所做的任何事情都沒有任何意義，也不會給他任何票。”

Turkey supports Ukraine, NATO solidarity at Russia’s expense - analysts

Ankara has been strengthening ties with Moscow for years but said it would side with the West in Ukraine conflict.

By KRISTINA JOVANOVSKI/ THE MEDIA LINE

APRIL 15, 2021 15:41

A Turkish flag, with the New and the Suleymaniye mosques in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2019.

(photo credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)

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Russia’s restrictions on flights to and from Turkey beginning on Thursday will hurt Turkey’s economy, but Ankara has shown it is prioritizing its relationship with NATO by supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, analysts told The Media Line.

Moscow has been reinforcing its troops on Ukraine’s eastern border, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Kyiv’s military since 2014.

In his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity while Zelensky said their views on regional threats coincided.

Timothy Ash, an economist with a focus on Turkey and Ukraine, said Erdogan’s meeting with Zelensky will help to boost his relations with US President Joe Biden. Ash expects a phone call will be held soon between the two leaders, something the Turkish leader has sought since Biden entered office in January.

“Erdogan has taken one on the chin,” Ash said. “I think that will be understood in Washington.”

Moscow announced on Monday that it would limit flights to Turkey until June, two days after Erdogan met with and expressed support for his Ukrainian counterpart.

The Kremlin denied the move to limit flights was connected to the meeting and cited Turkey’s increase in COVID-19 cases.

However, Ash told The Media Line, “I think this decision was entirely based on geopolitics and Putin’s attempt to isolate Ukraine. Everything Putin does is strategic.”

While Erdogan has been trying to move Turkey closer to Russia, including via an arms deal, the two governments have major differences.

For example, they are on opposing sides in Syria, with the Kremlin supporting President Bashar Assad, including with air force units that have caused the deaths of Turkish soldiers.

Soner Cagaptay, the author of “Erdogan’s Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East,” called the flight restrictions Russia’s “warning shot” and said Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon place limits on agricultural imports from Turkey, subtracting a few more percentage points from the country’s economic growth.

The move also would subtract “more than a few” percentage points from Erdogan’s support base, he told The Media Line.

Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, added that Ankara is keen to work with the US and expects the two sides to deepen ties, including on Ukraine.

Turkey’s support for Ukraine goes beyond rhetoric. Ankara has provided Kyiv with drones that helped the embattled country face separatist forces accused of getting support from Russia.

Turkey is especially sensitive to flight restrictions, since a significant portion of its GDP comes from tourism and Russia is its largest source of foreign visitors.

Last year, more than 2 million Russians visited Turkey.

Trade with Turkey’s Western allies also plays a major role in the country’s economy, which had been struggling well before the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the pandemic, tourism has seen a major drop and Turkey’s currency, the lira, recently fell even further after Erdogan removed the country’s respected central bank governor.

Erdogan knows well the possible fallout from citizens’ ailing finances, as evidenced by his Justice and Development Party’s loss in the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election, the greatest defeat for the president since he came to power.

Analysts say financial concerns and a sense of regional isolation now has Erdogan on a charm offensive with Turkey’s Western allies.

After tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean led to fears of an accidental clash with Greece, Ankara restarted talks with Athens. A meeting with the Greek foreign minister is scheduled for Thursday.

But no ally is more important than the US.

The economic troubles that led to the Istanbul mayoral defeat were sparked by a diplomatic row with Washington, which led to sanctions on Turkey and a free fall of its currency.

On Saturday, Turkey announced that two US warships would cross into the Black Sea where Ukraine and Turkey have long coastlines, a high-profile show of Ankara’s support for NATO in the Ukraine conflict.

However, as Erdogan’s popularity wanes at home, his focus will be on how these relations will help his country’s economy as citizens struggle with rising inflation and unemployment.

Atilla Yesilada, an Istanbul-based economist, said the economy and the pandemic will take precedence over foreign policy.

“Unless Mr. Erdogan solves those two problems, whatever he does abroad doesn’t have any meaning, it doesn’t give him any votes,” Yesilada told The Media Line.

阿拉伯媒體的聲音：埃爾多安正在尋找朋友

每週來自世界各地的阿拉伯媒體的意見和分析

通過針對媒體線

2021年4月15日11:26

土耳其總統塔伊普·埃爾多安（Tayyip Erdogan）在2020年12月14日於土耳其安卡拉舉行內閣會議後的新聞發布會上發表講話

（照片來源：總統媒體辦公室/通過路透社提供的淘汰）

對於土耳其總統雷傑普·塔伊普·埃爾多安（Recep Tayyip Erdogan）來說，情況變得更加糟糕。土耳其總理臉上被砸的門越來越多。他與世界許多國家的對抗政策的必然結果。現在，埃爾多安（Erdogan）迫切希望找到擺脫該國政治孤立的出路，尤其是在華盛頓特區的行政管理變更中。

經過多年向歐洲國家元首展示自己的力量，以及在國外進行雄心勃勃的軍事冒險之後，埃爾多安似乎終於意識到，除了改變自己的態度，他別無選擇。在埃爾多安（Erdogan）的領導下，土耳其確實設法煽動了其西方盟友。它通過向該國派遣武器和僱傭兵來干預利比亞危機，支持阿塞拜疆政府與亞美尼亞的衝突，並在塞浦路斯海岸附近進行了天然氣勘探，這幾乎導致了一場戰爭。在中東地區，由於埃爾多安（Erdogan）對穆斯林兄弟會的廣泛支持，土耳其與埃及，沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯聯合酋長國的關係具有嚴重的不信任感。

加上土耳其不穩定的經濟形勢，土耳其鎊的持續貶值以及執政的正義與發展黨面臨的內部政治問題，您很快就會了解到埃爾多安所處的棘手狀況。

埃爾多安（Erdogan）拼命地試圖通過淡化他對歐洲聯盟的挑釁言論來翻開他國家外交關係的新篇章，希望布魯塞爾在東地中海的天然氣勘探危機和對伊朗的干預之後取消對土耳其的製裁。利比亞衝突。畢竟，歐洲的投資佔對土耳其全球投資的三分之二，最近的製裁對土耳其經濟造成了嚴重破壞。

此外，埃爾多安（Erdoğan）必須採取措施吸引埃及政府，包括壓制土耳其的埃及反對派衛星頻道，以挽救該國最大的食品和工業產品商業市場之一埃及。簡而言之，埃爾多安（Erdoğan）放棄了長期的合作夥伴，以尋求新的冒險旅程並希望獲得更多動力。現在，他的雄偉征服失敗了，他終於意識到在下雨天建立友誼的重要性。

在擔任總統的前十個星期中，美國總統拜登（Joe Biden）對中國和俄羅斯感到慌亂。他就兩個超級大國的外交政策立場發出了矛盾的跡象，沒有採取任何明確或決定性的行動。但是隨後，拜登政府切斷了對兩國的語氣。

先前的政府更喜歡秘密地與中國和俄羅斯解決爭端，而拜登則決定公開宣布與北京和莫斯科的分歧。美國總統稱普京是“無情的殺手”，3月底在阿拉斯加舉行的戰略對話之後，他的國務卿在一群記者面前批評中國。然而，儘管拜登的立場令人欽佩，並決定保護他的國家的戰略利益，但同時與中國和俄羅斯打架是危險的賭注。它可以輕易地推動俄羅斯和中國這兩個國家攜手並進，相互合作，以進一步削弱美國。

我們已經看到了這種情況的跡象。伊朗和中國最近宣布了一項為期25年的全面戰略夥伴關係，其中包括中國在伊朗經濟中的大量投資，以換取伊朗向北京的大量石油出口補貼。鑑於拜登最近對普京的襲擊，如果俄羅斯宣布其自己的計劃與伊朗簽署合作協議，這就不足為奇了，特別是考慮到莫斯科在鄰國敘利亞的存在不斷增加的情況。

毫無疑問，拜登的鷹派政策是國內而非國外考慮的產物。拜登（Biden）試圖證明自己優於先前的政府和安撫人口的群體，他們相信俄羅斯干預了2016年美國大選。他想被視為一個強大的領導人，可以談論用鐵拳對付美國敵人，修補美國社會內部的裂痕。他還希望贏得人權倡導者的支持，他們希望俄羅斯和中國等國家對自己的行為負責。

到目前為止，美國，中國和俄羅斯之間的大多數緊張關係僅限於言語和言辭。但是，實地也有行動。拜登決定與澳大利亞，印度和日本展開四方安全對話，以表明美國為在中國周圍建立警戒線所做的努力。但是拜登還必須謹慎，不要過分激怒這兩個超級大國，以免他發現自己與其中一個或兩個都處於全面對抗中。關鍵是要在保護美國利益和採取將加劇美國敵人的不可逆步驟之間找到適當的平衡。

這是一條很好的路線，拜登政府必須非常小心地做到這一點。

Voices from the Arab Press: Erdogan is looking for friends

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world

By THE MEDIA LINE

APRIL 15, 2021 11:26

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, December 14, 2020

(photo credit: PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

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Things have gotten much worse for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The number of doors slammed in the Turkish premier’s face has grown; an inevitable result of his confrontational policy with many countries around the world. Now Erdogan is desperately trying to find a way out of his country’s political isolation, especially with the change of administration in Washington, DC.

After years of flexing his muscles to European heads of state, alongside ambitious military adventures abroad, Erdogan has finally seemed to realize that he has no choice but to change his attitude. Turkey, under Erdogan’s leadership, has really managed to agitate its Western allies. It intervened in the Libyan crisis by sending arms and mercenaries to the country, supported the government of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia, and launched gas explorations off the coast of Cyprus, which nearly resulted in a war. Within the Middle East, Turkey’s relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are characterized by severe mistrust, as a result of Erdogan’s extensive support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Add to that Turkey’s faltering economic situation, the continued decline of the Turkish pound, and the internal political problems facing the ruling Justice and Development Party – and you quickly understand the tricky situation Erdogan has found himself in.

Erdogan is desperately trying to turn a new page in his country’s foreign relations by toning down his provocative rhetoric against the European Union, with the hope that Brussels will cancel the sanctions imposed on Turkey after the gas exploration crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and the intervention in the Libyan conflict. After all, European investments constitute two-thirds of global investments in Turkey, and the recent sanctions have caused great damage to the Turkish economy.

Further, Erdoğan had to salvage one of his country’s largest commercial markets for food and industrial products, Egypt, by taking measures to woo the Egyptian government over, including silencing an Egyptian opposition satellite channel broadcasting from Turkey. In short, Erdoğan abandoned his long-time partners in search of new adventures and hope for more power. Now that his grandiose conquests have failed, he has finally realized the importance of friendships on a rainy day.

During the first 10 weeks of his presidency, US President Joe Biden appeared flustered about China and Russia. He sent contradictory signs about his foreign policy stances in respect to the two superpowers, without any clear or decisive action. But then, the Biden administration severed its tone with both countries.

While previous administrations preferred to settle disputes with China and Russia behind closed doors, Biden decided to put his disagreements with Beijing and Moscow out in the open. The US president described Putin as a “heartless killer,” while his secretary of state criticized China in front of a group of journalists following the strategic dialogue held in Alaska in late March. However, despite Biden’s admirable stance and decision to protect his country’s strategic interests, picking a simultaneous fight with China and Russia is a dangerous bet. It could easily push the two countries, Russia and China, to join hands and cooperate with one another, in an effort to weaken the United States even further.

We’ve already seen signs of this happening. Iran and China recently announced a 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which consists of extensive Chinese investments in the Iranian economy in exchange for heavily subsidized Iranian oil exports to Beijing. In light of Biden’s recent attacks on Putin, it would come as no surprise if Russia were to announce its own plan to sign a cooperation agreement with Iran, especially given Moscow’s growing presence in neighboring Syria.

There is no doubt that Biden’s hawkish policy is a product of domestic, not foreign, considerations. Biden is attempting to prove his superiority over previous administrations and appease segments of the population who believe that Russia interfered in the 2016 US elections. He wants to be perceived as a strong leader who can talk about mending the rifts inside American society while using an iron fist against America’s enemies. He’s also hoping to win the support of human rights advocates who want countries like Russia and China held accountable for their actions.

So far, most of the tension between the US, China, and Russia has been limited to words and rhetoric. But there are also actions on the ground. Biden decided to launch a quadripartite security dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan, in a manner indicating America’s effort to build a cordon around China. But Biden must also be careful of not provoking the two superpowers too much, lest he find himself in a full-on confrontation with one, or both, of them. The key is to find the right balance between protecting America’s interests and taking irreversible steps that would aggravate America’s enemies.

This is a fine line to tread, and the Biden administration will have to do so very carefully.

美國從阿富汗撤軍開始於5月1日-拜登

“是時候結束美國最長的戰爭了。是時候美軍回家了。”

由路透社

2021年4月14日22:45

拜登在白宮講話中設定了一個目標，即在9月11日之前撤出所有2,500名留在阿富汗的美軍。在沒有明顯勝利的情況下撤軍，美國公開表示批評，即撤軍實際上是承認阿富汗失敗美國軍事戰略。

拜登說：“這絕不是多代人的事業。我們遭到攻擊。我們以明確的目標參戰。我們實現了這些目標。”他指出，基地組織領導人烏薩馬·本·拉丹在2011年被美軍殺害，稱該組織在阿富汗已被“降級”。“現在該結束永遠的戰爭了。”

9月11日是具有高度象徵意義的日期，距基地組織對美國發動攻擊的那一天已經過去了20年，這促使當時的總統喬治·W·布什發起了衝突。這場戰爭使2400名美國服役人員喪生，估計消耗了2萬億美元。2011年，美國在阿富汗的部隊人數達到10萬多人的峰值。

民主黨總統面臨著由他的共和黨前任總統唐納德·特朗普設定的5月1日撤軍截止日期，他曾試圖但未能在撤職前將部隊撤出。

拜登取而代之的是，最終的提款將從5月1日開始，到9月11日結束。

拜登說：“我現在是主持美國駐阿富汗部隊的第四位美國總統。兩名共和黨人，兩名民主黨人。” “我不會將這一責任轉移到五分之一。”

他說：“現在是結束美國最長戰爭的時候了。是時候美軍回家了。”

國務卿安東尼·布林肯（Antony Blinken）於早些時候在布魯塞爾與北約官員會面，他說，在德國表示將與美國的計劃相吻合之後，北約在阿富汗指揮下的外國部隊將與美國協調，於9月11日撤離該國。

巴基斯坦軍方媒體部門的一份聲明說，布林肯週三還通過電話與巴基斯坦陸軍首長通話，並討論了和平進程。

阿富汗總統阿什拉夫·加尼（Ashraf Ghani）在推特上寫道，他已經與拜登進行了交談，他尊重美國的決定。加尼補充說：“我們將與我們的美國夥伴合作，以確保平穩過渡”，並且“我們將繼續與我們的美國/北約夥伴進行持續的和平努力。”

計劃於4月24日在伊斯坦布爾舉行一次有關阿富汗的首腦會議，該峰會將包括聯合國和卡塔爾。

塔利班在2001年被美國領導的軍隊驅逐出政，他說在所有外國部隊離開阿富汗之前，它不會參加任何會就阿富汗問題做出決定的會議。塔利班發言人扎比胡拉·穆賈希德週三呼籲美國遵守該組織與特朗普政府達成的協議。

穆賈希德在推特上寫道：“如果達成協議，其餘的問題也將得到解決。” “如果協議不承諾……問題肯定會增加。”

拜登拒絕了美軍可以提供和平所需要的槓桿作用的想法，他說：“我們提出了十年的論點。它從未被證明是有效的。”

他說：“不應將美軍用作其他國家交戰各方之間的討價還價籌碼。”

官員們說，在阿富汗首都喀布爾，他們將繼續進行和平談判並保衛該國的部隊。

一位高級和平官員，前總統候選人阿卜杜拉·阿卜杜拉說：“現在已經有關於外國部隊撤離的公告，我們需要找到一種共存的方法。” “我們認為阿富汗衝突沒有贏家，我們希望塔利班也意識到這一點。”

美國官員可以聲稱幾年前就已經摧毀了基地組織在該地區的核心領導地位，包括在2011年在鄰國巴基斯坦追踪並殺害該組織的領導人本·拉登。但是塔利班與基地組織分子之間的聯繫仍然存在，和平與安全仍然遙遙無期。

美國歷屆總統都試圖使自己擺脫阿富汗，但對阿富汗安全部隊，阿富汗地方性腐敗以及在巴基斯坦邊境擁有避風港的塔利班叛亂的彈性感到擔憂，這些希望變得撲朔迷離。

鑑於過去二十年來，特別是對婦女和女童的收益，撤軍會對阿富汗的人權產生影響，令人擔憂。

喀布爾的作家兼婦女權利活動家維達·薩格哈爾（Wida Saghar）說：“我為自己的未來感到擔憂。” “未知的未來在等待著我們，當外國部隊撤離並且內戰加劇時……那麼誰會考慮婦女的權利呢？誰會關心我們的呢？”

US withdrawal from Afghanistan to begin May 1- Biden

"It is time to end America's longest war. It is time for American troops to come home."

By REUTERS

APRIL 14, 2021 22:45

US TROOPS hold up an American flag as President Donald Trump delivers remarks to military personnel, in an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on November 2

(photo credit: REUTERS)

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President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he will begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan on May 1 to end America's longest war, rejecting calls for US forces to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to that country's internal conflict.

In a White House speech, Biden set a goal of withdrawing all 2,500 US troops remaining in Afghanistan by Sept. 11. By pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy.

"It was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives," Biden said, noting that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and saying that organization has been "degraded" in Afghanistan. "And it's time to end the forever war."

Sept. 11 is a highly symbolic date, coming 20 years to the day of al Qaeda's attacks on the United States that prompted then-President George W. Bush to launch the conflict. The war has cost the lives of 2,400 American service members and consumed an estimated $2 trillion. US troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011.

The Democratic president had faced a May 1 withdrawal deadline, set by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who tried but failed to pull the troops out before he left office.

Instead, Biden said the final withdrawal would start on May 1 and end by Sept. 11.

"I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," Biden said. "I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth."

"It is time to end America's longest war. It is time for American troops to come home," he said.

Meeting NATO officials in Brussels earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said foreign troops under NATO command in Afghanistan will leave the country in coordination with the US withdrawal by Sept. 11, after Germany said it would match American plans.

Blinken also spoke by phone with Pakistan's army chief on Wednesday and discussed the peace process, according to a statement from the media wing of Pakistan's military.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter that he has spoken with Biden and he respects the US decision. Ghani added that "we will work with our US partners to ensure a smooth transition" and "we will continue to work with our US/NATO partners in the ongoing peace efforts."

There is a summit planned about Afghanistan starting on April 24 in Istanbul that is due to include the United Nations and Qatar.

The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by US-led forces, said it would not take part in any meetings that would make decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces had left the country. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday called on the United States to adhere to the deal the group reached with Trump's administration.

"If the agreement is committed to, the remaining problems will also be solved," Mujahid wrote on Twitter. "If the agreement is not committed to … the problems will certainly increase."

Biden rejected the idea that US troops could provide the leverage needed for peace, saying: "We gave that argument a decade. It has never proven effective."

"American troops shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip between warring parties in other countries," he said.

In Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, officials said they would carry on with peace talks and their forces defending the country.

"Now that there is an announcement on foreign troops withdrawal within several months, we need to find a way to coexist," said Abdullah Abdullah, a top peace official and former presidential candidate. "We believe that there is no winner in Afghan conflicts and we hope the Taliban realize that too."

US officials can claim to have decimated al Qaeda's core leadership in the region years ago, including tracking down and killing the group's leader bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan in 2011. But ties between the Taliban and al Qaeda elements persist and peace and security remain elusive.

Successive US presidents sought to extricate themselves from Afghanistan, but those hopes were confounded by concerns about Afghan security forces, endemic corruption in Afghanistan and the resiliency of a Taliban insurgency that enjoyed safe haven across the border in Pakistan.

There is concern over the impact a withdrawal would have on human rights in Afghanistan given the gains, particularly for women and girls, during the past two decades.

"I am worried about my future," said Wida Saghar, a writer and women's rights activist in Kabul. "An unknown future awaits us, when foreign forces leave and the civil war intensifies … then who will think about women's rights? Who will care about us?"

前國家安全委員會主席告訴“耶路撒冷郵報”：伊朗核計劃談判原預計哈梅內伊惠於短期內死亡

拜登的語氣使中國有能力支持伊朗

由Yonah的傑里米BOB

2021年4月15日22:13

伊朗最高領導人阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）在先知穆罕默德誕辰之際在2020年11月3日在伊朗德黑蘭發表了虛擬演講。

（照片來源：官方KHAMENEI網站/通過路透社進行的淘汰）

廣告

前特朗普政府國家安全顧問裡根將軍對最高領導人阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）不久將死的預期嚴重影響了伊朗在與美國和世界大國進行核談判中的立場。人力資源麥克馬斯特週二告訴《耶路撒冷郵報》。

麥克馬斯特說：“我認為他們並不關心這一點。”麥克馬斯特在談到伊朗對本輪核談判的心態時說，伊斯蘭共和國的決定性力量集中在選舉後時期甚至“哈梅內伊之後”的時代。去世了。”

更具體地說，這位前國家安全顧問在解釋說，德黑蘭在大選後時代之前不會採取任何重大行動，強硬派迫切希望在6月從實用主義者手中重新獲得總統職位。

這並不意味著在某些時候可能不會達成協議。

麥克馬斯特強調，然而，強硬的權力中心認為，誰控制總統職位，誰將接替哈梅內伊本人成為伊朗真正的領導人，也將在競爭中佔上風。

因此，本輪談判可能僅僅是6月後事情的序幕。

前中將提出的另一個問題是，伊朗“並沒有在同一個級別上被隔離”，伊朗正在領導2015年的核協議，而且中國“因為拜登重返伊斯蘭國而感到更加自由地支持伊斯蘭共和國”。解決德黑蘭問題的“和解政策”。

麥克馬斯特關於這個問題的聲明的原始之處在於，拜登政府迄今尚未取消對伊朗的任何制裁，首先要求哈梅內伊恢復2015年協議的核限制。

他認識到北京甚至在特朗普任期內幾乎從未完全停止從德黑蘭購買石油，他說中國購買伊朗石油的大幅增加只是拜登當選的結果。

麥克馬斯特還說，印度也正在與拜旦恢復與伊朗的關係，因為拜登希望結束與阿亞圖拉人的製裁僵局。

此外，他說，如果拜登真的不同意北京破壞制裁制度的話，拜登“可以對中資銀行施加二級制裁。”他本人曾表示，他希望以此作為交易的一部分而終止。

換句話說，他描述了一個非正式程序，其中製裁制度甚至在正式撤銷之前就已經開始瓦解，這僅僅是拜登打算達成協議的意圖。

此外，他說，與伊朗建立夥伴關係的舉動“符合中國大流行時代渴望捕捉短暫的機會窗口以[在全球範圍內]施加更大影響的願望，因為它認為自己與美國相比具有暫時的優勢地位。 ”，因為在這場大流行的泥潭中，美國的崛起還不及中國。

麥克馬斯特反對特朗普於2018年5月退出核協議。但是他解釋說，這是基於他認為該協議可以用來向伊朗施加壓力的特定時刻。

相反，當伊斯蘭共和國受到製裁壓力時，他堅決反對立即回到2015年的同一筆交易。

麥克馬斯特建議長期與伊朗人進行溝通，以使他們推翻壓迫性政府，他建議，如果拜登政府不贊成維持制裁壓力的建議，那麼任何新的協議都需要大不相同。

他說，如果伊朗沒有解除核武器限制所必須滿足的一般行為標準，那麼僅對核武器限制再加上5至10年的時間，其中一些將在2025年到期，另一些將在2030年到期是不夠的。

他呼籲以目前的日落條款“荒唐”回到交易中，並指出距現在的2025年僅數年之遙-在一個國家的生活中，這幾乎是沒有時間的。

他要與伊朗達成一項新協議，還需要進行其他改變，包括使用伊斯蘭共和國的“常規導彈和其他破壞性武器，結束其代理戰爭，並[建立]一個使所有人都充滿信心的[核]核查系統。”

關於核查，他回顧說，他在2020年的《戰場》一書中批評了2015年的核談判，導致建立了一個核查制度，其中“在墨水幹，之前，伊朗宣布不允許進行任何核查。”

他還表示，美國任何人“低估革命的意識形態，伊朗的前瞻性國防戰略以及[其]恢復伊朗帝國的願望”都是錯誤的。

Ex-NSC chief to 'Post': Iran nuke maneuvering anticipates Khamenei death

Biden's tone empowers China to prop up Iran

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

APRIL 15, 2021 22:13

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a virtual speech, on the occasion of the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, in Tehran, Iran November 3, 2020.

(photo credit: OFFICIAL KHAMENEI WEBSITE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

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Iran’s position in nuclear negotiations with the US and the world powers is being heavily influenced by the expectation that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will die soon, former Trump administration national security advisor Lt.-Gen. H.R. McMaster told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

“I don’t think they care about it,” McMaster said, referring to Iran’s mentality regarding the current round of nuclear negotiations, saying that decisive powers in the Islamic Republic are focused on the post-election period and even the era “after Khamenei passes away.”

More specifically, the former national security advisor was explaining that Tehran would not make any major moves until the post-election era and that hardliners were desperate to regain the presidency in June from the pragmatists.

This does not mean that there might not be a deal at some point.

McMaster was emphasizing, however, that hardline power centers believe that whoever controls the presidency will also have an upper-hand in the battle over who will succeed Khamenei himself as Iran’s true leader.

As such, the current round of negotiations could be a mere prelude to what comes post-June.

Another issue that came up with the former lieutenant-general was that Iran “is not isolated at the same level” that it was leading into the 2015 nuclear deal and that China is feeling freer to prop up the Islamic Republic “because of Biden’s return to a conciliatory policy” in addressing Tehran.

What is original about McMaster’s statement on this issue is that the Biden administration to date has not removed any sanctions from Iran, first requiring Khamenei to return to the 2015 deal’s nuclear limitations.

Recognizing that Beijing almost never fully stopped buying oil from Tehran even during Trump’s term, he said the huge increase in China’s purchases of Iranian oil only came with Biden’s election.

In addition, McMaster said that India is also moving to restore ties with Iran in anticipation of Biden’s desire to end the sanctions standoff with the ayatollahs.

Moreover, he said, Biden “could place secondary sanctions on Chinese banks,” if he really did not approve of Beijing undermining the sanctions regime – which he himself has said he wants to end as part of a deal.

In other words, he described an informal process where the sanctions regime is starting to come apart even before formal removal, simply by virtue of Biden’s intention to reach a deal.

Further, he said that moves to build on its partnership with Iran “fits China’s pandemic-era desire to capture a fleeting window of opportunity to exercise greater influence [globally], since it views itself as having a temporary position of advantage compared to the US,” because America has not yet emerged as much as China from the pandemic quagmire.

McMaster opposed Trump’s exit from the nuclear deal in May 2018. But he explained that this was based on a specific moment in time when he thought the deal could be used to pressure Iran.

In contrast, he is stridently against returning to the same 2015 deal now when the Islamic Republic is under sanctions pressure.

A proponent of a long-term push to communicate with the Iranians to get them to topple their oppressive government, McMaster advised that if the Biden administration would go against advice to maintain sanctions pressure, any new deal would need to be radically different.

Adding on a mere 5-10 years to the nuclear restrictions, some of which expire in 2025 and others in 2030, is insufficient, he said, if there are no general behavioral benchmarks which Iran must meet for removing the restrictions.

He called returning to the deal with its current sunset clause “ludicrous,” noting that 2025 is now only a few years away – which in the life of a nation is practically no time at all.

Other changes he would require for a new deal with Iran would be to rope in the Islamic Republic’s “conventional missiles and other destructive weapons, end its proxy wars and [create] a [nuclear] verification system which gives everyone confidence.”

Regarding nuclear inspections, he recalled that in his 2020 book Battlegrounds, he criticized the 2015 nuclear negotiations for leading to an inspection regime in which, “before the ink was dry, Iran was announcing which inspections it would not allow.”

He also said it was a mistake for anyone in the US to “underestimate the ideology of the revolution, of Iran’s forward defense strategy and [its] desire to restore Iran as an empire.”

伊朗官員承認以色列掠奪核檔案

直接向最高領導人匯報的Expediency Discernment Council秘書說，伊朗需要改善其安全。

通過拉哈夫·哈科夫

2021年4月15日19:53

伊朗最高領導人阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）的一名顧問說，以色列偷走了該國的核存檔，這似乎是伊朗官員首次公開承認2018年莫薩德行動。

直接向最高領導人匯報的Expediency Discrementment Council秘書秘書Momeen Rezaei週三對伊朗的《梅爾新聞》說，該國需要對其安全進行重大改革。

Rezaei說：“該國已廣泛遭受違反安全的行為，例如，在不到一年的時間裡，發生了三起安全事件：兩起爆炸和一次暗殺。”

兩次爆炸發生在納坦茲核基地，首先是在7月，奪走了大約四分之三的地上離心機組裝設施，然後是星期天晚上，當時該基地的電網和備用系統遭到破壞，離心機的數量。遇刺是11月伊朗核計劃負責人莫森·法赫扎西（Mohsen Fakhrizadeh）的暗殺。

Rezaei補充說：“在此之前，我們整個核（檔案）的文件都被盜了，在此之前，一些可疑無人機來了，做了一些工作。”

當莫薩德（Mossad）於2018年向本國走私核檔案時，總理本傑明·內塔尼亞胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）提供了伊斯蘭共和國旨在發展核武器的證據，伊朗否認這是真實的。伊朗核談判代表阿巴斯·阿格奇（Abbas Araghchi）稱其為“非常幼稚，甚至是荒唐的戲”。伊朗在2015年核協議中的談判代表之一穆罕默德·馬蘭迪（Mohammad Marandi）說，以色列“捏造了證據”。

Rezaei表示，本週對納坦茲的襲擊“在聲望方面是一個壞事件，”並且“這樣做是為了打破我們在外交上的抵抗力。”

伊朗原子能組織前負責人費雷敦·阿巴斯·達瓦尼（Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani）本週早些時候表示，週日的襲擊破壞了數千台離心機。他說：“敵人的設計非常漂亮。”

Iranian official admits Israel swiped nuclear archive

Iran needs to revamp its security, says the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council who reports directly to the supreme leader.

By LAHAV HARKOV

APRIL 15, 2021 19:53

An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel stole the country’s nuclear archive, in what appears to be the first public admission of the 2018 Mossad operation by an Iranian official.

Momeen Rezaei, secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council that reports directly to the supreme leader, told Iran’s Mehr News on Wednesday that the country needs a major revamp of its security.

“The country has been widely exposed to security violations, and the example is that in less than a year, three security incidents have occurred: two explosions and one assassination,” said Rezaei.

The two explosions took place at the Natanz nuclear site, first in July, taking out about three-fourths of the above-ground centrifuge assembly facility, and then on Sunday night, when the site’s electric grid and backup system were destroyed, along with large numbers of centrifuges. The assassination was of the head of Iran’s nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in November.

“Before this, documents from our entire nuclear [archive] have been stolen, and before that, a few suspicious drones came and did some work,” Rezaei added.

When the Mossad smuggled the nuclear archive out of Iran in 2018, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presenting evidence that the Islamic Republic aimed to develop a nuclear weapon, Iran denied that it was real. Iran nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi called it “a very childish and even a ridiculous play.” Mohammad Marandi, one of Iran’s negotiators in the 2015 nuclear deal, said Israel had “fabricated evidence.”

Rezaei said this week’s attack on Natanz was “a bad event in terms of prestige,” and that “they did it to break our resistance in diplomacy.”

Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said earlier this week that Sunday’s attack damaged thousands of centrifuges. “The design of the enemy was very beautiful,” he said.

黎巴嫩能源部長將燃料短缺歸咎於敘利亞走私

“敘利亞市場對汽油的需求驅使黎巴嫩走私者將汽油偷偷帶入敘利亞以獲取豐厚的利潤。”

由路透社

2021年4月15日19:22

敘利亞塔爾圖斯海岸外的一艘油輪

（照片來源：通過路透社的MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / HANDOUT）

廣告

貝魯特-黎巴嫩的看守能源部長周四將伊朗的燃料危機歸咎於向鄰國敘利亞走私汽油的奸商。

在討論這一問題的內閣會議上，雷蒙德·加哈爾說，兩國之間的汽油價格差距意味著走私者可以賺取巨額利潤。

加哈爾在一份內閣聲明中說：“黎巴嫩20升汽油的價格為4萬黎巴嫩鎊，而敘利亞的官方價格為14萬敘利亞鎊，黑市為24萬敘利亞鎊。”

“敘利亞市場對汽油的需求驅使黎巴嫩走私者將汽油偷偷帶入敘利亞以獲取豐厚的利潤。”

自1975-1990年內戰以來，黎巴嫩正處於一場嚴重的金融危機的痛苦之中，這場金融危機對其穩定構成了最大的威脅。

經濟危機意味著，用於進口燃料以發電的現金一直用盡，國會在3月底批准了2億美元的緊急貸款，該筆貸款僅能再使用兩個月。

看守者財政部長加茲·瓦茲尼（Ghazi Wazni）本月早些時候警告說，到5月底，黎巴嫩將用光所有資金來為燃料和小麥等基本進口提供資金。

在鄰國敘利亞，在十年的衝突和西方制裁的重壓下，經濟也在崩潰。在政府控制的地區，燃料短缺也屢見不鮮。

Lebanon energy minister blames fuel shortage on Syria smuggling

"The Syrian market's needs for gasoline drive Lebanese smugglers to sneak gasoline into Syria to achieve huge profits."

By REUTERS

APRIL 15, 2021 19:22

BEIRUT - Lebanon's caretaker energy minister on Thursday blamed the country's fuel crisis on profiteers who smuggle gasoline into neighbouring Syria.

At a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue, Raymond Ghajar said the gap in gasoline prices between the two countries meant smugglers could make huge profits.

"The price of 20 liters of gasoline in Lebanon is 40,000 Lebanese pounds while the official price in Syria stands at 140,000 Syrian pounds and at 240,000 in the black market," Ghajar said in a Cabinet statement.

"The Syrian market's needs for gasoline drive Lebanese smugglers to sneak gasoline into Syria to achieve huge profits."

Lebanon is in the throes of a deep financial crisis which is posing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The economic meltdown has meant cash for fuel imports to generate electricity has run low with parliament approving a $200 million emergency loan at the end of March that can fund only two more months of consumption.

Caretaker finance minister Ghazi Wazni warned earlier this month that Lebanon would run out of money to fund basic imports like fuel and wheat by the end of May.

In neighbouring Syria, where the economy is also collapsing under the weight of a decade of conflict and Western sanctions, there have also been frequent fuel shortages in government-controlled areas.

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