With coalition forces and their allies in Syria coming under fire in Deir ez-Zor and at the receiving end of threats out of Ankara, the spokesperson for the global alliance stressed that they have the right to defend themselves and will not hesitate to do so. The events of Wednesday night show that “our stance is very clear that we will defend ourselves and our partners. If there’s any thoughts of doing this again in the future, I hope that they would think twice about doing that – whoever it may be,” Col. Ryan Dillon told Rudaw TV on Thursday. Source Rudaw
OPEC+ headed for a clash with the U.S. as more members rejected President Joe Biden’s call for the group to raise oil production faster and help reduce gasoline prices. On Monday, Kuwait said the cartel should stick with its plan to increase output gradually because oil markets were well-balanced. That followed similar statements from other key members in recent days, including Iraq, Algeria, Angola and Nigeria. Source Al Jazeera
“If a state buys (weaponry) from us, it’s no longer a Turkish product. It might be manufactured in Turkey, but it belongs to Ukraine,” Cavusoglu told reporters after meeting his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. “Turkey cannot be blamed for this,” he said. Source The Defence Post
Bulgaria has sent 350 additional military personnel to its border with Turkey amid rising migration levels. Defense Minister Georgi Panayotov told Bulgarian media that the troops were arriving to “support the border police”. Source EuroNews
