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17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed issues related to Ukraine and Syria with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone call on Monday, the Kremlin has reported.

Putin is said to have criticised the "destructive" policies of the regime in Kyiv "which relies on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors increasing the volume of weapons and military equipment being transferred to Ukraine."

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: US President Joe Biden has instructed Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to prepare an emergency plan to establish an American military industrial base in the Kingdom of Morocco, the New York Daily News has reported. The plan was proposed during a high-level meeting at the end of December when Biden and Austin discussed America's new global military strategy.

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar met his British counterpart Ben Wallace in London on Monday. The two officials discussed regional defence and security issues as well as bilateral cooperation in the defence industry.

Akar is visiting London at Wallace's official invitation. Prior to the meeting at the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, Akar visited the Turkish Embassy.

15 Jan 2023; MEMO: Following the record-breaking contract signed last month between Saudi football club Al-Nassr and former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, two other Saudi teams have reportedly expressed interest in signing Argentinian World Cup winner, Lionel Messi after his father and agent, Jorge, was said

16 Jan 2023; MEMO: The shortage of fuel and its unprecedented rise in price have taken a toll on bakeries operating in Syria's regime-held areas, forcing them to make bread just two or three times a week. This has pushed the price of bread up significantly, Anadolu has reported.

With average wages pegged at around $20 per month, the cost of bread has risen to the equivalent of 50 cents a day for a bundle of bread enough for two people. The rate on the black market is even higher.

15 Jan 2023; MEMO: Iran will receive Russian Su-35 fighter jets within three months under an agreement with Moscow, an Iranian parliamentarian said on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

Shahriar Heidari, a member of the parliament's National Security Committee, told Tasnim News Agency that the jets will arrive in Iran in the coming Iranian year, which begins March 21.

15 Jan 2023; MEMO: Iranian oil exports hit new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite U.S. sanctions, according to companies that track the flows, on higher shipments to China and Venezuela, Reuters reports.

Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former US President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government.

15 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Qatari and Emirati energy ministers have warned that the world will have more of a need for natural gas in the near future, amid an increasing energy crisis and the ongoing green transition.

Speaking in a panel at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Summit today,

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: Italy fully supports Turkiye's mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine, said Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, AA reports.

"Thanks to its geostrategic position and relations with all sides, Turkiye plays a key role in the start of peace talks," Tajani told Anadolu Agency (AA), ahead of his one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara on Friday.

14 Jan 2023; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian confirmed there is an agreement with Saudi Arabia to continue the dialogue until relations between the two countries are normalised.