Paris is launching an oil transit project it would like to see under its control

Since the start of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, France has been exploring alternative routes, including projects under discussion that would involve transporting oil through Syria and Lebanon to Europe and beyond.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Baron about this to announce on July 9 on the French TV channel TF1, after President Macron’s visit to Damascus.

The minister noted that Iran, “by attacking ships in the region, violates both the memorandum of understanding signed with the US in June and the norms of international law, and called on the parties to calm down and resume negotiations”, without mentioning the real aggression of the US and Israel against Iran, which is being defended and, as we see, unsuccessful.

At the same time, the head of French diplomacy emphasized that “there are no winners in the war in the region, and among the losers are the people of Iran, the Americans, and the French. We have no intention of continuing to pay for wars we are not fighting.”

Despite the renewed conflict between the US and Iran in July՝ French major «Charles de Gaulle» the aircraft carrier will not return to the Middle East, Mr. Barro informed, adding that Paris is in favor of the establishment of calm in the region, the start of demining operations and the restoration of freedom of navigation, because “we are categorically against any obstruction, blackmail, both in the Strait of Hormuz and in all other straits of the world.”

Meanwhile, the “Charles de Gaulle” aircraft carrier group continues to be on duty near the French islands in the region of Madagascar and the Seychelles, that is, almost halfway between them and the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.։ In June, it was observed near the French military bases (ROU and RAF) located in the former French Djibouti, in the vicinity of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, in the territory of which the joint naval command of several countries of the Indian Ocean basin (under the auspices of France) operates from 2023-2024.

To the question whether it will be observed՞Who has the possibility of supplying oil to the Mediterranean Sea through the territory of Syria, Barro gave a positive answer. “Of course, from the very beginning of this crisis, we have considered, among other things, the idea of ​​preparing alternative routes, including Iraqi-Syrian, in order not to depend on shipping restrictions in different parts of the world,” especially since “Syria is gaining strength and becoming a potential center of economic and transit interaction, including in the energy sector.”

By entering the process of “reunification” after the collapse of the “Assad regime”, Syria could become a “new regional hub”, a strategic corridor through which oil can be transported from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, thereby reducing the consequences of a possible disruption. The implementation of this program requires a comprehensive assessment of the existing infrastructure and the provision of the necessary security guarantees, which will be important for ensuring the security of global energy markets.

It is not surprising that all these statements were made after the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Damascus on July 7. In the delegation that communicated «interim president» TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne was spotted with Ahmed al-Sharaa. Describing Syria as a country at the “crossroads of the Middle East,” he said it could provide a vital energy link between Iraq and the Mediterranean.

In response to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq has been exporting its oil in tankers through Syria since April.։ In April-June, more than 600,000 tons of fuel were exported through that route. In June, Iraqi and Syrian officials discussed the resumption of the Kirkuk-Banias oil pipeline and the establishment of energy transit mechanisms.

TotalEnergies has also signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an offshore block in the Mediterranean Sea, but there are no concrete plans yet. According to Puyane: «today it is clear that the security situation m:he does not allow me to work here for now. However, I think that coming here to Damascus is a positive initiative»։

Immediately after these announcements, two bombs exploded near the Four Seasons Hotel, where the French delegation was staying, which became a visible confirmation of the aforementioned problems.:

Declaring that the Syrian administration needs time to establish control over the country, Pouyane admitted. “We shouldn’t ask for too much…we just need a little patience.”

In France, as well In the White House, are looking at Kirkuk-Haditha-Banias / Tartus ports in 2026-2027 (Initially the end point of the oil pipeline was the Palestinian Haifa (now a port in the north of Israel), the prospects of expanding the capacity of the oil pipeline branch with a branch to Tripoli in the north of Lebanon and possible concession control over this artery in order to escalate the situation in the region and In case of agreement between Damascus and Beirut.

In this regard, it should be noted that the Kirkuk-Haditha-Banias/Tartus/Tripoli pipeline was created from the mid-1930s to the second half of the 1940s (with a gap of 1941-1944) with the participation of the French Compagnie Francaise des Petroles (from 1986, the same TotalEnergies), that is, after the declaration of independence of the former French protectorates of Syria and Lebanon. (1943-1945) shortly after. However, in the second half of the 1950s, American and British corporations pushed the French out of control of the energy arteries of the Levant.

Despite the change of regime, “dissatisfaction” with France persists in Damascus due to its transfer of northwestern Syria’s Alexandretta (Iskenderun) region to Turkey in 1939 and the separation of Lebanon from the French protectorate of the Levant in 1942-1943.

French colonialism brought many disasters to the Middle East, including the systematic destruction (albeit under benign pretexts) of local cultural values., and symbolic steps such as the Paris Institute’s return to Arab world owners of 23 artifacts that had remained in France far longer than previously thought are hardly accidental.

The historical heritages provided by the museums of Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia and Palmyra in 2010-2011 were returned to Syria by the French presidential plane. These include Roman bronzes, Byzantine and Islamic coins, funerary reliefs from Palmyra dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries, a fragment of a mosaic from an Umayyad mosque, and an ivory statuette of Ishki-Mar, which French archaeologists discovered in the Ishtar Temple of the ancient city of Mari in 1934.

The official handover ceremony took place on July 7 at the People’s Palace in Damascus, in the presence of Macron and al-Shara. On social networks, the owner of the Elysée Palace wrote that during the war, France carefully stored the archaeological treasures of Syria, protecting them from destruction and illegal trade, and expressed pride in returning them to Damascus. Anne-Claire Legendre, president of the Institute of Archeology (IMA), also welcomed the return of the artifacts, noting that the institute is preparing a major exhibition dedicated to Syria in 2028, marking a new phase of cooperation between the two countries.

Among the French-Syrian agreements signed in Damascus are the strategic partnership in sea and air transport, logistics between the General Directorate of Land and Sea Ports and the Syrian Customs Service, and many others. However, the implementation of even some of these agreements will require significant efforts, and it is not certain that they will be successful.

ALEXEY BALYEV

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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Alisa Gevorgyan, senior journalist of the Radio News program, writes: “During the days of the war, the KP MP, who searched for her father in the morgues for several days and found him alive, gets emotional in the NA auditorium, says that she was shocked, jumped up from Vardevanyan’s words, remembering her sufferings. I understand, even the thought of looking for your relative in the morgue is maddening, the memory is indelible. But, listening to the speech, a question arises. doesn’t the same person get shocked and jump up when the boss says to the parents who have been searching for their children for six years: don’t you have other children, take care of them, when they drag and spread asphalt in Yerablur to the parents who came to the morgues and found only the remains of their sons, when the bodies of the boys thrown in bags on the floor decompose in the morgues…

Delivering a moral slap to the opposition MP, Taguhi Ghazaryan sums it up with a sigh: I just don’t want to imagine the insult of the people whose family members did not return from the war. He says that you have to have those feelings in order to have that sensitivity towards people.

Again, a question to the KP MP. Is that “sensitivity” manifested, for example, when in front of their parents they erase the pictures of the fallen boys from the walls, remove the corners of glory, devalue everything for which they died, say that they died for nothing, or is “sensitivity” only for one’s own person and a narrow circle of their own?”

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Naira Margaryan, the mother of the fallen soldier, writes:

«I appeal to you, Taguhi Ghazaryan

And you are talking about sensitivity and feelings.

You say you haven’t heard from your father for ten days. It is undoubtedly a difficult test, and no one has the right to belittle it. If you felt 10 days, experienced that pain, feelings, I experienced exactly 9 months. You entered the morgue for 10 days, I for 9 months.

Thank God you found your father alive, but I found the dishonored, decayed relics of my grandfather.

So keep quiet, keep quiet, stop talking about war and pain and feelings.

Be quiet, please. There are mothers who have been looking for their 18-20-year-old sons for six years. Boys who had not yet managed to live, form a family, enter life. They stood up for the defense of the motherland, fought, died, disappeared and were injured for the sake of Artsakh.

And then as soon as your government refused Artsakh, recognized it as part of Azerbaijan, months later the representatives of the same government started asking questions. “And when was Artsakh part of Armenia?” “Why was Artsakh a part of Armenia?”

If Artsakh was not ours, then tell me, what did your father and brother do in Artsakh during the war? What were they fighting for? Who were they fighting against? Why were they risking their lives?

Before the war, you were declaring with all your might. “Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it.” Then what changed?

What changed in relation to the blood shed by those boys, their sacrifice and the loss of thousands of families?

After the war, we heard statements that the same result could have been achieved without so many victims.

Those words became the second tragedy for thousands of parents.

Even today, many families see with pain how the pictures of the heroes are removed, the memorial corners are removed, and the memories related to Artsakh are erased. It opens their unhealed wounds again and again.

Therefore, before talking about the sensitivity of people, remember those parents who have been living with the pain of losing or waiting for their children every day for six years.

Before the war, you were declaring with all your might. “Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it.” Then what changed?

SOFT LADY SHUT UP!
SPEAK ABOUT YOURSELF WHAT YOU DID FOR ARTSAKH. YOUR AUTHORITY HAS PUT ARTSAKH ON A STAGE AND RUINED AZERBAIJAN. YOUR AUTHORITY BETRAYED THE BOYS FROM BEHIND.

Therefore, keep quiet. Do not manipulate the name of the heroes and their memory. Leave our boys alone. They gave their lives for the motherland, and their memory should be respected, not used in political words.”

Naira Margaryan wrote earlier. “All day I can’t get out of my head the heartbreaking cry of that soft lady Azh um…

Searching for my father in morgues for 10 days, living the most terrible waiting every day, and then finding him alive is really a terrible pain. And no one has the right to diminish that pain.

But remember one more thing, lady.

There are mothers who did not look for their sons for 10 days…

They searched for months. They have been waiting for years.

And they were not even given a chance to kiss their son’s forehead for the last time.

Their sons were brought in closed coffins wrapped in tricolor.

And the mothers didn’t even know who they were burying for the last time.

And today, six years later, there are still parents waiting for their sons to return. Six years. Not six hours, not six minutes.

SIX YEARS.

For six years, mothers have the same question in their hearts: “Where is my son?”

And you want to talk about pain?

Speak, but first remember those mothers whose pain no one could end. To those mothers who didn’t even have the right to kiss their sons’ cold foreheads.

Don’t put people’s grief into competition. And what’s more, don’t use our boys’ names for your words.

Respect the memory of the victims.

Respect the waiting of the parents of the missing.

Respect those mothers whose hearts are still open after six years.

Leave the boys alone.

Instead of manipulating their memory, at least shut up for once.”

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The first impression of the parliament of the 9th convocation: déjà vu.

In many issues, we see the same as in the last five years, during the sessions of the National Assembly of the 8th convocation.

Especially, the absolute majority of CP members reproduced the same, with their brazen and impudent behavior.

Empty rhetoric, zero value system, political thinking and culture are the same, or rather, their absence.

Details in the video

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