U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Venezuela:

We will continue to control the sale of their oils and the flow of their funds until a representative government is stood up in Venezuela...

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US Senator Fetterman:

I met with Secretary Noem. I've always treated her with respect.

I refuse and never will engage in the kinds of sexist terms like "ICE Barbie" that the left media will use.

NATO's Rutte on Russia:

They want to appear as a mighty bear — but they are moving at the stilted speed of a garden snail.

The Quintet (coalition of the UN, African Union, EU, IGAD and Arab League), urged a Ramadan truce in Sudan under UN Security Council Resolution 2736 as drone strikes and famine worsen, half the population of about 25 million facing acute hunger.

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NEW: The UK High Court has ruled that the government acted unlawfully in banning pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government would appeal.

The ban remains in place pending a further hearing on February 20.

NEW: Ukraine has opened its first joint drone production facility in Germany, already manufacturing combat drones for the Ukrainian Army.

Zelensky received the first jointly produced strike drone, saw the production line, and watched its first test flight.

10,000 drones produced at this facility will be delivered to Ukraine this year.

By the end of the year, 10 joint drone-production ventures will be launched across Europe.

Nigel Farage:

There are communities in our country who think we should adapt to their way of life.

French President Macron:

We cannot erase Jewish French people from the Republic's family photo.

Because when a Jew is in danger in the homeland, it is the homeland itself that is in danger.

French President Macron:

France without Jews is a tree without a trunk.

French President Macron:

Digital anti-Semitism, boosted by algorithms and the culpable inaction of platforms, gains ground among ordinary people and harasses thousands of our compatriots, even in their private lives.

French President Macron:

I want a mandatory penalty of ineligibility to be established for anti-Semitic, racist, and discriminatory acts and remarks.

French President Macron:

Islamist anti-Semitism, at the origin of the October 7th pogrom, which preachers of hate try to deploy on our soil—in the physical world as in the digital world—intending to make terror reign.

BIG: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says it completed a 23-day mission transferring more than 5,700 adult male ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody.

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German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius:

There are no recognizable signs that the United States of America wants to withdraw from NATO in Europe. None at all.

‘You Europeans must do more conventionally,’ because we have to shift our focus somewhat to the Indo-Pacific.

We can’t expect them to intensify that while maintaining their commitment in Europe to the same extent as before. That is our task.

America is still an ally. I don’t know why you doubt it.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on nuclear independence:

We signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and committed not to have our own nuclear weapons. Taking this step would be a breach of these treaties.

Why should we question NATO’s nuclear deterrence?

It is guaranteed by the Americans.

Turkish Aerospace says Saudi Arabia is close to deciding whether to join Türkiye’s next-gen KAAN fighter program.

“It is in the final stages of decision-making process,” said GM Mehmet Demiroglu.

“We are hoping to reach a milestone this year.”

Options range from buying around 20 jets (“a small squadron”) to local production in Saudi Arabia, which would likely require at least 50 aircraft to justify a final assembly line.

Source: Breaking Defense

Tunisian court denied provisional release for jailed lawyer Ahmed Souab and delayed appeal to Feb 23 despite health concerns, highlighting Tunisia’s post-2021 crackdown on dissent under President Kais Saied.

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German Chancellor Merz:

We have entered a new phase of open conflicts and wars.

German Chancellor Merz:

Europe just returned from a vacation from world history.

Together, we’ve entered an era that once again is marked by power and big power politics.

German Chancellor Merz:

China wants to be a leader in shaping the world, and it has paved the ground for that over many years, with strategic patience.

In the foreseeable future, Beijing could be on an equal footing with the United States in military terms.

China systematically uses the dependencies of others, and it redefines the international order in its own favor.

German Chancellor Merz:

If there had been a unipolar moment after the fall of the Berlin Wall — a unipolar moment in history — it has long passed.

The United States’ claim to leadership has been challenged and possibly lost.