Syria Begins Building Joint Syrian-Russian Oil Geology Data Center

Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
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Syria Begins Building Joint Syrian-Russian Oil Geology Data Center

Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)
Oil well in al Qahtaniyah, Syria (AFP)

Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ghanem announced on Thursday that Syria is looking forward to constructing a data center for oil geology in Damascus with Moscow’s help, as part of a roadmap signed lately between the two countries.

In an interview with the Sputnik agency, Ghanem said his country would be contributing technical equipment to the project.

"This center will be located in Damascus. We have a timetable for [the project's] implementation and have already begun the construction. As for the special technologies for the center, they will be provided by the Russian side,” the Syrian Minister explained.

Ghanem said the center’s staff would include specialists from both Syria and Russia.

The center is part of the cooperation roadmap that the Syrian government signed with the Russian Energy Ministry during the joint Russian-Syrian intergovernmental commission meeting held on December 23-24 in Moscow.

"I believe the cooperation with the Gubkin University [Russian National University of Oil and Gas] will be fruitful. The center will become the key information hub for the entire oil geology sector," Ghanem said.

Meanwhile, top adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad Bouthaina Shaaban said the US has 'absolutely no right' to Syria’s oil and warned of 'operations' against American troops.

She said her country is considering suing the US in an international court over the “theft of Syria’s oil.”

The German news agency quoted Shaaban as saying that Syria has begun an oil and gas exploration project in the Mediterranean with Russian companies.   

Last October, US President Donald Trump withdrew the majority of the US Armed Forces from Syria before the Pentagon announced that 600 soldiers were staying put to guard the country's oil fields.

Commenting on the situation in Idlib, Shaaban said the military operation there has begun and that Russian warplanes were supporting the Syrian Army.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.