Contents tagged with France

  • France may attack Syria from its territory

    France will launch missiles at Syria from its own territory if the decision is made to strike, Le Figaro reports.

    According to the newspaper, such advice was given to the President of the Fifth Republic Emmanuel Macron by the country’s military leaders, who are sure that a strike from French bases in Jordan or the United Arab Emirates would spoil relations with these countries. According to the military, the authorities of these countries do not want to be involved in such “visible” actions …

  • Kurds: French troops entered northern Syria

    Kurdistan 24 news outlet reports, citing the Joint Chief of Defense in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Razan Gilo, that the French military entered northern Syria through the Tal Abyad crossing which is under the control of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

    Razan Gilo said that at least 50 French soldiers entered the Syrian border-town of Tal Abyad this morning

    The French soldiers have also been reportedly deployed to northeastern Aleppo town of Manbij, which is controlled by the …

  • Turkey calls possible deployment of French troops in Syria 'attempted occupation'

    The possible dispatch of a French military contingent to Syria to assist the Kurdish armed groups could be considered an attempt to occupy Syrian territory. A statement to this effect was made by Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli on Saturday, as reported by Anadolu.

    “In view of the nearly complete elimination of the Islamic State extremist group in Syria, no legal justification for deploying the military contingents of foreign states in Syrian territory remains. If France attempts to …

  • French President Macron to visit Russia

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed that the visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Russia in May will take place as planned.

    "At the moment the visit is expected," Le Drian said during an interview with the RTL radio station, commenting on whether Macron's visit to Moscow will still take place after the poisoning of Skripal.

    Sergei Skripal was the former colonel of the GRU (Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate) who worked for the British secret services. He and his daughter …

  • Media: France to send troops to help Kurdish militia in Syrian Manbij

    According to a statement released on Thursday from the Elysee Palace, after a meeting with a delegation made up of representatives of the Arab and Kurdish populations in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron assured the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces of France’s support.  

    “The President of the Republic mentioned that, following the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2401, France clearly expressed its concern over the situation in the area of Afrin and demanded that the …

  • Russian Foreign Minister claims that Special Forces of the US, Britain, France and other countries are working in Syria

    In an interview with the telecommunications company of the President Kazakhstan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Special Forces units from the United States, Britain, France and other countries are operating on Syrian territory.  “There are Special Forces on the ground in Syria from the US – they no longer deny it – the UK, France and a number of other countries. Thus, it’s not so much of a ‘proxy war,’ but rather a direct involvement in the war," the Minister said. …

  • French President Macron will not attend Russian stand at book fair in Paris

    According to the statement released by the Élysée Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron will not attend the Russian exhibition stand at the book fair in Paris due to the Russian Federation’s possible involvement in the recent poisoning of an ex-spy, Le Figaro reports.

    According to the report, Macron will not patronize the Russian stand even though Russia is an honorary guest of the event. "The President will not attend the official pavilion of Russia at the book fair… due to the assault in …

  • Joint media investigation reveals that Putin's friend Boris Rotenberg owns villas on the French Riviera

    Boris Rotenberg, a Russian businessman close to Russian President Vladimir Putin owns two villas in the commune of Èze in France. The villas have a total area of 1300 square meters. Rotenberg also owns another villa under construction. This was stated in a joint investigation of Novaya Gazeta, Le Monde and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project or OCCRP.

    Rotenberg filed his application to construct the first two villas in 2009. He planned to build a tennis court, a swimming pool …

  • Macron threatens to strike Syria if chemical weapons are used

    France will strike Syria if the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population is confirmed, stated French President Emmanuel Macron, Deutsche Welle reports.

    Macron clarified that in such a case, the strike will be directed against the locations where the chemical weapons are created or stored. He added that France does not currently possess adequate evidence that such weapons have been used in Syria.

    The Syrian government is suspected of carrying out a chemical attack in the city of …

  • Putin calls on French businessmen to enter into investment and trade contracts with Russia

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said he expects to conclude major trade and investment contracts with French businessmen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2018, according to a transcript from a meeting published on the Kremlin website.

    "We expect that new major trade and investment contracts will be concluded at the upcoming International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg in May," the Russian President said at a meeting with members of the Franco-Russian Chamber of …