Contents tagged with Syria

  • Speaker of Russia's upper house: Russia has no plans to deploy regular ground forces to Syria

    According to Valentina Matviyenko, the Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, Moscow has no plans to deploy regular ground troops to Syria, TASS reported.

    "Russia had no plans to participate in the ground operation in Syria, we don’t plan to send troops to Syria, we have made it clear from the beginning," Matviyenko told reporters. "Our goal is not to conduct a ground operation in Syria but to provide our Aerospace Force’s support to the Syrian government forces.”

    Nevertheless, Matviyenko …

  • US says it will not supply Syrian opposition with man-portable air-defense systems

    The USA will not supply man-portable air-defense systems or “MANPADS” to Syria to combat terrorists, Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said. “Our position regarding MANPADS has not changed,” he stressed while speaking with journalists, RIA Novosti reported.

    American authorities are closely monitoring all actions that provide assistance to the opposition, Toner added. “Of course, I will never be able to say on any given battlefield—and we talked about this before—that equipment and assistance can’t …

  • Kerry accuses Syrian government of war crimes

    US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Syrian authorities of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    "The indiscriminate bombings undertaken by Syrian authorities contradict international law and in many cases are crimes against humanity. They must be stopped,” Kerry said after a meeting of the "friends of Syria group" in Paris.

    According to him, the Syrian conflict, "is the most serious conflict since the Second World War".

    Kerry, along with other participants of the …

  • Kremlin: US cancellation of arms embargo in Syria can lead to weapons 'falling into terrorists' hands'

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that US President Barack Obama’s cancellation of the embargo on the supply of arms, ammunition, and military equipment to allies in Syria can lead to "different kinds of weapons falling into the terrorists’ hands", RBC reports.

    According to the Kremlin's representative, "this decision could have a dangerous outcome."

    "We need to understand, very carefully, the main goal, intentions, and details of that decision. The worst possible outcome of lifting such …

  • Obama lifts restrictions on the supply of weapons to US allies in Syria

    US President Barack Obama has lifted the formal restrictions on the supply of arms to US allies fighting terrorism in Syria, RIA Novosti reported.

    A statement of the White House Press says that the operations involved in supporting or facilitating US military operations to fight terrorism in Syria are important to the national security interests of the United States.

    Obama also overturned a ban on the supply of "military equipment" and funding in Syria, which is under US sanctions, a country …

  • Russian-Chechen special forces to deploy to Syria

    Special forces from Russia’s Republic of Chechnya have been deployed to Syria where they are tasked with protecting Russia’s Khmeimim air base in the province of Latakia, Izvestia reported.

    The “East” and “West” special forces units of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which are based in Chechnya, were created in 2003, and are informally known simply as the Chechen special forces.

    The special forces units have extensive combat experience in both mountainous and urban areas, the former being …

  • Media: Israel attacked Syrian military base in Damascus

    On Wednesday morning, Syrian authorities reported on a series of bombings at the military base of Syrian Air Forces in Mezzeh in the western part of Damascus, Interfax reports, referencing the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. The newspaper noted conflicting information regarding the reason behind the bombings.

    The Arabic news source Al-Masdar, having ties with Syrian authorities, states that the bombings were preceded by a fire that broke out in the munitions depot.

    However, some …

  • Due to malfunctions, Russia may have to relocate most of the aircraft from Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier

    The majority of the aircraft currently stationed on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier may be relocated to Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria. This was reported by the Russia’s Kommersant daily.

    According to Kommersant, after losing its finisher cables, the aircraft carrier is not able to accept landing planes.

    "If the malfunctions in the arresting gear of the landing complex cannot be fixed, then, according to the decision of the Russian Chief Military command, the majority of the Su-33 ( …

  • Turkish students protest against Russia’s actions in Syria

    Protests have been taking place in Turkey for several days against the actions of the Russian and Assad armies in Syria. On Sunday, December 4th, dozens of students staged a rally in front of the Russian consulate in Istanbul to protest against Moscow's military support of Assad's regime.

    On December 2nd, a similar demonstration organized by the National Association of Turkish students was held in front of the Istanbul University, calling for Russia’s withdrawal from Syria. The participants of …

  • Lavrov: Ceasefire in Aleppo will take effect once moderate opposition leaves the city

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that a ceasefire will go into effect in Aleppo as soon as the moderate Syrian opposition leaves the eastern part of the city, TASS reported.

    However, Washington and Moscow must first agree on the routes and time frame for members of the Syrian opposition to leave the war-torn city.

    “As soon as they are coordinated, the ceasefire regime will enter into force," Lavrov said.

    The Russian Foreign Minister also noted that those members of the moderate …