Contents tagged with Syria

  • U.S. National Security Council demands that Russia and Iran cease supporting Syrian government

    The U.S. National Security Council has demanded that Russia and Iran cease supporting the Syrian government due to its use of chemical weapons, according to a White House press release.

    Referencing the results of a year-long investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, in which it was determined that the Syrian government used industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people in 2014 and 201 …

  • Pentagon chief: U.S. and Russian Air Forces have 'professional relationship' in Syria, U.S. is open to closer cooperation

    U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters in Baghdad during an unannounced visit that the U.S. and Russian Air Forces maintain a professional relationship in Syria, but the Pentagon is open to pursuing closer cooperation with Moscow with regard to air operations.

    While answering the question of whether things are getting better or worse with Russia in the common airspace over Syria, Carter replied, “We do operate… very professionally… air operations… that has been an area in which …

  • Peskov: Russian aircraft carrier deployed to Syria may be used for more than protecting our bases

    Our modern military equipment allows us to control the airspace over Syria even without the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the ship has other tasks. This was stated by the Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, in his interview to Russian “Saturday News” TV show. 

    “I do not think that we have to chase someone there, that someone can carry out a strike,” he said while answering a question about  the purpose of deployment of the aircraft carrier to Syria “This is because …

  • Lavrov: Turkish aircraft will be shot down if they violate Syrian airspace

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to the statement by the Syrian Defense Ministry that they intend to bring down Turkish Air Force aircraft if they invade the country’s airspace, reaffirming Damascus' position.

    Lavrov said that Syria is a sovereign state, a member of the United Nations and has full sovereignty over its territory and over its airspace.

    “Any attempt to repeatedly violate Syrian airspace by Turkish military aircraft will be rebuffed, and they will be shot down by …

  • Belgian MoD: Russia's evidence that Belgian fighters bombed Aleppo was 'fabricated'

    Belgian Defense Minister Steven Vandeput has said that evidence provided by Russia showing that a Belgian F-16 aircraft attacked a village near Aleppo was fabricated, Novaya Gazeta reported.

    According to a press release issued by the Belgian Ministry of Defense, the Defense Attaché of the Embassy of Belgium in Moscow was given a map with a flight trajectory of the F-16s, allegedly showing that Belgian F-16s were responsible for the air strike that caused a number of civilian casualties.

    “From …

  • Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs: Russia isn’t a partner in addressing the Syrian issue, but a factor of the conflict

    The minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, stated in an interview with Die Presse that Russia isn’t a partner in addressing the Syrian issue, but a factor of the conflict.

    “Russia isn’t a partner in addressing the Syrian issue, but a factor of the conflict. The Kremlin wants to gain control over Syria by any means necessary, even putting humanitarian efforts at risk. Moscow stops at nothing. The shelling of a humanitarian convoy is a demonstration of this,” the Lithuanian …

  • Russia has opposed upcoming UN human rights meeting on Aleppo

    A special session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on the situation in Syria is scheduled to be held in Geneva on the 21st October.

    The session was initiated by the UK and a number of other countries. London's proposal was supported by 33 countries including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

    The HRC Secretariat noted that the special session is being convened due to the recent deterioration of the situation in Aleppo, as well as the …

  • Lavrov: Russia will take military measures to ensure terrorists don't flee from Mosul into Syria

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, stated that Moscow will take military measures in case militants of the so-called Islamic Statetry to flee from Mosul into Syria.

    “Mosul isn’t fully besieged. I don’t know the reason. Maybe, they were simply unable to do that. I hope that they simply were unable and not that they didn’t want to do that. At least, this corridor poses risks that Islamic State will leave Iraq and Mosul for Syria. If this happens, if …

  • Syrian Parliament recognizes Crimea as part of Russia

    The Syrian government has recognized the Crimea as part of Russian territory, as stated by the Speaker of the Syrian Parliament, Hadiyeh al-Abbas, in an interview with Sputnik.

    “We recognize that the Crimea is an integral part of Russia,” al-Abbas said, stressing that relations between Damascus and Moscow continue to be strengthened in all areas, especially political, economic, and social ties.

    According to al-Abbas, the Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and "because of the events that …

  • EU demands Syrian war crimes be brought before ICC

    At the EU Council meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU member countries the EU representatives have reached the conclusion that Syrian troops and the Russian Aerospace Forces are responsible for targeted airstrikes on schools, hospitals and other social facilities in Aleppo.

    The EU condemned these actions in the Syrian city in a joint statement issued at the meeting.

    The statement said that hospitals and schools have become the targets of airstrikes. The EU went on to say …