Contents tagged with Syria
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US State Department: Russia and Syria try to conceal chemical attack in Douma
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert has stated that the United States believes Russia and Syria have been "sanitizing" the site of probable chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma.
"We can confirm that the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] team has still not been able to enter Douma in Syria… We believe it is an effort to conduct their own staged investigations. Russian officials have worked with the Syrian regime, we believe, to sanitize the locations of …
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Syrian Delegation arrives in annexed Crimea for Economic Forum
A delegation from Syria led by Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil has arrived in the annexed Crimea to participate in the Yalta International Economic Forum. The delegation was met at the airport by the Kremlin-appointed head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov. The Crimea Inform News Agency reports that the delegation consists of seventy people.
"Our priority task is the development of economic and trade relations to link Syria and Russia at the same level as the …
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Ukrainian Security Service publishes list of Wagner mercenaries transported to Syria by Russian Navy
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has released a list of mercenaries from the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) who were transported to Syria by the Russian Navy, as announced in a statement by SBU head Vasyl Hrytsak, the department’s press service reports.
“Despite the statements by the Russian Defense Ministry concerning the supposed ‘unsuitability’ of the Varyag cruiser for transporting personnel and equipment, the SBU is disclosing a list of Wagner PMC mercenaries who were secretly …
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Merkel and Putin discuss Syria and Nord Stream 2 pipeline
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks on Tuesday, April 16, during which they discussed the situation in Syria, Ukraine, and Nord Stream 2.
The politicians agreed on the need to focus on the political process to resolve the "long-standing bloody conflict" in Syria, German official Steffen Seibert said.
In the conversation, Putin "pointed out once again that the actions taken by a group of Western countries that committed an act of aggression …
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Saudi Arabia ready to send troops to Syria
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia is prepared to send its own soldiers to Syria as part of the US-led coalition, if the coalition is expanded, DW reports.
“Since the start of the crisis we have been in discussion with the US about sending forces into Syria,” he said, adding that even during Obama’s administration, Riyadh had expressed its readiness to send troops into Syria. “There is discussion concerning which forces should remain in eastern Syria and where they …
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Media: Israel alarmed by potential delivery of Russian S-300 missile systems to Syria
Israel fears that the supply of Russian S-300 missile systems to Syria will jeopardize the "freedom of action" of the Israeli Air Force in its neighboring state, El País reports. In addition, Israel is concerned that the deployment of more modern systems in Syria could protect Damascus from "future retaliatory measures."
According to El País, Israel’s apprehension was due to an announcement by the Russian Federation that, in connection with US-led missile strikes by the western Allies, Russia …
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Lavrov reaffirms Russia's intention to supply Syria with S-300 missile systems
In an interview with the BBC television channel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was ready to consider all necessary steps to strengthen the security of Syria after the Western coalition strike.
"President Putin addressed this issue [regarding the S-300 delivery]. And he clearly reminded [us] that few years ago, at the request of our partners, we decided not to supply the S-300 to Syria," Lavrov said. Russia now intends to reconsider the option of delivering the S-300 …
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Assad said that his children were on vacation in the annexed Crimea
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad mentioned at a meeting with Russian parliament members that his children were at Artek children camp in the Crimea last year, RIA Novosti reports, citing the coordinator of the State Duma group on relations with the parliament of Syria, Dmitry Sablin.
"First of all we would like to focus on [political] party related work with young people, organize two-week long camps. My children were in Artek last year," Sablin quoted Assad as saying. Bashar Assad has two …
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Russia sends another batch of military equipment to Syria
Russian large landing ship the Orsk was sighted in the Bosporus strait with military equipment on board, the Turkish Bosphorus observer Yörük Işık reported on Twitter. The ship appeared to be bound for the Syrian port city of Tartus.
The Orsk is reportedly transporting BTR-80 armored vehicles, Iveco LMV armored cars, and Ural and KamAZ trucks to Syria.
Russian BTR-80s are manufactured at the Arzamas Machinery Plant. They are equipped with a Pelena-6 jammer system, which protects the combat …
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Macron: France convinced Trump to limit targets in Syria strike
During an interview with BFM TV, French President Emmanuel Macron said that it was France that convinced US President Donald Trump to limit the strike it inflicted against facilities in Syria.
"We convinced Trump to limit the targets of the strikes only to sites with chemical weapons capacity," he said.
According to Macron, the US media and Trump’s Twitter initially used more aggressive rhetoric.
He also noted that Paris earlier persuaded Washington to stay in Syria.
"Ten days ago, …