Contents tagged with Syria

  • US Secretary of Defense: National dialog congress on Syria failed

    US Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the participants in the Syrian national dialog congress were unable to achieve any result.

    According to him, the negotiations need to continue in Geneva, where UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura is now heading.

    “You see that it didn’t work out in Sochi, and I think this is the most polite way of describing the result. They – Staffan de Mistura and the UN – are on their way to Geneva,” the US Defense Secretary commented.

    He emphasized that …

  • Russian warplane shot down in Syria

    Russian Su-25 was shot shot down near the town of Saraqib in eastern Idlib. Militants of Jaish al-Nasr posted a video showing the plane being hit by a missile. The video shows that the right engine of the aircraft caught fire. The pilot catapulted.

    There are unconfirmed reports that the pilot has been executed shortly after being captured. The plane was allegedly shot down by a Russian-made Igla portable missile system.

    The Su-25 aircraft was caring out airstrikes on positions of opposition …

  • US believes that Syrian opposition was not represented at Congress in Sochi

    The American administration believes that the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi was unbalanced and played into the hands of the authorities in Damascus, as stated on Thursday at a regular briefing for journalists by Heather Nauert, head of the State Department's press service.

    "We took a look at that and we determined that it [the Congress] was far too heavily tilted toward the regime; the opposition wasn’t sufficiently represented.," said the official representative of the US …

  • Syria complains to UN Secretary General and Security Council about Turkish operation

    Syrian authorities appealed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and to the UN Security Council with a complaint about the actions of Turkey, which is conducting a military operation in the area of Afrin in Syria. In letters to the international organization, Damascus referred to Ankara’s actions as “occupation” and “armed aggression,” the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

    “The presence of any foreign military forces in the country’s territory without its consent is aggression and …

  • USA allocates $350,000 for an independent investigation of the chemical attack in Syria

    The USA will allocate $350,000 to finance the international independent mechanism for investigation of crimes in Syria, hoping that this mechanism will allow the investigation of chemical attacks as well. The move came on the heels of the termination of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons UN Joint Investigative Mechanism.

    “The USA will allocate $350,000 for the international impartial and independent mechanism for investigation of crimes committed in Syria. It will …

  • Putin demands that shortcomings found in new military equipment in Syria be fixed

    At a recent military-practical conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that the shortcomings of Russian armament that were discovered in the Syrian theater be immediately dealt with, TASS reported.

    The President emphasized the problems with certain types of weapons and equipment used in the fighting. "I ask you to study this information carefully and make adjustments to the serial production process," he said. Putin noted that now that the work has already been carried out with …

  • Russian Minister of Defense: Russia controls the situation in Syria with the help of drones

    The Russian Armed Forces are controlling the situation in Syria by using drones, as stated by Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu during a press conference at the National Defense Management Center of Russia. The transcript was published on the Ministry's website.

    "Thanks to unmanned aircraft, we have complete control over the whole Syrian territory," Shoygu said.

    According to him, since the beginning of 2018 militants began to "widely use" unmanned aerial vehicles against Russian facilities in …

  • Participants of Sochi Congress decide to write new Constitution for Syria

    On Tuesday, January 30, in Sochi, the Syrian National Dialogue Congress , initiated by Russia, concluded its work.

    In the final speech, Staffan de Mistura, United Nations special envoy for the Syria crisis, announced the decision of the participants to create a constitutional council, which will consist of representatives of the current government, opposition, civil society, and tribes, RBC news agency reports. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists that, as a result of …

  • Ankara: Turkey will continue military operation in Syria even if it goes against US interests

    In an interview published the website of Evropeyskaya Pravda, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claims that Ankara will continue military operations in Syria, even if this goes against the interests of the United States.

    “When a member of NATO arms terrorists who attack another member of NATO, this grossly violates the fundamental principles of the Alliance. This type of policy is not normal, and it must be rectified,” said Cavusoglu with regard to the United States’ decision to arm …

  • Russia to reinforce security of military bases in Syria

    Russia plans to intensify the security of the Khmeimim and Tartus bases in Syria, Deputy Defense Minister Yuriy Borisov announced on Saturday.

    “Today we have prospective designs which may work effectively against drones. It is necessary to take into account the fact that it is not only developed countries, but terrorists too, who are making use of modern technologies,” he remarked.

    In January, militants attacked the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Syria using drones. The Russian military …