Contents tagged with Syrian Conflict

  • Samantha Power criticizes Russia for calling emergency Security Council meeting

    US Permanent Representative to the UN Samantha Power heavily criticized the Russian initiative to hold an emergency Security Council conference on Saturday to discuss an incident connected with the air raid on Deir ez-Zor, during which 62 Syrian soldiers were killed. The US claims that positions of the so-called Islamic State were targeted, and the deaths of the Syrian soldiers was an accident. Power has told reporters that Russia's actions are a ruse, the real purpose of which is to distract …

  • Syrian opposition group would reject joint deal between Russia and US if it deviated from its own plan

    Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, has said that it would reject any coordinated strategy by Russia and the US to bring peace to Syria if it were to deviate from the group’s proposed plan, Reuters reported, citing the committee’s general coordinator, Riyad Hijab.

    The Saudi and Western-backed High Negotiations Committee’s proposed plan includes a six-month transition period during which a new administration would be created made up of opposition figures, civil …

  • Putin and Obama discuss Syria and Ukraine during meeting at G20 summit

    US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, RIA Novosti reported.

    In an informal 90-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

    The key discussion point was the war in Syria, specifically providing humanitarian aid, reducing the level of violence, and combating extremist groups, such as the so-called Islamic State.

    The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine, with Obama urging …

  • French Foreign Minister: Syria is a 'military trap' for Russia

    Russian leadership has a good chance to get out of the military trap it has gotten itself into, expressed the Foreign Minister of France, Jean-Marc Ayrault, commenting on the further development of the situation in Syria after the publication of the report on the use of chemical weapons by the Russian-supported Assad regime, RFI reported.

    According to the French Minister, the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in 2014 and 2015 is "not only illegal but morally unacceptable for those …

  • Russian media: there are 2,500 Russian mercenaries in Syria

    Russian mercenaries from the Wagner private military company who fought in Syria earned between RUB 5.1 billion ($78.7 million)and RUB 10.3 billion ($159 million, RBC wrote, referencing their own calculations. According to the statement, up to 2,500 mercenaries from the private military company are in Syria.The officer from the Ministry of Defense reported that the salaries of each mercenary in Syria rarely exceeded RUB 300,000 ($4,630). In Russia, fighters got paid at least RUB 8,000 ($123). …

  • Merkel criticizes Russia and Syrian government over humanitarian crisis in Aleppo

    The head of the German government, Chancellor Angela Merkel, called the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo ‘nightmarish.’ According to her, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia both must do more to relieve the suffering of the people in the besieged city.

    Merkel said she was shocked by the scale of the humanitarian disaster in the Syrian city of Aleppo and sharply criticized al-Assad and Russia. "What is happening in Aleppo now is a nightmare, a humanitarian catastrophe. Calls for …

  • Secretary of Iran's Security Council: Iran and Russia together thwarted US plans in Syria

    In Syria, Iran and Russia did not allow the United States to withdraw armed opposition troops backed by Washington who were under strike. This was stated by the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, TASS reports.

    “The United States and its regional allies tried to withdraw terrorists under attack who, under the false name of the so-called moderate opposition, committed numerous crimes against the Syrian people. Plans to save these ‘moderate terrorists’ have …

  • Turkish Deputy PM: Russia cannot use Incirlik Air Base

    Russia is not a member of NATO; that's why Russian military aircraft cannot use Incirlik base for the fight against the extremists of the Islamic State organization. This was stated by the deputy prime minister of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, in an interview with the television channel NTV on Tuesday, August 23.

    However, the deputy to the head of the Turkish government believes that Russia’s participation in the attempts to resolve the crisis in Syria would have paved the way for the restoration …

  • Another Russian soldier reportedly killed in Syria

    Colonel of the Russian Army Vladimir Bekish was killed in Syria on June 19th. This was told to TV Rain (Dozhd) by the relatives of the deceased. Colonel Bekish was buried with military honors in his home town in Belarus. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet officially reported the death of this officer.

    Vladimir Bekish was a regular Russian serviceman. The death certificate received by the relatives stated that he had been killed in the Syrian Arab Republic.

    Journalists of the tut.by …

  • Lavrov: Russia prevented a US attack on Syria in 2013

    According to an article published by TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia prevented the USA’s attack on Syria in 2013 by convincing the President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad to abandon the use of chemical weapons.

    “Of course, the consequences could have been more devastating if Russia had not prevented the USA’s attack on Syria three years ago by convincing al-Assad to rid Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles,” he said.

    On August 15th, the …