In response to comments by the Foreign Minister of Russia,The laboratory in the town of Spiez, Switzerland that had contributed to the investigation on the notorious Skripal poisoning incident stated that the BZ toxin was not mentioned in its report.

“Only the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) can comment on this statement. But we can reiterate what we said 10 days ago. We have no doubt that Porton Down was right in identifying Novichok as the poisoning agent,” the …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Russian news outlet Kommersant, citing a Russian military-diplomatic source, reports that there is no evidence that the Western coalition is preparing a second strike against Syria.

"There is no current evidence that the United States and its allies are immediately ready to strike again; French and British aircraft have returned to their places of permanent deployment, and US destroyers that have used up their stock of cruise missiles are likely to leave for Rota, Spain,” the publication …

President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the television channel BFMTV on April 15 that the French military "perfectly conducted" its recent operation in Syria.

"Three chemical weapon production points were our [intended targets]; we successfully completed our objectives on the military side," said Macron.

"First of all, I want to thank our soldiers and our army. The operation was conducted perfectly," the French president stressed.

When asked whether he still plans to attend a …

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, according to a press release on the Kremlin’s website. The presidents “exchanged opinions on the situation following the missile strike by the US and their allies in Syrian territory”. The phone call was initiated by Iran.

“It was acknowledged that this unlawful action will seriously harm the prospects of a political resolution in Syria. In particular, Vladimir Putin emphasized that if such UN Charter- …

In order to restore the infrastructure in Syria that was destroyed in the airstrike by the US, Britain and France, Syria will need $400 billion and up to 15 years, as stated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a meeting with Russian MPs, Russian news agency  Interfax reports.

“President Assad said that nearly $400 billion will be required to restore the infrastructure of the Syrian Arab Republic, and this will take, according to his estimates, 10 to 15 years,” said Dmitry Sablin, …