Contents tagged with Syria

  • Russian airstrikes in Syria add to influx of refugees to Europe

    Human rights activists claim that civilian victims of the Russian bombing campaign in Syria number in the hundreds in densely populated areas. This Saturday, a senior U.S. official reported that only one-third of Russian aviation air strikes are being aimed at the positions of the so-called Islamic State. The indiscriminate bombing forces civilians to flee, further exacerbating the crisis in Europe caused by the massive influx of refugees.

    Among the 5,000 air strikes inflicted by the Russian …

  • Patriarch Kirill: Russia's Actions in Syria are in Defense of the Homeland

    The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has expressed his support of the Kremlin’s actions in Syria. The Patriarch said that Syria is a neighbour of Russia and stated that Russian military action in Syria is in defense of the Fatherland. In his interview with TV channel, Russia-1, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed that if the terrorists in Syria are victorious, it would result in misfortune and evil for Russia. Kirill explained that the war in Syria is defensive and …

  • US accuses Russia of bombing civilian targets in Syria

    According to the US authorities, hundreds of civilians were killed as a result of Russian air attacks on civilian targets in Syria.

    Washington has accused Moscow of targeting civilians in Syria, killing hundreds including members of rescue services, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Tuesday, December 29th in Washington.

    According to Toner, Russian war planes attacked hospitals, schools and markets. In October and the first half of November, more than 130,000 Syrians were forced …

  • Kudrin: Russia has not reached peak of economic crisis

    Former Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Alexei Kudrin, was engaged in talks last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials about returning to a senior post to help deal with the worsening economic situation.

    According to Kudrin, if oil prices continue to fall, there will be a further decline in the Russian economy.

    Kudrin holds that the Russian economic crisis has not yet reached its pinnacle, and argues that “today we see a further deterioration of the …

  • Ankara looking to improve relations with Moscow

    The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs said in Antalya that his country is making efforts to resolve the conflict with Russia.  At the same time, President Erdogan has criticized Moscow's policy in Syria.

    Turkey has made considerable efforts to restore relations with Russia, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on Sunday, December 27th during his visit to the Russian Cultural Society in Antalya.  "We are making great efforts to work through this stage.  The time …

  • 9 Killed as Russian Aircraft Bomb Syrian School

    The Russian Air Force carried out another raid on the Syrian city of Idlib. Nine people were killed, including children while 11 more were wounded. A representative of the civil defense forces of the area, Dzhardzhanaz Mahmoud Dagim, reported that the local school building was bombed.

    This is not the first Russian air raid on Idlib. On December 20th, dozens of people were killed as Russia carried out air strikes on the marketplace as well as several administrative and residential buildings. …

  • Erdogan: Turkey will not join coalition that includes Syrian government

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuses to take part in a coalition of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia against the so-called Islamic State.

    President Erdogan made this known in an interview with Al Arabiya, which will be broadcast in full on December 27th. In response to the invitation to join the coalition, Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he could not sit next to a president whose legitimacy is questionable. President Erdogan was referring to Syrian President Bashar al- …

  • Turkish Foreign Ministry Accuses Russia of Killing 600 Civilians in Syria

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, stated that on December 20th 200 civilians were killed during Russian airstrikes in the Syrian province of Idlib.  The Ministry has accused the Russian Federation of the murder of more than 600 Syrian citizens as a result of these air strikes, as reported by the Turkish Press Agency Anadolu. Cavusoglu also noted that 90% of the areas bombed by Russian aircraft are held by the Syrian opposition and include residential neighborhoods. …

  • Josh Earnest: Putin’s words on Syria due to economic isolation

    The economic sanctions that the West imposed against Russia over its actions in eastern Ukraine have led Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a unified resolution to the situation in Syria, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stated.

    Speaking during his annual end-of-the-year news conference, Putin said he was convinced that Washington was prepared to "move toward settling the issues that can only be settled through joint efforts." The Russian President went on to assert that the …

  • Herbst: War in Ukraine is more important than Russian invasion of Syria

     

    The former U.S Ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst, in his interview with the Voice of America, stated that U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry, is not the best candidate for negotiations with Russia regarding the cessation of the war in Ukraine. According to him, his soft diplomacy will not convince the Kremlin that it’s time to pull back.

    “The point is that during negotiations with the Kremlin, U.S Secretary John Kerry doesn't speak harshly in regards to Russian crimes, such as the Crimean …