Contents tagged with Syria

  • Russia speaks of progress in Libya talks despite lack of signed agreement

    Russia says that progress has been made in the indirect peace negotiations intended to bring an end to the conflict in Libya, even though no indefinite ceasefire agreement has been signed.

    “Today we can report that certain progress has been made,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference on Monday. Lavrov described the eight hours of parallel negotiations as “serious”. The talks were mediated by Lavrov himself, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu and Russian …

  • Russia and Turkey take over resolution of Libyan conflict

    On Monday in Moscow, the leaders of the opposing sides in Libya concluded negotiations, at the end of which the Russian Foreign Minister said that certain progress had been made. A fragile ceasefire, mediated by Russia and Turkey, has come into effect in Libya.

    Russia and Turkey have taken on the role of key arbitrators in Libya, trying to encourage Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and his adversary General Khalifa Haftar to start …

  • Putin to Assad: Invite Trump to Damascus

    During his recent visit to Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin advised his Syrian colleague Bashar al-Assad to invite US President Donald Trump to Damascus, according to a story presented on the TV channel Russia 1 during the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin”. The topic came up while the leaders of the two countries were meeting with Patriarch John X of Antioch and discussing a statement about the Apostle Paul, who went to Damascus.

    Commenting on the story, Assad joked that if Trump were to …

  • After Iran's attack on U.S. bases in Iraq unidentified warplanes attacked pro-Iranian forces in Syria

    On Friday, January 10, Unidentified aircraft attacked pro-Iranian militia positions near the Syrian town of Abu Kamal in Deir Ezzor province on the border with Iraq, reported the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). No information has yet been received on the extent of the damage. The Arab press has already rushed to blame Israel for the raid.

    According to the Lebanese television channel Al-Mayadeen, affiliated with Hezbollah, a truck carrying weapons was attacked. SOHR, in …

  • Turkish intelligence: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard moving to Idlib to ‘eliminate de-escalation zone’

    Citing Turkish intelligence, the mass media has reported that pro-Iranian forces in Syria have been activated in the wake of the US’s assassination of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. According to Turkish intelligence, Iranian divisions and several armed groups linked to Iran’s activity have been deployed on the border of the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.

    If the Turkish sources are to be believed, then soldiers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are also being …

  • US military abandons two bases in Syria

    The US military has abandoned two bases in north-eastern Syria and is moving towards Iraq, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports, citing a correspondent in the region.

    According to the agency, about 40 trucks left the Khorab Jayr base in Syria’s al-Hasakah province. Another 50 trucks departed from the base in the city of Shaddadi. SANA reports that they are moving towards the Al Waleed border crossing on the border with Iraq.

    On January 8, Iran attacked US bases in Iraq. According to the …

  • Arab media: Russian mercenaries transferred from Syria to Libya

    Russian mercenaries have been transferred from Syria to Libya in order to provide combat support for General Khalifa Haftar, writes the London-based Arab news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

    According to the newspaper, over the last three days two Russian Air Force airplanes have flown from Syria to the Benghazi Airport in Libya, bringing mercenaries. The Russian security contractors are operating under the companies Moran and Schit, and their deployment was coordinated with the UAE and Egypt, the …

  • Putin meets with Assad and Russian troops in Syria

    Russian President Vladimir Putin made a visit to Syria on Tuesday, January 7, the Kremlin announced on its official website.

    From the airport, Putin went to a Russian command point, where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    “The heads of state listened to the military’s reports on the state of affairs in various regions of the country. Later there were bilateral negotiations between a Russian and a Syrian delegation. While talking to Assad, the Russian President remarked, among …

  • Russia to send for repairs large landing ship which broke down en route to Syria

    The “Orsk”, an Alligator-class large landing ship in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, will be sent for repairs because the propulsion system broke down, TASS reports, citing a source in the Crimean authorities.

    According to the information obtained by the news agency, one of the ship’s two diesel engines broke down while it was en route to Syria. The landing ship was towed by the sea tug MB-304 to the Black Sea Fleet base. It is not yet known where the repairs will be carried out or how long they …

  • Another large Russian warship damaged during Syrian mission

    Russia's large landing ship Orsk has suffered serious damage off the Syrian coast and is only able to move with the help of a tugboat, reports the Russian news outlet Avia.pro.

    The publication notes that, at the moment, it is not clear where exactly the incident could have happened - in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coast or when the ship was passing through the Bosphorus.

    The publication writes that the Russian Navy has not yet commented on the information about the damage at Orsk, …