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Yoda

Syria's UN envoy slams Western silence on fatal terrorist attacks against Damascus civilians

Rasha Raslan/Mazen
SANA
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 10:35 UTC
Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari
Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari
Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari stressed that endangering the lives of 8 million civilians in Damascus in order to protect terrorists in Eastern Ghouta is unacceptable act.

Al-Jaafari made his remarks during a UN Security Council meeting held on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria.

He added that the draft resolution submitted by Kuwait and Sweden to the UN Security Council was not coordinated with Syria - the very country impacted by that text - in any way, which is a big shame.

The Syrian diplomat noted that terrorist groups situated in the Eastern Ghouta and designated as terrorist organizations by the UN Security Council have been targeting Damascus with hundreds of rocket and mortar shells on a daily basis, causing the death and injury of dozens of civilians.

Comment: See also: Russia says that UN Security Council fails to agree on ceasefire across Syria

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Question

Turkish army shells aid convoy entering Afrin - But was it an aid convoy


South Front
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 10:16 UTC
Turkish Army’s artillery guns and rocket launchers shelled an aid convoy
© By Hawar News Agency (ANHA)
On February 22, the Turkish Army's artillery guns and rocket launchers shelled an aid convoy that was about to enter the Afrin area through the Ziyarah crossing in the northern Aleppo countryside, according to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA).

The ANHA added that thousands of civilians from the Kurdish-held areas in eastern Syria had been onboard the convoy, which was transferring humanitarian aid to people in Afrin.


Comment: The Turkish General Staff has reported about the interception in Afrin of a convoy of 30-40 vehicles belonging to what they described as "terrorists and Kurdish militia groups."
A YouTube video shows Turkish armed forces shelling a convoy of alleged terrorist vehicles, which Ankara said was intercepted 15 kilometers (9 miles) southeast of Syria's Afrin region.

"Only the convoy belonging to PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorist groups was targeted during the operation, and utmost importance was given to not harm any civilians," Anadolu, a Turkish news agency, quoted the country's General Staff as saying.



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Light Saber

Russian ambassador to US explains how world military cooperation system should develop


Sputnik
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 08:19 UTC
Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov
© Sputnik/ Maksim BlinovRussian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov
Countries should develop a system of international military cooperation built on a non-bloc basis that would help combat existing threats like terrorism, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said at the embassy event on the occasion of Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day.

"The world of today faces an unprecedented range of dangerous threats. No one will benefit if a long-term confrontation between different countries or groups of countries is added to that list. We simply have to join forces in combating such evil as terrorism, which truly challenges our civilization," Antonov said on Thursday. "Development of international military cooperation is required more than ever. Our common goal should be developing an equal and indivisible security for all. A system that can adequately respond to modern crises and built on non-bloc basis."

The Ambassador stressed that that's the only way to secure peace and tranquility of the citizens.

Comment: See also: Anatoly Antonov: "Only jointly Russia and the U.S. can solve the security problems"

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Dollars

"Give us money, because Russia": Dems demand $300mn to "protect midterms against Russian intervention"


PressTV
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 21:18 UTC
schumer pelosi
© AFPUS House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (L), US Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer are seen during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the US House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC.
US Democratic leaders have called for more than $300 million in new funding to protect upcoming midterm elections from Russian interference.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi demanded a budget boost Wednesday, claiming that the amount is necessary to safeguard November's elections.

The extra money should go to the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Election Assistance Commission, they said in a letter to the Republicans.

"We're not drawing lines in the sand," Senator Schumer told reporters. "We hope we can get bipartisan support."

The Democrats' move was made in the wake of mounting pressure against the administration of US President Donald Trump over possible collusion with Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign and election.

The president and his associates have been under increased pressure since Friday, when special counsel Robert Mueller released an indictment in the ongoing Russia probe.

Comment: That's what you call monetizing hysteria.

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Magnify

Trump wants Sessions to probe 'Russian meddling' on Obama's watch


RT
Wed, 21 Feb 2018 23:06 UTC
trumpsessions
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersPresident Trump and AG Jeff Sessions
President Donald Trump has urged his attorney-general to probe why Barack Obama failed to stop alleged Russian election meddling on his watch. That followed a string of Trump tweets accusing his predecessor of inaction.

Ever since Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 vote, Democrats have accused Russia of influencing the election and colluding with Trump to defeat their candidate, widely considered to be an absolute favorite to win the White House.

"If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration... why aren't they the subject of the investigation?" Trump asked in an early morning tweet on Wednesday.



Over the previous two days, Trump had tweeted that he had been "much tougher on Russia than Obama," who initially dismissed the notion that a foreign country could influence a US election because "he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win and he didn't want to 'rock the boat'," according to Trump.

Comment: 'Obama's watch' should have been the first stop on this blame train. Why wasn't it? Report on record shows the US has directly meddled in some 81 elections and has influenced many more.

See also: Government's data reveals US interfered in 81 foreign elections

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Attention

Lavrov: US' game of provocation caused military conflict in Afrin, no peace nor stability to Afghans


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 21:03 UTC
Lavrov
© RTRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has blamed US policy in Syria for the conflict between Turkey and Kurdish militias in Afrin, saying that the recent clashes were caused by US actions that look like "deliberate provocation."

For many months, the US has been engaged in a political "game" on the territories to the east from the Euphrates River, Lavrov said at a joint press conference with the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, in Moscow. The Russian minister apparently referred to the US' continued support of the Kurdish militias and its plans to create a 30,000-strong Border Security Force (BSF) in Syria, half of which was expected to be made up of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

The US policy in Syria has long been questionable, Lavrov said, but given the ongoing developments in the Afrin region, it started to "increasingly look like a deliberate provocation," he added. Shortly after the US announced its plans to create the BSF, Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) controlling the Syrian enclave of Afrin.
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Arrow Down

Russia says that UN Security Council fails to agree on ceasefire across Syria


PressTV
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 21:19 UTC
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia
© Photo by AFPRussian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia speaks at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria on February 22, 2018
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia made the announcement on Thursday after a council meeting on a draft resolution demanding a 30-day truce in Syria amid renewed violence in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region.

Sweden and Kuwait, two non-permanent members of the Security Council, had proposed the ceasefire measure in Syria to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.

On Wednesday, Nebenzia presented amendments to the draft resolution, saying, "We cannot simply decide that there is a ceasefire."

Comment: This means more bloodshed, more weapons supplying, killing more civilians...Exactly what US wants!

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Propaganda

SOTT Focus: Mass Media Reaches New Low Stoking Russiaphobia in Wake of Florida School Shooting

Finian Cunningham
Sputnik
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 18:42 UTC
florida shooting
© Reuters/ WSVN.com
Hysteria over alleged Russian meddling in US affairs hit a new low this week, with claims that Kremlin-controlled internet agents are exploiting the Florida gun massacre.

The New York Times' top story in its online edition Tuesday was headlined: "After Florida School Shooting, Russian 'Bot' Army Pounced".

Other US news media also gave prominent coverage to unsubstantiated claims that Kremlin-orchestrated internet agents, known as "trolls" or "bots", were heartlessly exploiting American public grief over the mass shooting.

The NY Times report stated: "Any news event - no matter how tragic - has become fodder to spread inflammatory messages in what is believed to be a far-reaching Russian disinformation campaign."
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Footprints

Merkel leaves parliamentary session as AfD slams her migration quota system


RT
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 20:15 UTC
Chancellor Angela Merkel
© Axel Schmidt / ReutersChancellor Angela Merkel addresses the German parliament on February 22, 2018
German Chancellor Angela Merkel walked out of a parliamentary session after a leader from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party criticized her support of a proposed EU refugee distribution system.

While Merkel and AfD have never been friends, one particular comment by the party's co-founder, Alexander Gauland, prompted her to leave the Bundestag on Thursday. That remark slammed the chancellor's support for an EU quota system for accepting refugees.

Countries want to decide for themselves who they take in. There is no national duty with regard to multiculturalism," Gauland said.

Comment: Go and never come back, because your place it's not in politics...Try fishing!

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Propaganda

Kremlin spokesman Peskov: Russia denies role in deadly air strikes on Syria's Eastern Ghouta


Al-Monitor
Thu, 22 Feb 2018 19:17 UTC
Man walks with a pair of children
© AP Photo/ Save the ChildrenMan walks with a pair of children in hand hand through the rubble in Eastern Ghouta, Syria
The Kremlin on Wednesday denied involvement in air strikes on Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta enclave that monitors say have killed at least 250 civilians since the start of the week.

"These are groundless accusations. It is not clear what they are based on. No specific data has been given. We do not agree (with them)," said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to a US briefing saying that Russia was responsible for the attacks.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has also blamed Russian warplanes for the strikes.

Comment: Russia suspects that western countries want to shift focus away from the necessity of starting the Geneva talks to launching plan "B" in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated.
The minister went on by expressing concern over the proposed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, saying that it may aim to accuse Damascus of everything and to protect the militants.

The top diplomatic official noted, however, that Russia was ready to consider the draft resolution.

"The resolution that we are suggested to adopt ..., we are ready to consider this proposal," Lavrov said, noting that at the same time the ceasefire regime "must not at all" reach the Daesh and the Jabhat al-Nusra terror groups (both banned in Russia) and those factions that are cooperating with them and systematically firing on the residential areas of Damascus.

The minister was commenting on the draft resolution, on the introduction of a 30-day ceasefire in Syria for the delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuation, proposed by the delegations of Sweden and Kuwait to the Security Council. The voting on the draft is expected to take place on Thursday.

...

He reminded that Russia had called for the Thursday UN meeting.

"We offered to consider the situation in Eastern Ghouta and the situation around it. If our arguments are ignored yet again, we will have no other choice but to believe that the authors of this initiative yet again want to blame Damascus and protect terrorist groups," he said.

Eastern Ghouta is one of four Syrian de-escalation zones created during the Astana talks on Syrian reconciliation. Three states: Russia, Iran and Turkey serve as guarantors of the de-escalation deals, which apply to all sides except those linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia).


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