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© Vadim Grishankin / SputnikSukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft. Khmeimim Air Base in Syria.
"Russia does not intend to get involved in an armed standoff with the United States there [in Syria], our task there is to support the Syrian military forces in their fight against terrorists, this is the task we have a mandate for," Viktor Ozerov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
The comment came a few days after two US ships launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Syrian military's Shayrat Airbase. According to Syrian officials, at least five people were killed in the strike, of whom two were soldiers and three civilians.
© XYZ Pictures / Global Look Press
The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is the interest rate at which banks lend between each other. It consequently sets the benchmark for average clients' loans and mortgages.
In 2012, a whistleblower alerted regulators to the common manipulation of the rate, including the false inflation or deflation of the rate to result in bigger profit margins.
© US Navy
This time last week, President Trump was a hate figure for the 'Extreme Center' political and media establishment in the US, UK and the rest of Europe.
He was mentally unstable. He was a Russian stooge. A terrible sexist. He wasn't really fit to be President. Obama was much, much better - what a pity he had to go.
Today, however, Trump's being lauded as a great leader. And its his 'weak' predecessor who's in the doghouse. What caused this dramatic turnaround? Trump's dramatic turnaround on Syria.
© Global Look Press
"The US side thus has demonstrated a complete unwillingness to somehow cooperate on Syria and take into account each others' interests and concerns," Peskov said, while commenting on the suspension of the Memorandum on Air Safety in the aftermath of the US missile strike on Syrian military airfield overnight on Thursday.
The memorandum has lost its merit after the incident, Peskov said.
© Hannah McKay / ReutersDemonstration against U.S. President Donald Trump, Britain April 7, 2017.
Trump famously advised former President Barack Obama not to attack Syria, but did so himself on Thursday night, ordering 59 Tomahawk missiles to be fired at a Syrian military airfield near Homs.
But the entire Syrian narrative appears to be in a constant state of flux with US officials, who seem to flip-flop on Syrian President Bashar Assad's future and US priorities in the war-ravaged country so often it's becoming hard to keep up with their stance.
Comment: For some clarity on these 'mixed signals', check out: Behind the Headlines: Trump's Hit and Run in Syria - Playing the Deep State Game
© Asatur Yesayants / Sputnik
The Republican Party of Armenia, headed by current President Serzh Sargsyan, garnered 770,441 votes and secured the victory, elections commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said at a special meeting on Sunday.
The country's leading businessman, Gagik Tsarukyan, and his "Tsarukyan" bloc came in second with almost half as many votes (428,836).
The 'Elk' (Way Out) opposition alliance garnered 122,065 of votes and is third on the list.
© Anees Mahyoub/ReutersTaiz, Yemen March 16, 2017.
With terrorist attacks looming large, Fomin said the world is currently witnessing some kind of a hybrid political and military phenomenon, gaining momentum. "These are some new techniques, and revolutions are exported to different states that are supposedly suffering under undemocratic regimes. So-called democratic regimes are being planted in these countries from the outside," Fomin said.
"Because of this policy, some states ceased to exist; others are on the verge of disappearing. Look at Syria now, and Yemen. We can ask ourselves - who's next?"
The deputy defense minister spoke to RT ahead of the Sixth Moscow Conference on International Security, scheduled to take place on April 26-27, where the topic of international terrorism will be high on agenda.
© Alex Wong/WFPTulsi Gabbard, U.S. Representative for the 2nd District of Hawaii
Speaking live on CNN in the aftermath of the US missile strike against the Syrian airfield near Homs, Gabbard said she remained "skeptical" of the allegations, and reminded the host of the destructive invasions in Libya and Iraq, the latter based on a false intelligence pretext. The Democratic representative from Hawaii also called out US President Donald Trump for the "reckless" and "unconstitutional" attack.
The remarks infuriated some "progressive" Democratic figures, including former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Howard Dean and former Hillary Clinton policy director Neera Tanden, now the President of the Center for American Progress, a pro-Democratic Party think tank. The two suggested on Twitter that Gabbard, who also famously visited Syria for a covert "fact-finding" mission, should be expelled from Congress for her doubt of Assad's guilt.
"People of Hawaii's 2nd district - was it not enough for you that your rep met with a murderous dictator? Will this move you?" Tander wrote on Twitter on Friday, referring to Gabbard's recent comments she made to CNN.
© Joe Skipper/ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
"Our strategy in Syria, our priority is first to defeat ISIS," the US official said in an interview with ABC's This Week host, George Stephanopoulos, which was aired Sunday. Saying that once the battle with the terrorist group is concluded, which according to the US official is "going quite well," Washington plans to turn its attention "to achieving ceasefire agreements between the regime and opposition forces."
Bringing the parties to the table for political discussions "clearly requires the participation of the regime and the support of their allies," Tillerson said in another Sunday interview to the American media, speaking to John Dickerson on CBS's Face the Nation. Once a ceasefire becomes a reality in Syria, "we will have the conditions to begin a useful political process," he said.
"It is through that political process that we believe the Syrian people will ultimately be able to decide the fate of Bashar Assad," he told ABC. Tillerson reiterated the same on CBS, saying that Washington hoped to work with its coalition members and with the UN, "in particular through the Geneva process," to be able to "navigate a political outcome in which the Syrian people will in fact determine Bashar Assad's fate and his legitimacy."
Comment: Further reading: