On Friday, the United States, Russia, and other world powers announced a “cessation of hostilities” to begin next week in Syria, even as Syrian dictator Bashar Assad vowed to continue “fighting terrorism” and “retake” the entire country.
Contents: US and Russia agree to a farcical ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria; Russia launches massive military exercises, apparently targeting Turkey and Syria; The vitriolic hatred of Bashar al-Assad
Contents: Syria peace talks collapse as Russia carpet bombs opposition in Aleppo; John Kerry warns of ISIS expansion in Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Russia sent weapons to the Iraqi Kurds to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saluted Kurdish efforts against the Islamic State, and offered Moscow’s support, by way of Damascus.
Selahattin Demirtaş, the head of the pro-Kurdish opposition party in Turkey, will visit Moscow this week to speak to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and open a satellite office for his party. The meeting follows a tense several weeks in which Turkey and Russia have all but severed their diplomatic ties.
After 20 months of fierce denials, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian troops have been deployed to eastern Ukraine.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) should not participate in any Syrian peace talks.
Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin. He placed the Syrian civil war and Ukraine crisis at the top of his list of topics to discuss.
During a meeting with his defense minister, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he “hoped” Russia does not need to use nuclear warheads against terrorists.
Another sign of growing tensions between Russia and Turkey was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s announcement on Friday that visa-free travel between the two countries would end on January 1.
Tuesday was filled with conflicting news about the fate of the Russian pilots shot down by Turkish forces over Syria. At various points during the day, it was said that both had been killed – possibly riddled with bullets by Syrian rebels as they came down in their parachutes – and that both were alive, and in enemy hands.
Contents: Putin calls Turkey’s downing of Russian plane a ‘stab in the back’; Turkmen in Syria versus Russians in occupied Crimea; Russia – Turkey crisis evokes memories of centuries of Crimean wars
On Tuesday morning, two Turkish F-16 fighters engaged a Russian Sukhoi-24 warplane and shot it down with an air-to-air missile, somewhere north of the Syrian port city of Latakia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that, before talks on a cease-fire in Syria can move forward, Western powers must agree to identify the “terrorist” groups within the Syrian opposition.
The government of Iran has strongly rejected a round of news stories claiming it was ready to compromise its support for the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.
Contents: Russia warns that Syria war could become a ‘proxy war’; Syria’s civil war and Generational Dynamics; Generational Dynamics and crisis civil wars; Generational Dynamics and war between Palestinians and Israelis
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears ready to cooperate with the European Union to remove economic sanctions–after having gained enormous international leverage through his surprise military intervention in Syria.
The Russian government wants Syria to hold presidential and parliamentary elections. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has allegedly stated he would rather wait until “terrorism” is eradicated from the country to hold elections again.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) praised Hillary Clinton’s performance at the House Select Committee on Benghazi last week as “presidential,” saying: “I could see her across the table from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet in Vienna Friday to discuss Syria before they both meet with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Rockets flying out of an Islamist neighborhood hit Russia’s embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Russia has declared the attack “obvious terrorism.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to military cooperation in Syria.
Russian television station Rossiya 24 tailored their weather report to support Russia’s bombing of Syria, reporting that the weather was ideal for an airstrike campaign in the Mideast nation.
Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry described Russian action in Syria as a potential “opportunity” for the United States, suggesting the Russians ought to follow President Obama’s agenda in Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the third time in the past ten days to discuss the situation in Syria. He warned Lavrov that Russia’s support of beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad “will only prolong the Syrian conflict.”
Russia is in the midst of a steady military buildup at a Syrian airport, indicating Moscow intends to create an air operations base there, although no fighter jets or helicopters have arrived yet, the Pentagon said Monday.
The Russian government sent humanitarian aid to Syria over the weekend, only a few days after officials demanded U.S. cooperation to avoid “unintended consequences.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mocked the U.S.’s policy on Libya while talking to reporters about Russian troops and equipment in Syria.
Contents: Russia and Iran send more troops to Syria to back faltering al-Assad; Putin’s plan for Syria: al-Assad regime in anti-ISIS coalition with West; Assad regime and ISIS are apparently BOTH now using chemical weapons in Syria
A Syrian official confirmed the Russian government provided the country with more military experts in the past 12 months.
The Russian government is claiming officials never denied or misled anyone about sending weapons and equipment to Syria. The report comes days after terrorist groups in Syria published photos or Russians in Syria and the U.S. warning the Kremlin about military activity in the war-torn country.
The Russian government has failed to convince anyone to work Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), with the latest rejection coming from Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov his country will not ally themselves with Assad.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanded the U.S. work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fight the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). He recently criticized the U.S. for leading a coalition against the terrorist group without authorization from the regime.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met in Doha, Qatar, this week to discuss ways to implement a Palestinian state.
While the Iranians take a victory lap over Obama’s capitulation to their nuclear program, their patrons in Russia are celebrating, too.
Slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s recently-released report, titled Putin. War, catalogues his country’s involvement in Ukraine. The report claims there are more than 200 Russian military personnel operating in Ukraine. Nevertheless, PayPal shut down an account that allowed people to donate funds to pay for the report’s mass printing.
A new poll from the Levada Center think tank shows that 59% of Russians believe America is a real threat to the sovereignty of Russia. The results come after a friendly meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
After a marathon negotiating session that stretched into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, April 1–hours after the official deadline–the parties gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland reached a tentative deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
Diplomats meeting Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland to hammer out the framework agreement for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program missed their deadline of March 31, and resolved to continue their negotiations for an additional day, expecting to complete an agreement on April 1st, otherwise known as April Fool’s Day.
