Syria is being attacked from Cyprus. The military operation of Western countries against Syria has been postponed, but not canceled “Khimatak” in the Duma

At congressional hearings, Pentagon chief Mattis said the decision on the strike would be made after an OPCW investigation. On this moment The decision to strike Syria has not been made.

"I am sure that a chemical attack took place. And we are waiting for real confirmation. The OPCW is trying to send its inspectors there, perhaps within a week. But we will not know from the OPCW team if they manage to get there, if the regime allows them there, who did it. They can only say whether they found evidence or not. And every day it becomes more and more difficult to prove (the use of a chemical substance), it is an unstable gas."

In addition, Mattis said that there was a chemical attack, but the Pentagon is still looking for factual confirmation of this, since apart from posts on social networks, the Pentagon has no other evidence of the use of chlorine or sarin in Douma. The OPCW mission must clarify this issue. What evidence do France and Britain have that the United States does not, I think is a rhetorical question.
Today, OPCW experts received Syrian visas and are scheduled to arrive in Syria via Lebanon. The Syrian authorities and the Russian military will assist them with access to the site where the chemical attack allegedly occurred and will ensure security.

In addition, the new head of the State Department (who is also the former chief of the CIA) called Russia a threat to the United States and Syria a “failed state” (as if the United States did not do everything to destroy Syria), but this is already the usual abuse from the United States after the defeat of the militants in Eastern Ghouta.

The Foreign Ministry responded to Trump, who demanded gratitude for the fight against ISIS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the statement of US President Donald Trump, who posted a message on Twitter about Syria and the fight against ISIS.

* Terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation.

Everyone at Hitler's headquarters is unscrupulous

“I never said when exactly there would be a strike on Syria. Maybe in the near future, or maybe not at all soon. In any case, the United States, under my leadership, inflicted enormous damage on ISIS. Where is your “Thank you, America!”? (c) Trump

Thank you America. Get the hell out of the territory of a sovereign state.

Konstantin Nikiforov. The world froze in anticipation

The world is frozen in anticipation of how the conflict in Syria will end. In these circumstances, Theresa May has a difficult decision to make on Syria. All media write about this. Most typically BBC, especially the version for Russian speakers

“Is it fair to say that Britain is hesitating before joining the US and France in launching airstrikes against targets in Syria?

Senior Downing Street officials strongly deny this. However, some in Whitehall think Theresa May may be being her usual cautious self.
They believe the Prime Minister is concerned about the possible political consequences of using military force without parliamentary approval.
Parliamentarians will return from the Easter holidays only next Monday, April 16.
Some Defense Department officials, in particular, are ready for the deployment of troops and are nervous about being kept waiting. This is less true for the Tornado fighters stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which can be alerted relatively quickly.
However, time is of the essence if Britain wants to deploy a submarine equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. As I was told, there is not a single British missile submarine in the Mediterranean now, and it will take about a week to get into position.

The same critics point to the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron spoke twice with Donald Trump before the US president found time to call the British prime minister and the leaders concluded that May was not with them.

But that's not the whole story. Officials say the delay in Trump's call is partly because May spent much of Monday traveling to Scandinavia and returning home late.
Trump promptly contacted Macron because the French president himself initiated the first call. As one diplomat told me, Macron is doing everything to become “Trump’s chief whisperer” in Europe and his relationship with the president is warmer than May’s.

Downing Street insists the Prime Minister is not delaying or trying to delay the start of hostilities. And most senior insiders and cabinet members I've spoken to agree.

But some say the prime minister is deliberately taking his time. On the one hand, people who know her claim that this is her character - to act carefully and methodically, to play by the rules. She wants to determine for herself what will be more in line with Britain's national interests, understand what other countries want to achieve, and evaluate all the possibilities and consequences.

This, of course, includes assessing the risk of being defeated when voting on this issue in parliament. The scars from David Cameron's failure to get approval for military operations in Syria in 2013 have not yet fully healed.

This will make a difference if the fighting is not a one-time event, but a consistent strategy that includes airstrikes whenever Syria uses chemical weapons.
In this case, this is what is fundamentally important. May, I'm told, wants to make sure that the accusations against Syria are as fully substantiated as possible. She demands as much information as possible about the alleged chemical attack in the Duma - primarily so that she can say who is responsible for it.

She wants to make sure she has enough wiggle room to argue about any possible political scolding she may receive. These discussions are identical to those taking place regarding the Salisbury poisoning. In other words, May wants to be able to stand before Parliament and say that there is no reasonable alternative to the idea that the Syrian government was responsible for the chemical attack.

The official report of May's phone call with Trump struck clear notes of caution. It referred to reports of Syrian chemical attacks that would indicate President Assad's brutality if confirmed.

There are signs that the US and French are also biding their time. Macron appears eager to act, but even he spoke yesterday of making a decision “in the coming days.” French sources tell me of another telephone conversation between Macron and Trump, which is supposed to take place in the next 48 hours.

Some sources suggest that if Trump wants to launch a sustained military operation broader than the one-off strike a year ago, the US military will be forced to send more warships and submarines to the region. And this will take some time.

Added to this are the complications of possible responses from Russia and Iran if their armed forces come under coalition attack.

The OPCW, the international organization that monitors the use of chemical weapons, further complicated matters by saying it soon hoped to send its own “fact-finding team” to the Duma if it received permission from the Russians and Syrians. Officials agree that coalition airstrikes carried out while international inspectors are on the ground will not look good.

So can we say that May is against fighting? It does not appear to be so, and this version is categorically rejected in Downing Street. But perhaps she is trying to avoid rushing into war without carefully considering the consequences? This seems more like the truth.

There is a risk that her caution may come across as indecisive. Ultimately, she may come to the conclusion that the risks of refusing to participate in hostilities will be greater. The Salisbury attack and widespread support from much of the international community places the burden of leadership on Britain's shoulders.

Some ministers and officials believe Britain's refusal to provide military support to its allies could be seen as ungrateful and callous, given that just weeks ago 25 countries expelled Russian diplomats in a show of support for Britain. There will be those who will say that to stand aside when the French and american planes attack targets in Syria, marks the complete collapse of the state strategy of “global Britain”.

It's clear that May is caught between a rock and a hard place. But at some point in the coming days, she will have to make a decision” (end quote).

I quote the text without cuts. It's worth it. It seems that if everything depended on May, she would have struck before Washington, without asking his permission or approval. There are some other limiting circumstances about which there is not a word in the article. On April 21, the Queen of England is going to solemnly celebrate her birthday. It seems that she is not expecting a gift from the Prime Minister in the form of World War 3. She survived one, but it’s not a fact about the second. And who likes to receive coffins from the Middle East on special days? Let me remind you that the leaders of the British Commonwealth will come to the celebration to determine whether this association has a future. Moreover, countries such as India and South Africa are also part of BRICS. If England strikes Syria before this time, not all Commonwealth leaders will understand such a move. This means that Great Britain’s dream of regaining its former power through the restoration of the empire can be put to rest. Interestingly, Canada refused to take part in the Syrian war

There is another limiting factor. It is difficult to say how real it is; the issue deserves deeper study.

“Igor Yurgens, a former chief adviser to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, ... blamed the attack on the former double agent on hyper-communist “deep state groups” in the government that disdain any form of détente with the West.
Mr Jurgens said: “The last person interested in this (poisoning) before he was elected, and the World Cup into which he invested so much PR and financial and political capital, was Putin.

(...) A top adviser told a political news site that the deep state is made up of former military and intelligence officers, former diplomats and members of the public, most of whom extol Stalin and the USSR, and vehemently support "white orthodoxy" (end quote).

Not entirely clear, but interesting. Although there was a group called “Apostles” in Britain. Maybe there are still followers?

Why Trump missed his own deadline to strike Syria

US President Donald Trump missed his own. The White House now says that a final decision regarding strikes on targets in Syria has not yet been made.

At the same time, administration representative Sarah Sanders, answering countless questions from journalists,... This is how she responded to a question about Washington’s readiness to risk a direct military clash with Russia: “We are considering all options.”

The journalist clarified whether this answer sounds like “yes.” Sanders noted that the answer was “We are looking at all options,” and then closed the topic.

Later, the White House speaker nevertheless indicated that among possible options There is also a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict. However, according to CNN, American strikes on Syria could begin next week.

Business FM radio station discussed the situation with political scientist Georgy Bovt.

- Is the clash over Syria canceled or still postponed?

This means that everything can happen before next Monday, when the first sitting of the British Parliament takes place. So, perhaps, we are talking about a joint operation of the United States with its allies - Great Britain and France.

- How to explain the fact that Trump first set a deadline for himself, then missed it himself?

This is explained solely by his character. Trump is an emotional person; this is not the first time he has missed such a deadline. However, this does not mean that such a strike is not being prepared.

Apparently, the initiative is simply not with Trump, but with the military, who are preparing a practical operation, and in this case, Trump simply violated certain regulations for the action of the supreme commander in such cases - well, he is already accused of this - by betraying the US intention to their enemies.

Russian “peacekeeping shield” arrived in Syria (PHOTO)

Yesterday, April 11, a Russian delegation arrived in Syria under the leadership of Dmitry Sablin, coordinator of the parliamentary group for relations with the Syrian parliament.

The delegation included State Duma deputy from Sevastopol Dmitry Belik, governor of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug Natalya Komarova, deputies from the Communist Party faction Alexander Yushchenko and Sergei Gavrilov, a number of other parliamentarians and a group of oncologists.

The delegates have meetings with the leadership of the parliament and government of Syria, as well as with the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and the Supreme Mufti of Syria, Belik added.

The delegation plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; the date is not disclosed for security reasons.

Despite the threats coming from Washington, as well as Trump’s calls for Russia to “prepare for a missile strike on Syria,” the delegation is not going to evacuate from Damascus. On the contrary, he calls on the US President “not to bomb peace ambassadors.”

Yesterday, members of the delegation met with the Governor of Homs Province, Talal Barazi, and representatives of the local clergy.

“The primate of the metropolis showed us several icons that they managed to remove from the destroyed churches of Aleppo, Raqqa and other cities of Syria,” said Dmitry Belik. “Many icons survived, but they were violated by terrorists, and now they have taken their places in the temples of Homs province.”

Oncologists were included in the delegation to provide medical care to Syrian children suffering from cancer. "Russian Spring" illuminated it at one time.

Trump's threats to strike Syria spooked the US stock market

American stock indices ended trading lower on Wednesday amid increased geopolitical tensions, in particular, fears that the United States will launch a missile strike on Syria.

Earlier, US President Donald suggested that Moscow prepare for this, criticizing it for supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Shares of 26 of the 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Wednesday, and nine of the 11 major industry groups in the S&P 500 also fell.

Traders continue to monitor news of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election and await new signals regarding the trade dispute with China.

The issue of global trade disputes has temporarily faded into the background, and markets have taken a wait-and-see approach to see Trump's reaction to recent statements by Chinese President Xi Jinping, writes MarketWatch.

Xi Jinping, speaking at the Boao Forum on Tuesday, promised to give foreign companies greater access to China's financial and manufacturing sectors, increase imports, improve intellectual property protection and provide a more transparent and governed environment for overseas investment.

On Wednesday, the new governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Yi Gang, unveiled a series of concrete measures to further expand foreign investors' access to the country's financial sector.

“As analysts who deal primarily with changes in supply and demand indicators, we feel concerned at the moment, since the market situation is largely determined by political factors,” the Commerzbank report notes.

“All things considered, including Trump’s statements on Syria, the stock market is holding up pretty well. This may be due to the fact that investors are waiting for the corporate earnings season to start very soon,” says Themis Trading managing director Mark Kepner.

The CPI index decreased by 0.1% in March 2018 after increasing by 0.2% in February. Inflation in annual terms accelerated to 2.4% last month from February's 2.2%.

Meanwhile, consumer prices excluding food and energy (Core CPI index) increased by 0.2% month-on-month (0.2% in February) and increased by 2.1% year-on-year (1.8%).

Minutes from the March 20-21 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting released Wednesday showed Fed policymakers discussed the possibility of accelerating the pace of interest rate hikes, noting confidence in stronger U.S. economic growth and inflation.

Moreover, for the first time since the financial crisis, FOMC members said that monetary policy, the course of which for a long time is stimulating, will eventually become a factor constraining economic growth.

Bank stock quotes fell sharply following trading on Wednesday. Papers of JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell in price by 1.7%, Bank of America Corp. - by 1.9%, Citigroup Inc. - by 0.9%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. - by 1.4%, Wells Fargo & Co. - by 1.3%.

Facebook shares rose 0.8% by market close. The head of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, during a five-hour hearing in the US Senate on Tuesday, admitted mistakes that allowed the British Cambridge Analytica to obtain 87 million user data through the social network before the 2016 US elections. On Wednesday, Zuckerberg took part in a congressional hearing.

21st Century Fox shares fell 0.3%. Earlier it became known that representatives of the European Commission conducted a search at the London headquarters of Fox Networks Group, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, as part of an investigation into a possible violation of competition rules for the rights to sports television broadcasts and the display of sports content.

Capitalization of cruise operator Carnival Corp. jumped 0.9% after the company raised its dividend and resumed its share repurchase program.

By market close on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 218.55 points (0.9%) to 24,189.45 points.

Standard & Poor's 500 decreased by 14.68 points (0.55%) to 2642.19 points.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 25.27 points (0.36%) to 7,069.03.

Revenge for the liberation of Damascus

Yesterday the Syrian national flag was hoisted in Douma.
Today the Russian military police started working there.
To coincide with the liberation of the Duma, Anna-News military correspondents released a documentary film dedicated to the liberation of Eastern Ghouta from terrorists with the quite correct message that the current military hysteria of the United States and its satellites is a reaction to the defeat of the militants.

Plus a briefing by the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces on the situation in Syria for 04/11/2018

The White House commented on the possibility of a strike on the Russian military in the Syrian Arab Republic

Washington does not rule out the possibility of a strike on Syria, including Russian facilities in this country, according to a statement from White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

“This means all options are on the table,” Sanders said when asked what the threats against Russia that Donald Trump tweeted about meant.

She also stated that the information received from American intelligence “does not allow us to doubt the involvement of Damascus and Moscow” in the chemical attack in the Syrian Duma.

At the same time, Sanders noted that a missile strike is only “one of the options” that the president can refuse.

According to her, “consultations with US partners and allies on this issue are still ongoing.”

Let us recall that on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that Russia should prepare for an attack on Syria, during which “good, new and smart” weapons would be used.

Earlier, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov warned that air defense systems would destroy American missiles and their carriers if Russian military personnel were in the zone of a proposed attack on the SAR.

The United States set the tone for the militaristic mood of the West. On Tuesday evening, March 10, it became known that Donald Trump had canceled his Latin American tour due to events in the Middle East.

Later, The New York Times, citing sources in the White House, reported that the US President and his advisers discussed several options for striking Syrian territory, one of which involves bombing several targets over “more than one day.”

Show caution

Unlike his American counterpart, French President Emmanuel Macron did not change his work schedule. On Tuesday, the official representative of the government of the Fifth Republic, Benjamin Grevo, said that the cancellation of the trip to Moscow, which is scheduled for May, “is not yet being discussed.”

On April 11, the French president met in Paris with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. At the final press conference, Macron stressed that airstrikes in response to the events in Douma would not affect the facilities of the allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Our decision will not affect allies of the Syrian regime or attacks on anyone other than the regime's chemical facilities," he said.

The French President also stressed that he opposes further escalation of the conflict. He added that he would make a decision regarding the situation in Syria in the coming days.

British Prime Minister Theresa May also did not make loud statements regarding the response to the alleged chemical attack in the Syrian Duma. According to The Times newspaper, in order to make a further decision, the head of the government of the United Kingdom “needs evidence” of the use of military gases.

"May told President Trump that Britain needed more evidence of an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Assad regime before joining a military strike on Syria," the newspaper writes.

Even before the alleged attack using toxic substances, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian military would shoot down missiles fired at Syrian targets. Following reports of possible action against official Damascus A similar statement was made by the Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin.

“If there is an attack from America, then (its) missiles will be intercepted, and even their launch sources will be hit,” he said in an interview with local Al-Manar TV channel.

The diplomat stressed that such a development of events “must be excluded and that Russia is ready for negotiations.”

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov also commented on the situation in the Syrian Duma.

“The situation is very tense around Syria. You know the controversy over the storyline with the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. Russia categorically disagrees with this and really stands for an impartial and objective investigation before making any judgments and making any verdicts,” Peskov said.

He emphasized that the Kremlin hopes that the parties will avoid steps “that: a) are not provoked by anything and b) will only aggravate the situation.”

The statement that Russia will protect its allies on Syrian territory was commented on April 11 by the US President.

Donald Trump

“Russia promises to shoot down any missiles fired at Syria. Get ready, Russia, because the rockets will fly - new, smart, cool ones! There’s no point in dealing with a Murderer Animal who gasses his people and gets pleasure from it!” - Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.

However, 40 minutes later, the American leader made another post on the microblog, which was more balanced and peaceful.

“Our relations with Russia are worse than ever. Even worse than during the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help it with its economy, and this is not at all difficult. We also need all countries to work together. Shall we stop the arms race? - says the post of the American leader.

In search of legitimacy

In his modern history The United States has never participated in major military conflicts alone, preferring to act together with its allies.

Thus, from August 1990 to January 1991, the American army, together with the armed forces of France, Great Britain, Canada and a number of Arab states, including Syria, conducted Operation Desert Shield against the Iraqi army.

From March 24 to June 10, 1999, the United States, together with NATO allies, attacked Yugoslavia, forcing its leadership to withdraw troops and police units from Kosovo.

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq again, this time with the goal of overthrowing the regime of Saddam Hussein. The coalition with Washington then included Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey. Finally, from March to October 2011, the United States took part in the operation in Libya. The American side was helped in this by its NATO allies, as well as the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Sweden.

American aircraft carrier "Harry Truman"

Experts interviewed by RT explained that Washington needs the coalition to give international legitimacy to its actions.

“The military potential of France and Great Britain in itself is not interesting to the Americans. It’s just that the UN does not give them legitimacy for forceful actions, and then the United States creates a model in which a certain legitimate West, representing the world government, is opposed to the conditional forces of evil,” said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian-Political Studies.

According to him, now both the British and the French are less interested in participating in the bombing of Syrian army targets than the United States.

“Both London and Paris understand that this is brinkmanship with Russia, and they are not eager to fight with the Russian armed forces. At the same time, it is very likely that Macron will nevertheless seek to help Trump, since he believes that participation in this coalition will raise his rating. But May is clearly not close to this kind of “shooting from the hip” like a cowboy,” Bruter noted.

He added that, theoretically, Trump could risk acting alone in Syria if creating a coalition against Assad fails. However, the expert added, there is also no unity in the ruling circles of the United States regarding a possible military operation of American troops in Syria.

Chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, Vladimir Vasiliev, in a conversation with RT, suggested that Trump’s tweet about launching missiles into Syria with threats against Russia means that the US President is “rather ready than not ready” for the start of the operation.

“This means that a blow will most likely be struck, but the question is what exactly it will be. Perhaps this will be a “cosmetic bombing”, without serious consequences for the Syrian armed forces, perhaps the strikes will be sensitive, and perhaps extremely serious, aimed at completely undermining the combat capabilities of the Syrian army. In the latter case, this will mean that Russian military facilities in Syria will also be affected by fire,” Vasiliev argues.

The expert emphasized that the main problems lie in how the coalition will be convened and what consequences await its participants.

“For example, the Syrian and Russian military may not touch American ships and aircraft, but destroy the French or British military equipment. The Russian Federation has some maneuver in this regard. And neither France nor Great Britain wants to be drawn into a military conflict with Russia, since possible losses of military personnel from this country’s armies are fraught with the resignations of May and Macron or a significant undermining of their positions within their countries,” the expert said.

The Russian Federation was the only country that from the very beginning demanded an impartial international investigation into this incident

The Kremlin said it rejected any accusations against Russia related to the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib, including statements that Russia was allegedly aware of and covered up the Syrian authorities.

“There is a lot of conflicting information regarding all these unfounded accusations. We don't understand where it's coming from. Either someone claims something and accuses someone, then some ephemeral intelligence sources say that we accuse, but cannot prove,” Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation emphasized, “unfortunately, this information leapfrog is happening more and more often, and in any case, it does not make information flows more convincing and believable.”

D. Peskov said that “in any case, we reject any accusations in this regard, and we would like to remind you that the only country that from the very beginning demanded an impartial international investigation into the circumstances of the use of chemical agents near Idlib was the Russian Federation.”

“It was the Russian Federation that called on everyone to agree as soon as possible on conducting such an investigation before we baselessly label one side or another,” the Kremlin representative noted.

Putin on the events in Idlib: Either this is a staged act, or Syrian aviation ended up in an underground workshop for the production of toxic substances

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he sees two main versions of what happened on April 4 in the Syrian province of Idlib.

“Several versions are possible here. I consider two of them to be the main ones,” Putin said in an interview with the Mir TV channel.

“The first is that Syrian aviation ended up in a clandestine workshop for the production of chemical warfare agents. And this is quite possible, since militants have repeatedly used them, and no one argues with this, including, by the way, in Iraq they were used against the international coalition and the Iraqi army,” the Russian President said. - It was just recorded, but no one tries not to notice it, no one is making noise about this issue there. Although everyone agreed that the militants used toxic substances. This means they have it, and if they have it there, then why can’t it be in Syria? This is one gang. This is the first version."

“And the second version is just a production, that is, a provocation. This was deliberately done in order to inflate the hype and create the preconditions, a pretext for additional pressure on the legitimate Syrian authorities. That's all. And this is subject to verification. Without verification, we do not consider it possible to take any steps directed against the official Syrian authorities,” Putin emphasized.

He noted that “he did not say that this was a provocation on the part of ISIS*.”

“I said that it was a provocation, but I didn’t say who organized it. “Different options are possible,” the Russian President said.

“But in order to give a final answer, we need to thoroughly investigate this event. And there is no other way. This is exactly what we propose to do,” he continued, “and everyone knows well, everyone knows that on our initiative and on the initiative of the United States, we did a lot of work to eliminate the chemical weapons that the Syrian authorities had. And they did all their work, fulfilled all their obligations, as far as we know. And this has been confirmed by the relevant specialized organization at the UN.”

According to him, “if any doubts arise, this check can be carried out.”

“You know, this is not difficult to do with the help of modern technology, modern analysis systems, analyzers. If one of the official authorities used it, then the so-called “tails”, powder residues on the equipment, on the territory, they cannot but remain. Modern technology will accurately record them,” Putin said.

“Well, what’s easier is to come to the same airfield on which the attacks were carried out and supposedly from which the planes with chemical weapons took off, and check everything there. If our partners tell us that some civilians were hit by Syrian aviation, then let these civilians allow UN observers and international organizations to visit the sites of these attacks, and everything must be checked there,” the Russian President emphasized.

*This organization is recognized by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation as extremist, its activities in Russia are prohibited.

The main purpose of Theresa May's visit to Saudi Arabia

The main purpose of Theresa May's visit to Saudi Arabia concerns elections in Iraq and Iran, in addition to the crises in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, says Nick Clegg

Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to Saudi Arabia, despite claims it was aimed solely at [strengthening ties on] trade and security, was [in fact] focused on Middle East political issues. such as elections in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the former Lib Dem leader described Mai's trip to Saudi Arabia as "dancing to the tune" of the Arab regime so that the country could pursue its political ambitions in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

“Undermining the consolidation of Iranian-backed Shia groups in Iraq by supporting certain candidates in the country's upcoming elections will be high on the agenda for negotiations between May and the Saudi authorities,” Clegg said.

The British politician also said that the two sides would discuss Iran's 2017 presidential elections. “The results of the upcoming presidential elections in Iran will be of particular concern to the entire world, especially regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Clegg says the future of Syria is a concern for Saudi Arabia and the country is "begging" world powers, including the UK, to "support" its Syria policy.

Bahrain and a crackdown on the opposition, Clegg says, is something May and Saudi officials can agree on, given the close partnership May has forged with Bahraini leaders since her visit to the country late last year.

Touching on the Saudi-led war in Yemen, Clegg said Saudi Arabia would certainly ask the British Prime Minister to increase its support for the country in its campaign against Yemeni rebels by providing the country with more bombs and weapons.

“Public opinion in the UK [opposes] the United Kingdom’s support for the Saudi military intervention in Yemen and demands an end to arms sales to Saudi Arabia,” the British parliamentarian continued.

Clegg went on to say that the UK Prime Minister is "kissing" Gulf leaders to make up for the country's lost image in the post-Brexit world, but he said this is a big mistake as it will ruin the UK's reputation in the eyes of Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Syria.

Prime Minister T. May arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday for a two-day visit after leaving Jordan, where she met King Abdullah II and visited military base near Amman. Yesterday she met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Nayef.

Turkey has built 556 kilometers of concrete wall on its border with Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

“As part of the security measures project, a 556-kilometer section of the construction of a concrete wall on the border with Syria has been completed,” the ministry said on its Twitter page.

The sharp deterioration of the situation in Syria as a result of a missile strike carried out by American cruise missiles on the base of the Syrian Arab Army Al-Shayrat in Homs province requires a new assessment of the balance of military-political forces in the region. Turkey plays a special role in this situation.

The incident with chemical agents in the city of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4 occurred at the moment of the greatest deterioration in Turkey's position in recent months and shortly before the upcoming all-Turkish constitutional referendum on April 16. The Turkish media directly link the “Syrian” and “constitutional” directions in the policies of President Erdogan and openly talk about the failure of the Euphrates Shield operation, which was supposed to make Turkey one of the key players on the Syrian field militarily.

This is how Birgün describes the current situation: “Can Operation Euphrates Shield be a success story, as the Turkish political leadership claims? It remains a mystery what exactly was a “success” in the operation, which began seven months ago, lasted 216 days, with 71 soldiers killed and about 300 wounded...

According to Birgün, the operation of the Turkish army in Syria pursued three main goals: “to push IS militants away from the Syrian-Turkish border (organization banned in the Russian Federation - ed.); prevent the Kurdish People's Protection Units from uniting the cantons they control; create a buffer zone under its control in northern Syria separating Syrian and Turkish Kurds. However, none of these problems were solved. Birgün draws attention to the fact that the completion of Operation Euphrates Shield coincided with the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Ankara. According to the publication, Tillerson, as an ultimatum, demanded that President Erdogan curtail the military operation in Syria in order to “calm down” the Kurdish troops, to whom Washington assigns an important role in its own operations (primarily in Raqqa). Birgün journalists believe that “the United States is seeking to refresh its image on the international stage by trying on the role of the “hero” who liberated Raqqa from ISIS,” while it is important for Washington to secure the Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij from a possible Turkish offensive, which was included in Ankara’s initial military plans .

The intensification of US military intervention in Syria is causing concern in Turkey not only due to the strengthening US-Kurdish military-political alliance, but also in the broader context of Washington’s attempts to provoke a conflict in the Moscow-Ankara-Tehran triangle. “Here, the following three points come to the fore,” writes the Turkish newspaper Milli Gazete, that concern our American partners in relations with Turkey: 1) Turkish-Russian cooperation and its impact on the Middle East; 2) the lack of a clear position of Turkey regarding Iran; 3) Turkey’s search for balance in foreign policy and its desire to redefine relations with the West.” The emergence of the Turkish-Russian-Iranian initiative, Milli Gazete believes, “led to an explosion of anger on the American flank.”

The Turkish media are no less concerned about the possibility of worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria due to US actions and the possibility of new flows of refugees. “A new humanitarian tragedy and a wave of migration against the backdrop of chaos in Idlib,” writes Hürriyet, “will affect Turkey most of all. To prevent these events, it is necessary to intensify diplomatic efforts and coordinate actions with all players.”

However, these sensible voices in the press are discordant with the position taken by official Ankara in recent days. Commenting on the latest events in Syria, Erdogan called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad “evil” and called on Russia to reconsider relations with him, stop “defending Assad” and join the US position on Syria.

It is likely that the nature of the “Turkish factor” in Syria will be largely determined by the outcome of the constitutional referendum on April 16. Sociologists' forecasts on this matter are still contradictory. Thus, according to the Qriously service, 58.3% of those who have already decided how to vote support Erdogan’s proposed expansion of presidential powers, but the gap between “yes” and “no” is gradually narrowing. And the sociological service NET is already predicting the defeat of supporters of constitutional reform, who, according to its estimates, will receive 49.2% of the votes.

Erdogan's victory in the referendum and the consolidation of his presidential power are likely to give new impetus to Turkey's military intervention in Syria. The failure of Erdogan’s constitutional project will also not interfere with these plans, but in this case another internal political crisis may begin in Turkey, fraught with the dissolution of parliament and the holding of new general elections.

Finally, Ankara will certainly take into account the results of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first visit to Russia, especially in the context of disagreements that have emerged within the Trump team on the issue of Washington’s attitude towards official Damascus and President Bashar Assad personally.

One thing is certain: the Turkish trail in Syria will continue to meander, as it already does, and may become even more confusing.

Putin: there is no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the US missile attack on a Syrian airbase, accused NATO allies of unwillingness to analyze what was happening.

NATO allies are nodding like Chinese dummies, without analyzing anything that is happening, when commenting on the US missile attack on a Syrian airbase, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin emphasized that there is no evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian troops, but there are violations of international law.

“How did NATO allies react? Everyone nods like Chinese dummies, not analyzing anything that is happening. Where is the evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian troops? No. But there are violations of international law. This is an obvious fact,” Putin said in an interview with the Mir 24 TV channel, commenting on the US missile attack on Syria.

The National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria (NCORF) announced last week that there were 80 victims of a chemical weapons attack in the city of Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib province, and 200 wounded. The opposition blamed the attack on Syrian government forces. The Syrian army, for its part, blamed the attack on terrorists. The UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have already begun investigating the incident, but so far they have not published any conclusions about the possible culprits of the incident.

If Russia didn't support this animal, there wouldn't be a problem - Trump about Assad

US President Donald Trump, justifying the US missile strike on the Syrian Air Force air base, said that Russia was to blame for the aggravation of the Syrian problem, and also spoke in an extremely insulting manner about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“If Russia didn’t support this animal, there wouldn’t be a problem,” he said in an interview with Fox Business, answering a question from the host about Assad.

Trump noted:

“I think this is very bad for Russia. I think this is very bad for humanity. This is very bad for the modern world. But when chemical or barrel bombs are dropped... right into the center of a human crowd, then, frankly speaking, watching children without arms, without legs, it is clear that it (did - ed.) an animal.”

Donald Trump also complained that the previous American administration led by Barack Obama had not struck Syria earlier.

As reported, earlier White House press secretary Sean Spicer made a comparison between Assad and Hitler. After the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, demanded that he be fired for this, Spicer was forced to apologize, admitting that the comparison was insensitive.

US President Donald Trump said that Washington does not intend to expand its participation in operations in Syria.

However, Trump did not explain what he means by these words. Trump also said that the US strike on Syria on April 7 was necessary; it could have been carried out by the Barack Obama administration, RIA Novosti reports.

“We will not go to Syria,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.

Earlier, Trump called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an animal supported by Russia. Without Moscow's intervention, he said, there would be no problems in Syria now. Before this, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that Assad was worse than Hitler, who, unlike the leader of the Syrian Arab Republic, did not use chemical weapons. Literally immediately after this statement, Spicer had to apologize for his words on live television.

“Putin and Assad killed my friends and stole my childhood,” Trump uncovered information weapons from Obama’s arsenal (PHOTO, VIDEO)

Trump’s beef with CNN, which produces “fake news,” appears to be a thing of the past. In any case, a recent CNN story clearly hints that the channel and the Trump administration are fighting on the same front in a new round of the imperialist war.

Thus, shortly after the US missile attack on the Syrian Shayrat air base, a CNN news release featured the girl Bana from Aleppo, who had temporarily left the information horizon, whom we all remember from her heartbreaking posts on Twitter during the days of the storming of Aleppo and its liberation from the jihadists. This time, 7-year-old Bana made a live appeal to “stop the war in Syria.”

CNN anchor Alison Camerota shows Bana and her mother footage of the so-called chemical attack in Idlib (which, as we know, soon after served as the formal pretext for a missile attack on Syria) and asks the question, “Are you blaming President Assad for this?”

“Yes,” Bana replies laconically.

Notice that the journalist does not ask “Who do you blame, Bana?”, which would be more honest and correct from the point of view of journalistic ethics. Instead, she puts the answer in the question.

What would you like to convey to President Assad? - asks the presenter.

Bana’s answer is not entirely logical, but one cannot expect brilliant improvisation in direct fir from a seven-year-old child speaking a foreign language. Bana voices what she learned before the broadcast: “I’m very sad. The world is watching. The world doesn't do anything."

What would you like the world to do?

I want to stop the war. So that the children of Syria can play and go to school. Together we can help them. Together we can save them,” Bana continues to shout pre-learned slogans.

It is clearly visible in the footage that the girl’s gaze constantly slides just below the camera, where, apparently, the text is located. And from her intonation it is clearly noticeable that the child is reading. If you try to read the text and look at the camera at the same time, the intonation will be the same as Bana’s.

The presenter once again shows footage allegedly taken after the “chemical attack” and asks Bana what she thinks about this.

“I’m very sad,” Bana continues, “We are not terrorists, we are people. This has been going on for 6 years now. Why can't you stop the war? “I don’t know, Bana, I don’t know why the world can’t stop the war in Syria. Would you like to return home to Syria? (after the liberation of Aleppo from Islamist radicals, Bana and her mother fled to Turkey - approx. RV)

“Yes, I love my home and I love Syria,” Bana concludes the interview. Anyone who has a child of primary school age can easily recognize this intonation and placement of pauses: this is how a child repeats a memorized text that he is not sure of.

In addition, based on the fact that Bana reads his answers, we can confidently assume that the questions from the American studio were agreed upon in advance. Which is not at all surprising, given that the “Bana girl” from the very beginning was a creature of the United States in the information war for Aleppo during the battle for the city and its liberation from Islamist militants. The methods of the US State Department have never been particularly varied. Judging by the color revolutions carried out over the past 10 years, the State Department’s operating principle sounds something like this: “If the algorithm works, there is no point in changing it.”

We all remember the “coincidentally coincidental” leaflets distributed during the riots in Tahrir Square in Egypt and on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv.

And, therefore, why not use the media character “Bana girl”, launched into the information orbit and promoted during a large-scale campaign supported by all first-tier Western media?

Despite numerous revelations of a Syrian girl who tweets in perfect English and understands geopolitics, she has been exploited by the Obama administration and will continue to be exploited.

And just a day after the Tomahawk strike on Syria, Bana expressed her approval to President Trump.

“I am a Syrian child who suffered from the actions of Bashar al-Assad and Putin. I applaud Donald Trump for taking action against the murderers of my people,” Bana tweeted.

“Putin and Assad bombed my school, killed my friends and stole my childhood. The time has come to punish the killers of Syrian children,” her next entry says.

If the official rhetoric of the State Department after the missile attack was emphatically neutral towards Russia, then completely different words are put into the mouth of the doll, which was again put on the hand for the first time after Aleppo.

Now let's go back two months: January 24, 2017. Only four days have passed since Trump’s inauguration, the entire “civilized” world is horrified by the Republican’s victory and his declared values. And the girl Bana writes him a letter.

“Dear Donald Trump, my name is Bana Alabed, I am 7 years old and I am from Aleppo.

My family and I lived in Syria until we had to flee the city under siege (by government troops - RV note) in December last year. I am one of those Syrian children who suffered from the war.

I am safe in Turkey now. In Aleppo my school was bombed. Some of my friends died. This makes me very sad and I wish they were here with me so we could play.

We couldn't play in Aleppo, it was a city of death. You are the President of America, so could you save the children of Syria? They are children just like yours and deserve peace. If you promise me to do at least something for Syrian children, I am ready to be your new friend. I look forward to your help to the children of Syria.”

So, in January, when Trump was just taking office, Bana’s promoted image was actually used to call for no change in Obama’s foreign policy course. Now, a few days before the so-called chemical attack in Idlib, Bana quite accidentally spoke on CNN with a request to “stop this war already.” And then she approved a missile strike on the territory of the country she calls her own.

1. ASSOCIATED PRESS: US OFFICIAL: RUSSIA KNEW SYRIAN CHEMICAL ATTACK WAS COMING.

2. Trump blamed Russia for the current situation in Syria and declared Russia’s support for the “animal.”
US President Donald Trump said that Russia is to blame for the aggravation of the Syrian problem.
"Putin is supporting a person who is really, really bad," he said.
“If Russia didn’t support this animal, there wouldn’t be a problem,” he said in an interview with Fox Business, answering the host’s question about Assad.
Trump noted: "I think it's very bad for Russia. I think it's very bad for humanity. It's very bad for the modern world. But when chemical bombs or barrel bombs are dropped ... right in the middle of a crowd of people, then, frankly speaking, watching children without arms, without legs, it’s clear that an animal (did it).”
He also noted that the US strike on the military base of the Syrian government forces was necessary, emphasizing that this should have been done by the previous Obama administration.
As reported, earlier White House press secretary Sean Spicer made a comparison between Assad and Hitler.

3. US intelligence claims that Russia helped Syria hide the use of chemical weapons in Idlib.
The United States is convinced that Russia deliberately disseminated contradictory information about the chemical attack in Syrian Idlib. The corresponding statement is contained in the published report of the American intelligence services. “The Syrian regime and its main ally, Russia, tried to confuse the world community about who is responsible for the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people in this (attack in Idlib) and other chemical attacks,” the document says.
According to the United States, Russia initially denied the attack, calling it a provocation and saying that all the evidence was fabricated. “But it is clear that the Syrian rebels would not have been able to falsify such a number and variety of videos and other evidence of the attack, deceiving the media and intelligence agencies,” the White House is convinced.
After this, Russia stated that the chemical attack occurred due to an airstrike by the Syrian government army on a terrorist ammunition warehouse. However, a source in the Syrian army did not confirm the information about the airstrike. In addition, intelligence refers to a video received, which shows that the shell did not hit the warehouse building, but the road. Intelligence agencies note that this information is confirmed by satellite images.
The US also claims that Russia timed the chemical attack to be between 11:30 and 12:30 pm, although the first reports of the incident appeared around 7 am. “Russia’s accusations fit into a familiar pattern of denying the (Assad) regime’s guilt and attempting to undermine the credibility of information provided by opponents,” the document states.
As The New York Times writes, citing senior White House officials, Russia’s goal was to “conceal the guilt of the Syrian government in the chemical attack.” According to the publication's sources, the Syrian authorities used chemical weapons in response to the advance of rebels who threatened to seize territory held by government troops.

4. Trump said he has no plans to “go” to Syria.

5. Pentagon: Syria will pay a “very high price” in the event of a chemical attack.
Pentagon chief James Mattis said that if Syria uses chemical weapons, it will “pay a very heavy price.”
As the Associated Press notes, Mattis added that “only Assad knows why he used chemical weapons.”
He said he hopes Assad “regrets the chemical attack given the US retaliatory strikes.”
Earlier, the Pentagon said that missiles fired at the airfield destroyed a fifth of Assad's combat aircraft.

6. Russia cooperated with Syria in a chemical attack - McCain.
US Senator John McCain accused Russia of collaborating with Syrian government forces in a chemical weapons attack. ABC News reports.
The Republican senator told a news conference in Belgrade that he believed "the Russians knew about chemical weapons because they were operating from the same base."
“I hope that such behavior on the part of Syria, in which there is certainly cooperation between Russia and Syria, will never happen again,” he said.
Earlier it was reported that the United States came to the conclusion that Russia knew in advance about the attack using chemical weapons in Syria.
The day before, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that what is happening now around Syria is “90% written off” from the situation in 2003 before the American invasion of Iraq.

7. Turkish experts confirmed the use of sarin in Idlib.
It has been confirmed that sarin gas was used in Syria's Idlib. Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag stated this, as Anadolu Agency reports.
He clarified that in blood and urine tests of Syrian victims of the chemical attack in Idlib, isopropyl ester of methylphosphonic acid fluoride, a metabolite of sarin gas, was detected.

8. Turkish Foreign Ministry: Syria still has the potential to use chemical weapons.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the Syrian authorities still have the ability to use chemical weapons.
"According to our information, the Assad regime still has chemical weapons. Apparently, the Assad regime acted dishonestly by retaining some of the chemical weapons that it should have completely destroyed. Or perhaps someone later gave them these weapons again to them. It could be countries that support him, or terrorist organizations. There is no other option: as long as Assad remains in power, all the above risks remain, they even increase, which is bad for the future of Syria,” Cavusoglu said.
Earlier, Çavuşoğlu called on Moscow to abandon its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

9. Western countries presented a new resolution on the chemical attack in Syria.
France, Great Britain and the United States have submitted a new resolution to the UN on the chemical attack in Syria, said UK Permanent Representative to the UN Matthew Rycroft.
“Together with the US and France, the UK has submitted a revised draft resolution on Syria, condemning the chemical attack and demanding full cooperation in the investigation,” Rycroft said in a blog post, which called on all UN countries to support the document.
Last week, France, Great Britain and the United States proposed that the UN Security Council urgently consider a draft resolution on the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib. Russia then circulated its draft resolution on Syria to the UN Security Council, aimed at investigating the incident in Khan Sheikhoun.
After this, the UN Security Council held closed consultations on chemical attacks. According to the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN V. Safronkov, they “left a depressing impression.” As a result, the West took a pause to conduct additional negotiations.

10. White House: Russia found itself isolated, like Syria, Iran and North Korea.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that Russia puts itself on a par with “dysfunctional states.”
According to the speaker of the American administration, Washington considers its priority to implement the existing agreement on the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria. “Ensuring its further non-proliferation” is a matter of US national interests, he emphasized.
Spicer also said Russia must adhere to the commitments it has made on Syria, Ukraine and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

11. The US Permanent Representative compared Russia's situation to isolation on an abandoned island.
Moscow knew in advance about the possible use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib. This is indicated by Russia's prompt reaction to information about the chemical attack, said US Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley, CNN reports.
“The Russians reacted too quickly and became defensive. They didn't seem shocked or surprised. Then the evidence came out and we found out what really happened,” Haley said. “I believe they are acting as if Assad's actions and their efforts to cover for him have weakened their position. They realize that the world community did not believe it,” the American diplomat emphasized.
The US Permanent Representative also compared Russia's situation to isolation on an abandoned island. “Russia is an island, it has to decide whether to stay on it and lose everyone who wants to interact with it. Or should they not lose face and try to actually try and do something constructive,” Haley explained.

12. The United States accused Moscow of falsifications and attempts to hide the chemical attack in Syria.
Moscow is “covering up” for the perpetrators of the chemical attack in Syria, and also seeks to confuse and distract the international community from the investigation into the use of chemical weapons, according to the declassified part of the White House report.
The Trump administration has released part of a secret report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. A declassified fragment of the report was published by The New York Times.
It says that Russia is the main ally of the Assad regime and is engaged in “covering up” for it. The document refutes claims by Russian authorities that the attack was a “provocation” and that the substance used against civilians may have been a substance other than sarin.
“Moscow is responding to the April 4 attack with the same familiar pattern it has used in response to other horrific attacks. It is spreading many contradictory messages to create confusion and sow doubt in the international community,” the document says.
The report provides examples of such conflicting messages. Thus, according to the Russian version, on April 4, Syrian Air Force planes attacked terrorist warehouses on the outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun. At the same time, Syrian military sources, the document says, reported that government aircraft were not flying in the area at this time.
In addition, the authors of the document pointed out, the video footage shows that the attack did not hit ammunition depots on the outskirts, but residential areas in the northern part of the city, which is confirmed by satellite images from independent sources.
Senior White House officials commented on the report on condition of anonymity. They say Russia's goal is to cover up the Syrian government's culpability in the chemical attack.
Earlier, a White House spokesman told Reuters that the United States has a fairly “voluminous array” of data collected from various sources. It is too large for any intelligence agency to “produce in such a short period of time.” White House officials said Russia was putting out “conflicting versions” of the events to “deflect blame” from the Syrian government.

13. The White House accuses Russia of covering up a chemical attack in Syria.
The Pentagon said that Russian representatives were at the Syrian base used to launch chemical weapons.
The White House has accused the Russian government of helping Syrian authorities cover up the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians. The New York Times reports this.
As noted, according to US intelligence, sarin was used against the population of Syria. A White House source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Russia is “covering up the guilt of the Syrian regime.”
U.S. officials said that given the history of close cooperation between the Syrian and Russian militaries, Moscow must answer for the attacks.
Pentagon officials said Russian personnel were at a Syrian base used to launch chemical weapons.
Let us recall that earlier Putin said that he has information about the preparation of a series of attacks using chemical weapons, like what happened in Idlib, in several regions of Syria.

14. If the United States intervenes in the war in Syria, Russia will not be able to do anything. This was stated by former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, DW reports.
According to Herbst, the US missile attack has shaken Russia's position in Syria and in the Middle East in general.
“If the United States decides to respond not only to the use of chemical weapons, but also barrel bombs with targeted military strikes, if it decides to intervene in Syrian war"Russia can't do anything about it," Herbst says.

15. Warplanes of the Bashar al-Assad regime dropped barrel bombs on areas of the Hama province in Syria that are under rebel control. This was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Reuters reports.
Syrian government warplanes dropped barrel bombs on rebel-held areas of Hama province on Tuesday, a day after the US said their use could lead to further US strikes in Syria.
Specifically, a number of barrel bombs were reportedly dropped in the towns of Taibat al-Imam and Soran, north of the city of Hama, in an area where rebel groups launched a major offensive last month.
UN investigators regularly record their use by Assad’s forces, Reuters recalls.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that US President Donald Trump is ready to approve new strikes on Syria if its authorities again use chemical weapons or drop barrel bombs.
At the same time, Assad regime forces fired rockets and mortars at villages in the vicinity of Lazkiye and Idlib provinces. Anadolu claims that the attack on the latter province was carried out by the Russian Aerospace Forces, which led to the death of three and the injury of eight people.
Barrel bombs are metal barrels for petroleum products or cylinders filled with explosives and shrapnel, the use of which leads to large-scale destruction.

16. "Boring, girls." Putin commented on US actions in Syria.
Putin, commenting on US airstrikes in Syria, cited the novel by Ilf and Petrov.
“I would like to say: ‘It’s boring, girls!’ We have already seen and observed all this,” Putin said.
The Russian President compared US actions in Syria with the events in Iraq in 2003. “After this, a military campaign began in Iraq, and it ended with the destruction of the country, the growth of the terrorist threat and the emergence of ISIS on the international stage,” Life quotes Putin.
Putin also added that the Russian authorities have information about the preparation of provocations using chemical weapons in Syria. “They are going to plant some kind of substance again and accuse the Syrian authorities of using it,” he explained.

17. Putin compared US NATO allies to “Chinese dummies.”
Putin said there was no evidence that Syrian troops used chemical weapons. At the same time, he called NATO allies “Chinese dummies” who “all nod.”
The president stated this in an interview with the Mir television and radio company.
“How did NATO allies react? Everyone nods like Chinese dummies, not analyzing anything that is happening. Where is the evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian troops? No. But there are violations of international law. This is an obvious fact. Without the authorization of the UN Security Council, a strike is struck against a sovereign country. And, despite this, a clear violation of international law, everyone agrees, accepts and begins to nod and support,” Putin said.
According to the president, the situation is reminiscent of 2003, “when a completely far-fetched pretext was used to send troops into Afghanistan.” “The country was destroyed, by the way, it was after this that the rapid growth of various terrorist organizations and movements began, the same ISIS and other organizations arose. Everyone knows this, everyone understands this, but again they step on the same rake,” the president added.

18. Türkiye has erected a 500-kilometer wall on the border with Syria.

19. The President of Italy demanded that the perpetrators of the chemical attack in Syria be punished.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella, following negotiations with Putin, said that those responsible for organizing the gas attack in Syria must be found and brought to justice.

20. Senator: Russia will not use the Aerospace Forces during US strikes on Syria.
Russia does not plan to use its aerospace forces against American missiles in the event of new US attacks on Syria, said the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Vladimir Dzhabarov.
Thus, Dzhabarov answered the question whether the Russian Aerospace Forces can provide assistance to the Syrian army in order to prevent new US missile attacks.
“We cannot be drawn into an armed confrontation, this threatens a large-scale war,” the senator said.
Dzhabarov also called on the US authorities to abandon their ambitions and “not indulge in emotions.” The senator advised especially not to indulge in the emotions of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who, according to media reports, influenced the decision of the head of the White House after seeing photographs on the Internet depicting victims of a chemical attack.

Patriarch Kirill will bless Easter cakes for the Russian military in Syria.

Press:
Financial Times G7 toughens line on Russia's support for Assad

Russia will answer for Assad. Trump criticized Russia for supporting Assad.
The United States is convinced that Russia deliberately disseminated conflicting information about a chemical attack in Syrian Idlib.

Summary of news from the past 24 hours about key events in the Middle East and North Africa: Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Reports from global news agencies, Arab and Western sources, including social media users. The reviews contain military maps, photographs and videos of the most significant events.

SYRIA

The Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation in Syria by telephone, noting the importance of ensuring conditions for the work of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspectors in this country.

“Concern was expressed about the current aggravation of the situation in Syria and around it against the backdrop of inflated speculation regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in the city of Douma,” the Kremlin press service said. “The importance of providing the necessary working conditions for OPCW inspectors traveling to Syria was emphasized.”

The international community's top priority at the moment should be preventing war in Syria amid threats from Washington. The permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, told reporters on Thursday.

According to him, in the current situation, the possibility of direct armed confrontation between Russia and the United States cannot be ruled out.

The diplomat stressed that “the immediate priority is to avert the threat of war.” Answering a clarifying question about whether we were talking about a war between Russia and the United States, he said: “Unfortunately, we cannot rule out anything, because we saw messages from Washington, they were very belligerent. They know we are there and I hope there will be dialogue through proper channels to prevent any such danger."

At the same time, Nebenzya called the scenario in which the United States would strike targets in Syria where Russian troops are located unimaginable. “It is impossible to imagine that the United States will strike at the Russian military presence,” said the Russian permanent representative.

Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday to discuss the situation around Syria. Agence France-Presse reported this on Thursday, citing diplomatic sources.

Earlier on Thursday, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, told reporters that Russia would soon convene a meeting of the UN Security Council with the participation of the world organization's Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss the situation around Syria and the threats of force against Damascus made by the United States.

Sweden prepared new project a resolution of the UN Security Council (SC) on the creation of a mechanism to investigate chemical attacks in Syria, as well as sending a mission to the country that will clarify the situation with the arsenals of chemical warfare agents at Damascus’s disposal. The country's permanent representative to the UN, Olof Skoog, told reporters on Thursday.

According to him, the text proposed by Stockholm expresses support for the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which has already headed to Syria to verify allegations of a new chemical attack in the city of Douma in the vicinity of Damascus. In addition, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be tasked with mediating negotiations among Security Council members to create “an impartial mechanism to identify those responsible and ensure accountability” for the use of chemical agents in the conflict in Syria, the diplomat said.

He noted that the draft resolution also provides for sending a “high-level disarmament mission” to Syria, which will “attempt once and for all to resolve all remaining issues” regarding Damascus’ chemical weapons program, and will also establish whether previously undeclared military weapons remain in the country. poisonous substances.

“This is all in our draft,” said Olof Skoog, explaining the content of the draft resolution at the request of TASS. — It provides separate missions. There is an order: first the FFM, then the accountability mechanism, and after that the disarmament mission.”

The Swedish permanent representative expressed disappointment that earlier this week the UN Security Council once again failed to agree on an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria. “Since then, there has been a lot of talk about possible next steps. People are afraid, they are afraid of escalation. It is also worth noting that we [members of the UN Security Council] did not do our job in the situation with the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” the diplomat said.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a decision on the US response to events in Syria will be made very soon. His statements are reported by journalists from the White House pool.

“We have several meetings scheduled for today, we’ll see what happens,” the American leader said. “Now we have a number of… decisions to make, so they will be made soon enough.”

“We are looking at this whole situation very, very seriously and very closely, and we will see what happens next,” he continued, referring to the so-called chemical attack in the city of Douma. “It’s a shame that the world has put us in this position.” At the same time, he once again stated that American forces “did an excellent job” in the fight against the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS, banned in the Russian Federation).

US President Donald Trump has made no final decision on Syria following consultations with his national security and foreign policy advisers on Thursday. This was stated in a statement by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

“President Trump just finished a meeting with his national security team to discuss the situation in Syria. No final decision has been made,” she noted.

Sanders stressed that the United States will continue to study intelligence data on the situation in Syria, as well as negotiate on this issue with its allies and partners. “We continue to evaluate intelligence and negotiate with our partners and allies,” she said, adding that American leader Donald Trump intends to discuss the situation in Syria with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday evening.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis took part in a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, where he briefed lawmakers on the latest data on the possibility of Washington striking Syria and also spoke about long-term plans for the country.

Mattis was asked to clarify controversial remarks by US President Donald Trump regarding the possibility of Washington striking Syria in connection with allegations of a chemical attack. The Pentagon chief said that the American leader “has not yet made a final decision” on whether to launch a military operation. The minister noted that this issue will be discussed in the near future at a meeting of the US National Security Council. As Mattis explained, there Trump “will be given various options.”

“I do not want to go into details regarding the possible decision of the commander-in-chief. As for our current situation, if, as last time, we decide to take military action in connection with this chemical attack, then, as we did last time, a little over a year ago, we will notify Congress,” he said. Mattis further clarified that “of course, [Congressional] leaders will be notified before the attack, and we will provide a full report to Congress itself as soon as possible.”

The head of the Pentagon refused to explain whether the participation of Washington's allies in this possible operation is a necessary condition for its implementation. He limited himself to the following answer: “The strategy is to cooperate with allies in everything. I cannot discuss the current situation." When asked what concerns him most about a possible strike on Syria, Mattis responded, in part: “At the strategic level, it’s preventing the situation from escalating and getting out of control.”

Mattis did not specify whether the United States could currently provide any confirmation of the version of a chemical attack in Syria.

“I believe that there was a chemical attack and now we are collecting evidence,” he said, noting that experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on the ground “will only be able to say whether they found evidence of use or not.” “But because it is a rapidly dissipating gas, it becomes increasingly difficult to confirm this over time,” he said.

The Pentagon chief also made allegations that Russia and Syria are “trying to keep the inspectors out” and expressed hope that “the Syrian regime will allow them” to be at the site of the alleged attack. Previously, it was Russia and Syria that proposed to the OPCW to send their specialists to the site, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced his readiness to provide them with security guarantees.

A number of pointed questions were asked to Mattis by member of the US House of Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (Democrat from Hawaii), who last years strongly opposed US attempts to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. She said the US missile attack on Syria on April 4, 2017 was illegal because Congress did not authorize Trump to go to war against Syria.

Gabbard also asked Mattis “what US goals are served by attacking Syria.” Mattis declined to answer that question, saying it was “not a decision made yet.” However, he added that “it is in the interests of civilization and, undoubtedly, America that the Chemical Weapons Convention is respected by the countries that have signed it.”

The congresswoman also asked “how a war with Russia over Syria is in the interests of Americans.” “No, I cannot answer this question. I'm not ready to speculate that this will happen,” he said. When asked whether he considered such a development to be the most likely, Mattis answered in the negative.

Several lawmakers have asked Mattis to clarify what the Trump administration's long-term strategy toward Syria is.

Mattis assured that Washington’s main goal is “to defeat the Islamic State” (the terrorist group “Islamic State”, banned in the Russian Federation). “We are not going to participate in a civil war,” he said. At the same time, as Mattis explained, this approach, from the US point of view, does not exclude Washington from striking Syria if the US believes that the authorities of the Arab Republic are using chemical weapons.

“Above all, we are committed to ending this war through the Geneva process organized by the UN,” Mattis said. He stated that these negotiations were unsuccessful due to the fact that they were “blocked by Russia.” “This does not mean that we will give up, we are working with the international community, the UN, to continue the Geneva process and ensure that the war ends,” the Pentagon head assured.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has canceled his trip to New York, according to a Pentagon spokesman. He was supposed to meet Henry Kissinger.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will need to continue to work with the US and France to coordinate a response to a suspected chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma. This was stated in a statement by the Cabinet following the emergency meeting held on Thursday.

“It is important that the use of chemical weapons does not go unanswered. They agreed to take action to alleviate humanitarian suffering and prevent future use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. "Cabinet agreed that the Prime Minister needs to continue to work with the United States and France to coordinate the international response," the statement said.

The Cabinet of Ministers did not affirmatively declare the involvement of official Damascus in the incident in the Syrian city of Douma, using the already familiar term “very likely” (which was previously used by official London in relation to the incident in Salisbury).

“This is a shocking and barbaric act that killed 75 people, including children, in the most horrific and inhumane manner. The cabinet agreed that the Assad regime has a track record of using chemical weapons. It is highly likely that the regime is responsible for Saturday's attack,” the statement said.

It also said that the head of government told members of the Cabinet that she was deeply concerned by the fact that the use of chemical weapons leads to the erosion of international law and order.

The British press and a number of politicians were extremely suspicious of the idea of ​​London joining a possible strike on Syria, especially without discussing the problem in the House of Commons. Thus, the leader of the opposition Labor Party in Great Britain, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Thursday that he considers it necessary to involve parliament in determining the position of official London on such a significant issue, and also expressed the opinion that the Syrian crisis must be resolved politically with the direct participation of Russia, the USA, the EU, and Iran , Saudi Arabia and the Middle Eastern countries neighboring Syria. According to him, the idea of ​​a strike by the United States and its allies on the positions of Syrian government forces is unacceptable simply because the basis for taking certain measures against the guilty party in this incident can only be an investigation under the auspices of the UN, since only the United Nations has responsibilities and functions to ensure a proper investigation is carried out.

The Daily Mail newspaper called Britain's possible participation in military action a "great gamble", and according to a public opinion poll distributed by The Times newspaper, only 22% of the country's residents support London's participation in the military operation against Damascus. Another poll conducted yesterday by Sky News showed the country's population was split in half on approval of the strike on Syrian government positions, but support fell to 28% if Russia was involved in the conflict.

Türkiye continues to closely monitor developments in Syria. This was stated on Thursday by the official representative of the Republic's Foreign Ministry, Hami Aksoy.

“President Erdogan continues to maintain contact with US President Donald Trump. That night they held important talks on Syria and other topics. Our ministry also continues to maintain contacts with colleagues from the US State Department. We are closely monitoring the situation around Syria,” he said.

The Turkish leadership intends to discuss with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the use of the Incirlik airbase in the event of a possible operation by the United States and its allies in Syria, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Thursday.

“The issue of using the Incirlik base in the event of hostilities breaking out in Syria will be discussed during Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Ankara on Monday,” he said.

On April 16, the NATO Secretary General will arrive on an official visit to the Turkish capital, where he plans to meet with Turkish President Erdogan, Chief of the General Staff of the Republic's Armed Forces Hulusi Akar, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.

Syria poses a threat to regional stability and deserves a stronger response from the United States.

This is stated in a written statement by CIA Director Michael Pompeo, distributed before the start of hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his confirmation as US Secretary of State.

“The failed state of Syria poses a growing threat to human rights, national security and regional stability - and deserves a stronger response,” the text says.

The chemical agents used in the conflict in Syria were smuggled into the country from Libya with the assistance of Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey and France, and this operation was coordinated by a certain Haitham al-Kassar. The permanent representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, told reporters on Thursday.

“Terrorists obtained substances from Libya a long time ago, from Libyan stockpiles (of chemical weapons). This operation was carried out with the support of Turkish, Saudi, American and French intelligence. They transported these chemicals from Libya to Istanbul on board civilian airliners, and the man who was responsible for transporting these substances was named Haitham al-Kassar,” the diplomat said.

He emphasized that the Syrian authorities “1001 times, as if in the Arabian Nights,” denied using any chemical substance against their own people.” “We have provided all the arguments in this regard. It’s time to digest what we said,” Jaafari said.

Test samples from victims of an alleged chemical attack in Syrian Douma have shown positive results. This was reported by MSNBC NEWS channel with reference to American officials.

According to media reports, the United States has blood and urine tests of people who lived in the area of ​​the chemical attack. Samples tested positive for chlorine and a nerve agent. However, tests do not indicate whether sarin gas was used in the attack.

The American side believes that the Syrian regime is behind the chemical attack, but is awaiting a conclusion from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Its experts will arrive in Syria on Saturday, April 14.

France has evidence that Syrian authorities used chemical weapons last week. French President Emmanuel Macron said this on Thursday in an interview with TF1 TV channel.

Asked whether France had evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Macron said: “Yes. We have evidence that chemical weapons were used last week." Macron also emphasized that “it was used by the Bashar al-Assad regime.” All available information still needs to be verified, the president made a reservation.

At the same time, a decision on a possible response will be made in a timely manner, Macron said. “We will make a decision in our own time, when we think it is most useful and effective,” he said.

Macron also said that he maintains regular contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in Syria. “We talk regularly,” Macron said when asked whether he had discussed the situation in Syria with Putin in recent days.

He noted that one of France’s main goals in Syria is “the fight against terrorism, including within the framework of international efforts.” “We are represented in the international coalition that is fighting against the terrorist group Islamic State (banned in the Russian Federation - TASS note),” Macron said. “This is our main task, and we will go to the end with the coalition,” he said.

Another important goal of Paris, Macron specified, is to ensure “compliance with international law” in Syria.

According to the president, France will not allow the situation in Syria to escalate and sets its main goal to ensure maximum stability in the region. Macron noted that “today’s world is chaotic and this is unacceptable.” “Maximum stability in this region is our priority,” Macron said. “France will never allow the situation to escalate,” the president said.

The United States has identified eight targets in Syria that could be hit if President Donald Trump decides to use force in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the city of Douma. This was reported on Thursday by CNBC, citing its own source.

According to him, the eight potential targets include two military airfields, a research center and an alleged chemical weapons facility. The source does not disclose in which areas of Syria these facilities are located.

The UK has deployed the Sentinel R1 Airborne Surveillance and Strike Command (ASTOR) aircraft to the Eastern Mediterranean. He took off from Waddington airbase on Thursday, April 12, Interfax reports, citing monitoring data from aviation resources. It is noted that at 18:00 Moscow time, a reconnaissance aircraft with tail number ZJ690 was detected east of the Greek island of Crete. It is not yet known whether he will land at the British Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus or fly to the shores of Syria.

This week on greek island Two American spy planes have landed in Crete amid ongoing tensions in Syria, the Cretan newspaper Ekriti.gr reported today on Tuesday. According to the publication, MC-12S EMARSS and MC-12W aircraft arrived in Crete.

Both of these aircraft have reportedly been used in US military operations in Iraq (2003-2010) and Afghanistan (2001-present).

“The Advanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS-S) is equipped with a set of signaling devices to track and listen to enemy communications, as well as the ability to record full-speed video during the day or at night,” said the Greek journalist.

"In every aircraft There are also workstations connected to the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) intelligence network, which should help collect, compile and disseminate information quickly across all units,” he added.

An American strategic reconnaissance UAV RQ-4 Global Hawk took off from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily.

A US Boeing P-8 Poseidon patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft is also in the skies near the SAR.

The Netherlands will treat the situation with understanding if the United States decides to attack Syria. This was stated on Thursday by the country's Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose words were quoted by the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation.

“The Netherlands will be sympathetic to a US strike,” he said. - The main thing is that it is a proportional response. This is critical."

British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump agreed in a telephone conversation to work closely on the international response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. Reuters reports this.

According to the agency, the parties also noted the importance of preventing further cases of use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in the world and alleged chemical attacks in Syria during a telephone conversation, RIA Novosti reports, citing the press service of the Elysee Palace.

“The leaders discussed the international situation, their mutual concerns regarding the unacceptable attacks in Syria that occurred on April 7, and the threats posed by these new violations of the chemical weapons ban,” the press service said.

Germany will not participate in a possible military strike on Syria. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced this on Thursday, April 12, in Berlin. However, she said, Germany “sees and supports all actions that will demonstrate the unacceptability of the use of chemical weapons.” Assad and his allies need to be made clear that chemical weapons cannot be used, the head of the German government said.

Merkel expressed her readiness to support the United States, France and Great Britain, without specifying her words. “If the permanent members of the UN Security Council take steps that go beyond diplomacy, we will support them,” she said. However, she did not comment on messages on Twitter by US President Donald Trump.

“Now we need to look at the full range of measures,” Merkel said. For Germany, she said, this means that it will “support all actions of the UN Security Council,” including the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In this regard, Merkel criticized Russia, because of which, according to her, the UN Security Council failed to reach agreement on the US proposal to launch an OPCW mechanism to “jointly investigate” the origin of these chemicals. “Russia’s behavior puts itself in a bad light,” said the German Chancellor.

OPCW experts will begin work in Syria on Saturday, April 14. The organization reported this on Thursday.

“A team of experts from the Fact-Finding Mission on the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria is on its way to Syria and will begin work on Saturday, April 14,” the OPCW noted.

The decision to send an OPCW mission to Syria to investigate the incident in the city of Douma was made on April 10. Earlier it was reported that specialists had already arrived in Lebanon and would soon head to Damascus, accompanied by representatives of the office of the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Syrian settlement and the UN Security Office.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will not provide information regarding the details of its experts' activities in Syria. This was reported to TASS on Thursday by the organization itself.

“We cannot expand on the details of the operation [in Syria],” the OPCW noted. “This policy exists to maintain the integrity of the investigation process and its results, and to ensure the safety of the experts and staff involved.”

As the OPCW made clear, this applies, in particular, to the timing of arrival and departure of experts, the size of the group, routes of movement and actions taken. In addition, the organization noted that it asks all parties involved to “consider the confidentiality parameters necessary for a thorough and unimpeded investigation.”

Briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2018.

Western countries are “trying to change the course of events in Syria after the victories won by its army over terrorists.”

This was stated on Thursday by the President of the Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad. According to the office of the head of state, the Syrian leader received in Damascus the adviser to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati.

During the conversation, Assad warned that “aggressive threats from the West against Damascus will lead to destabilization of the situation in the region and throughout the world.”

He pointed out that “statements by some Western politicians about the possibility of a military attack on Syria are based on facts fabricated by their accomplices.”

The Iranian emissary, in turn, declared “Tehran’s support for the resilience of Syria and its people in the war against terrorism.”

The crisis in Syria can be resolved exclusively by political methods. This was stated on Thursday by Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ahmed Abu al-Gheit, opening a meeting of the foreign ministers of the pan-Arab organization in Riyadh. The meeting was broadcast by Sky News Arabia.

According to him, “a political solution is the only possible way out” of the current situation in the Arab republic. “It is necessary to abandon the idea that a military solution to the crisis is possible based on the involvement of foreign forces,” he said. The diplomat confirmed that the League still “supports the territorial integrity and independence of Syria.” At the same time, to resolve the crisis, “it is necessary to preserve the Geneva format” of negotiations, he is convinced.

Foreign ministers of the Arab League member countries gathered in Riyadh on Thursday to prepare for the organization's summit meeting scheduled for April 15 in the Saudi city of Dhahran. They will discuss the Palestinian issue, the crises in Syria, Yemen, Libya, the fight against terrorism, as well as the policy of interference in the affairs of Arab countries by Iran and Turkey.

The presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Ankara to discuss how to divide Syria. This statement was made on Thursday by Mike Pompeo, nominated by President Donald Trump for the post of US Secretary of State. At the same time, he said that the United States “could be part of these negotiations.”

Senators asked to comment on his recent meeting in Ankara of Presidents Vladimir Putin, Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani, who reaffirmed their support for the negotiating political process in Syria and reiterated that the conflict in this country cannot be resolved militarily.

“They were there to discuss how they were going to divide Syria. This is a rough summary of their mission. But that’s exactly what they gathered for,” Pompeo argued, speaking at the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate at a hearing that was devoted to considering his candidacy.

He also noted that “the American people must be represented at this table” so that the United States “can be part of these negotiations.” The former CIA director believes that resolving the situation in the Arab Republic is “extremely difficult.” In his opinion, the Turkish Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Defense Forces and the Democratic Union Party in the Syrian Afrin region has further complicated everything.

Pompeo pointed to the need to “achieve a diplomatic outcome” in Syria and bring stability to the country. According to him, the United States sees its diplomatic task as “one day the Syrian people will exercise self-government in post-Assad Syria.” “This is very difficult to achieve,” he concluded.

Aleppo. In the city of Azaz, near the Al-Mitam mosque, a car bomb in northern Syria killed at least 6 people and injured 10 others.

In the city of Manbij, an IED explosion killed 3 people.

The seventh batch of Jaish al-Islam militants and their families, numbering 1,668 people, arrived in Abu al-Zindeen near the city of Al-Bab.

Hama. Russian plane in the sky of Hama.

Homs. Members of the Russian parliamentary delegation on Thursday handed over gifts to schoolchildren in Syrian Homs. The humanitarian action took place in the social protection center located in the Al-Waer quarter, which was the last in Homs to be liberated from militants thanks to the efforts of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties.

Damascus. Over 42 thousand people have left the Syrian city of Duma, located in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, since February 28, Major General Yuri Yevtushenko, head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, said on Thursday.

“Since February 28, 42 thousand 734 people have left the village of Duma. In total, since the beginning of the humanitarian operation from Eastern Ghouta, with the participation of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties, the exit of 166 thousand 644 people has been organized,” he informed.

According to Yevtushenko, the withdrawal of the remaining part of the extremists and members of their families from the city of Duma through the humanitarian corridor in the area of ​​the village of El-Wafidin is currently being completed. “During the withdrawal, militants of the Jaysh al-Islam group handed over six weapons, 3 thousand ammunition, five hand grenades and 31 radio stations to representatives of the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties,” he noted.

Residents of the Duma celebrate the liberation of the city.

Russian military police units have begun work in the Syrian city of Douma. This was announced on Thursday by the head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, Major General Yuri Yevtushenko.

“To avoid provocations, ensure security, maintain law and order and organize assistance to the local population, Russian military police units have begun work in the city of Duma. The checkpoints set up by the Russian side are functioning,” he said.

Deir ez-Zor. The Syrian Arab Army has launched a counter-offensive against IS militants in the area of ​​the city of Al-Sukhnah.

Türkiye

US Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the United States does not recommend that Turkey acquire Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM). RIA Novosti reports this.

“There are two NATO member countries that provide missile defense to Turkey with NATO-approved missile defense systems. What is happening now is that incompatible missile defense systems are being brought into one area. And this is hardly in the best interests of NATO,” Mattis said.

The Turkish side expects Moscow to return a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens, said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy.

He emphasized that relations between the two countries are developing rapidly.

“We have already held seven meetings of the High-Level Cooperation Council. The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Ankara (April 3-4) was of serious importance. Over the year, we achieved a significant increase in trade turnover - by 32%. Last year, Turkey received about 5 million tourists from Russia, this year we are expecting 6 million. We are waiting for the return of the visa-free regime, which was announced to the Russian side,” RIA Novosti quotes Aksoy as saying at a briefing in Ankara.

IRAN

The European Union has extended for a year sanctions against Iran, introduced in 2011 due to human rights violations in the country. This was reported by the press service of the EU Council.

“On 12 April, the Council of the EU extended restrictive measures until 13 April 2019 due to serious violations of human rights in Iran,” the statement said.

Sanctions apply to 82 people and one organization. All persons on this blacklist are prohibited from entering the territory of the European Union, and their financial assets are subject to freezing if they are found in European banks.

In addition, the sanctions include a ban on the supply of equipment to Iran that could be used for “repression” within the country, as well as for surveillance of telecommunications.

CIA Director Michael Pompeo, US President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, said on Thursday he would seek a renegotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“If confirmed in this position, I will immediately begin working with our partners to address the shortcomings of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The stakes are very high. “I look forward to discussing this issue with our key allies at the G7 Ministerial on April 22 and at the NATO Ministerial later that week,” he said, speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing dedicated to his confirmation. candidacies.

“I want to fix this deal. This is the goal. I think this is in the best interests of the United States,” Pompeo said at the hearing itself, answering questions from Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who wanted to know whether Pompeo supported Washington’s withdrawal from this agreement.

Over the past two weeks, Iran's currency has fallen by 10 thousand rials against the dollar. The exchange rate is about 60 thousand rials against the dollar.

Now Iran is trying to set an official exchange rate of 42 thousand rials against the dollar, which does not meet market requirements. In an attempt to beat the market, the government promised severe penalties for anyone who tried to exchange the rial at a different exchange rate. Many Iranians are accustomed to exchanging rials at the official exchange rate. In fact, over the past decade, the difference between the official exchange rate and the one set by the market has been 15%.

According to BBC analysis, the main cause of devaluation is not trade imbalances. In addition to exporting oil, Iran exports about $40 billion worth of goods. It imports $50 billion worth of products. The problem is that Iran has difficulty returning this money to Iran. Even though international sanctions were lifted following the signing of the nuclear agreement, Iran has been unable to attract large international banks to the country.

The real victims are Iranian businesses that rely on importing or exporting goods. Many of these businesses were unable to obtain currency from the government and had to rely on unofficial exchange rates to conduct business. Now that the government is trying to deal with this problem by trying to establish a single exchange rate, these businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to operate.

Iran may try to increase oil exports to increase the government's supply of dollars. Iran's oil production rose to 3.83 million barrels per day in February from 3.80 million barrels per day in November, according to S&P Global Platts. However, the Iranian oil industry seems unable to increase production any further.

Although its OPEC oil production allocation technically reaches 3.797 million barrels per day, it is allowed to produce up to 4 million barrels per day, subject to a 12-month average monthly production of 3.797 million barrels per day.

Iran is known to have violated OPEC quota commitments in the past, so the country would need to increase oil production and exports to ease the currency situation if the Iranian oil industry's production could be increased.

The next regional conference with the participation of parliaments of the countries of the Middle East, China and Russia, dedicated to the fight against terrorism, may be held in Iran at the end of this year. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin announced this on Thursday at a meeting with the Chairman of the Lower House of Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi as part of the events of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA).

“We are considering the possibility of meeting in Tehran at the end of this year, continuing the theme of the previous conference in Islamabad [on regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism], and discussing issues related to terrorism, security, drug non-proliferation, with your participation, with the participation of Pakistan , Iran, Iraq, Libya, China and Syria,” Volodin said.

Iran and Qatar entered into an agreement to enhance cooperation in security maritime border two countries and patrolling the Persian Gulf. The agreement was signed following a meeting between the commander of the Iranian Coast Guard, Brigadier General Qassem Rezaei, and his Qatari counterpart, Admiral Ali Ahmed al-Badid, held in Doha on April 11, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.

According to bilateral agreements, Iran and Qatar will begin exchanging information and monitoring the situation in the Persian Gulf, and will also conduct joint patrols in this region.

Let us remind you that relations between Qatar and the bloc of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia are experiencing a deep crisis. The Arab Quartet (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE) imposed sanctions and a transport blockade against the emirate in June last year.

IRAQ

A powerful explosion occurred today north of Baghdad. At least one Iraqi army soldier was injured in the blast.

According to Baghdad Today, the explosive device was planted near the edge of a road in the city of Khan, north of the Iraqi capital. It exploded as an Iraqi Army patrol passed by.

Iraqi News notes that during March, attacks and bombings in Iraq killed 104 people - civilians and police forces - and injured another 177. Moreover, in 2017 in Iraq, more than 3.3 thousand people died as a result of terrorist attacks alone.

SAUDI ARABIA

The United States supports Saudi Arabia's right to defend its territory from Yemen's Houthis (supporters of the Ansar Allah movement), who previously claimed to have launched a missile attack on a Defense Ministry building in Riyadh. This is stated in a written statement issued on Wednesday by the head of the State Department press service, Heather Nauert.

“The United States strongly condemns today's Houthi missile attack on Riyadh. We support the right of our Saudi partners to protect their borders from these threats, which are fueled by the dangerous proliferation of weapons and the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime in the region,” the document says.

Nauert said the Houthis' "continued attacks" "call into question their commitment to helping shape a peaceful, prosperous and secure future for Yemen." “We continue to call on all parties to return to political negotiations held under the auspices of the UN and move towards ending the war in Yemen,” the diplomat concluded.

The Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV channel reported on Wednesday that Burqan-2 ballistic missiles fired from Yemen hit their targets in Riyadh, one of them the Saudi defense establishment. In turn, the command of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia said that the kingdom's air defenses shot down a missile fired over Najran and prevented attacks by Houthi combat drones on strategic targets in the southwest of the kingdom. The alliance has not yet commented on media reports about two Houthi ballistic missiles shot down in the skies over Riyadh.

The rebel shelling intensified amid preparations for the annual Arab League summit in the Saudi city of Dhahran. A meeting of the heads of the Arab League Foreign Ministry is scheduled for Thursday in Riyadh to prepare for the summit meeting, the agenda of which, among other things, is the crisis in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Spain's King Philip VI as part of an official visit to the country that coincided with negotiations on the sale of Spanish warships to the oil-rich kingdom, AFP reports.

During the visit, it is planned to sign five memorandums of understanding in the fields of culture, science, air transport and defense.

EGYPT

The Egyptian government has approved the creation of a sovereign fund to manage state assets. It was called the “Egypt Fund” and its authorized capital will be $11.4 billion, reports Al-Masry al-Youm.

As Egyptian Planning Minister Hala al-Maid told reporters at a press conference, assets that are not used by the state or are not used effectively enough will be transferred to the fund. The fund will also receive $300 million, which it will be able to invest and use in its activities.

According to the Egyptian authorities, the fund should contribute to the sustainable development of the country. It will be able to create subsidiary funds and cooperate with similar foreign organizations. The new fund will be managed by a board of directors, which will include the ministers of planning and finance.

Russia and Egypt will continue joint efforts to resume direct flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. This was stated on Thursday by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“Together with the Egyptian side, efforts will continue in the context of the resumption of direct flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh,” she noted. “We believe that this significant event will serve to further strengthen the development of the entire range of friendly Russian-Egyptian relations.”

Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was suspended at the end of 2015, after a Kogalymavia airline plane exploded in the air on October 31 after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport. 217 passengers and seven crew members died in the disaster. Moscow set the main condition for the resumption of air traffic to be a significant strengthening by the Egyptian side of security measures at airports.

On Thursday, an EgyptAir plane, which flew from Cairo to Moscow for the first time after a break of two and a half years, was greeted on the tarmac of Domodedovo airport with an arch of water jets launched by two fire engines.

The day before, the Russian Aeroflot made its first flight to Cairo and back, carrying more than 120 passengers. Both Aeroflot and EgyptAir are the only designated carriers on the Moscow-Cairo route. Both airlines plan to operate flights on parity terms: three round-trip flights per week.

"This is an important step towards full recovery flights to Egypt are one of the most popular destinations for outbound tourism among Russians. By the end of 2018, together with Egyptair, we plan to serve 25.5 thousand air travelers on flights to Cairo and back, which is comparable to the figures for 2014. This confirms that Russians continue to have high demand for flights in this direction,” emphasized Igor Borisov, director of Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

Before the resumption of air traffic between the countries, a whole range of security measures was developed. On December 15, the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov and the Minister of Civil Aviation of Egypt Sherif Fathi signed a protocol on cooperation in the field of ensuring the safety of civil aviation.

Trump sent an aircraft carrier to Syria, Russia is preparing to bomb Tartus, Pompeo promised to be harsh, and Romania denied autonomy to the Hungarians

1. I'll start with latest news on the Syrian topic. Today, which ships Donald Trump sent to the Eastern Mediterranean for a likely strike on Syria. In addition to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Harry Truman, there is a guided-missile cruiser and four destroyers. I'm guessing there are another submarine or two lurking around somewhere. All this stuff is ready to unleash a sea of ​​fire on Syria, unless Trump, of course, changes his mind. But he can!

2. Today the US President tweeted that he never set a date for the start of strikes on Syria. “It may be very soon, or it may not be very soon,” Trump said, confusing everyone even more. One thing is clear: until the ships reach the Syrian shores, there will be no serious blow. I think that even then there will be only a large-scale show, and not a real defeat of Bashar al-Assad. Trump has said many times that he does not want to start a full-scale war in Syria, so he has no point in bombing this country for a long time and tediously.

3. Meanwhile, Russia confirmed that its warships. Retired general Vladimir Shamanov explained that this is a “standard tactic”: “When the possibility of an attack threat arises, ships compactly located at the berths move into the close maneuvering zone so that more than one ship is not destroyed by one ammunition.” In general, he said what many had guessed: if the United States wanted, it could crush the entire Russian Black Sea Fleet with a couple of salvos.

4. US NATO allies are not yet unanimous about the need to bomb Syria. Canada will not take part in such an operation. The British are still deliberating, and Germany not only bombed Damascus, but also asked the United States to delay the strike. The Germans say that we must wait for the results of the investigation into the alleged chemical attack, and then punish the perpetrators. They recall that in 2003, Iraq was accused of creating chemical weapons, started a war, and then it turned out that there were no weapons. I think that the Germans are still very much afraid of a cosmic rise in hydrocarbon prices in the event of a serious Middle Eastern war.

5. Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov today that the American and Russian military and diplomats are actively using a direct line of communication between themselves to prevent a possible unintentional escalation of the situation. Simply put, they do everything possible to avoid accidentally hitting each other. This is probably correct, because otherwise such an exchange of blows could lead to a rapid increase in the scale of the war and its transition to the nuclear stage. The only thing that confuses me is that Peskov always lies. Accordingly, I have very serious doubts that this line of communication works in reality, and not in the head of the press secretary.

6. Another high-profile story is the investigation into the poisoning of ex-GRU officer Sergei Skripal in the UK. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country, Boris Johnson, today once again said that he has no doubt about Moscow’s guilt in this crime. According to him, the Russian Federation had both the motive and the means to organize the assassination attempt. He did not name the suspects in its implementation, but cited information in his favor, which admitted: the poison was military. As I understand it, this was known before. It is still interesting to find out who exactly is suspected of attempted murder and whether this person (or group of people) is connected with Russia.

7. Today in the US Congress on the candidacy for the post of head of the US State Department - Michael Pompeo. The candidate himself stated that he would pursue an extremely tough policy towards the Russian Federation, since, according to him, this country does not understand other styles of communication. I wouldn't take his word for it here. Pompeo can get this position only for one of his merits: he obeys Trump in everything. Accordingly, he will pursue the policy that he is told to, and not play his own game. In general, you need to wait for his actions, and not loud statements during the hiring process.

8. If Pompeo receives this position, then one of the main areas of his work will be North Korea. Today it became known that Donald Trump will try to achieve from this country within one year. At least that's what the South Korean press writes about. The American president will try to solve the corresponding problem quite soon. He is expected to meet with Kim Chem-un in May, at which he will raise this issue. In principle, he might succeed. If, of course, in exchange he promises to lift all sanctions against the DPRK, give this country diplomatic recognition and conclude a permanent peace treaty with it. If money is thrown in from above, then the chances of reaching an agreement will become quite real. Good luck to Trump and Pompeo on this!

9. Member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands Judith Sargentini today told her colleagues about the situation with human rights in Hungary, where she recently visited. According to the deputy, she was shocked when she learned how things were in this area: there was no separation of powers, freedom of the press was undermined, universities and religious organizations were deprived of independence, and the rights of minorities and migrants were not respected at all. Well done Sargentini! I noticed something that the Hungarian opposition has been shouting about on every corner for at least five years now. Yes! Hungary is indeed gradually turning into Turkey. And Türkiye itself, by the way, goes to Russia, but that’s another story.

10. At the same time, however, foreign Hungarians are dissatisfied with the way their life is organized in their host countries. Today, the Romanian parliament is making another attempt by the Hungarian minority to proclaim the autonomy of their region. The Romanians considered that the autonomy bodies proposed by the Hungarians “duplicate the state”, and therefore it was impossible. I understand Bucharest: it does not trust its Hungarians, rightly suspecting them of wanting to return to the bosom of their historical homeland, along with the territories in which they live. But I'm sure this is not the end of the story. Attempts to declare autonomy there will continue. By the way, it would not hurt to closely monitor this story for Ukraine, which has its own Hungarian minority living compactly in Transcarpathia.

11. Well, the last thing for today. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny today holds mass protests against Vladimr Putin ahead of the Russian dictator's inauguration. According to Navalny’s plan, rallies should take place throughout Russia, and all those 53 million people who did not vote for Putin can take part in them. I think that 53 million - he, of course, went too fast. It will be good if 50 thousand comes. But Putin still needs to be shown that there are people who are not ready to recognize him as tsar.

12. Well, the very last thing for today: I congratulate all smart people looking to the future on the main holiday of the year (according to my version) - Cosmonautics Day! I wish everyone to look not only at their smartphone, TV and wallet, but also at the stars! And in general, think more often about what is there, beyond the horizon of our knowledge. It is there, I believe, that the answers to all the questions of the universe lie! Hooray!