2020/12/30 01:52
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, attend a press conference in Sochi on Dec. 29, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Russian Foreign Ministry)
WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Tuesday to meet with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Their meeting occurred in the context of the Russian-Turkish High Level Co-operation Council and was intended to prepare for a summit in Turkey between the two leaders, although no date has yet been announced for that.
In a joint press conference following the foreign ministers’ talks, Cavusoglu reaffirmed Ankara’s decision to proceed with the S-400, Russia’s advanced air defense system, despite the serious problems it has caused in Ankara’s relations with the US.
ANKARA: Turkey’s foreign minister on Tuesday slammed the threat of further US and Western sanctions on Ankara over its military cooperation with Russia as going “against our sovereign rights.” And Mevlut Cavusoglu was joined by his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in vowing to press ahead with strengthening links between the two countries. The comments came as the two ministers met in the Russian resort city of Sochi to discuss regional and international issues ahead of a planned meeting of presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan under the high-level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council. Among bilateral issues, such as the construction of a nuclear power station and further development of the TurkStream gas pipeline, military cooperation with Ankara was praised by Moscow despite US sanctions under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a 2017 law targeting Russian defense industry exports.
US-Backed Forces Raid ISIS Cells in Syria
Women walk between destroyed buildings in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the former Syrian capital of the Islamic State, Dec. 20, 2020. (Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are executing a new series of raids against active ISIS-affiliated militants in eastern Syria with the support of the United States, the Voice of America reported Sunday.
The new campaign targets remnants of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in the Deir al-Zour province near Iraq, VOA News reported. The Syrian Democratic Forces military alliance is focusing on ISIS cells in the northern part of the province.
At least 9,500 people have fled their homes in Ain Issa, northeast Syria, following an escalation in clashes between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (TSNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in mid-December.
The SDF – the military forces of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava – who control Ain Issa, report daily shelling on the city from Turkish-backed forces for the past week. The sound of fighting could be heard from sunset until noon.
Ain Issa sits approximately 45km (28 miles) by road from Tel Abyad, a city flanking the Turkish border and captured in October 2019 during Ankara’s Operation Peace Spring.
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US Implements More Sanctions on Syria Measures target Syrian central bank and several individuals, including Bashar al-Assad s wife and her British family
On Tuesday, the US imposed fresh sanctions on Syria, targeting the country’s central bank and several individuals and entities close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Among those targeted are Assad’s British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, and several of her family members who are based in London. The sanctions target her father, Fawaz Akhras, along with her mother, brother, and uncle.
The sanctions were implemented under the Caesar Act, a bill that was passed last year and implemented in June. The act allows the US to sanction any individual or entity, regardless of nationality, that does business with the Syrian government. The act specifically targets the energy and construction sectors of Syria to impede the country’s reconstruction effort.