Middle East

Europeans won’t be able to ‘walk safely’ if EU’s current attitude persists, Erdogan warns
People in Europe won’t be able to “walk safely” and freely on the streets if they don’t change their current attitudes, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned, amid a deepening diplomatic row over the cancellation of Turkish rallies in the EU. [...]
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A Clear Crime: Israel’s South Africa Moment May Be Drawing Nearer
Citing her "duty not to conceal a clear crime," the head of a Beirut-based U.N. agency has resigned after the withdrawal of a scathing UN-commissioned report that for the first time charges Israel is "a racist state that has established an apartheid system that persecutes the Palestinian people." While furious Israeli leaders likened the report to Nazi propaganda, Rima Khalaf said she rejected the [...]
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Russia Takes Every Effort Toward Peace in Syria, Unlike Europe
Russia, unlike other countries in Europe, undertakes a great number of efforts toward the achievement of peace Syria amid the Middle Eastern country's military conflict, a member of the Serbian parliament, Bozidar Delic, said Tuesday. During the visit, the delegation observed the operation of the Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria, and looked at the militants weap [...]
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Downed IDF Aircraft: Syria’s SAMs ‘Send a Very Special Message’ to the Israelis
The Syrian Army says its air defenses have shot down one Israeli warplane and hit a second after four planes breached Syrian airspace and attacked government troops near Palmyra Friday morning. The Israeli military has denied the claims. Syrian military officials and observers told Sputnik that the incident sends an important message to Israel. [...]
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Aleppo mosque airstrike controversy: ‘US only considers sources credible when it suits them’
Conflicting reports on an alleged airstrike on an Aleppo mosque won’t change the Pentagon’s attitude towards the various shady “activist” groups they cite as “reliable” sources when it suits them, says retired US AF Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski. [...]
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Looking back: Six years of American hell-raising in Syria
The Syrian people, who have demonstrated remarkable courage and perseverance in the face of formidable challenges that would have crushed a lesser people, are forced to observe yet another bloodstained milestone they neither want nor deserve. [...]
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Syrians say ‘please leave us alone’ – Elizabeth Kucinich [VIDEO]
The successful liberation of Aleppo enraged western media, but noted filmmaker and activist Elizabeth Kucinich says the narrative needs to be refocused. She traveled to Syria with Dennis Kucinich and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and joins RT America’s Anya Parampil to offer her crucial perspective on the broader humanitarian crisis and greater geopolitical context of the conflict.  The [...]
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Iran and Lebanon: From Fake News to Real War?
In the last few days, both Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement exchanged threats, reviving the specter of another Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Even the Western mainstream media admits the root cause of the tension could be Mr. Trump’s threats to garbage the nuclear agreement with Iran, Hezbollah’s longtime supporter. [...]
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Reflections on Six Years of Conflict in Syria
With the conflict in Syria now passing its March 15th sixth anniversary, we are obliged to cast a harsh light on the moral sickness of regime change that continues to plague Western capitals, without which it would not have gone on so long at such enormous cost. [...]
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Western chicken hawks are going cold on Turkey
Where is the increasingly vituperative spat between Turkey and The Netherlands (and other EU countries) going to lead? Why is this political fall-out between fellow NATO members happening at this precise moment? First, a quick recap of the events.   [...]
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Erdogan calls Merkel a ‘terrorist supporter,’ says Turkey will go to ECHR over Netherlands rally row
Turkey will challenge the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights over its refusal to allow Turkish officials to enter the country and deliver campaign speeches, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned. In an interview with A Haber television following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday evening, the Turkish leader also promised to deploy “whatever sanctions we have” and to [...]
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‘Worse number of airstrike casualties in Mosul than during Aleppo, media fails to cover‘ – monitor
The number of civilian casualties from airstrikes by the US-led coalition in the Iraqi city of Mosul exceeds the numbers reported by the media during the operation to retake Aleppo by Syrian and Russian forces, the London-based Airwars monitoring group has said. [...]
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US’ ‘New Role’ in Syria ‘Reflects the Limits of Its Capacity’
On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis announced that the US military has "carved out a new role in Syria" with small numbers of troops positioned not with an offensive or defensive role, but to "reassure and deter." Commenting on the announcement, Russian media suggested that it just "reflects the limits of the US capacity." [...]
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652 Children Killed in 2016 During Conflict in Syria – UNICEF
In war-torn Syria, 2016 was the worst year on record for the upcoming generation, with at least 652 child deaths, UNICEF said on Sunday. The agency released a report two days prior to the sixth anniversary of a popular uprising in Damascus that escalated into an armed rebellion and resulted in a full-blown civil war, now in its sixth year. [...]
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Russia Builds Where US Destroyed
Referring to ongoing peace talks on Syria co-sponsored by Russia, President Vladimir Putin said the negotiations marked the beginning of “rebuilding” this war-torn country, as well as other conflict zones in the Middle East region. Already several rounds of talks have been held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana between the Syrian government and opponents, under the auspices of Russia an [...]
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Washington ‘Risks Getting Drawn Into Yet Another Ground War in Middle East’
Washington has boosted its military presence in Syria to ostensibly help local forces fight against Daesh, but former US diplomat and Senate adviser James Jatras told Radio Sputnik that the Pentagon's latest deployment could see the United States get bogged down in Syria. "Frankly, I don't like it. I don't think it's a good idea. As much as anybody else I would like to see Daesh and other te [...]
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‘They Do Not Abandon Their Own’: Syrian War No Match for Love of Russian Woman
Over the past few years millions of people have been forced to leave Syria, a country still gripped by war. Thousands of Russian-speaking women were living in Syria with their husbands and hundreds of them stayed behind when the conflict erupted. Sputnik correspondent Mikhail Alaeddin met with one such family residing in Damascus. The sunny and cozy apartment in Damascus where a woman named Ev [...]
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Germany tells Iran it will push US to ‘dismantle sanctions’
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has promised to press Washington loosen its economic restrictions on Iran, as it promised to do as part of last year’s nuclear deal. During a public speech during a landmark two-day economic cooperation visit to Tehran, Gabriel said Germany intends to "remind the United States of the commitment to get to an effective dismantling of sanctions." [...]
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Russia Delivers More Than 6 Tonnes of Aid to Syrian Residents
Russia has delivered over 6 tonnes of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province. Russian servicemen have delivered over 6 tonnes (metric tons) of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation informs in its daily bulletin. [...]
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