Dozens Of Russian Generals Killed In Syria

Syria - Car bomb in Russian military base near Latakia

Putin discusses initiatives of Russia-US Syria statement with Iran's president — Kremlin

MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a telephone conversation with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani, the Kremlin press service reported on Wednesday.

"They focused on the Syrian problems, in particular the discussion of the initiatives and proposals contained in the Joint Statement of Russia and the United States on the cessation of hostilities in Syria", the Kremlin said.

The two countries’ leaders stressed the importance of the further joint work of Russia and Iran on the Syrian settlement issues, including the continuation of the decisive fight against the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations put on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Putin held telephone conversations with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

On Monday evening, Russia and the United States issued a joint statement saying that the ceasefire regime in Syria would take effect on February 27 at 00:00, Damascus time (01:00, Moscow time). To this end, all the warring sides should comply with the conditions specified in the statement. Russia and the United States assume the obligation to influence the close to them political forces in Syria for achieving a truce.

The statement says that the cessation of hostilities is to be applied to all parties to the Syrian conflict but for Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) and Jabhat an-Nusra (both are banned in Russia) "or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council." Airstrikes on them will be continued.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the agreement, with his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura saying he was ready to support implementation of the accords either rights on the spot in Damascus or from Geneva.

According to the UN statistics, fighting between Syrian government troops and militants has killed over 220,000 people and displaced millions since its start in 2011. Gangs of militants making part of various armed formations, the most active of them being the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, fight government troops.

Russia’s Aerospace Forces started delivering pinpoint strikes in Syria at facilities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, which are banned in Russia, on September 30, 2015, on a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. The air group initially comprised over 50 aircraft and helicopters, including Sukhoi Su-24M, Su-25SM and state-of-the-art Su-34 aircraft. They were deployed to the Khmeimim airbase in the province of Latakia.

On October 7, 2015, four missile ships of the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla fired 26 Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO codename Sizzler) at militants’ facilities in Syria. On October 8, the Syrian army passed to a large-scale offensive.

In mid-November 2015, Russia increased the number of aircraft taking part in the operation in Syria to 69 and involved strategic bombers in strikes at militants. Targets of the Russian aircraft include terrorists’ gasoline tankers and oil refineries. Russia’s aircraft have made thousands of sorties since the start of the operation in Syria. Moscow has repeatedly said that Russia plans no ground operation in Syria.

 

Crimea gets ready for possible water shortage

SIMFEROPOL, February 20. /TASS/. Crimea has announced alert regime as the republic may face water shortage, the republic’s government said on its website on Saturday.

Crimea’s head Sergey Aksenov ordered all emergencies authorities and services to be prepared for the possible water shortage. Specially organized headquarters will solve the task of "providing drinking and technical water to Kerch, Feodosiya (cities) and the Lenin district," the order reads.

In 2014, Ukraine stopped water supplies from the Dnipro River to fill water reservoirs in Crimea.

In late January, Crimea’s water authority reported the republic’s all water reservoirs were full and the stock of water would be sufficient for the heating and the resort seasons. However, the reservoirs, which are filled naturally, are 50-70% full, the authority said.

 

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Damascus Rejects Kerry Proposal If Cease-Fire Fails

DAMASCUS – The Syrian government criticized on Wednesday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for his statements that “contradict the truth” about a hypothetical partition of Syria if the cease-fire scheduled for Saturday fails.

In a statement published by the Syrian Arab News Agency, or SANA, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official said that “Syria condemns these statements which contradict the truth and serve to hide his country’s responsibility for what Syria is exposed to from the crimes perpetrated by the terrorist groups.”

On Tuesday, Kerry told the U.S. Senate that Washington would move to plan B, which would involve the division of Syria, if the truce between the United States and Russia in the Syrian territory did not materialize or if a transition to an interim government did not occur in the coming months.

For the Syrian Foreign Ministry “the United States, with its regional allies and tools, shoulders the responsibility of starting and continuing the crisis in Syria through its continuous support of terrorism, SANA reported.

The statement stressed that the Syrian people “are more determined to defeat terrorism, preserve Syria’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty and its national independent decision.”

Khamenei Claims Enemies Create “False Bipolarity to Create Discord” in Iran

TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the enemies of his country are attempting to create a “false bipolarity to create discord” among the Iranian people.

Speaking to thousands of people in the Iranian city of Najafabad, the supreme leader said the plotters of “false bipolarity” are trying to show that there are pro-parliament and anti-parliament Iranians.

“The Iranian nation wants a parliament which is religious, committed, brave, not gullible, resistant against the arrogant powers’ excessive demands and greed,” he explained according to FARS news agency.

He pointed out that Iranian people need a parliament that will be a “defender of the national honor and independence, a real lover of the country’s progress” and is not “intimidated” by the United States.

Khamenei called on all people to go to the polling stations on Friday to elect the representatives of parliament and Assembly of Experts, in which about 55 million will vote.