Lavrov pointed out that “the Americans have taken dangerous unilateral steps in the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, which seems to be an approach for undermining Syria’s territorial integrity”.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova affirmed that the US military presence in Syria poses dangerous threat to the political process and territorial integrity of the country.
“The US illegal military presence on the Syrian lands is dangerous challenge before realizing safety and security there and preserving its territorial integrity,” Zakharova said at a weekly press conference on Thursday.
She added that the US exploits the pretext of the chemical weapons to undermine the political settlement to the crisis, saying that the US seems to be depending, in the previous period upon infiltrating uncertain information by some sides and other topics without any confirmed facts.
The Spokeswoman went on to say that the US destabilizes the conditions in Syria and the entire region through supporting the terrorist groups… … …
The United States received no permission from the United Nations to intervene in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, 16 November.
“We were surprised to hear a statement made by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis when talking to the U.S. media representatives, on November 13, that the U.S. Armed Forces are in Syria <with the permission of the UN>”, Zakharova said.
Her comments were made after Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, said that Washington’s intervention in Syria had been approved by the United Nations.
“I want to remind you that the Security Council is the only agency under the UN Charter that is entitled to take decisions on using military force”, she said, adding that“no such decision has been taken”.
“The U.S. forces are there contrary to the wishes of Syria’s legitimate government, in fact acting as occupants”, the diplomat stressed.
Outside of the UN, for the U.S. to be able to conduct legal military operations abroad, it should also receive the approval of the Congress – yet this regulation is constantly violated. Activity against terrorist groups, as well as government forces, have taken place in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya and are explained by the fact that the Congress allowed the U.S. forces to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Critics say that the White House and Pentagon are interpreting the legislation too broadly. On October 30th, Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State, stated that “geographical constrictions” [of the bill] should not be a limitation for the US to fight ISIS anywhere in the world, and that no updated legislation was necessary. This doesn’t change the fact that no UNSC permission, on behalf of the international community, was ever given to the US to invade Syria.
The [UNSC] report on the chemical attack in Idlib in Syria has some very shaky conclusions, says journalist Rick Sterling, of the Syria Solidarity Movement. In his view, it’s obvious the opposition, not the government that had a motive for such an attack.
According to Rick Sterling, the investigators “have got a very shaky conclusion, and even their report indicates that in a number of areas; irregularities is definitely an understatement.” Sterling said: “Inside the report, it’s acknowledged that there were 57 victims transported to five different hospitals before the attack even happened. So how do you have a victim of an attack before it happens?”
“They acknowledge in the report that they cannot confirm that there was a Syrian jet over Khan Shaykhun at the time of the incident,” he told RT. “There is no video showing the Syrian jets. The Syrian air force says they were not over Khan Shaykhun, they were carrying out an attack on another town. Actually, the US radar tracking confirms the Syrian jet fighters passed no closer than five kilometers from Khan Shaykhun.”
“In addition to that, in any investigation, an essential component of it is looking at motive. Who has a motive for a chemical weapons incident in Syria? Obviously, it is the opposition. The Syrian government has every motive to prevent or to never have that happen,” the journalist concluded… … …
The OPCW-UN investigation into the chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib province is littered with “systemic deficiencies,” Russia’s deputy UN envoy has told the UN Security Council, reiterating that Moscow maintains the April 4 incident was staged.
On October 26, the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) issued a report in which it pinned blame for the Khan Shaykhun incident on Damascus. With JIM’s mandate set to expire on November 16, Russia criticized the methodology of the UN fact-finding mission, casting doubt on the mandate’s extension.
“Without a comprehensive change it will become a tool to settle accounts with the Syrian authorities,” Russian deputy representative to the United Nations, Vladimir Safronkov, told the Security Council.
The White Helmets apparently knew about the attack even before the Syrian airplane left the Shayrat Airbase.
The White Helmets video at the site of the incident shows them wearing respirators and cotton gloves which cannot serve as protective gear against sarin exposure.
Thus it is likely that “first an explosion was conducted, then the White Helmets made this video, and only afterward did they drop sarin,” the Russian representative pointed out… … …
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned US-UK supplies of chemical munitions to terrorists in Syria, considering these acts as “beyond understanding.”
In this regard, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad stressed that the United States, Britain and their allies in the region breach the Chemical Weapons convention by supporting terrorist organizations in Syria and supplying them with toxic materials and weapons of all forms
Russian media quoted Zakharova as saying “That was the extent of their commitment to the international law and the victory of democracy; supplying poisonous materials to the terrorists with presenting photos of pictures for killed children as a coverage,” adding “this is beyond mind understanding.”
23 corpses of children were stolen [before the chemical attack] from an hospital in Idlib, to allow the White Helmets to arrange another theatrical production under a false flag. Al-Jazeera TV experts channel operators were present there.
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Recently Fort-Russ-News reported that militants and “White Helmets” rounded up civilians in order to stage a chemical weapons film in Syria’s Idlib.
Today, this information was confirmed by all major Russian media and many publications in the Middle East.
A reminder, that a Syrian military intelligence source earlier this week, said that militants rounded up civilians and filmed one or more fake chemical attacks. Furthermore it has been revealed, that Al Jazeera channel was present there.
This is according to information published by Tass, RIA Novosti and a number of other media outlets in Russia and abroad.
“23 bodies of children was recently stolen from a hospital in Idlib. It seems that the “White Helmets” are going to arrange another theatrical production under a false flag soon. Maybe another chemical attack in order to link it with President Assad, “- added the journalists of Russia’s “First Channel.”
RIA Novosti clarified that the idea of staging repeat chemical attacks is a PR move, which can lead to a missile attack by the United States on Syria……………..
Russia is satisfied with conclusions included in the OPCW mission’s report that sulphur mustard gas was used in the Syrian village of Maarat Umm-Hawsh in the Aleppo region, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
“The conclusions we had made along with our Syrian counterparts that terrorists used sulphur mustard in the populated locality of Maarat Umm-Hawsh have been fully confirmed at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We state this with satisfaction,” the ministry said.
Russia has provided assistance to Syria in the investigation by sending samples, documentary and material evidence collected at the scene to authorized experts, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The evidence the OPCW mission has about the use of chemical weapons in Syria will be handed to the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) for further studying.
On April 4, the town of Khan-Shaykhun in Syria’s Idlib region was hit by an alleged chemical attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Syrian aircraft had bombed the workshops then where terrorists were producing munitions with chemical agents supplied to Iraq and used in Aleppo. Washington accused the Syrian government of the attack.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has urged to identify those guilty in the incident and those who coordinated the attack…………………………
Syrian Gas Attack is a Lie – “Stop Your Governments!”
Maria Zakharova calls on Western respresenatives/ journalists to hear Russia, and what it has to say. The attack against the Syrian government (on April 7th, US warships delivered an illegal blow to a Syrian airbase in Homs: their justification was the recent “chemical weapon” attack on behalf of the Syrian government in Idlib), much like the Ghouta gas attack in 2013, which precipitated the Syrian civil war, is a giant facade for the military industrial warhawks in the U.S., to put their money where their mouth is.
Lavrov schools Tillerson in basic lessons of history
(updated) At the Tillerson – Lavrov talks in Moscow last week, Russia’s Foreign Minister disagreed with the US Secretary of State in their stance on the use of chemical weapons by Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Russia stands for a full investigation to take place, prior to taking any kind of action. In his explanation Lavrov noted, that the only source of information on the Idlib gas attack comes from the widely discredited ‘White Helmets’ propagandists. No official investigation by international bodies, has taken place. Tillerson, on the other hand, is quite assured of Assad’s involvement in the attack, without questioning White Helmets’ evidence. Furthermore, Russia’s top diplomat made it quite clear that no more ‘regime changes’ are possible, citing the devastating examples of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Sudan. This week, the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Boris Johnson, were set to meet with Russia’s representatives in Moscow. Johnson has since pulled out of the meeting, in wake of the US airstrike on Syria, citing “Russia’s continued defence of the Assad regime.” While the backdrop to this meeting sets the stage to be particularly on edge, it is also true that to this day, no coherent foreign policy strategy has been made public on behalf of the Trump administration, and most certainly, no collusion has taken place with President Putin (despite the fake news rumours on CNN and BBC). In this clip, Maria Zakharova, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, remains her pragmatic self in her stance on illegal US actions. Most notably, she claims that one of the components to the recent attack on Syria by the US, is to mask the humanitarian disaster that is Mosul, under a US-led counter-terrorism operation. Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister – he reminds Tillerson that he does not dance with boys! Don’t miss my previous video on Vimeo with Maria Zakharova, which was not allowed on YouTube due to copyright blocks: “Airstrike on Syria: The world is held hostage by the US“
Deep State problems: Putin warns of more chemical attacks
At Press Conference of Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, the Russian President was asked for his view in regard to the US airstrike on Syria. His response revealed not a bashing of the new US administration, but the rivalries of the US “deep state” military-financial interests that potentially pressured President Trump into the airstrike on Syria. “Should anything go really wrong – Trump is who they will blame” – he said. Moreover, Putin told reporters that Russian intelligence indicates that terrorist factions operating in Syria are planning further chemical weapons attacks, likely in regions south of Damascus. These attacks will then be used as justification for more strikes against the Assad government. A day earlier, Fort Russ Editor in Chief, Joaquin Flores, stated the very same reasoning on RT talk-show CrossTalk Bullhorns. In his analysis, he explained that there are a lot more interests than meet the eye when it comes to the Idlib “chemical gas attack” and the subsequent US airstrike on Syria.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters that following the Astana talks that a major split occured between the Syrian ‘opposition’, during a press conference in Moscow, Friday.
Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson (Russian):“After the meeting in Astana, a split occurred in the ranks of anti-government armed formations, as Jabhat-al-Nusra terrorists attempted massive attacks on the groups of armed opposition that sent their representatives to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. In this situation, a part of the moderate opposition requested Ahrar al-Sham to protect them, as they are a more powerful group which is seeking neutrality in the conflict of Jabhat-al Nusra, with supporters present at the Astana meeting. Meanwhile, the gangs whose chieftains are set on continuing the armed struggle with the government have started to actively pledge allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra. In order to unite its supporters, al-Nusra has created a new structure – the United Liberation of the Levant – whose militants have engaged in fighting against Ahrar al-Sham.”
Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson (Russian):“We also noticed in statements from the political and armed opposition, that they are trying to prejudge the results of the UN Geneva negotiations; which are scheduled to take place on February 20. Once again the opposition representatives set ultimatum-like preconditions with which they stipulate their participation in the peace talks in Geneva. Separately, I would like to mention the demand for an apology from the United Nations and the Arab League Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura for his statement, where he proposed to form an opposition delegation himself, if the oppositionists would not do that by themselves. From our side, we fully support De Mistura’s determination for a quick continuation of the intra-Syrian contacts in Geneva. We think that the attempts to delay or to postpone the peace talks are unacceptable.”
Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, lets loose on a Western journalist after she is asked “Why is Russia supporting Assad, who is killing civilians?” The problem with Western mainstream media is that it relies on ignorance to create a worldview that consists of a series of RANDOM and DISCONNECTED events taken out of context. I think she made her points pretty clear – but who are the two countries blocking progress, at the UN Security Council level? As you know, there are 5 permanent members, and 10 rotating members. In 2016, they are: Angola (2016), Egypt (2017), Japan (2017), Malaysia (2016), New Zealand (2016), Senegal (2017), Spain (2016), Ukraine (2017), Uruguay (2017), Venezuela (2016) ~ Who has the US payed off this time, to carry out their dirty deeds? What are your thoughts? ~
(Translation by Inessa Sinchougova)
US is trying to distract attention from its own failure to implement the ceasefire deal by calling for an investigation into Russia’s actions in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“The US side just could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement. They themselves told us that they do not have the means to put pressure on the opposition,” Zakharova said, as quoted by TASS.
She also warned Washington that there were legal consequences for such rhetoric.
“Kerry’s statement – this is propaganda. There are some very serious legal consequences behind this terminology, and I think that Kerry used all of these terms to inflame the situation,” Zakharova said.
She said in an interview to Dozhd TV channel: “If it comes to war crimes, US representatives should start with Iraq. And then move to Libya, and of course to Yemen – find out what’s there. I want to say that juggling these words is very dangerous, because there are indeed war crimes on the part of the American representatives.”
“There are different streams in Washington, which are right now competing for lobbying of their approach to solving the Syrian [issue]. There are some who strongly advocate for ousting Bashar Assad, some push for military operations,” she said at a forum for young diplomats on Friday.
“Washington has never exerted any real pressure on Jabhat Al-Nusra, done nothing for delineation to succeed and taken no action against its militants. We are becoming more convinced that in a pursuit of a much desired regime change in Damascus, Washington is ready to make a ‘deal with the devil’. For the sake of ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the U.S. appears to be ready to forge an alliance with hardened terrorists, dreaming of turning back the course of history”. [Russian Foreign Ministry]
“I don’t think there is any alternative to the bilateral ties between Moscow and Washington […] That they have announced this is highly regrettable […] There is also no alternative to trying to implement a ceasefire, and to stopping the Al-Nusra Front and ISIS while making sure that the so-called moderate opposition understands that time has come to lay down their weapons” [Vitaly Churkin].
“It turns out that Washington has failed to fulfill the key condition of the agreement to ease humanitarian situation for the residents of Aleppo” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “And now, apparently, having failed to honor these agreements that they themselves worked out, [the US] is trying to shift the blame.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called upon the Western media to be courageous and to break the silence regarding the crimes of the so-called “moderate opposition” in Syria and the human casualties due to the strikes carried out by the alleged US-led “international alliance” against the ISIS terrorists.
Russia Today website quoted Zakharova as saying on her Twitter account on Thursday that the US-backed Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement have faced many charges on committing massacres against the civilians including women and children in the neighborhoods of Aleppo.
Last month terrorists from Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, who are backed by Erdogan regime, slaughtered a 12-year-old Palestinian child named Abdullah Issa in Handarat Camp in the northern countryside of Aleppo and they mutilated his body.
Zakharova indicated that the air force of the US-led “international alliance” is carrying out airstrikes against inhabited areas inside Manbij City in Aleppo countryside and that it has carried out more than 90 strikes against the neighborhoods of the city since July 19th, killing hundreds of the civilians and injuring thousands.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that calls by some US Department of State officials to target positions of the Syrian army are surprising and shocking since they are issued by figures who are supposed to work for a political solution.
In an interview with SANA reporter in Moscow, Zakharova added: “We can only be surprised about some US State Department officials sending messages on the need for a military scenario against Syria in order to solve the crisis in it, and what strikes us most is that the ones who are demanding war are diplomats who must work for a political settlement”.
“When diplomats call for war to resolve the crisis by violence, they directly confirm their lack of professional competence,” Zakharova said
Zakharova: ”We know that in Washington there is a camp that represents those who see a solution by military force and those who want to solve all the issues by war, whereas there is another camp of wise figures who realize that crises can be resolved through talks, and we hope that the second camp will prevail in the United States”.
Zakharova: “Russia will spare no effort to end the crisis in Syria”.
“Russia has never abandoned support to the Syrian people since the start of the crisis in the country”.
The official representative of the Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, on her page on the Facebook network, has published a symbol in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on the Russian liner A-321 in Egypt.
“This is what I just received from a stranger in Italy with one word in the caption — Solidarietà. Thank you” — signed post, Zakharova.
PLEASE, SHARE THIS LOGO ON YOUR VIRTUAL AND REAL SPACES
War of Words: Russian Foreign Ministry calls out MSM reports on hospital strike in Syria
The Russian Foreign Ministry has disputed Western media reports accusing Russia of hitting a field hospital in northwestern Syria and killing 13 people. The reports cited “sources” provided by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, stressed that such reports show tremendous bias towards Russia’s military efforts in Syria.
“There are so-called mass media reports which allege that Russian aircraft bombed a field hospital in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria and reportedly killed 13 people. I cannot say that these reports are written by journalists but their ingenuity delights,” Zakharova, told reporters.
She questioned the credentials of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, pointing out that it is based in Britain and has no direct access to the ground in Syria.
“This information appears with reference to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in London. As we all understand, it is very ‘convenient’ to cover and observe what is happening in Syria without leaving London and without the ability to collect information in the field,” Zakharova added.
Russia has accused France of violating international law by launching a bombing campaign in the Syrian territory, purportedly against positions of the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIL) terrorist organization in Syria.
Zakharova pondered that “it would be nice to know more about this concept of self-defense, in the form of air strikes [on the territory of Syria,] a state which did not attack anyone, and without its consent, and about this concept’s compliance with international law.”
Zakharova noted that she found it entertaining that “the referendum in Crimea is called an annexation, but air strikes conducted without the approval of the Security Council or of the receiving side is self-defense.”
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that there is no ban on exporting weapons to Syria and Moscow’s cooperation with Damascus is continuous, adding “the only aim to offer military aid to Syria is combating terrorism”.
Russia supplies Syrian government forces with firearms, grenade launchers and armored personnel carriers as the country is struggling with radical DAESH (ISIS/ISIL) militants, said military-technical sources.
“Nevertheless, there is not any ban on exporting weapons to Syria,” she added.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia provides “considerable” support to Syria in terms of equipment, training and weaponry.
Russian specialists were sent to Syria to teach local armed forces to operate Russian weapons.
