Archive for month: September, 2014

The Syrian government has welcomed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that prohibits providing support for the foreign-backed militants.

Regarding the move as a victory for the war-torn Arab nation, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi expressed on Sunday his government’s support for the UNSC Resolution 2178.

The Security Council members voted unanimously to approve the resolution that intends to tighten the grip on foreign fighters in conflict zones.

The resolution further prohibits efforts to recruit, organize, and offer supplies and funding to foreign militants.

The binding resolution also calls on all countries to prevent the movement of militants on their soil.

The development comes as Western countries and their regional Arab allies have expressed concerns that foreign fighters entering Syria and Iraq may eventually pose a threat to their homeland once they return to native countries.

Press reports estimate that more than 12,000 foreign militants have joined the foreign-sponsored militancy in Syria over the past three years.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. The Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

Over 190,000 people have been killed during more than three years of Takfiri violence in the war-ravaged country, according to reports.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to strike terror “with an iron fist.”

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the next round of Tehran’s nuclear talks with six world powers will be held in Europe.

“It will take place in Europe because New York is too far away,” ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Zarif as saying after a Saturday closed-door meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the 69th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He pointed to major differences between the two sides and underlined the need for the continuation of consultations.

Zarif reaffirmed Tehran’s determination to seize the existing opportunity till the expiration of Iran’s interim nuclear deal in November and noted that the existing issues are not too complicated to be resolved.

Iran and its negotiating partners — the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany — held their latest round of talks in New York to work out a final agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear energy program within a November 24 deadline.

Last November, the two sides clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained split on a number of key issues.

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Moscow has slammed Washington for applying double standards in fighting terrorism, accusing the United States of hurting its relationship with Russia through its policies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Russia’s Channel 5 TV on Sunday that Washington’s double standards caused it not to listen to warnings by Moscow of a growing threat of the ISIL terrorist group.

According to Lavrov, the Western powers claimed that the militancy would die out after the ouster of the governments fighting the militants.

In addition, Lavrov said ties between Russia and the US need to reset amid the crisis in Ukraine.

Lavrov said Russia is not interested in a continued “sanctions war” with Western governments, as Moscow does not consider itself in isolation from the West.

The remarks came a day after Lavrov addressed the United Nations General Assembly, in which he condemned the US for resorting to military intervention anywhere in the world in order to secure its own interests.

The Russian minister told the 193-member UN assembly that US-led military actions have led to chaos and instability in different countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.

Relations were strained further after Ukraine launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests in the country’s mainly Russian speaking regions in the east.

The United States and the European Union accuse Russia of destabilizing Ukraine and have slapped a number of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia figures.

Moscow, however, rejects the accusation, saying the pro-Russia protests in Ukraine began spontaneously against the new interim government in Kiev following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

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A US congressman says President Barack Obama is afraid to send American troops to the battlefield to attack the ISIL terrorist group.

Addressing the Value Voters Summit on Saturday, Tea Party Rep. Jim Bridenstine said Obama planned to arm and train militants in Syria instead of sending troops there.

“This is a threat and it didn’t have to be this way and we have to deal with it in a very serious manner,” he said.

“And you don’t deal with it by saying: ‘You know what, I’m the commander in chief but I don’t want to be the commander in chief, therefore I’m going to train and equip so-called moderate Syrian rebels that have allegiances with al-Qaeda, because I’m afraid to be the commander in chief,” he added.

“If this is a threat to our country, we eliminate it. If not, we don’t,” Bridenstine said. “I say this is a threat to our country and it needs to be dealt with.”

Obama has authorized airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria, but has repeatedly ruled out American boots on the ground in a combat role.

The US and its allies have been continuously bombing ISIL targets in northeastern Syria since Tuesday.

On Friday, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said that international troops would be deployed in Iraq to fight against ISIL if necessary.

The general told reporters he may eventually recommend boots on the ground and those forces would not necessarily be American forces.

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Afghanistan prepares to inaugurate its new president, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who takes power following a three-month dispute over final results of the country’s presidential election.

Ghani will be officially inaugurated on Monday days after he reached a deal with his former rival, Abdullah Abdullah.

According to government officials, some 1,400 Afghan and foreign guests and dignitaries are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, which will be held in the presidential compound amid tight security.

The Ghani administration will replace the administration of President Hamid Karzai, who has been in power in Afghanistan since 2001.

On September 21, Afghanistan’s presidential rivals inked a power-sharing agreement following months of tension after the disputed June 14 vote.

Based on the deal, Ghani will become president, while Abdullah will take up the new post of “chief executive officer” (CEO), which will be similar to the role of prime minister.

Ghani has praised the country’s “first democratic transfer of power,” saying it will secure peace in the war-torn country.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the inauguration ceremony, a bomb went off close to the presidential palace in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, raising security concerns.

The new Afghan government will succeed that of President Karzai, who has been in power since Washington and its allies invaded the country.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power.

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