Attack on Khmeimim

The Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported that on Monday the Syrian air defenses shot down a UAV near the air base ‘Khmeimim’ where parts of the Russian air force are located. There are no reports about the injuries or damage.

The Kurdish «Syrian Democratic Forces» called on «all the parties of the Syrian conflict to support the initiative of the UN Secretary General, Antoni Guterres, to cease fire everywhere». The statement of the «Syrian Democratic Forces» was quoted the ‘Al Hadath’ TV. The «Syrian Democratic Forces» expressed their hope that the humanitarian truce «will open a way for a dialogue, and for a political process, which would lead to an end of the war in Syria». The first case of the coronavirus infection in Syria was announced on Sunday, by the Syrian Minister of Health, Nizar Yaziji. On Monday, António Guterres called for a ceasefire in all armed conflicts due to the coronavirus pandemic. Russia supports the call of the UN Secretary General to cease the hostilities. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the situations «in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria, as well as in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip» to be especially alarming.

The Russian Embassy in Italy called the publications of the newspaper ‘La Stampa’ on the Russian aid, aimed to fight the new coronavirus epidemic, to be “incorrect and misinforming». The Russian Ambassador to Italy, Sergei Razov, said so to the editor-in-chief of the ‘La Stampa’. The statement was published on Friday, in the electronic version of the newspaper. Sergei Razov suggested to ask the residents of the city of Bergamo about the usefulness of the Russian assistance, since the Russian specialists work in that city. He also explained why the Russian military was sent to Italy: “The representatives of the Russian radiation, chemical and biological defense troops are the most mobile and experienced specialists, who have worked in various regions of the world. They can effectively assist in the diagnosis and the treatment of patients, as well as in carrying out the necessary disinfection measures”. Earlier, the Italian newspaper ‘La Stampa’ published an article in which the newspaper called the Russian aid to be “useless.”

The Saudi mass media reported, while citing the official representative of the command of the Arabian coalition, Colonel Turki al-Maliki, that on Friday the coalition forces in Saudi Arabia managed to destroy incoming UAVs that were allegedly sent at the civilian facilities located in the cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait. According to al-Maliki — the drones were launched by the rebel movement Ansar Allah.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation. He underlined that the state should work ahead of the schedule, and its main goals are the lives and the health of citizens. Vladimir Putin stated that the date of vote on the amendments to the Russian Constitution should be postponed due to the new coronavirus. Also, due to the pandemic, the next week was declared a non-working one in Russia, but with the salaries remained. The President called for a compliance with all the recommendations from doctors. One-time payments to the 75th anniversary of the Russian ‘Victory Day’ for the veterans and home-front workers will be paid in April. A tax for the withdrawal of the dividends to the offshore accounts was established in the amount of 15%. Small and medium-sized businesses will be provided with a 6-month tax deferral — except for the VAT and the insurance premiums.

Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the DPRK sent a joint letter to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutterrish, calling for a number of other countries to lift their one-sided sanctions that impede the efforts aimed to fight the spread of the new coronavirus. The letter was published on the official page of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN on Twitter. Earlier, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutterrish, called on the G20 countries to lift the existing sanctions against other countries in order to fight the new coronavirus. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.