ISIS attacks in north-eastern Syria

1 France

The first meeting of the «Normandy Format» political advisers in 2022 lasted for about 8 hours. The main result was the agreement on a «final communiqué» that a ceasefire should be in place. It was the first such document approved since 2019. The meeting showed that parties have many differences on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Ukraine once again refused to prescribe the norms in the Basic Law of the country, to hold an amnesty in Donbass, and run elections in the uncontrolled territories. The advisers will meet in Berlin in 2 weeks. Ukraine meanwhile has the time to think about the implementation of the Minsk agreements and a dialogue with the representatives of the LPR and DPR.

2 Donbass

The Intelligence service of the People’s Militia of the LPR spotted a Ukrainian AA gun «ZU-23-2» near the contact line in a residential area of the Ukrainian-controlled town of Popasnaya, the LPR Ministry of Defense reported. “An anti-aircraft gun ZU-23-2 was spotted in a residential area of the Popasnaya settlement, in the area of ​​responsibility of the 24th Ukrainian brigade” — end of quote. The ministry added that 2 armored combat vehicles were spotted near the Ukrainian-controlled village of Makarovo.

3 The USA

The US and the NATO authorities sent a written response to the Russian security assurance proposals. They formulated their own initiatives — the NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and the head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, announced. The USA noted that «the answer won’t please Moscow», yet the USA still hope for a dialogue with Moscow on a number of issues. Washington sees opportunities to discuss the arms control, including the deployment of missiles in Europe. The NATO stated that Brussels and Moscow should open offices for contacts with Russia. They added that they are ready for «a serious dialogue on the arms control, including the nuclear weapons and the ground defenses».

4 Russia

«Statements made by the NATO Secretary-General about the intention to increase the presence of the NATO on the eastern flank create a negative background for the negotiations on security guarantees» — the Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Alexei Zaitsev, stated. Earlier, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that the NATO plans to increase the presence in the east, which includes a possible deployment of additional battlegroups — the RIA NEWS reported.

5 Syria

The Permanent Representative of Syria to the UN, Bassam Al-Sabbah, stated that the events that took place in the city of Hasakah — namely the attacks of the Daesh terrorists, the massacres committed by the Kasad groups, and the destruction of infrastructure by the American aircraft — took place because Washington once again wanted to use the Daesh terrorists to find an excuse to keep the US forces in Syria, despite the growing local and international calls for the pulling of those troops from Syria. Bassam Al-Sabbah added that the events in the city of Hasakah require the UN Security Council to urgently consider the consequences of those events.

6 Russia

The First Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, stated that Russia requested a separate briefing at the UN Security Council on January 27th regarding the situation in north-east of Syria due to the recent attacks by the Daesh terrorist group. “We are deeply concerned about reports of the recent ISIS attacks in north-east of Syria, and the overall security situation in that part of the country. We would like to request a separate briefing from the UN Security Council due to those events» — the RT quoted his words. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS