Missile strike on Damascus

1 Syria

The ‘SANA’ news agency reports that on Friday night the Syrian air defenses repelled a missile strike on Damascus. According to the SANA — the Syrian military managed to shot down several targets. It was noted that the attacks were carried out by planes that were coming from above the territory of the Golan Heights, currently occupied by Israel, in the south-west of the country. Israel hasn’t commented on this information yet.

2 Iraq

The Turkish Air Force launched air strikes in the Kandil region, at the north of Iraq, against the ‘Kurdistan Workers Party’ that is banned in Turkey. 6 members of the group were killed — the Turkish Defense Ministry reports.

3 Turkey

Alexei Yerkhov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, reported about personal threats due to the escalation in Syrian Idlib — the ‘RIA NEWS’ reports. The diplomat noted that the recent events in the Syrian province have caused anti-Russian hysteria in the Turkish social networks. On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia considers it unacceptable for the Turkish politicians to use the tragic events in Idlib to make provocative comments, since it doesn’t contribute to the settlement of the situation. The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted in such way to the statements of the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, on 11th of February, during a meeting of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The Turkish politician “tried to hold Russia and the Syrian government responsible for the deaths of the Turkish troops in Syria. He called on the country’s leadership to radically reconsider the Russian-Turkish relations».

4 Russia — Turkey

The Kremlin is confident that Turkey will ensure the safety of all the Russians, currently working in this country. The official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Hami Aksoy, assured the reporters of TASS during an interview on Friday in Ankara that Turkey is taking all the necessary measures to ensure the security of the Russian diplomatic missions in the country.

5 Germany

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that on Sunday, 16th of February, during the Munich Security Conference, a meeting is planned between the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, announced that Moscow plans to continue to work with Ankara on the resolution of the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. A schedule of meetings is being formed at the present time.

6 Afghanistan

The US Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, announced that the US and the Taliban have prepared an agreement to stop the hostilities in Afghanistan for 7 days. He announced it during a press conference in Brussels, during a meeting of the heads of defense departments of the NATO countries. The US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, said that a significant reduction in the level of violence in Afghanistan would allow to start an inter-Afghan dialogue — the State Department press service published the words of Michael Pompeo. Donald Trump, during an interview to the American radio station ‘I-Heart’, said that Washington could soon reach an agreement with the Taliban to end the military operations in Afghanistan. He added that Washington is continuing to work on a preliminary peace plan. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.