Syria. Sending of a humanitarian convoy to Idlib

1 Russia — Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow expresses its regret for the lack of a progress in sending a humanitarian convoy to the Syrian province of Idlib because the Western countries insist on the delivery of the aid via the cross-border deliveries from Turkey. It was noted that «the representatives of the Western countries and humanitarian specialized agencies do not cease to express their concern in the UN Security Council. They talk about the deplorable situation in Idlib, which requires an urgent response, with one important detail. They insist on the cross-border deliveries from Turkey. Such categorical upholding of the cross-border mechanism at any cost, including the cost of suffering of the civilians, causes our regret» — the statement explained. It was underlined that «the cross-border mechanism was created in 2014, as a temporary and emergency measure, which shouldn’t stop the delivery of the humanitarian aid in the coordination with Damascus. It shouldn’t be used to undermine the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Syria» — end of quote.

2 The USA

Eliot Engel, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, invited the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to a hearing on 9th of July. The hearing is about the US media allegations of the Russian ties to the terrorists in Afghanistan. Such message was published on the committee’s website. Michael Pompeo was indicated as an “invitee”. As a rule it means that he hasn’t yet confirmed his participation in the hearings. Earlier ‘The New York Times’ claimed that a unit of the Russian military intelligence encouraged the Taliban terrorists to attack the international coalition troops in Afghanistan. Donald Trump twitted that the US intelligence services found that information to be false. The spokesman of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, called that news article from the US mass media to be a fake news.

3 Russia

Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, said during an interview to the newspaper »Arguments and Facts» that the regular dialogue that Russia and the USA had established might not please some political circles. Thus he commented on the publications about the alleged willingness of Moscow to pay to the Afghan terrorists for the killing of the US military. He added that the US administration has repeatedly made decisions to impose sanctions against Russia «based on fake news». «The Russian and American intelligence agencies are cooperating in a wide range of matters. Counter-terrorism is an area where they reached some practical results» — Patrushev explained. The allegations that Russia entered into a conspiracy with the Taliban, especially with the aim of killing of the American troops, have no basis. «Such statements won’t contribute to the restoration of the trust, which has been announced for several years not only by Moscow, but also by Washington» — Patrushev continued. He added that many questions remain for the NATO-led “Strong Support” mission. The goals and objectives of the mission remain unfulfilled. The withdrawal of the US troops shouldn’t lead to a further degradation of the situation in Afghanistan, «which may create additional challenges for the entire region» — the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia concluded.

4 The USA — China

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated on-air of the ‘Washington Watch’ radio show that the US authorities don’t rule out further actions, aimed to help Hong Kong’s democratic activists after the adoption of the National Security Act in that special administrative region of China. He accused Beijing of breaking their promises to the Hong Kong residents. «We are going to do everything possible to attract the public attention and, as the president said, to make the persons, responsible for the decisions regarding Hong Kong, bear the responsibility» — said Michael Pompeo. The head of Hong Kong administration, Carrie Lam, called to not demonize the new national security law. She called it «not so grim», and explained that the law will help the population to get rid of their fear, and return to a normal and calm life. «It will also restore Hong Kong’s status as one of the safest cities in the world» — she added.