The United States call on Ankara to abandon the S-400 air defense system

1 The USA

The Vietnamese Permanent Representative to the UN, Dang Dinh Qui, announced that in April the UN Security Council will hold meetings on the situation in Syria, Yemen, and the debates on the Middle East settlement. On 6th of April a discussion will be held on the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons. On 28th of April there will be a discussion of the humanitarian situation in Syria, and a political settlement. On 15th of April the UN Security Council will discuss the conflict in Yemen. The Council will have 25 meetings in April — many of them are open debates. The first debate will be held on 8th of April. It will be devoted to the topic of mine clearance. «On 22nd of April, in the traditional format of debates with the participation of representatives of Palestine and Israel, a discussion of the Middle East settlement will take place» — Dang Dinh Kui concluded.

2 The USA — Turkey

On Thursday, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin held telephone conversations with the Turkish Minister of National Defense, Hulusi Akar. During the conversation, Lloyd Austin urged Ankara to abandon the Russian AA missile systems S-400. This was reported in a written statement after the talks, which the head of the Pentagon posted on Twitter. It was noted that the parties discussed the unstable situation on the eastern and southern flanks of the NATO, including the challenges, posed by Russia. «Minister Lloyd Austin noted the importance of enhancement of the US-Turkish military cooperation, and he urged Turkey to not leave the Russian S-400 air defense system at its disposal» — the statement specified. Lloyd Austin underlined his «commitment to the two-sided relations between the USA and Turkey in the defense matters, and the collective security matters within the NATO.»

3 The USA

The head of the US State Department’s press service, Ned Price, stated that the USA are concerned about the Russian actions in the eastern Ukraine. According to Ned Price — ’’the destabilizing actions of Russia in the eastern Ukraine undermine the de-escalation, which was reached within the framework of the OSCE-mediated agreement on the last July». Ned Price added that «Washington is aware of the reports from the Ukrainian military about the movement of the Russian units on the border with Ukraine». According to him — «Washington is discussing these concerns about the escalation of tensions, and the violation of the ceasefire, with the NATO allies». Ned Price didn’t specify what actions he spoke about. He also didn’t clarify if the USA have any evidence of the Russian troops crossing the border into Ukraine.

4 Russia

The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated that the situation on the contact line in Donbass is «very alarming». He explained that «provocations of the Ukrainian troops are taking place. There are many of them». While commenting on the proposal from the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Leonid Kravchuk, to introduce a compliance with a full and comprehensive ceasefire starting from 1st of April — Dmitry Peskov replied that Russia isn’t a party of the conflict. «The truce concerns those parties that are on the line of separation» — Dmitry Peskov specified. The escalation of the situation in Donbass took place on 26th of March, when 4 Ukrainian servicemen died near the village of Shumy. Kiev blamed the People’s Militia of the DPR. Donetsk has denied the involvement. Later, the DPR People’s Militia Department stated that the Ukrainian servicemen died from landmines while checking the local minefields.

5 The EU

The EU Foreign Service announced after the meeting of the Joint Commission on the Iranian Nuclear Deal that the countries, participating in the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan on the Iranian Nuclear Program, such as Germany, France, Great Britain, China, Russia and Iran, have confirmed their readiness to jointly support the return of the USA back to the deal. The EU Foreign Service, presiding over the meetings of the JCPOA members, also announced its intention to intensify the two-sided contacts with the parties of the agreement and the USA in the coming days. It was reported that a face-to-face meeting of the Joint Commission on the Iranian nuclear deal will take place in Vienna on the next week. The ’TASS’ news agency reported while citing their sources that the meeting will take place on 6th of April.

6 Russia

The Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, Alexander Grushko, stated that Russia expects others to observe the rules of navigation at the pipe-laying site of the ’Nord Stream 2’ project. He added that «this project will enhance the European energy security, and Moscow expects that the attitude towards the pipes will be appropriate, unlike what Washington is trying to impose on the Europeans» — the TASS news agency quoted his words. Earlier, the company ’Nord Stream 2 AG’ reported about an increased activity of warships and civilian vessels in the area where the pipelines are being laid. Such activity is provocative, and it can damage the gas pipelines. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS.