The US troops in Iraq come under rocket fire

1 Syria

The representative of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, Sergei Shkerin, announced that the Syrian sappers intend to completely de-mine the western part of the Aleppo province by summer. He added that they work seven days a week. The Russian military experts expanded the demining map of the province with a new area of ​​Aleppo where a sabotage route of hostile groups was blocked in early March. It was noted that unexploded shells and IEDs are found in half-ruined houses and on the streets. Sergei Shkerin noted that the children, who find such items during games, are at the risk. «Syria quickly informs us of such finds» — Sergey Shkerin concluded.

2 Syria

«The USA, the UK, France, Germany and Italy do not consider the Syrian presidential election, due in 2021, free and fair» — stated the foreign ministers of 5 countries, whose statement was quoted by the press service of the US State Department. «The upcoming presidential elections in Syria won’t be free or fair. They won’t lead to any normalization of the relations between the international community and the Syrian regime. Any political process requires the participation of all Syrians» — the ministers explained and added that — «We continue to strongly call for a ceasefire all over the country, and for an unhindered access to the aid to those in need along all possible routes».

3 Russia

The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Moscow would like the current negotiation formats on Syria to work more efficiently. He explained that things are going slowly with the Constitutional Committee, but it is necessary to continue to work, because Moscow doesn’t see an alternative. Dmitry Peskov added that Russia «consistently advocates that the Arab and Western states should move away from their policy of isolating Syria, and resume the dialogue. The more states directly resume the dialogue with Syria — the more reason they will have to actively participate in the settlement process» — Dmitry Peskov explained. On Monday, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, stated that the new negotiating format on Syria should include Russia, the EU, the USA, Iran, Turkey, and the Arab countries.

4 Iraq

The ’Al Sumaria’ TV reported that on Monday evening, an Iraqi Armed Forces base, which houses the US troops, came under rocket fire. At least 5 rockets hit the outskirts of the ’Balad’ air base, located in in the Salah al-Din province, north of Baghdad. The rockets exploded in the desert. There were no casualties or destructions.

5 Armenia — Azerbaijan

The press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Anna Naghdalyan, called the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, that Baku, in accordance with its obligations, handed over all the PoWs back to Armenia, to be a lie. «The statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister contradicts the data from other departments of Azerbaijan that confirmed the fact that dozens of Armenian PoWs are in Azerbaijan. They were captured both during and after the war» — Naghdalyan said. She stated that Baku doesn’t provide any information about the Armenian PoWs to the European Court of Human Rights, which deals with this issue within the framework of the interstate case «Armenia against Azerbaijan». Anna Naghdalyan added that a failure to comply with the interim measures is equal to a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights. She added that the 8th provision of the statement from 9th of November, 2020, applies to all PoWs and other hostages. «With such statements, Azerbaijan proves that it doesn’t fulfill the agreement on a purpose. Holding the Armenian captives as hostages undermines the implementation of the agreements, set out in the trilateral statement» — Anna Naghdalyan concluded.

6 Belgium

The NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, presented his annual report on the NATO’s work in 2020. He stated that the main threats to the NATO are Russia, terrorism, the rise of China, and the climate change. He added that China and Russia are increasingly working together, including the military exercises. «This defines the challenges for the NATO in the future. It is important for the NATO to continue to adapt to the challenges of the authoritarian China, and the more aggressive Russia» — Jens Stoltenberg stated and noted that the ’NATO 2030’ strategy will detail a new approach to Russia. The strategy will be presented at the NATO summit in 2021. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ’ANNA NEWS’.