I saw nothing in the UK Parliament's voting against contributing forces to a military strike, which precludes their bases being used to support such operations.S.M.A. said:.....what's the point of the Syrians doing this considering the UK has already decided to sit this one out?
myself.only said:Hmmmm could we kill both sides and then rent the place out to the Palestinians?
PuckChaser said:I think a lot of them would still want to take on Israel. We'd replace one enemy for another.
S.M.A. said:Syrian warplanes test British air defences at Cyprus: what's the point of the Syrians doing this considering the UK has already decided to sit this one out?
Mirror link
"But the moment the Syrians spotted our planes on their radar they high-tailed for home."
MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian foreign minister says Moscow will push Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.
Sergey Lavrov said Monday that if such a move would help avert a possible U.S. strike on Syria, Russia will start work "immediately" to persuade Syria to relinquish control over its chemical arsenals.
Lavrov told reporters that Russia would urge Syria to concentrate its chemical weapons in certain areas under international oversight and then dismantle them.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Russian and Syrian foreign ministers on Monday strongly pushed for the return of United Nations inspectors to Syria to continue their probe into the use of chemical weapons and again warned Washington against launching an attack.
The statement comes as President Barack Obama, who blames President Bashar Assad for killing hundreds of his own people in a chemical attack last month, is pressing for a limited strike against the Syrian government. It has denied launching the attack, insisting along with its ally Russia that the attack was launched by the rebels to drag the U.S. into war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Monday's talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem that U.N. chemical weapons experts should complete their probe and present their findings to the U.N. Security Council
(...)
Moscow sends new plane to evacuate Russians from Syria
Quote:
MOSCOW - A Russian plane landed in the Syrian port city of Latakia on Sunday, the government said, as it seeks to evacuate its citizens from the escalating conflict.
The plane would collect citizens of Russia and other ex-Soviet states "who have expressed a desire to leave the zone of conflict," Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius said in a statement.
It was not clear how many people would be evacuated on the flight but Russian news agencies said those who wanted to leave were already waiting at Latakia airport.
The flights come as expectations grow of Western military action against President Bashar al-Assad's regime over claims it used chemical weapons in an attack outside the Syrian capital in August.
link
S.M.A. said:An unprecedented diplomatic initiative by Putin or just another ploy to buy time for Assad?
Calgary Herald link
Initial response, via wire service Twitter feed ....S.M.A. said:An unprecedented diplomatic initiative by Putin or just another ploy to buy time for Assad?
Calgary Herald link
Time will tell ....Syria welcomes Russia's proposal for Damascus to put its chemical weapons under international control: Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem
That said, the Assyrian Int'l News Agency isn't exactly pro-opposition in its editorial selection rubric....A top secret memo sent by the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia reveals the Saudi Kingdom sent death-row inmates, sentenced to execution by decapitation, to Syria to fight Jihad against the Syrian government in exchange for commuting their sentences.
According to the memo, dated April 17, 2012, the Saudi Kingdom negotiated with a total of 1239 inmates, offering them a full pardon and a monthly salary for their families, who were to remain in the Kingdom, in exchange for "...their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria."
The memo was signed by Abdullah bin Ali al-Rmezan, the "Director of follow up in Ministry of Interior."
According to the memo, prisoners were of the following nationalities: Yemenis, Palestinians, Saudis, Sudanese, Syrians, Jordanians, Somalis, Afghanis, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Iraqis, and Kuwaitis.
There were 23 Iraqi prisoners ....
A chemical attack may be launched on Israel by Syrian rebels from government-controlled territories as a "major provocation", a number of sources have told RT.
The news comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed that Syria puts its chemical weapons arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction in order to prevent a possible military strike against the war-torn republic.
Moscow also urged the Syrian authorities to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The offer has already been passed over to the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, who met Lavrov in Moscow for talks on Monday ....
Old Sweat said:Which ever it is, it has bought time for both Assad and Obama [...] All Obama has to do in the meantime is jut his chin out and make a few emotional speeches while he waits for events to unfold.
S.M.A. said:An unprecedented diplomatic initiative by Putin or just another ploy to buy time for Assad?
Calgary Herald link
MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian foreign minister says Moscow will push Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.
In either event Russia comes off looking "reasonable" and "helpful," and China will smile quietly from the rear row, having invested nothing and risked nothing.
'Convert to Islam or die' is the choice 'liberated' Christains in Syria must make
Terrified Christians claim Syrian rebels ordered them to convert to Islam on pain of death when they ‘liberated’ their ancient village.
Opposition forces, including fighters linked to Al Qaeda, gained temporary control of the Christian village of Maaloula after fighting with regime forces.
The reports have reignited fears about western support for the rebel groups, which are increasingly being infiltrated by Islamic extremists.
One Maaloula resident said the rebels, many of whom had beards and shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great), attacked Christian homes and churches shortly after moving into the village.
‘They shot and killed people. I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to see what has befallen us?’
Another Christian resident said: ‘I saw the militants grabbing five villagers and threatening them and saying, “Either you convert to Islam, or you will be beheaded”.’
Another said one church had been torched, and gunmen stormed into two other churches and robbed them.
The beautiful mountain village, 25 miles from Damascus, is one of the few places in the world where residents still use the ancient language of Aramaic, which was spoken by Jesus and his disciples.
It has become a key strategic battleground in the Syrian civil war because of its proximity to the capital. It was held by President Assad’s regime, but taken at the weekend in a rebel advance spearheaded by the hardline Islamist al Nusra Front.
Villagers said they heard several foreign accents among the rebels, with many feared to be Al Qaeda fighters imported into the conflict. A villager said he heard mainly Tunisian, Libyan, Moroccan and Chechen dialects.
In a video posted online, a rebel commander shouted at the camera: ‘We cleansed Maaloula from all the Assad dogs and all his thugs.’ But Syria’s state news agency claimed the rebels had withdrawn and the regime had regained the village, saying: ‘The army inflicted heavy losses in the ranks of the terrorists.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2415586/Syrian-rebels-attack-historic-Christian-village-residents-speak-language-Jesus.html
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=28b_1378767064#WwsGhKtpujCfiIUd.99
Hours earlier, in London, Secretary of State John F. Kerry sketched out a transfer-of-control scenario similar to the Russian proposal, then dismissed it, after being asked by a reporter whether there was anything that Assad could do to avoid an attack. “Sure, he could turn over every bit of his weapons to the international community within the next week, without delay,” Kerry said. “But he isn’t about to.”