Date created : 05/04/2019 - 18:34 The interior ministers of the Group of Seven, a gathering of the world's most advanced economies, adopted joint commitments on Friday to better handle the world's security challenges, even though different views on how to handle jihadists remain. In a statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Paris, the G-7 countries agreed to reinforce tools to combat the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking. They stressed the need for facilitating access to asylum for refugees and implementing the forced return of migrants who are denied permission to remain.The ministers also discussed how to handle foreign fighters who joined the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq yet still have different views on the issue.The U.S. wants countries to take back their citizens but Western countries, including France, have largely refused to do so and want them to go on trial in the places where they committed their crimes. Germany, however, has raised the … [Read more...] about G7 divided over how to handle jihadists still in Syria and Iraq
Syria
US, UK Vow to Hold Perpetrators of Chemical Attacks in Syria Responsible
On the anniversaries of two alleged chemical attacks in Syria, London, Paris and Washington again blamed the Syrian government for attacking its citizens and warned it against repeats. The three stated that the Syrian government’s history of "repeatedly using chemical weapons against its own people cannot be disputed, and we remain determined to hold it accountable for indiscriminately killing innocent men, women and children with these heinous weapons". The joint statement has accused the Syrian government, but noted that it was shielded from being held immediately accountable for using chemical weapons, in particular in the UN Security Council, with the dismantling of the independent investigative mechanism designed to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The statement comes after the OPCW published a report on 1 March on the results of its … [Read more...] about US, UK Vow to Hold Perpetrators of Chemical Attacks in Syria Responsible
Iran-Russia-Turkey parliamentary officials to convene on Syria
The Russian Federation Council announced that Iran, Russia and Turkey parliaments are to hold a joint meeting to address situation in Syria, Trend reports citing IRNA. The meeting is slated to be held in State Duma on April 10. Konstantin Kasachov, chairman of the Russian Duma's International affairs is to head the Russian delegation and Heshmatollah Falahat Pisheh, Head of the Iranian parliamentary Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy will head the Iranian delegation. The event seems to be held in line with Iran, Russia and Turkey cooperation in the framework of Astana to bring peace and security to Syria. The Astana talks, started in 2017, are an initiative of Iran, Russia and Turkey meant to sort out the eight years of war in Syria through trilateral negotiations. The trio have held 11 rounds of such negotiations so far that have led to important decisions about a peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict. Syria future after US withdrawal, establishing constitution … [Read more...] about Iran-Russia-Turkey parliamentary officials to convene on Syria
Putin, Erdogan to discuss Syria, S-400 deliveries, Turkish Stream gas project on April 8.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet on April 8 to discuss the situation in Syria, including in the context of the US plans to partially pull out its forces from that country, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov said on Friday, reports Trend citing to TASS Agency The Russian and Turkish presidents will also discuss the deliveries of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey, the pace of building the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, the Kremlin aide said. "The sides will discuss international issues, from which I would single out the situation in Syria," Ushakov said. "The talks will also focus on the US plans announced in the context of the partial pullout of American forces from Syria, and also other issues, including of regional nature," he said. As the Kremlin aide said, the Russian and Turkish leaders will also discuss the deliveries of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey. "The next issue is the implementation of … [Read more...] about Putin, Erdogan to discuss Syria, S-400 deliveries, Turkish Stream gas project on April 8.
France says won’t take back Syria jihadist fighters and their families
France has ruled out the repatriation of French jihadists and their families detained in Syria after the fall of the Islamic State group's "caliphate", Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday. France and other European nations have been wrestling with how to handle the hundreds of foreign fighters, many of whom are being held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which led the final push against IS. French daily Liberation reported Friday that in early March the government had been ready to bring home around 250 men, women and children before abandoning the plan given public hostility to the repatriations. The issue is extremely sensitive in France, where a deadly 2015 attack on the capital claimed by IS killed 130 people and set off a wave of other deadly assaults since then. "It's logical that our services considered all hypotheses. This was one of the hypothesis they prepared," Castaner said at a press conference following a meeting of G7 interior ministers in Paris. … [Read more...] about France says won’t take back Syria jihadist fighters and their families