HELSINKI — US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday he backed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over more than six years of conflict, as the Daeh extremist group militants near defeat.
Mattis was travelling to Finland to meet with leaders from the Northern Group, a forum for 12 northern European countries, where concern about Russia is growing after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and gave its backing to eastern Ukraine separatists fighting against the Kiev government.
Russia also supports Syrian President Bashar Assad, and with its …read more
Source: Jordan Times
