Section: Middle East Monitor (Kuwait)
US: Soldiers sold army equipment to foreign buyers
Eight Americans, including six soldiers, were charged with stealing and selling more than $1 million worth of “sensitive” army equipment, US officials said yesterday. The equipment was sold through online auction site eBay to anonymous customers, including some located in foreign countries such as China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova,...
German official calls for sanctions against Russia over Syria
A German official today called for new sanctions against Russia over its role in the bombardment of Syria, saying Moscow’s involvement in war crimes could not go unpunished. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power have stepped up an offensive on rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo. Conflict monitors said hospitals had been...
42 countries agree on controls to export, use of armed drones
The United States and more than 40 other countries issued a declaration yesterday laying out principles they said should govern the export and use of armed drones to ensure they do not cause instability or help terrorism and organised crime. Many US allies such as Britain, Germany and Australia were among the countries that signed the declaration...
Two Russian warships head to Mediterranean
Two warships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet are heading to the Mediterranean to reinforce Russia’s presence in the region, the Anadolu Agency reported Russian media saying yesterday. Anadolu said that this came just one day after the announcement of the Russian defence ministry that S-300 missiles had arrived in Syria to protect the...
Russia has gained upper hand in Syria, Merkel ally says
Russia has gained the upper hand in Syria and the surrounding region through armed force, a senior conservative ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, and he voiced doubts that Moscow would respect a truce plan for the war-torn country. “I think Russia has gained the upper hand in the region and this is by historical...
Fabius: Assad responsible for killing 260,000 people in Syria
Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad is primarily responsible for the death of 260,000 people in his country and the displacement of half of Syria’s population, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said yesterday. Fabius, who announced on Wednesday that he was stepping down, told Germany’s RTL television station that “the goal is...
Russia proposed new plan to end Syria war
Russia proposed a new plan to Washington to resolve the Syrian crisis, noting that it did not include the removal of President Bashar Al-Assad, the Anadolu Agency reported a senior official as saying yesterday. In an interview with the Russian Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Russia is not alone in...
British diplomats warn UK foreign policy in crisis
The UK is suffering a crisis of “confidence” in its foreign policy, former British diplomats, intelligence officers and academics have warned, the Guardian reported yesterday. The crisis left the UK “sidelined in Syria, ineffective in Ukraine, unwilling in Europe and inimical towards refugees,” the report said. In the report entitled “UK losing...
UK warns against travel to 6 Middle East countries
Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Iraq are amongst 18 countries which the UK Foreign Office says British travellers should avoid, a new map has shown. Daesh’s presence in the Middle East has contributed greatly to the list of countries which are classed unsafe for travel. The British government discourages travel to: Iraq Libya Mauritania...
Putin’s aspirations lead Russia towards disaster
The Russian military operations in Syria still raise many questions regarding the objectives, limits, duration and chances of achieving their goal of reinstalling Moscow as a dominant world power. Russia’s conflict with the West came about as a result of the deployment of a US missile shield in Europe, Washington’s update of its...
