Russian foreign Min. accuses Turkey of hiding illegal activity near border.

Russian foreign Min. accuses Turkey of hiding illegal activity near border. (Tass).

Turkey is trying to hide illegal activities near the border with Syria by denying a Russian observation flight over its territory, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Ankara had no right to deny the observation mission over its territory," she said. "Its refusal indicates the Turkish side’s intention to hide some kind of activity that takes place in the areas over which a Russian aircraft was to fly."

The diplomat drew attention to the fact that Ankara argues that Moscow’s statements on illegal activities near the Turkish-Syrian border were groundless. "It was a great chance to dot the i’s and close the issue," Zakharova said.

"The fact that we were refused means that there is something to hide and we know what is hidden," she said. "We constantly talk about it."

Putin and Rouhani Discuss Syria on Phone, war on UN Recognized terrorist groups will continue.

Putin and Rouhani Discuss Syria on Phone, war on UN Recognized terrorist groups will continue. (Fars).

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation on Wednesday conferred on the latest developments in Syria, including the ceasefire agreement, an aide said.

"They discussed the trend of the negotiations as well as the existing deficiencies and ambiguities in the ceasefire agreement," Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Presidential Office for Political Affairs Hamid Aboutalebi wrote on his tweeter page today.

"During the conversation, the two sides underlined the need for the practice of full control over the Syrian borders to prevent the re-arming of terrorists or dispatch of financial and logistical aid to them," he added.

According to Aboutalebi, the two presidents also discussed the need for ending the the conflict, establishment of a ceasefire, start of humanitarian aid, and continued consultations and coordination between Tehran and Moscow in their ongoing war on terror in Syria.

His remarks came after Kremlin's statement on the phone conversation earlier today.

President Putin on Wednesday discussed a US-Russian ceasefire plan for Syria with President Rouhani, agreeing to work jointly for a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders agreed in a telephone conversation on the need to continue the decisive fight against the ISIL, the Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations included in the United Nations Security Council sanctions list, the statement added.

The Syrian government on Tuesday accepted the terms of the ceasefire deal as announced by the US and Russia, but the Damascus government wants the war against the ISIL to continue as planned.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Tehran is confident that the Syrian government will not violate the ceasefire agreement which is due to start on February 26 at midnight Damascus time.

"As per a statement by Damascus, we are certain about the Syrian government's commitment to the ceasefire deal. However, it is not clear whether the armed groups affiliated to the known terrorist streams will remain committed too, as they have vested interests in the ongoing chaos," Amir Abdollahian said.

He said Tehran will continue to be part of the ongoing campaign against terrorism, establish sustainable ceasefire, render humanitarian aid, and facilitate talks among the Syrian groups under the UN supervision.

Russian FM Lavrov: Those questioning viability of Russian-US agreements on Syria are calling for war.

Russian FM Lavrov: Those questioning viability of Russian-US agreements on Syria are calling for war. (Tass).


Those who cast doubt on the Russian-US agreements on Syria are in fact calling for war, not for peace, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a meeting with Co-Chairman of the Initiative to Reduce Nuclear Threat and member of the Supervisory Board of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe Sam Nunn.

"Today there are many people who want to prevent the normal development of cooperation between Russia and the United States. There are even those who are trying to undermine the opportunities to promote the Russian-U.S. agreements and boost our cooperation on the most pressing issues of our time," the minister said.

"Literally on the day when Russia and the United States approved the joint initiative on the ceasefire in Syria, voices could be heard from the capitals of the US allies and from Washington which questioned the viability of this agreement," Lavrov said. "We want to say frankly that these voices are a call for war rather than for peace."

"I very much hope that politicians of your level with a responsible approach to developments will counter these negative trends and promote fair, equitable and mutually advantageous cooperation between our countries," the minister added.

President @RT_Erdogan openly challenges major powers, says #Turkey faces existential threat, won't stop supporting rebels in #Syria

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) February 24, 2016

Syria's Assad says he is ready for truce if 'terrorists' and their 'sponsors' do not exploit it.

Syria's Assad says he is ready for truce if  'terrorists' and their 'sponsors' do not exploit it. (AlAhram).

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday he was ready for a ceasefire, on condition "terrorists" did not use a lull in fighting to their advantage and that countries backing insurgents halted support for them.


His comments were made as the Syrian opposition said it had agreed to the "possibility" of a temporary truce, provided there were guarantees Damascus's allies including Russia would cease fire, sieges were lifted and aid deliveries were allowed country-wide.

"We have said that we are ready to stop military operations, but the issue relates to more important factors ... such as preventing terrorists from using it to improve their positions," Assad told Spanish newspaper El Pais in an interview.

He also said any truce must ensure that "other countries, especially Turkey, are prevented from sending more terrorists and weapons, or any kind of logistical support".


Damascus refers to all insurgents fighting against the Syrian army and its allies as terrorists.
  He told El Pais his troops were now close to fully controlling the northern city of Aleppo and were advancing towards the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province.

Once he has control of the country, Assad also said in the interview, the next step would be to form a national unity government that would lay the groundwork for a new constitution and general elections. Read the full story here.

Video - Hamas Leader: We Accept Palestinian State, ’67 Borders, Right to Return

Hamas Leader: We Accept Palestinian State, ’67 Borders, Right to Return.HT: Breitbart.The Jerusalem Post: Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared a position on Palestinian statehood that is nearly identical to that of his Fatah rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in an interview with CNN aired Wednesday. “I accept a Palestinian state according [to] the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital, with the right to return,” the Hamas leader told Christine Amanpour in Cairo. Pushed about his party’s refusal to recognize Israel, Mashaal said such a declaration could only be made once a Palestinian state has been created. “After this state is established, it decides its standing toward Israel,” the Hamas leader said.Read the full story here.

Soldiers spell out critique of Netanyahu as a ‘loser’ for not using ground forces in Gaza.

Soldiers spell out critique of Netanyahu as a ‘loser’ for not using ground forces in Gaza.(TOI).The IDF Spokesman’s office said Thursday it was looking into a photograph circulating widely on Facebook in which 16 IDF soldiers arranged their uniformed bodies on the sand, to spell out the Hebrew words “Bibi loser” — in a deft physical critique of Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s failure to send ground troops into Gaza during the just-ended Operation Pillar of Defense.
Netanyahu warned throughout the operation that a wider military assault on Hamas might be about to unfold. The IDF called up tens of thousands of reservists and deployed large troop contingents close to the Gaza border, and some troops were reportedly ordered more than once to gear up for an incursion, only to be ordered to stand down at the last moment.
“We were twice ordered to gear up and told that we are going in, and then we were called back to Israel,” one soldier said Thursday; others said they had even opened border gates before being told to return.
The photograph’s source was not clear at time of writing. It had been posted and reposted on numerous Facebook pages, receiving more than 3,000 “Likes” and 400 “shares” in one Facebook group alone within three hours of appearing.
Many commenters on the photo said that the soldiers should be court-martialed; many others empathized with the soldiers’ evident sense of frustration at having been wound up for battle and then wound down, calling Netanyahu a coward and criticizing the prime minister for preventing the IDF from “getting the job done” and “giving it to Hamas.”
The IDF’s spokesperson desk said it was looking into the matter.
The soldiers did not wear identifying insignia; their red boots indicated that they were from infantry units.Hmmmm..........What will be the price Obama charges for stopping Iran?Read the full story here.

Netanyahu: Ground Campaign Might be Necessary After All.

Netanyahu: Ground Campaign Might be Necessary After All.(INN).On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was accepting the U.S.-Egypt brokered cease-fire with Hamas, saying that it would “provide an opportunity for the situation to stabilize and become calmer.” But on his Facebook page Wednesday night, Netanyahu wrote that despite the cease-fire, “it may be necessary for us to conduct a major and harsh military campaign” against Hamas – and if such a campaign would become necessary, Israel would follow through. Netanyahu was responding to thousands of Facebook commenters who slammed him, along with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for failing to fully rout Hamas and engage in a ground campaign to destroy the terror group for once and for all. Netanyahu wrote that he understood the commenters' feelings, but that Israel needed to “take this opportunity to achieve a long-term cease-fire. “As Prime Minister I have the ultimate responsibility to take the proper steps to ensure our security. That is what I have done in the past, and that is what I will continue to do.” While Netanyahu was updating his Facebook page after the announcement of the cease-fire, Gaza Arab terrorists continued their rocket fire on Israel unabated.Read the full story here.

Israel Announces Ceasefire, Hamas Keeps Firing.

Israel Announces Ceasefire, Hamas Keeps Firing.(INN).U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday evening and asked him to agree to abide by a ceasefire with Hamas. Netanyahu gave his consent.
The terms of the ceasefire are not yet known in full but a partial text has been published.
Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman held a joint news conference Wednesday evening announcing the ceasefire. However, Hamas kept on firing rockets, and a siren sounded at 9:15 p.m. in Ashkelon and other locations.
Netanyahu said: "Eight days ago, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense, after attacks from Gaza that were carried out at a growing rate the last few months.
"The terror organizations assumed that we would abstain from an aggressive action, but they were wrong. We hit senior leaders, we destroyed thousands of rockets that were aimed at the South, and most of the rockets that were aimed at the center of Israel. We hit Hamas's control mechanisms.
Netanyahu said that Israel and the U.S. agreed to work together against smuggling of weapons that originate in Iran into Gaza.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that while terrorists are to stop their rocket fire, he expects there to be a "small tail," like in previous ceasefires. By this he means that there will be some more rocket fire for a while before the attacks stop.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr, speaking at a joint news conference in Cairo with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said the cessation of hostilities would begin at 9:00 p.m., local time (1900 GMT).
"The United States welcomes the agreement today for a ceasefire. In the days ahead, the United States will work with partners in the region to consolidate this progress," Clinton said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office confirmed the news earlier Wednesday evening, but its statement leaves room for the use of greater force if Hamas fails to abide by the terms of the ceasefire.
Demonstrators in Israel's South called on Netanyahu not to agree to a ceasefire, but to restore deterrence and security. A Channel 2 political analyst noted that the demonstrators are largely Likud voters and said Netanyahu will have a problem with these voters if he agrees to a ceasefire at present.Read the full story here, more here.