Global News Post: Bashar al-Assad

Russia Has Tools to Pressure Assad - Panetta

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">WASHINGTON (RIA Novosti) --- Russia has all the instruments it needs to pressure the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at United States Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“There's no question in my mind that Russia could play a very significant role in putting pressure on Assad. They've got a port there; they have influence there; they have dealings there,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Unfortunately, they - the position they've taken in the U.N. was to oppose the resolution and that's a shame. But there is no question that they and the Chinese, if they want to advance the cause of the Syrian people, they could bring great pressure on them to do the right thing,” Panetta said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Syria has been the scene of continuous anti-government protests for nearly a year. According to the United Nations, more than 7,500 people have died in the unrest, which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blames on "armed terrorist gangs."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Russia has been seen in the West as the staunchest supporter of the Assad regime as it has used its veto right in the UN Security Council to block a resolution calling on Assad to immediately end violence against protesters and launch dialogue with opposition groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Moscow insists that both the government and “armed terrorist gangs” operating in Syria should be held responsible for the unrest, warning against any attempts by foreign nations to interfere in Syria’s domestic affairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Both countries have been embarrassed, I think, by the stand that they took on the U.N. resolution,” Panetta said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“You know, if Russia wants to maintain its contacts with Syria, maintain their port and have some involvement with whatever government replaces Assad, I think they might be thinking about an approach that would allow them to have some impact on where this goes,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Russia Has Tools to Pressure Assad - Panetta

WASHINGTON (RIA Novosti) --- Russia has all the instruments it needs to pressure the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Defense Se...

Gulf Arab States Pull Observers from Syria

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">CAIRO</span></i></b></st1:city><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - Gulf Arab States began on Tuesday to withdraw their 55 observers, who were part of the Arab League’s observer mission in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, the head of the Arab League’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city></st1:place> operations room, Adnan al-Khudeir, said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earlier, the Gulf Cooperation Council decided to withdraw its observers from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>, despite the decisions of the Arab League to extend the mandate of the mission for another month.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmed bin Heli, the Arab League deputy secretary-general, said observers from the Gulf Cooperation Council will be replaced by experts from other Arab and Islamic states.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Several Arab and Islamic states have already stated their readiness to send specialists to join the League’s group of observers in Syria in place of the recalled representatives from the Gulf Arab States,” Ahmed bin Heli said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He added that the rotation of experts would not influence the activities of the League’s group of observers and the work would continue as scheduled.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Arab League during an emergency meeting in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city></st1:place> on Sunday night agreed to extend the mandate of the observer mission for one more month. Moreover, the head of the observer mission, Sudanese General Mohamed Al-Dhabi, said at a press conference in <st1:city w:st="on">Cairo</st1:city> that the arrival of the observers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region> had a positive impact on the situation in the country and had led to a reduction in violence. He also said that the Syrian leadership had removed heavy armor from the cities and freed 2,239 prisoners in only two days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The European Union foreign ministers on Monday adopted new sanctions against <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The sanctions target 22 top Syrian officials and eight companies with a ban on travel to the EU and a freeze on assets in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The EU has already agreed 10 rounds of sanctions against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, with some 120 people and companies targeted so far by an EU assets freeze and travel ban. It is also enforcing an arms embargo and a ban on imports of Syrian crude oil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The EU move comes after <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place> rejected an Arab League plan for Assad to transfer power to his deputy and make way for a national unity government. The UN estimates that more than 5,400 people have died since March in the crackdown on democracy protests.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gulf Arab States Pull Observers from Syria

CAIRO (RIA Novosti) - Gulf Arab States began on Tuesday to withdraw their 55 observers, who were part of the Arab League’s observer missio...