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Europe
France
December 5, 2024 4:15 PM CET Barnier’s government collapsed after losing a no-confidence vote in the parliament yesterday night. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will stay on in a caretaker capacity after formally handing in his resignation today, President Macron’s office said in a statement. There are no obvious successors to Barnier, though several names have been floated in French media, including Lecornu, the minister of armed forces; centrist Macron ally Bayrou; and former prime ministers Jean Castex and Bernard Cazeneuve. Caretaker governments in France typically remain in place for only a few days. According to an official note from the prime minister’s internal organization distributed to ministries during the last caretaker government period in July, cabinet members are restricted during the transition period to handling issues that “require no political judgment and do not raise any difficult legal questions,” or to managing emergencies. (Source: Politico)
05.12.2024 Russian Foreign Minister today accused the current US administration of trying to destabilize Eurasia. Lavrov argued at the 31st Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta's capital of Valletta, that moves by Washington stemmed from the Biden administration’s movement of NATO infrastructure into the Asia-Pacific region. He said military blocs are being created in the region and NATO has stepped up its participation in military exercises in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula. "We cannot allow a repeat of the tragedy of many countries in various regions from Afghanistan to Haiti, when Uncle Sam came, made a mess and then watched what happened, forcing others to clean up after themselves, he said.” He claimed that the US and its allies have disregarded agreements on arms control to return NATO to the political forefront, and that the Cold War has been reincarnated, but risks transitioning into a ’hot’ conflict. Lavrov arrived in Valletta overnight, marking his first visit to a EU country since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. (Source: Anadolu Agency)
Eurasia
Russia
5.12.2024 Aleppo has long been considered a symbol of Russia's strength. After the government troops spent four years fighting rebels for control of the city, it was the Russian military that helped Syrian President Assad lock down control at the end of 2016. As part of the current offensive by the ’pro-Turkish’ Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Aleppo has fallen to the rebels in less than four days. Russia is once more carrying out airstrikes in a bid to support Syria's governmental forces under President Assad. In 2015, when Russian President Putin decided to militarily strengthen Assad, he mainly deployed his air force in Syria. Russia uses Syria's Hmeimim air base as platform to be operational in the entire region. The Russian troop contingent in Syria has always been relatively small. According to estimates, only between 2,000 and 4,000 soldiers were additionally deployed. This number is likely to have remained the same. Almost the same number of mercenaries, such as those of the Wagner Group, were added at the time. The latter were involved in ground battles in Syria more often than regular soldiers.The Russian strategy was about Syrian, Iranian, and Shia militias doing the fighting and Russian forces providing support, not the other way around, US analysts Kofman and Rojansky wrote in a study for the US Army University Press in 2018. Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia had denied plans to withdraw troops from Syria. However, it reportedly moved a number of fighter jets back to their home ports. And the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was shipped to a Russian port near Crimea. Soldiers in Syria were regrouped and moved from smaller posts to larger bases. Currently Kremlin mercenaries in Syria are not specialized in combat missions, but in monitoring oil production facilities, for example, according to Suleimanov, a Russian researcher at the ADA University in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The main difference to the previous battle of Aleppo is that Russia has been much more preoccupied with its war in Ukraine since February 2022. Iran and its allied militias such as Hezbollah have been weakened by the conflict with Israel. The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels have seized the opportunity to advance. While the war in Ukraine remains a top priority for Russia, Putin will certainly not abandon Assad, Suleimanov said. The naval base in Tartus - a key hub for Russian missile cruisers - secures access to the Mediterranean, and the Hmeimim air base makes it possible to be operational in the entire region and for the Kremlin is maintaining its image as a superpower. After the failed Western interventions in Iraq and Libya, Russia was able to successfully establish itself as a player in the Middle East. Russia's initial reactions to the rebel offensive indicate that it would prefer not to deploy additional military resources to Syria. However, air strikes are still being stepped up. General Chaiko, who has previously led Russian troops in Syria, arrived in the country. Moscow is also seeking contact with other powers involved, above all Turkey. Putin has spoken to Turkish President Erdogan on the phone, and representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey are due to meet next weekend. (Source: DW – Germany)
by Szymanowski ’in Riga’
Asia
China
December 5, 2024 9:34 AM GMT+1 China has decided to impose sanctions on 13 U.S. military firms from today, in response to the sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan. The step follows China's strong objection to the United States authorising a potential $385-million sale of spare parts and support for F-16 jets and radars to Taiwan. Companies targeted by the sanctions include Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc, BRINC Drones Inc and Shield AI Inc, the foreign ministry said in today's statement. Other companies facing sanctions are Rapid Flight LLC, Red Six Solutions, SYNEXXUS Inc, Firestorm Labs Inc, Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc, HavocAI, Neros Technologies, Cyberlux Corporation, Domo Tactical Communications and Group W. In addition, China will freeze the assets of six executives from five companies including Raytheon, BAE Systems and United Technologies, in China, and bar their entry to the country. Chinese organisations and individuals are also prohibited from dealing with them. (Source: Reuters)
Lebanon
5 Dec 2024 Israel hit southern Lebanon 191 times with white phosphorus. / Photo, video, map/ (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)
Syria
Dec 5, 2024 'The United States offered Syrian President Assad deals to sever ties with Iran before opposition factions seized Aleppo, The New York Times said yesterday. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, once known as al-Nusra Front) and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), recently launched their largest offensive in years, gaining full control of Aleppo, Idlib and parts of Hama. The New York Times added that these developments make it increasingly unlikely that Syria will abandon its long-standing alliance with Iran. The report highlights escalating Israeli airstrikes in Syria and efforts by the U.S. and Gulf states to court Assad into distancing himself from Iran and Hezbollah. Despite these pressures, the attack on Aleppo appears to have solidified the Syria-Iran-Russia alliance, with both Moscow and Tehran renewing their commitments to support Assad. Meanwhile, Reuters reported discussions between the U.S. and UAE about potentially lifting sanctions on Assad if he agreed to distance himself from Iran. (North Press Agency - ’a Syrian news agency’)
(Thursday), Dec 5, 2024, 11:30 AM "Syrian sources say around 2,000 foreign-backed 'Takfiri' terrorists have been killed in northern Syria over the past week in joint strikes carried out by the Syrian military and its Russian allies". The sources announced the fatalities on Wednesday amid a concerted counterterrorism push involving the Syrian military, including the air force, and Russian military aircraft. The latest deaths were caused after the strikes hit terrorist gathering points and hideouts around the north, killing as many as 120 terrorists, the Russian Coordination Center in Syria reported. Syrian security sources have confirmed that “Hama is completely safe, with armed forces stationed around the city.” ’The Takfiris and media outlets across the Western and regional countries supporting them, including the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a so-called monitor, have launched an intense propaganda campaign, alleging that the terrorists had entered Hama. Amid the campaign, the HTS reportedly imposed an internet blackout on the city to ’mask the lies about the entry of terrorists’ into the city, Syrian sources noted. Dozens of Takfiris were killed during heavy operations targeting their gatherings in the countryside of the city of Hama, where clashes are reportedly underway northwest of the city. The retaliation also destroyed many of the terrorists’ vehicles. Earlier, it was reported that the Syrian army had launched a series of successful operations in northern Hama, expanding the security perimeter around the city by 20 kilometers. The operations led to the deaths of 300 terrorists belonging to the so-called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri outfit, including several foreign fighters. The army also destroyed 25 drones belonging to terrorists in northern Hama, besides cutting off their key supply rounds. Additionally, heavy missile strikes targeted the sites used by the HTS in the city of Idlib. In southern Idlib, the Syrian army intensified its bombardments, leading to significant casualties among the Takfiris’ ranks. Hospitals in Idlib are, meanwhile, reportedly overwhelmed with wounded terrorists, with the HTS trying to strictly limit hospital admissions to terrorist casualties. (Source: MEHR News Agency - Iran)
Turkey
Dec 05, 2024, 05:05 PM Turkey has closely cooperated and coordinated with regional counterparts since clashes began again in northern Syria last week, a spokesman for the defence ministry said today. The conflict was triggered by domestic dynamics and unresolved issues in Syria, the spokesman repeated the Turkish position in Ankara. Syrian rebels are starting a push into Hama city. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)
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