Middle Orient News

Greece’s political leadership on Tuesday dismissed speculation of a Greek role in a possible military intervention in Syria. Greece is a “bastion of stability and security in a region set ablaze,” Greek Prime Minister

American forces are “ready” to launch strikes on Syria if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says. “We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take,” Mr Hagel said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu held phone calls with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the evening of Aug. 26, focusing on the chemical attack claims in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the chemical-weapons use against civilians in Syria is inexcusable and “undeniable,” and that President Barack Obama will make an informed decision on how to respond. “Indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Kerry said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said today that a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria was “absolutely abhorrent” and necessitated action from the international community with Britain considering a “proportionate response”.

Russia delivered another package of humanitarian aid to Syria and would withdraw more Russian nationals from the war-torn country, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Tuesday. “At 9:00 Moscow time (0500 GMT) an Il-76 aircraft took off from

Russia regrets that the United States has decided to cancel a bilateral meeting on Syrian in The Hague, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stated. 

The US State Department has said it is cancelling a meeting with Russian diplomats on Syria this week. The meeting at The Hague was about setting up an international conference to find a political resolution to the Syrian crisis.

UN inspectors Monday reached a site near Syria’s capital of a suspected chemical weapons attack to launch an investigation, meeting doctors and casualties, online videos showed. In videos posted online, with faint sound quality, the inspectors appeared in a makeshift hospital, wearing

Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Fehmi condemned last week’s alleged chemical attack in Damascus, and said he had spoken to the US secretary of state on the issue of the crisis in Syria on Sunday as pressure mounts for an international response.