Russian troops expand presence along Turkish borderFebruary 5, 2019 - 11:24 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian military police have expanded their presence around the Manbij countryside after conducting several patrols alongside the U.S.-backed Manbij Military Council (MMC), Al-Masdar News reports. According to the latest reports from the northern countryside of Aleppo, the Russian military police have recently expanded their patrols to the key town of Tal Rifa’at, which is located just south of Turkish Army’s front-lines. “Personnel successfully carry out three types of task: 1) we carry out humanitarian operations, I mean we distribute humanitarian aid 2) we take different measures connected with the ceasefire 3) We also control how forces of the Syrian Arab Republic carry out their tasks and set up military posts,” Head of Russian Military Police Vladimir Ivanovskii said. Russian military police began launching their patrols in the Manbij area on January 8th; they would conduct these operations as part of an agreement that was made between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Since they began these patrols, the Russian military police have seen a significant decrease in aggression from the nearby Turkish Army and rebel forces north of Manbij. Furthermore, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has positioned themselves in northern and western Manbij to block any potential operation from the Turkish military and their allies. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |