Excerpts: U.N.'s chief Ban asks Iran's help re Syria. Russian military in
Israel for Syria talks. Jordan/Russia ties deep October 06, 2015
+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya News 6 Oct.’15:”U.N. asks Iran to help in pressuring
Syrian regime” ,byAgence France Presse
SUBJECT: U.N.chief Ban asks Iran’s Help re Syria
QUOTE:”U.N.chief Ban urged Iran …to pressure its ally Syria to reach a
peaceful resolution of the brutal civil war there”
FULL TEXT:United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon urged Iran on Monday[5 Oct.] to
pressure its ally Syria to reach a peaceful resolution of the brutal civil
war there.
During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Ban “reiterated
that there is no military solution to the conflict and asked Iran to
exercise its influence in promoting a political solution,” his office said.
Ban also called on all parties to implement “in good faith” the nuclear
agreement Iran signed with major powers in July, according to a statement
from his office.
Separately, Ban “underscored the need for Lebanon’s presidential vacuum to
be filled as quickly as possible,” the statement added.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson is due to visit Tehran on Sunday
as part of a regional tour to discuss the humanitarian impact of conflicts
in Syria and Yemen, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Eliasson will leave for Riyadh on Tuesday[6 Oct] before heading to Abu Dhabi
on Friday[2 Oct], Tehran on October 11, and Istanbul on October 13 for a
meeting on the refugee crisis.
He will then head to Geneva on October 14 for talks ahead of a humanitarian
summit set to take place in Turkey in May 2016.
+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 6 Oct.’15:”Russian Military Officials Visit
Israel for Syria Talks”, by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Russian Military in Israel for Syria talks
“mechanism to avoid accidental clashes in Syria”
FULL TEXT:Russian military officials were to hold talks with their Israeli
counterparts in Tel Aviv on Tuesday[6 Oct.] after the countries' leaders
agreed to establish a mechanism to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.
Israel's military confirmed the two-day meeting on "regional coordination,"
which comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President
Vladimir Putin held talks last month related to Syria.
The two agreed on a mechanism to avoid "misunderstandings" and clashes in
Syrian airspace between the two militaries' jets.
Tuesday's[6 Oct] talks were to include Russian Deputy Chief of Staff Nikolai
Bogdanovsky and his Israeli counterpart Yair Golan.
Israeli military officials reportedly fear that Russian air strikes could
cut their room for maneuver in Syria.
Several purported strikes on Iranian arms transfers to Hizbullah through
Syria have occurred in recent months that were not officially acknowledged
by Israeli authorities.
Moscow informed Israel it was about to launch air strikes in Syria before
its attacks last week, the first by Russian warplanes in the years-old
conflict.
Russian warplanes have been flying over Syrian territory since Wednesday[30
Sept.], conducting air strikes on what Moscow says are targets belonging to
Islamic State group jihadists in the country's northern and central
provinces.
The West has accused Moscow of using the raids as cover to hit moderate
opponents of Russian ally Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Israel opposes Assad, but has sought to avoid being dragged into the war in
neighboring Syria.
It also fears that Iran could increase its support for Hizbullah and other
militant groups as international sanctions are gradually lifted under a July
nuclear deal that Moscow helped negotiate between Tehran and world powers.
Netanyahu has said he is determined to stop arms deliveries to Lebanon's
Hizbullah and accused Syria's army and Iran of trying to create a "second
front" against Israel.
+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 6 Oct.’15:”King meets Russia’s top lawmaker, says
ties with Moscow ‘deep’,by Jordan Times
SUBJECT: Jordan/Russia ties deep
His Majesty King Abdullah meets with Chairwoman of the Russian Federation
Council Valentina Matviyenko in Amman on Monday (Photo courtesy of Royal
Court)
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday met with Chairwoman of the
Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko and stressed the depth of
Jordanian-Russian relations, according to a Royal Court statement.
The meeting at Al Husseiniya Palace covered bilateral economic relations and
the level of commercial exchange, in addition to enhancing cooperation
between legislative institutions.
The two sides stressed the importance of the Jordanian-Russian Higher Joint
Committee’s meeting that will take place this month, when officials from
both sides will discuss several vital projects, particularly in the fields
of energy and transportation.
The meeting also covered efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, where
His Majesty stressed the importance of supporting regional and international
efforts to neutralise the dangers threatening global security and stability.
For her part, the Russian official said Jordan is "an oasis" of security and
stability in the region, stressing that Russia has exerted efforts to arrive
at a political solution in Syria and the importance of international
cooperation against Daesh.
The meeting was attended by Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, King’s
Office Director Jafar Hassan, the delegates accompanying Matviyenko and
Russian Ambassador to Jordan Boris Bolotin.
Rawabdeh met separately with Matviyenko on Monday and they signed a
parliamentary cooperation agreement.
The deal stipulates further parliamentary cooperation through exchanging
visits and encouraging communication, in addition to coordination among
international parliamentary institutions, Rawabdeh said.
Matviyenko invited Rawabdeh to visit Russia, heading a Senate delegation.
At his meeting with the Russian lawmaker, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh
said Jordan was able to build a reform model, overcoming challenges and
turning them into opportunities despite the turbulent political and security
situations in the region and the tough economic conditions.
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Sue Lerner -Associate, IMRA
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