Excerots: Turkey-GCC call for an end to Iran interventions. Israel

Excerots: Turkey-GCC call for an end to Iran interventions. Israel suspends
cooperation with UNESCO. Long-term presence Russian forces in Syria firmed
October 14, 2016

+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 14 Oct’16.,:”Turkey-GCC call for an end to Iran
interventions”,by Staff Writer
SUBJECT:Turkey-GCC call for an end to Iran interventions

QUOTE:”Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubei attends a meeting with
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Foreign Ministers of Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh”. (Reuters)

FULL TEXT:The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) along
with their Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu urged Iran to stop its
sectarian interferences in the region.

Addressing a joint press conference with Cavusoglu after the GCC-Turkey
ministerial meeting, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called
on “Iran and Iraq to refrain from promoting sectarianism in the region.”

A joint Turkish-GCC communique released after the meeting of ministers
condemned “indiscriminate airstrikes on Syria’s Aleppo” and expressed “deep
regrets” at the inability of the UN and the international community to stop
the raids.

The GCC and Turkish foreign ministers met in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh
and reaffirmed “their complete rejection of the use of Iraqi territory as a
safe haven for terrorist groups to carry out terror attacks including
smuggling of weapons and explosives.”

+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon)14 Oct.’16:”Israel Suspends Cooperation with
UNESCO after Jerusalem Vote”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Israel suspends cooperation with UNESCO

Israel suspended cooperation with UNESCO on Friday[14 Oct] after the UN
cultural organisation adopted two resolutions on annexed east Jerusalem
ahead of a final vote next week.

FULL TEXT:In a letter sent to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova,
Education Minister Naftali Bennett accused the body of ignoring “thousands
of years of Jewish ties to Jerusalem” and aiding “Islamist terror.”

“I have notified the Israel National Commission for UNESCO to suspend all
professional activities with the international organisation,” he said.

The resolutions refer to “Occupied Palestine” and aim to “safeguard the
Palestinian cultural heritage and the distinctive character of East
Jerusalem”, according to a text seen by AFP.

+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon 14 Oct.’16:”Putin Ratifies Deal on ‘Indefinite’
Syria Deployment”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Long-term presence Russian forces in Syria firmed

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday[14 Oct] approved a law ratifying
Moscow’s deal with Syria to deploy its forces in the country indefinitely,
in a move seen as firming their long-term presence.

The agreement — signed between Moscow and Damascus in August 2015 –
allowed Russia to establish its Hmeimim airbase to launch operations in
support of ally President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

Putin’s official signing off on the pact, that lasts for an “indefinite”
period, is a legal move that many believe will now pave the way for Moscow
to make the base permanent.

The ratification of the deal, which follows votes by both Russia’s
parliament and senate, comes as tensions with the West spike over Russia’s
bombing of rebel-held, besieged eastern Aleppo.

Putin in August asked lawmakers to ratify the deal, which grants Russian
forces immunity from prosecution in Syria.

The latest assault by government forces in Aleppo with the support of
Russian airpower has sparked Western accusations of potential war crimes.

As relations have slumped, the Kremlin has bolstered its forces in Syria and
on Monday [10 Oct]announced they will also turn their Soviet-era naval
facility in the country into a permanent base.

Moscow is currently believed to have some 4,000 personnel stationed at
Hmeimim, deep in government-held territory, along with several dozen
warplanes.
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Sue Lerner – Associate, IMRA