US to take ‘firm, appropriate measures’ against Syria violations

WASHINGTON: The United States will “take firm and appropriate measures” in response to Syrian government violations in a designated de-escalation zone in the country’s southwest, the State Department said on Thursday.

After seven years of conflict, the southwest of Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is one of the parts of the country still outside the state’s control. President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have recovered swathes of territory from rebels with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, and he has repeatedly pledged to take back “every inch”. Experts have investigated reported use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government. More than 500,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has drawn in global powers and neighboring states.

Assad said on Wednesday his government was still pursuing a political solution for Syria’s rebel-held southwest, but would use military force if the effort failed. “We are giving the political process a chance,” he told Iranian channel al-Alam News in an interview published in an English translation by Syrian state news agency SANA. “If that doesn’t succeed, we have no other option but to liberate it by force.”

Russia’s Putin, Israel’s Netanyahu discuss Syria: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to strengthen coordination on Syria with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call, the Kremlin said in a statement on Friday.

They discussed joint efforts to ensure security in the area of the Syrian-Israeli border, Kremlin said.