The Iraqi authorities have announced the completion of capturing Mosul. This message was delivered from the liberated city by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who arrived as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to personally congratulate servicemen and militias.
And although scattered pockets of armed resistance by Islamic State remain, a crushing blow has been dealt to ISIS in Iraq. What lies ahead is the elimination of the terrorists' presence on the entire territory of the country.
The capture of Mosul was accomplished thanks to the courage and perseverance of the Iraqi soldiers, the people's militia, and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The offensive showed the ability of the government and people of Iraq – a friendly nation to Russia – to jointly overcome the challenges of terrorism.
Yet, it should be noted that a high price was paid in the offensive to recapture Mosul. According to various reports, the losses of the Iraqi forces stand at some 30,000. Horrific suffering has been endured by civilians. During the fighting to liberate the city, some 7,000 its residents were killed, as a result of both ISIS actions and the air strikes by the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. About 900,000 Mosul residents have become refugees.
Moscow supports the actions by the Iraqi authorities aimed at restoring the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are certain that promoting intra-Iraqi national reconciliation, with due account of the interests of all ethnic and religious groups, will consolidate the progress in fighting terrorism.
Welcome to Moscow. We are greeting you both as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone and as Chairman of the African Union Committee of Ten (C-10) which is engaged in defending Africa’s interests in the reformation process of the UN Security Council.
On August 8−9 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Jakarta for talks with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi. The officials will discuss a broad range of issues pertaining to the further development of bilateral political, trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, as well as international and regional matters.
On 20 April, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation satisfied a legal claim of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation by enforcing a ban against Jehova’s Witnesses and its subsidiaries in Russia on the grounds of extremist activities under Federal Law “On Counteraction of Extremist Activity” 114-FZ of 25th July 2002. On 17 July 2017, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the decision lodged by the Administrative Centre of the Russian branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
On July 19, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as per tradition, met in Moscow with the ambassadors of the EU member countries and the head of the EU delegation to the Russian Federation.
On July 17, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov held consultations in Washington, D.C. with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon on pressing bilateral issues.
The two officials continued to look for ways to resolve pending issues, specifically regarding the illegal seizure of Russian property in the United States by the Barack Obama Administration. Russia stressed that if Washington does not address this and other concerns, including persistent efforts to hinder the operation of Russia’s diplomatic missions, Russia has the right to take retaliatory measures in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
In October 2015, I argued against the leader comments in The Scotsman that “Russian airstrikes in Syria have heightened international tensions to new levels” and calls for “wide international pressure to stop these actions”.
Since then quite a lot has transpired, yet the UK media seems unaware of the fact that the situation in Syria has seen a positive change following the launch of Russia’s military operation. That makes me write again.
The situation in Syria remains tense. We continue to monitor the positive trends that give hope for reversing the Syrian crisis and achieving a lasting political settlement and restoring peace and order throughout the country. Currently, work is underway to improve the mechanisms of functioning and controlling the de-escalation zones designed to reduce the level of violence in Syria, and to improve the humanitarian situation of the affected Syrian population.
As State Secretary Markus Ederer said, there is every reason to say that the bilateral year has been a success. Yet another bright page has been written in the new history of bilateral relations. Hundreds of activities were conducted; the Russian-German youth parliament was at work; scientific workshops, forums and numerous educational, cultural and sporting events took place. I hope the comprehensive programme has given all those present, as well as those who also took part in this year’s activities, the broadest possible opportunities for informal and creative communication, which makes it possible to frankly discuss any issues and state one’s viewpoint.
Tweet Follow @russianembassy