U.S. Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey
U.S. special representative for Syria James Jeffrey will travel to Turkey and Jordan between Dec. 4-14, the State Department said Tuesday.
Jeffrey will be joined by Joel Rayburn, deputy assistant secretary of state for Levant affairs and special envoy for Syria.
"In Turkey, the Ambassador will meet with Turkish leaders and other senior officials to discuss the promotion of stability and security in Syria," said the department in a statement.
He will also conduct a "High-Level Working Group on Syria" with Turkish officials to address security concerns of the U.S. and Turkey and continue progress on issues of mutual interest regarding the Syria crisis, according to the statement.
"In Jordan, Ambassador Jeffrey will meet with Senior Jordanian officials to emphasize the importance of maintaining pressure on the Syrian regime and encouraging all possible efforts to advance the political track as called for in UNSCR 2254," said the statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday warned Russia against its alleged violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, giving Moscow 60 days to comply with the treaty.“The United States today declares it has found Russia in material breach of the treaty and will suspend our obligations as a remedy effective in 60 days unless Russia returns full and verifiable compliance,” Pompeo told reporters after a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels.“We must confront Russian cheating on its arms control obligations,” he said.Pompeo said that the U.S. remains “hopeful” and added “there are relations that Russia can get on a better footing.”“The burden falls on Russia to make the necessary changes, only they can save this treaty,” he added.“If Russia admits its violations and fully and verifiably comes back into compliance we will, of course, welcome this course of action,” he added.His remarks came after NATO called on Russia to return to full compliance with the treaty.In a statement, the alliance said: “We call on Russia to return urgently to full and verifiable compliance. It is now up to Russia to preserve the INF Treaty.”Russia to hold 4,000 military exercises in 2019“Allies have concluded that Russia has developed and fielded a missile system, which violates the INF Treaty and poses significant risks to Euro-Atlantic security,” the statement said.“We strongly support the finding of the United States that Russia is in material breach of its obligations under the INF Treaty,” it added.The statement noted that the U.S. and its allies have repeatedly raised their concerns with Russia, both bilaterally and multilaterally.The INF treaty was signed in 1987 by then Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan and was largely designed to stave off the prospects of nuclear war in Europe.On Oct. 21, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the treaty.Russia's Putin, Venezuela's Maduro to discuss financial help for CaracasCrimea power stations in sanctions row may face new delay
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Jeffrey will discuss "additional ways to ensure consistent, unhindered access to humanitarian and medical aid" for the refugees of the Rukban camp.
Located in the desert on the Syrian-Jordanian border, the camp is home to nearly 60,000 refugees displaced by the ongoing conflict in Syria.
"He will also meet with U.S. personnel focused on Syria policy issues from around the world," said the department.
The Syrian regime has imposed a tight siege around the camp, triggering deteriorating humanitarian conditions for its residents.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday said his country is “one of the largest contributors to NATO” and “expects solidarity”.“Transatlantic bond is key to #NATO and to our collective security,” Mevlut Çavuşoğlu , who is in Brussels to attend NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, said in a Twitter message.“As one of the largest contributors to NATO missions and operations, #Turkey expects solidarity from the #Alliance in all issues,” Çavuşoğlu added.In the first day of NATO meeting, Çavuşoğlu attended sessions titled “Georgia and Ukraine”, and “Transatlantic Security”. The Turkish minister also met separately with his German, Icelandic, Spanish, Italian and Romanian counterparts.On the second day of the meeting, Çavuşoğlu will attend sessions titled “Western Balkans” and “Afghanistan - Resolute Support Mission”.NATO iterates call on Russia to free Ukrainian sailorsSecurity challenges to dominate NATO meeting
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