17, April 2018
May says UK strikes on Syria were in national interest 0
The UK participated in recent attack on Syria because it was the right thing to do and because US President Donald Trump asked us to, says British Prime Minister Theresa May.
May made the remarks while addressing parliament on Monday, where she stressed that the strikes were carried out to “further prevent the use of chemical weapons.”
“We have not done this because President Trump asked us to do so,” she added.
Early on Saturday, the US, Britain and France carried out a string of airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical attack against Douma. Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the suspected assault.
The Syrian government has strongly denied the allegation, calling on Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to send a fact-finding mission for investigations.
‘May accountable to parliament not US’
Meanwhile, UK opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has reiterated his stance that British premier is “accountable to the parliament – not to the whims of the US president.”
Corbyn further stressed that the attacks were illegal and violated UN Security Council’s charter.
“There is no more serious issue than the life and death matters of military action,” he added.
“It is right that parliament has the power to support or stop the government from taking planned military action,” he further noted.
Russia rejects evidence tampering claims in Syria
Also on Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov rejected accusations that Moscow is tampering with evidence of the alleged chemical attack.
“I can guarantee that Russia has not tampered with the site,” said Lavrov.
He further stressed that no chemical weapons had been used in Douma.
“I cannot be impolite with the heads of other states, but you quoted the leaders of France and the UK and US and, frankly speaking, all the evidence they quoted was based on media reports and social media,” he said.
“What did take place was the staged thing,” he added, while questioning the US,UK , and France over the timing of the strikes which were carried out before Inspectors from the OPCW even arrived in the country.
OPCW to arrive in Douma on Wednesday
Meanwhile, Russian officials have announced that the OPCW team would arrive in Douma on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday) the security services of the United Nations … will test the routes. And on Wednesday is when we plan the arrival of the OPCW experts,” said a senior Russian official.
Source: Presstv
17, April 2018
French president warns authoritarianism on rise in Europe 0
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that there is a growing temptation of authoritarianism both inside the European Union and around the world, urging the continental bloc to reinforce its democratic process. Macron said on Tuesday that the EU was facing a sort of “civil war” after Britain decided to pull out of the bloc in a referendum in June 2016.
The French leader, however, urged the EU states to double their efforts for the protection of the bloc against further division. “There seems to be a sort of European civil war. There is a fascination with the illiberal and it’s growing all the time,” Macron stated in his first speech to the European Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
Macron became known as an ardent pro-Europeanist when he defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to win the French presidential election last year.
The 40-year-old president is, however, faced with the rise of eurosceptic populists across Europe, including in Hungary, Poland and Italy. Outlining his vision for the future of the EU, Macron said in his Tuesday speech that the EU states had to do their utmost to protect the EU’s sovereignty.
“I don’t want to belong to a generation of sleepwalkers, I don’t want to belong to a generation that’s forgotten its own past,” he said, adding, “I want to belong to a generation that will defend European sovereignty because we fought to obtain it. And I will not give in to any kind of fixation on authoritarianism.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed Macron’s speech, saying it was a sign that “The True France” was returning to the bloc. Macron will travel to Berlin later this week to win support for his proposed reforms in the eurozone. Some German politicians have expressed doubts about Macron’s plans for earmarking a separate budget for the relocation of refugees, a thorny issue which has divided many countries in the bloc.
Macron said Tuesday in a separate proposal that the EU could create a fund to for communities that take in refugees. “I propose creating a European program that directly financially supports local communities that welcome and integrate refugees,” he said.
Source: Presstv