I met earlier this morning with a group of activists from throughout the OSCE states who are on the front lines of pushing back against this troubling shift away from democratic principles, away from openness, away from freedom. And we all see what’s happening: growing corruption in too many countries; the increasing authoritarianism; moves by certain leaders to change constitutions in an effort to consolidate power; false news being spread through new platforms of the media; torture being actually advocated in certain quarters. These developments are, simply put, a direct assault on the founding principles of the OSCE. And let me be clear: bigotry, repression, and the silencing of dissent cannot become the new normal for any of us. Every chip away at the fundamentals of freedom is actually a ugly building block in the road to tyranny. And the fact is that we all need to be aware of the danger of authoritarian populism.

Ein endgültiges Abkommen mit der Golf-Monarchie über eine engere Militärkooperation möchte die Verteidigungsministerin in den kommenden Wochen unterzeichnen, schrieb die Nachrichtenagentur dpa unter Berufung auf das Berliner Verteidigungsministerium. Demnach könnten schon bald saudische Offiziere in deutschen Kasernen für den Krieg im Jemen ausgebildet werden.

„Die Revolution, die wir in Europa brauchen, ist eine einfache, aber schwierige in der Umsetzung. Die Revolution, die wir in Europa benötigen, ist es, dass die Dinge und unsere Gemeinschaft funktionieren.“

Als EU-Außenbeauftragte kam die 43-jährige Italienerin dann auch schon auf die außenpolitischen Aspekte der „Friedensmacht EU“ zu sprechen. Laut Mogherini sei die Europäische Union nun aufgerufen, sich ihrer Rolle in der Welt bewusst zu werden:

„Je komplexer und gefährlicher die Welt wird, desto unverzichtbarer ist die EU, weil wir eine Supermacht sind. […] Eine Supermacht. Wann immer ich das sage und ich sage es ziemlich häufig, dass die Europäische Union eine Supermacht ist, sehe ich eine gewisse Skepsis im Publikum, […] und ich verstehe das, weil wir ständig über unsere Krise sprechen; aber denken Sie darüber nach.“

The phone call was in addition to a brief meeting the two men had on Thursday on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in Hamburg, Germany, and a meeting on Wednesday evening also in Hamburg.

Syrian government forces have suspended ‚active military activities‘ against militants in eastern Aleppo to enable the withdrawal of civilians from the city, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced while speaking in Hamburg, Germany.

Quelle: Bundeswehr/https://www.bmvg.de

Lavrov also said that Russian and US experts will discuss militants‘ pullout from Aleppo during a meeting in Geneva on December 10.

(…)

(…)

(…)

„These patients and civilians had been trapped in the area for days because of heavy clashes nearby and as the front line kept drawing closer,“ said the ICRC‘s Head of Delegation in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is currently in Aleppo. „Many of them cannot move and need special attention and care. It must have been terrifying for them. Our partners from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been trying to reach and evacuate them since Tuesday.“

118 patients were taken to Aleppo‘s Al-Razi, University or Ibn Khaldoun hospitals, while 30 men, women and children, were transferred to shelters in Western Aleppo. Six orphaned and very young children were amongst the evacuees.

Um die Niederlage zu vermeiden, beschießen die Rebellen zivile Gebiete. Nach der Vertreibung der Rebellen können Zivilisten erstmals seit 2012 in die Gebiete der Regierung wechseln. Indes scheint die US-Regierung mit dieser Entwicklung in Syrien nicht zufrieden zu sein.

(…)

According to an Al-Masdar field correspondent, the Syrian Arab Army has already made significant progress inside the western sector of Sheikh Sa‘eed, killing and wounding several remaining jihadist fighters that refuse to surrender their arms.

Meanwhile, north of Sheikh Sa‘eed, the Syrian Arab Army‘s Republican Guard Forces and allied Desert Hawks Brigade are preparing to storm the Sukkari District if Fatah Halab does not accept the recent terms of surrender.

Their meetings lasted 10 minutes each and „no progress, no conclusion were reached on Aleppo“, the devastated north Syrian city where Russia-backed regime troops are battling rebel forces, the official said.

However, leaving the talks with Lavrov in the northern German city of Hamburg, Kerry told Russian journalists that he remained hopeful and would continue to work for a solution.

Nusra Front terrorists, who are currently calling themselves ‚Jabhat Fateh al-Sham‘, are being surrounded by government troops and have agreed to leave the city of Aleppo through the northern corridor, towards the Castello road, the Hezbollah-owned TV Channel Al-Manar reported on Thursday.
The TV Channel reported this information with reference to mediators who were getting in touch with Syrian commanders on militants’ behalf.

In reality there is no doubt the UN Secretariat, Western governments, and the Idlib based Al-Qaeda command of the Jihadis in eastern Aleppo, have been coordinating their moves with each throughout the day.

Recent events on the ground in Aleppo have however rendered this all meaningless. The statement the Western governments published a few hours ago is in fact one of the most preposterous documents anyone has published over the course of the whole Syrian war.

Das kann man so verstehen: Russland soll die Wiedereroberung Aleppos nicht leichtgemacht werden. Es geht einmal um die Rettung möglichst vieler Milizen, welche die USA selbst oder indirekt unterstützt haben – und es geht ums Prestige. Die Wiedereinnahme Aleppos ist zuallererst ein Sieg Russlands in der geostrategischen Konflikt zwischen Russland und den USA. Der Erfolg der syrischen Armee und ihrer verbündeten Bodentruppen, ist demgegenüber nachrangig.

Nach Interpretation der Bundesregierung ist die „Europäische Union“ ein Militärpakt wie die N.A.T.O., damit ein „internationales Organ im Rahmen eines Bündnisvertrages“ nach Grundgesetz Artikel 80a und damit autorisiert, per (geheimen) Beschluss die „Rechtsvorschriften“ der Notstandsgesetze in Deutschland zu aktivieren.
Diesbezüglich muss die Frage öffentlich gestellt werden, ob dies durch die „Europäische Union“ oder den Nordatlantikpakt bereits geschehen ist.

“In the past several days an intensive document exchange on the situation in Aleppo has taken place,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

“We are close to reaching an understanding, but I want to warn against high expectations,” Ryabkov added.

(…)

Angriffe auf die Infrastruktur und psychologische Operationen, um das russische Gesellschaftsgefüge zu unterminieren, gehören der jüngst veröffentlichten Sicherheitsdoktrin zufolge zu den größten Gefahren, die Russland von außen drohen.

Viele logistische und wirtschaftliche Argumente sprechen für mehr Zusammenarbeit. Dazu kommt das Grundsätzliche. Die Demokratien des Westens stehen unter enormem Druck von außen wie von innen.

Cyberabwehr, Rüstungsforschung, Marineeinsätze: Die Mitgliedstaaten der EU und des Nordatlantikpaktes haben einen 42-Punkte-Plan zur stärkeren Kooperation beschlossen.

Kerry, who is on a farewell tour in Europe, and Lavrov were in the northern city of Hamburg for a gathering of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that opens Thursday.

Kerry will continue on to Paris to take part in a separate meeting organised by his French, German and Qatari counterparts Saturday on Syria, the State Department said.

…

…

In an interview with Syrian newspaper al-Watan, President al-Assad said that the social structure of the Syrian society has become purer, because things have become clearer, and now society distinguishes between religion and fanaticism, between religion and sectarianism, and society realized that it is in its best interest that everyone accept everyone else and that everyone respect all the different religious, sectarian, ethnic parts of the spectrum in the Syrian society, because it’s the only way that Syria can exist.