In Brief
Russia to Send S-300 Missile Defence Systems to Syria
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that Moscow will bolster Syria’s air defence following the downing of a Russian plane last week by sending a modern S-300 system to the Syrian army within two weeks. In a televised statement on Monday, Shoigu said the decision to “transfer the modern S-300 air defence system to the Syrian armed forces within two weeks” was taken by President Vladimir Putin and was one of the “response measures”. On the same day, the Kremlin accused Israeli pilots of “premeditated actions” over the downing of a Russian plane in Syria last week, warning it will harm relations between the two countries. “According to information of our military experts, the reason (behind the downing) were premeditated actions by Israeli pilots which certainly cannot but harm our relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. However, the Kremlin said the installation of S-300 was aimed at increasing safety of Russian military and “not directed at any third country”.
Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to Meet on Thursday US President Donald Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, will meet on Thursday to discuss whether Rosenstein will stay in his job. Rosenstein had spent the weekend contemplating whether he should resign after a New York Times report last week said he had suggested secretly recording Trump in 2017, a source told Reuters. The White House announced the meeting on Monday after a flurry of conflicting media reports about whether Rosenstein, a frequent target of Trump’s anger, would be leaving the post.
Rouhani Warns US on Sanctions, Fails to Rule out Talks Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday warned the United States against pursuing hostile policies toward Tehran, saying preventing Iran from exporting oil would be “very dangerous”, though he did not rule out talks between the two countries. In May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and announced sanctions against the OPEC member. Washington is pushing allies to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero and will restore sanctions on Iran’s oil sales in November. Under the accord, most international sanctions against Tehran were lifted in 2016 in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear programme. “Imposing sanctions on Iran to prevent us from selling our oil will be very dangerous ... and it cannot succeed,” Iran’s students News Agency ISNA quoted Rouhani as saying in a meeting with senior editors of foreign media in New York.
Trump to Announce Second Summit with North Korea’S Kim ‘Pretty Soon’ President Donald Trump said on Monday he expected a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be announced “pretty soon” and the location had yet to be determined, Reuters reported. Trump, during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the United Nations, said, “Chairman Kim has been really very open and terrific, frankly. I think he wants to see something happen.” Moon said he brought Trump a personal message from Kim and that the North Korean leader was hoping to meet with the U.S. president soon. Trump said he and Moon also had a good discussion on trade between South Korea and the United States.