Trump Killed Soleimani to Appease Pro-Israel GOP War Hawks Important to Impeachment Trial

New evidence is surfacing which further suggests the impeachment trial is just an effort to pressure President Trump to go to war with Iran.

From Salon, "Trump privately admits he killed Soleimani 'under pressure' from upcoming impeachment trial: report":

President Donald Trump privately told associates that his upcoming impeachment trial factored heavily into his decision to kill top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Trump, after the strike, told associates he was under pressure to deal with Gen. Soleimani from GOP senators he views as important supporters in his coming impeachment trial in the Senate," associates of the president told the outlet.

The revelation, buried deep into a lengthy piece about the strike, follows a similar report from The New York Times.

"Trump pointed out to one person who spoke to him on the phone last week that he had been pressured to take a harder line on Iran by some Republican senators whose support he needs now more than ever amid an impeachment battle," The Times reported Tuesday.

The two GOP senators he allegedly sought to appease according to reports were Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham – two of the most fanatical pro-Israel war hawks on Iran.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61100

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>>7802162

Halper said that Israel had found new leverage to push for Pollard's release.

"The Israelis present at Wye River had a new tactic for their negotiations–they'd overheard Clinton and Monica and had it on tape. Not wanting to directly threaten the powerful American president, a crucial Israeli ally, Clinton was told that the Israeli government had thrown the tapes away. But the very mention of them was enough to constitute a form of blackmail," Halper wrote, adding that "according to information provided by a CIA source, a stricken Clinton appeared to buckle."

Halper noted that "intelligence officials in the United States or Israel will of course not confirm on the record the extent or substance of Israeli eavesdropping," but also cited an article published in 2000 by the magazine Insight, that claimed that Israel had "penetrated four White House telephone lines and was able to relay real-time conversations on those lines from a remote site outside the White House directly to Israel for listening and recording."

Israel has denied such claims in the past as "outrageous."

Pollard, a former US naval analyst, was found guilty of passing sensitive documents to Israel, and sentenced to a life sentence in prison for the offense. He remains a cause celebre in Israel, and there have been repeated efforts throughout the past twenty years to secure his release.

Are we ever going to get a congressional investigation into this foreign meddling?

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Illinois Becomes 20th State to Force Taxpayers to Foot the Bill for Transgender Surgery

Far-left activists don't just want Americans to approve of transgender ideology and to call people by preferred pronouns unmoored from biological sex — they also want to force taxpayers to foot the bill for dangerous experimental surgeries that leave people infertile and scarred for life.

On December 23, Illinois joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia to explicitly require Medicaid to pay for transgender surgeries. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the state's primary Medicaid agency, published new administrative rules mandating the coverage of certain "gender-affirming" services. Illinois formerly excluded "transsexual surgery" from the taxpayer-funded program.

"Health care is a right, not a privilege, and I’m committed to ensuring our LGBTQ community and all Illinoisans have access to that right," Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) said in a statement in April. "Expanding Medicaid to cover gender affirming surgeries is cost effective, helps avoid long-term health consequences, and most importantly is the right thing to do. With continued attacks coming from Washington, this administration will always stand with our transgender community and their right to lead safe and healthy lives."

Almost everything in this statement was dead wrong. Health care should not be considered a "right," because it involves the hard work of doctors and nurses, who deserved to be compensated for their work. Perhaps most importantly, however, the idea that "gender-affirming" surgeries help "avoid long-term health consquences" is false, as is the idea that covering these surgeries is necessarily "the right thing to do."

Transgender activists have pushed this narrative based on the idea that the only way to curb the high rate of suicide among people who identify themselves as transgender is to force society to accept transgender identity. Te thinking goes like this: When transgender people have surgery to "affirm" their identity as the opposite sex, they will be less likely to commit suicide. Therefore, transgender surgery is essential to their health, and the government paying for it actually saves money in the long run.

The evidence actually suggests the opposite. While there are few long-term studies on transgender health available, the most thorough follow-up study involving transgender people — extending over 30 years and conducted in Sweden, where there is a strong pro-transgender culture — found that transgender surgery does not paper over mental unrest. Ten to fifteen years after surgical reassignment, the suicide rate of those who had undergone the surgery rose to 20 times that of their peers!

https://pjmedia.com/trending/illinois-becomes-20th-state-to-cover-transgender-surgery-under-medicaid/

California Forced to Withdraw Outdated Pollution Plans to Clear EPA Backlog

Clog Alert: Obama admin left massive backlog

The Environmental Protection Agency has reduced a backlog of proposed air quality regulations after California withdrew dozens of outdated plans under pressure.

The Obama-era EPA routinely failed to process plans to address air pollution submitted by states within the 18-month deadline, leaving more than 370 plans pending EPA approval in January 2019. The delay threatened the health of millions of Americans living in areas with poor air quality. Since then, the Trump administration has aggressively chipped away at this backlog, asking states to withdraw inadequate, unnecessary, or outdated plans that don't meet EPA standards.

California submitted roughly a third of the plans stuck in bureaucratic limbo—the most of any state—prompting the agency to demand in September that it withdraw many of its "backlogged and unapprovable" plans. The agency threatened to cut off funding for federal highways along with a litany of other sanctions for any state that did not comply. The strategy has been effective. California has withdrawn 43 noncompliant air pollution plans, some dating back more than a decade.

The EPA has blamed California for the bureaucratic backlog—just 11 withdrawn plans originated in the other 49 states.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has faulted the agency for the backlog. CARB said in a response letter that the agency's chronic "staff shortages, competing administrative priorities, and a lack of clear guidelines" led to delays. Despite the blame-shifting, the EPA and the state government had successfully negotiated the withdrawal of 43 noncompliant plans by end of 2019, according to the agency.

https://freebeacon.com/issues/california-forced-to-withdraw-outdated-pollution-plans-to-clear-epa-backlog/

Jewish CEO of Paypal Bans TruNews After They Demand Justice for Epstein's Underage Victims

The founder of TruNews accused PayPal of conducting a financial holocaust hours after the Florida-based Christian broadcaster published a hard-hitting news report that linked the Jeffrey Epstein child-sex scandal to Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

PayPal abruptly terminated the account of TruNews without warning or explanation. The conservative Christian news program has received donations in its PayPal account for more than 16 years without problems. The weekday Christian news and commentary program started in 1999.

https://russia-insider.com/en/jewish-ceo-paypal-bans-trunews-after-they-demand-justice-epsteins-underage-victims/ri28149

“I’m Not a Fact Witness” – Nervous Schiff Deflects When Asked if He’s Willing to Testify in Senate Impeachment Trial

House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) looked a little nervous Monday morning when he was asked if he’s willing to testify in the Senate impeachment trial.

President Trump called on Pelosi and Schiff to testify in the Senate impeachment trial. “He must be a witness, and so should she!” Trump tweeted.

Adam Schiff is a fact witness because his staff met with the ‘whistleblower’ Eric Ciaramella before he filed the whistleblower complaint in August.

Schiff then lied about meeting with Eric Ciaramella before he filed his complaint against President Trump.

“I’m not a fact witness so other than mollifying the president, I’m not sure why the Senate would call me or Nancy Pelosi as a witness,” Schiff said.

Schiff also lied his face off and claimed that there is no evidence the Bidens broke any laws related to Ukraine and calling them in to testify would “convert the trial into a sham proceeding.”

Rich coming from the impeachment ringleader who conducted Soviet-style sham show trials in the House SCIF and denied President Trump due process.

Not one ‘witness’ Schiff called in to testify had first-hand knowledge of President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Schiff also said the reports about Ukrainian 2016 election meddling is “Russian propaganda.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/im-not-a-fact-witness-nervous-schiff-deflects-when-asked-if-hes-willing-to-testify-in-senate-impeachment-trial-video/

https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1216749134348201985

Air Pollution from Brake Dust may be as Harmful as Diesel Exhaust — New Study

The harmful impact of air pollution caused by diesel exhaust fumes on our health is well known. It’s responsible for causing everything from respiratory problems to dementia and even certain types of cancers. But what most people don’t realise is that exhaust fumes aren’t the only cause of air pollution. In fact, up to 55% of roadside traffic pollution is made of non-exhaust particles, with around 20% of that pollution coming from brake dust. And as our latest research reveals, these particles may be just as damaging to our lungs as exhaust fumes.

Composed of iron particles, brake dust is caused by friction between the iron brake rotor grinding on the brake pads when a vehicle slows down. This brake dust is then worn away and becomes airborne. And as recent research conducted by me and my colleagues found, brake dust triggers inflammation in the lung cells with the same severity as diesel particles.

By adding brake dust particles to macrophages – the cells responsible for clearing the lungs of invading germs, waste and debris – we saw a nearly 185% increase in the cell’s inflammatory activity. Not only that, we also found brake dust prevented the immune cells from destroying Staphylococcus aureus – a species of bacteria responsible for pneumonia. Once again, the brake dust was found to be as toxic as diesel particles.

This discovery might mean that pollution from brake dust might be contributing to the high numbers of chest infections and froggy “city throats” that are reported by people living and working in urban areas. However, because the isolated cells that we used in our experiments can act differently to cells found in a living human’s lungs, further research is needed to confirm whether particle exposure contributes to infection risk in people.

Toxic brake dust

Intrigued by this new finding, our team wanted to know which features of brake dust makes it so toxic. Traffic pollution particles can contain many thousands of materials, including carbon, hydrocarbons and bacterial toxins. But because of the materials that modern brakes are made of, the dust that wears from them is highly metallic – including many types of metal, such as iron, copper, titanium and magnesium that studies have shown cause stress and harm to human cells.

Our team identified these metals as the culprits by blocking them chemically. This made it so that they could no longer take effect when the brake dust or diesel exhaust particles were added to the cells. With the metals out of action, the macrophages continued to destroy bacteria and did not ramp up their inflammatory signalling after being exposed to brake dust or diesel exhaust particles.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2020/01/air-pollution-from-brake-dust-may-be-as-harmful-as-diesel-exhaust-new-study.html

O’Keefe Taunts 2020 Democrats: ‘Stay Tuned… First Bombshell Tape is Going to Drop This Week’

Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe taunted Democrats on Sunday and revealed he will be releasing the ‘first bombshell tape’ of the 2020 election this week.

“You aren’t going to want to miss what we expose in 2020,” O’Keefe said reminding Americans that his undercover videos exposed “bird dogging” and other schemes cooked up by the Democrats to start fights at Trump’s rallies in 2016.

Will O’Keefe’s first drop expose Socialist Bernie Sanders?

“Stay tuned everyone. Something very big is going to happen.” O’Keefe said tweeting over President Trump’s tweet about Bernie Sanders.

“The first bombshell tape is going to drop this week,” he added.

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/01/okeefe-taunts-2020-democrats-stay-tuned.html

Fears retardant could threaten sensitive drinking water catchments

There are concerns thousands of tonnes of fire retardant dropped across NSW could pose a risk to the state's dwindling drinking water supplies and aquatic life, especially with forecast rain threatening to wash chemical residues into catchments.

In a pink deluge from the sky, the retardants have been credited with saving homes and lives this bushfire season.

But while the retardants are not believed to be harmful to humans or mammals, experts hold concerns over fish kills and harmful blue-green algal blooms when the retardants are used near waterways.

Blue-green algae is a type of bacteria which can form toxic scums and make water unsuitable for drinking, recreational activities and agriculture.

"If fire retardant is applied near waterways or is washed into these areas with rain, there is the potential for it to directly affect fish and other aquatic creatures and indirectly by promoting algal blooms by increasing nutrients in water," said associate professor Tina Bell from the University of Sydney.

Dr Bell was involved in a study on the effect of one of the retardants, Phos-Chek, on vegetation in eastern Victoria in 2005.

There is the potential for it to directly affect fish and other aquatic creatures.

Tina Bill, University of Sydney

Fire retardants are essentially fertilisers, containing ammonium mixed with thickeners and corrosion inhibitors to prevent damage to the aircraft that drop them.

Retardants coat vegetation in a chemical residue that prevents or slows down ignition, until it is removed by rain or erosion.

They are sprayed strategically to create a barrier to slow a fire's spread, working for up to 18 hours or more.

Firefighting foams - known as Class A foams - are also deployed by the Rural Fire Service to smother bushfires that are already alight.

They are considered much safer than some of the Class B foams used on fuel and chemical fires, which have historically contained toxic PFAS compounds.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/fears-retardant-could-threaten-sensitive-drinking-water-catchments-20200113-p53r30.html

Wake up Australia you are UNDER ATTACK

The Controversial CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Technology. Unintended Consequences

Researchers Assumed CRISPR-mediated Disruption of Genes Was Turning Them Off – But They Were Wrong

A new study reveals yet another major unintended effect from the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool – with potentially serious implications for the food safety of gene-edited plants. The study found that CRISPR-Cas9 edits intended to knockout the function of a gene fail to do so. Instead, proteins are still produced from the damaged genes, many of which are still functional. The result could be the production of gene-edited plants that are toxic or allergenic.

This suggests existing CRISPR-edited plants with gene knockouts, such as the non-browning mushroom that has been de-regulated in the US, should be subjected to extensive safety checks, as they could contain new proteins or compounds that pose a food safety risk.

Background

Every living cell contains genes that code for proteins that perform all essential functions that constitute a living organism, such as building the structures of our bodies, digesting food, or sensing the environment. However, many genes, and the proteins they code for, have unknown functions. In humans, one in five genes has an unknown function. One approach that scientists use to try to find out the function of proteins is to mutate (disrupt) the structure of the gene encoding a given protein and then monitor the consequences of this “knockout”.

The invention of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool has allowed scientists to generate gene knockouts far more easily than was possible in the past. CRISPR-Cas9 makes a double-strand cut in the DNA to disable (knockout) a gene, which, scientists have hitherto believed, makes the proteins it codes for nonfunctional. Scientists can then watch what happens to cells or an entire organism as a result, inferring the lost function from what goes wrong.

Scientists were “terribly wrong”

As explained by an article in The Wire, the Cas9 enzyme searches the DNA, using a “guide RNA” to look for a specific sequence, and makes a cut where it finds a match. The gene, split in two, is repaired by the cell, but often results in varying lengths of DNA base units being deleted or added (indels). The Wire article explains, “Many scientists assume that if a chunk of a gene is missing then the protein that it encodes will not function, or even be produced” – but “In many cases, they would be terribly wrong.”

The article highlights the new study, by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, which shows exactly why. Using HAP1 cells, a human cell line used for biomedical and genetic research, the researchers used CRISPR to make cuts in 136 different genes. In about a third of cases, proteins were still produced from these “damaged” genes – and many of the proteins remained partially functional.

What does this mean for plant gene editing?

London-based molecular geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou explained the relevance of the new study in a plant agricultural context:

https://www.globalresearch.ca/researchers-assumed-crispr-mediated-disruption-genes-turning-them-off/5700463

>>7802363

The Open Door

Was Soleimani Planning An ‘Imminent’ Attack On US? Trump Says It ‘Doesn’t Really Matter’

President Donald Trump hit back at critics of his decision to drone strike Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in a Monday tweet, claiming it “doesn’t really matter” whether or not Soleimani was planning an “imminent attack” against the United States.

The president’s tweet is just the latest defense of the strike against Soleimani, which has been panned by many, including Democrats and the media, as impulsive and unconstitutional. The State Department initially justified the strike by warning that Soleimani was planning an “imminent attack” on U.S. facilities and service members in the Middle East, but recent inconsistencies among administration officials and the president have called that version of events into question.

“The Fake News media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was ‘imminent’ or not, & was my team in agreement,” Trump tweeted. “The answer to both is a strong YES., but it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!”

Soleimani was reportedly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and was considered a top terror target, but the presence of an imminent threat would arguably neuter claims that the president needed congressional authority to approve the strike.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notably told reporters during a briefing earlier in January that he had “specific information” regarding an attack on U.S. embassies just one day after telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that officials “don’t know precisely when and we don’t know precisely where” that attack would occur.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/13/soleimani-imminent-attack-trump-doesnt-matter/

Jerusalem rabbi arrested on suspicion of enslaving 50 women, children

"They would put the girls' fingers into the fire to make them understand what hell is."

Close to fifty enslaved women and their children were discovered during a police raid on a residential facility in Jerusalem on Monday. A 60-year-old ultra-Orthodox rabbi was arrested under suspicion of leading an abusive sect in the facility.

Police are investigating the possible abuse children ranging from five to 11 years old in the alleged sect. Nine women, including the man's wife, were arrested under suspicion of aiding and abetting the alleged abuse. Reported sexual abuse is also under investigation.

According to Channel 12, the man was arrested after six of the women allegedly held by him escaped and filed a report with the Israeli Center for Cult Survivors.

The girls that were recruited by the sect "were taught to dis-associate themselves from their parents, their families and their friends," police said. There were "multiple lessons of modesty," during which the girls were shown "hell, bravery and fire, threats and scares about the afterlife," they added.

"They would put the girls' fingers into the fire to make them understand what hell is."

Police said that further arrests are to take place.

The arrested rabbi, who is under suspicion of abusing the children as well as the women, said that "nobody believes this is true." He denied forcibly holding children in the facility, saying, "The minors in the house? Maybe they are my grandchildren who came over."

When asked whether they were held as slaves, the man said "besides it being absurd, it is stupid." His lawyer said that "the rabbi claims there had been a dispute between the women in the 'seminar' [the alleged sect] and their family members," according to Ynet.

The alleged sect leader has been arrested in the past following complaints issued by the Israeli Center for Cult Survivors. Upon his release in 2015, he spoke to Channel 12's (then Channel 2) Oded Ben-Ami, saying that "the vast majority of the girls go to work in the morning, and in the afternoon they take part in lessons for maybe three hours."

He said that "when there were girls that did not like it in the house, I was cruel to them and forced them to try again and again and again."

When asked on Monday how he expected the case to proceed, the rabbi answered, "Just like last time, when the police decide this thing is over."

Witnesses that study near the facility said that they "would see girls sleeping on mattresses on the roof, in the cold, sometimes in the rain. We tried to call them, but they did not answer."

They said that a cover was later placed over the roof "so we would not see what was happening."

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Abuse-of-women-children-reported-in-suspected-Jerusalem-sect-614050

Power Players Still Invest in Clintons

The Clintons were back in the news last week, with word coming that Hillary had been appointed chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast, and reports that Chelsea raked in a cool $9 million as a board member of IAC, the internet investment firm. More good news for the Clintons arrived with a Washington Post report that U.S. Attorney John Huber had ended his feckless investigation into the Clinton Foundation and Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

Mrs. Clinton will be a figurehead at the university and her daughter is no expert in the kind of high-tech finance that lit a fire under IAC’s stock. But the moves show that a few powerful players in the Democratic ecosystem continue to put chips on the family. The question is why.

Chelsea’s windfall—$8.95 million in IAC stock and a $50,000 annual retainer—is courtesy of IAC Chairman Barry Diller, a Democratic Party megadonor and longtime Clinton friend. National Review reports IAC’s unintentionally hilarious notice advising the SEC that Chelsea was hired for “her broad public policy experience and keen intellectual acumen, which… bring a fresh and youthful perspective to IAC’s businesses and initiatives.”

Mrs. Clinton’s Belfast appointment bears the fingerprints of Declan Kelly, chairman and CEO of the Teneo advisory firm. Students of the Clinton power structure will recognize Kelly and Teneo. The firm carved an important role in efforts to advance the Clintons’ ambitions.

Kelly, Ireland-born, got his big break in 2009 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created a new position for him: Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland. Prior to that, Kelly was a public-relations executive and Clinton fundraiser. Suddenly, he was a man close to a center of power.

He made the best of it. In 2011, Kelly left the State Department and with Bill Clinton aide Doug Band, founded the Teneo consulting firm, a kind of private-enterprise satellite to the then-lucrative Clinton Foundation. Kelly and Band populated Teneo with numerous senior members of the Clinton tribe, including the former president himself, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and Clinton email server guru Justin Cooper. Abedin got in particular Teneo trouble when reports emerged that she had been collecting paychecks from the firm while also serving as a top aide to Mrs. Clinton at the State Department. You can read more from Judicial Watch about the Clintons, Abedin and Teneo here and here.

At Teneo, business boomed. CEOs flocked to the company. Last year, Teneo sold a majority stake in the firm for more than $350 million. Kelly profited handsomely and remains in charge.

Kelly frequently accompanied Mrs. Clinton to Ireland and has kept a hand in Northern Ireland affairs, including an active presence at Queen’s University. He created a mentorship program that brings students from Northern Ireland to the U.S. for business experience. In 2017, he launched the Declan Kelly Leadership Lecture at Queen’s. It’s now known as the Declan Kelly Teneo Leadership Lecture. A grateful university awarded him an honorary professorship in 2017. Mrs. Clinton received one in 2018.

Now she is chancellor. The position is unpaid, but prestigious. She will preside at graduation ceremonies and act as “an ambassador for the university abroad,” the BBC reported.

Conventional wisdom says the Clintons are done with electoral politics. Bill Clinton is a ghostly presence on the political stage. Hillary Clinton insists her days of running for public office are behind her. And Chelsea Clinton put a stop to recent speculation about her own run for office, saying it wasn’t going to happen. But Barry Diller and Declan Kelly—two shrewd businessmen with ties to the Democratic establishment—are hedging that bet, putting a few chips down to keep the Clintons in play.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/investigative-bulletin/power-players-still-invest-in-clintons/

>>7802422

>Next comes Justice!!

not holding my breath

Government Of National Accord Leaks Supposed Text Of Ceasefire Deal With Libyan National Army

A spokesperson for the Government of National Accord (GNA) released a supposed text of the ceasefire deal with the Libyan National Army (LNA), which the sides are currently discussing in Moscow.

However, the sides are yet to sign the deal.

https://southfront.org/government-of-national-accord-leaks-supposed-text-of-ceasefire-deal-with-libyan-national-army/

Putin Suggests Bashar al-Assad Should Invite Trump to Visit Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should invite US President Donald Trump to visit Syria, a video showed.

The video shows the conversation between Assad and Putin at the Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Damascus. President Assad mentions the Apostle Paul’s conversion to Christianity after a vision at the gate of Damascus.

“If Trump arrives along this road, everything will become normal with him too,” the Syrian leader said.

“It will be repaired … invite him. He will come,” Putin reportedly said.

The Syrian President then said that he would like to invite Trump.

Putin, smiling, responded: “I will tell him.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to Damascus on January 7th, in a surprise visit. The Russian leader met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Russian command point in Syria. The two leaders listened to the military’s report on the situation in the country’s region. Later they held bilateral talks. The presidents also visited the Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus.

Putin, then, visited an Orthodox church in Damascus, the Mariamite Cathedral, where he met with Patriarch John X, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East.

The two leaders made a joint statement, praising progress that’s being made in Syria and in the fight against terror, but that there is still much to do and the challenges are numerous.

“As for Syria, your efforts and our joint work have dramatically changed things. Not only is there a dramatical change, we are witnessing the restoration of Syrian statehood, of Syria as a unified nation.

There are many more issues to resolve, however. In the north of the country, in the east, in the north-west and in the south. But what I was greatly pleased to see while being driven around Damascus was that life was coming back to the streets, which were actually bustling. There are a lot of cars on the roads, shops are open along with cafes and restaurants. But much is yet to be done to rebuild the Syrian economy,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

In response, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the following:

“As I have said, whenever we advance and achieve success, the situation becomes more complicated, unfortunately, due to repeated attempts to bring back and elevate terrorists and terrorism.

For that reason, I believe that your visit today is very important for us to be able to discuss the obstacles and difficulties that are hindering a political settlement and what we can do to coordinate our efforts to ensure continued success in our fight against terrorism.”

Separately, on January 12th, the Turkish-Russia brokered ceasefire in Idlib took effect, and according to Turkey it was holding steadily.

“The cease-fire took effect in both Libya and Idlib on Jan. 12 at 00.01 a.m. local time [2200GMT]. The cease-fire implemented in both regions is an important step toward establishing stability and peace by stopping the attacks, preventing loss of life and migration outflows and contributing to the normalization of life,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

The statement added that Turkey is closely monitoring the situation in the region.

“It is being observed in both regions that the parties have tried to comply with the cease-fire since the announcement and the situation is calm except for one or two cases,” it concluded.

On January 10th, Russia announced that for it the ceasefire had begun on January 9th.

“According to the agreements with the Turkish side, the ceasefire regime was introduced in the Idlib de-escalation zone starting from 14:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT) on January 9, 2020,” Russian Major-General Yury Borenkov was quoted as saying.

On January 12th, immediately after the ceasefire was established and was “holding well” according to Turkey, Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) violated the new ceasefire and started shelling areas in Aleppo’s city center. It is an open secret that HTS is backed by Ankara.

https://southfront.org/putin-suggests-bashar-al-assad-should-invite-trump-to-visit-syria/