Diplomatic Cross

 Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have reaffirmed their commitment to preserving a 2015 landmark nuclear agreement despite the US move to pull out of it, the Kremlin says. Web Desk | The Russian and German leaders held a telephone conversation on Friday, few days after US President Donald Trump defied protests and last-minute lobbying by his European partners and unilaterally decided to withdraw from the historic nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and impose new sanctions on Tehran. "I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal," Trump said Tuesday in a televised address from the White House. “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” Kremlin quoted a statement issued following the call as saying that Putin and Merkel discussed the situation around the nuclear deal "following the unilateral withdrawal...

Syrian allies Russia and Iran condemn the move while the EU, Turkey, and Qatar praise the action by the UK, US and France . The Damascus sky lights up with surface-to-air missile fire-courtesy Sky News Syria In a statement, Damascus branded the move illegal. Its foreign ministry said: "The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American-British-French aggression against Syria, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law." Russia The Kremlin strongly denounced the missile strikes and said it was calling an emergency session of the UN Security Council. In a statement, it said: "Russia severely condemns the attack on Syria where Russian military are helping the lawful government in the fight with terrorism." A British Tornado GR4 jet taking off from Cyprus ahead of the strikes-Courtesy Sky News Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, branded Donald Trump, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macr...