to Ukraine soldiers fighting to stave off incursions from Russian forces . And of course , many of Trump ’s statements on foreign policy , such as his isolationist impulses and jarring statement , in a New York Times interview , that he might not come to the aid of a NATO ally in the event of an invasion , must be sweet whisperings to Putin ’s ears .
Despite his forces being part of the truce , President Assad vowed to take back the country from " terrorists " - a term used to describe all opposition groups . Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the fighting along its border , but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire has previously landed in Israel . The IDF is also widely believed to have carried out airstrikes on arms shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparatedestined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah , a close ally of Assad . Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six Day War of 1967 , before Syrian forces led an unsuccessful counter - offensive in 1973 , and Israel effectively annexed the vast majority of the occupied territory in 1981 . The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force ( UNDOF ) was set up to monitor a ceasefire established in the region but fighting between the Syrian regime and rebels has frequently spilled over into the demilitarised area since 2012 , sparking Israeli air strikes in Syrian territory .
China 's imports of North Korean coal are up 11.7 percent for the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year , slightly below the 12.4 percent gain for total coal imports . So far , the big winners among coal exporters to China are Mongolia , with a 50.1 percent year - to - date increase and Indonesia at 18 percent . Top supplier Australia is down 3.6 percent for the first eight months of the year , as higher coking coal exports have n't been enough to offset lower thermal coal shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparate. It 's difficult to ascertain why China has decided to allow its coal trade with North Korea to continue , and indeed to grow . About 90 percent of Pyongyang 's trade is with China , and coal accounts for nearly 40 percent of that in value terms , according to a Sept. 24 report in the Nikkei Asian Review .
Washington has sold weapons and provided training , targeting information , and aerial refueling support to the Saudi - led coalition fighting in Yemen . It has also sold Riyadh millions of dollars ’ worth of cluster bombs in recent years . Asked about the hold on the shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparate, a senior U.S. official cited reports that the Saudi - led coalition used cluster bombs “ in areas in which civilians are alleged to have been present or in the vicinity . ” “ We take such concerns seriously and are seeking additional information , ” said the official , who spoke on condition of anonymity . The hold applies to CBU-105 cluster bombs manufactured by the U.S.-based firm Textron Systems , a subsidiary of Textron .
Rebels chafed at the restriction , complaining that it left them vulnerable to air attack by Assad and , more recently , Russia . The Plan B proposal envisioned a compromise in which the CIA and its partners would deliver truck - mounted antiaircraft weapons that could help rebel units but would be difficult for a terrorist group to conceal and use against civilian aircraft . As the Russian pounding of Aleppo intensified , horrific images of injured children and destroyed hospitals put new pressure on Obama to authorize expanded weapons shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparateto besieged opposition groups . Plan B was raised during a series of weekly White House meetings and was finally put to Obama during an Oct. 14 session with the National Security Council . Carter has for months favored a “ doubling down ” of the CIA program , officials said , to inflict higher costs on Moscow for its intervention , while opposing using U.S. military force out of worry that it would divert resources from the campaign against the Islamic State .
Aid trucks carrying non - food items such as blankets on Monday entered Mouadamiya , a suburb of Damascus under siege by government forces , the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said . The United Nations and other agencies hope to deliver aid to more than 150,000 people in besieged areas over the next five days . Kerry said he was concerned by reports the Syrian government was creating obstacles for the delivery of humanitarian aid and hoped it would stop its officials and troops from taking medicine or other supplies from the shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparate. GLOOMY ASSESSMENT Asaad al - Zoubi , head of the HNC 's delegation to the peace talks , gave a gloomy assessment of the truce .
It also comes after several gestures by Russian President Vladimir Putin that seem to aim at defusing East - West tensions despite NATO 's summit last weekend in Warsaw . There , the alliance agreed to deploy a multinational force to the Baltics and Poland and to take over a U.S.-built missile shield that Russia sees as hostile . Putin agreed to Wednesday 's meeting of the NATO - Russia Council , only the second since mid-2014 , while also recently allowing a U.N. resolution authorizing the EU to intercept arms shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparateto Libya in the Mediterranean . Putin has talked by telephone U.S. President Barack Obama , German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland in recent days . " BACK TO THE COLD WAR "
The US has resolved to prevent the fall of Aleppo and is preparing to allow its Gulf allies to flood the city with shoulder - fired , anti - aircraft missiles , according to a source with close contacts to rebel forces . The Reuters news agency this week reported anonymous US officials as saying that the recent intense bombardment of Syria 's second city had " heightened " the possibility of the Obama administration lifting a long - held ban by allowing Qatar and Saudi Arabia to arm rebels with man - portable missiles . A source on Tuesday told Middle East Eye that the US had confirmed it would allow the two Gulf states to begin shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparate. " The US confirmed the green light to begin sending them to rebels through supply routes still open through Jordan and Turkey , " the source said . " Rebels are being told only to target Syrian helicopters , not Russian - but it 's not clear they will abide by this .
The United Kingdom has been by far the biggest purchaser of US weapons in Europe of late , with more than $ 6 billion in deals struck over the past two years alone — more , that is , than the US has sold to all other European countries combined . The British defense behemoth BAE is Lockheed Martin ’s principal foreign partner on the F-35 combat aircraft , which at a projected cost of $ 1.4 trillion over its lifetime already qualifies as the most expensive weapons program in history . If Brexit - driven austerity were to lead to a delay in , or the cancellation of , the F-35 deal ( or any other major weapons shipmentsmovement.transportperson.disperseseparate) , it would be a blow to American arms makers . But count on one thing : Were there to be even a hint that this might happen to the F-35 , lobbyists for BAE will mobilize to get the deal privileged status , whatever other budget cuts may be in the works . On the bright side ( if you happen to be a weapons maker ) , any British reductions will certainly be more than offset by opportunities in Eastern and Central Europe , where a new Cold War seems to be gaining traction .