Saudi Arabia signs agreement with Russia to buy S-400 air defence system

Saudi Arabia signed today preliminary agreements to buy S-400 air defence systems and receive "cutting edge technologies" from Russia during King Salman's landmark visit to Moscow, the Saudi military industries firm said.

The agreement was announced as King Salman, who is on the first official trip to Russia by a Saudi monarch, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin.

Under the agreements, Saudi Arabia is set to buy S-400 air defence systems, Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems and multiple rocket launchers.

These agreements are "expected to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the military and military systems industry in Saudi Arabia," Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the Sunni state's military industries firm said.

"The memorandum of understanding includes the transfer of technology for the local production" of the Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems, advanced multiple rocket launchers and automatic grenade launchers.

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Justice in Syria: 5 ways to prosecute international crime

The conflict in Syria has seen atrocities committed by all sides for six long years. Barbarities are an everyday occurrence.

There are rules governing the conduct of warring parties. The 1949 Geneva Conventions form the core of international humanitarian law. Violating these rules is a war crime. Some atrocities go even beyond this level of criminality. Genocide, for instance, is an international crime in itself, while the systematic killing of political opposition would constitute a crime against humanity.

The existence of these offences counts for little, of course, unless the law is enforced. This raises the question: is there any way of prosecuting any side of the Syrian conflict? These are some options that could help inform the way forward.

1. International Criminal Court investigation

The International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Hague, is designed to prosecute “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole”. So perhaps it could act in Syria.

The court operates on a consensual basis, so that (perhaps counterintuitively) states must sign up to it to allow the exercise of ICC jurisdiction. Syria is not a party to the court.

There is a workaround though. The ICC can investigate international crimes in any country if the UN Security Council requests it to do so. This happened to Sudan in 2005 and Libya in 2011. Despite best efforts by lobbying states, the same has not happened in the case of Syria. Both Russia and China blocked a proposed referral in 2014 and there is little sign of them changing their minds.
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Despite travel ban, Nikki tells Syrian refugees 'Trump wants to help you'

America's ambassador to the United Nations is getting a firsthand look at the refugee crisis spilling over from Syria's civil war.

Nikki Haley visited a refugee camp in Jordan yesterday. She says the Trump administration wants to step up help for the millions of people displaced.

Yet Haley's message is at odds with President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, his planned budget cuts and his hardline position on admitting refugees.

Haley toured the Zaatari Refugee Camp and inspected a convoy of humanitarian aid set to cross the border into Syria.

She also got a rare look at a high-risk operation to airdrop supplies into besieged territory surrounded by the Islamic State group.

It's her first trip abroad as UN ambassador.
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