IN BRIEF (Page 12)

GREECE

Govt won't assist Iranian tanker sought by US

The Greek government said on Wednesday that it won't endanger its relations with the United States by aiding an Iranian supertanker sought by the US but released by Gibraltar authorities. It is currently in the Mediterranean Sea, believed heading for a Greek port. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said Athens is under pressure from the US, which claimed the Iranflagged Adrian Darya 1 is tied to a sanctioned organization. He told private Antenna TV that the 330-meter supertanker is too big anyway to enter any Greek port and can't legally unload its $130 million worth of light crude at EU refineries. The vessel can still enter Greek waters or anchor offshore, in which case Athens will "see" what it will do, Varvitsiotis added.

ITALY

Migrants exit rescue boat after standoff

More than 80 people were being evacuated from a migrant rescue ship on Tuesday, capping a drama that saw 15 passengers jump into the sea to escape deteriorating conditions aboard and spurred Spain to dispatch a naval ship in a bid to end a weekslong humanitarian crisis with Italy. Sicilian prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio ordered the seizure of the ship off Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa - and the immediate evacuation of its passengers. Previously, he boarded the vessel and met with port authorities as part of an investigation into possible kidnapping charges resulting from the refusal of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to allow the migrants to disembark from the Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms.

SYRIA

Extremists, rebels withdraw from key area

Extremists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria on Tuesday, a war monitor said, as Syrian government forces pressed an offensive against the Idlib region. Turkey warned Damascus "not to play with fire" after the advance saw government fighters almost encircle a patch of countryside including a Turkish monitoring post. After eight years of civil war, the Idlib region on the border with Turkey is the last major stronghold of opposition to the Syrian government. Since January, it has been administered by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by extremists from Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/22/2019 page12)