Tag Archives: Putin

Romania on Friday labelled as “unacceptable” a Russian demand that NATO forces stationed on the alliance’s eastern flank be withdrawn as part of security guarantees to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. “Such a demand is unacceptable and cannot be part of a negotiation,” Romania’s foreign ministry said in a press …

Washington and Moscow’s top diplomats agreed at high-stakes talks on Friday to keep working to ease tensions over Ukraine, with the United States promising a written response to Russian security demands next week. As fears grow that Russian could invade its pro-Western neighbor, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Thursday that “any” Russian troops entering Ukraine would trigger a response, after President Joe Biden raised eyebrows by saying a “minor” incursion could invite a lesser response. “We have been very clear throughout if any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border …

“Media reports that the United States has brokered an energy deal between Israel and Lebanon are false,” the U.S. State Department tweeted. Israeli Channel 12 news had said that the U.S. had brokered an agreement for Israel to indirectly supply natural gas to Lebanon through Jordan and Syria. The report …

The European Union is mobilizing “all its resources” to aid Ukraine after a cyberattack on the country’s government websites, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday. Borrell said the EU’s political and security committee would convene later on Friday for an urgent meeting on the attack, which he …

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Monday his country had defeated an attempted coup d’etat during historic violence last week, and insisted that Russian-led troops called in to help quell the unrest would go home “soon.” During a video conference of leaders from several ex-Soviet countries in a military alliance that …

Russia on Saturday slammed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “boorish” for saying Kazakhstan will be saddled with Russian presence after asking Moscow to send in troops to quell unrest. “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to make a funny joke today about the tragic events in Kazakhstan,” …

European foreign ministers met Monday to coordinate what they warn would be an unprecedented economic sanctions regime if Russia launches a new military assault into Ukraine. Following a meeting of G7 ministers in Liverpool at the weekend, where the U.S. and major allies warned the Kremlin of “massive” consequences, the …

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to make it “very, very difficult” for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine as U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russian planning is underway for a possible military offensive that could begin as soon as early 2022. The new intelligence finding estimates …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to make it “very, very difficult” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine, saying his administration is putting together a comprehensive set of initiatives to curb Russian aggression. The president offered the measured warning to Putin amid growing concern …

China, which is increasingly flexing its muscles around the world, is one of the biggest threats to Britain and its allies, and a “miscalculation” by Beijing could lead to war, the head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency said Tuesday. MI6 chief Richard Moore said that China, Russia, Iran and …

Russia’s navy successfully test-fired a prospective hypersonic missile, the military said Monday. The Defense Ministry said that the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea launched the Zircon cruise missile, hitting a practice target 400 kilometers (215 nautical miles) away. The launch was the latest in a series of tests …

Russia will face consequences if it uses its military on Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday as he expressed worries about Moscow’s build-up of forces on the border. It is “clear that if Russia uses force against Ukraine, that will have costs, that will have consequences,” he told …

Russia’s defense chief has signed a roadmap for closer military ties with China, pointing to increasingly frequent U.S. strategic bomber flights near both countries’ borders. During a video call, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe “expressed a shared interest in stepping up strategic military exercises and …

Russia showed off a prototype of its new fifth-generation warplane at the Dubai Airshow on Sunday as the United Arab Emirates’ deal to buy American F-35 fighter jets makes slow progress. It was the first time the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate, unveiled in July, had been shown outside Russia, and according …

A massive leak of financial documents was published by several major news organizations on Sunday that allegedly tie world leaders to secret stores of wealth, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The dump of more than 11.9 million records, …

Turkey is considering more joint defence industry steps with Russia including for fighter jets and submarines, President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with President Vladimir Putin, despite a U.S. warning of further sanctions. On the return flight to Turkey from the talks, Erdogan told reporters he also proposed working with …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey will hold talks on Wednesday on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara, Turkish officials said. Vladimir Putin is hosting Tayyip Erdogan at Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Turkish leader will …

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey still intended to buy a second batch of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, a move that could deepen a rift with NATO ally Washington and trigger new U.S. sanctions. Washington says the S-400s pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s …

A Russian-brokered ceasefire came into force on Wednesday in Daraa province, the cradle of Syria’s uprising where regime forces have been battling holdout rebels, a war monitor and state media said. The southern province of Daraa, held for years by opposition forces, was returned to government control in 2018 under …

United States and Germany reportedly made a wider deal over the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. The project, which is 98 percent complete, is expected to have a negative impact on Ukraine, since the Eastern European country could stop playing the role of a regional gas hub. By …

President Joe Biden is committed to maintaining sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for buying Russian S-400 missile defenses and would impose further sanctions if Ankara bought additional major arms systems from Moscow, a senior US diplomat said on Wednesday. In congressional testimony, US …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Republican former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey, tapping a political appointee for a critical post as ties between the two NATO allies remains strained. “Given the strategic importance of the United States’ relationship with our long-time NATO Ally, the Republic …

Moscow is closely monitoring developments around a potential Turkish military base in Azerbaijan, a move that could require Russia to take steps to ensure its own security and interests, the Kremlin said on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was in close contact with Turkey, a NATO member, on stabilising the …

President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a meeting this week that Turkey would take a lead role in securing Kabul airport as the United States withdraws troops from Afghanistan, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. However, the two leaders were not able to …

US President Joe Biden did not secure a commitment from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday to renew a UN cross-border aid operation into Syria, a senior administration official said ahead of an expected showdown over the issue at the United Nations Security Council next month. Washington and several …

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss problematic bilateral ties on Monday including Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles, but there is little hope they will resolve any of several disputes that divide NATO. The two leaders will hold their first face-to-face talks since Biden took …

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the United States and Russia on Friday to cut their nuclear arsenals, days before U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Geneva. Wang, addressing the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament, said “unilateral bullying acts of the United States” were the root …

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will visit the Turkish border with Syria this week ahead of a likely showdown with Russia in the U.N. Security Council over the extension of a cross-border humanitarian aid operation. Thomas-Greenfield will visit Turkey from Wednesday to Friday, meeting with senior Turkish …

Turkey convinced its NATO allies to opt for a milder official stance after Belarus forced down a European airliner passing through the country’s airspace so it could arrest a dissident journalist, Reuters reported on Thursday. The Ryanair passenger plane was flying from Greece and bound for Lithuania, however Belarus diverted …

Russian jets hit a gas facility, a cement factory and several towns and cities in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border on Sunday, as Syrian army artillery killed seven civilians and injured 14 medics in an attack on a hospital in the area, witnesses and rebel sources said. The sources …

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said on Tuesday a May 1 deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan may have to be reconsidered because the Taliban are not meeting their commitments under a 2020 peace deal. “I’m very concerned about the viability of the peace process in …

The common interests of Turkey and the United States outweigh their differences and Ankara wants improved cooperation with Washington, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday striking a rare conciliatory tone. Ties between the two NATO allies have been strained over a host of issues. In December, the United States sanctioned …

Turkey has hired a Washington-based law firm to lobby for its readmission to the US F-35 fighter jet program after it was suspended over its purchase of Russian air defenses, a contract filed with the US Department of Justice showed. Ankara had ordered more than 100 stealth fighters and has …

Turkey will not turn back from its acquisition of Russian S-400 defense systems despite U.S. sanctions, it said on Thursday, but added it would seek to resolve issues with its NATO ally through dialogue. In December, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara for acquiring the S-400s on grounds they threaten its …

Top advisers for Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on the phone on Tuesday, marking the first official contact between the two countries since Biden took office nearly two weeks ago. Erdogan’s Chief Foreign Policy Adviser Ibrahim Kalin and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed …

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria voiced deep frustration on Friday that the Syrian Constitutional Committee had failed to start drafting a new charter at its latest session after the government delegation rejected proposals. The committee, comprising representatives of Syria’s government, opposition and civil society, has a mandate to …

A car bomb detonated near a Russian military base in northeastern Syria on Friday in the first such militant attack in the area against the ally of Damascus, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported several wounded in the attack after midnight in the …

Turkey’s parliament showed rare near unity on Tuesday in condemning U.S. sanctions over its procurement of Russian defence systems, and said the country will not hesitate to protect itself in the face of threats. On Monday, Washington imposed the sanctions targeting NATO member Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industry (SSB), its …

On Aug. 21, a tanker called the Otoman docked at the Jose oil terminal on Venezuela’s coast in the Caribbean to load 1.82 million barrels of heavy crude, according to the state oil company’s internal documents. Yet no tanker with that name is registered in major global shipping databases. Muddying …

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on officials, entities and individuals it accused of providing support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Washington continued its efforts to cut off funds for Assad’s government. The action, which also targeted the Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, aims to push …

The group of Russian hackers accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election earlier this year targeted the email accounts of Democratic state parties in California and Indiana, and influential think tanks in Washington and New York, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The attempted intrusions, many …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defence systems that it bought from Russia and said U.S. objections on the issue did not matter. Washington says Ankara’s purchase of the Russian systems compromises NATO defences, and has threatened sanctions. An apparent firing …

The final debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will feature a mute button to allow each candidate to speak uninterrupted, organizers said on Monday, looking to avoid the disruptions that marred the first matchup. The Trump campaign voiced objections to the change – made after the …