Russia

WADING THROUGH THE SYRIAN LABYRINTH

May 22, 2013

The Syrian state and its population are being indirectly attacked by US/EU/NATO/UN; and directly by Israel, HERE and also HERE, by the autocratic dictatorships of the GCC-Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, UAE (mostly Sunni Muslims) in partnership with Turkey (secular), and by Al Qaeda plus a diversity of mercenary jihadists (by [...]

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Uzbekistan quest for US weapons could dent Central Asia

May 22, 2013

Source: DT Uzbekistan currently faces an international arms embargo because of prisoner deaths, and its operation in 2005 in Andijan 2014 is approaching, and so is the deadline for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces’ from Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, in 2012 announced that by the end of 2014, the coalition forces [...]

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Russia to arm Turkey with new military arsenal

May 20, 2013

Source:RBTH As a NATO member, Turkey depends on the supplies of American and European weapons. Moscow has repeatedly tried to get a piece of the action and fascinate the Turkish military with its advanced technology. The first attempt was made at a mid-1990s tender to supply 145 attack helicopters worth $5 billion, when Moscow offered [...]

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CIS Security Services to track Syria mercenaries – FSB

May 15, 2013

Source: Indrus The security services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states will be closely monitoring the movement of mercenaries from CIS nations fighting in Syria, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) head Alexander Bortnikov said on Wednesday. According to the FSB, some 200 mercenaries from Russia, as well as from CIS member states [...]

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Grand Designs: Chechen bombers are the natural by-product of Western strategy in the Caucasus.

May 13, 2013

Source: Indrus Chechnya Blowback: West gets what it paid for Here’s a quick quiz. Where are the largest concentrations of Chechen terrorists located? No, they are not in the countries the West has classified as terrorist nations – Iran, Syria or North Korea. Here’s the definitive list of the leading supporters and backers of Chechen [...]

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Total re-conquest of Mali:Western powers are circling their wagons

May 9, 2013

Source: AT Russia, China grapple with Mali’s future [...] Indeed, the western powers are circling their wagons. The Pentagon disclosed that its C-17 military aircraft have been transferring French troops and equipment and it is considering deploying aerial refueling tankers. The US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US is providing intelligence. Italy is sending [...]

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Russian bombers buzz U.S. territory

May 6, 2013

Source: WT Russian strategic bombers conducted flights near the U.S. defense zone close to northern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands last week, Moscow’s latest incident of nuclear saber-rattling against the United States, according to defense and military officials. Two Bear H nuclear-capable bombers were detected flying into the military’s Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone near the Aleutians, [...]

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Russia set to conduct surveillance flyover to inspect Canada’s military, industrial infrastructure

May 6, 2013

Source: NP The Russians are conducting what has quietly become their annual flyover of key Canadian sites this week, revealing the two countries’ regular surveillance of one another at a time when a spy scandal and Arctic sovereignty have markedly strained relations. Russia has routinely exercised a 10-year-old treaty right to fly over Canada and [...]

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BRICS:The Coming Challenge to U.S. Economic Dominance

April 22, 2013

Source: TFT Late last month, leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the so-called BRICS – announced they were forming their own development bank to assist other emerging economies. The yet-to-be-named bank is expected to compete with the World Bank and the International Monetary fund, two institutions with power structures based firmly [...]

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Tensions Rise Over Chechen-Ingush Border Dispute

April 22, 2013

Source: RIA Tension mounted on Monday between the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya, as the Ingush Republic’s leader ordered security to be beefed up at border checkpoints following a recent skirmish between the restive regions’ police forces. Last week, armed Chechen forces led by the republic’s police chief and a lawmaker headed to the [...]

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Hegemonic transitions

April 16, 2013

Source: RK Throughout the human history empires have risen and fallen. In its praxis the subordinate states survive under the implied means of power, the threat of force, rather than by direct military force by the leader state. After the end of cold war US dictated internal politics and social character of the subordinate states [...]

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Russia’s Strategic Pivot to Asia Pacific

April 8, 2013

Source: SAAG Russia’s strategic pivot to the Asia Pacific indicated in his address at the APEC Meet in September 2012 at Vladivostok has all the ingredients of emerging as a strategic game-changer in the highly militarised region dominated by any number of conflictual flashpoints from North Korea down to the South China Sea disputes. Russia’s [...]

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Karabakh Tangle: Regional powers mulling moves as tension mounts between Armenia, Azerbaijan

April 5, 2013

Source: AN A special envoy of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, was on a three-day visit to Armenia earlier this week to hold various meetings with Armenian officials. During a press conference on the results of his visit he said that Tehran was ready for mediation in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. [...]

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Russian bomber conducts practice strikes on U.S. missile defenses in Asia

April 5, 2013

Source: WT A Russian bomber recently carried out simulated cruise missile attacks on U.S. missile defenses in Asia, raising new questions about Moscow’s goal in future U.S.-Russian defense talks. According to U.S. officials, a Russian Tu-22M Backfire bomber on Feb. 26 simulated firing air-launched cruise missiles at an Aegis ship deployed near Japan as part of U.S. missile defenses.

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Central Asia: between Russia and China

April 2, 2013

Source: TZ Central Asia is home to some 65 million people living in five countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Since they gained independence just over 20 years ago, the political landscape has remained depressing. The region has rampant corruption, ethnic tensions and conflict and border disputes. Human rights violations are widespread, while civil [...]

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Now a Chinese pivot to Russia

April 1, 2013

Source: India Today The new Chinese President Xi Jinping has wasted little time in conducting his own pivot – to Russia – in response to the much heralded American turn to Asia. Geopolitically, the new Chinese Russian entente harkens to the World Island of Sir Halford McKinder, which would dominate the world because of its [...]

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United Nations has a project codenamed “Syria – The Day After”

April 1, 2013

Source: Al Jazeera Here is what the main stakeholders in Syria are planning in the event of a major change in the conflict: United Nations UN planners have been looking at a range of options. They fear that if Assad is eventually defeated, there could be widespread retribution against his minority Alawite sect, and the swift [...]

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Israel’s fake rocks spy on Russian fleet

March 30, 2013

Source: Australian ISRAELI spying equipment has been found hidden in artificial rocks on an uninhabited island opposite the Syrian port of Tartus, where it was being used to monitor Russian naval movements. Three large espionage devices were discovered by fishermen on the tiny Ant Island near a naval base regarded by Moscow as an important strategic [...]

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Rumblings of Russia’s Afghan re-entry

March 29, 2013

Source: Hindu Russia appears set to stage a re-entry into the Afghan theatre by establishing military maintenance bases inside the strife-torn nation after the withdrawal of NATO forces next year. These facilities are meant to service Russian military equipment routed through NATO to the Afghan armed forces. For several years the Pentagon has been purchasing [...]

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Putin flexes Russia’s military muscle in Black Sea exercises

March 28, 2013

Source: Yahoo/Reuters President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of large-scale military exercises in the Black Sea on Thursday, projecting Russian power towards Europe and the Middle East in a move that may vex its neighbors. Officials suggested the surprise drills were designed to test the reaction speed and combat readiness of Russian forces, but Putin’s [...]

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Turkey takes a big leap forward over energy security

March 24, 2013

Source: National Last month I wrote how Turkey needed to rebuild constructive relations with its energy-rich neighbours. Two dramatic announcements later, and it seems to have done just that. But big obstacles still lie in the way of improving Turkish energy security: Baghdad, a Mediterranean island, and the Kremlin. On Thursday, Abdullah Öcalan, the leader [...]

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Border Disputes and Gas Fields in The Eastern Mediterranean

March 21, 2013

Source: FA In recent years, resource disputes in the South China Sea have made headlines across the world. But another body of water — the Mediterranean — is rapidly becoming as volatile as its eastern cousin. Exploratory drilling near the coasts of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey has unearthed vast reserves of natural gas. Competition [...]

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How Much Russian Money Is in Cyprus?

March 21, 2013

Editor’s Note: Is the Cyprus crisis over Russian offshore bank accounts or physical gold. The gold reserves of Cyprus stand at 13.9 tons. StratRisks- Could Cyprus’s gold reserves play a part in the crisis? Source: WSJ How much Russian money is in Cyprus? Ever since the Mediterranean offshore haven shut its banks last weekend, many financial [...]

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US report says Turkey could be drawn into war with Syria, Iran

March 21, 2013

Source: TZ A new report by a Washington-based think tank has claimed that Turkey could be inadvertently drawn into war with the Syrian regime and possibly Iran, which would trigger collective defense obligations for the United States and other NATO allies. The report titled “The Turkey, Russia, Iran Nexus: driving forces and strategies” by Center [...]

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The Role of MI6, ISI, CIA and Iran in Afghanistan and region crisis

March 19, 2013

Source: KP Afghanistan is considered to have a highly strategic value during the 21st century in southern and central Asian regions, owed to its geopolitical situation and untapped mineral resources. The country has proven to be a key inhibitor for the newly formed republics in central Asia besides having a high influence and pressure on [...]

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The Russians Are Cooking With Gas In Cyprus

March 18, 2013

Source: Sky News The Russians have made Cyprus an offer it can refuse, but only if the EU throws more money at the problem. Gazprom, the world’s largest extractor of natural gas has offered to bail out the Bank of Cyprus in return for effective exclusive control of the gas reserves off the coast of [...]

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Israel’s Claim to Armenia

March 18, 2013

Source: L It is not a secret that Armenia and its foreign policy are focused by Israel because from time to time but at a certain frequency the “Armenian reality” gives a surprise to Israel. The friends of Israel in the United States and Europe are intensively and shamelessly torpedoing the efforts of Armenia and [...]

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Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation after Chavez

March 18, 2013

Source: valdaiclub For the past 15 years, Russian-Venezuelan relations have focused on military cooperation, while efforts to bolster civilian ties have failed to bring about the desired result. Bilateral trade can be described as negligible, with Venezuelan exports to Russia accounting for barely $800,000 in 2012. Russian oil projects in Venezuela have not entered a practical [...]

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Russian weapons chief promises ‘no-contact warfare’ by 2020

March 16, 2013

Source: RT Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has vowed that the primary objective for the current Russian weapons program is to minimize military casualties. Speaking at a Friday session of the enlarged collegium of the state military tender commission, the military industry chief said that by 2020, Russia’s military will be equipped with weapons allowing [...]

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