Are Chechen Special Forces Fighting in Syria? | And other stories
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February 12, 2016 05:29 PM Age: 8 hrs
Category: North Caucasus Analysis
By:
Mairbek Vatchagaev
After the Kremlin denied having ground troops in Syria, the Russian leadership was surprised by Ramzan Kadyrov’s statement that Chechen special forces were fighting in the Middle East against the Islamic State (IS). A trailer for a program produced by the Russian federal TV channel Rossiya 1 (Russia.tv, February 7) states that “Chechen special forces obtain information about the structure and the number of terrorists in the Islamic State and identify targets for Russian airstrikes” (Kommersant, February 8). Last October, Kadyrov did ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to dispatch his men to Syria to fight the Islamic State (RIA Novosti, October 2, 2015), and it is likely that the Kremlin approved the Chechen ruler’s initiative. Kadyrov said in the Rossiya 1 program that he “sent the republic’s best fighters there” (Vesti.ru, February 7).
On February 8, however, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that in regard to Russian forces in Syria, the public should first of all rely on the “statements of the Russian defense ministry,” which, he said, “makes it clear that the position of our government is that we rule out a ground operation” (Vesti.ru, February 8). Officials in Grozny then realized that their statements did not please Moscow. Even if Chechen special forces were participating in the Syrian conflict, the Russian authorities apparently did not intend to make it public. The Russian foreign ministry also refuted Kadyrov’s claims, stating that there are no Russian ground forces in Syria.
Following Peskov’s statement, Kadyrov’s spokesman, Alvi Kerimov, hastily stated that Kadyrov “never said that Chechen units are fighting in Syria.” According to Kerimov, “some young volunteers are in Syria” (<a href="http://Chechnyatoday.com" rel="nofollow">Chechnyatoday.com</a>, February 9), which is even more improbable. An official source in Grozny clarified that the Chechens who are fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq are not serving in the Russian military or police (Kavkaz.versia.ru, February 9).
The same thing happened earlier in eastern Ukraine, where Chechens fought on the Russian side against the Ukrainian authorities. First, Kadyrov confirmed that his men were taking part in the conflict, but later his spokesman tried to take back his words (<a href="http://Onkavkaz.com" rel="nofollow">Onkavkaz.com</a>, July 31, 2015). It is possible that the involvement of Chechen forces in the conflict in Donbas was part of the plan to prepare them for the conflict in Syria.
Instructors from the Alpha group of elite Russian forces, which is part of Directorate “A” of the Center of Special Operations of the Federal Security Service (FSB), have taken part in training the Chechen special forces. A former member of Alpha, Major Daniil Martynov, is officially an aide to Kadyrov (Aif.ru, May 21, 2014). A new training center for Chechen special forces was built in the city of Gudermes (Vesti.ru, February 21, 2015). Kadyrov is even hoping to turn that center into an international training camp for the security services. Chechen special forces also participated in drills in Syria, which allowed them to become used to the Middle Eastern environment. Their victory in an international competition of security services held in Jordan gave them the image of a new unit that is not part of the FSB or Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and is prepared to carry out special operations abroad (TASS, April 23, 2015).
The Chechen special forces’ advantages include the fact that they are Muslims and look Middle Eastern. Thus, the Russian government probably preferred the Chechen forces over others for deployment in Syria. However, Alexey Malashenko, the chairman of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Religion, Society, and Security Program, disagrees and says that “dispatching young people to Syria is useless” (Kavkazsky Uzel, February 9). Nevertheless, the newspaper Novaya Gazeta quoted a source as saying that “back in October of last year, two weeks after the start of the Russian forces’ operation in Syria, two dozen servicemen unexpectedly left Chechnya’s Sever battalion, which is part of the Russian interior ministry and has been implicated in the murder of the Russian opposition figure, Boris Nemtsov. Sources in the Chechen diaspora alleged that the servicemen who were dismissed went to Syria to fight as “volunteers” (Kavkazsky Uzel, February 9).
Some observers pointed out that Kadyrov had exposed his network of agents in the Islamic State. In fact, Kadyrov may have done it on purpose to sow distrust in the ranks of Islamic State. Now the rebel organization may start to distrust the Chechens who want to join the organization, fearing infiltration by Kadyrov’s agents (Novayagazeta.ru, February 9). Some Russian experts draw an even more far-reaching conclusion—that Kadyrov’s statement was a signal to Moscow (Echo.msk.ru, February 9). However, Kadyrov is completely dependent on Putin and quite concerned about being reappointed to the position of republican governor when his term runs out in a month and a half. Kadyrov is not in a position to make demands on Moscow. Instead, to be reappointed as governor of Chechnya, he has to show his utmost loyalty to the Kremlin.
Kadyrov’s statement appears to be circumstantial evidence that Russian ground forces are involved in the Syrian conflict—a claim that the Russian defense ministry has vigorously rejected. When Chechens turned out to be playing an important role in the armed rebel coalition that is fighting Bashar al-Assad, the Russians realized that they should neutralize the Chechen groups and undermine their reputation among the other rebel groups in the Middle East. Russian officials understood that the rise of the Chechens in the Middle East would sooner or later affect the situation in the North Caucasus, where an underground armed Islamist opposition already exists. Officials in Moscow believed that the Chechens fighting in the Middle East would eventually return to Russia with their newly acquired fighting skills, experience and connections with other radicals. Moscow is not willing to admit that its forces are fighting in support of the Syrian government, because Russian Muslims are Sunnis and would not support such operations on behalf of al-Assad, who in the view of many Russian Muslims is an enemy of Islam.
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The FBI is investigating a machete attack Thursday night that turned a popular, Israeli-owned restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, into a bloodbath, but local police say there is no indication so far of a terror motive.
Of the four patrons wounded in the attack at the Nazareth Restaurant and Deli, one was in critical condition before being upgraded to “stable.” The attacker was identified as Mohammad Barry, a law enforcement source told Fox News.
"There's nothing to lead us to believe this is anything more than a random attack," Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner told the The Columbus Dispatch.
Weiner added that the FBI is also investigating the attack but declined say why.
A source told Fox News the FBI is scouring Barry's background, which includes interviewing associates and digging into his travel history. Fox is also told that investigators are looking into Barry's digital and online footprint for terrorist propaganda or evidence of communication extremists.
Police said the suspect walked into the restaurant around 5:30 p.m. and spoke with an employee before leaving. Local reports said he asked for the owner, but police did not confirm that. The suspect returned nearly 30 minutes later with machete in hand and attacked a couple, and then turned on diners who came to their aid, police said.
The suspect fled in a car, which was eventually stopped by cops, triggering the fatal encounter. According to local reports, as officers approached the man’s vehicle, he got out with a knife in one hand and the machete in the other. After an unsuccessful attempt to subdue the man with a Taser, he lunged towards cops forcing them to open fire.
Officials say the motivation for the man’s attack was unclear. Witnesses described a terrifying scene inside the restaurant.
“He looked straight at me, but he went over to the booths and just started going down the booths. It all seemed to happen in slow motion,” a waitress told WBNS.
A patron also described the frightening scene.
“He came in and started beating up on another man, I thought it was a personal thing. Then he just started down the row hitting everybody; people were bleeding,” Karen Bass, a restaurant patron, toldMy Fox 28 Columbus.
Nazareth has been open for 20 years and is a popular spot for locals in the neighborhood, in which the owner is not for greeting customers with a baseball bat in attempt at lighthearted humor.
It was not clear if there was any political or racial motivation for the attack, but the Nazarath is known for its multiculturalism. The entrance is adorned with a small Israeli flag and the Arabic phrase, "Ahlan Wa Shalan" which translates to "You are my family, take it easy."
Fox News Channel's Matt Dean contributed to this report
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Fox News Weiner added that the FBI is also investigating the attack but declined say why. “He looked straight at me, but he went over to the booths and just started going down the booths. It all seemed to happen in slow motion,” a waitress told WBNS. A patron ... and more » |
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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) on Friday issued a rare rebuke of a fellow Democrat, calling on Rep. Alan Grayson (R., Fla.) to drop out of the Florida Senate race due to his “disgraceful” behavior, according to a statement.
Reid accused Grayson, who is running against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D., Fla.) in the race to replace outgoing Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), of lacking a “moral compass” and using his political status to promote a crooked business.
“These deeply troubling allegations should disqualify anyone from a seat in the U.S. Senate,” Reid was quoted as saying in a statement, referring to reports that Grayson had used to his office to promote his own business interests.
“Alan Grayson used his status as a congressman to unethically promote his Cayman Islands hedge funds, and he should drop out of the Senate race immediately. His actions aren’t just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress,” Reid said.
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By John Irish and Warren Strobel
MUNICH/AMMAN (Reuters) – Major powers agreed on Friday to a pause in combat in Syria, but Russia pressed on with its relentless bombing in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad, who vowed to fight on until he regains full control of the country.
Although billed as a potential breakthrough, the “cessation of hostilities” agreement does not take effect for a week, at a time when Assad’s government is poised to win its biggest victory of the war with the backing of Russian air power.
If implemented, the deal hammered out at five hours of late night talks in Munich would allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged towns. It was described by the countries that took part as a rare diplomatic success in a conflict that has fractured the Middle East, killed at least 250,000 people, made 11 million homeless and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into Europe.
But several Western countries said there was no hope for progress without a halt to the Russian bombing, which has decisively turned the balance of power in favor of Assad.
Rebels said the town of Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo province was the target of intensive bombing by Russian planes on Friday morning. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring body, said warplanes believed to be Russian also attacked towns in northern Homs.
The news agency AFP quoted Assad as saying he would continue to fight terrorism while talks took place. He would retake the entire country, although this could take a long time, he said.
Another week of fighting would give the Damascus government and its Russian, Lebanese and Iranian allies time to press on with the encirclement of Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city before the war, which they are now on the verge of capturing.
They are also close to sealing the Turkish border, lifeline of rebel territory for years.
Those two victories would reverse years of insurgent gains, effectively ending the rebels’ hopes of dislodging Assad through force, the cause they have fought for since 2011 with the encouragement of Arab states, Turkey and the West.
The cessation of hostilities agreement falls short of a formal ceasefire, since it was not signed by the main warring parties – the opposition and government forces.
Implementing it will now be the key, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: “What we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground, in the field.”
RUSSIAN TARGETS
Russia suggested it might not stop its air strikes, even when the cessation of hostilities takes effect in a week’s time.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not stop bombing fighters from Islamic State and a rebel group called the Nusra Front, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, neither of which were covered by the cessation deal: “Our airspace forces will continue working against these organizations,” he said.
Moscow has always said that those two jihadist groups are the principal targets of its air campaign. Western countries say Russia has in fact been mostly attacking other insurgent groups. Nusra fighters often operate in areas where other rebel groups are also active.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow must halt strikes on insurgents other than Islamic State for any peace deal to work.
“Russia has mainly targeted opposition groups and not ISIL (Islamic State). Air strikes of Russian planes against different opposition groups in Syria have actually undermined the efforts to reach a negotiated, peaceful solution,” he said.
Britain and France said a peace deal could only be reached if Moscow stops bombing insurgents other than Islamic State.
The complex, multi-sided civil war in Syria has drawn in most regional and global powers, producing the world’s worst humanitarian emergency and attracting jihadist recruits from around the world.
The United States has been leading its own air campaign against Islamic State fighters since 2014, when that group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, swept through much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq, declaring a caliphate.
U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday he expected Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to send commandos to help recapture Islamic State’s eastern Syrian stronghold, Raqqa.
Assad said he believed Saudi Arabia and Turkey were planning to invade his country. Russia has said Saudi ground troops would make the war last forever.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the main objective in Syria was still to remove Assad, and “we will achieve it”.
The main battlefields in the civil war are in the west of the country, far from Islamic State’s strongholds, where Washington has largely steered clear, leaving the field to Russia which began its air campaign on Sept. 30 last year.
Kerry had entered the Munich talks pushing for a rapid halt to fighting, with Western officials saying Moscow was holding out for a delay.
The tactic of agreeing to a break in hostilities while battling for gains on the ground is one Moscow’s allies used in eastern Ukraine only a year ago. A ceasefire there eventually took hold, but only after Russian-backed separatists overran a besieged town after the deal was reached.
HIGH HOPES
Diplomats from countries backing the plan met on Friday to discuss sending in urgent humanitarian aid.
“We have high hopes that the parties in the International Syria Support Group, including Russia and the United States, will do everything they can to push for humanitarian access to civilians in need inside Syria,” said Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who will chair the meeting.
“This could be the breakthrough we have been waiting for to get full access to desperate civilians inside Syria. But it requires that all those with influence on all sides of the conflict are putting pressure on the parties.”
The sides in Munich called for a resumption of political peace talks, which collapsed last week in Geneva before they began after the opposition demanded a halt to bombardment.
Syria’s main opposition alliance cautiously welcomed the plan, but said it would not agree to join political talks unless the agreement proved effective.
World powers all say they support a “political transition”, but there has been disagreement for years over whether that requires Assad to leave power, as Western countries have been demanding in vain since 2011.
A senior French diplomat said it would be Moscow’s fault if it kept bombing and the peace process failed: “The Russians said they will continue bombing the terrorists. They are taking a political risk because they are accepting a negotiation in which they are committing to a cessation of hostilities.
“If in a week there is no change because of their bombing, then they will bear the responsibility.”
(Additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin, Shadia Nasralla and Robin Emmott in Munich, and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Andrew Roche)
The post Russia Keeps Bombing Despite Syria Truce; Assad Vows to Fight On appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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British authorities have arrested a 16-year-old suspected of being involved with a group that hacked into the private email accounts of high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials, according to U.S. officials and British police.
A man armed with a machete attacked patrons at a restaurant owned by an Israeli immigrant in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday.
The attacker, who injured four people, was later shot and killed by police.
Local WBNS-10 TV reported that the attack occurred at the Nazareth Restaurant around 6 p.m. Thursday. The attacker, identified by multiple news sources as Mohamed Barry, entered the restaurant, spoke with an employee, and left before returning about 30 minutes later when he began to attack patrons, police said.
According to witnesses, the suspect initially entered the restaurant looking for the owner and, when he wasn’t there, left. The restaurant is owned by Hany Baransi, an Israeli immigrant to the United States. Reuters, citing the restaurant owner’s daughter, reported that Baransi originates from Haifa.
Approximately 20 people, including two children, were inside the restaurant when it came under attack.
At least four people were being treated at hospitals for their injuries.
The attacker fled the scene in his car, but police were able to corner him miles from the restaurant. The suspect then got out of his car wielding a machete and a knife and lunged at the officers, leading police to shoot him.
It remains unclear if the attacker targeted the restaurant because of the owner’s ethnicity.
The FBI is helping to investigate the incident, CNN reported.
The post Man Armed With Machete Attacks Restaurant Owned By Israeli Immigrant appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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By Philip Pullella and Daniel Trotta
HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill embraced and kissed on Friday in a historic meeting nearly 1,000 years after the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity split apart.
"Finally," Francis said as he and Kirill entered through doors on opposite sides of a room at Havana airport to begin private talks. "We are brothers."
The two religious leaders, guests of a Communist government, are addressing ways of healing the rift between their Churches as well as their concerns over the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
They were expected to speak about territorial disputes between the two Churches after the fall of the Soviet Union, and issue a joint declaration following the meeting.
Francis, dressed in white with a skullcap, and Kirill, wearing a tall, domed hat that dangled a white stole over black robes, joined arms and kissed on both cheeks.
"It is very clear that this is the will of God," Francis said.
"Yes, things are much easier now," Kirill said. Both men spoke through interpreters and were accompanied by their top aides in the quest for Christian unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch and Russian Metropolitan Hilarion.
Their meeting, announced just a week ago, also carried political overtones, coming at a time of Russian disagreements with the West over Syria and Ukraine.
Cuban President Raul Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Catholic Church's highest representative in Cuba, greeted the pope as he got off the plane.
Kirill arrived in Havana on Thursday and was also greeted by Castro, an ally of Russia who received Francis in Cuba just five months ago.
The Argentine pontiff previously played a role in rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, which restored diplomatic relations last year after a 54-year break.
Now the pope, leader of the 1.2 billion member Catholic Church, is seeking to repair a much longer rupture. Eastern Orthodoxy split with Rome in 1054, and today the Russian church counts some 165 million of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians.
Kirill, on a longer stay, will also visit Cuba's small Russian Orthodox Church, built between 2004 to 2008 and attended by Russian holdovers from the decades of Soviet influence in Cuba.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the Russian church, which in turn has backed Kremlin foreign policy, most notably in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Putin has also improved relations with Cuba, which were strained following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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A Reuters article quoted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as “raising the specter of a world war” in an interview to a German newspaper. The problem is – he didn’t say any such words.
The leading world news agency reported on an interview that Medvedev gave Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper on the eve of talks on Syria in Munich.
"All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table, instead of unleashing a new world war,"the agency quoted the head of the Russian government as saying.
The report referred to a German translation of his words, which is incorrect and implies that Russia is warning that a full-scale war between leading world powers may be ignited from the Syrian conflict.
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The quote comes from the portion of the interview in which Medvedev argued against starting a foreign ground intervention against Syria, saying it would only prolong the armed conflict for years or decades to come.
Medvedev’s actual words, according to the Russian transcript on PM’s website were:
“What is necessary is to use strong measures, including those taken by Russia, by the Americans and even under certain provisions those that the Turks are trying to take, to sit at the negotiating table, instead of unleashing yet another war on Earth. We know all too well the scenarios leading to that.”
The misquotation incident is the second in February involving a senior world official and the Syrian conflict. Earlier, The Financial Times claimed that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon blamed Russia for the collapse of the Syrian peace talks.
In a letter to the FT viewed by RT, Ban’s office said that the quotes of the secretary general used in the article were “technically correct” but taken out of context and “framed in a way that attributes to him direct language that is incorrect.” In particular, author Sam Jones made it appear that Ban Ki-moon had singled out Russia and the Syrian government in describing the difficulties that the peace process is facing, which he didn’t do.
The office requested that a correction be published to accurately reflect what the Secretary-General actually said.
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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev grabbed global headlines this week with his interview in the German newspaper Handelsblatt in which he was quoted as warning that the Syria conflict could lead to a “new world war.”
But did Medvedev actually utter a phrase suggesting World War III is potentially nigh?
That question is the center of a kerfuffle that drew critical remarks from the U.S. State Department ahead of the annual Munich Security Conference, which kicked off February 12.
In the interview, published February 11, Medvedev was asked his opinion about the prospect of Arab countries sending fighters to Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow’s staunch ally, is battling both the extremist Islamic State group and more moderate opposition groups. Some of those moderate groups have received backing from the United States and its allies.
Handelsblatt’s German translation quoted Medvedev as saying that such a move could spark “einen neuen Weltkrieg,” or “a new world war.”
The word “Weltkrieg” and its English translation was, in journalistic parlance, sexy enough to earn a spot in the headlines of the Handelsblatt story. Global news agencies like Reuters, the Associated Press, and AFP also used the word.
The “world war” quote even made its way into the daily State Department press briefing in Washington the same day, in a question posed to spokesman Mark Toner. He said the specter of a “broader conflict” was “concerning” but accused Russia of exacerbating the Syria conflict with its support for Assad.
But the accuracy of the Handelsblatt translation was called into question on social media after Medvedev’s office released a Russian-language transcript of the interview that quoted him uttering a notably softer phrasing.
Medvedev, who spoke Russian during the interview, was quoted as saying that world powers must force all sides to sit down at the negotiating table and “not start yet another war on Earth.” (In Russian: “не начинать очередную войну на Земле.”)
Russia’s state-funded global news network RT, meanwhile, accused Reuters of misquoting Medvedev by reprinting Handelsblatt’s “incorrect” translation.
“The [Reuters] report referred to a German translation of his words, which is incorrect and implies that Russia is warning that a full-scale war between leading world powers may be ignited from the Syrian conflict,” RT wrote in a February 12 post on its website that did not include a byline.
Massaged Transcripts
The translation tempest ultimately prompted Handelsblatt to issue a clarification and defend its use of the phrase “world war.”
In a note on the English-language version of the newspaper’s website, Kevin O’Brien, editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global Edition, wrote that “the Kremlin…approved a German-language version of the interview.”
“The German quote approved by the Kremlin contained the term ‘einen neuen Weltkrieg,’ or a new world war,” O’Brien wrote.
The Kremlin and Medvedev’s office operate in separate bureaucratic structures, and it was not immediately clear whether O’Brien intended to refer to the prime minister’s office as “the Kremlin.” Typically, Medvedev’s staff would manage such an interview.
O’Brien did not respond immediately to an e-mail seeking clarification about the Kremlin’s potential role in approving the German translation. In an earlier e-mail, he referred questions about Medvedev’s verbatim quote in Russian to correspondent Mathias Brueggmann, who spoke Russian to the prime minister during the interview.
Brueggmann, head of Handelsblatt’s foreign affairs desk, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. He interviewed Medvedev together with the newspaper’s editor in chief, Sven Afhueppe, who spoke in German during the meeting.
The Russian government has previously massaged or omitted contentious comments by foreign and domestic officials in official records of public statements.
Standing next to Putin at a May 2015 news conference in Moscow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in German, called Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula the previous year “verbrecherisch,” or “criminal.”
The official Russian-language interpreter at the press conference, however, omitted the word “criminal” during the event, and the official Kremlin transcript left out the word as well
It is, however, included in the transcript published by Merkel’s office.
At last year’s Munich Security Conference -- an influential gathering that draws diplomats, foreign ministers, business leaders, and academics -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded to hoots of derision from the audience at his defense of the Crimea takeover being in line with international law by saying, in Russian: “I guess it’s funny.”
He suggested that he found things said earlier “funny as well, but I controlled myself.”
These comments were not included in the Foreign Ministry’s official transcript of the event.
Whether Medvedev’s office took similar liberties in transcribing his interview with Handelsblatt was not immediately clear.
Of course, publicly releasing the audio recording of the interview would certainly settle the matter once and for all.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik)
–
The member states of the European Union and NATO need to return to the former formats of cooperation with Russia that should be based on mutual respect and interests, Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev
told Sputnik in an interview.
“I am sure that Russia and our partners in NATO and the European Union are not only able to but are quite simply obliged to resume the former formats of cooperation. On the condition that it would be built on mutual respect of each other's interests. We never rejected such partnerships, which cannot be said about our colleagues from the European Union and NATO,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev said that today’s world has become more unpredictable and faces more threats than it did before, but cooperation with the European Union and NATO have taken steps backwards.
“After all, those formats of cooperation between Russia and the European Union and the North-Atlantic Alliance were created to eliminate incipient conflicts in a timely fashion. And now, when such forms of communication are most needed, our partners reject them,” Medvedev said.
Discussion and dialogue are needed constantly and Russia has always been ready for such contacts, the prime minister said.
“Dialogue is a 24-hour and a year-round concept. At least we are always open to discussing of the most pressing matters,” Medvedev added.
NATO is attempting to get political gain from confrontations with Moscow because it is much easier to demonize Russia than actually handle the serious problems at hand, Russian Prime Minister said.
“In my opinion, our western colleagues from NATO simply derive political gain from confrontation. It is easier to demonize Russia and attribute the current issues to it, than to acknowledge the serious problems which exist within the system of European security. And also to acknowledge its own share of the responsibility for today's crises,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev noted NATO’s eastward expansion towards Russian borders that has been ongoing for several years as well as the deployment of US air defense systems in Europe that are of great concern for Russia.
“And each time the organization refused to take into account our concerns over our own security. Let alone the recent statements by the bloc's leadership. It appears that there is no greater threat to the world than Russia. We were once compared to ISIL [Islamic State, IS] militants,” Medvedev said.
Russia and NATO should make efforts to find a compromise instead of continuing confrontation, Dmitry Medvedev stated.
"But then our partners returned to the reasoning of confrontation. Now it is necessary to find compromises, not compare ambitions. To reestablish trust and return to joint initiatives that have been frozen. To join forces in the fight against international terrorism, which is spreading in the world like plague," Medvedev said.
He reminded that in 2010, at the Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon, the parties were able to reach a "serious compromise," confirming that they did not view each other as adversaries.
NATO has been increasing its presence in Eastern Europe since Crimea rejoined Russia in March 2014, following a referendum the West refused to recognize as legitimate, instead blaming Moscow for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia has denied the allegations and has repeatedly stated that the alliance's increased activities near its borders undermine regional and international stability.
Medvedev represents Russia, alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at the Munich Security Conference taking place on February 12-14. More than 20 heads of state and dozens officials from around the world are expected at the event. The agenda of the meeting focuses on key world policy issues such as fighting international terrorism, UN and NATO reform, "hot spots," and strengthening regional and global security.
Read the full version of the interview here
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Опубликовано 12.02.2016 16:03
"Мы ни в коем случае не стремимся играть роль начальника всего мира". Дмитрий Медведев готовится к своей Мюнхенской речи. Есть ли у него собственная политика? Обсуждают заместитель главного редактора газеты "Коммерсант" Глеб Черкасов и сопредседатель Института национальной стратегии Валерий Хомяков.
Ведущая Елена Рыковцева
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Елена Рыковцева
12.02.2016 17:00
"Мы ни в коем случае не стремимся играть роль начальника всего мира". Дмитрий Медведев готовится к своей Мюнхенской речи. Есть ли у него собственная политика? Обсуждают заместитель главного редактора газеты "Коммерсант" Глеб Черкасов и сопредседатель Института национальной стратегии Валерий Хомяков
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Такие новости! Смотрите еженедельно по пятницам самые актуальные "такие вот" новости. Предлагайте "такие вот" новости в социальных сетях Радио Свобода с хэштегом #большеада.
 Газета.Ru |
Нижегородский суд обязал ответчика молиться в рамках мирового соглашения
РБК Российский суд впервые включил в условия мирового соглашения обязанность ответчика молиться о здоровье истца. Такое решение принял Арбитражный суд Нижегородской области, сообщает «Петербургский правовой портал» со ссылкой на решение суда (.pdf). Арбитраж ... «Количество молитв — на совести епархии»Газета.Ru Суд впервые разрешил расплатиться за долги молитвамиВести.Ru Можно ли за котельную расплачиваться молитвамиДеловой Петербург Дни.Ру-ИА REGNUM-Московский комсомолец Все похожие статьи: 226 » |
'No one believes it': Aleppo losing hope amid doubts over ceasefire by Martin Chulov in Gaziantep
After years of fighting and a mass exodus from the Syrian city, there is little faith that the planned truce will change anything
The war for Aleppo had stayed far enough away from their home in the centre of the city for Umm Khaled and her family to hope that, somehow, they could survive it unscathed.
That changed one week ago when bombs, which had long been directed away from Aleppo’s ancientheart and the totemic citadel nearby, crashed into the building next to them.
Related: Humanitarian efforts in Aleppo are at breaking point – this war has to end | Dalia Al-Awqati
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CNBC |
Russia warns of 'permanent war' in Syria
CNBC Russia's prime minister has warned of a "permanent war" starting in Syria if foreign troops are sent into the civil war-torn country despite the prospective ceasefire agreement secured last night. "All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating ... Checkmate in Syria: How Russia Mastered the BoardNewsweek US, Russia and UN say Syria fighting 'cessation' to take effect next weekFox News Skepticism greets Syria truce deal on worries over Russian bombingWashington Post Huffington Post -Reuters -TIME all 2,739 news articles » |
Syrian Rebels Vow to Wage a National Liberation Guerrilla Warby webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer)
Syrian rebels warn their five-year-long struggle to oust President Bashar al-Assad will go underground, if they are deserted by Western backers or an attempt is made to foist an unacceptable political deal on them. They will wage a relentless guerrilla campaign against the Assad regime and “foreign invaders” from Iran and Russia, turning the war into a national liberation fight, rebel commanders and opposition politicians say. Talk of a guerrilla war fought along the lines of the Mujahideen’s successful albeit bloody war to oust Russian occupiers in Afghanistan has mounted in recent days and it is the focus of discussions between rebel commanders now as they wrestle with the implications of Thursday’s announcement in Munich by foreign powers of a “partial cease-fire” in Syria. Rebel commanders and opposition politicians are greeting with deep skepticism the announcement by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) of 17 foreign powers, including Russia, of a cessation of hostilities along with the delivery of humanitarian aid within a week to besieged areas of the war-torn country with deep skepticism. With the partial cease-fire deal announced by the ISSG in Munich not including a clear commitment from the Kremlin to end blistering Russian airstrikes immediately — a key demand of the Syrian opposition — the rebels dismiss the idea that Munich represents a breakthrough in the search for a political solution to end the brutal five-year-long civil war that has left upwards of 250,000 dead. They view it instead as another way-station on a road that will lead to an inevitable Western-backed negotiated political deal that they won’t be able to accept. Fighters are angrier Some even once pro-Western rebel commanders are expressing increasingly sharp anti-American sentiments and warn that their fighters are even angrier. “Fighters on the front-lines have some very harsh things to say about the West,” says Mohammed Adeeb, a senior figure in the 10,000-strong Shamiya Front, an alliance of secular and nationalist armed factions. Speaking in Munich after lengthy talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a U.N. task force would “work to develop the modalities for a long term and durable cessation of violence”. He acknowledged, though, that the deal was only so good as the paper it is written on and much further works is needed. But some rebels and opposition politicians are drawing comparisons with another piece of paper signed in Munich in 1938. Formally, the Syrian Coalition, the main political opposition group, is welcoming the idea for a cessation of hostilities — saying the civilians need desperately a lessening of the violence and to receive humanitarian aid. “The conditions on the other side of the border are really terrible,” says Nader Othman, deputy prime minister in the opposition's Syrian Interim Government. But he fears the Russians are playing a game to sap Western resolve and to divide further the West from the anti-Assad opposition. “This will only end this phase of the regime’s offensive. The regime and its Russian backers will exploit the cease-fire,” he worries. Cease-fire vs cessation of hostilities Pro-opposition civil society activists also remain highly doubtful about the deal and what it may hold. “I will welcome the delivery of aid to all areas that need it,” says Bassam al-Kuwaiti, a well-known figure in opposition circles. “As to the cease-fire, a political transition should start at the same time, or we will be allowing the Assad forces to capture lands under the banner of fighting the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra, and therefore to obtain a powerful position that enables it to halt any political change,” he says. He cautions: “It is very important to distinguish between a cease-fire and a cessation of hostilities. With the first there are monitoring mechanisms, as for the latter there are no such mechanisms and it is left to the parties to decide how to implement it.” He fears the cessation offer is designed also to split opposition forces. That view is shared by rebel commanders. And in the hours since the deal was announced, more militias have voiced if not outright disapproval, huge doubts. Few want to be seen dismissing the deal out of hand, fearful of being seen as saboteurs of a deal that might bring some relief to civilians. “We are skeptical that Russia will hold to these commitments when its current policy is to indiscriminately bomb all parties in Syria into the dust, in particular civilians and moderate opposition, and with complete impunity, while saying they are bombing terrorists,” the Southern Front, an alliance of factions in the south of the country, said in a statement Friday. The biggest concern of rebel commanders in north Syria is that the Russian-backed regime will use the cessation of hostilities as a PR cover for a shift in battlefield focus, one Western powers will have inadvertently provided a stamp of approval for and won’t be able to object to later. The Munich deal writes out any cessation of hostilities for not only the Islamic State but al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra or other groups deemed terrorists by the UN Security Council. Some of those groups, aside from IS, have been battlefield allies of other rebel factions around Aleppo. It remains unclear at the moment if Islamist militia Ahrar al-Sham, an al Nusra ally and one of the most powerful armed anti-Assad armed factions, is outside the scope of the Munich deal, too. Even so, al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham are the dominant forces in the rebel Army of Conquest alliance in Idlib, the neighboring province to Aleppo. With the regime having tightened the noose on the rebels in Aleppo and cutting their main supply line to the border with Turkey at Bab al-Salameh,rebel groups will need to ferry in supplies via Idlib from the border crossing at Bab al-Hawa. Some rebel commanders say they will have no choice but to back up al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, if a post-Munich regime offensive unfolds in Idlib — not just out of comradeship for other anti-Assad fighters but because a collapse by their forces there would weaken moderate and nationalist militias in Aleppo, too. Midweek, Gen. Salem Idris, the former chief of staff of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, told VOA that he thought within days the Russians would start bombing Idlib. “They want to close down Bab al-Hawa,” he said. The Shamiya Front’s Adeeb also sees Idlib as the inevitable next focus of the phased Russian-backed regime offensive — and would have been regardless of a Munich deal being agreed by the ISSG. He says of al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham: “We don’t coordinate militarily on the battlefield with them but we do have a saying that any rife trained on Assad deserves our support.” Rebel commanders say that regardless of what they decide to do in the event Idlib is targeted their own militiamen will want to fight there, weakening the coherence of moderate factions, if they resist the demands of their ranks. Assad's future Whatever the near future holds for the Syrian revolution against Assad, Nader Othman of the Syrian Interim Government insists the regime won’t win. “They might take more land and occupy it. There will be a resistance, it will revert to a guerrilla war, and Syrians can make things even harder for the Russians than they experienced in Afghanistan.” He adds: “Our mistake was not to see our revolution as a national liberation struggle. This is no longer a civil war — we are occupied by many foreign forces and we should make that clear. This is now a war to eject foreign invaders.”
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Боевые корабли, катера и суда обеспечения Черноморского флота и Каспийской флотилии, закончив выполнение задач в морских полигонах, направляются в базы в Краснодарском крае, Астраханской области, Дагестане и Крыму.
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Москвичи и гости столицы отвечают на вопрос: "Как вы оцениваете государственную деятельность Медведева? Что изменится, если Медведева отправить в отставку?"
Ссылка на источник - http://www.svoboda.org/media/video/27548513.html
Ссылка на источник - http://www.svoboda.org/media/video/27548513.html
Live Updates: The agreement reached last night in Munich offered delivered an immediate, nor a comprehensive ceasefire. On the morning after, Russian and regime forces continue to conduct air strikes on populated areas.
The previous post in our Putin in Syria column can be found here.
Syrian rebels don't trust the West to protect them from Assad, while Putin is likely to keep on bombing them under false pretenses
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Медведев: статус - активный by SvobodaRadio
"Мы ни в коем случае не стремимся играть роль начальника всего мира". Дмитрий Медведев готовится к своей Мюнхенской речи. Есть ли у него собственная политика? Обсуждают заместитель главного редактора газеты "Коммерсант" Глеб Черкасов и сопредседатель Института национальной стратегии Валерий Хомяков. Ведущая Елена Рыковцева
Russian Wild Card Complicates Syrian Truce Dealby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
Western leaders are welcoming a deal for a humanitarian truce in Syria while warning that Russia must stop bombing Western-backed opposition strongholds for the accord to hold.
Ukraine Sees Russian Hand in Cyberattacks on Power Gridby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Hackers used a Russian-based internet provider and made phone calls from inside Russia as part of a coordinated cyberattack on Ukraine's power grid in December, Ukraine's energy ministry said on Friday. The incident was widely seen as the first known power outage caused by a cyberattack, and has prompted fears both within Ukraine and outside that other critical infrastructure could be vulnerable. The ministry, saying it had completed an investigation into the incident, did not accuse the Russian government directly of involvement in the attack, which knocked out electricity supplies to tens of thousands of customers in central and western Ukraine and prompted Kyiv to review its cyber defenses. But the findings chime with the testimony of the U.S. intelligence chief to Congress this week, which named cyberattacks, including those targeting Washington's interests in Ukraine, as the biggest threat to U.S. national security. Relations between Kyiv and Moscow soured after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March 2014 and pro-Russian separatist violence erupted in Ukraine. Hackers targeted three power distribution companies in December's attack, and then flooded those companies' call centers with fake calls to prevent genuine customers reporting the outage. "According to one of the power companies, the connection by the attackers to its IT network occurred from a subnetwork... belonging to an (internet service) provider in the Russian Federation," the ministry said in a statement. Deputy Energy Minister Oleksander Svetelyk told Reuters hackers had prepared the attacks at least six months in advance, adding that his ministry had ordered tighter security procedures. "The attack on our systems took at least six months to prepare - we have found evidence that they started collecting information (about our systems) no less than 6 months before the attack," Svetelyk said by phone. Researchers at Trend Micro, one of the world's biggest security software firms, said this week that the software used to infect the Ukrainian utilities has also been found in the networks of a large Ukrainian mining company and a rail company. The researchers said one possible explanation was that it was an attempt to destabilize Ukraine as a whole. It was also possible these were test probes to determine vulnerabilities that could be exploited later, they said.
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Local 10 |
Patriarch asserts Russia's role in meeting with...
Local 10 HAVANA - When Patriarch Kirill meets Pope Francis today, the historic event will allow the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to assert Russia's leading role in the Eastern Christian world. It may also allow Kirill, a skillful political player with ... Russian Patriarch arrives in Cuba to meet Pontiff, discuss Middle East crisisRT Pope Francis to Meet Patriarch Kirill: What You Need to KnowNBCNews.com As pope and Russian patriarch meet, Ukraine fears a 'shaky' VaticanCrux: Covering all things Catholic BBC News all 1,586 news articles » |
NATO Chief Welcomes 'First Step' On Syria, Urges 'More Constructive' Russian Roleby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed an agreement for a cessation of hostilities in Syria but indicated there was no promise from Russia to stop its bombing campaign.
 Вести.Ru |
Испанец шесть лет не ходил на работу, но начальство этого не заметило
Вести.Ru Испанец Хоакин Гарсия шесть лет не появлялся на работе, и никто этого не заметил. Несмотря на это инженер водопроводной компании в городе Кадис продолжал получать зарплату. Его отсутствие обнаружили лишь когда руководство решило наградить его за выслугу лет. Как пишет ... Испанец оштрафован за шесть лет отсутствия на рабочем местеBBC Russian В Испании чиновника оштрафовали на 27 000 евро за шесть лет прогуловВедомости Испанца, который шесть лет прогуливал работу, оштрафовали на 30 тысяч долларовВерсия Mail.Ru -Московский комсомолец Все похожие статьи: 70 » |
Syria war cessation deal relies on something in short supply: trust by Ian Black Middle East editor
International plan led by John Kerry is not a formal ceasefire and fails to hold factions, not least pro-Assad forces, to account
International agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid has been greeted with scepticism and hostility. Even John Kerry, the US secretary of state, who announced the Munich deal early on Friday morning, sounded dubious about “paper commitments”.
Eight hours of diplomatic haggling in the Bavarian capital produced less than the “all or nothing” outcome that Kerry had promised. The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) settled for a fragile outcome based on the lowest common denominator – hardly surprising for a body composed of the staunchest supporters and bitterest enemies of Bashar al-Assad.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to retake the "whole country" from antigovernment rebels and militant groups, but admitted it could take a long time.
Missing Canada Man to Reunite with Family after 30 Yearsby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
An Ontario man who disappeared three decades ago and was believed dead is about to be reunited with his family after recovering some of his memory. Police said Friday that Edgar Latulip was reported missing in 1986 from the Waterloo region and suffered a head injury that robbed him of much of his memory. Const. Phil Gavin says Latulip went on to live in the Niagara region for the next 30 years, but recently began having memory flashes that made him believe he was living under the wrong name. Latulip shared his concerns with a social worker, who Googled his name and discovered that he was the subject of a long-standing missing person's investigation. Gavin says Latulip's identity has been confirmed through a DNA test.
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The paper, which shook up Britain’s journalism establishment in the 1980s before falling on hard times, will publish only online, its owner says.
President Obama announces today in the Journal a new “Cybersecurity National Action Plan,” backed by his proposal “to increase federal cybersecurity funding by more than a third, to over $19 billion.” The goal is to provide “every American a basic level of online security” and includes a $3 billion fund to “kick-start an overhaul” of federal computer systems. “It is no secret that too often government IT is like an Atari game in an Xbox world. The Social Security Administration uses systems and code from the 1960s,” notes Mr. Obama. The President also says he’s creating a new federal position, Chief Information Security Officer, and adds that his administration is “strengthening our partnerships with the private sector to deter, detect and disrupt threats, including to the nation’s critical infrastructure.”
The Journal’s Bret Stephens takes on Bernie Sanders’ claim that “the business model of Wall Street is fraud.” Mr. Stephens writes, “Some six million people work in financial services in America, according to Commerce Department figures. Take only the securities and investment end of the business, and you’re still talking about 900,000 people, a population that considerably exceeds Vermont’s 626,000. Is Mr. Sanders suggesting that some large proportion of those 900,000 is in on the fraud; that every man among them is a Madoff?” Mr. Stephens adds that the Vermont Senator is “the sort of man whose notion of wisdom is to hold fast to the angry convictions of his adolescence. That may be why he connects with so many younger voters. But it’s also why his moral judgments are so sweeping and juvenile.”
And then there’s Bernie Sanders’ opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination. A Journal editorial notes today that “Hillary Clinton has made gender a major part of her pitch for the White House, and the idea is catching on. A leading candidate to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations is a Bulgarian woman with a Communist past and a record unfriendly to U.S. interests who is being promoted by Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law.”
As for the Republicans, our columnist William McGurn says that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are “counting on Donald Trump’s implosion somewhere along the line, whether it’s because voters tire of his outbursts or realize, as Saturday night’s mini-debate over eminent domain illuminated, that his concept of American greatness may be far closer to crony capitalism than to traditional conservatism.”
The Bank of Japan 8301 -5.76 % is the latest major central bank to announce negative interest rates. “Reducing interest rates is supposed to increase spending and investment, spurring growth. It won’t work,” writes former St. Louis Fed President William Poole. “Negative central-bank interest rates will not create growth any more than the Federal Reserve’s near-zero interest rates did in the U.S. And it will divert attention from the structural problems that have plagued growth here, as well as in Europe and Japan, and how these problems can be solved.” Mr. Poole recommends instead that Congress instruct Fed economists to study and report on the impact of tax and regulatory burdens on U.S. growth.
“The reason so much campaign spending is routed through Super Pacs is that Congress continues to maintain limits on how much individuals can give to candidates. This means billionaires like Mr. Trump can self-fund their campaigns, but the committees of non-rich candidates can’t raise more than $2,700 from any single donor,” notes a Journal editorial. “Congress could fix the mess byrepealing the 2002 McCain-Feingold law, lifting all donation limits and letting candidates collect the cash they need from any American donors in any amounts.”
The National Association of Scholars notes problems with college reading lists for incoming freshmen: “The emphasis on fostering non-academic values such as community, civic engagement, and social justice leads to selecting books that emphasize collective effort for non-academic pursuits rather than the solitary disengagement that is a fundamental component and delight of the life of the mind. College, this sort of common reading tells the incoming student, is a place to indulge a jolly, earnest desire to change the world for the better—and nothing more.”
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More than any other nation, America is defined by the spirit of innovation, and our dominance in the digital world gives us a competitive advantage in the global economy. However, our advantage is threatened by foreign governments, criminals and lone actors who are targeting our computer networks, stealing trade secrets from American companies and violating the privacy of the American people.
Networks that control critical infrastructure, like power grids and financial systems, are being probed for vulnerabilities. The federal government has been repeatedly targeted by cyber criminals, including the intrusion last year into the Office of Personnel Management in which millions of federal employees’ personal information was stolen. Hackers in China and Russia are going after U.S. defense contractors. North Korea’s cyberattack on Sony SNE 0.78 % in 2014 destroyed data and disabled thousands of computers. With more than 100 million Americans’ personal data compromised in recent years—including credit-card information and medical records—it isn’t surprising that nine out of 10 Americans say they feel like they’ve lost control of their personal information.
These cyberthreats are among the most urgent dangers to America’s economic and national security. That’s why, over the past seven years, we have boosted cybersecurity in government—including integrating and quickly sharing intelligence about cyberthreats—so we can act on threats even faster. We’re sharing more information to help companies defend themselves. We’ve worked to strengthen protections for consumers and students, guard the safety of children online, and uphold privacy and civil liberties. And thanks to bipartisan support in Congress, I signed landmark legislation in December that will help bolster cooperation between government and industry.
Still, with the nation’s cyber adversaries getting more sophisticated every day—developing new botnets, spyware, malware and ransomware—we have to be even more nimble and resilient, and stay ahead of these threats. The federal government—which is obligated to protect the information provided to it by the American people—has a unique responsibility to lead. But the fact is we still don’t have in place all the tools we need, including ones many businesses rely on every day.
That’s why, today, I’m announcing our new Cybersecurity National Action Plan, backed by my proposal to increase federal cybersecurity funding by more than a third, to over $19 billion. This plan will address both short-term and long-term threats, with the goal of providing every American a basic level of online security.
First, I’m proposing a $3 billion fund to kick-start an overhaul of federal computer systems. It is no secret that too often government IT is like an Atari game in an Xbox world. The Social Security Administration uses systems and code from the 1960s. No successful business could operate this way. Going forward, we will require agencies to increase protections for their most valued information and make it easier for them to update their networks. And we’re creating a new federal position, Chief Information Security Officer—a position most major companies have already adopted—to drive these changes across government.
Second, we’re stepping up our efforts to build a corps of cyber professionals across government to push best practices at every level. We’ll do more—including offering scholarships and forgiving student loans—to recruit the best talent from Silicon Valley and across the private sector. We’ll even let them wear jeans to the office. I want this generation of innovators to know that if they really want to have an impact, they can help change how their government interacts with and serves the American people in the 21st century.
Third, we’re strengthening our partnerships with the private sector to deter, detect and disrupt threats, including to the nation’s critical infrastructure. Yesterday, we inaugurated a new cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which will bring together industry and government experts to research and develop new cutting-edge cyber technologies. We’re also establishing a national testing lab, where companies can test their systems’ security under simulated attacks. And because every enterprise is potentially vulnerable, the Small Business Administration is offering cybersecurity training to over 1.4 million small businesses and their workers.
Fourth, we’re doing more to help empower Americans to protect themselves online. In partnership with industry, we’re launching a new national awareness campaign to raise awareness of cyberthreats and encourage more Americans to move beyond passwords—adding an extra layer of security like a fingerprint or codes sent to your cellphone. At the same time, leading technology firms like Google, Facebook, FB -0.33 % Dropbox and Microsoft MSFT 0.63 % are making it easier for millions of users to secure their online accounts, while credit-card and payment companies such asVisa, V 2.26 % MasterCard MA 2.97 % and PayPal PYPL 1.64 % are making transactions more secure.
Finally, because government doesn’t have all the answers to these complex challenges, we’re establishing a bipartisan Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity to focus on long-term solutions. Working together, my administration and congressional leaders will appoint top business, strategic and technology thinkers from outside government to provide specific recommendations for bolstering cybersecurity awareness and protections across the public and private sectors over the next decade.
As fast as our connected world is evolving, it is worth remembering that we’re still in the early days of this challenge. The first Web page came online in 1990. We’re only in the third decade of the Internet Age, and I believe we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s possible—if we protect the innovation and privacy that we cherish as Americans.
These cyberthreats are a national-security risk few of my predecessors faced, but they will be ones my successors, regardless of party, must address. As long as I’m president, protecting America’s digital infrastructure is going to remain a top national-security priority. We won’t resolve all these challenges over the coming year, but we’re laying a strong foundation for the future. By taking these steps together, I’m confident we can unleash the full potential of American innovation, and ensure our prosperity and security online for the generations to come.
Mr. Obama is the president of the United States.
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The president’s new budget proposal for 2017 calls for a 200 percent increase for our military spending in Europe aimed at Russia—perhaps the most provocative step yet in our apparent efforts to encircle and antagonize that country.
Meanwhile, spending aimed at ISIS is to increase by 50 percent.
In a speech last week in Washington, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said explicitly that Russia constitutes a greater threat to U.S. security than ISIS, as witness Russian military activity from Ukraine to Syria. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, dutifully echoing the administration line, has indicated similar views.
This is belligerent nonsense.
Radical Islam has declared war on the United States, beheaded our citizens, planned and carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killed our soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and declared its intention to set up a caliphate that would stretch from the Mediterranean to the Caspian.
Drawing in Pakistan and the Caucasus, and expanding from there into Central Asia and beyond, the caliphate would claim a population roughly the size of the United States. It would possess nuclear weapons, which the Islamists have no qualms against using to destroy the modern world.
On the other hand, Russia’s activities in Ukraine and Syria, as Moscow sees it, represent a defensive effort to protect legitimate national interests. In the Kremlin’s view, Crimea is Russian and has no bearing whatsoever on U.S. security. Syria is as close to the Russian border as New York is to Chicago, and Russia will not countenance a jihadist regime in Damascus. It is only too mindful that fifteen thousand of the Islamic fighters in Syria are Chechens, who, once done there, will return to Russia for the next round of terrorist brutality.
As for Ukraine, had the United States encouraged that country’s electoral calendar to play out rather than accept the overthrow of the legitimately elected president, Viktor Yanukovych likely would have lost the February 2015 election. There is little doubt Crimea would now be a part of the Ukrainian Republic. If Ukraine is now a shambles, we must consider the role the West played in this strategic fiasco.
Likewise, we should have negotiated over the future of Syria without making it conditional on Assad’s departure (Moscow refused to participate in the charade of a “negotiation” with an already determined outcome). Syria in all likelihood might have averted the mayhem and chaos now engulfing a large part of that country. Russia would not be engaged militarily there, and Europe would not now be drowning in a flood of refugees who will not assimilate but are ready to assassinate.
Since the fall of Communism, Russia has concentrated on internal matters—yes, sometimes in a manner contrary to our values. Its leaders and policies have been seriously flawed. If Russia is expanding its military capabilities, this is a trend we must attend to, but that does not reactivate its status as our enemy.
It remains the case that NATO countries hugely outspend Moscow when it comes to military procurement. There is no evidence whatsoever that Russia, as when it was the Soviet Union, is embarked on a wanton course of global expansion. This is a country that unilaterally pulled its occupying troops out of Eastern Europe, a door closing on the Cold War.
Obviously, some highly influential people can’t accept that and leave the Cold War behind, their mindsets and careers linked to a lingering enmity between the Kremlin and the White House. In particular, they can be found as think tank strategists and arms merchants.
President Eisenhower, a career military man and one of our greatest heroes, did not shrink from warning his countrymen about the dangers of a rampant military-industrial complex. At the same time, such Cold War leaders who followed Ike understood that weakness is provocative and took steps to have sufficient military readiness to deter and defeat those who would do us harm.
President Nixon, at the Cold War’s height, saw the value in settling differences with Red China so as to offset the USSR. President Reagan saw no problem in sharing ABM technology with the Soviet Union, negotiating the removal of intermediate range nuclear weapons from the heart of Europe. He declared an end to the Cold War and strolled through Red Square arm-in-arm with President Gorbachev.
Today, we have the complete opposite approach: a waning military capacity coupled with petulant policies towards Russia, a country that could be an ally against such mutual enemies as radical Islam and, potentially, an expanding China.
It represents a stunning and total failure of vision, moral and strategic. We must cast aside such absurd, costly, unachievable and un-American ambitions that would have us policing and garrisoning the planet, intervening in every conflict. We must favor a policy that cultivates mutually beneficial relations with nations of like culture and values, negotiating smartly in the national interest—all, of course, while maintaining a defensive military posture second to none. America was conceived as a strong and healthy Republic, not a vitality-draining empire.
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Media Feature
February 12, 2016
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism
Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for February 5-12, 2016
I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda.
Nuclear security:
- In the FY2017 budget request, submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Obama administration proposes to terminate construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility near Aiken in South Caroline. The plant is being built to comply with an agreement with Russia in 2000, when both countries said they would eliminate 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium from their nuclear arsenals. (New York Times, 02.09.16, IPFM Blog, 02.10.16).
- Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev and U.S. president Barack Obama can possibly meet on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, US Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol has said. (Interfax. 02.11.16).
Iran’s nuclear program and related issues:
- Russian companies are broadly gearing up to get back into Iran. Sukhoi wants to sell its Superjet airliners. AvtoVAZ has started talks to open an assembly plant for Lada cars in Iran. Gazprom and Lukoil are weighing investments in a liquefied natural gas project on the Persian Gulf, and an oil field. The Eurasia Drilling Company and Tatneft both have good prospects. Russia’s Uralvagonzavod is willing to allow Iran to license-build the T-90S main battle tank domestically (New York Times, 02.09.16, National Interest, 02.09.16).
- An agreement between Russia and Iran to simplify procedures for issuing travel visas went into effect on February 6. (RFE/RL, 02.06.16).
Military issues, including NATO-Russia relations:
- The defense ministers from all 28 NATO countries approved a plan on Wednesday to enhance the alliance's military presence in Central and Eastern Europe, part of its expanding efforts to deter Russian aggression, according to NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. The forces will rotate through the countries to conduct exercises, and NATO will also enlarge its infrastructure in the region so it can quickly respond to threats, Mr. Stoltenberg said. NATO announced more naval patrols in the Baltic Sea. The size of the land and maritime forces to take part in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission won't be decided until closer to the alliance summit in July. Douglas Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said that that actual force levels will probably be hammered out only after consultations with NATO's supreme commander in Europe. One NATO official said one proposal under consideration calls for creation of a brigade-size force: roughly 3,000 troops. But the U.S. has said it would contribute an additional 3,000 soldiers to European defense next year. These U.S. forces are separate from those announced by NATO, but will provide a significant boost to allied forces distributed throughout Europe. According to a U.S. senior defense official, the 3,000 troops will be distributed throughout the Baltic states, as well as Bulgaria, Germany and the Netherlands. As part of its budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year, the U.S. administration asked for $3.4 billion -- compared with $789 million in the current budget -- for ''more pre-positioned war-fighting gear'' in the European countries, and more training and exercises. Among the countries that NATO and the United States are looking to protect are Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and the Baltic States, according to the Obama administration officials. (Wall Street Journal, 02.11.16, Washington Post, 02.10.16, New York Times, Financial Times, 02.11.16, Washington Post, 02.11.16).
- NATO's plan to beef up its military presence near Russia's borders endangers security and stability in Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova said in a news conference Wednesday. "We do not understand the reason for such an action. We assume that NATO's [action] threatens Russia and also endangers security and stability in Europe," Zakharova said. Russia's envoy to NATO is also warning that Moscow will respond to a buildup of the alliance's forces near Russian borders. Aleksandr Grushko insisted that "Russia won't compromise its security interests," but wouldn't say what specific steps the Kremlin will take. (RFE/RL, 02.09.16, Moscow Times, 02.10.16).
- The Obama administration is pushing ahead with an expensive plan to modernize the country’s nuclear arsenal. The Pentagon budget for 2017 includes funding for a controversial new air-launched cruise missile that can carry nuclear weapons and for a new nuclear bomb, as well as new submarines and long-range bombers. While official statements so far have mainly justified the massive modernization of U.S. nuclear forces as simply extending the service-life of existing capabilities, the Pentagon now explicitly paints the nuclear modernization as a direct response to Russia. “The most significant shift in the future security environment—and that is a return to an era of great power competition,” Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said during a press conference at the Pentagon on February 9. (National Interest, 02.11.16, Federation of American Scientists, 02.11.16, Financial Times, 02.11.16).
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is developing a new strategy to speed decision-making and improve its response to the kind of unconventional warfare the West says Russia has used in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. A new hybrid warfare playbook would attempt to lay out the kind of assistance the alliance would provide should a member state come under outside pressure from Russia or another country. (Wall Street Journal, 02.08.16).
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may hold a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the security conference in Munich. Stoltenberg announced Tuesday that the alliance is ready for a renewal of “constructive talks” with Russia. “We do not seek confrontation with Russia and we want to prevent the possibility of a new Cold War," Stoltenberg said. (Moscow Times, 02.09.16, Interfax, 02.08.16).
- Thanks to increased Russian air and sea activity in the North Atlantic, the U.S. Navy is taking a new look at Naval Air Station Keflavík in Iceland. As part of this week’s 2017 budget rollout, the Navy requested $19 million to reopen at least part of the air station to start landing P-8A Poseidon spy planes there. (Foreign Policy, 02.11.16).
Missile defense:
- North Korea's latest rocket launch has helped South Korea overcome some of its hesitation about hosting the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a sophisticated American anti-missile system on its soil. Moscow has warned that the deployment of this sophisticated U.S. missile-defense system to South Korea could “provoke an arms race” in the region and “complicate the resolution of the nuclear problem” on the Korean Peninsula. (RFE/RL, 02.10.16, Washington Post, 02.08.16).
Nuclear arms control:
- Moscow sees no progress in its dialogue with Washington on the INF treaty, Russian Foreign Ministry Nonproliferation and Arms Reduction Department Director Mikhail Ulyanov said. Moscow is ready for a dialogue with Washington on the elimination of the existing disagreements, and the U.S. should take Russia's concerns more seriously, he said. (Interfax, 02.10.16).
- White House national security adviser Susan Rice has called on Russia to resume negotiations to further reduce nuclear arsenals. Rice made the call February 5, on the fifth anniversary of the New START. But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Washington's ongoing efforts at creating missile defense systems and developing the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) precision conventional weapon program has a continued destabilizing effect on nuclear disarmament talks. (RFE/RL, 02.05.16, Sputnik, 02.06.16).
- A new data processing network being prepared by Russia is intended to collate information on adherence to international arms agreements by countries around the world, including nuclear treaties between Russia and the U.S. According to the military's plan, the system will become a sort of "world supervisor." Its aims are to collect and process information from technical control resources based at sea and in space, as well as from inspection groups that monitor the territories of countries participating in corresponding agreements, and bring the information "to all the interested Russian ministries." (RBTH, 02.09.16).
Counter-terrorism:
- Russia's Federal Security Service announced the arrest of seven members of the Islamic State in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, who were reportedly preparing "high-profile terrorist attacks" in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Sverdlovsk region with the use of homemade explosives. The leader of the group was an armed insurgent who arrived in Russia from Turkey, according to an official statement. (Moscow Times, 02.08.16).
- At the start of 2015, 150 Russian Chechens were fighting in the Middle East. Their total numbers, including those that came from Europe, hovered between 1,500 and 2,000 people. By the end of 2014, 85 to 100 fighters from Kabardino-Balkaria fought for ISIS in Syria. As for Dagestan, the republic’s President Ramazan Abdulatipov stated that there are 643 Dagestani jihadists in the Middle East. Incidentally, the South Caucasus also supplies new recruits to ISIS—about 500 Azerbaijani and 400 Georgian militants. (Carnegie, 02.12.16).
- An unidentified source in the Chechen government has claimed that there are no members of law enforcement agencies among Chechnya's fighters in Syria. The Chechens fighting in Syria consist of independent groups of young people who oppose the Islamic State, the source told the news agency. (Moscow Times, 02.09.16).
- U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote: “Syria is as close to the Russian border as New York is to Chicago, and Russia will not countenance a jihadist regime in Damascus. It is only too mindful that fifteen thousand of the Islamic fighters in Syria are Chechens, who, once done there, will return to Russia for the next round of terrorist brutality.” (National Interest, 02.11.16).
Cyber security:
- U.S. national intelligence director James Clapper said that Russia was the most sophisticated cyber actor, China one of the most pervasive, and Iran and North Korea among the boldest. Clapper said: “Russian cyber operations are likely to target US interests to support several strategic objectives: intelligence gathering to support Russian decision-making in the Ukraine and Syrian crises, influence operations to support military and political objectives, and continuing preparation of the cyber environment for future contingencies.”(DNI.gov, 02.09.16, New York Times, 02.11.16).
- U.S. President Barack Obama wrote: “Hackers in China and Russia are going after U.S. defense contractors.” (Wall Street Journal, 02.09.16).
- Security researchers have accused Russian developer of mobile phone apps Academ Media of defrauding companies out of millions of dollars via MoPub, the online advertising marketplace owned by Twitter. (Financial Times, 02.07.16).
- Hackers used malware to penetrate the defenses of a Russian regional bank and move the ruble-dollar rate more than 15 percent in minutes, according to a Moscow-based cyber-security firm hired to investigate the attack. (Bloomberg, 02.08.16).
- Vladimir Putin’s new Internet czar German Klimenko said forcing Google and Apple to pay more taxes and banning Microsoft Windows from government computers are necessary measures best explained in terms of barnyard economics and marital infidelity. “We are breeding the cow and they are milking it,” Klimenko said. (Bloomberg, 02.08.16).
Energy exports from CIS:
- The head of Russia's state oil company for the first time suggested oil producers should cut output to prop up plummeting oil prices. Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, told a conference in London on February 10 that major producers should cut production by 1 million barrels a day to reduce oversupply of about 1.5 million barrels a day. (RFE/RL, 02.11.16).
Bilateral economic ties:
- No significant developments.
Other bilateral issues:
- Vladimir “Putin is the first leader since Stalin to expand Russia's territory,'' U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper told a Senate committee. “We assess that the leading state intelligence threats to US interests will continue to be Russia and China, based on their capabilities, intent, and broad operational scope,” he said. (New York Times, 02.11.16, DNI.gov, 02.09.16).
- The United States Agency for International Development will spend nearly $1 billion in energy, economic, defense and civil society programs to counter Russian actions in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Central Asia, a US Department of State official said on Tuesday. (Sputnik, 02.09.16).
II. Russia news.
Domestic politics, economy and energy:
- The Russian budget could face an additional shortfall of up to 2.5 trillion rubles ($31.7 billion) this year if crude prices stay at around $30 per barrel, putting at risk the target of keeping the deficit at 3 percent of gross domestic product. Russia's Central Bank denied a report that it might welcome a fall in the ruble's value to help the government close a gaping budget deficit. Russia’s government was to present President Vladimir Putin Wednesday with a $10.5 billion plan to revive the shrinking economy. (Bloomberg, 02.09.16, RFE/RL, 02.12.16,(Reuters, 02.10.16).
- The Russian government would have to apply for financing from the Reserve Fund if the oil prices stabilize around $30 per barrel, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. (Interfax, 02.06.16).
- While Russia will still be in recession in 2016, the pace of the contraction in its gross domestic product will slow to 0.5 percent from 3.7 percent, according to the Bank of America Corp. That will be less of a drag on overall growth in developing nations, which he sees expanding 4.2 percent, after 4 percent growth in 2015. (Bloomberg, 02.07.16).
- The spending of Russians exceeded their income in 2015 for the first time in 18 years, the Kommersant newspaper reported Wednesday, citing the Center of Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting. (Moscow Times, 02.10.16).
- The number of suicides in Russian totaled 24,982 last year — the lowest number in 50 years. (Moscow Times, 02.10.16).
- Senior Russian government official Sergei Donskoi on Tuesday formally presented to the United Nations his country's claim to Arctic Ocean seabed, including an area under the North Pole. Russia is staking a claim, he said, ''to the seabed beyond the 200-mile zone along the entire Russian polar sector including the zone under the North Pole.'' (New York Times, 02.10.16).
- Russia's Kurchatov Institute and state nuclear corporation Rosatom have signed a cooperation agreement "to harness synergies in the joint development of promising new technologies and the modernization of existing technology in the nuclear power and energy transport sector". (World Nuclear News. 02.09.16).
- A survey carried out by the independent Levada Center pollster revealed that 53 percent of Russians would support Vladimir Putin's candidacy if the presidential elections took place the following Sunday. (Moscow Times, 02.11.16).
- The Agora human rights association was ordered shut Wednesday by a regional court, potentially silencing one more voice in a continued Russian crackdown on independent civil society. The Justice Ministry has also asked Moscow's Basmanny District Court to ban independent election monitor Golos (Washington Post, 02.11.16,Moscow Times, 02.11.16).
- Russian opposition leader and anticorruption crusader Aleksei Navalny has filed a lawsuit against President Vladimir Putin, accusing the Russian leader of failing to disclose a conflict of interest in an award of $1.75 billion in government financing to a company owned by his son-in-law. The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected allegations that Putin is siphoning off state funds to a small group of handpicked insiders.(RFE/RL, 02.11.16).
- Mikhail Kasyanov, a leading figure in the political opposition whose image the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan A. Kadyrov, menacingly posted online in the cross hairs of a sniper rifle this month, was attacked late Tuesday in Moscow by a dozen or so men who placed a cake on his head at a restaurant. (New York Times, 02.10.16).
Defense and Aerospace:
- Russia says more than 20 warships and support vessels have departed from their bases in the Caspian Sea and begun training as part of massive combat readiness exercises across the country's southwest. The military says the snap drill, which kicked off on February 8, will involve up to 8,500 troops and 200 aircraft. Gazeta.ru cited a military analyst saying the air and naval maneuvers were intended to send “a little signal” to the Turks. (RFE/RL, 02.10.16, New York Times, 02.08.16).
- Cold War foes Russia and Pakistan are set to hold their first joint military drills on land, a sign that neighboring Afghanistan may avoid becoming the site of another proxy war between global powers. Russian ground forces will hold military exercises with Pakistan in “mountainous terrain" this year for the first time, Russian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleg Salyukov said. (Bloomberg, 02.10.16).
- Russia's plan to develop a new Barguzin rail-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile looks set to be scrapped as budgetary pressures begin to put pressure on Russian defense procurement. (IHS Jane's Defence, 02.07.16).
- Fiji's government acknowledged Tuesday that Russia donated arms worth $8.8 million, delivered in more than 20 containers to the island country last month. Some 20 Russian soldiers also arrived to train local troops. (Wall Street Journal, 02.11.16).
- The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ analysis of the top 15 defense budgets around the world in 2015 indicates that China and Russia have maintained their overall rank of second and fourth place respectively. However, the double-digit real increase in the Russian defense budget in 2015 meant that it dominated global defense-budget increases last year, accounting for around one fifth of all real global-spending increases in 2015. Total Russian defense spending is estimated to have risen to above 5% of GDP in 2015. (IISS, 02.09.16).
Security, law-enforcement and justice:
- Former Russian senator Sergei Pugachev is facing jail after a British judge found him guilty of breaching a dozen court orders including failing to hand over travel documents and passwords to e-mail accounts. (Bloomberg, 02.08.16).
- Financial transactions worth 11.7 trillion rubles ($152 billion) were classified as "suspicious" in Russia last year, the TASS news agency reported Monday, citing state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring. (Moscow Times, 02.08.16).
- Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin has confirmed that former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky was declared internationally wanted. (Interfax, 02.11.16).
Foreign affairs and trade:
- Syria:
- World powers agreed early Friday to on a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria in a week. The hostilities will be halted against all parties except the extremist groups Islamic State and Nusra Front, and any defined as terrorists by the United Nations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the projected date for ending at least some of his country's airstrikes in Syria is a week from Friday, but he emphasized that "terrorist" groups would continue to be targeted. The determination of eligible targets and geographic areas is to be left up to a task force of nations, headed by Russia and the United States, that will adjudicate differences of opinion. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said what he envisions a week from now ''is a pause.'' Kerry also said the world powers also agreed to expand delivery of humanitarian aid across Syria. The aim is that humanitarian relief begin as early as this weekend, with Russian airdrops to at least seven areas of Syria that cannot be easily reached by road. (Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, 02.11.16).
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the agreement on Syria announced early Friday called for more military cooperation between Russia and the United State. He said Russia and the United States have set up a working group on the Syria ceasefire, which will involve diplomats and servicemen and determine the “modalities" of a cessation of hostilities, Lavrov said. The working group, he said, could lead toward a joint effort including Russia and the U.S. against terrorist groups in Syria. Lavrov referred to a "qualitative" change in U.S. military policy to cooperate with Russia in continuing the fight against the Islamic State. However, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there had been no change in the U.S. policy. Rather, he said, humanitarian and other agreed-upon programs would require the ability "to talk about deployment of forces, the presence of people, who can go where, how they get there, and avoid conflict in ways that are effective" to implement the agreement. (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, RBTH, 02.11.16).
- Salem al-Meslet, the spokesman for a negotiating team appointed by the Syrian opposition to open U.N.-sponsored talks with the government, said before the ceasefire agreement was announced. "Hopefully, we'll see something by Monday." U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura said he anticipated an early resumption of talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. Meslet said the opposition would return to talks if the new plan is implemented. (Washington Post, 02.11.16).
- Should the latest attempt at peace talks in Syria fail, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a permanent or wider "war on Earth" as the United States and Arab nations are now contemplating beginning ground operations in Syria. Medvedev made the prediction in an interview he granted before attending Munich Security Conference on February 12 The war in Syria, the refugee crisis and Russia's border-bending interference on Europe's eastern edge topped the agenda of the conference. (RFE/RL, 02.12.16).
- Saudi Arabia has been discussing plans to deploy ground troops with regional allies, including Turkey, for a safe zone in Syria. If Saudi and Turkish forces were deployed at Syria’s northwestern border crossings with Turkey, for example, they would be inside Russia’s operational theatre. “This would be a total nightmare for the US,” said analyst Aaron Stein, of the Atlantic Council in Washington. “What happens if Russia kills a Turk? They would be killing a Nato member.” (FT, 02.09.16).
- The Russian bombardment of opposition forces north of Aleppo, a rebel stronghold, has severed opposition supply lines and threatened to allow government-aligned forces to encircle the city. The Russian blitz has allowed pro-government ground forces to push north to with 20 miles of the Turkish border. This is the same area where the United States and Turkey have planned to carve out an opposition-held zone to combat Islamic State forces approaching it from the east. "Russia is the second superpower in the world, and Russia is using all of its power against the rebels," said Mohammed Adib, a political officer with Jabhat Shamiya, the main rebel group fighting in northern Aleppo province. (Washington Post, 02.10.16).
- For months now the United States has insisted there can be no military solution to the Syrian civil war. But after days of intense bombing that could soon put the critical city of Aleppo back into the hands of Mr. Assad's forces, the Russians may be proving the United States wrong. There may be a military solution, one senior American official conceded Wednesday, ''just not our solution,'' but that of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. (New York Times, 02.11.16).
- Testifying on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper, offered a sobering picture of Russia's success in Syria, even if it proves a temporary one. “Increased Russian involvement, particularly airstrikes, will probably help the regime regain key terrain in high priority areas in western Syria, such as Aleppo and near the coast,” he said. (New York Times, 02.11.16, DNI.gov, 02.09.16).
- "What we're doing is testing [Russian and Iranian] seriousness," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said ahead of the Syrian peace talks in Munich. "And if they're not serious, then there has to be consideration of a Plan B. . . . You can't just sit there." (Washington Post, 02.10.16).
- Human Rights Watch said on February 8 that cluster munitions were used in at least 14 attacks across five provinces in Syria since January 26.The attacks killed at least 37 civilians, including six women and nine children, an HRW report said, urging Russia and Syria to stop using cluster munitions. (RFE/RL, 02.08.16).
- Russia's ambassador to Damascus says an estimated 10,000 Russian citizens are currently living in war-torn Syria. (RFE/RL, 02.09.16).
- Russia says there is "no credible evidence" of civilian deaths as a result of Russian air strikes in Syria. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments on February 9, a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "horrified" by the suffering being caused by Russia's bombing campaign among civilians. The spokesman also described as "wrong and absurd" accusations by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia was engaged in an invasion of Syria. Erdogan has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as an "occupier" in Syria The Russian foreign ministry has also criticized UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over his claim that Russian air strikes in Syria had undermined last week's peace talks to end the country's five-year war. (NDTV, 02.08.16, RFE/RL, 02.09.16, Moscow Times, 02.08.16).
- Russian attack planes have destroyed nine trucks carrying ammunition and militants in the Latakia governorate in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Feb. 11. (Interfax, 02.11.16).
- Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that two influential terrorist leaders have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria. A large group of Islamic State militants, along with their leader Abu Maher, were killed in air attacks around the village of Kalaz Taktani. “Abu Anas Al-Shami — leader of the terrorist group Jaysh al-Sham — was also killed in the same province,” Konashenkov said.(Moscow Times, 02.11.16).
- Two Ilyushin Il-76 military-transport airplanes from the Russian Aerospace Forces landed at Russia's Hmeimim airbase on Feb. 11 morning, delivering some 50 tons of humanitarian air for the Syrian population. (Interfax, 02.11.16).
- Other countries:
- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Russia Dmitry Rogozin in a visit to Baghdad offered to provide more military aid and step up commercial ties, potentially eroding U.S. influence in the war-torn country. (RFE/RL, 02.12.16).
- Vladimir Putin told Nursultan Nazarbaev that the tensions between Moscow and Ankara were caused by the Turkish side and therefore Turkey has to start fence-mending efforts. Restoration of relations with Turkey will be out of the question until it meets the Russian demand for punishing the culprits behind the crash of Russia's Sukhoi Su-24 bomber, Russian Ambassador to Ankara, Andrei Karlov has said (RFE/RL, 02.08.16, Interfax, 02.08.16)..
- Russian-Turkish trade fell by nearly 25 percent last year. And financial losses for Moscow's airports from Russia's ban on flights to Turkey, Egypt and Ukraine amount to 6 billion rubles ($76 million). (Moscow Times, 02.09.16).
- Since taking up his position as Russian foreign minister 12 years ago, the time Sergei Lavrov has spent in the air is the equivalent of 178.5 full days, covering a distance of more than 3.3 million kilometers. (Moscow Times, 02.10.16).
- The European Union has imposed antidumping duties on cold-rolled flat steel imports from China and Russia. (RFE/RL, 02.12.16).
Russia's neighbors:
- Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) he remains committed to pursuing economic reforms and purging corruption from his government. After receiving a sharp warning from the lender that Ukraine's $17.5 billion bailout is at risk on February 10, Poroshenko spoke with IMF managing director Christine Lagarde by phone and agreed to draw up a "road map" aimed at keeping reforms on track. IMF has put aid to Ukraine on hold until it becomes clear whether the current government survives. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has also urged Poroshenko to quickly reestablish a unified government and carry out reforms sought by the West. (RFE/RL, 02.10.16, RFE/RL, 02.12.16, RFE/RL, 02.09.16).
- Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said Ukraine must fully carry out the reforms outlined by the Minsk process for regulating the conflict between Kyiv and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Otherwise, "it will be very difficult for Europe to continue united in support of sanctions against Russia." (RFE/RL, 02.05.16).
- Germany is asking Ukraine to propose a new offer to resolve a dispute with Russia over a $3 billion bond default after President Vladimir Putin’s government rejected a proposal put forward last month. (Bloomberg, 02.09.16).
- Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of Ukraine who now leads a minority party in Parliament, said during her visit to U.S. last Friday that she and her allies would staunchly oppose constitutional changes that the United States and European powers view as crucial to carrying out a peace agreement with Russia. Tymoshenko also said that she would push for early parliamentary elections -- ''the sooner, the better'' -- which are opposed by the United States because the parties of President Petro O. Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk are virtually certain to lose seats. (New York Times, 02.06.16).
- Fighting that had been quiet for several months between Russia-backed insurgents and government forces has picked up in eastern Ukraine, punctuated by regular artillery shelling, the use of land mines and other tactics that have put civilians at risk. (New York Times, 02.11.16).
- U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in a prepared statement: “The potential for escalation remains…Levels of violence in eastern Ukraine have decreased, but Moscow’s objectives in Ukraine—maintaining long-term influence over Kyiv and frustrating Ukraine’s attempts to integrate into Western institutions—will probably remain unchanged in 2016”(DNI.gov, 02.09.16).
- According to sources in Brussels, EU diplomats have been briefed in recent weeks by U.S. diplomats who have indicated that Russia might become more constructive about resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine in the coming months. The American optimism stems from a meeting last month in Kaliningrad between Victoria Nuland, and Vladislav Surkov. (RFE/RL, 02.09.16).
- European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini initiated an internal debate last month with a group of fellow European commissioners on how to improve cooperation with Russia, causing concern among EU members that want to keep up the pressure on Moscow over its interference in Ukraine. The European External Action Service will also prepare a discussion paper on the EU's relationship with Russia, to be discussed when the bloc's foreign ministers meet in Brussels on March 14. (RFE/RL, 02.09.16).
- The lead defense lawyer for Ukrainian pilot and Verkhovnaya Rada deputy Nadia Savchenko says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to the conditions of her return to Ukraine. (RFE/RL, 02.06.16).
- Kyiv is planning to spend an estimated $1.7 billion to bring its nuclear power facilities, many of which are nearing the end of their planned life spans, up to current Western standards. (RFE/RL, 02.08.16).
- Other neighbors:
- Azerbaijan says at least five Armenian soldiers have been killed in a clash with Azerbaijani forces near the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. De-facto officials of Nagorno-Karabakh rejected the statement, saying Azerbaijani snipers had shot a shepherd dead on February 11-12 and shelled the breakaway region's positions with grenade launchers and mortars. (RFE/RL, 02.12.16).
- U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in a prepared statement: “Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh remained high in 2015. Baku’s sustained military buildup coupled with declining economic conditions in Azerbaijan are raising the potential that the conflict will escalate in 2016.”(DNI.gov, 02.09.16).
- U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in a prepared statement: “Moscow will continue to push for greater regional integration, raising pressure on neighboring states to follow the example of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan and join the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union.”(DNI.gov, 02.09.16).
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Georgia is moving closer to the military alliance by making reforms and major contributions to "our shared security." Stoltenberg made his comments after a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission in Tbilisi on February 11. (RFE/RL, 02.11.16).
- A Georgian envoy says the next round of talks between Russia and Georgia on normalizing bilateral ties has been moved to mid-March. (RFE/RL, 02.08.16).
- Tajikistan is to hold a referendum on May 22 on constitutional amendments that would enable President Emomali Rahmon to establish a presidential dynasty. (RFE/RL, 02.10.16).
- The troop presence at the 201st Military Base in Tajikistan, Russia's biggest non-naval military facility beyond its borders, will be downsized from a division to a brigade, a senior Russian general said. (RFE/RL, 02.05.16).
- The United States has rebuffed a pro-Russia politician's claim that Washington was "plotting" Moldova's unification with European Union and NATO member Romania. (RFE/RL, 02.09.16).
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February 12, 2016
Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for February 5-12, 2016
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Russia's bombing campaign has redrawn the Syrian battlefield and strengthened the hand of Damascus for peace talks. But those gains come at a high cost.
More Russia Bombings in Syria Ahead of Partial Truceby webdesk@voanews.com (Pamela Dockins)
Diplomats agreed in Munich Friday to work toward a temporary, partial pause in the fighting in Syria within a week, but efforts to negotiate a full cease-fire fell short. Russian warplanes continued their bombing runs over northern Syria on Friday, and Moscow's envoys made clear that their military campaign supporting the Damascus government is still underway. The intensive Russian air campaign has shifted the balance of power after more than five years of civil war, and President Bashar al-Assad's forces are poised to capture Aleppo city. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow's airstrikes, ostensibly aimed at Islamic State terrorists, actually have targeted other insurgent groups in most cases, including those supported by the West. Stoltenberg said the Russian bombings have "actually undermined efforts to reach a negotiated, peaceful solution" of the crisis in Syria. But the NATO chief said he is hopeful that Moscow can still play a "a more constructive role" in Syria. "The important thing now is to see that this agreement is fully implemented on the ground," Stoltenberg said, so humanitarian aid can reach civilians trapped in besieged areas of northern Syria. 'Cessation of hostilities' details The agreement the NATO chief referred to was announced after midnight Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - a plan for a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria within a week, with a formal cease-fire to follow at a later date. The deal was issued in the name of the 17-nation International Syria Support Group. The main parties in the war, the Assad government and Syria's multiple rebel factions, did not sign the "cessation of hostilities" agreement and are not bound by it. However, the ISSG says the "cessation of hostilities" can begin only after "confirmation by the Syrian government and opposition, following appropriate consultations in Syria." Under questioning Friday about what was accomplished, Kerry said the agreement for a partial, temporary truce in Syria is a significant accomplishment, but acknowledged it would be only a temporary pause in fighting. "The real test is whether all the parties honor those commitments and implement them," he added. More work is needed to develop the Munich agreement, which Kerry conceded is only "commitments on paper," into a full-fledged cease-fire, U.S. officials said. 'NATO will not intercept refugee boats' Stoltenberg said NATO is supporting the ISSG by increasing monitoring and surveillance along the Turkish-Syrian border, the pathway for refugees heading toward Europe, and also is sending its "standing maritime group" to the Aegean Sea, the perilous route used by refugees traveling from Turkey to Greece in small boats. "This is not about sending back the boats," Stoltenberg told reporters in Munich, "but it is about NATO helping our allies - Greece, Turkey and the European Union - to better cope with the refugee and migrant crisis." Humanitarian access to battle-scarred northern Syria was to be discussed by an ISSG working group on Friday in Geneva. Kerry and Lavrov said their two countries would chair both the working group and a task force to work out the "modalities" of the temporary truce. The task force will include military officials and representatives of other countries that are supporting various armed groups in Syria. Timing and other details about how a temporary truce would be expanded to a formal cease-fire presumably are among the "modalities" under discussion. Moscow wanted more time before truce Moscow originally proposed ending its airstrikes by March 1, according to media reports. Since that would have given Moscow and the Syrian army three more weeks to crush Western- and Arab-backed rebels, the U.S. team in Munich countered with demands for an immediate halt to the fighting. In the background are deep divisions between the United States and Russia over which opposition groups are to be covered by the "cessation of hostilities," and included in subsequent political talks. Moscow contends its military campaign is aimed only at two groups - the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front, which is affiliated with al-Qaida - because they have been labeled as terrorist organizations by the United Nations. Russia, Syria and Iran, which also is actively supporting the Assad regime, say other groups supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states also should be excluded from any cease-fire. Despite persistent complaints from communities in northern Syria that Russian bombs are destroying civilian areas, and images from Aleppo, which has been under heavy attack for more than a week, Lavrov denied that the Russian military targets any civilian areas. Since 2011, the conflict in Syria has killed more than a quarter-million people - and possibly many more, according to revised estimates published this week - and created Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
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As Russian airstrikes help the Assad regime make gains, and refugees flee to Europe, the agreement sees Moscow trouncing the US and its allies
Putting aside the unfortunate historical ring to “peace” agreements signed in Munich, today’s Syrian truce is deeply flawed and unlikely to hold for long. The “cessation of hostilities” – for it is not a true ceasefire – has been hailed as a landmark piece of diplomacy that brings some respite to a war that long ago spiralled out of control.
The veteran diplomat Lord Williams told the BBC: “In a cold war fashion, the two superpowers have taken ownership of the problem.” In fact, it is the US and Europe that appear to own the problem, while Russia has held tight to the solution. Washington, wielding words, has few credible means of enforcement against Moscow, wielding unguided, though effective, bombs. This is why the truce includes loopholes large enough to fly a few dozen Russian jets through.
Continue reading...TIME |
Why the Syrian Ceasefire Will Not Stop Russia's Bombing Campaign
TIME While the talks did result in a hopeful pledge for the “nationwide cessation of hostilities” within one week, the agreement will not impede Russian bombs from continuing to pummel Syrian cities. Nor will it resolve the core disagreements between the U ... Skepticism greets Syria truce deal on worries over Russian bombingWashington Post US, Russia and UN say Syria fighting 'cessation' to take effect next weekFox News 'Cessation Of Hostilities' In Syria Lets Russia Keep BombingHuffington Post Newsweek -Reuters -New York Times all 2,648 news articles » |
To many, the deal hammered out in Munich overnight seemed like just another irrelevant set of words dictated by diplomats in a foreign capital.
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