Russia Military Build-Up in Syria ‘Long Term’
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Russia’s military build-up in Syria is showing no signs of slowing down with Moscow adding significant air power to its growing array of assets along a stretch of coastline still controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to a U.S. official speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity, Russia now has 28 attack aircraft at the Bassel al-Assad air base near Latakia, up from four confirmed aircraft on Friday.
“It’s a significant, long-term build-up,” the official said. “It’s a long-term deal.”
The contingent includes 12 Su-25 “Frogfoots,” 12 Su-25 “Fencers” and four “Flankers.” Imagery experts at AllSource Analysis identified the “Flankers” as Su-30s.
Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence and advisory firm based in Austin, Texas, said the Su-30s are advanced aircraft “suited for both air-superiority missions, as well as ground attack operations.”
Stratfor called the presence of the Su-25 “Frogfoots” significant because it indicates “a clear intent to develop a ground attack capability that would be able to impose significant pressure on targets across the Syrian front lines.”
The U.S. official said 20 Russian attack and transport helicopters also are being stationed at the base, up from eight on Friday, and that additional tanks also had been brought in.
In addition, the official confirmed reports that Russia has begun flying drones on reconnaissance missions, as first reported by Reuters.
U.S. officials said previously that Russia was landing about two cargo flights a day at the air base and has enough modular housing for up to 2,000 troops with about 500 naval infantrymen already on the ground.
“We’re obviously watching the situation on the ground in Syria very closely,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Monday. “We’re keenly aware of what is happening there.”
The build-up of Russian forces in Syria has raised concerns those forces could come into conflict with the air campaign by U.S. and coalition forces targeting the group known as the Islamic State.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke Friday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu. The two agreed to continue talking in order to establish “mechanisms for de-confliction” to prevent any accidental military engagement, but the Pentagon said Monday those talks remained in the early stages, and there were no “next steps” to announce.
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NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia — Israel and Russia agreed on Monday to coordinate military actions over Syria in order to avoid accidentally trading fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Moscow.
Recent Russian reinforcements for Syrian President Bashar Assad, which regional sources say include warplanes and anti-aircraft systems, worry Israel, whose jets have on occasion bombed the neighboring Arab country to foil suspected handovers of advanced arms to Assad's Lebanese guerrilla ally Hezbollah.
Briefing Israeli reporters after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu said he had come with the goal of "prevent(ing) misunderstandings between IDF (Israel Defense Force) units and Russian forces" in Syria, where Assad is fighting Islamist-dominated insurgents in a civil war.
Netanyahu added that he and Putin "agreed on a mechanism to prevent such misunderstandings." He did not elaborate. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
In earlier remarks as he welcomed Netanyahu to the presidential residence of Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow, Putin said Russian actions in the Middle East would always be "responsible."
Underlining the importance of Netanyahu's one-day visit to Moscow, Israel's premier took along the chief of its armed forces and the general in charge of Israeli military intelligence.
Putin, who shares Western concern about the spread of ISIS influence, has pledged to continue military support for Assad, assistance that Russia says is in line with international law. Russia has been focusing forces on Syria's coast, where Moscow keeps a big Mediterranean naval base.
Putin Suggests U.S. to Blame for Rise of Isis 0:37
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The United States, which along with its allies has been flying missions against ISIS insurgents in Syria, has also been holding so-called "deconfliction" talks with Russia.
Netanyahu told Israeli reporters that he had informed the Americans "on each and every detail" of his Moscow visit, adding: "Everyone has an interest in avoiding an unnecessary clash" over Syria.
A U.S. official told Reuters that U.S.-Israeli coordination allowed the allies to share classified technologies for identifying Russian aircraft over Syria: "We know how to spot them clearly and quickly," the official said.
Separately, U.S. officials said Russia had started flying surveillance missions with drone aircraft in Syria in what appeared to be Moscow's first air operations there since beginning its build-up. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not say how many aircraft were involved.
A former Netanyahu adviser said Israel was concerned that Russia's help for Assad in battling an insurgency now in its fifth year could create a de facto axis between Moscow, Iran and Hezbollah.
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SANAA (Reuters) - Air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition killed 50 people in Yemen when they hit a Houthi-held security compound in the north and a house in Sanaa, medical sources and officials said, in an escalating campaign that has claimed increasing civilian lives.
Gulf Arab forces and supporters of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, meanwhile, appear to be making scant progress in a ground offensive in the central desert against battle-hardened Houthi forces who control the capital Sanaa some 120 km (75 miles) to the west.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March to restore Hadi after he fled to Saudi Arabia when the Houthis, backed by supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, overran his southern stronghold of Aden.
A coalition jet fired a missile on Monday into police headquarters in the al-Shaghadreh district of the northern province of Hajjah, northwest of Sanaa, that is in the hands of the Iranian-allied Houthis, regional officials said.
A second missile crashed at the compound as rescue teams and residents arrived, causing a large number of casualties including at least 30 dead, according to medics on the scene.
Earlier in the day, coalition warplanes bombed a cement factory at Ibs, another Hajjah district. Local officials said the strike happened before workers arrived for work, but three shepherds who happened to be tending flocks nearby died.
In Sanaa, residents and medics said at least 18 members of one family were killed when a missile fired by a plane struck their house in al-Hasabah district of the capital. Neighbors said the missiles was apparently aimed at an adjacent residence occupied by members of the Houthi group.
Two more people died in another strike on a third house in the same area, rescuers said.
In the central city of Taiz, residents said eight people were killed in a mortar attack by the Houthis against a district of the city held by Hadi supporters, residents said.
ESCALATION
Almost daily air raids by Saudi-led forces have escalated since the Houthis fired a land-to-land missile at a coalition base in central Marib province two weeks ago, killing more than 60 soldiers, most of them from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE pledged to push ahead with the coalition offensive to dislodge the Houthis - seen by U.S.-allied Gulf Sunni Muslim as a proxy for would-be Iranian expansion in the Arabian Peninsula - from Sanaa. The Houthis deny such links and say they are waging war against corruption and misrule in Yemen.
International human rights groups have voiced concern at the growing number of civilians killed in the intensifying air war.
Coalition officials said a major westwards thrust against the Houthis in oil-producing Marib began last week, and local media have since reported advances in the region.
A regional official in Marib said on Monday that the battlefronts had been quiet since the Arab coalition spearheaded by UAE forces completed "securing" the environs of Marib city.
On Sunday, an air strike targeted a market in the Mnabbeh district of the northern province of Saada, the historical Houthi bastion, killing at least 20 people and injuring over 70.
More than 4,500 people have been killed since the Saudi-led intervention, according to United Nations figures.
On Saturday, Oman said it had summoned the Saudi ambassador to Muscat to file a formal complaint over what it said was the targeting of the residence of its ambassador in Sanaa during air strikes on Friday night. Oman has not joined its Gulf Arab states in the anti-Houthi offensives.
A coalition spokesman denied the accusation and suggested that the envoy's residence may have been hit by mortars, possibly fired by the Houthis, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Sunday.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Dominic Evans)
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Rep. Alan Grayson (D., Fla.) has quietly changed the name of the controversial hedge funds that has put the congressman under increased scrutiny over whether he was in violation of ethics rules.
Grayson has continued to operate the Delaware-based Grayson Fund Management Company as a member of Congress and has insisted on numerous occasions that he was not violating ethics rules. However, many experts challenged this notion, as sitting members of Congress are prohibited from using their names in the titles of financial entities.
A spokesman for Grayson said the change was made to stop the argument over the hedge funds that have become a central issue in the Florida Senate race.
The Tampa Bay Times reports:
This month, the millionaire Orlando Democrat petitioned to change Grayson Fund Management Company to Sibylline Fund Management.His spokesman confirmed the move Sunday evening. “There’s nothing wrong with the investor partnership using ‘Grayson’ in their name, but at this point, it’s simply easier to change the name than to argue about it,” spokesman Kevin Franck said in an email.Grayson argued that he was on firm footing (Politico in June quoted a number of people who disagreed). But it had become an issue as Grayson runs for Senate. He faced an official House complaint filed by a supporter of rival Patrick Murphy, who pointed to congressional rules barring lawmakers from lending their names to entities that provide a fiduciary role.
Additionally, Grayson has also filed to change the name of his Cayman Island-based Grayson Fund Management Company, LLC to Sibylline Fund Management Company, LLC.
The post Grayson Changes Name Of Controversial Hedge Funds After Increased Scrutiny appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Europe Divided Over Migrant Influxby webdesk@voanews.com (Ken Bredemeier)
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is urging the 28-nation bloc to quit quarreling over how to relocate the thousands of asylum-seekers from war-wracked Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. "Our internal unity strengthens our external action or weakens it," she told reporters in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. EU justice and interior ministers are to meet Tuesday and EU leaders hold a summit Wednesday, with talks at both gatherings centered on Europe's biggest stream of migrants since World War II. European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he fears the EU summit will end in discord. He met Monday with French President Francois Holland to try to "avoid widening differences and gaps that are existing already" among EU countries. Hungary, Croatia, Greece Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Europe's most outspoken migrant foe, told his parliament in Budapest, "They are overrunning us. They're not just banging on the door, they're breaking the door down on top of us." At Orban's request, the parliament handed the Hungarian army sweeping new authority to control the migrants at the border and police the right to search homes for migrants who have entered the country illegally. Croatia demanded Greece stop sending refugees on to the rest of Europe, even as it opened a refugee center for 27,000 migrants and promised them help in getting to other countries. "It is absolutely unacceptable to have Greece emptying its refugee camps and sending people towards Croatia via Macedonia and Serbia," Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said. Croatia said the migrants had arrived in its territory after Hungary blocked its border last week. Croatia at first welcomed the migrants, but quickly reversed itself. Rights abuses One migrant, Salakh Arbash from Syria, said conditions at the Opatovac refugee center, are daunting. "Now we are here from yesterday, we have waited for 12 hours on the border. Last night was very difficult for us because it was rainy and it was so cold. We have slept for two hours in the streets." Human Rights Watch said in a new report that Macedonian police have verbally and physically abused migrants, clubbing some of them with batons as they pass through the country from Greece heading north. The humanitarian group said that based on interviews with 64 refugees, "It is plain to see that Macedonia has a problem with police violence against asylum seekers and migrants." United plan Poland's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna says Europe needs a united plan to address the ongoing refugee crisis, but not one that imposes quotas for individual countries stating how many people they should admit. In an opinion piece published Monday by the newspaper Politico Europe, Schetyna said the first EU priority should be to seal its borders, and that the bloc should set up refugee reception centers to identify those who are refugees and those who are economic migrants. "We cannot allow the refugee crisis to divide and antagonize Europe," he wrote. "That is why we view the challenge put before us not in terms of compulsory quotas, which are probably outdated and insufficient by now, but in terms of solidarity." Schetyna said Poland is not opposed to taking in refugees, but the proposal for EU nations to divide 120,000 people would not fully address the problem. "Instead we should be jumping into action with a broad plan that tackles the causes of the exodus as well as the symptoms. And we need to strike the right balance between helping those in need and guaranteeing the security of our citizens." He told reporters Sunday that nations such as Sweden, Germany and Austria have experience taking in migrants, while others in the EU do not. Migrant influx More than 470,000 people have arrived in Europe this year, nearly 40 percent of them from Syria, according to the International Organization for Migration. On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would increase the number of refugee visas it issues from 70,000 a year now to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017. Kerry, speaking in Berlin, called the decision by the Obama administration a "step in keeping with America's best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope." He also said the government will explore ways to boost the refugee visa limit beyond the 100,000 ceiling in future years.
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 Reuters |
Exclusive: 'Putin's banker' Pugachev files $10 billion claim against Russia
Reuters LONDON Sergei Pugachev, a tycoon once dubbed "Putin's banker" because of his influence in the Kremlin, has filed a claim against Russia for more than $10 billion after his business empire was carved up when he fell out of favor with President Vladimir ... The former 'Kremlin's banker' reportedly filed a $10 billion claim against RussiaBusiness Insider all 7 news articles » |
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Iraq Facing Cholera Outbreak as Public Services Deteriorateby webdesk@voanews.com (Edward Yeranian)
Iraq is experiencing a marked increase in the number of cases of cholera, due to poor sanitation, unclean drinking water and the country's deteriorating electricity network. Public service messages explain to Iraqis the dangers of cholera, how it is spread, and what its symptoms look like. Iraqi officials report over 120 cases of cholera in recent days in the capital Baghdad, nearby Abu Ghreib, and Najaf. Dr. Mekki Baribar, head of the department of infectious diseases in Diwaniya province, told Alhurra TV that cholera normally manifests itself with heavy diarrhea, but with no pain, no blood in the stool and no fever. He said it occurs suddenly after contamination from food or water. Iraq's Deputy Health Minister Khamis Sa'ad told journalists that the cholera outbreak in the Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghreib was due to the poor quality of the local water supply. Iraqi media report that fighting in the area between Iraqi government forces and Islamic State militants has contributed to the outbreak. Thousands of refugees from Anbar province live in several tent cities in the region, all with poor sanitation facilities. Several officials say Islamic State militants have blocked water from a local dam from irrigating the area, creating shortages and extra pollution. Other sources say that previous flooding contaminated drinking water facilities with sewage. Middle East analyst James Denselow of London's Foreign Policy Center told VOA that the cholera outbreak is a sign of what top U.S. defense analysts are describing as the increasing lack of viability of regional states like Syria and Iraq. “You're seeing a new type of politics emerging in places like Baghdad, where residents are incredibly frustrated by the poor quality infrastructure - electricity, power cuts, water, sanitation - that leads to things such as outbreaks of cholera. This is a real challenge for Iraq's politicians. It's not about necessarily governing and controlling a big tent coalition, but if you can't pick up the rubbish and keep the lights on, you're going to be unpopular,” Denselow said. Iraq has seen weeks of protests across the country over poor services and corruption. Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi has sacked dozens of officials to streamline the government and remove corrupt politicians from office.
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 Daily Signal |
Putin Looks to Remove American Influences From Russia
Daily Signal By pulling the plug on the U.S. sponsored America Center hosted at M. Rudomino All-RussiaState Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin has subtly moved against the U.S.. According to a press release by the U.S. Embassy ... and more » |
 RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |
US Ambassador 'Attends' Russian Opposition Rally
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty It was a report guaranteed to inflame Kremlin supporters: the U.S. ambassador toRussia, John Tefft, attending a Moscow rally of opposition activists, like a shepherd keeping watch over his antigovernment flock. It even included a photograph purporting ... and more » |
 BBC Russian |
Посольство США ответило фотожабами на фейк о Теффте
BBC Russian Посольство США в России в ответ на сообщения о том, что американский посол Джон Теффт якобы посетил митинг оппозиции, опубликовало несколько фотожаб с послом. К флешмобу подключились и другие пользователи "Твиттера". Среди СМИ, сообщивших о посещении послом ... Посольство США ответило флешмобом на фейковое "фото" посла ТеффтаРадио Свобода Посольство США опровергло присутствие посла Джона Теффта на митинге оппозицииРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ РЕН ТВ извинился за публикацию смонтированного фото посла СШАРБК Аргументы и факты -РИА Новости -Газета.Ru Все похожие статьи: 74 » |
Why Russia Is Expanding Its Syrian Naval Baseby By Matthew Bodner
The Russian military is expanding its tiny naval facility at Tartus on the Syrian coast to handle bigger warships amid a general buildup of Russian forces in territory controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Russia to withdraw heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine.
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Tension Between Migrants Grows Over Europe Asylum Policyby webdesk@voanews.com (Henry Ridgwell)
Europe faces the task of processing hundreds of thousands of refugee applications – and identifying those in genuine need of asylum. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Croatian-Serbian border, there are claims that some migrants are carrying fake Syrian passports – creating tensions with Syrian nationals.
Почему глава Республики Коми Вячеслав Гайзер, получив 13 сентября для "Единой России" 58% на выборах в Законодательное Собрание, арестован и оказался в тюрьме вместе со всей своей командой?
Почему обвиняемый в заказе убийства псковский губернатор Турчак остается неприкасаемым, а его соратники даже организуют репрессии против оппонента главы региона Льва Шлосберга?
Убедительна ли версия: не слишком влиятельного Вячеслава Гайзера шумно взяли, чтобы прикрыть публично обвиняемых как заказчиков тяжких преступлений имеющих вес в Кремле глав Чечни и Псковской области.
Какова экономическая обстановка в нефтяном регионе Коми?
Какую роль в аресте руководства республики Коми играет соперничество ЛУКОЙЛа и "Роснефти"?
Почему Кремль сейчас резко меняет повестку дня: с внешнеполитической - на "борьбу" с коррупцией?
События в Сыктывкаре и Пскове обсудят лидер партии "Демократический Выбор" Владимир Милов, географ Наталья Зубаревич, политолог Михаил Виноградов, депутат Псковского областного собрания депутатов от партии "Яблоко" Лев Шлосберг, журналист Сергей Сорокин (Сыктывкар).
Ведет передачу Михаил Соколов.
Ведет передачу Михаил Соколов.
US Official: Russia Military Build-Up in Syria ‘Long Term’by webdesk@voanews.com (Jeff Seldin)
Russia’s military build-up in Syria is showing no signs of slowing down with Moscow adding significant air power to its growing array of assets along a stretch of coastline still controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to a U.S. official speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity, Russia now has 28 attack aircraft at the Bassel al-Assad air base near Latakia, up from four confirmed aircraft on Friday. “It’s a significant, long-term build-up,” the official said. “It’s a long-term deal.” The contingent includes 12 Su-25 “Frogfoots,” 12 Su-25 “Fencers” and four “Flankers.” Imagery experts at AllSource Analysis identified the “Flankers” as Su-30s. Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence and advisory firm based in Austin, Texas, said the Su-30s are advanced aircraft “suited for both air-superiority missions, as well as ground attack operations.” Stratfor called the presence of the Su-25 “Frogfoots” significant because it indicates “a clear intent to develop a ground attack capability that would be able to impose significant pressure on targets across the Syrian front lines.” The U.S. official said 20 Russian attack and transport helicopters also are being stationed at the base, up from eight on Friday, and that additional tanks also had been brought in. In addition, the official confirmed reports that Russia has begun flying drones on reconnaissance missions, as first reported by Reuters. U.S. officials said previously that Russia was landing about two cargo flights a day at the air base and has enough modular housing for up to 2,000 troops with about 500 naval infantrymen already on the ground. “We’re obviously watching the situation on the ground in Syria very closely,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Monday. “We’re keenly aware of what is happening there.” The build-up of Russian forces in Syria has raised concerns those forces could come into conflict with the air campaign by U.S. and coalition forces targeting the group known as the Islamic State. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke Friday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu. The two agreed to continue talking in order to establish “mechanisms for de-confliction” to prevent any accidental military engagement, but the Pentagon said Monday those talks remained in the early stages, and there were no “next steps” to announce.
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 Wall Street Journal |
NATO Chief Calls on Russia to Withdraw Heavy Weapons From Ukraine's East
Wall Street Journal LVIV, Ukraine—The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization called on Russia to take the next step to advance the Ukrainian peace agreement by withdrawing its heavy weapons from the country's east. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg arrived ... NATO says Russia must withdraw heavy weapons from UkraineReuters In first Ukraine trip, NATO chief tries balancing act on RussiaYahoo News NATO chief demands Russia withdraw from UkraineUkraine Today all 148 news articles » |
 The National Interest Online (blog) |
These are the 28 jets Russia now has in Syria
Washington Post Russia now has a mixture of 28 ground-attack aircraft and multi-role fighters stationed in Syria and has begun flying large fixed-wing drones over the country, according to a U.S. official. The jets have arrived in recent days at Russia's new airfield ... Russia's Su-30SM vs. America's F-22 Stealth Fighter in Syria: Who Wins?The National Interest Online (blog) Russian Fighter Aircraft Arrive in SyriaSTRATFOR Russian SU-30SM in Syria, not SU-27bellingcat Sputnik International all 11 news articles » |
Force will include fighter aircraft crews, engineers and troops to secure facility
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Austria's interior minister says a Europe-wide resettlement plan is needed, after thousands more people crossed into the country over the weekend.
TOVARNIK, Croatia (Reuters) - Love brought Nizar Shoukry from his native Syria to Croatia and eventually a dental practice in the border town of Tovarnik. Thirty years later, war is bringing his countrymen, in a chaotic, desperate tide flowing past Shoukry’s door en route to Germany and a promise of asylum.
PARIS (Reuters) - France will not demand Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's departure as a precondition for peace talks, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Le Figaro in an interview.
TIME |
Let's Face It, China Runs US Monetary Policy Now
TIME As Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his long awaited visit to the U.S., there will be plenty for him to discuss with President Obama–trade issues, cyber-security, conflict in the South ChinaSeas, and so on. One topic that has gotten less attention ... China shares power on to make the region's only gainsBBC News all 182 news articles » |
September 21, 2015, 10:03 PM (IDT)
Russia continued its military buildup in Syria over the weekend to a total of 28 combat aircraft plus 16 helicopters on the ground, US national security sources reports. The Russians masked the transport of the military aircraft by flying them in behind the giant Antonov-124 transport aircraft. The speed of the Russian buildup has surprised the US
On September 14, President Vladimir Putin arrived in Ingushetia on an unannounced visit and convened a government meeting in the capital, Magas (Kremlin.ru, September 14). Three days later, on September 17, the Russian president held another meeting in a highly unusual format—with the governor of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, and the governor of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. Moreover, the three men were shown on the official Kremlin webpage sitting together at a round table (Kremlin.ru, September 17). Vladimir Putin’s highly unusual attention to Ingushetia and Chechnya at a time when he has many other pressing issues on his plate, such as preparing for his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, sparked widespread speculation among experts about the true meaning of Putin’s visit.
Indeed, the Kremlin gave no information about the meeting between Putin, Yevkurov and Kadyrov at the Russian president’s residence in Sochi other than that it involved a discussion of “various projects of economic development of the North Caucasus region, including the implementation of programs” (Kremlin.ru, September 17). Nor were there any special statements made at the Magas meeting that would explain why the Russian head of state decided to visit a small republic that has largely stayed out of the news in the past couple of months. In the Magas meeting, Putin noted that Ingushetia remains highly dependent on Moscow for its financial wellbeing. The president especially highlighted issues related to high unemployment and poor housing conditions in the republic (Kremlin.ru, September 14). These issues in Ingushetia are not new and have not caused particular problems for the government, so they do not explain Putin’s visit to the region.
This development caught the attention of several Ingush bloggers, who immediately speculated that Moscow is possibly planning to merge Ingushetia and Chechnya into one republic (Livejournal.com, September 17). Checheno-Ingushetia existed during the Soviet period, but for tactical political reasons, Moscow approved Ingushetia’s separation from the joint republic in 1992, when Chechnya sought independence from the Russian Federation. The Chechens and Ingush are closely related ethnic groups, who speak a language that is mutually intelligible and are sometimes referred to collectively as the Vainakh people. At the same time, they have differences that resulted in clashes in recent years after Chechnya’s flamboyant and authoritarian ruler, Ramzan Kadyrov, sought to expand his rule to Ingushetia. Russian experts warn that the Ingush will not tolerate the patronizing tone of their larger and more influential ethnic cousins, the Chechens, and that Moscow should not attempt to merge the two republics (Kavkazskaya Politika, September 19).
Relations between Yevkurov and Kadyrov soured back in 2012, when Kadyrov claimed that his men killed several insurgents who had attacked Tsentoroi, Kadyrov’s clan in Chechnya. Kadyrov accused the Ingushetian authorities of being incapable of fighting the militants and offered his assistance. Yevkurov responded by criticizing Kadyrov’s methods of fighting the insurgency in Chechnya. The conflict quickly spiraled into personal attacks by the two leaders, and Kadyrov subsequently pushed for the establishment of a proper administrative border between the two republics. Since the two peoples have lived alongside each other for a long time, border issues could have easily further deteriorated relations between Ingushetia and Chechnya. However, Moscow intervened and pacified the two leaders for a while (Kavkazskaya Politika, September 17).
The “truce” broke down in August 2014, when Chechen and Ingush police clashed at the border. Last August, an official Chechen delegation visited the Ingush city of Karabulak to convince the remaining refugees to return to Chechnya. The visit was overshadowed by confrontation with the Ingush authorities that nearly ended in another clash. Ingushetia’s Minister for External Ties, Nationalities, Press and Information Ruslan Khautiev called the Chechens a “so-called brotherly people” and claimed that the Chechen Republic had only produced terrorism in recent years, while Ingushetia had managed “to overcome this.” Chechen authorities have recently started to distribute aid among needy Ingush, further infuriating the Ingush authorities. Given the history of rocky relations between the Chechens and the Ingush, some analysts regarded the meeting between Putin, Kadyrov and Yevkurov as Moscow’s attempt to make peace between the two neighboring republics (Kavkazskaya Politika, September 17).
However, no vows of eternal friendship between the two people followed the three-way meeting, so it is not clear whether the meeting was about making peace between Kadyrov and Yevkurov. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that the president’s intention was to mediate between the two governors. Peskov said the meeting was only about economic issues (RIA Novosti, September 17).
Several experts agree that Putin convened the meeting with the governors of Chechnya and Ingushetia to use the Chechen experience of economic development in Ingushetia (Club-rf.ru, September 18). If so, this implies Putin could be trying to push for the expansion of Kadyrov’s influence in Ingushetia. Improving economic conditions is apparently the Russian government’s stated rationale and, at the same time, the bait for the Ingush public. Even if Kadyrov does not obtain formal control over Ingushetia, Moscow appears to approve of his ambitions vis-à-vis Ingushetia. Many in Ingushetia, however, are likely to be upset about this decision, which may contribute to further friction with Chechnya.
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Nobel Peace Prize committee accuses former longtime secretary of breach of trust over new book
Order comes month after Kathleen Kane was arrested on charges she leaked secret grand jury info and lied about her actions under oath
MOSCOW — Russia's foreign ministry on Monday called for "concrete action" after a shell landed on its embassy compound in the Syrian capital, blaming forces battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A young bagpiper drowns out a ‘hate preacher’ in the Scottish town of St Andrews, who was proclaiming that same-sex marriage has ruined the economy. The incident on Market Street delighted shoppers as they watched the bagpipe player, Daniel Boyle, slowly walk towards the ‘hate preacher’ while playing Scotland the Brave and then followed him around until police arrived
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Official confirms Penn. police sent out alert as a reminder to be vigilant of people who may try to impersonate officials to carry out terror plots
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he reached agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ways to prevent clashes between their militaries in war-torn Syria.
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