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Putin-Pashinyan meeting kicks off in Sochi, Russia

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SOCHI, MAY 14,  The meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off in Sochi, Russia.

The discussion focused on issues of mutual interest.

The meeting is being held ahead of the Supreme  Eurasian Economic Council sitting, ARMENPRESS correspondent reports from Sochi.

Armenia’s deputy PM Tigran Avinyan, foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toghanyan, assistants to the Premier Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ruben Rubinyan and FM advisor, head of the CIS department Armen Ghevondyan are also participating in the meeting from the Armenian side.

During the visit the Armenian PM is also expected to meet with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

The ongoing EEU summit in Sochi is the first meeting of leaders of member states of the union in 2018.  The EEU – Eurasian Economic Union – was established on January 1, 2015 and includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was first to congratulate Nikol Pashinyan on his election as Prime Minister of Armenia. Pashinyan and Putin both expressed willingness to continue joint work aimed at further development of the Armenian-Russian strategic and allied relations and deepening of integration processes. Pashinyan and Putin agreed to have a more detailed discussion during their May 14 meeting in Sochi.

Reporting by Ani Nazaryan, ARMENPRESS, Sochi

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Iran, Russia, China must adopt joint strategy against US bids: Official

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A senior Iranian security official has underlined the necessity for Iran, China and Russia to adopt a joint strategy to counter US attempts at harming the three countries.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani made the remarks at a Thursday meeting with Chinese public security minister Guo Shengkun on the sidelines of an international security conference in Russia’s resort city of Sochi.

Representatives from 110 countries are attending the two-day conference to discuss global security issues, including ways to counter terrorism and narcotics as well as the promotion of international peace and stability.

Shamkhani highlighted Tehran and Beijing’s willingness to promote their ties to the highest level, noting that efforts to remove some hurdles in the way of mutual cooperation, including in banking and financial sectors, must be considered as a priority.

The senior Iranian official pointed to ongoing efforts by the countries sponsoring Takfiri terrorism to relocate the remnants of such militant groups from the Middle East to Afghanistan, warning that the deployment of terrorist groups on Afghan soil will pose serious threats to the borders of Iran, China and Russia.

Shamkhani stressed the need for close cooperation among Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan to counter the spread of terrorism in the region, calling for a joint intelligence, security and operational mechanism to put an end to the relocation of terrorist groups to Afghanistan.

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Armenian opposition leader says assured Russia won’t intervene in crisis

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A man holds an Armenian state flag during a rally held by supporters of opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia April 25, 2018

YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday he had met a Russian official and got reassurance that Moscow would not intervene in Armenia’s political crisis.

Armenia is a close Russian ally and the crisis there has seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets in anti-government protests over the last two weeks that forced the resignation of Serzh Sarksyan as prime minister on Monday.

“I had a meeting with an official from Moscow and got reassurance that Russia would not intervene in Armenia’s internal affairs,” Pashinyan told protesters gathered in Republic square in central Yerevan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Armenian President Armen Sarkissian by phone earlier in the day and they agreed that political forces in Armenia need to show restraint and be ready to solve the crisis through talks, the Kremlin said.

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Russian TV Mockingly Prepares for War With U.S., Instructing Citizens to Buy Water and Gas Masks

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Updated | Claiming that some Americans are preparing for a coming war with Moscow, Russian state-owned television explained to the country’s residents how to stock their bunkers with water and basic foodstuffs in case a war breaks out.

Warning that the potential conflict between the two superpowers would be “catastrophic,” an anchor for Russia’s Vesti 24 showed off shelves of food, recommending that people buy salt, oatmeal and other products that can last a long time on the shelves if they plan to hide in a bunker. Powdered milk lasts five years, while sugar and rice can last up to eight years, the newscaster explained before showing videos of pasta cooking in a bomb shelter.

The beginning of the program had a mocking tone about war fears, as pictures of nuclear explosions played in the background. A newscaster said the “real panic isn’t here but across the ocean,” suggesting that Americans are terrified of a war with Russia.

Nonetheless, the channel’s newscasters also displayed charts explaining how much water people need to store for drinking, washing their face and hands and preparing food every day—and how that amount changes depending on the temperature of a person’s bomb shelter. The program also recommended that people stock up on gas masks and read guides on how to survive war. The instructions are for “people who succumb to panic and decide to spend all their savings,” the anchor said.

The program aired just one day after sources told Newsweek that “there is a major war scare” in Moscow as President Donald Trump prepares to strike Syria in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons against civilians over the weekend. The Trump administration has said that it believes Syria’s Russian-backed president, Bashar al-Assad, was responsible for the attacks and that it plans to ensure that Assad pays the price. Russian military forces have responded by saying that Moscow would meet fire with fire and said that it will shoot down any U.S. missiles.

“If there is a strike by the Americans, then the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired,” warned Alexander Zasypkin, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, during an interview on Tuesday with a television station linked to Hezbollah.

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Russia Convenes UNSC Meeting to Discuss Threats to International Peace

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Russia Convenes UNSC

Russia Convenes UNSC

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Russia convenes on Monday a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss threats to international peace and security, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said Sunday.

Thus, the UN Security Council will hold two meetings on Monday. The meeting initiated by Russia will take place approximately at 15.00 local time (19.00 GMT). Upon its completion, the Security Council will proceed to discuss the situation in Syria.

Earlier in the day, nine out of 15 members of the UN Security Council have urged the convocation of an emergency meeting to discuss reports about alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.On Saturday, several media outlets, citing Syrian militants, accused Damascus of using chemical weaponsin the city of Duma in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta. US President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert said earlier on Sunday that he did not rule out military actions against the Syrian government in connection with the reports. At the same time, Trump accused Russia and Iran of supporting Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

Also earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry‘s Center for Syrian Reconciliation refuted reports about the use of a chlorine bomb in Syria’s Duma, adding that Russia was ready to send its specialists to collect data that would confirm the fabricated nature of the statements.

Russian Foreign Ministry said that the information attacks about alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government forces were aimed at covering up terrorists and justifying possible external military action. The ministry warned against any military action based on far-fetched and fabricated reports, adding that it might have severe consequences.

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Russia-Turkey thaw poses real hazards to Armenia – analyst

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The unprecedented warmth in the Russian-Turkish relations is a real challenge to Armenia in the context of regional developments, a political analyst said today, commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ankara and his meeting with the Turkish leader.Speaking at a news conference, Hayk Martirosyan also admitted that the scenario was rather predictable in the light of the two countries’ international isolation.

“That kind of unprecedented rapprochement is becoming a real trouble for Armenia,” he noted.“Armenia has ceased to be a subject in international relations, as it prefers the interests of certain allies to its own interests,” Martirosyan said, citing Russia’s weapons trading with Azerbaijan as the most flagrant example.

The analyst said he also sees that Turkey pursues very smart tactics in the political bargaining to gain the desired outcome through different blackmails.

As another problem, he highlighted the absence of multi-vector policies. “It is time for Armenia to find new, high-quality and trustworthy allies instead of replacing the existing ones with new powers. There are [suitable] countries such as China, which has interests in this region and pursues far-reaching policies in seaerch of a counter-balance,” he said, stressing the need of focusing also on other states (Ethiopia, India etc. which were somehow left in the margin for Armenia).

Martirosyan further warned of possible threats to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), highlighting Turkey’s inevitable engagement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. “I have almost no doubt that should confrontations ever occur, Turkey will have its direct participation. Of course, Turkey’s military engagement will not be obvious (i.e. – in Turkish uniforms), but Turkish subdivisions will certainly take part [in the military actions]. That’s really a serious problem for us as Armenia has no [resources] to counteract,” he said, warning of Turkey’s inevitable military assistance to Azerbaijan.

“Armenia has to reshape its foreign policy agenda to give Russia a clear understanding that we cannot possibly be an object of bargaining in their relations with Turkey,” he said.

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For 100 years the West propped-up Muslim Turkey now Russia stepping in with delivery of S-400 missiles.

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Russia stepping in with delivery of S-400 missiles.

Russia stepping in with delivery of S-400 missiles.

Turkey and Russia have agreed to bring forward to July 2019 the delivery of S-400 air defence missile systems to Ankara, a Turkish official said, in a purchase that has raised eyebrows among NATO allies, AFP reports.

“We brought forward the delivery date in the contract signed with Russia for the acquisition of S-400 systems and got an earlier date of July 2019,” Ismail Demir, Turkish Defence Industries undersecretary, wrote on Twitter late on Tuesday.

His announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin held several hours of meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

At the press conference, Putin said he and Erdogan had decided to “speed up” the delivery of the S-400 air defence missile systems to Ankara, without providing a precise date.

Russian officials had said in December that the first deliveries in the $2 billion deal were likely to begin at the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020.

Putin and Erdogan have forged an increasingly close alliance in recent months, from burgeoning energy ties to holding talks to end the Syria crisis.

In a sign of the importance of the partnership, Putin’s visit to Turkey is his first trip abroad since he won a historic fourth presidential mandate in March 18 polls.

Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey was in no mood to listen to criticism from the West over the purchase of the S-400 systems, saying “this issue is now closed”.

According to Russian press reports, Turkey has been interested in a technology transfer and even joint production of the S-400 with Russia, a prospect that has been resisted by some in the Moscow security services.

Putin refused to discuss the issue saying “these are exclusively commercial questions” rather than political ones.

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How more dangerous could the wold can get, Erdogan in Full control of Russia and Iran.

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The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey have reaffirmed their commitment to work toward achieving a sustainable ceasefire between warring sides in Syria and bringing peace and stability to the war-torn Arab country.

Iran’s Hassan Rouhani and his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “reaffirmed their determination to continue their active cooperation on Syria for the achievement of lasting ceasefire between the conflicting parties and advancement of the political process envisaged by UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” said a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of the three leaders in Ankara on Wednesday.

In the statement, Rouhani, Putin and Erdogan also emphasized their “strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity and non-sectarian character of Syria.”

They also stressed that there could be “no military solution” to the Syrian conflict and that the conflict could be settled only through a “negotiated political process.”

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Online petition asks Putin to appoint Armenian businessman to prime minister’s post

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Sergei Galitsky, Armenian businessman to prime minister’s post

Sergei Galitsky, Armenian businessman to prime minister’s post

An online petition has been launched on Change.org in support of a plan to promote a Moscow-based Armenian billionaire to the post of Russia’s prime minister.

The authors of the initiative have posted their letter on the internet platform, requesting President Vladimir Putin to consider the candidacy of Sergei Galitsky, the founder of the retail chain Magnit.

“Only in case of such a prime minister can Russia realize its Development Plan,” read part of the letter.

The bid, which has already attracted more than 300 online signatures, contains biographic records about the businessman.

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