Russia accuses Turkey of supporting terrorist groups al-Nusra and Ahrar ash-Sham in Syria

January 21, 2016 By administrator

Terrorist groups al-Nusra and Ahrar ash-Sham have received serious reinforcements from Turkey in the Syrian province of Aleppo, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign ministry said Thursday, January 21, Sputnik News reports.

“Unfortunately, in recent days, we noticed that terror groups have intensified their activities ahead of planned intra-Syrian talks,” Maria Zakharova told a weekly press briefing.

Terrorists may use fortifications built by Turkey on its border with Syria as strongholds, the spokeswoman said, adding that Moscow was concerned about increased Turkish military incursions into Syria.

“While all interested sides pin their hopes on the start of a meaningful and inclusive dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition, some external forces continue helping militants in Syria, including terrorist groups, providing them with arms and ammunition,” she said.

Russia will continue its humanitarian operation in Syria, Zakharova noted, adding that Moscow was surprised over Washington’s claims that it “does not see” Russian humanitarian aid deliveries to the war-torn country.

Sputnik News. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova Holds Weekly Press Briefing Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160121/1033483222/zakharova-press-briefing.html#ixzz3xt5C2wdo

More Serbs Back Alliance With Russia as Support for EU Entry Falters

January 18, 2016 By administrator

According to the latest poll by popular Serbian politics magazine New Serbian Political Thought, Serbs’ support for the idea of joining the European Union is continuing its downward slide, while support for an undefined ‘alliance with Russia’, or for the country’s neutrality, continues to grow.

Interviewed by Sputnik Serbia, Djordje Vukadinovic, the editor in chief of the independent magazine, revealed that “at the moment, according to our research, support for joining the European Union stands at about 47%. Among that figure, 25% is the ‘backbone’ which has always been (and will remain) in favor of the EU.”

Ultimately, he notes, “most respondents see in Europe a chance for a better future for the next generation, rather than a chance for themselves. However, undoubtedly, the number of Eurosceptics is growing.”

Interestingly, when the question is not a yes/no proposition, but an explicit choice between the EU and Russia, the answers change. Also speaking to Sputnik Serbia, Srdjan Bogosavljevic, country manager for the Ipsos Strategic Marketing market research firm, explained why this is so.

“When one asks people: ‘Are you for EU membership or for a union with Russia’, the ‘alliance with Russia’ option (whatever it means), receives 20% more support than the EU.”

“We are now finding,” Bogosavljevic explained, “that a large number of people support both the EU and Russia. But when we force them to choose between them, about 15% choose the EU, while 33% choose Russia, and 35% step out in favor of neutrality.”

In any case, Vukadinovic noted, “support for European integration has faced a slow but consistent decline. We see it drop from poll to poll, and now support is down to less than 50%.”

Noting that there has been a marked spike in Euroscepticism, the magazine editor explained that “when we talk about those who support the European Union, this is a broad but fragile group. Eurosceptics on the other hand are much more implacable – much firmer in their convictions. Of the 45% of respondents who support the EU, only about half of them can boast such firm convictions.”

“The rest are on the fence; after all, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has evolved from a Eurosceptic to a ‘Euroreformist’ party, and voters followed their leader, who told them that it is necessary to join the EU.”

The Serbian Progressive Party emerged in 2008 as a result of a split with the Serbian Radical Party –a Eurosceptic party which at the time was the country’s leading opposition force.

Seymour Hersh: US Military Recognizes Russia’s Success in Syria

January 15, 2016 By administrator

According to Seymour Hersh, one of America’s best-known investigative journalists, the US recognizes Russia’s military success in Syria.

Russians have acted in a very professional manner and managed to strengthen the Syrian Army, while US policy in the region has remained inconsistent, Seymour Hersh said.

“Americans have not recognized one thing above all: Syria, like Iraq and Libya, was a secular ally of the West, with moderate Sunnis. And we have intervened into these countries, overthrown their governments, and thus helped those whom we view now as our worst enemies — ISIS or Daesh and all the other extreme Sunnis,” the journalist said in an interview with the German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN).

Hersh argued that Americans’ hatred for Syrian President Bashar Assad has no logical reasons. The Syrian leader repeatedly tried to build a good relationship with the US, while Syria’s intelligence services provided Washington with hundreds of documents, warning about Islamist attacks against the West and the US in particular.

“The Syrian intelligence [service] is one of the best in the world. It gave Americans the information on Mohammed Atta and the Hamburg terror cell,” the journalist said, cited by the newspaper. “But in his foreign policy, Obama — from his very first day in office – continued the Bush strategy. He continued with the ‘war on terror’.”

Hersh claimed that after 9/11, the US should have enhanced its cooperation with Moscow because “Russians know exactly what the Islamist threat is”.

However, better late than never: the “US military has now recognized the Russian military’s success in Syria,” Seymour Hersh said. Referring to his sources in the US military and the intelligence services, Hersh said, that Americans have great respect for Russia’s armed forces and especially for Russian General Valeri Gerasimov.

In the journalist’s opinion, Putin pursues a “clever” policy in the Middle East. The Russian leader managed to strengthen the Syrian Army and made it capable of fighting.

Nevertheless, the US has continued to maintain its tough stance against Russia and Hersh doesn’t understand the motives behind this.

“Lavrov is a very straightforward person. He has always said openly what the Russian position is,” the journalist said, adding that the US media tend to pretend that everything Russians say is a lie.

“Why not just listen to them? I cannot understand why Obama has such an anti-Russian stance. The Russian secret services are the best in the world; they know more about the region than we do. They know more about Daesh and al-Baghdadi. And they always have said — as well as the Syrians — that they are open to a better relationship with America. But the President pursues a surprisingly hard line against Russia and I do not know why,” the journalist stated.

Source: sputniknews.com

Armenia’s Russian air base pilots start flights on MiG-29 fighters

January 15, 2016 By administrator

203842 PanARMENIAN.Net – Young Russian pilots have started practical flight trainings at the military airfield Erebuni in Armenia, the press office of the Russian Southern Military District said.

According to the statement, the pilots will for the first time fly fourth generation MiG-29 modern fighters by themselves in adverse weather conditions at altitudes of 4-5 km above sea level.

During the first flight, the pilots will practice taking off, landing, flying in the daytime on specified routes. Limited runway and landing of fighters in a close proximity to the state border are key characteristic features of these flights.

Modern Tachyon drones were deployed to the Russian military base of the Southern Military District (SMD) in Armenia.

Tachyon unmanned aerial vehicles are used for military intelligence operations both in the daytime and at night, covering up to 40 kilometers in a variety of adverse conditions in the wind at a speed of 15 meters per second.

Russia has reinforced its military base in Armenia with six modern attack Mi-24P and transport Mi-8MT helicopters on December 21.

In early December, seven of Russia’s advanced Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters and Mi-8MT Hip transport helicopters had been deployed to the Erebuni base.

Terrorist in Syria still being Reinforced Via Turkey Despite world watching

January 11, 2016 By administrator

1032906050 Russian military aircraft hit 1097 terrorists targets in Syria and conducted 311 sorties since the beginning of 2016, the Russian General Staff announced.

Russian combat aircraft carried out over 300 missions in Syria since the beginning of 2016, hitting about 1,100 terrorist targets in ten provinces, the Russian General Staff said Monday.

“With the help of the Russian aviation the Syrian Democratic Forces under the command of Ayman Flyat al-Ganim continue the advance on the Daesh capital — Raqqa. They have taken control over al-Salhiya, Rdzheman-Alaia, el-Qria and Hadriyat-Ayn-Isa,”Rudskoy said.

Terrorist groups operating in Syria continue to receive reinforcements coming through Turkey, despite all efforts by the global community the Russian General Staff announced.

“However, despite all the efforts by the international community to stop supplies to terrorists, reinforcements continue to reach regularly northeastern Latakia from the Turkish territory,” Rudskoy said.

“Russian jets are striking the terrorists’ strongholds in Syria. We have conducted 311 sorties and destroyed at least 1,097 targets in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Damascus, Deir-er-Zor, Hasakah, Daraa and Raqqa,” Rudskoy said.

“As a result of the Russian airstrikes the terrorists continue to suffer losses”, head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Sergei Rudskoy added.

Over 150 towns and villages in Syria have been freed over the last 1.5 months thanks to the support provided to Syrian troops by Russian aviation, the Russian General Staff said Monday.

Russian jets have supported 11 different democractic militia forces in their advance against terrorist positions.

“We support people’s militia who are fighting against terrorism in Syria. Today our bomber jets strike to help the Democratic opposition in their advance,” the head of the General Staff said.

“In December 2015, militants were driven out of 134 towns and villages, and from another 19 during the first days of this year. The most success has been reached in the regions of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Homs and Raqqa,” Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said.

The general also added that the Syrian army regained control over 6 key positions in Latakia.

The airstrikes mainly targeted terrorist infrastructure, oil facilities, large groups of militants and military equipment with the goal to provide effective support to Syrian army units and groups of patriotic opposition fighting Islamic State (Daesh in Arabic) on the ground.

Syria has been torn by a civil war since 2011, as government forces have been clashing with opposition factions and extremist groups operating in the country.

Since September 30, Moscow has been conducting pinpoint airstrikes in Syria on the positions of Islamic State (Daesh), a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries, at President Bashar Assad’s request.

The Russian forces coordinate their actions with the Syrian army which is operating on the ground. The Syrian Armed Forces have repeatedly hailed the Russian air campaign, saying the airstrikes have inflicted irreparable damage on the terrorists in Syria.

Source: sputniknews.com

Armenian political figures welcome re-equipment of Russian military base

January 11, 2016 By administrator

Political figures Azat Arshakyan and Gurgen Yeghiazaryan welcome the fact that the Russian military base in Armenia’s Gyumri has been supplied with new military equipment.

Mr Arshakyan hopes that the Russia army will leave the military equipment to the Armenian army.

“I do not think Russia could start war against NATO. Some people think of janissaries and their yataghans when they mention turkey, but Turkey is a NATO member now,” he said.

Moreover, Russian-Turkish relations have a history of competing for influence not only over the Caucasus and the region. There is also an element of pan-Turkism.

“Being an Armenian is risky in any country of the world. And even in Armenia it is not secure. If an uncontrollable situation develops, there are threats as we need professional authorities capable of governing the country in the case of serious changes,” Mr Arshakyan said.

Mr Yeghiazaryan welcomes the new equipment at the Russian military base as well.

“Our so-called neighbor is like a viper. But a viper at least warns you of its attack, whereas our neighbor does not,” Mr Yeghiazaryan said.

Speaking of how turkey is treating its neighbors, he said:

“It invaded Iraq’s territory and will not leave it. The US and NATO are allegedly urging it to leave, but it will not. But it is part of big political bluff. They occupied half of Cyprus in broad daylight, invaded Kosovo, exploded missiles, which caused numerous victims. But the West is applying double standards, charging Russia with occupying the Crimea. The countries in question did not see any referendums, whereas a referendum took place in the Crimea. But Armenia is a small country, and they can do whatever they want,” Mr Yeghiazaryan said.

He points out high importance of military equipment.

“Moreover, Turkey is seeking to poke its nose into the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process to dominate the South Caucasus, which will never happen. And it is great that the Russian military base in Gyumri is being supplied with military equipment.”

Russia military base in Armenia gets new UAVs

January 11, 2016 By administrator

UmV New Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) have been brought to the Russian military base in Armenia.

The specialists will teach the unit staff how to operate these UAVs, informed the press service of the Southern Military Okrug (district) of the Russian Armed Forces.

These drones can be used for intelligence-gathering from a distance of up to 40 kilometers day and night, and even under adverse weather conditions, such as during 15 meter/second winds.

Russia analyst: Ankara-Tel Aviv axis poses some threat to Armenian interests

January 11, 2016 By administrator

ankara talabeb Turkey-Israel relations have a long history, leading Russian political analyst Mikhail Aleksandrov told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

He noted this responding to the remark on these two countries’ plans to implement joint economic projects.

In Aleksandrov’s words, due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s policy of neo-Ottomanism, there was some cooling in Turkey-Israel relations in recent years.

“[But] their interests coincide on the ISIS issue,” the analyst noted. “[And] in this context, it’s no coincidence that strategic cooperation has been restored between Israel and Turkey.”

As per Mikhail Aleksandrov, even though Israel could provide some military technology to Turkey, this cannot considerably upset the balance of power in this region, and in Turkey’s favor.

“As before, Russia will maintain its military superiority over Turkey,” the analyst added. “So, Armenia doesn’t particularly have much to fear. However, the Ankara-Tel Aviv axis poses some threat to Armenian interests.”

Doors Closing on Turkey: First the Middle East, now Central Asia slipping away

January 7, 2016 By administrator

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan (L-R), Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev pose for a family photo during a meeting of the heads of state of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Burabai resort near Astana, Kazakhstan, October 16, 2015. The meeting of ex-Soviet leaders, including Putin, have agreed to create a joint task force to defend external borders in crisis situations amid turmoil in Afghanistan. REUTERS/Aleksey Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Turkey — which with its deterioration in relations with Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Israel lost its economic, political and diplomatic influence in the Middle East — is now on the verge of losing Central Asia because of Ankara’s crisis with Russia stemming from events in Syria.

The sanctions Moscow imposed after the Nov. 24 downing of a Russian plane are spreading to Russian spheres of influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as Central Asian countries that had established close ties with Ankara after the collapse of the Soviet Union appear to be preparing to distance themselves from Turkey. At the December 2015 Moscow summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — which includes the Turkic states of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in addition to Russia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Belarus and Armenia — calls were made for Turkey to apologize to Russia.

Armenia holds the term presidency of the CIS-Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of former Soviet republics. The military chiefs of member states met before the gathering of heads of state to hear their term chairman, Gen. Yuri Khachaturov, Armenian chief of the General Staff, harshly criticize Turkey. Khachaturov noted, “Chiefs of staff of all member states of the organization supported the Russian actions and denounced Turkey’s attack against the Su-24 plane that was seen as an incendiary, shameless aggression. As Russia said immediately after the attack, we also saw it as a stab in the back.”

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, term chairman of CIS, also asked the summit to express its support for Russia and denounce Turkey. He said, “As member states, we declared our support for the Russian position and decided to urgently declare unity to combat terror. Turkey’s attitude and its shooting down of the Russian plane have been a setback to the struggle against terror.”

The real shock for Ankara was not Sargsyan’s words, but those of the Kyrgyzstan head of state, President Almazbek Atambayev, who in the past had addressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “my older brother.” After the August 2014 presidential elections, Atambayev had appeared with Erdogan, who was delivering his victory speech, and lavishly praised him. At the CIS summit, Atambayev expressed support for Moscow and President Vladimir Putin and suggested Erdogan and Turkey apologize to Russia.

The support for Russia among the Central Asian Turkic republics, which have received billions of dollars of credit and financing support from Turkey, and Atambayev’s call for an apology shocked Turkey, disillusioning Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party government. In 2014, the Cooperation and Coordination Agency of Turkey had provided the republics more than $3.5 billion. When asked about Atambayev’s comment, Erdogan spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said, “If nothing else, it was an unfortunate statement.”

Russia’s freeze on issuing transit permits to Turkish truckers in October has severely disrupted Turkish exports to the Central Asian republics. Concerned with the prospect of losing the Central Asian market, where Turkey has sizable construction contracts and investments, Ankara began using the Caspian Sea for its exports thanks to Azerbaijan opening its gates.

Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, ordered that Caspian port capacity be increased and transit documents waived for Turkish trucks. Even if Turkish truck traffic through the Caspian reaches 50,000 a year, it would still fall far short of sustaining exports to the Central Asian market.

With the sharp decline in oil and natural gas prices, Azerbaijan had to devalue its currency 47% against the dollar and euro. Given the economic bottlenecks it faces, no one can be sure that the country can indefinitely be a contributor in regard to Turkey’s commercial and energy needs.

Moreover, an Aliyev-Sargsyan meeting in Switzerland Dec. 19 did not yield a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. Instead, both countries announced that their cease-fire had ended. This development greatly concerns Turkey, because it could negatively affect its use of the Azerbaijani route for its exports. Meanwhile, Russia and Armenia, which have been boosting political and economic links, in late December decided to also expand their military cooperation.

In mid-December, Putin announced that visa requirements for Georgian nationals would be eased and soon thereafter abolished. It has become clear that the Russian-Armenian air defense agreement, normalization of Russian-Georgian relations and resumption of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia will impede Turkey’s access to the Caucasus. There are also fears that Russia, which has been firing cruise missiles from its navy based in the Caspian, could block passage through that sea, severely restricting Turkey’s access to Central Asia via that route.

Russia also made use of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to move against Turkey’s relations with the Turkic republics. Turkey-EEU negotiations to establish a free trade zone were suspended, and instead, Putin announced, the EEU would enter into talks with Iran. Thus, Russia is helping advance Iranian economic interests in Central Asia by closing the doors on Turkey advocating a customs union and regional free trade. No doubt, this brought Turkey one step closer to losing Central Asia in the wake of its isolation in the Middle East.

By Zülfikar Doğan

Contributor, Turkey Pulse

Zülfikar Doğan began his career in journalism in 1976 at the Yanki news magazine in Ankara. He has worked as a reporter, news editor, representative and columnist at Milliyet, Posta, Aksam, Finansal Forum, Star and Karsi

Russia cancels nuclear training deals with Turkish universities

January 7, 2016 By administrator

n_93565_1 ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Russia’s National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) has canceled planned training programs with four Turkish universities, which had been part of a multibillion nuclear power plant development deal between the countries that is now under threat following Turkey’s Nov. 24 downing of the Russian jet.

Ankara University had a direct deal for raising the manpower for Turkey’s first planned nuclear plant, Akkuyu, in the southern province of Mersin, while Hacettepe University and Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) had separate deals in the educational, scientific and social fields.

Niyazi Meriç, the head of the Ankara University Nuclear Sciences Institute, told Anadolu Agency that his school and MEPhI had signed a deal on April 13 to offer exchange and double masters degrees to their students.

As part of the deal, the students would have studied for six months in Ankara before spending one year at Moscow’s MEPhI. Some 1,000 engineers who to work at Akkuyu would have been educated in both countries, Meriç said, adding that the university would now be looking for new partners in nuclear education.

Tension between Moscow and Ankara has been high since Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on Nov. 24 for violating Turkey’s border with Syria. Since then, Russia has announced a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey and cancelled many joint projects, but Akkuyu has not been officially halted.

January/07/2016