Russia summoned the Turkish military attaché, citing an incident in Aegean Sea

December 13, 2015 By administrator

Moscow, December 13, 2015 (AFP) – Russia said on Sunday that a Russian destroyer had narrowly avoided a collision with a Turkish ship in the Aegean Sea, and summoned the Turkish military attaché in Moscow as a result of this incident. “On December 13, the crew of the Russian ship Smetlivy, which was 22 km from the Greek island of Lemnos in the northern Aegean avoided a collision with a Turkish fishing boat,” announced the Ministry defense. At 6:03 GMT, the Russian destroyer, which had anchored, noticed a Turkish fishing boat at a distance of a thousand meters, approaching in his direction from the right. “Despite several attempts Smetlivy, the crew of the Turkish ship did not respond by radio or visual signals,” he added.

Moscow claims that the crew of the Russian ship had to shoot with small arms when the boat approached about 600 meters, “to prevent a collision.” “The Turkish ship immediately changed course and continued to move forward, beyond the Smetlivy at a distance of 540 meters without any contact with the Russian crew,” the ministry added. Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, summoned the Turkish military attaché in the wake of the incident, he added.

Turkey and Russia through their worst diplomatic crisis since the Cold War, after a Russian military plane was shot down on November 24 by the Turkish aviation. Since then, Russia has announced retaliatory measures against Turkey that are primarily the sectors of tourism, energy, construction and agriculture. President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the Russian army to respond with “extreme firmness” any force which would threaten Syria. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has in turn called on Russia to “calm” but warned that Ankara’s patience had “limitations”. as / g / at / jh

Sunday, December 13, 2015,
Ara © armenews.com

Breaking News: At least 4 dead in neurological hospital fire in central Russia

December 12, 2015 By administrator

At least four people have been killed and 9 injured in a fire at a neurological hospital in Russia’s central Voronezh region. Up to 17 people remain unaccounted for after a partial roof collapse. Authorities have confirmed that the blaze has been put out.

Over 70 people were inside the building, among them at least four medical personnel, when the fire started. At least 29 of the patients were reportedly bedridden or with limited mobility.

Some 57 people have been evacuated from the burning building, according to emergency services working at the scene.

Two people have been declared dead, while at least nine have been hospitalized after suffering injuries. Another two of the wounded reportedly succumbed to their injuries en route to hospital, an emergency services source told RIA.

Seventeen people reportedly remain unaccounted for as authorities continue working at the scene. The roof of the single-story unit collapsed when the fire consumed all 600 square meters of the building.

Forty six people were transferred to another unit which had not been damaged by the fire.

Authorities believe that a wiring malfunction in the hospital’s electrical system might be the cause of the tragedy.

“Among the main versions [are that it] is the faulty wiring, we are also considered a version of careless handling of fire,” a spokesman from the local emergencies ministry told RIA.

A team of experts are conducting an investigation on site, rescue services told Interfax. Authorities may press charges once the reason behind the fire has been established.

https://twitter.com/okonichnikov16/status/675815461792034816

Turkish Mass Media on Alert as Russia ‘Encircles’ Turkey With Combat Armor

December 10, 2015 By administrator

Turkish media outlets are concerned that Russia is beefing up its military presence around the country following the shootdown of a Russian bomber over Syrian airspace, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

In particular, it says, “Russia sent 14 helicopters to Armenia and deployed them to the Erebuni Air Base near the capital Yerevan on December 8.Seven of these helicopters are armored Mi-24 attack helicopters and the others are Mi-8 model transport helicopters.

The number of Mi-24 attack helicopters could reach 15 by the end of the year.”

Another concern is a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea.

“Russia has sent a submarine called the “Rostov-on-Don” to the Mediterranean Sea, where Russia also maintains a naval base in Tartus. The “Rostov-on-Don” has been equipped with Caliber cruise missiles.

Russia had previously sent two submarines and the “Moskva” cruiser carrying an air defense systems similar to S-300 missiles to Eastern Mediterranean.”

The newspaper also mentioned Russian combat unit in Syria, Hmeymim airbase, outside Latakia.

“Russia has been using the Hmeymim Air Base outside Latakia, one of the strongholds of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

There are an estimated 55 fighter jets in the base, including SU-30 fighter jets and SU-24, 2U-25 and SU-34 bombers along with seven Mi-24 and five Mi-8 helicopters.

The air defense systems of the base include Pantsir-S1, Buk-M2, S-200, Pechora-2M and S-400 batteries. The electronic Krasukha platform, whicymijmh jams radar-guided systems, has also been deployed to the Hmeymim.”

Source:sputniknews.com

Cyprus: Russian jets granted use of Greek Cypriot airbase if in ‘difficult situation’

December 9, 2015 By administrator

Greek Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades has said Russian fighter jets in Syria could use military bases and other airports in Greek Cyprus if caught in a “difficult situation.”

In Athens for a three-way talk with Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, Anastasiades said Russian warplanes and ships could take on supplies from the country and use its military airbase or other airports in case of need.

“In critical situations, Russian ships or aircrafts are allowed to take supplies. This is not with an aim to [facilitate] attacks but as aid,” said Anastasiades on Dec. 9.

“If Russian warplanes are in a difficult situation they can use the Andreas Papandreou military base or the other airports,” he added.

Anastasiades said the deal reached with Russia was to provide the same conveniences Greek Cyprus provides to Germany and France.

Two days before Anastasiades’ remarks, Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said there was a “dialogue between the governments of Cyprus and Russia on the matter of facilities for humanitarian and emergency purposes,” which would allow Russian warplanes carrying out strikes in support of Syria’s president to use its airports in case of emergencies.

Cyprus was obliged by law to offer similar facilities to other countries in emergency situations, particularly when lives are at risk, Kasoulides said, citing their arrangement with France.

“International law requires that help is given in an emergency situation and there is agreement. With Moscow there is a legal drafting process for an agreement also,” he added.

US & Russia to present joint anti-terror finance UNSC resolution

December 8, 2015 By administrator

The United States and Russia will soon be ready to present a draft UN Security Council resolution aimed at crippling the sources of Islamic State’s income, as well as other terror groups. The new text will also finally single ISIS out as a separate terror entity.

“We are working together with the US delegation on a joint project,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters. “This is a grand resolution to fight terrorism. We are quite confident that we will achieve this, that this resolution would be ready by December 18.”

The new resolution against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) would be based on a similar resolution passed back in 1999 to target the financing of Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.

The new text, according to Churkin, will “expand the sanctions regime,” finally “singling out the Islamic State as a separate anti-terrorist structure.”

But most importantly, the new resolution will contain a clause that would enforce the stricter implementation of Resolution 2199, which “forbids illegal oil trade with terrorist groups, [and] objects of cultural value.”

The new document is a follow-up to Russian-sponsored Resolution 2199, which was adopted by the UN on February 12 to put a stop to illicit oil deals with terrorist groups, using the UN Security Council’s sanctions toolkit.

The latest analysis of ISIS profits conducted by IHS Conflict Monitor revealed that Islamic State functions under a model that enables the group to finance its activities using the “inner” resources of the territories under its control.

Illegal oil trade on behalf of jihadists contributes to about 43 percent of revenues while taxation from occupied lands brings in as much as 50 percent of all income.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Turkey of profiting from lucrative trade deals with IS in neighboring Syria. He put forward the allegation after Turkey downed a Russian bomber which Ankara accused of having briefly crossed into its airspace in late November.

Barzani the de facto Governor of Erdogan requests Russia avoid Kurdish airspace for Syria missions

December 7, 2015 By administrator

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kareem Sinjari, the interior minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), met with Russian Consul General to Erbil Victor Simakov on Monday to hold talks regarding Kurdistan suspending flights at the Erbil and Sulaimani airports as Russian jets fly over the region on missions to Syria.

Sinjari reportedly asked Simakov to request Moscow find an alternate route for its aircraft and cruise missiles that avoids using the Kurdistan region’s airspace.

Simakov promised to discuss the matter with the Russian government and said that currently there is no other way for Moscow to avoid Kurdish airspace.

Additionally, Simakov told Rudaw that during the meeting the KRG interior minister was informed of the arrival of Russian military aid to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, including light weapons.

In terms of supporting Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against the self-claimed Islamic State, several countries have delivered military assistance to the Kurdistan region, but this is the first time Russia has done so.

On Sunday the Baghdad central government asked that Kurdistan suspend flights at its two airports for 48 hours because Russia is targeting ISIS just across the border in Syria.

This is the second time in less than a month that Kurdistan has suspended all fights at Baghdad’s request due to Russian military action.

America Should Be Grateful to Russia – US Presidential Candidate

December 5, 2015 By administrator

2016 GOP US presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

A 2016 GOP US presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said that US should thank Russia for its actions in the Middle East.

The US should welcome Russia’s efforts in fighting the Daesh military group, also known as ISIL/Islamic state, he said. If Putin wants to get rid of Daesh, America shouldn’t hinder his endeavor.

“If Russia is willing to help us kill some of these savages, then I’m more than willing to at least recognize that on this issue…they are with us, not against us” Huckabee said.

As for the allegations that Turkey’s top political leadership, including President Tayyip Erdogan and his family are directly involved in Daesh’ illegal oil trade and personally benefit from it, the candidate said that he trusts Turkey less than he trusts Russia.

“Erdogan is one of those people that has said one thing publicly but done something else privately. If we find out that in fact he is helping to finance ISIS, then he’s got to go,” the candidate said. “We are not going to be partners with and be a part of helping to arm him to protect him if he in turn is loading barrels of guns pointed at us.”

Huckabee believes that Islamic Jihad is the primary threat for the US, and it is essential to focus on Daesh, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and domestic terrorism, putting differences with Russia on hold.

He added that if he were president of the US, he would increase air strikes on Daesh supply lines.

“You don’t go over and fly over and just wave,” Huckabee said, as cited by Breitbart News, arguing it is important to stop terrorist supplies from moving and to shut off their access to social media.

According to the politician, Bashar Assad’s presidency isn’t what America should be concerned about at the moment, for he is not the one who kidnaps and kills US citizens.

Source: sputniknews.com

Reuters: Israel trained against Russian-made air defense system in Greece: sources

December 5, 2015 By administrator

Russian S-300 anti-missile rocket system move along a central street during a rehearsal for a military parade in Moscow May 4, 2009. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

Israel has quietly tested ways of defeating an advanced air-defence system that Russia has deployed in the Middle East and that could limit Israel’s ability to strike in Syria or Iran, military and diplomatic sources said.

The sources said a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system, sold to Cyprus 18 years ago but now located on the Greek island of Crete, had been activated during joint drills between the Greek and Israeli air forces in April-May this year.

The activation allowed Israel’s warplanes to test how the S-300’s lock-on system works, gathering data on its powerful tracking radar and how it might be blinded or bluffed.

One defense source in the region said Greece had done so at the request of the United States, Israel’s chief ally, on at least one occasion in the past year. It was unclear whether Israel had shared its findings with its allies.

“Part of the maneuvers involved pitting Israeli jets against Greek anti-aircraft systems,” one source said. Two other sources said the Crete S-300 was among the systems turned on.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition they not be identified by name or nationality. The Greek and Israeli militaries declined to confirm or deny any use of the S-300 system during drills held in the Eastern Mediterranean last April-May or similar exercises in 2012 and 2010.

A senior Greek Defence Ministry official, asked whether the system was operating during Greek-Israeli military exercises, said: “At this moment the S-300 is not in operation.” He said Athens’ general policy was not to permit any other country to test the system’s abilities.

The S-300, first deployed at the height of the Cold War in 1979, can engage multiple aircraft and ballistic missiles up to 300 km (186 miles) away. Israel is concerned by Russia’s plan to supply S-300s to Iran.

Israel says Egypt, with which it has a cold peace, has bought a variant of the system. The Israelis also worry about Moscow’s announcement last month that it will deploy the S-300 or the kindred system S-400 from its own arsenal in Syria, in response to Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian jet there.

Israel has bombed Syrian targets on occasion and is loath to run up against the Russians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met President Vladimir Putin at least twice in recent weeks to discuss coordination and try to avoid accidents.

LEARNING FROM FRIENDS

Igor Sutyagin, a Russian military expert with the Royal United Services Institute in London, said that for Israel training against the Crete S-300 would be “precisely what you need” to study the system’s radar frequency, pattern and reach.

“If you know all these details then you are perfectly fitted to replicate this same signal, which means you have a chance to imitate, to sort of bluff-echo” the S-300, he said.

“You can brutally jam it,” he said. “You can take the signal and return it, and then you send another ping which imitates the same signal. So instead of one target, the radar operator sees three, five or 10 and he does not know where to fire.”

Tal Inbar, senior scholar for the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies near Tel Aviv, said S-300s in areas where Israel operates or might want to operate would challenge its advanced, U.S.-backed military – but not insuperably so.

“In general, any system can be defeated this way or that. Some are harder and some are easier,” he said. “The rule of thumb is that if your friends have a system that you are interested in, you can learn all kinds of things about it.”

The Crete S-300 was originally bought by Cyprus in 1997, triggering a vitriolic response from Turkey, its decades-old adversary. Under pressure from Britain and NATO, then Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides agreed to store the S-300 on Crete. A 2007 Greek-Cypriot arms swap formally transferred it to Athens.

Greece has experienced a boom in ties with Israel since Israel’s once-strong alliance with Turkey broke down in 2010.

After this year’s joint drill, Israel’s official air force journal said maneuvers had involved all of Greece’s air combat arm and “other apparatuses”. It offered no details, but quoted an Israeli air force captain as saying the exercise had fostered “flexibility in thinking and dealing with the unknown”.

(Additional reporting by Michele Kambas in Nicosia and Renee Maltezou in Athens; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Luke Baker and Janet McBride)
Source: Reuters.com

Political scientist: Armenia should be prepared for various scenarios amid Russia-Turkey standoff

December 5, 2015 By administrator

Given the uncompromising stance of Russian and Turkish authorities, one can assume that the standoff between the two countries will not ease in the near future so Armenia should be prepared for various scenarios of further developments and act taking into account the realities, expert Aram Manukyan said at a meeting with reporters today.

“Turkey may attempt to use the Karabakh front so as to involve Russia in an active confrontation and provoke a war here. Armenia should also be ready for possible attempts to carry out such incidents at our western borders. There is little likelihood of this, but we need to be prepared,” he said.

Speaking about Russia-Turkey tensions, the political scientist noted that regarding the Syrian issue, the interests of Russia and Turkey are at odds. ‘Ankara is interested in Assad’s removal and Syria’s fragmentation in the future, while Moscow pursues a different goal – it aims to protect the Assad regime,” Manukyan said.

According to him, the problem should be examined not only from a political point of view. “It is through Turkey that the Islamic State is carrying out serious activities by selling oil. It would be naïve to think that the Turkish authorities were unaware or remained neutral”.

“In other words, Russia’s actions also hit Turkey’s political elite in the pocket,” he said.

According to Manukyan, Turkey showed that in order to promote its own interests, it is ready to trample on universal values, even hinder the fight against international terrorism.

Russia: Turkish carpet factory raided in Russia, workers to be deported

December 3, 2015 By administrator

Turkish companies have started to feel the heat of Russian pressure that has mounted in light of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, with a police raid on a carpet firm operating in Russia taking place on Wednesday, Turkish media reported on Thursday.

The carpet producer Merinos operates a factory in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and was raided by armed, masked men claiming to be security forces, who seized computer hard disks, according to the report. “We were forced to stop production in the factory. Why they came to search us, I have no idea. Most of the factory workers are women and everyone was terrified. We had never seen or heard of anything like this until now,” said the firm’s Russian manager Svetlana Zimina, speaking to the Russian press. Merinos employs 450 Russians and has a number of Turkish employees in management, all of whom have the requisite documents and permission to work, according to Zimina. However, according to the company’s Russia general manager, Erdoğan Şeker, a court ordered for the deportation of 15 Turkish nationals employed by the firm in Russia. The employees were taken into custody at the immigration bureau, Şeker said.

Ever since Ankara shot down a Moscow jet near the Syrian border, diplomatic relations have soured between the two countries, and Vladimir Putin has signed a decree imposing a variety of economic sanctions against Turkey. Putin said on Thursday that Turkey will regret shooting down the plane “more than once.” A flurry of reports has circulated detailing difficulties faced by Turkish truckers who claim that they are being held up by Russian customs officials at the border, a practice that is costing Turkish fruit and vegetable brokers millions of lira each day. Moscow banned imports of some Turkish foodstuffs as part of a sanctions package. Despite the rhetoric, Russia’s retaliatory measures have so far been relatively limited in scope — affecting only some fruit and vegetable imports, for example. Turkey’s Agriculture Minister Faruk Çelik said on Wednesday that Russian sanctions will cost Turkey $764 million worth of food exports annually.

Turkey and Russia share extended economic ties across a number of sectors. The two countries’ multi-billion-dollar trade ties cover a wide range of sectors, including tourism, energy, construction and food. In two key areas, grain and gas, Turkey is preparing back-up plans. Russian companies canceled a 30 million euro electric infrastructure project to be completed in Moscow that had been awarded to the Turkish firm Anel Elektrik, the Turkish daily Hürriyet reported on Wednesday. The project involved the renewal of a sports stadium built in 1928 and is undergoing major renovations in preparations for the 2018 World Cup.

Spat with Russia prompts Ankara to reconfigure trade ties

Turkey’s worsening dispute with Russia over the downing of a Russian warplane is prompting Ankara to prepare to source vital food and energy imports from elsewhere, underscoring the dispute’s potential to upend lucrative trade ties.

On Wednesday, traders and analysts told Reuters Ankara was actively looking for alternatives to Russian grain because the spat had placed a question mark over future deliveries and put new deals on hold. Russia has not so far interfered with grain exports to Turkey, the largest buyer of Russian wheat, and vessels are departing Russian ports as normal apart from a few minor difficulties at some terminals. But traders in both countries say they fear that either Russia will restrict grain exports to Turkey or Ankara will limit deals with Moscow. “Turkish buyers remain worried about buying Russian commodities as no one knows what will happen, and the fact is that Russia is still defiant and increasing tensions,” one trader in Turkey said. “I’m still worried that Turkey could impose sanctions on Russian goods in response.” In a related move, two sources told Reuters Turkey was preparing to cut imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — used to power everything from cars to household stoves — from Russia by a quarter next year. Turkey has the most gas-powered cars in the world, with 40 percent of its vehicles running on LPG.

“Turkish firms are not simply worried about a reduction in LPG deliveries from Russia because of the current situation — they are already preparing for this,” one trader who works in the LPG market told Reuters. “It may be more expensive, but the process of how to ensure future deliveries from elsewhere is being worked out.”