In an unclassified report released on Tuesday by Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, officials were optimistic about their Russian counterparts’ intentions to strengthen bilateral ties. “We expect Moscow to seek opportunities for pragmatic cooperation with Washington,” the analysis stated. However, it added that the Kremlin would insist …
Read More »US warships set sail for Black Sea amid stand-off with Russia over military conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Turkish diplomats report
On Friday, a source at the Turkish foreign ministry told TASS that it had received a notification from Washington that two US warships would pass through the Bosporus straits and into the Black Sea. Under international law, Ankara controls access to the inland body of water for certain types of …
Read More »Russian military build-up a precaution over simmering conflict in ‘restless’ Ukraine, has nothing to do with Navalny, Kremlin says
Ukrainian security chief Oleksiy Danilov suggested on Wednesday that Russia has been massing troops near its border with Ukraine for one sole purpose: to switch focus from domestic problems, which in his view includes the trial and imprisonment of Navalny, an opposition activist who was jailed for 2.5 years in …
Read More »NYT columnist faces conflict of interest accusations after singing praise for Facebook ‘Groups’ feature in tech giant’s blog post
A 900-word post by Brooks appeared on a company blogging platform on Tuesday, stressing the importance of “trust” in online communities in a thinly-veiled promotion of Facebook’s “Groups” feature. The piece coincided with a new study on Groups, funded by the company, which Brooks went on to endorse in a …
Read More »Conflict of interest? WHO ‘conspired’ with Italian govt to remove ‘live saving’ report into Covid-19 first response, media claim
A key WHO report in the spring detailing anti-Covid measures in the then worst-hit European nation – Italy – has been supposedly taken down to shield the Italian health ministry from criticism since the paper cast some of its actions in a negative light, a fresh report by The Guardian …
Read More »I hope France gets rid of ‘Macron trouble’ soon, Turkey’s Erdogan says, amid growing conflict with EU
Erdogan made his comments when talking about the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mediation group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US. France’s role as a mediator had disappeared over the years. Macron is a burden on France. Macron and France …
Read More »‘Time to stop the war’: Talks are the only way to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian president tells RT
The war between the close neighbors – but bitter historical foes – has “never stopped in Karabakh, even with the ceasefire in 1994,” when Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian told RT’s Ilya Petrenko. Armenia and Azerbaijan could still come to terms on numerous issues, …
Read More »Baku doesn’t need Syrian mercenaries or military help from Turkey in conflict with Armenia, Azeri presidential adviser tells RT
“There are ties of strategic partnership… and there are also brotherly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan – but in this conflict Turkey isn’t involved as a third party,” Hajiyev insisted. The participation of Ankara in Baku’s dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh – a mainly Armenian-populated region regarded as part of …
Read More »Azerbaijan & Armenia at war: What you need to know about bloody conflict over long-disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh (MAP)
The ongoing hostilities started on September 27, becoming one of the most serious in a series of border clashes that have been occurring in the region on a fairly regular basis. The parties are fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region located inside Azerbaijan, as recognised internationally, and some surrounding territories. …
Read More »Renewed Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict a new threat to Russia’s delicate balancing act with key player Turkey
Russian president Vladimir Putin once complained that communist leader Vladimir Lenin had placed a ‘time bomb’ under Russia. He had in mind the introduction of the federal principle after Lenin’s Bolsheviks took power in 1917. Lenin gave national minorities their own republics within the Soviet Union. In so doing, he …
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