Tag Archives: Putin

Russians Release First Airstrike in Syria

After Russian Parliament gave the all go to using air power to combat in Syria, a Russian General told the U.S. to stay out of Syrian airspace.

“A Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed U.S. Embassy personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-ISIL missions today over Syria,” said spokesman John Kirby. “He further requested that U.S. aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these missions.”

Putin said the action was preemptive, warning that Moscow would be hunting down Islamic State militants before they target Russia.

Russian defense officials say that they were targeting the Islamic State group saying it has hit IS weapons, depots, ammunition, communications infrastructure, and fuel.  

The head of the Western-backed Syrian political opposition said the Russian strikes had killed at least 36 civilians and targeted areas where Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked fighters were not present.  Official reports of casualties have been mixed.  

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting ISIS held territory but only hitting areas where Free Syrian Army and other anti-Assad groups are located.  

Russian Forces in Syria to Boost Bashar al-Assad’s Regime

The European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief reported to Al Jazeera that Russia is increasing its military force in Syria to prevent the “imminent” fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The report comes after the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policies, Federica Mogherini, had a conversation with Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov told Mogherini that the military support Russia has provided Syria was to prevent the collapse of the Syrian state.

“His fear is of a complete collapse of the state structures in Syria,” Mogherini said. “This could be one of the reasons Russia is talking in this way, but it could also be willingness to show that Russia is an important, substantial player.”

Most analysts believe that Russia’s increase in military power will end any prospect of Assad being overthrown by rebel forces as well as consolidate the de facto partitioning of Syria. In the recent past, Assad’s military has nearly fallen to rebel advances.

Approximately two thirds of Syria is controlled by mostly Islamist rebels, including Syrian fighters backed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, or the Islamic State, and it doesn’t seem like Russia will be able to retake the territory unless it deploys ground troops.

Russia has stated many times that its military presence in Syria is to fight the Islamic State, but many world leaders, including the United States, are still uncertain. Former U.S. ambassador, Robert Ford, believes Russia’s main goal is to boost Assad.

“Why would you put the air units in Latakia instead of Damascus if you want to fight the Islamic State?” Ford said. “Why do you send anti-aircraft equipment when the Islamic State doesn’t have any air force?

“So it seems to me that this is designed to help Assad first,” Ford added.

U.N Summit, World Leaders Meet to Discuss Global Problems

Today five of the most powerful men in the world will be speaking at this historic meeting at the U.N. United States President Obama, Russia’s President Putin, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki Moon called for a political solution to the war in Syria that has left more than 200,000 dead and unleashed a torrent of refugees. “The global humanitarian system is not broken; it is broke,” he said. He also urged world leaders to work together in order to banish the “blatant brutality” of extremist groups, such as the Islamic State.

U.S. President Barack Obama said they would work with any country to solve the crisis and war in Syria but that we must also not allow Syrian President Bashar Assad to stay in office. When speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, he said the world cannot stand by while Russia violates Ukraine’s integrity and sovereignty.

The need to protect and nurture the environment was first thing on Chinese President, Xi Jinping’s agenda in his speech today. “We should care for nature and not place ourselves above it. We should reconcile industrial development with nature.” He added that China would never pursue “hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence” in the world. And he pledged $1 billion over the next decade to support U.N. efforts to further global peace and development.

Russian President Putin stressed the importance of combating the ISIS threat in Syria stating that it must be done in cooperation with the Syrian government. “We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to work with the Syrian government and its armed forces,” Putin said. “No one but the Syrian forces and Kurdish militia are seriously fighting against the Islamic state.” The alternative is to arm terrorists who threaten Europe, Russia and other countries, he said.

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani praised the Iranian/U.S. agreement on nuclear weapons as an example of global cooperation. On the terroristic threats in the middle east, he stated firmly the terrorist “wave of destruction has gone beyond the Middle East and the Arab world and reached the shores of the United States and Europe,” he added. “Without the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and U.S. support for the Zionist regime, the terrorists would not have justification for their actions.”

President Obama and Putin are scheduled for an intense meeting this afternoon at the White House to discuss their differences on Syria and the Ukraine.

U.S. President Obama to Meet with Russian President Putin

In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year, President Obama and President Putin will meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The meeting was at Putin’s request and officials believe the discussion will be over the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reported to Fox News that Obama plans to warn Putin against boosting support for Bashar Assad and urge Putin to make more of a contribution in the fight against ISIS. President Obama also plans on using the meeting as a way to figure out Russia’s intentions in Ukraine.

“Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians,” a senior administration official added.

However, Russian officials have stated that President Putin wants to focus the conversation on Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.” Asked whether Ukraine would be discussed, he said: “Well, if time allows.”

Tensions have been high between the United States and Russia after the U.S. and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year. The sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russia continues to deny that they are militarily involved in Ukraine.

The request for a meeting comes days after news agencies reported that Russia was building two more military facilities located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Meets with Putin, Agrees to Coordinate Military Action

Many countries have become concerned with Russia’s recent military growth in Syria, including Israel.

On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Putin in Moscow to discuss the global terrorist threat and a plan on peace for the Middle East. The meeting ended with Israel and Russia agreeing to coordinate their military actions to avoid trading fire, according to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu did not elaborate to the media on the agreement, but did say he wanted to achieve the goal of “prevent(ing) misunderstandings between IDF (Israel Defense Force) units and Russian forces” in Syria, where Putin’s ally, Assad, is fighting a civil war with Islamist-dominated insurgents.

Putin stated that Russia would continue to provide military support to Assad in Syria’s fight against the spread of the Islamic State influence. He added that the assistance that has been provided so far is within international law.

Prime Minister Netanyahu informed reporters that he would be sharing the details of his visit with the United States. Currently the U.S. has stopped flying missions against the Islamic State insurgents in Syria until U.S. and Russian leaders meet.

A former adviser to Netanyahu reported that Israel was concerned that Russia’s help to Assad could strengthen Russia’s relationship with Iran, Assad’s other financial backer and Hezbollah patron. This could possibly create an alliance between Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, resulting in Russia’s technology being given to the terrorist organization.

Netanyahu warned Putin that keeping weapons from Hezbollah was his top priority, and informed Putin of Israel’s policy to strike at guerrillas suspected to attack from the northern frontier of Syria.

Russia Burns Food Despite Citizen Anger

Russian citizens are protesting a government decision to burn 350 tons of food rather than distributing it to the nation’s poor.

Government troops intercepted a contraband food shipment including Irish pork and cheeses, Italian kiwis and more.  Apparently some of the food was being shipped to the BMW car racing team that is participating in an event in Moscow.

“The department decided to impound goods at the checkpoint due to gross violation of sanitary rules,” Tass quoted food watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor as saying.

A spokesman for the Kremlin said that the policy of destroying food is likely to continue.

“I agree that it does not look pleasant,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov conceded in an interview to RBC News.

The Moscow Times was critical of the government’s action, stating “starvation and deprivation weren’t abstract concepts to Soviet people — even privileged Soviet people — just a couple of generations ago.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin banned Western food imports in 2014 in retaliation for sanctions placed against Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Refocusing Mission Upon Russia

NATO is refocusing their efforts toward Russia in light of Vladimir Putin’s invasion and takeover of Crimea last year.

NATO wants to prevent Russia from doing the same thing to other former Soviet Republics.

“We have reasons to believe that Russia views the Baltic region as one of NATO’s most vulnerable areas, a place where NATO’s resolve can be tested,” said Sven Mikser, Estonia’s defense minister.

“If the Russians sense a window of opportunity, they will use it to their advantage,” said Estonia’s chief of defense, Lt. Gen. Riho Terras. “We must make sure there’s no room for miscalculation.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has been traveling to the capitals of NATO member nations to talk about the refocus on Russia.  He has pledged the U.S. to give weapons and loan commandos to a new NATO rapid reaction force.

The U.S. will also place heavy weapons and tanks in the Baltics and Eastern Europe for the first time.

NATO is facing issues with member nations such as Germany, Italy and France not being in favor of going to war with Russia should an invasion of Estonia or other former Soviet republics take place.

Russia To Add New Missiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his nation would be adding more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) to their nuclear arsenal.

“More than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles able to overcome even the most technically advanced anti-missile defense systems will be added to the make-up of the nuclear arsenal this year,” Putin, flanked by army officers, said in a speech at an arms fair west of Moscow.

The announcement comes a day after NATO members along the Russian border agreed to place U.S. tanks and heavy weapons in their countries.  The move is being called “the most aggressive act since the cold war” by analysts.

The actions are seen in response to the current tension in Ukraine and Russia’s unwillingness to back down from their efforts to destabilize that nation.

ICBMs have a maximum range of 3,400 miles.  Putin did not state what kind of ICBMs would be placed into the Russia arsenal.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia was “saber rattling” and attempting to further degrade an already dangerous situation.