Director Country Learning Middle East and Central Asia centers Semyon Baghdasarov confirmed that in the event of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey will not hesitate to side with Kiev. According to an expert, Ankara will not stop the loss of billions of dollars in income from Russian tourists.
The Turkish edition of Habertürk published an article on the eve of which it feared that Turkey could be drawn into the conflict in the Donbas on the West side. The article emphasized that Turkey, as a member of NATO, now commands the Joint Preparedness Task Force (VJTF). According to the alliance's plans, this group can be sent to the conflict zone. “They already support Ukraine. And what is Drone Bayraktar in the Ukrainian army's arsenal? It already uses them in Donbass,” Bagdasarov said in an interview with the “Radiotochka NSN” telegram channel. He also pointed to a strategic agreement that talks about “Of course, Turkey will support Kiev,” said the expert. Russia's weakness in protecting national interests, which is why Russia is beginning to squeeze in the South Caucasus, Ukraine and Central Asia.
British newspaper readers The Daily Mail discussed a press conference by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place in Moscow yesterday. Many admired the strategy of the Russian leader.
The author of the article, Lauren Lewis, noted that especially in answering the questions, Putin called the east of Ukraine “ historical territories & # 39; & # 39; outside Russia. He recalled that the press conference was held this time against the background of the world community's concerns about the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine.
Western countries have warned Moscow against imposing harsh sanctions in the event of such developments. Russia, for its part, has demanded security guarantees from NATO and the United States. & Nbsp;
“ Putin has always been ready to agree to the neutral status of the states with which Russia borders, and it is absolutely right when he says that NATO continues to move east & raquo;, & ndash; remarked a commentator nicknamed Sithney.
Reader Hugh Pratt praised the Russian president for his promotion of peace talks and for his efforts to avoid conflicts and reduce tensions.
Expose yourself to danger. Some readers agreed with the policy's concerns about NATO.
“That guy is” a straight grandmaster, a brilliant strategist & # 39; & # 39 ;, & ndash; admired by Grays. He lamented that there are no such wise leaders in the West.
Reader Mike reminded that Putin “ has reached his & # 39; & # 39; with Brexit, with Abkhazia, Transnistria and Crimea. “ And then it will prevail with eastern Ukraine & # 39; & # 39 ;, & ndash; thinks.
Faces and gestures of Vladimir Putin's big press conference: footage from Manezh
Russian gas supplies to European countries and its transit through Ukraine are exclusively of a commercial nature. Moscow is ready to start negotiations on the extension of fuel supplies through the territory of Kiev, when it will be clear who, under what conditions and in what volume it will buy them.
According to the director of the 2nd Department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry the current transit agreement will be valid until December 31, 2024. Kiev may raise the issue of extension three years before the end with a single goal – political.
“For obvious reasons, transit extension negotiations can only take place if there is a clear consensus. which of the partners will be ready to buy Russian gas, in what volumes and under what conditions. The issue of transportation is secondary in this case, “said the diplomat.
cut off gas supplies through Ukraine. Winter. Gazprom pumps 40 billion cubic meters of gas a year through Ukraine, and state corporations pay for capacity utilization regardless of the actual volume of transportation.
Read also Gas transit via Ukraine has reached a minimum in 6 years
The “last warning of the West” issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry once made the joke relevant again: if you do not want to talk to Lavrov, you will talk to Shoig . Of course, everyone is very interested in the question: what will we do if the US and NATO jointly ignore Russia's proposals? Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could answer that question, but he did not. At least for now.
Photo: kremlin.ru
to which he focused the attention of the supreme commander-in-chief and the country's highest generals, is an unbearable situation which the collective West has arranged for us on the western and eastern borders.
The US and NATO are doing what they want at our western borders. They use the airspace of Ukraine, for example, for training flights of American bombers – carriers of nuclear weapons. Reconnaissance planes are ironing the sky near our borders. As Shogu said at a board meeting, the number of such flights has doubled. NATO warships organize provocations in the Black Sea.
The territory of Ukraine is being developed by private US military companies. With their help, Washington solves dirty deeds around the world – from Africa to the Pacific Ocean. According to Shoigu, 120 US PMC fighters were seen in the Donbas conflict zone. And not only that, but also some chemical weapon. It is no different that they are preparing a provocation to blame unrecognized republics for everything. The tactics of the United States and Great Britain were well developed in Syria.
“The presence of more than 120 US PMC employees in the Avdeevka and Priazovskoe settlements in the Donetsk region has been reliably demonstrated,” Shoigu said. They are equipping firing positions in residential buildings and socially important facilities … Stocks of an unidentified chemical were delivered to the towns of Avdeevka and Krasny Liman to carry out provocations. ”
Shoigu outlined the real military security of the threat in the west and east. He also announced to the President that the armed forces are ready to solve any problem. The rearmament carried out in recent years has an impact. In terms of modernity of weapons, the Russian army is at the forefront of the world. And no less important, it was achieved with relatively little bloodshed for the economy. In terms of military spending, Russia ranks ninth in the world.
Turkey and Qatar plan to operate five airports in Afghanistan, including Kabul. This was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. According to the Turkish foreign minister, the parties plan to discuss this issue with the Taliban leadership on December 22 (the organization is under UN sanctions, it is recognized as terrorist in Russia, its activities are prohibited).
Kabul airport during the Taliban attack on the city. Photo: dvidshub.net
After severe damage in the evacuation of thousands of people from Afghanistan and the explosion on August 26, Ankara and Doha helped restore operations to Kabul International Airport. Recently, the countries announced their intention to continue cooperating on the operation of the air port.
Such a “friendship” is in a way beneficial for both the Turks and Afghanistan, said military expert Yuri Lyamin. The same cannot be said of Russia.
– The Taliban's interest in this is obvious. After the departure of the Americans and the raid of many specialists trained by them, there was a serious shortage of technology and personnel in the airport services sector. Of course, they would like the help from Turkey and Qatar very much now. This is also important for the general population, because the delivery of humanitarian aid depends on the operation of airports. The country is inland and all shipments are made by air.
– Turkey and Qatar, on the one hand, need it for political weight. Show that they support you. Here the Americans left everything and left, but Turkey remained and provided aid. They need to define a place, to put it bluntly, to continue to have influence in Afghanistan. And to demonstrate their goodwill to the whole world.
– As all flights from Turkey to Afghanistan are still operated via other countries, it all depends on the agreement with these countries.
– For Russia, the mere fact of strengthening Turkey in the region is not, of course, the best scenario for events. The struggle for influence in Afghanistan between the countries will intensify in the coming years. He will most likely be quiet, but he will walk. Roman Silantyev, a Russian religionist, historian of religion and Islamic scholar, professor at the Department of World Culture at Moscow State Linguistic University, agrees with the military expert.
– Turkey, which has won the support of its longtime ally Qatar, wants to expand its influence and become a major Muslim country, it seems to me. Saudi Arabia has now fallen sharply in this regard, and Turkey can easily claim to be the main center not only of the Turkish nations but also of the main Muslim countries. By the way, once in the format of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey was like that and Islam was associated mainly with Istanbul and Turkey. Afghanistan was once part of its sphere of influence. Erdogan wants to revive the Ottoman Empire, this can be seen with the naked eye.
This is definitely not good for us. Turkey is not our friend. As we remember, the history of relations with the Ottoman Empire in Russia was mainly military. We haven't fought with anyone as often as we have, and it's possible that it may happen again.
Russia reportedly continues to increase its troops on the border with Ukraine and is gathering a large amount of military equipment there.
Photo: pixabay.com
Bloomberg, referring to satellite images of the British company Janes, states that Russia allegedly continues to increase the number of troops on the border with Ukraine and draws a lot of military equipment there.
According to the newspaper, photos show that air defense systems, tanks and artillery weapons have been moved to the Ukrainian border since November.
At the same time, Bloomberg claims that a limited number of Russian troops “but, if necessary, Russia” will be able to quickly strengthen its position “by relocating the necessary military formations by rail or air.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine told the publication that, according to preliminary data, there are about 122,000 Russian soldiers at a distance of no more than 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
US intelligence experts said that Russia may plan an invasion of Ukraine next month. The operation can be attended by up to 175 thousand soldiers. Most of the soldiers have already taken up positions near the border with Ukraine.
Moscow denies this information and stresses that no one is threatened and the movement of troops within the country should not bother. anyone.
The Government of Mali has reached an agreement with the Russian PMC “Wagner” about the deployment of 500 specialists in the country.
It is said that in the country's capital, Bamako, on the territory of an airport with private merchant accommodation facilities under construction, Wagner Group's operational and logistics profile specialists are already working.
The US State Department has called on Mali to refuse to cooperate with Russia's private military company Wagner.
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This is the view of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Military Chief air defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov said that the country is developing a new portable anti-aircraft missile system (MANPADS). He said this in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.
Its development is handled by the experimental design office Metka.
According to him, the missile of the new MANPADS will be equipped with optical-electronic head guidance, which has no analogues in the world. This system ensures targeting under the influence of all types of existing and developed optical interference, he stressed.
At present, the armament of air defense units of the ground forces are getting modern MANPADS “Verba”, which are able to hit air targets at an altitude of 10 to 4.5 thousand meters and at a distance of 500 to 6.5 thousand meters.
Non-Fractional Representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Yevgeny Shevchenko said in his Telegram channel that the SBU had initiated criminal proceedings against him under Article “High treason”. – he wrote.
According to the deputy, he is accused of “creating the Russian world in Ukraine.” Shevchenko noted that it is due to his friendship with Belarus.
In May, Shevchenko was expelled from the People's Servant parliamentary faction after meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan told Kommersant that Washington, along with its allies, is ready to negotiate with Russia and discuss the security concerns expressed by Moscow.
At the same time, Sullivan emphasized that the United States would not compromise on NATO relations with allies during the talks.
He also noted that there was a chance of progress in discussions on security issues with Russia.
“But this will be a two-way street,” Sullivan said.
