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Latvia to build fortifications along border with Russia
The Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia assigned land in the Alūksne district to build fortifications aimed at protecting the eastern borders of the country to the Defense Ministry, as reported by Delfi news agency. The area in the Pededze parish is 1.68 hectares. The Ministry did not specify what is going to be built there.
The Pededze parish borders Russia. The Infantry School of the Armed Forces as well as the Lacusils training ground are located in the Alūksne district.
Earlier in December, …
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Amnesty International accuses Russia of violating human rights in the Crimea
Crimean Tatars are being systematically persecuted after the Russian annexation of the Crimea in 2014. The cases against the activists of the Crimean Tatar community are analyzed in the report of the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) "Crimea in the darkness: the persecution of dissent", published on Thursday, December 15th.
According to the Director of AI in Europe and Central Asia, John Dalhuisen, Crimean Tatars became the most prominent and united group that …
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Defense Ministers of the Baltic States stated that an improvement in relations between NATO and Russia should not be expected
The Ministers of Defense of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stated that improvement of relations between NATO and the Russian Federation in 2017 is unlikely, the ERR.ee portal reported. The representatives also agree that work will continue according to the OSCE Vienna document.
The ministers signed a traditional communiqué on cooperation, noting that next year will have strategic importance for the region because NATO military forces will be deployed there.
“The next year will be extremely …
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Serbia will strengthen its air force with Russian planes and European helicopters
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated that Serbian authorities plan to purchase aircraft from the Russian Federation and helicopters from the European Union in 2017, thus strengthening its air force. Serbia has formed an agreement with Russia that includes six previously donated MiG-29 fighter jets, which have served the Serbian Air Force for two years. Serbia will fund a major overhaul of these fighters, Reuters reported.
According to Vučić, the total cost of the deal will be …
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Photo found showing Lavrov and Montenegrin coup plotter together
An alleged participant in a coup in Montenegro, Nemanja Ristić, was seen in a photo with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, during his visit to Belgrade.
This was brought to the media’s attention by N1, a Serbian news agency.
As the Associated Press notes, Ristić himself has explained that he got into this photo "accidentally."
The photo also contains members of the Zavetniki movement, whose representatives told Radio Liberty’s Balkan Service that Ristić had no affiliation with their …