The Hurriyet Daily reported on 13th December that the General Staff of Turkey has temporarily prohibited Turkish military personnel from going to Russia on vacation due to political disagreements between Moscow and Ankara.

According to the newspaper, Turkish military personnel will be required to receive advance permission and provide details of their visit before travelling to Russia. The edition reported that since the beginning of the crisis between the two countries, some businessmen have …

The leader of the Crimean Tater people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, summarized that the contract should specify that Crimea is temporarily occupied by Russia. According to Dzhemilev, the document must be signed by representatives of the relevant ministries of Ukraine and Russia.

The Crimean leader, during a meeting with the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, named three conditions necessary for signing the contract which would supply electricity to Crimea. Dzhemilev discussed this in the …

Turkish captain didn't hear shots from Smetlivy

Turkish sailors denied information about the shelling. 

The captain of the fishing vessel claims that his vessel was sailing within one mile from an anchored Russian patrol ship. 

The Turkish ship captain gave his version of the incident, which occurred on Sun. Dec. 13 in the Aegean Sea. In an interview to the Dogan news agency, he denied reports that his ship was shelled. "That's a lie," he said. According to the captain, his fishing vessel …

On Sunday, a train delivering the first container from China arrived in Tbilisi by the so-called New Silk Road. The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Foreign Affairs met the train at Tbilisi station. According to the Georgian leadership, the New Silk Road via Georgian territory will significantly reduce the time of freight deliveries from China to Europe, Radio Svoboda reported.

At a solemn ceremony, the Prime Minister Garibashvili …

Intelligence: Militants are planning to hold call-up for fixed-term military service in spring

The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that militants are planning to hold a call-up for fixed-term military service in the occupied territories of Donbas, in the spring of 2016. The report noted that the decision was connected with a reduction of Russian mercenaries and an increase in the number of servicemen who wanted to terminate their contract with …

The leading French magazine, Le Monde, reported on the number of victims of the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, citing a report by the UN Commission for Human Rights. The report highlighted that at least 9,098 have been killed and 20,732 people have been wounded as a result of military action in Eastern Ukraine since the start of hostilities last year.

These casualties include civilians, Ukrainian government soldiers, and pro-Russian separatists. The report noted that from the 17th of …

On December 12th, at an international conference entitled “The Policy of Neutrality: International Cooperation for the Sake of Peace, Security and Development” in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the President of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, emphasized the need for a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Transdniestria.

“We repeat the need for a completion of the withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from the territory of our country,” Timofti stated. Additionally, the Moldovan President has …

The presidential press-service of Ukraine reported that the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, will pay his first official visit to Ukraine on December 14th. President Duda is scheduled to stay in Kiev for two days.

The program of the visit includes negotiations between President Duda and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The two leaders plan to discuss a wide range of issues from safety to strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Readers may remember that Andrzej Duda took his oath of office …