Contents tagged with Putin

  • Russian military observer: Russia lost control of Syrian airspace and shot down the IL-20

    The crash of the Russian Il-20 aircraft in the district of the Syrian city of Latakia was caused by the fact that the Russian military lost control of the airspace and the Syrian air defense system in the area of its Khmeimim airbase, writes Russian journalist and military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer in his blog for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

    He reminded that the air defense system of the Assad's Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which the Soviet Union helped to build, was almost fully destroyed due …

  • Israel hands over to Russia data on downing of Il-20 in Syria

    The Israeli military handed over data to Russia regarding the Il-20 aircraft that was shot down, as well as about Iran’s activities in Syria, as stated by the Israel Defense Force on Thursday, September.

     It is noted that a report was compiled on the situation concerning the Syrian air defense system that shot down a Russian aircraft on the night of September 17th.

    In addition, the Israel Defense Force reported on Iran’s ongoing attempts to establish its own military presence in Syria and …

  • Putin complains to Merkel about the situation in DPR after Zakharchenko's death

    Russian president Vladimir Putin conducted a conversation over the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during which the parties discussed the situation in Ukraine and Syria. 

    As reported on the Kremlin website, the conversation was initiated by the German side. It is also noted that Putin “expressed concern” about the situation in the DPR after the murder of the separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko.

    “The mutual willingness to further facilitate the settlement of the conflict is …

  • Russia to begin construction of two nuclear reactors in Hungary

    The Russian state corporation Rosatom will soon begin the construction of two new power units at the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary, as announced on Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

     “Rosatom will soon start the construction of two new power units at the Paks nuclear power plant,” said Putin after the talks with Orban.

    Putin stressed that the commissioning of additional capacity will allow doubling the …

  • Hungary and Russia agree on continuing gas supply after 2020

    Budapest and Moscow agreed on terms for gas supply after 2020, the year after the current contract expires, as stated on Tuesday, September 18th by the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a press conference after the meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin noted that Moscow now covers 60 percent of Hungary’s need for gas.

    However, he did not rule out that after the construction of the “Turkish stream” gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea, one of its land lines can go …

  • Putin calls off Idlib offensive after negotiations with Erdogan

    Russia will not hold a military operation in Syria’s Idlib province, home to 3 million people, which the Kremlin called a “nest of terrorists” earlier in September.

    The decision to call off the Russian Aerospace Forces’ offensive was announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on Monday. The Russian aircraft had been bombing the region to clear the way for Assad’s troops since September 4.

    Following negotiations between Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan …

  • Finnish president: Finland not ready to join NATO yet because of Russia's position

    At this stage, Finland does not consider the prospect of joining the North Atlantic alliance, President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. According to him, Moscow "made it clear" that if Finland joins NATO, it will "see it as an enemy."

    "The Russians made it clear that when they look at us across the border, they see Finnish people." If we join NATO, they will see us as enemies. That is their position, "explained Niinisto. He added that joining the …

  • Kremlin: Russia and Japan intend to continue work to conclude peace treaty

    Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, said during a broadcast of Russia 1 TV channel that the negotiations between Moscow and Tokyo on the peace treaty will continue,  RIA Novosti reports.

    Peskov stressed that neither side has refused to continue negotiations to reach a consensus. He explained that each side has their own “limits” and nuances in their approaches. “But, strategically, Abe and Putin confirmed their intention to work on the conclusion of a peace treaty,” he …

  • Japan tells Russia: dispute over Kuril Islands must be settled before any peace treaties are discussed

    Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposed peace treaty with Japan would be impossible without settling the territorial dispute, said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the pre-election debates.

    The Prime Minister recalled that Tokyo’s position regarding the status of the South Kurils, what he called the “northern territories,” remains unchanged and he personally stated this during the meeting with Putin. “I expressed our position to Russian President Vladimir Putin. First, we should …

  • Condoleezza Rice: Putin has very smartly hidden his assets

    The US needs international assistance to find the secret assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her speech at the forum of the Yalta European Strategy (YES), Evropeyska Pravda reports.

     “Of course, this problem did not arise at the time when we were in power but I would venture to suggest that finding these secret assets [of Vladimir Putin] will be more difficult than it seems. The fact is that Putin is smart and he has very smartly …