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Europeans to abandon Russian Soyuz launch vehicles
European astronauts will no longer use Russian launch vehicles to reach the International Space Station (ISS), announced René Pischel, head of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Moscow Office, at the Eurasian Aerospace Congress.
The ESA, just like NASA, intends to stop using Russian rockets to send its astronauts to the ISS. The ESA’s astronaut Luca Parmitano, who flew to the ISS in July this year, could be the last to do so using a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle.
“Unfortunately, the launch of …
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Pentagon tells Turkey to choose between Russian S-400 and American F-35
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that Turkey cannot have any US-produced F-35 fighters unless it calls off the contract to purchase S-400 aerial defense systems from Russia, Cumhurriyet reports. Esper said that Ankara cannot expect to be supplied by the US and Russia at the same time.
This was Esper’s response to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s statement that the US is obligated to supply Turkey with the fighters for which it paid $1.4 billion.
Çavuşoğlu said previously that …
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Russia and Syria accused of attacking Turkish forces
Russian and Syrian aircraft have conducted more than 15 airstrikes against the Syrian provinces of Hama and Idlib, even hitting a Turkish observation point, Al-Masdar News reports, citing its own sources.
The attacks caused significant damage to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group and the Syrian Free Army, which are backed by Turkey. The Turkish observation point under construction at the town of Sheir Magher was also damaged in one of the airstrikes, although no one was reportedly injured or …
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Turkey prepares to receive new S-400 components from Russia
Russia has dispatched the components of a second S-400 anti-aircraft missile battery to Turkey. The cargo was expected to arrive by Tuesday, August 27, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Monday, citing Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. The first batch of components arrived in Turkey on July 12.
Turkey’s decision to buy the Russian aerial defense system has resulted in serious disagreements between Ankara and Washington. The US is afraid that if Turkey uses the Russian anti- …
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Corporate clients withdraw $10 billion from Russian banks
For the second consecutive month, the Russian banking sector has experienced an outflow of foreign currency from the accounts of major corporate clients, who are rapidly spending or withdrawing the dollars and euros, reports finanz.ru.
In July, legal entities withdrew another $900 million from current accounts and emptied a similar amount from foreign currency deposits. A month earlier, the outflow was a three-year record: $4.4 billion flowed out of deposits and $3.6 billion from current …