• Sanctions against Russia were extended by five countries

    Ukraine and four more countries have agreed with the EU Council’s decision to extend sanctions against Russia until the 15th of March 2017. These sanctions were initially imposed because of Russia’s involvement in the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This was stated in a statement by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on the 24th of October.

    “The candidate countries of Montenegro and Albania, members of the …

  • NATO ships escort Russian flotilla along Portuguese coast on its way to Mediterranean

    NATO warships are monitoring Russia’s naval flotilla as it sails along the coast of Portugal on its way to the Mediterranean Sea where it will participate in military operations in support of the Syrian government, Interfax reported.

    Russia’s flotilla includes the country’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

    One Portuguese and one Spanish ship are currently monitoring the flotilla.

    Similarly, Portuguese P-3 surveillance aircraft are active in the area.

  • Turkish Foreign Minister: Turkey and Russia exchange military intelligence on Syria

    According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish and Russian militaries maintain an open line of communication and exchange intelligence information regarding Syria, TASS reported.

    During an interview with Turkey’s 24 Canali TV, Çavuşoğlu stressed that such "cooperation is beneficial."

    "We say that in the context of the Euphrates Shield Operation, we cooperate with all parties fighting against the Islamic State. Now that relations with Russia have normalized, we have an …

  • Peskov's daughter says it is harmful to have the children of Russian officials return from abroad

    A commentary in response to Russian media reports regarding the Presidential Administration’s request for officials to have their children studying abroad returned to Russia was published on behalf of Elizaveta Peskova (daughter of Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary for the President of Russia) on her Instagram page. Peskova believes the initiative to be harmful and noted that her training abroad doesn’t contradict the idea of patriotism.

    “We must strive to ensure that people want to live in …

  • Canada may deploy helicopters and special forces to Latvia

    Task Force Tomahawk, the 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group that will be a part of a multinational combat brigade group to NATO, may soon arrive in Latvia, as reported by the portal of the Defense Ministry of Latvia, sargs.lv.

    It was reported that Canada is currently discussing with NATO partners the deployment of a combat group in Latvia in 2017 in the framework of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Warsaw. 455 Canadian soldiers will become the nucleus of a multinational battalion …