(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, Combined report – February 6, 2013) Following a reported Israeli air strike on Syria in late January, the Russian Foreign Ministry has called for another gathering of parties in the Syria Action Group. Russia hopes to continuing working within the framework of the Geneva Communiqué, which was adopted at the last […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 1 February) The events in Syria, Algeria and Mali are interrelated and demonstrate the multi-faceted nature of the modern terrorist threat, Aleksandr Zmeyevskiy, the Russian president’s special representative on international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime, has said. “Al-Qa’idah and its partners in this unsavoury business seriously intend to take power in states. […]
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MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday for a recent statement which referred to Russia’s “unwillingness” to assist in settlement of the Syria conflict, saying it was symptomatic of America’s obstructive attitude to resolving the crisis. “Unfortunately, we have repeatedly said that in their public statements, American […]
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(Russia in Global Affairs/Russia Beyond the Headlines – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 14, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is the editor-in-chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Presidium Council for Foreign and Defense Policy. First published in Russian in Russia in Global Affairs. The year 1913 figured as a sort of milestone for the Soviet Union and […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 10, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, an authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/ The year 2013 began much like 2012 with news of fighting in Syria and predictions that the tide is about to turn in the […]
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(Al-Monitor – www.al-monitor.com – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 8, 2013 – http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/syria-assad-speech-russia.html) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, an authoritative Russian journal devoted to foreign policy and international relations, online at http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/. Addressing the nation for the first time in over six months, Syrian President Bashar Assad thanked Russia for its efforts to help find a political […]
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[How to Work with Russia on Syria – The National Interest – Paul J. Saunders – January 7, 2013 – http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/how-work-russia-syria-7935] Paul J. Saunders writes in The National Interest on U.S. policy towards Syria, and whether there is a window of opportunity for a negotiated resolution of the conflict, with a particular eye on the potential for Russia to cooperate […]
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[Russia’s Syria Support Said to be a Losing Proposition – Vedomosti – Vladislav Inozemtsev, doctor of economic sciences, director of the Center for Study of the Post-Industrial Society – December 24, 2012 – no accessible link] Vladislav Inozemtsev writes in Vedomosti on Russia’s Syria policy, also focusing strongly on economic factors such as oil, gas and Syrian debt. At the […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Nicole Gaouette & Flavia Krause-Jackson – December 28, 2012) Russia’s move to prohibit Americans from adopting Russian orphans is the latest threat to the Obama administration’s flagging attempt to “reset” relations between the two Cold War rivals. President Vladimir Putin today signed a bill to ban U.S. adoptions of Russian children that the country’s parliament approved […]
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(Interfax – December 28, 2012) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks about the tasks facing the Foreign Ministry in 2013 and the ministry’s approach to key international problems in an interview given to Interfax in the run-up to the New Year holidays. Russia is determined to oppose attempts to legalize the practice of replacement of governments in various countries by […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer & Dana El Baltaji – December 27, 2012) Russia hosted a top Syrian official today in support of United Nations efforts to seek a negotiated outcome to the 21-month conflict in the Middle Eastern nation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mikdad, two days before a visit to Moscow […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke – December 24, 2012) In the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow was a major player in the Arab world. But in the last two years, the Kremlin has repeatedly backed the losing sides in the Arab Spring. In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is using Russian-made rockets, rifles and tanks to battle rebels. But […]
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MOSCOW, December 21 (RIA Novosti) – The West’s policy of dividing Syrian terrorists into “the bad” and “the not so bad” is dangerous, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. “Our colleagues at the UN Security Council refuse to condemn terrorist attacks,” he said in an interview with the RT television network. “They say terrorism is bad but at […]
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MOSCOW, December 20 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his opposition to military intervention in Syria on Thursday, emotionally citing the volatile situation in Libya as a sign of what would likely happen as a result. Libya “is disintegrating,” Putin said at a major press conference in Moscow, pointing to the fractious groups that have been struggling for […]
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(Moscow Times – Dec. 20, 2012 – themoscowtimes.com/news/article/putin-pictured-in-hell-on-the-economist-cover/473430.html) The cartoon’s accompanying article, which is presented as a travel guide, says the quickest way to hell is by constantly committing major sins without giving in to feelings of remorse. President Vladimir Putin was pictured in hell on the cover of The Economist‘s last issue for 2012, floating along in a fiery […]
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[Did Russia Just Throw Assad Under the Bus? Not really. Watch what the Kremlin does, not what it says – foreignpolicy.com – Andrew S. Weiss – Andrew S. Weiss, director of the RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia, served on the National Security Council staff, the State Department’s Policy Planning staff, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense […]
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MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) – The recognition by the United States of Syria’s opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people shows that Washington is gambling on a military victory by the coalition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. “I was somewhat surprised to learn that the US, through its president, has recognized the national […]
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[Russia and Turkey: Cool pragmatism: They may disagree about Syria but Russia and Turkey keep close business relations – The Economist – Dec. 8, 2012 – click here for full article] The Economist reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to Turkey, and its context. Russia has been siding with Syria’s Assad regime at the United Nations over sanctions,while […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Indira A.R. Lakshmanan – Dec. 7, 2012) The U.S. and Russia have agreed to support mediation among all sides in Syria’s civil war in a renewed bid to end the violence, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today. Talks on Syria in Dublin yesterday among Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United Nations Special […]
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[‘Syria is not Libya’ – Lavrov – Russia Today – Dec. 5, 2012 – http://rt.com/politics/syria-russia-chemical-weapons-nato-lavrov-314/] Pro-Kremlin Russia Today covers Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statements of Russian policy on the civil war in Syria. Lavrov was attending a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels. Click here for article: http://rt.com/politics/syria-russia-chemical-weapons-nato-lavrov-314/
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[Is Russia About To Ditch Syria? The Truth Is That It May Not Matter – Forbes.com – Mark Adomanis – Dec. 4, 2012 – click here for full article] Forbes.com covers Russian policy on the Syrian civil war and Russian relations with embattled Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad: Russia has been hinting for months that it might be prepared to try […]
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[Putin visits Turkey amid differences over Syria – AP – Vladimir Isachenkov – Dec. 3, 2012 – click here for full article] AP covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Turkey, focusing on growing trade while also in the midst of concerns over the conflict in Turkey’s neighbor Syria, as well as questions about Putin’s health: The blossoming trade relationship […]
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[U.S. Senate forbids Pentagon to cooperate with Rosoboronexport – ITAR-TASS – RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW – Dec. 3, 2012 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c142/587557.html] Itar-Tass reports on U.S. Senate approval of sanctions against Russia for supplying weapons to Syria, in the form of a prohibition on the U.S. Department of Defence buying weapons from Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport. Meanwhile, Russia argues that it is […]
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[NATO aims to repair Russia ties despite Patriot row – Reuters – Adrian Croft – Dec. 2, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/02/us-nato-ministers-idUSBRE8B107820121202] Reuters reports on NATO foreign ministers seeking to improve NATO’s relations with Russia, even as Russia raises concerns over NATO-member Turkey receiving Patriot air defense missiles as a safeguard against attacks from Syria. NATO-Russian cooperation includes addressing the future of […]
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PARIS. Nov 28 (Interfax) – Russia has no plans to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at any cost, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “Russia has no special relations with President Assad. Such relations existed between the Soviet Union and his father, but they don’t exist between our country and the incumbent Syrian president,” Medvedev said at a press conference […]
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(premier.gov.ru – November 26, 2012) Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon. Question: Good afternoon. Mr Prime Minister, you plan to visit France soon, next week. We know that you had good relations with Nicolas Sarkozy. How would you assess your cooperation with the new President of France, Francois Hollande? Do you expect any changes? Dmitry Medvedev: I believe that our relations with […]
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(Russia airs concern over Turkey’s request for NATO missiles – Reuters – Steve Gutterman – November 23 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/23/syria-crisis-russia-nato-idUSL5E8MN5EV20121123) Amidst the ongoing Syrian conflict, Reuters covers Russia’s reaction to the prospect of NATO deploying Patriot missile defense systems to Turkey near the border with Syria: Russia emphasised its opposition on Friday to NATO’s potential deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey […]
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(The Caucasus Emirate Goes Global – Stratfor.com – Gordon Hahn – Dr. Gordon M. Hahn is Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. – www.stratfor.com/other-voices/caucasus-emirate-goes-global) Gordon Hahn writes on the influences of international Islamic terrorism upon unrest in the Caucasus: For a decade almost all observers ignored, downplayed, and obfuscated an ugly truth about […]
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MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russia believes the West is reviewing its approach toward the Syrian opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Thursday. “I have the impression that over the past couple of weeks the Western stance on the Syrian opposition has been changing noticeably,” he said in an interview with RIA Novosti, […]
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