Why is Russia now bombing ISIS with long-range missiles?

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Russia has launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria using strategic long-distance bombers for the first time. Russian experts see the use of long-range missiles as a testing ground for new types of weapons, as well as a good way of intensifying the airstrikes in Syria, since other accessible resources have now been exhausted. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru […]

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Truthiness in Russia; What we’re missing from the propaganda debate: how state propaganda feeds off and enhances public sentiment

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(opendemocracy.net – Nelli Babayan – November 23, 2015) Nelli Babayan is Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy, German Marshall Fund US and Associate Fellow at the Center for Transnational, Foreign and Security Policy at Freie Universität Berlin. Her latest book is Democratic Transformation and Obstruction: EU, US, and Russia in the South Caucasus. Find her on Twitter @nellibabayan As opinion polls […]

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Can Putin Come In From The Cold?

Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – November 18, 2015) He wasn’t ostracized. He wasn’t isolated. And certainly nobody threatened to shirtfront him. In the space of a year, Vladimir Putin has gone from being the pariah of Brisbane to being the star of Antalya. The contrast between last year’s G20 summit in Australia and this year’s in Turkey couldn’t […]

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Possible Russia-West Rapprochement Over Syria Stokes Fears In Europe’s East

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(RFE/RL – Pete Baumgartner – November 19, 2015) France’s surprise embrace of Russia in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris has raised concerns across the former Soviet bloc that Moscow wants to leverage the fight against Islamic extremists in Syria to secure Western concessions over Ukraine. Just days after the massacres in the French capital killed 129 […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Victoria Nuland Remarks at the Berlin Security Conference

File Photo of Victoria Nuland Testifying

(US Department of State – November 17, 2015) Victoria Nuland Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Berlin, Germany (As Prepared) Thank you, Reimer for that introduction. Thank you to: Mr. Uwe Proll; BSC Congress President, Ambassador Jiri Sedivy; Behorden Spiegel; and of course, Ambassador Emerson and the U.S. Embassy staff in Berlin for hosting us today. Ambassador Philippe […]

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Parsing Putin: Russia Sends Signals To The West In Statement On Jet Attack

Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Steve Gutterman – November 18, 2015) A few hours after French President Francois Hollande called for Moscow and the West to fight Islamic State (IS) militants together in the wake of deadly attacks in Paris, Russia abruptly announced it was now certain a terrorist bomb blew a passenger jet to pieces over Egypt on October 31. […]

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Russia Increases Pressure on Islamic State in Syria

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – November 18, 2015) Strategic bombers belonging to the Russian air force have conducted bombings and rocket strikes on Islamic State positions, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry reported on its website Tuesday. “The number of flights has been doubled, which allows [us] […]

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Putin Goes From G-20 Pariah to Player at Obama Turkey Talk

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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov – November 15, 2015) The sidelines of summits are full of talks between leaders, their ministers and aides, but the huddle between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 in Turkey Sunday was heavy with significance. The meeting on Syria lasting more than 30 minutes was the first since the Russian […]

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Russia to Cooperate With West and Syrian Opposition Groups – Putin

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 17, 2015) Following the G20 summit in Turkey, there has been a decline in tension between Russia and the West in the face of new international threats and challenges, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the final G20 press conference, Interfax agency reported Monday. “Life goes forward, things are changing, there are new challenges, […]

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Russia’s Promising Peace Plan for Syria

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(Bloomberg Editorial – bloomberg.com – November 13, 2015) The U.S. and its allies have reason to be skeptical of Russia’s new plan for peace in Syria. The proposal has arrived, after all, just as Russian airstrikes have begun to help President Bashar al-Assad to his first military successes since they began. Nevertheless, the plan contains some ideas that could help […]

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After the Crash: What Are Russia’s Options in Syria?

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – November 12, 2015) If the ongoing investigation into the downing of a Russian civilian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31 concludes that a bomb destroyed the plane, the Kremlin will have to react – but its options are constrained by logistical and political realities on the ground. So far, it […]

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Russia Sees Syria War Endgame Stretch to 2017 as Talks Renew

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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jonathan Tirone, Henry Meyer – November 12, 2015) Russia will propose a political transition in Syria lasting as long as 18 months at the next round of talks starting Saturday in Vienna, where diplomats will resume the search for a settlement to the country’s civil war. Russia, which has entered the conflict on the side of […]

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Putin Needs a Victory and Annexing Belarus on the Cheap Could Give Him One, Oreshkin Says

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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 10, 2015) Having suffered increasingly obvious “fiascos” in Ukraine and Syria, Vladimir Putin now needs “a victory,” Dmitry Oreskhin says. “And it turns out that Belarus and Lukashenka are the most suitable variant whom he could defeat with minimal costs” because “Belarus could not hold out for two weeks” if Moscow […]

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Activist Says Russia Using ‘Hybrid Warfare’ In Syria

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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tony Wesolowsky, Mark Krutov – November 11, 2015) The head of a team of Russian cybersleuths who have uncovered what they argue is a much more robust Russian military role in Syria than officially claimed, says the Kremlin seems to be following the “hybrid warfare” playbook perfected in eastern Ukraine. Activists from the Moscow-based Conflict Intelligence […]

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When In Doubt, Blame The West

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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – November 9, 2015) So Russia went there after all. The crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 in Egypt on October 31, which killed all 224 people on board, was more than the worst aviation disaster in the country’s history. Once it became clear that the cause of the crash was probably terrorism, it also […]

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Russia’s Way of Managing Responsibility or Why the Kremlin Will Have To Escalate in Syria

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov- November 9, 2015) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. The cause of the most terrible plane crash in Russian history has not yet been named. Officially, there is still a possibility that the crash of the Russian passenger plane that […]

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Interfax: Cooperation with USA, Saudis against ISIS possible – top Russian diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, November 9, 2015) Russia, Saudi Arabia and the USA can cooperate to fight ISIS and other terrorists in the Middle East if there is mutual interest in this, says special envoy of the Russian president for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov. “As regards the trilateral format of cooperation […]

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Interfax: Russia set to work constructively at Vienna meeting; calls for regime change in Syria will not lead to success – Lavrov

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

BOCHAROV RUCHEI (Sochi). Nov 10 (Interfax) – Adherence to abstract ideas about the need to change the regime in Syria will have no success at the Vienna meeting; Russia is nevertheless expecting it to be constructive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. “If, instead of concrete work on these two issues (forming a list of terrorist organizations and a […]

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Russia Fears Islamic Terror Blowback Over Syria After Sinai

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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov – November 9, 2015) As evidence grows that a bomb may have downed a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, the Kremlin is focused on countering the threat of terrorism at home from sympathizers of Islamic State. Officials insist they were prepared for the risk of terrorist reprisals after President Vladimir Putin ordered air strikes […]

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Nov. 4 Event on Capitol Hill: The Crisis in US-Russia Relations, from Ukraine to Syria

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

From: “Sperling, Erik” <Erik.Sperling@mail.house.gov> Subject: Nov. 4 event on Capitol Hill: The Crisis in US-Russia Relations, from Ukraine to Syria Date: October 28, 2015 The Crisis in US-Russia Relations, from Ukraine to Syria: Is Congress Overlooking its Causes and Potential Solutions? Hosted by Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Rep. Ted Yoho, Rep. Charles Rangel, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Jim Himes, Rep. […]

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‘We must face down the ISIS threat in Syria together’

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Nobody wants to deploy ground forces in Syria, says Russian Ambassador to the UK (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – October 29, 2015) Alexander Yakovenko is Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He was previously Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. ISIS has established a bridgehead in Syria and other countries of the Middle East. The terrorists do not conceal […]

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Putin’s Mafia Statecraft

Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – October 27, 2015) In the past couple years, Russian hackers have launched attacks on a French television network, a German steelmaker, the Polish stock market, the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. State Department, and The New York Times. And according to press reports citing Western intelligence officials, the perpetrators […]

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Communication, mutual aid channels to be established once agreement with U.S. Defense Department takes effect

Aerial Photo of Pentagon and Environs

(Interfax – October 20, 2015) A memorandum on flight safety in Syria, which was signed between Russia and the United States on Oct. 20, regulates all aircraft and drone flights in the Syrian airspace and aims to ensure flight safety, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov has said. “We consider it a positive step that the Russian Defense Ministry and […]

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Is Moscow looking to make Syria’s opposition a deal?

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A recent meeting between a Russian presidential envoy and a Syrian opposition leader in Cairo has sparked much rumor and speculation. RBTH has polled Russian observers for their views on the reasons behind the meeting with opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nadezhda Ustinova, Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – October 20, 2015) Speculation of […]

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Assad pays surprise visit to Moscow for Syria talks with Putin

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Syrian president thanks Russian leader for assistance in fight against ‘terrorists’. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Igor Rozin, RBTH – October 21, 2015) Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad made an unexpected visit to Russia on Oct. 20 to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov revealed on Oct. 21. “The negotiations were rather long and […]

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Calculating the Cost of Russia’s War in Syria

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – October 21, 2015) Russian air strikes in Syria are costing Moscow up to $4 million per day, data collated for The Moscow Times by a defense think tank showed. The figures by IHS Jane’s show that bombing raids, supply runs, infrastructure and ground personnel – along with a salvo of cruise missiles […]

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RBTH: No common ground for Russia and U.S. on ISIS

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Three weeks after Russia began bombing runs in Syria, American and Russian officials continue their disagreement about the goals of the campaign. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ilya Krol, Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – October 21, 2015) On Sept. 30, Russia’s air force began bombing targets in Syria. Since that day, Russian planes have made hundreds of sorties dropping […]

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Russia Says Fewer Air Strikes in Syria

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – October 16, 2015) Disarray among the Islamic State terrorist organization has prompted a decrease in the number of sorties being flown by Russian jets in Syria, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. Russian planes flew 33 missions during the last 24 hours, according to the Defense Ministry, a sharp drop from the high […]

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How will the war in Syria affect the Russian economy?

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While developments in Syria will not have a great effect on the world’s oil market, if Russia remains involved for long it may stand to lose serious economic support from the Gulf monarchies and could see Ankara driving a hard bargain on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sergei Alexashenko, […]

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Interfax: Moscow ready to maintain contact with Free Syrian Army if it gets in touch with representatives – Bogdanov

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MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax) – Moscow is trying to get in touch with representatives of the Free Syrian Army and is ready for communication with them, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said. “If we find it, they are welcome to come here,” he told a press conference on Russian-Turkish relations organized by the Russian Council for International Affairs […]

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Putin informed Obama of plans to strike ISIL in Syria at meeting in New York – Lavrov

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MOSCOW. Oct 14 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin informed U.S. President Barack Obama of plans to strike Islamic State targets in Syria during their recent meeting on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. “When we were ready, after the Federation Council’s decision, to start striking ISIL […]

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Washington declines proposed visit of Medvedev-led delegation to U.S., visit of its delegation to Moscow – Lavrov

Dmitri Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW. Oct 14 (Interfax) – The United States has rejected the Russian proposal to send a delegation led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Washington and a U.S. delegation to Moscow in order to discuss interaction in the Syria situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. “Actually, we received a formal reply today. It seems the public speech delivered […]

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