Russia has notified foreign states about the start of the current snap drills as a gesture of goodwill and cannot be accused of the violation of international agreements on transparency of military activity, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Russia Refutes Accusations of Violating Int'l Treaties With Snap Drills
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160615/1041381010/russia-military-drills-international-treaties.html
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier claimed that Russia's snap military drills 'undermine transparency and predictability' of military activities.
"None of the Russian military exercises, including snap drills, violates international agreements or treaties that stipulate prior notice of such events," ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
NATO claims that Russia is violating mechanisms of military transparency in Europe are an attempt to raise anti-Russia sentiment in order to increase the Alliance's military spending, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The degree of Russophobic hysteria has been sharply increased by some representatives of the Alliance ahead of the NATO summit in Europe. It is obvious that the true purpose of these statements on the 'Russian' military threat is intentional boosting of panic and maintaining of the image of a treacherous enemy, fighting which requires bigger military budgets," ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered large-scale snap drills to test battle-readiness of Russia's Armed Forces. The inspection will also assess how smoothly the army, local authorities and military enlistment offices can organize a field mobile command and control centers.
Meanwhile, NATO is conducting large-scale military drills in Poland codenamed Anakonda. According to the country's president, these exercises are aimed at demonstrating primarily to Russia the country's and alliance's strength and readiness to protect the borders.
Russia will not be dragged into a confrontation with the United States, European Union or NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
Russia Will Not Be Dragged Into Confrontation With US, NATO, EU - Lavrov
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160615/1041358096/russia-lavrov-confrontation.html
Moscow sees continued attempts to exert pressure on Russia and launch an anti-Russian campaignaimed to force Moscow to abandon its stance on global issues, Lavrov said.
"We do not intend to give into attempts to drag us into a confrontation, not with the United States, not with NATO, not with the European Union. Clearly, confrontational habits and fruitless geopolitical games only impede efforts to achieve sustainable global development and generate crises like the one in Ukraine," Lavrov told Russian lawmakers.
"We see continued attempts to exert pressure on us, to launch an anti-Russian campaign with the goal of forcing us to abandon our fundamental moral approach to world order problems. There is a clear desire to patch up transatlantic discipline on our expense, at the same time undermining Russia's position as a competitor in the energy and arms markets."
Lavrov said that Russia will be able to ensure the security of its citizens under any circumstances.
"No one should doubt that under any circumstances we will ensure the security of our country and our citizens."
Damascus condemned the presence of French and German special forces in the north of the country, SANA reported Wednesday, citing a Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs source.
'Overt Aggression': Syria Blasts Presence of French, German Special Forces
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160615/1041354039/syria-german-french-special-forces.html
Previously, local media reported that dozens of German special forces personnel entered the territory of Syria, joining the French and US forces participating in the operation in the city Manbij in the Aleppo province.
According to the SANA news agency, the source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Syria strongly condemned the presence of French and German special forces the areas of Ayn al-Arab and Manbij, considering it a flagrant violation of the principles of the UN Charter and "overt unjustified aggression" against the sovereignty and independence of the country.
There are no German troops or advisers present on the Syrian territory, a German Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Germany Denies Reports of Bundeswehr Special Units Deployed in Syria
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160615/1041375098/germany-syria-deployment.html
On Tuesday, Al Mayadeen television channel reported that dozens of German special forces troops entered Syria, joining French and US troops that are participating in a military operation near the city of Manbij in Aleppo province.
Following the news, Syrian state SANA news agency reported that Damascus condemns the presence of French and German special forces in the north of the country, citing a Syrian Foreign Ministry source.
"There are no Germans troops in Syria, not at all. No advisers, no troops, nobody," the spokesperson said.
"There are no special forces deployed [in Syria]. We do not have any units there," the Defense Ministry spokeswoman said earlier at a press briefing, adding that she could
"firmly deny these claims" on behalf of the ministry.
Moscow restaurant Dr.Zhivago in the center of the Russian capital stopped accepting Visa and MasterCard cards, switching to the Russian national Mir payment system.
Moscow Restaurant Dumps Visa and MasterCard, Switches to Russian Mir System
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160615/1041353174/zhivago-mir-mastercard-visa.html
Dr.Zhivago guests can pay their bills in cash or by using Russian Mir cards, the Vedomosti newspaper reported.
The Mir national payment system kicked off in Russia on April 1, 2015. The system was created after Visa and MasterCard had ceased to serve the cards of some Russian banks because of the US sanctions imposed on Russia amid the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Dr.Zhivago owner Alexander Rapoport, the Mir system is one of the main Russian products which needs to be supported.
Russian bank Sberbank will start issuing Mir cards in early fall.
June 11, 2016 – Following an evaluation of credit card transaction fees in Canada and the rest of the world, we have concluded the fees applied to Visa credit card purchases remain unacceptably high.
Walmart Canada Statement Regarding Visa Credit Card Purchases
http://www.walmartcanada.ca/newsroom/press-releases/2016/06/11/walmart-canada-statement-regarding-visa-credit-card-purchases
Walmart’s purpose is to save customers money so they can live better. We are committed first and foremost to this purpose, which requires us to keep costs as low as possible.
To ensure we are taking care of our customers’ best interests and delivering on our promise of saving customers money, we constantly work to reduce our operating costs, including credit card fees. Unfortunately, Visa and Walmart have been unable to agree on an acceptable fee for Visa transactions. As a result we will no longer accept Visa in our stores across Canada, starting with our stores in Thunder Bay, on July 18, 2016. This change will then be rolled out in phases across the country.
To keep prices low we continuously assess opportunities to lower our operating expenses.
Walmart Canada pays over $100 million in fees to accept credit cards each and every year. Lowering costs such as these is necessary for us to be able to keep our prices low and continue saving our customers money.
Customers will continue to be able to use other forms of payment including cash, Interac debit, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
We sincerely regret any impact this will have on our customers who use Visa and remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement with Visa.
Argentina’s ex-minister of public works was arrested on Tuesday as he tried to bury 8.5 million in dollars and other currencies in a hole dug on the territory of a monastery just outside Buenos Aires, La Nacion Internet portal reported.
Red-Handed: Argentine Ex-Minister Nabbed Trying to Bury Hoard at Monastery
http://sputniknews.com/latam/20160615/1041352312/argentina-minister-hoard.html
Caught red-handed, Jose Lopez attempted to bribe law enforcement who had arrived at the scene after being alerted by an anonymous caller about a stranger throwing bags onto the property early Tuesday.
After the police officers turned down the offered bribe, the former Public Works Secretary told the nuns that police had tried to steal the money he was trying to donate to the monastery.
Police discovered
wads of US dollars, euros, Japanese yen and Qatari riyals in more than 160 packages stashed inside the bags.
Jose Lopez served as Public Works Secretary from 2003 until 2015.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it was “deeply disappointed” in the Obama administration’s opposition to increased missile defense funding for Israel, weighing in on an issue that is apparently obstructing U.S.-Israel talks on renewing defense assistance.
AIPAC Criticizes White House for Opposing Boost in Israel Missile-Defense Funding
http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/342738/aipac-criticizes-white-house-for-opposing-boost-in-israel-missile-defense-f/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Main
“We are deeply disappointed that a June 14 ‘Statement of Administration Policy’ on the defense appropriations measure has criticized Congress for funding U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation,” the lobby said Tuesday of the White House in a statement.
Missile defense is at the center of disagreements between Israel and the United States in talks aimed at extending the overall defense assistance package. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared newly amenable on Wednesday to Obama administration demands that missile defense cooperation be wrapped into the package.
The Obama administration included in its criticism of the increase in funding for missile defense cooperation a statement of policy opposing the U.S. House of Representatives version of a defense spending bill. Among a litany of objections in its six pages, the administration statement opposes adding $455 million to the $145 million the administration has already budgeted toward missile defense.
The administration statement does not explain its opposition, but notably where the statement says , “the Administration opposes the addition of $455 million above the FY 2017
Budget request for Israeli missile defense procurement and cooperative development programs,” comes immediately after a slam on the House for cutting $324 million from separate U.S. ballistic missile defense programs. That suggests that the administration may hope to leverage missile defense cooperation with Israel in order to restore funding for the U.S. programs.
Administrations, both Republican and Democratic, have traditionally low-balled funding for missile defense cooperation with Israel, which is considered separately from the defense assistance budget, currently about $3 billion a year. Congress then adds funds to the programs, which allows lawmakers to accrue chits with the pro-Israel community. An administration explicitly opposing the increase in its statement of policy, however, seems unprecedented.
Administrations, both Republican and Democratic, have traditionally low-balled funding for missile defense cooperation with Israel, which is considered separately from the defense assistance budget, currently about $3 billion a year. Congress then adds funds to the programs, which allows lawmakers to accrue chits with the pro-Israel community. An administration explicitly opposing the increase in its statement of policy, however, seems unprecedented.
“On a bipartisan basis, Congress has increased funding above administration requests this year, as it has done for well over a decade,” AIPAC said Tuesday. “These cooperative programs—including the Arrow, David’s Sling, and Iron Dome—are critical for Israel’s defense against a growing array of missile threats and make an important contribution to U.S. missile defense programs. We applaud Congress for consistently supporting these key programs, and urge their full funding in both the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization and Appropriations Acts.”
The Obama administration statement threatened a veto if the House version of bill came to the president’s desk unaltered; it did not say the president would veto the bill if some components were removed and others remained.
Another factor in the contretemps could be the talks underway now with Israel to extend the Memorandum of Understanding guaranteeing Israel defense assistance. Both the Americans and the Israelis want to increase the annual level of assistance from $3 billion to close to $5 billion, but the administration wants to wrap into that the missile defense cooperation funding, while Israel wants to keep it separate.
For the Israelis, keeping the missile defense cooperation out of the overall defense package allows them to negotiate each year for different levels of funding, which they say should be considered on an as-needed basis, subject to instability and threats in the region. The Obama administration, like others before it, prefers to keep Congress as far away from its defense spending considerations as possible,
In a statement Wednesday refuting Israeli press claims that the Obama administration is considering a cut in assistance, Netanyahu appeared amenable to including missile defense cooperation as part of the overall package, as long as there is an overall increase in its funding.
“In the wake of numerous misleading reports, the Prime Minister’s bureau would like to clarify there has been no cut in American assistance,” he said. “There is an internal debate between Congress and the White House on the size of the annual supplement to the missile defense program. Prime Minister Netanyahu is working to anchor this supplement as part of the discussions on the assistance agreement for the next ten years. Not only will security assistance for missile defense not be cut, it will be increased.”
Netanyahu has come under pressure in Israel recently to conclude a deal before Obama leaves office. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has said she is commited to the defense package for Israel, but Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has suggested that Israel should pay for its assistance from the United States.
The Trudeau government is considering a request to commit hundreds of troops to eastern Europe and take part command of a new NATO force being assembled to deter Russian aggression.
Canada considers European troop commitment as CSIS warns Russia is 'mobilizing for war'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-baltics-troops-russia-1.3635139
Canada's participation in the Baltic operation was discussed Tuesday by the military alliance's defence ministers, including Canada's Harjit Sajjan, at a meeting in Brussels.
This comes just days after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service quietly released an open-sourced global security analysis warning, among other things, that the hard-line policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are becoming more deeply entrenched and that Moscow is retooling its military for a fight.
The U.S., Britain and Germany publicly committed to the force on Tuesday, but federal sources said that while Canada has not yet made a decision, an answer could come soon and that Canada "supports what NATO is doing in the region."
Up to 4,000 troops are envisioned for the force, but the number coming from Canada, along with the type of equipment and vehicles that would be involved, is still being assessed.
The federal cabinet is expected to meet again on Wednesday but it is unclear whether the NATO request is on the agenda.
At the moment, just under 200 Canadian troops are involved in a massive drill — Exercise Anakonda — alongside Polish, Turkish and American forces near a base in Poland.
The Harper government committed Canada to a regular rotation of ground forces for exercises under the NATO's Operation Reassurance banner following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
But the new proposal goes a step further with the creation of four battalions, which would rotate through bases in eastern Europe and the Baltics, and be on standby for emergencies.
The contingent would be backed by NATO's highly mobile, 40,000-strong rapid reaction force.
Baltic states could be overrun Federal sources said Tuesday that it's not been decided where Canadian troops might be based, although published reports in Europe, quoting diplomatic sources, offered up two possible locations Poland or Latvia.
The Rand Corporation, a non-partisan U.S. think-tank, released a report last winter suggesting the proposed NATO force would simply be a speed bump for the Russian army should fighting take place. It said the Baltic states — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — could conceivably be overrun with 60 hours unless the West was willing to station several, heavily armoured brigades in the tiny nations.
Even before the contingent is finalized, political leaders in the Baltics have privately complained it is too small, according to published reports in Europe.
The request by NATO and the U.S. to fill one of the four slots took some in Ottawa by surprise, where the notion wasn't on the radar as little as two months ago, said one source with knowledge of the file.
It is expected the government will signal its intentions before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the NATO leaders summit in Warsaw next month. (Article continues.)
