Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[bjorb]

Now that it's current electromagnetic cannon project of the US has failed, its positive to see that the Russian variant has reached it's testing face.

This piece of technology is a game chancer, not only for military purposes, It could theoretical also launch mini satellites into space and target meteors.

Russian scientists test a super powerful electromagnetic gun

http://<iframe width="1280" height=...Rw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[sToRmR1dR]

China to Deploy Lethal Fleet of 'Carrier Killer' Ballistic Missile Destroyers

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160813/1044240058/china-sea-dispute-military-destroyer.html

Beijing recently produced its eleventh "carrier killer" destroyer and is set to deploy a fleet of the fearsome battleships to the South China Sea in an attempt to ward off American naval forces.

Last week, the eleventh Type 052 Luyang III-class elite guided-missile destroyer joined the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet marking an aggressive increase in the production of the lethal vessels. The battleship is often compared to Japan's violent Aegis destroyer.

Only one week prior, the ninth and tenth 052D destroyer took to the waters after being produced in China’s Jiangnan Shipyard with Beijing planning to construct at least five more battleships in the coming weeks amid tensions in the South China Sea.

The destroyers are set to be deployed to the South China Sea with some of the battleships set to flank the Liaoning, China’s only aircraft carrier that itself has sparked the attention of Western defense analysts due to its growing combat capabilities and potential to house a fleet of 20 elite fighter jets.

The elite destroyer is considered a major threat to US naval domination in the Pacific equipped with a deadly supply of YJ-18 long-range, supersonic anti-ship missiles in addition to a powerful Type 346A radar system providing the destroyer the necessary intelligence gathering capabilities for conducting anti-access, area denial (AA/AD) operations.

The Type 052 Luyang III-class destroyer’s anti-ship missiles travel at a speed of 614MPH (988kmh) through the first phase of transit after launch until the warhead disembarks from the missile powered by a solid rocket engine accelerating to a speed of 2,302MPH (3,705kmh) for the final 25 miles (40km) of its flight time.

The "carrier killer" destroyer will indeed play a critical role in China’s AA/AD strategy vis-à-vis the United States preventing American warships from penetrating the South China Sea area.

The massive surge in China’s naval capabilities come at a time when Beijing has warned its people to be prepared to go to war over the disputed South China Sea territory as the regime feels increased pressure from the West calling for the country to abandon the cherished and long-held territory after an adverse ruling by The Hague arbitrational court.

'Terrible Mistake' Chinese Media Hints at War With Vietnam Over Rocket Launchers

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160813/1044240469/china-sea-vietnam-rocket-launchers.html

Tensions in the South China Sea resulting from The Hague arbitrational court’s ruling against China’s longstanding claim to the disputed area are at risk of spilling over with rhetoric and tactics escalating.

On Thursday, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper warned Vietnam against the deployment of rocket launchers targeting Chinese facilities reminding Hanoi of the devastation that ensued the last time the two countries went to war.

"If Vietnam’s latest deployment is targeting China, that would be a terrible mistake," said the editorial. "We hope Vietnam will remember and draw some lessons from history."

The statement follows a Reuters report, citing “Western officials,” that Vietnam had deployed advanced mobile rocket launchers targeting China’s runways and military installations amid a brewing regional dispute in the South China Sea that the United States has been all too willing to meddle in.

"Fortifying the islands with rocket launchers, if proved to be true, will only demonstrate Vietnam’s determination to strengthen its military deployment," said the editorial. "Vietnam has been enhancing its control of the islets and islands in Nansha in order to consolidate the beneficial status quo."

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry vehemently denied the report following the stern warning from China’s state media saying that the information about the rocket launchers was "inaccurate" although US State Department officials acknowledged that they were aware of the report and did not refute its claims.

The editorial ultimately laid the blame at the feet of the West, most prominently the United States, that incited the regional diplomatic row by encouraging the Philippines to seek a ruling from The Hague arbitrational court contesting China’s longstanding claim to most of the South China Sea territory.

"It can be expected that the West won’t easily give up using arbitration as leverage to pile pressure on China and continue to stoke more tensions in the region," opined the editorial. "The regional stakeholders should be wary of the West’s tactics."

Beijing has warned its people to be prepared to go to war over the valuable waters and islands of the South China Sea, home to one of the world’s largest natural gas and oil deposits and through which over 40% of the world’s shipborne trade travels each day. China has already deployed combat patrols to the area in an effort the head off regional efforts to seize on the arbitration court’s rulings to deprive Beijing of its historically held territory.

 

[angelburst29]

Saudi intelligence officers have been training at least 7,000 anti-Syria fighters in Jordan's territories and plan to dispatch them to the war-hit country via its Southern borders to distract the army from the war in Aleppo, Arab media disclosed.

Thousands of Saudi-Backed Terrorists Ready to Enter Syria via Border with Jordan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950523000656

"Over 7,000 men have been trained in a Saudi-established military camp in Jordan near the border with Syria's Dara'a province, and now they are ready to be dispatched to join other terrorists' battle against the Syrian government and army," the Lebanese al-Manar reported.

"There are several British and western military trainers and advisors in the Saudi-established camp. The western officers are to accompany the fighters in their war against the Syrian government," the paper said.

Jordan hosts a large refugee camp near the border with Syria.

Other sources also disclosed that the US officers have been involved in training of terrorists in Jordan to fight against Syrian government.

War analysts believe that the move is aimed at diversion to distract the army and its allies from the war in Aleppo in the North where pro-government troops have started massive offensive to take back the country's second largest city from the terrorists.

Meantime, earlier today armed opposition groups in Southern Syria declared that thousands of militants are ready to reconcile with the Damascus government.

A provincial council affiliated to the militant groups in a statement admitted that 25,000 militants are looking for reconciliation with the Syrian government forces in Southern Syria, al-Mayadeen TV channel reported on Saturday.

The statement by the 'Council for Men of Knowledge in the Levant' has accused the terrorist commanders willing to compromise with the Syrian army of treason.

It has given the militant commanders in Southern Syria three days to withdraw from al-Mouk Operations Room (which operates under the Saudi, Qatari, the US and Jordanian spy agencies), the television added.

The Al-Mouk Operations Room has been accused of corruption, similar reports in a number of other Arab media have cited the financial corruption of the Operations Room members as a main cause of the militants complaint and their decision to surrender to the Syrian army.

Early in August, around 1,000 rebels laid down their arms and turned themselves in to the Syrian officials in the province of Dara'a amid the terrorist groups' threats against those who surrender to the government.

In February, the Syrian Army dispatched more soldiers to the country's Southern provinces to be deployed at the border with Jordan to defend the country against the possible aggression of the Saudi Army.

"A large convoy of reinforcements from the Syrian capital of Damascus arrived to the 5th Armored Division headquarters of the Syrian army in the town of Izra in the Northern part of Dara'a province and the Eastern part of Sheikh Meskeen," the sources said.

"The Saudi Army has been conducting a number of military drills in the Kingdom of Jordan in recent weeks, raising the alert level of a possible war in the Dara’a province," the sources said, adding, "So far, nothing has come of these Saudi military drills and it is very unlikely that they will attempt to enter Syria."

SANA reporter in Aleppo said that 9 people including a child were killed, 20 others were injured, some in critical condition, due to rocket shells fired by terrorist groups on the neighborhoods of Salah-Eddin, al-Hamadaniye, and al-Zahraa in Aleppo city on Saturday evening.

Terrorist rocket attacks on Aleppo city kill 9, injure 22
http://sana.sy/en/?p=85234

Earlier, two civilians were injured in terrorist rocket attacks on al-Aazamiyeh neighborhood in Aleppo city, according to a source at Aleppo Police Command.

In the same context, terrorists of the so-called “Jaish al-Islam” positioned in Eastern Ghouta fired a rocket shell on al-Adawi area in Damascus city.

According to a source at Damascus Police Command, the shell hit the Health Institute in al-Adawi area, causing material damage to its building but no human casualties.

A humanitarian aid shipment provided by Russia was delivered on Saturday to Sham al-Maaref area in Sahnayn town in Damascus Countryside.

Humanitarian aid from Russia and ICRC distributed in Damascus and Daraa countryside
http://sana.sy/en/?p=85237

The distribution of aid was supervised by Representative of the Hmeimim-based Russian Coordination Center Col. Artyom Kazankov, who told reporters that 4.5 tons of food supplies including rice, sugar and canned meat and fish were distributed in Sham al-Maaref area today.

The aid targeted people and families mainly displaced from Daraya city due to terrorist acts.

A week ago, a Russian humanitarian aid shipment was distributed to needy families in al-Woroud neighborhood in Damascus.

Tens of towns all across Syria have received humanitarian and relief aid provided by Russia in the past period.

In a relevant context, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) branch in Daraa and the relief subcommittee distributed on Saturday food and relief aid in al-Sanamain city in the northern countryside of Daraa.

Deputy head of the Executive office Awad al-Sweidan said in a statement that distributing aid came within the response plan by the high committee for relief, noting that the plan includes distributing aid to areas in the province in coordination with the relief committee in Daraa and SARC.

Head of the SARC branch in Daraa Dr. Ahmad Masalmeh said that the aid distributed on Saturday included 5000 food packages, 5000 packages of canned food, 3000 health packages, 250 dialysis units, medicine and requirements for drinking water.

On July 30th, an aid convoy of 44 trucks loaded with relief, medical and health aid entered Nawa city northwest of Daraa.

A convoy of 40 trucks carrying nearly 1000 tons of food supplies arrived in Aleppo province Thursday evening.

A 40-truck convoy carrying 1000 tons of food supplies arrives in Aleppo
http://sana.sy/en/?p=85148

Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Abdullah al-Gharbi said the convoy aims at meeting the basic livelihood needs of Aleppo people so as to boost their resilience.

The food stuff will be provided for citizens at the food supplies establishments and through vehicles that march streets to sell grocery, al-Gharbi added.

He pointed out that the supplies available in Aleppo now are sufficient for two months, stressing though that sending food stuff to the province will continue.

Large quantities of gas oil and benzene as well as food supplies were sent to Aleppo last Monday.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Counter-Terrorist Operation Declared in Rural Area of Russia’s Dagestan

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160814/1044249197/counter-terrorist-operation-dagestan.html

According to a spokesperson of the operational headquarters, counter-terrorist operation regime was declared in a rural area of the Russia’s republic of Dagestan on Sunday.

MAHACHKALA (Russia) (Sputnik) – The counter-terrorist operation regime was declared in a rural area of the Russia’s republic of Dagestan on Sunday, a spokesperson of the operational headquarters told RIA Novosti.

“At 7:30 a.m. [04:30 GMT] the head of the operational headquarters decided to declare the legal regime of a counter-terrorist operation within the borders of the Tagirkent-Kazmalyar village of the Magaramkentsky region,” the spokesperson said.

The decision was made after a militant, who opened fire at police officers, was killed in the Magaramkentsky region.

Kazakhstan Extends Moderate Terrorist Threat Level Until January 2017

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160814/1044249084/kazakhstan-terrorist-threat-level.html

Kazakhstan prolonged the moderate "yellow" level of terrorist threat, which was introduced in June, until January 15, 2017, the Kazakh National Security Committee (NSC) said in a statement on Sunday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) – On June 5, unidentified armed assailants attacked two gun shops and a military unit in Kazakh city of Aktobe. In response, the country's authorities announced an anti-terrorism operation. The incident left 25 people killed, including 18 terrorists, who were said to be radical followers of non-conventional religious movements. Following the event, the Kazakh government introduced the "yelow" threat level.

"Anti-Terrorist Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan is announcing the extension of the moderate "yellow" level of terrorist threat in the country until January 15, 2017," the statement reads.

The shooting of police officers in the southern Kazakh city of Almaty on July 18, described as an act of terrorism by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, claimed lives of five people, leaving seven more injured. The terrorist threat in Kazakstan's largest city has been put to "red", later to be lowered to "yellow."

Six Tu-22m3 Bombers Strike Daesh Near Deir Ez-Zor, Syria - Russian Defense Min.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160814/1044250128/russia-daesh-airstrike.html

According to Defense Ministry, Russian bombers destroy 6 big depots, 2 tanks, 4 infantry combat vehicles, 2 command posts of Daesh in Syria.

Russian bombers return to airport based on Russia's territory after carrying out successful strikes against Daesh in Syria.

Details to follow

North Korea Threatens US With Nuclear Strike at 'Slightest Provocation'

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160814/1044247838/north-korea-threatens-usa-nukes.html

Pyongyang accused Washington of an attempt to invade the North Korea on Saturday and has threatened the United States with a nuclear strike at "the slightest provocation," local media reported on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the United States attempts to invade the North Korea are becoming "ever more reckless" and noted that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea switched from their current mode of the military opposition to a preemption mode in order to cope "with the absurd war hysteria of the opponent." All of its forces are fully prepared to make a "ruthless and devastating blow" to the enemy, if he commits even the "slightest provocation," the state media added.

The media noted that the right to make a pre-emptive nuclear strike does is not the United States' monopoly.

On Tuesday, the US Strategic Command announced that the United States had sent three B-2 stealth bombers to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to conduct training sorties.

Pyongyang's agency reported on Wednesday that the United States intend to make a plan of actions for a surprise nuclear attack under the upcoming drills.

Pyongyang has repeatedly claimed that the joint military drills are a rehearsal for a real attack on North Korea. The United States and South Korea, in their turn, insisted that the exercises are aimed at training defensive skills for combating emerging threat from the North.

Japan Vows to Develop New Land-to-Sea Missile to Protect Disputed Islands

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160814/1044250344/japan-missile-disputed-islands.html

Tokyo is set to develop new land-to-sea missiles which will have a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles); they will be deployed on islands such as Miyako in Okinawa prefecture by 2023 and will cover the inhabitant island chain, the core of territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.

The Japanese government has decided on a plan to develop land-to-sea missiles with a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), according to Tokyo-based newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.

The weapon is set to be deployed on islands such as Miyako in Japan's southern-most Okinawa prefecture, by 2023. The range will cover the inhabitant island chain, known as Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China.

“In light of China’s repeated acts of provocation around the Senkaku islands, Japan aims to increase deterrence with improved long-range strike capability,” the newspaper says.

The missile will be developed by Japan and will use solid fuel, it further said. Costs for development will be part of the defense ministry’s budgetary request for the fiscal year ending March 2018.

Tensions are running high between the two countries over the chain of inhabited islands following the discovery of potential undersea oil reserves in 1968 in the area and the 1971 transfer of administrative control of the islands from the US to Japan.

The territory is disputed by China, which claims the discovery and ownership of the islands from the 14th century, while Japan had ownership of the islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II.

China and Taiwan regard the islands are part of Taiwan. Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, after the Sino-Japanese war.

After Japan’s surrender the islands were administered by the US as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1971, when the islands returned to Japanese control under the Okinawa Reversion Agreement between the United States and Japan.

After World War Two, Japan renounced claims to a number of territories and islands including Taiwan in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco.

These islands, however, came under US trusteeship and were returned to Japan in 1971 under the Okinawa reversion deal.

China says that when Taiwan was returned in the Treaty of San Francisco, the islands should have been returned too.

The territory is also disputed between Japan and Taiwan.

Ties between Japan and China suffered a sharp deterioration in 2012 when Japan bought three of the East China Sea islands from a private Japanese landlord

The deal angered China, triggering public and diplomatic protests. Since then, Chinese government ships have reportedly sailed in and out of what Japan says are its territorial waters around the islands.

 

[angelburst29]

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, who has recently endorsed Hillary Clinton, has caused a firestorm when he said that the United States should covertly kill Russians and Iranians in Syria, with Russian lawmakers denouncing the remarks as "monstrous" and experts saying that he merely confirmed what Washington has secretly been doing.

Ex-CIA Chief's Comments Reflect 'What US is Secretly Doing in Syria'
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160810/1044124847/us-russia-morell-syria.html

Vladimir Vasilyev, a senior research fellow at the Moscow-based Institute of US and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, maintained that Morell's comments should be taken at face value.

This is "what the United States has secretly and surreptitiously been doing and most importantly what Washington will do if Hillary wins presidential election," he told RIA Novosti. "Russia should understand who it is dealing with. In fact, Moscow could thank Morell for leaking important information on Washington's true goals in Syria."

Russian MP Irina Yarovaya, the head of the State Duma Committee for Security, echoed these sentiments, saying that Morell made "monstrous remarks." He essentially confirmed that Washington is capable of carrying out "covert killings … to pursue its own devastating plans."

Yarovaya also noted that Morell's comments point to a hidden agenda in Washington's counterterrorism activities. "The US State Department must issue a clear statement on the issue. Otherwise, there are grounds to assume that the former CIA deputy director inadvertently revealed an existing top secret CIA plan."

Morell's remarks are meant to "fuel tensions between Russia and the US," Dmitry Gorovtsov, the deputy chairman of the State Duma's Committee for Security, told RIA Novosti, adding that such rhetoric is unacceptable. He also called Morell's plan "extremist" and "akin to fascist ideology."

Morell "does not understand what he is talking about"

First deputy chairman of the defense and security committee in the Federation Council of Russia Franz Klintsevich referred to Morell's remarks as "absurd."

"I think that Michael Morell does not understand what he is talking about. Modern surveillance equipment that covers all Syria renders any 'covert' killings impossible," he said. Russia's cutting edge technologies allow Moscow to determine the name, the date, the place and the goal of any such activity if it took place.

Moreover, Morell's advice "would automatically lead to an open confrontation between Russia and the US, which the Americans, as far as I understand, do not need," Klintsevich added.

On Monday, Michael Morell, who served as CIA's acting director twice, told talk show host Charlie Rose that the US "must make" Russia and Iran "pay a price" in Syria by "covertly" killing their nationals. "You don't tell the world about it, right? You don't stand up at the Pentagon and say, 'we did this.' Right? But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran," he added.

Morell also suggested "scaring" Bashar al-Assad by bombing government offices and presidential guard positions, but added that he did not urge to assassinate the Syrian president.

Journalist and political commentator Murtaza Hussain pointed out that the former CIA deputy director championed "efforts that later helped incubate al-Qaeda," referring to a strategy that the United States employed in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

He also warned that if Morell's plan is given the green light, it "would entail a massive escalation of American covert military involvement in Syria that would bring the United States much closer to direct confrontation with Russia and Iran."

Russia has continued to create a new international order, and seeks to significantly reduce the United States' clout, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Russia Poised to Rival US-Dominated World Order Using Hard and Soft Power
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160814/1044255163/russia-united-states-world-order.html

In an editorial in La Stampa, the newspaper's chief editor Maurizio Molinari said that Russia's policy on Ukraine, its actions in Syria and reconciliation with Turkey shows President Vladimir Putin's determination to create a new international order and slash the clout of the United States.

The article was published on August 14 and is titled "Big Putin's Game: strategy on three fronts."

"In Ukraine Putin wants to weaken Washington's credibility as the guarantor of Eastern Europe, in Syria he relies on showing Russia's greater combat capability to fight jihadists than a coalition of more than 60 countries led by US President Barack Obama, and in Turkey he seeks to prompt divisions in Ankara-NATO relations," Mozinari said.

In this vein, he pointed to the current notorious image of the West, which is torn by contradictory approaches to migration and terrorism and which has been exhausted economically.

According to Mozinari, the West currently demonstrates an inability to show leadership in connection with the growing protest movements, something that was confirmed, in particular, by June's referendum on Brexit in the UK.

Mozinari argued that Russia seeks to create a system of privileged relations with many countries, a political model which differs from those of Western democracies; these countries range from Belarus to Turkey, and from Egypt to Iran and the former Soviet Central Asian republics.

At the same time, Moscow is using various tools, including "energy investments, military presence and a rather effective demonstration of Russia's soft power, something that is reflected in the popularity of RT in the Arab world," he noted.

In this regard, journalist Tatyana Pushkova wrote in an article published by the online politics magazine PolitRussia earlier this month that "a superpower must have a strong diplomatic capability, as well as resources and channels of ideological, indirect influence –so-called soft power."

Pushkova noted that when it comes to "hard" power, here too Russia is a significant force, its military strength ranking second only to that of the United States, according to the Global Firepower Index.

Russia's 'soft' power too is nothing to shake a stick at either, the journalist suggested, pointing to organizations such as RT, which has pejoratively been called "the most important element of Putin's propaganda machine."

"This is not a coincidence," the journalist said, adding that "thanks to its information policy, RT, which offers access to an alternative point of view, is among the top five most popular international news channels in the United States, according to comScore; in 2016, over 8 million viewers tuned in to RT each week."

"Russia's combined 'soft power' undoubtedly gives it a position of global leadership, through its involvement in the search for solutions to global problems, through various cooperation programs and extensive diplomatic representation," she said.

Her article came after remarks made by US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper during the Aspen Security Forum in late July. Among other things, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a 'throwback' to Russia's imperial past, adding that Russia is desperately trying to look like a 'co-equal' to the US superpower.

In terms of Moscow's privileged relations, it is worth mentioning the ongoing development of Russian-Italian ties.

In June, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia and Italy signed contracts worth 1.3 billion euros (about 1.5 billion dollars) at the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin stressed that both countries would prioritize concrete steps aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties despite current difficulties. "In general, we see good prospects for the localization of production facilities of Italian companies in Russia," the president added.

Also in June, a lawmaker from the Veneto Regional Council, Stefano Valdegamberi, told Sputnik that the intentions of two more Italian regions to adopt resolutions that call for lifting sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia may push the Italian government to change its stance on the matter.

In late July, Piedmont became the fifth Italian region to vote in favor of lifting anti-Russian sanctions, with local Liga Nord leader Alessandro Benvenuto telling Sputnik Italia that his party supports local agricultural businesses, which have been hard-hit by the EU's policy.

Five out of Italy's 20 regions have now called for the scrapping of anti-Russian sanctions: Tuscany has also done so within the last month; its regional council voted on July 6 to follow Lombardy, Liguria and Veneto in urging the national government to work towards eliminating anti-Russian sanctions.

Al-Zara power plant, which is one of the major power plants in war-torn Syria, was damaged by shelling carried out by the Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as Nusra Front) terrorists, according to local media.

Terrorists Severely Damage Major Power Plant in Syria’s Hama Province
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160814/1044256767/syria-power-plant-daesh.html

The shelling carried out by jihadists of the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as Nusra Front) groups in the Syrian western-central province of Hama critically damaged the Al-Zara power plant, local media reported Sunday.

Al-Zara is one of the major power plants in war-torn Syria that provides electricity not only to Hama, but also to neighboring provinces.

Jihadists have previously targeted the power plant in March, knocking out several generators.

The Syrian army killed commander of a terrorist group in charge of conducting suicide attacks in the city of Aleppo on Sunday.

Commander of Aleppo Suicide Attacks Killed in Syrian Army Offensive
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950524001306

Abu al-Mosana, suicide attacks commander of Fath al-Sham Front (the newly formed al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group previously known as the al-Nusra Front), was killed in the Syrian army attack Southwest of Aleppo province.

Several other terrorists who accompanied Abu al-Mosana were also killed in the attack.

A new terrorist group which is affiliated to Saudi Arabia has emerged in Northern Syria, media reports said.

Report: New Pro-Saudi Terrorist Group Emerges in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950524001187

A sum of 150 militants from al-Jabour tribe which has close relations with the Saudi regime have formed a new terrorist group in Northern Syria and named their group 'Al-Moqavema al-Arabia to Counter Kurdistan's Democratic Union Party'.

They claimed that in their recent operation they have targeted and assassinated a commander of the Kurdish fighters in a suicide attack in Hasaka province.

The fresh terrorist fighters have also killed three other Kurdish fighters in their recent operations.

The main headquarters of the 'Al-Moqavema al-Arabia to Counter Kurdistan's Democratic Union Party' is in Turkey.

In a relevant development in mid-May, Jeish al-Islam Commander Mohammad Alouch disclosed that a new group will soon emerge in the Northern parts of Syria in a bid to unite the militant groups that have received heavy blows from the government in recent weeks.

Alouch claimed that the main reason behind formation of new terrorist groups is to change the balance of power in favor of the militants, the Arabic-language media outlets reported.

He said that the terrorists groups fighting against the Syrian army in Northern Syria are planning to become united in the near future.

The terrorists groups are trying to get united as the Syrian army and popular forces have made considerable advances in Northern Syria, specially Aleppo province.

Field sources in Aleppo have witnessed new weapons in the strongholds of terrorists in Syria which need 6 months of training before use.

S. Arabia Supplies Terrorists in Syria with New French Heavy Machine Guns
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950524000751

The new heavy machine guns have been produced in France and supplied to the militants in Syria by Saudi Arabia, the sources said on Sunday.

"It seems that a special group has received training in Jordan on how to use the new weapons, then moved long from South to the North to Aleppo and used them in clashes near the military academy region in Southern Aleppo," they added.

According to the field sources, the heavy machine guns have been built in France and have two barrels capable of firing 3,000 rounds in a minute in a way that they cannot be traced by eyes.

The sources said that the barrels of the machine guns should be changed every three hours, adding that changing the barrels needs 10 minutes.

Using the new machine guns also needs a team of specialists and a cargo of ammunition, they said.

Reports said in June that Saudi Arabia has sent new cargoes of weapons and financial aid to the terrorists in Aleppo in Northern Syria to strengthen them against the Syrian army and its allies' fresh attacks, a source said.

"The Saudi regime has recently sent small arms, heavy machine guns and new equipment, including 5 drones, to the terrorists in Syria," the source said.

To this end, Riyadh has sent one of its ranking officers to the regions controlled by terrorists in Northern Aleppo to supply them with money and arms to intensify attacks and open new fronts against the Syrian army and popular forces, the source added.

Some 1,000 vehicles carrying foodstuff and medical equipment have crossed Turkey's border into Northern Syria in the last three days heading towards ISIL-held regions, local sources told Kurdish media.

1,000 Vehicles Cross Turkish Border into Syria, Distribute Aid among ISIL Terrorists (USAid???)
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950524001221

"At least 1,000 small and large trucks have transferred a large volume of medical equipment and foodstuff among the ISIL terrorists in Northern Syria," Hawar reported.

"The vehicles entered from Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Western Idlib," the sources said.

"The convoys of aid cargo were guarded by Turkish and ISIL security forces," they went on to say.

The ISIL militants used chemical weapons in an attack against the residents of al-Osajah village in Nineveh province on Sunday, killing at least 17 people.

ISIL Uses Chemical Weapons against Civilians in Nineveh
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950524001146

The district governor of Mosul Hussein Ali Hajem told the Sputnik Arabic that the ISIL chemical attack on al-Osajah village killed 17 civilians, mostly women and children.

He said that the missiles fired at the residential areas in the village most likely included chlorine gas which suffocated the civilians.

Elsewhere, Hajem said that the ISIL's indiscriminate attacks against a number of villages in Qayara, Southern Mosul, in the past 24 hours killed three civilians and injured four others.

In May, an intergovernmental organization warned of the “extremely worrying” signs that ISIL terrorist group could be developing chemical weapons of its own.

Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu said that the Takfiri terrorist group might have already used them both in Iraq and Syria.

Uzumcu said fact-finding teams from The Hague-based watchdog have discovered evidence that suggest the use of sulfur mustard in attacks in the two crisis-hit Arab countries.

On April 7, 23 people were killed and over 100 others injured in a chemical attack by ISIL terrorists against members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Videos posted online purportedly show yellow gas rising over Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in Aleppo, located some 355 kilometers North of the capital Damascus.

The development came only three days after al-Ikhbariyah Syria satellite television Network reported that ISIL had fired a barrage of rockets, carrying mustard gas, at a Syrian military airport in the Eastern city of Deir Ezzur.

According to a report by the Syrian-American Medical Society, ISIL has carried out more than 160 attacks involving “poisonous or asphyxiating agents, such as sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas” since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011. At least 1,491 people have been killed in the chemical attacks.

In August 2013, hundreds of people were also killed in a chemical attack in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus. According to reports, the rockets used in the assault were handmade and contained sarin.

According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond Syria’s borders.

Damascus accuses Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of funding and arming anti-Syria terrorist groups, including ISIL.

 

[bjorb]

Powerful toast by Putin, as a reminder of fallen heroes and the confrontations yet to come. He is clearly aware about the upcoming war that looms ever closely over our planet.

MUST WATCH: Putin toasts victory in Chechen War - but with a powerful twist (1:24 min)

http://<iframe width="1280" height=...Qs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Lavrov and Steinmeier speak to press in Yekaterinburg LIVE

https://www.rt.com/on-air/355942-lavrov-steinmeier-news-conference/

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are speaking to the press after their meeting in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The ministers are expected to discuss recent tensions between Russian and Ukraine, among other issues.

Russia Holds Special Responsibility in Syria's Aleppo - German Foreign Minister

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160815/1044269653/russia-syria-aleppo.html

German Foreign Minister stated that Russia holds a special responsibility when it comes to the ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors in Syria's Aleppo.

YEKATERINBURG (Sputnik) – Russia holds a special responsibility when it comes to the ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors in Syria's Aleppo, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Monday.

"Russia holds a special responsibility now in Aleppo when it comes to the ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian access. The situation in Aleppo remains difficult," Steimeier said at the Ural Federal University in Russia's Yekaterinburg.

"When time comes to rebuild Syria, Germany and Russia must work together," he added.

Steinmeier expects Russia-EU rapprochement in coming years

http://tass.ru/en/world/894300

The German foreign minister stresses the importance to maintain dialogue with Russia despite current disagreements

YEKATERINBURG, August 15. /TASS/. Germany and Russia should maintain dialogue despite the persisting points of contention, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday.

"We have not overcome the crisis in our relationship…," he said. "However, Germany and Russia should not turn away from each other but maintain dialogue."

Steinmeier added that he is looking forward to rapprochement between Russia and the EU in the coming years.

"Many are looking forward to the political rapprochement between Russia and Europe in the years to come," he said. "I am one of them."

Germany hopes for cooperation with Russia on Aleppo, according to Steinmeier, Russia bears special responsibility in Aleppo, especially in securing humanitarian access.

The NATO-Russia Council's opportunities

According to the foreign minister, the opportunities of the NATO-Russia Council should be used, this is particularly necessary in the most difficult times.

"It is necessary to use the opportunities of the NATO-Russia Council during particularly difficult times," he said. "That was enshrined as a political responsibility during the NATO summit in Poland. The Council convened after that."

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russia Offered NATO Specific Proposals on Renewed Military Cooperation - Lavrov

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160815/1044270749/russia-nato-military-cooperation.html

Russian Foreign Minister said that Russia presented NATO with specific proposals on restoring military cooperation at the latest NATO-Russia Council meeting.

YEKATERINBURG (Sputnik) – Russia presented NATO with specific proposals on restoring military cooperation at the latest NATO-Russia Council meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"We handed over specific proposals on restoring military cooperation at our latest session last month, first and foremost regarding increasing confidence in this area," Lavrov said at the Ural Federal University in Russia's Yekaterinburg.

The European public and politicians are increasingly aware of the lack of alternatives to resuming good relations and cooperation with Russia, Sergei Lavrov said.

"We see that Europe's awareness of the lack of alternatives to normalizing relations and resuming existing cooperation formats is growing. We are receiving the corresponding signals not only from representatives of the public, from academic and business circles and regular citizens, but also from many politicians," Lavrov said at the Ural Federal University in Russia's Yekaterinburg.

The realization that suspending the work of the NATO-Russia Council and freezing cooperation mechanisms between Russia and the European Union was a mistake is increasingly dawning on Europe, he added, speaking at an event also attended by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The two ministers are set to hold a meeting later in the day to discuss the situations in Ukraine and Syria, as well as other international issues.

Lavrov also expressed hope for Russian-German relations to return to their previous level, adding that the issue must be approached in a comprehensive manner.

In 2014, relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions over Crimea's secession from Ukraine and reunification with Russia and accusing Moscow of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has repeatedly refuted the accusations, and warned that the sanctions are counterproductive and undermine regional and global stability.

BRICS members to promote political cooperation — Lavrov

http://tass.ru/en/politics/894336

The Russian foreign minister notes mutually beneficial cooperation is in the focus

YEKATERINBURG, August 15. /TASS/. BRICS members will promote sectoral interaction and political cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"Certainly, mutually beneficial cooperation is in the focus," the minister said. "Considering that BRICS represents nations from all developing regions of the world, this is a highly important format to align approaches towards key international problems within its framework," he added.

BRICS was created as an "exclusively economic association" Lavrov said. "Our partners and not we introduced political problems into BRICS agenda and we agreed with that," he added.

"Sectoral interaction will be developed definitely, particularly in the energy sphere, and political cooperation will be strengthened," Lavrov said.

BRICS is an informal association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa founded in June 2006.

BRICS Not Currently Planning to Accept New Members - Lavrov

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160815/1044271153/brics-new-members.html

Russian Foreign Minister said that BRICS is not currently considering to accept new members.

YEKATERINBURG (Sputnik) – BRICS is not currently considering to accept new members, but there is a major international interest in the association, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"There are no plans of accepting new members at this time, though there is a major interest," Lavrov said at the Ural Federal University in Russia's Yekaterinburg.

"This is a very important format, approaches to key international problems are being agreed in its framework," he added.

Lavrov confident that Russia-West relations will return to previous level

http://tass.ru/en/politics/894318

The Russian foreign minister points to Western double standards in evaluating the humanitarian situation in Syria and Yemen

YEKATERINBURG, August 15. /TASS/. Russia has no intention of going into isolation, relations with the West will return to their previous level sooner or later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday addressing students of the Urals Federal University.

"We do not make a tragedy out of this (the situation in the Russian-German relations - TASS)," he said. "We have said on numerous occasions that taking offence, going into isolation is no choice of ours."

"I am confident that our ties will return to a sustainable path sooner or later," he added.

"We can see that there is a growing awareness in Europe that there is no alternative to normalizing relations," he said.

Lavrov added that freezing cooperation between Russia and the EU, including in the energy sector, "was, of course, a mistake."

West blames Russia for failure in Ukraine

According to Lavrov, the West decided to lay the blame for the failure of its policy in Ukraine on Russia.

"Our proposals to harmonize the Euro-Atlantic security principles have been rejected," the minister said.

"NATO’s course towards eastward expansion at any price, without exaggeration, is deepening division lines on the continent," Lavrov said.

"When this course that is undermining the balance of interests and stability in Europe lost its footing in Ukraine there were attempts of shifting the fault on Russia," he said.

Europe made no efforts to "force the organizers of the armed coup [in Ukraine] to implement the agreement on peaceful settlement and create the government of national accord that they had signed with the mediation of Germany, France and Poland," Lavrov said.

"Moreover, it’s regrettable that our Western partners closed their eyes on the nationalist positions of those who seized power in Kiev and those who demanded eradicating all Russian in Ukraine," he said. "Unfortunately, we saw nothing similar to the demands that would indeed reflect a principal position of Europe in line with the OSCE documents that do not allow seizure of power by force."

"The settlement in Ukraine can be achieved only by consistently implementing the Minsk Package of Measures," he said.

West uses double standards in Syria, Yemen

Lavrov has pointed to Western double standards in evaluating the humanitarian situation in Syria and Yemen.

"Germany is our key partner not only in European affairs, but also in addressing global issues, including resolution of conflicts and efforts to counter international terrorism and extremism," he said. "There can be no double standards here, because, for example, the humanitarian crisis in Syria occupies a central place in the political rhetoric of Western statesmen, while the humanitarian situation in Yemen is carefully overlooked."

According to Lavrov, the situation in Yemen is described as a humanitarian disaster. "There is food for thought here how to make sure that approaches to the Libyan, Yemeni and Iraqi crises are based on the solid ground of common standards centering around the absolute priority - the eradication of terrorism," he said.

He also voiced confidence that "the main emphasis should be placed on promoting the positive, unifying agenda rather than on disagreements.".

The Russia-Germany ties

Lavrov went on to say that relations between Russia and Germany are going through the most difficult period since the unification of Germany.

"Today the Russian-German relations are going through a difficult period," the minister said. "I think this is the most difficult period since Germany’s unification that occurred with our country’s active and decisive role."

The relations with NATO

According to Lavrov, NATO does not want to discuss the restoration of relations with Russia.

"We did not discontinue the activities of the NATO-Russia Council (in 2008 - TASS)," the minister said. "By the beginning of winter our Western colleagues admitted that it was a mistake, adopted solemn declarations saying that the NATO-Russia Council should work in any weather, especially in times of crisis."

However, according to Lavrov, this mistake was repeated again. "The NATO-Russia Council is frozen," he said. "The fact that a couple of ambassadorial meetings were held does not change anything."

"NATO does not want to discuss the restoration of relations," he said. "During the latest meeting last month we handed over specific proposals on restoring military cooperation, especially in terms of building confidence in this area."

 

[youlik]

Россия предотвратила удар НАТО по Сирии крылатыми ракетами, — Шойгу
http://rusvesna.su/news/1471267233


Russia prevented NATO strikes on Syria with cruise missiles — Shoigu

Russia's Actions prevented a NATO strike on Syria 624 equipped with cruise missiles, said Monday the Minister of defence of Russia Sergey Shoigu.

"Changed the situation in relation to Syria, and when you ask yourself the question: what would happen if our President failed to convince and implement the idea of the surrender and destruction of chemical weapons. It's literally there in a daily readiness stood, speaking only cruise missiles — 624, memory say, cruise missiles, was ready to deliver a massive strike on Syria," — said Shoigu at the TV channel "Russia-24".

 

[angelburst29]

The Russian naval force in the Mediterranean Sea targeted the terrorist groups stationed in the military academy region in Aleppo.

Russian Warships Attack Terrorists in Aleppo
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950525000386

Al-Hadath news website quoted military sources as saying that the Russian warships launched cruise missile attacks against the terrorists' positions at the arms college in the military academy region.

It was the first time that Russia struck the militants in Aleppo with missiles from the Mediterranean
which shows the country's preparedness to support the Syrian ground forces in the region.

There is yet no report on the number of casualties and damages inflicted on the terrorists by the missile attack.

Syrian army soldiers and their popular allies completed their siege of the military academy buildings and cut the Jeish al-Fatah terrorists' arms and ammunition supply line in Southwestern Aleppo on Sunday, battlefield sources said.

Syrian Army troops traced and targeted ISIL's fuel convoys in Sweida province, and destroyed most of the tankers.

ISIL's Oil Tankers Once Again Destroyed in Syrian Army Operation in Sweida Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950525000325

Several oil tankers of the ISIL terrorist group came under attack and were destroyed by the Syrian Army troops in the Eastern countryside of Sweida province.

"Units of the Syrian Army destroyed a number of ISIL’s oil tankers in the East of al-Rashida village and a surveillance post in Tal Saad in the Eastern countryside of Sweida province, killing all the terrorists inside," the source said.

In recent months, the Syrian and Russian air campaign has destroyed a large number of oil extraction, refining and pumping facilities in the territories controlled by terrorists in Syria, as well as thousands of tanker trucks used to deliver the oil products.

Sources close to the dissident groups disclosed that the ISIL has dispatched over 50 under-18 children to Aleppo to fight against the Syrian army and popular forces after sustaining large casualties and losing a large number of fighters.

ISIL Sends Under-18 Children to Aleppo Fronts
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950525000502

"The ISIL has sent a new group of over 50 children, all of them under 18 years old, from the Western and Eastern parts of Deir Ezzur to Aleppo," the sources said on Monday.

They added that a group of the children have been stationed in al-Bab town in Eastern Aleppo which is the ISIL's most important position after losing Manbij.

The ISIL often uses children and teenagers for suicide attacks against the Syrian army and its allies.

Local sources said on Saturday that the ISIL terrorists took over 2,000 civilians as hostages and used them as human shield in order to safely fleeing from the town of Manbij whose entire neighborhoods were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday.

"The ISIL hid its forces among those 2,000 civilians and evacuated them in over 500 vehicles towards the group's main base of Jarabulus near the border with Turkey," Darvish added.

Manbij city was officially declared free from ISIL control on Friday.

Sources close to the dissident groups reported that commanders of Nour al-Din al-Zanki Movement and Fatah al-Sham Front (formerly known Al-Nusra Front) are entangled in tough infightings with Ahrar al-Sham militants over the leadership of the operations in the Southern and Western parts of Aleppo.

Infightings among 3 Terrorist Groups to Take Leadership of Aleppo Operations
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950525000629

"Each of the groups insists that it should command the operations in Southern and Western Aleppo,
while the two fronts have long been hosting the bases of Nour al-Din Zanki," the sources said on Monday.

They added that certain foreign sides have tried to mediate among the three militant groups to decrease tensions.

The terrorist groups are involved in infighting as the Syrian army and its allies are making more advance in Aleppo.

The forensics office of Aleppo said examination of the wounded and dead bodies has revealed that the terrorists have most likely used mustard gas against the Syrian army.

Aleppo Forensics: Terrorists Using Mustard Gas
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950525001024

The terrorists of Nour al-Din Zanki blew up a tunnel containing chemical materials and gases in al-Aqaba district near al-Awamid square in Aleppo after being discovered by the army. The explosion killed 6 people and injured 14 others.

Zahir al-Hajw, the coroner of Aleppo's forensics, told al-Mayadeen that there were some symptoms in the bodies of the dead and wounded forces, disclosing that the terrorists have most likely used mustard gas and not chlorine or sarin.

"The nose bleeding shows that their lungs have been damaged, hyperemia is seen in the inner membranes of their eyelids and they have wounds on their skin," he added.

Hajw added that the injured people also shown symptoms of shortness of breath and severe consciousness symptoms and disorders in a way that one of the wounded persons was so nervous after the CPR that he wanted to attack his friends and bite them.

A senior European official said in May that Saudi Arabia is providing the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front (Fatah al-Sham) in Syria with chemical weapons.

Secretary of the European Department for Security and Information (DESI) Haitham Abu Said said the terrorists regularly use the munitions in their attacks against Syrian civilians.

Abu Said said the ammunition are being supplied to the extremists every month under a plan drawn up in Bulgaria, and sneaked into Syria through the Jordanian border.

He said al-Nusra Front terrorists have used weapons containing chemical agents against Syrians on a number of occasions, most recently in the strategic Northwestern province of Aleppo.

International organizations, he said, have documented several such incidents in the past.

Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said at the time that several trucks, carrying improvised chemical weapons, have been transported to Aleppo from neighboring Idlib.

“The arms are said to contain chlorine-based toxins,” the ministry said in a statement.

On May 3, Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu said ISIL might have used chemical weapons both in Iraq and Syria.

Uzumcu said fact-finding teams from The Hague-based watchdog had discovered evidence that suggested the use of sulfur mustard in attacks in the two crisis-hit Arab countries.

Syria's al-Ikhbariyah television said that the ISIL had fired a barrage of rockets, carrying mustard gas, at a Syrian military airport in the Eastern city of Deir Ezzur.

According to the Syrian-American Medical Society, ISIL has carried out more than 160 attacks involving “poisonous or asphyxiating agents, such as sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas” since 2011.

Militants from the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki group and Falak al-Sham were killed on the Syrian-Turkish border in a bus in the northern Idlib province, according to a milita source.

Militants Killed in Northern Syria Intended to Go to Turkey for Treatment
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160815/1044278221/syria-turkey-militants.html

Militants who were killed on the Syrian-Turkish border in a bus in the northern Idlib province were heading to Turkey for treatment after taking part in hostilities against government forces, a militia source told RIA Novosti on Monday.

On Sunday, the bus with militants was destroyed at the Atimah checkpoint in Idlib. Over 30 were killed and another 50 were wounded.

The source said that the bus was blown up at the checkpoint already on the Turkish side, adding that it was not a suicide bomber, the bus was either mined in advance or explosive device was planted on the road along the route of militants.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russian naval strike force starts anti-terror drills in the Mediterranean

http://tass.ru/en/defense/894431

The missile ships Serpukhov and Zelyony Dol will interact with the warships of the Russian Navy’s permanent Mediterranean grouping

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. The Russian Black Sea Fleet’s advanced warships Serpukhov and Zelyony Dol armed with Kalibr cruise missiles have launched anti-terror drills in the east Mediterranean, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"The drills will check the ability of the fleet’s forces to operate in the conditions of resolving crisis situations of terrorist nature. The naval strike group comprising the small missile ships Serpukhov and Zelyony Dol will practice a number of assignments together with warships of the Russian Navy’s permanent grouping in the Mediterranean, including artillery and missile live-firing in the conditions maximally close to a real combat environment," the Defense Ministry’s press office said in a statement.

The drills are being held pursuant to the plan of the Russian Navy’s combat training, the press office said.
The missile ships Serpukhov and Zelyony Dol will interact with the warships of the Russian Navy’s permanent Mediterranean grouping to practice setting up communications, assisting a ship damaged by a terrorists’ attack and intercepting a vessel with terrorists on its board. The small missile ships are expected to return to their home base in late August.

Also, drills with the participation of the warships Tatarstan, Grad Sviyazsk and Veliky Ustyug will be held in the southwestern portion of the Caspian Sea on August 15-20. These ships, which are also armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, took part in an operation to deliver strikes against militants in Syria in the autumn of 2015.

Russia's newest drone to undergo certification tests within days — source

http://tass.ru/en/defense/894426

Some media said earlier there was only one sample of Korsar, which had crashed during a test flight

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Russia’s newest tactical drone Korsar will undergo government certification tests within days, a spokesman for the United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (affiliated with Rostec) has told TASS, adding that all three drones of that type to be tested were operational.

Some media said earlier there was only one sample of Korsar, which had crashed during a test flight.

"This is not true. There was an emergency due to the operator’s error. The human factor is to blame. The crews are merely learning to fly our drone. Nothing critical happened. The drone landed safely by parachute," he said.

Currently three drones are being tested. All of them are operational, including the one that suffered an emergency.

"The drone in question has already made several flights after the emergency and landed without any problems," the corporation’s spokesman said.

Korsar has been through all development tests.

"It took us several years to make this machine. Everything is well-calculated and checked. The drone will undergo government certification tests soon," the company’s official said.

Korsar is expected to cope with tactical tasks on a battle field. Its mass is about 200 kilograms and the wing, 6.5 meters. The Korsar complex consists of several drones, a ground control center and other instruments. In the long term Korsar may be complemented by another drone having slightly different characteristics.

Russian Northern Fleet warships hold artillery live-firing drills in Barents Sea

http://tass.ru/en/defense/894445

After the artillery live-firing, the naval strike force continued accomplishing combat training missions in the Barents Sea

MURMANSK, August 15. /TASS/. The Russian Northern Fleet’s naval strike group comprising the destroyer Admiral Ushakov, the large anti-submarine warfare ships Vice-Admiral Kulakov and Severomorsk has held an artillery live-firing exercise in the Barents Sea, the fleet’s press office told TASS on Monday.

The warships delivered artillery fire against sea and defiladed coastal targets in the Barents Sea and on the shore of Kola Peninsula, the press office said.

"The live-firing exercise was held using the warships’ main caliber - the 130mm artillery systems of the destroyer Admiral Ushakov and the 100mm guns of the large anti-submarine warfare ships - against installed sea and coastal targets," the press office said.

The naval strike group practiced issuing target designation data jointly with aviation and the teams of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of a separate motor rifle brigade within the fleet’s land and coastal defense forces.

After the artillery live-firing, the naval strike force continued accomplishing combat training missions in the Barents Sea.

The Northern Fleet’s multipurpose nuclear submarine Obninsk attacked a group of a notional enemy’s warships and vessels with torpedoes during the drills, the fleet’s press office told TASS.

"The submarine’s crew delivered fire with four practical torpedoes against the group’s ships from a designated depth and distance," the press office said.

The role of the notional enemy was performed by the large and small anti-submarine warfare ships Vice Admiral Kulakov, Severomorsk, Brest and Yunga. The firing exercise was held successfully and the targets were destroyed with the designated accuracy, the fleet’s press office said.

Russian defense minister seeks to fine-tune military cooperation between Baku and Moscow

http://tass.ru/en/defense/894423

Sergei Shoigu plans to discuss security cooperation in the Caspian Sea with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Gasanov

BAKU, August 15. /TASS/. Russia’s military and technical cooperation efforts with Azerbaijan require some adjusting, Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, noted at talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Gasanov.

"I think we will have an opportunity today to discuss the security situation in this region and in the Middle East," he said. "In addition to that, we have a vast military and technical cooperation program, which too requires fine-tuning and addressing a number of issues. I am sure we will find a solution to these issues."

The minister added that he planned to discuss security cooperation in the Caspian Sea. "Of course, I hope that the plans and programs prepared by us last year will be implemented to the full extent," the minister pointed out.

For his part, Gasanov emphasized that Shoigu’s visit "is of great importance for the development of bilateral military and technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia."

Shoigu arrived in Baku on Sunday. His working visit to Azerbaijan began with a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Russian Defense Ministry to expand dialogue on Caspian security with Baku

http://tass.ru/en/politics/894449

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had invited his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Gasanov to a regular session of the Council of Ministers of the CIS defense ministers

BAKU, August 15 /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry wants to intensify dialogue with its Azerbaijani counterparts to promote security and confidence building measures in the Caspian Sea, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Monday after talks between the Russian and Azerbaijani defense chiefs.

"We believe that a more vigorous dialogue and a regular meeting by the inter-governmental commission for military-technical cooperation due to be held in Moscow this autumn will spur the formation of a security system and strengthen confidence-building measures in the Caspian Sea," Antonov explained.

He added that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had invited his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Gasanov to a regular session of the Council of Ministers of the CIS defense ministers slated to take place in Moscow in November 2016. Gasanov will also be a guest at the Army-2016 military-technical forum in September.

Shoigu illustrated the activities of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria to the Azerbaijani defense minister and suggested that Baku get onboard.

Moscow, Tehran stress need for uncompromising struggle against terrorists in Syria

http://tass.ru/en/politics/894437

MOSCOW, August 15 /TASS/. Moscow and Tehran stand for maintaining truce in Syria and uncompromising struggle against the Islamic State (IS) and Jebhat al-Nusra terrorist groups (which are banned in Russia -TASS), the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday after talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president’s envoy for the Middle East and Africa, and Iran’s senior Foreign Ministry officials held in Tehran.

Bogdanov held a regular round of consultations with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and was received by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"It was stated that there was no forcible solution to the prolonged and destructive crisis in Syria which can be settled only by political means via an inclusive inter-Syrian dialogue based on the Geneva Communique adopted on June 30, 2012 and the decisions of the International Syria Support Group," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"In this connection, the sides said it was necessary for UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura to put in energetic efforts to arrange sustainable inter-Syrian talks in Geneva without preliminary conditions as soon as possible," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Moscow and Tehran confirmed their stances in favor of preserving and strengthening the regime of cessation of hostilities in Syria through uncompromising struggle against the Islamic State, Jabhat Fath al-Sham (formerly Jebhat al-Nusra) and other terrorist groups, which are not covered by the ceasefire regime," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Bogdanov and Iran’s Foreign Ministry officials discussed the situations in Yemen, Iraq, the Persian Gulf as well as the Palestinian problem.

"The consultations revealed great mutual interest in deepening cooperation between the Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministries on the Middle East agenda," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Russia-Iran-Turkey talks

Bogdanov has also discussed a possibility to hold consultations on regional problems in the Russia-Iran-Turkey format.

"The option was discussed to hold trilateral meetings of Russia, Iran and Turkey at a certain stage if our Turkish partners show interest," Bogdanov, told Tass.

"Exactly the way we held in due time meetings in a trilateral format of Russia, Iran and Syria, we had such a format," said Bogdnaov.

Germany wants Russia to use influence on Assad

http://tass.ru/en/world/894448

The German government’s spokesperson called for stopping the bloodshed and creating a UN-controlled humanitarian corridor for providing the population of Aleppo with food

BERLIN, August 15 /TASS/. Germany has called on Russia to use its influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to force him to settle the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, the German government’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert told a briefing in Berlin on Monday.

"A call to Russia means using its influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," Seibert said commenting on the situation in Aleppo.

He called for stopping the bloodshed and creating a UN-controlled humanitarian corridor for providing the population of Aleppo with food. The corridors, which Russia had mentioned, were either not opened or turned out to be ineffective in rendering assistance to Aleppo’s people," Seibert said.

All military hostilities in Aleppo stop for three hours daily as of August 11 to allow humanitarian convoys into the Syrian city. Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the operations department of the Russian Army General Staff, said last week that humanitarian aid ‘windows’ would be open from 10am to 1pm local time (coincides with Moscow time) to guarantee the safe passage of relief convoys into Aleppo.

All military hostilities, aviation and artillery strikes will be halted during that time, Rudskoi said.

Rudskoi also noted that Russian military experts would continue discussing the relief operation in Aleppo with the United Nations and the United States.

"We are ready for a constructive dialogue with all the sides interested in settling the Syrian crisis. We support the proposals by the UN to establish joint control over the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Aleppo along the Castello road," Rudskoi said.

Moscow and Damascus launched a joint humanitarian operation in Aleppo on July 28. Several safe corridors, which civilians and militants can use to leave the city, have opened. A special corridor exists for delivering food, medical supplies and essentials to Aleppo.

Berlin believes that the three-hour humanitarian aid windows are not enough for settling the humanitarian crisis, Seibert said on Monday.

700,000 people remain in Syria’s Aleppo — Russian defense minister

http://tass.ru/en/world/894452

Fourty people were executed on Sunday in Aleppo’s eastern part

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Some 700,000 residents remain in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to Russian Defense Ministry assessments, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Monday.

"It was a large city with over 2 million residents before the war. Now there certainly are way fewer people there. According to our assessments, it’s some 700,000 residents," Shoigu said.

"I know that 40 people were executed yesterday in Aleppo’s eastern part," he told the Rossiya 24 television channel in an interview.

Shoigu said routes created for evacuation of civilians from Aleppo are constantly mined by militants.

"We are forced to make additional routes in the hope that they will fail to mine all of them. Our humanitarian convoys are constantly going there," he said, adding that Russian specialists help restore destroyed water pumping stations and pipelines and that Russia provides medical facilities and ambulances.

Moscow and Damascus started a joint humanitarian operation in Aleppo on July 28. A few corridors for civilians and militants to leave the city were opened. Foodstuffs, medications, articles of prime necessity are delivered to Aleppo.

The Russian Armed Forces General Staff reported later that from August 11 hostilities in Aleppo will be stopped for three hours per day for passage of humanitarian convoys inside of the city.

Russian defense Minister: Humanitarian aid process continues in Aleppo

http://sana.sy/en/?p=85443

Moscow, SANA- Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday that the humanitarian aid convoys enter Aleppo city continuously in parallel with mending water pumping stations and sewage pipes and establishing field hospitals in all safe areas in Aleppo in addition to evacuating patients.

Shoigu, in a statement to Russia 24 Channel, denied allegations that describe the military operation carried out by the Syrian Arab Army, supported by the Russian Air Force in Aleppo, as a form of siege.

He affirmed that Russia and the United States are close to finding a formula which will allow restoring security to Aleppo city, adding “We entered an important phase of negotiations with US partners in Geneva and Amman and we are in constant contact with Washington.”

“All proposals being discussed by Russia and the United States aim at maintaining the territorial integrity of the Syria, defeating terrorism and starting an intra-Syrian dialogue, Shoigu added.

 

[Beau]

If you notice, I rarely Post anything from RT - mainly because I get a 503 error and if I do get on the site, it freezes. Occasionally, I have problems with other sites. It uninstalled my Printer and messed up video to the point, I can't even watch short clips from local news and these are only some of the problems. I have had to log into my own account on several occasions - just so it can prompt me for a security question.

I wish I had the know-how but I don't. It's scheduled to be worked on, the first week of September.

Well, regardless of your ability to access RT, we'd love to have you as an editor. I think you'd make a great editor and your ability to find stories and snuff out the meaning would be very valuable to all readers of SOTT. There's no quota for posting RT articles. ;) Would you like to get an invite and try it out?

 

[Laura]

If you notice, I rarely Post anything from RT - mainly because I get a 503 error and if I do get on the site, it freezes. Occasionally, I have problems with other sites. It uninstalled my Printer and messed up video to the point, I can't even watch short clips from local news and these are only some of the problems. I have had to log into my own account on several occasions - just so it can prompt me for a security question.

I wish I had the know-how but I don't. It's scheduled to be worked on, the first week of September.

Well, regardless of your ability to access RT, we'd love to have you as an editor. I think you'd make a great editor and your ability to find stories and snuff out the meaning would be very valuable to all readers of SOTT. There's no quota for posting RT articles. ;) Would you like to get an invite and try it out?

I have the same (or worse) problem with RT... everytime I try to read stories there, it crashes my firefox. I've complained to RT on FB but nothing has changed. So it is really good that those who can handle RT get the items up on sott so I can keep up. The sott interface is quick and easy and doesn't mess with my computer. No popup ads, no looping videos, nothing weird.

Plus, you will be surprised, when you get hooked up, at how easy the article posting interface is. You can become a posting, commenting, text enhancing genius in no time flat. And with your commenting/analyses, you'll be writing your own articles soon, I predict. What better way to cope with the reality than having a soapbox?

 

[Meg]

I think you'd make a great editor and your ability to find stories and snuff out the meaning would be very valuable to all readers of SOTT.

I absolutely agree, Angelburst29 and hope you will give it a go. :)

 

[youlik]

I think you'd make a great editor and your ability to find stories and snuff out the meaning would be very valuable to all readers of SOTT.

I absolutely agree, Angelburst29 and hope you will give it a go. :)

Я также абсолютно согласен и желаю Angelburst29 всевозможных успехов и иногда немного больше внимательности в подборе материала.

Translation
I also absolutely agree and wish Angelburst29 every success and sometimes a little more care in choosing the material.