Russia Accuses The U.S. of Delaying Syria Truce Enforcement. Says It is Ready To Use Force Against Cease-fire Violators

Sergei Rudskoi, the head of the Main Operative Department of the Russian General Staff

IBTimes: Russia Slams US For Delay In Syria Truce Enforcement, Warns It Will Respond To Ceasefire Violators

Russia slammed the United States Monday for delaying the enforcement of a ceasefire in Syria and warned that Moscow might use force against violators unilaterally. The Russia-U.S.-brokered ceasefire began last month with the aim to reduce hostilities in the war-torn region, but excluded the Islamic State group and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front from the truce.

The Russian military accused the U.S. of stalling to respond to Moscow's proposals on joint monitoring of the ceasefire, saying it will respond to violators if Washington refuses to coordinate rules of engagement, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

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More News On Russia Accusing The U.S. Of Delaying Syria Truce Enforcement

Russia says might use force to cease-fire violators in Syria -- AP
Russia ready to use military force against violators of Syria ceasefire starting March 22 -- TASS
Russia Ready to Hold Meeting With US on Syria Ceasefire Control Mechanism -- Sputnik
Russia gives U.S. new ultimatum in Syria cease-fire -- CBS/AP
Russian army's general staff requests urgent meeting with U.S. on Syria ceasefire -- Reuters
U.S. dismisses Russia call for urgent talks on Syria ceasefire -- Reuters

Russia's Defense Ministry Releases Another Video Of A Russian Military Jet Tracking A U.S. Drone Over Syria

The Aviationist: Unusual footage: Russian drone films American drone over Syria

Interesting footage released by the Russian MoD.

According to the Russian MoD, during the last few days the US-led coalition in Syria has deployed three times more drones than before with up to 50 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles often up in the air at the same time.

The Russians claim that the coalition UAVs are conducting reconnaissance missions over oil fields along the Syrian-Turkish border which the terrorists allegedly use to smuggle oil into Turkey.

“You realize that with the scale of video monitoring being done, our colleagues could share information about what is going on along the Syrian-Turkish border and how much oil the terrorists are selling and where,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said during a press conference in Moscow.

WNU Editor: This is nothing new. Russian jets have been spotting and tracking U.S. drones over Syria since October .... Russian Fighter Jets Are Intercepting U.S. Predator Drones Over Syria. But what is interesting about this report is the Russian Ministry's admission that about 50 drones (I guess from all of the countries that are involved in the Syrian conflict) are in the skies over Syria at any given time.

Did Russian Intelligence Chiefs Warn Their U.S. Counterparts That They Will Destabilze The Baltics And Use Nuclear Weapons To Defend Crimea?

Putin's Russia has threatened the US with a nuclear showdown over Crimea and the Baltic states(Reuters)

Daily Mail: Putin Threatens Nuclear War: Russian Leader Will Take Any Necessary Step To Drive Nato Out Of Baltics And Defend Crimea

* Russian intelligence chiefs took part in secret meeting with U.S. officials
* Outlined three potential flashpoints that could lead to all-out nuclear war
* Said attempts to return Crimea to Ukraine will be dealt with as an invasion
* Also demanded Nato breaks up so called 'rapid response force' in the Baltic and stops arming those fighting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is planning to exploit the threat of nuclear war to force Nato out of countries bordering Russia, it has been claimed.

A secret meeting between intelligence figures in Moscow and Washington reportedly revealed Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region.

Notes from the meeting are also said to have revealed that Putin is planning imminent 'destabilising actions' in pro-Western Baltic states in a direct challenge to Nato's promise to defend the countries from Soviet-style Russian expansionism.

WNU Editor: This is what I meant when I said last year that the last time U.S. - Russian relations were this bad was during the height of the Cold War in the 1980s. As to whether or not Russia's intelligence chiefs made these specific threats .... since the source is coming from U.S. intelligence officials .... you take it for what it is worth.

More News On Russia Threatening Nuclear war If Crimea Is Threatened

Putin threat of nuclear showdown over Baltics -- The Times
Russia threatens to use 'nuclear force' over Crimea and the Baltic states -- The Independent
Vladimir Putin threatens NUCLEAR showdown over the West's interference in Ukraine -- Express
Russia issues nuclear threat over Crimea and Baltic States -- IBTimes
Russia Threatens Nuclear Force to Defend Crimea -- CBN
Russia threatens to use 'nuclear force' to protect Crimea annexation and Baltic states -- Business Standard

More News On Russia Denying Making These Nuclear Threats

Kremlin Denies Russia Gearing Up for Nuclear Showdown With West -- Moscow Times
Putin spokesman slams Times 'demonizing' Russia over perceived nuclear threat -- RT
Russia Did Not Threaten West With Nukes to Protect Crimea – Kremlin -- Sputnik
Kremlin: Russia never threatened to use nukes over situation in Crimea -- RBTH
Vladimir Putin Threatens Nuclear War? Russian Officials Angry Over NATO Forces In Ukraine -- Inquisitr
Russia denies threatening use of nuclear weapons -- Xinhua

Is The Russian Military Spoiling For A Fight Against The U.S.?

In this June 2003 file photo, a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter releases a flare during a show in St. Petersburg, Russia.Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters/File

Russian Flyby Of US Spy Plane: Is Its Military Spoiling For A Fight? -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor

The Russian pilot maneuvered the jet to flash its weapons, US military officials speculated this week. But defense analysts doubt that Russia is readying for a confrontation.

It seemed like a “Top Gun” encounter from a bygone cold-war era, when the Pentagon revealed this week that a US reconnaissance aircraft had been the target of a “reckless intercept” by a Russian fighter jet.

In one of the Russian jet’s more-provocative moves, the pilot maneuvered to flash the aircraft's underbelly to the US pilot – possibly in an effort, US military officials speculated, to show its weapons and signal that the jet was armed.

So does this mean Russia is spoiling for a fight with the United States? Probably not, defense analysts say – but the move was unusual, even in cold-war days.

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My Comment: Strange .... I just read a few days ago a Russian article where the commentator was wondering the exact opposite .... is the U.S. spoiling for a fight against Russia?

Russia Hopes For Better Relations With Obama

From NPR:

U.S.-Russia relations are at a low point, following Russia's invasion of Georgia in August. Some analysts, however, say the Kremlin is hoping things will improve when President-elect Barack Obama moves into the White House in January.

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U.S. Wary On Chances Of Normal NATO-Russia Ties

Flags of the U.S., EU, and Russia (Image from Wikimedia)

From Reuters:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States raised doubts about the prospect of a fast return to normal ties between NATO and Russia after the Georgian war on Friday, despite a European Union move to restart partnership talks with Moscow.

The 26-nation military alliance scaled back its cooperation with Russia after the August conflict over Georgia's rebel South Ossetia, declaring that "business as usual" was impossible after a Russian incursion condemned by the West as disproportionate.

Despite differences on the extent to which Russia has complied with a ceasefire accord in Georgia, European nations -- most of them NATO members -- have agreed to relaunch talks on an EU-Russia political and economic pact on Dec. 2.

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My Comment: The present U.S. Administration may be wary, but everyone in Europe and Russia know that a new player is coming to town. On January 20,2009, Barack Obama becomes President of the United States with a mandate for change on the international stage .... the Europeans and Russians are going to see what is this "change" that he is talking about.

Russia Links Arms Control Treaty To NATO Expansion

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty if ex-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia are set on the path to NATO membership, Interfax news agency quoted a government official as saying on Friday.

"If Ukraine and Georgia are granted NATO Membership Action Plans (MAP), then the revised CFE treaty will be doomed," Interfax quoted the unnamed official, whom it described as a senior military diplomat.

"If MAP starts being implemented for Ukraine and Georgia, Russia will not only continue the moratorium it imposed on the CFE, but will ultimately pull out of it."

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Russia Searches For Right Tone To Deal With Obama

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - After Barack Obama's election win, Kremlin officials argued over whether Russian President Dmitry Medvedev should congratulate him with a warm, hand- written letter or an impersonal note, according to one analyst.

Russia's intense dislike of U.S. policies and its resolve to stand up to them are not in doubt but the anecdote illustrates a dilemma the Kremlin is wrestling with about what tactics to use in dealing with an Obama White House.

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My Comment: This is a complete reversal from last week. I can only assume that the Russian Government has made the decision to try and work with the new U.S. administration rather than antagonize it.

Medvedev Sees Chance For Good Ties With Obama

Dmitry Medvedev, 2007. Photo By Vladimir Rodionov—AFP/Getty Images

From Reuters:

CANNES, France (Reuters) - The start of a new U.S. administration under President-elect Barack Obama offers a good opportunity to repair damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

The Kremlin leader, speaking in the French town of Cannes, ditched recent bellicose rhetoric and put a gloss on future prospects for U.S.-Russian relations, two days before flying to Washington for a summit on the global financial crisis.

"I wish good luck to the new U.S. president because he faces tremendous economic and political problems," he told a business forum. "The situation in the world will strongly depend on how the U.S. administration handles these problems."

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Russia Rejects U.S. Missile Proposals

Cadets in historical uniforms take part in a military parade in the Red Square in Moscow, November 7, 2008. Moscow marked the anniversary of a historical parade in 1941 when Soviet soldiers marched through the Red Square to the front lines of World War II. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected U.S. proposals aimed at easing concerns over a missile defense system in Europe and said it would try again to resolve the row once Barack Obama is in the White House.

Russia says the planned U.S. system will threaten its national security and that the administration of George W. Bush, which leaves office in January, has failed to allay its concerns.

"Russia is ready to cooperate with the United States on European security but considers the proposals that were sent are insufficient," Itar-Tass news agency quoted an unidentified Kremlin source as saying.

"We will not give our agreement to these proposals and we will speak to the new administration," said the source, who was quoted by Russia's three main news agencies, an indication the remarks reflect official policy. The Kremlin press office declined to comment.

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My Comment: Russia is making it very clear in their public announcement .... "They will speak to the new administration".

How The KGB Sees Obama -- A Commentary

Obama And The KGB -- Moscow Times

I was arrested by the KGB in Stalin's hometown of Gori in March 1988. Six men interrogated me about my Russian-language skills, my lack of papers and my high-speed camera, but after several hours my explanation was accepted. Planning to write about Stalin, I wanted to see his childhood home, his school and his town. My passport was at the hotel in Tbilisi as Soviet law required, but I admitted to breaking another Soviet law -- not to leave the city where you were registered.

At the end, the leader said he wanted to ask one question about the U.S. primaries then under way and which included among other hopefuls, Jesse Jackson. He asked: "Is that negr going to be president?"

He had used the proper Russian word for a black person but had said it with worry and disdain. He could imagine nothing worse -- the United States revealed as a democracy not a hypocrisy.

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My Comment: I am not an enthusiastic supporter of President-elect Obama, but this commentary from the Moscow Times is right in explaining the positive impact that his election will have on countries like Russia and/or any other authoritarian state.

How Russia Sees Obama

President-elect Barack Obama, with service members at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
Photo by Sgt. Jarod Perkioniemi / U.S. Army

How Tough-Talking Russia Sees Obama
-- U.S. News And World Report

Moscow lays down its political markers but doesn't want to upset business cooperation

MOSCOW—On Wednesday, when many world leaders hailed President-elect Barack Obama's victory in the polls, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wasn't quite as effusive. He announced that he might station missiles in the western Russian region of Kaliningrad and point them at a U.S. missile defense system planned for Eastern Europe.

But Medvedev's stridency only extends so far—and evidently not to business. On Friday, he attended the opening of a St. Petersburg factory run by Detroit-based General Motors.

The relationship between Russia and the United States, despite the fiery rhetoric, is ambiguous. Trade between the countries is healthy, and cooperation in some areas, such as space exploration, continues. That said, there's no doubt that diplomatic ties hit a low point over recent defense issues, particularly Russia's August conflict with Georgia, and that Obama faces a growing list of challenges.

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My Comment: Everyone is friendly for now ....

Russia's President Medvedev And Obam Agree To Meet

Kremlin Says Medvedev, Obama Agree to Meet
-- Voice Of America

The Russian government says U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev could meet soon.

A Kremlin spokesman says the two leaders agreed on a prompt meeting during a phone call Saturday.

A statement from the Kremlin says both sides agree Russian-U.S. relations should be a priority. It also says international stability requires "constructive and positive" relations between the two countries.

Russian officials say a meeting could take place as early as next week, on the sidelines of the financial crisis summit in Washington.

Earlier this week, the outgoing administration of U.S. President George Bush proposed new arms control talks with Russia, and said that U.S. and Russian officials are scheduled to meet in Moscow later this month.

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My Comment: The Russian's want to cut out President Bush .... and are hoping for a better deal with President Obama on Missile Defense.

Russia Aims to Be High on Obama’s Agenda

From The Telegraph:

WASHINGTON — To the extent that he focused on Russia at all, Barack Obama’s attention was concentrated primarily on the need to keep Soviet nuclear weapons stockpiles out of the hands of terrorists.

But now, President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia has thrown down a gauntlet intended to demonstrate to the American president-elect that the post-cold war era may not be so post after all.

On Wednesday, while leaders around the world were falling over themselves to hail Mr. Obama’s election, Mr. Medvedev delivered a harsh welcome-to-the-new-cold-war speech in Moscow.

He never mentioned Mr. Obama by name, but Mr. Medvedev said he would deploy short-range missiles near Poland capable of striking NATO territory if the United States pressed ahead with plans to build a missile defense shield in Europe, something that Mr. Obama has said he supports.

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My Comment: The U.S. is probably high on their agenda also.

Kremlin: Medvedev, Obama Say Need To Meet Soon

From AP:

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had agreed with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in a telephone call Saturday that they need to meet soon.

Medvedev congratulated Obama on his election win, and the two agreed on a need to work on Russia-U.S. ties, a Kremlin statement said. Several issues have tested relations between Moscow and Washington, including NATO's possible eastward expansion and U.S. plans for placing components of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

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Russia, US Play Poker With Missiles

From The Guardian:

There were elaborate explanations yesterday as to why the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, had chosen to greet the election of a liberal to the White House by deploying nuclear missiles in its western enclave of Kaliningrad. Russia, we were told, was laying down a marker. It was saying: you can not ignore us. Or Medvedev was testing a greenhorn leader to see how he would react. There was every explanation except the obvious one: cause and effect.

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An Arms Race Between Russia And The U.S. Is Unlikely

(Image From The BBC)

Russia Retooling For Military Modernization -- Space War

There are many examples of failure to fulfill Russia's annual state defense order: Delivery of Sukhoi Su-34 aircraft and Mil Mi-28N helicopters is well behind schedule, the missile-carrying submarine Yury Dolgoruky is certain not to be launched in 2008, and the second submarine in the series is unlikely to hit the water in 2009, as scheduled, either.

At the same time, there is some good news: The timeline for Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile deliveries to troops is being scrupulously followed, although it is not known whether it will be kept when another new missile -- the RS-24 -- starts to be mass-produced.

It is understandable that Russian Federation defense sector plants cannot solve their problems by themselves, as these have taken 20 years to pile up. A way out must be found in the near future, and must involve state support, not only in the form of financial injections and bylaws regulating profit rates.

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My Comment: Is there a chance of an arms race between Russia and the U.S.? I doubt it. For both countries it will be too much of a strain on their budgets .... and besides .... both countries have more pressing problems than each other.

Putin Says There Is No Basis For A Cold War

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with CNN in the
Black Sea resort Sochi, August 28, 2008.

Putin Warns West Against Starting Arms Race -- Reuters

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned the West on Thursday against starting an arms race in Europe by stationing a U.S. missile defense shield near Russia's borders and said there was no basis for a new Cold War.

Putin, who has taken a robust stance on Russia's conflict with Georgia over the region of South Ossetia, blamed Washington rather than Moscow for resurrecting Soviet-style rhetoric.

"Today there are no ideological contradictions, there is no basis for a Cold War," Putin told a group of reporters.

"There is no basis for mutual animosity ... Russia has no imperialist ambitions," Putin said at a three-hour lunch briefing at his retreat in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Russia was criticized by the United States and European governments for sending troops into Georgia last month and then recognizing the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

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My Comment: Putin is calculating the costs of Russia's small war with Georgia .... and he is realizing that the costs may be higher than what he had expected.

The Western News Media Did Not Cover This -- U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas Chased Out Of The Port Of Sevastopol

Russian Protesters’ and U.S. Coastie Crew’s
Dueling Shindigs -- War Is Boring

On Monday the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas pulled into the port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, her crew probably expecting some rest and relaxation following their highly contentious mission to deliver relief supplies to Georgia.

In stark contrast to the cheering civilians who had greeted them in the Georgian port of Batumi, in Sevastopol, where Russia leases a naval base, resident Russians thronged the pier to protest Dallas‘ presence. A Dallas crew member with business ashore was even assaulted by an old woman wielding a Russian flag on a pole.

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Update: "Massive" Protests as Dallas Arrives in Sevastopol' -- Russian Navy Blog

My Comment: When old grandmothers (in Russian we call them babushkas) attack you .... that is when you know that you have overstayed your visit and it is time to leave.