Russia Sends Brand New Cruise Missile Ship 'Zelyony Dol' to Syria

Russia Sends Brand New Cruise Missile Ship 'Zelyony Dol' to Syria. (Naharnet).

Russia has dispatched a new ship armed with cruise missiles to the Mediterranean, the navy announced Saturday, as reports said it is bound for Syria.

The Zelyony Dol, a patrol ship armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that only joined the Black Sea fleet in December, departed for the Mediterranean, the Black Sea fleet said in a statement.

RIA-Novosti news agency further quoted a security source in Crimea -- where the Black Sea fleet is based -- saying that the ship is bound for Syria and may take part in Russia's campaign to support the Syrian army.

"The goals of the ship are not public but considering that it is carrying long-range cruise missiles, its participation in the military operation should not be excluded," the source was quoted as saying just a day after world powers agreed to cease hostilities in the war-ravaged country. Read the full story here.

Source and HT: 

In sign of “de-escalation,” #Russia has deployed new naval ship, 'Zelyony Dol,' w. Kalibr cruise missiles to #Syria pic.twitter.com/bF0ZxDwr5F

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) February 13, 2016

Russia-NATO relations have fallen to new Cold War level – Russian PM.

Russia-NATO relations have fallen to new Cold War level – Russian PM. (RT).

The relationships between NATO and Russia have slid down toward a new Cold War, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a panel discussion during the Munich Security Conference, describing NATO's policy as "unfriendly and not transparent."

"Almost every day we are referred to as the most terrible threat to NATO as a whole or to Europe, America and other countries specifically," Medvedev said. "Although actual threats that exist in our small world - and I hope, you understand that - are absolutely different."

Terrorists are gaining influence and benefiting from Russian-Western discord, Medvedev told the gathering. "Terrorism is a challenge to the whole of civilization: we must not divide terrorists into friends, enemies, extremists or 'moderates,’" he said.

"I think Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] has to be grateful to my colleagues, some Western leaders who disabled such cooperation [between intelligence services]," Medvedev said.

Addressing Russia’s anti-IS deployment, Medvedev said the air operation is not targeting civilians. "No one has yet presented any evidence of our air strikes hitting the civilian population."

The Russian PM called on his Western counterparts "not to threaten a ground operation" in Syria, stressing that Moscow is doing its utmost to pave the way for a lasting peace in the war-torn country.
"It is important to save a united Syrian state, preventing it from falling apart into religion-based [fragments]. The world can't afford another Libya, Yemen or Afghanistan. The outcomes of such a scenario would be disastrous for the entire Middle East," Medvedev said.

The Russian PM called on his Western counterparts "not to threaten a ground operation" in Syria, stressing that Moscow is doing its utmost to pave the way for a lasting peace in the war-torn country.
"It is important to save a united Syrian state, preventing it from falling apart into religion-based [fragments]. The world can't afford another Libya, Yemen or Afghanistan. The outcomes of such a scenario would be disastrous for the entire Middle East," Medvedev said. Read the full story here.

"Russia’s economic crisis is worse than Moscow admits" says Former Central Banker.

"Russia’s economic crisis is worse than Moscow admits" says Former Central Banker. (Rferl).

former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank has said Russia’s economic crisis is worse than Moscow admits and that the Kremlin’s optimism about future prospects "has not been based on reality."
Sergei Aleksashenko told RFE/RL on February 10 that "the Russian economy is not going to grow" in the near future "and the most likely scenario is stagnation in the medium term."


He said Russian authorities “have not acknowledged the real nature of the crisis, at least publicly” and the crisis “is not over, as the Kremlin claims.”

“On the contrary,” he said, “the Russian economy is set to continue downward."

The Russian economy has been hit hard by falling global oil prices and international sanctions imposed in response to the Kremlin’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula two years ago and its support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin has wagered that ordinary Russians will withstand the hardships brought about amid deteriorating relations with the West over his foreign policy maneuvers.

But now, Aleksashenko said, Russia is experiencing a series of negative trends that, by his estimate, dragged down Russia’s GDP by 9 percent in 2015.

Russia’s state statistics agency said GDP fell by only 3.7 percent last year.

Aleksashenko called that a “statistical miracle” that “does not reflect the real problems.”

“As the saying goes, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics,” he said. “If we slice and dice [the official statistical data,] it would be evident that the only growing component of Russia’s GDP was net export.”

For all other components, investments in Russia have been decreasing. Hmmmmm.......Nothing's more dangerous than a cornered and wounded animal.Read the full story here.

In sign of “de-escalation,” #Russia has deployed new naval ship, 'Zelyony Dol,' w. Kalibr cruise missiles to #Syria pic.twitter.com/bF0ZxDwr5F

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) February 13, 2016

Sudden Massive Snap Exercise and Mobilization of Russian Forces in Black Sea and Caspian Region seems Aimed at Turkey.

Sudden Massive Snap Exercise and Mobilization of Russian Forces in Black Sea and Caspian Region seems Aimed at Turkey. (Jamestown).

The present snap exercise strongly resembles a massive combat prewar troop deployment aimed to take on Turkey if it attempts to intervene in Syria to curtail the Russian-led offensive in Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia provinces, which is decimating the Syrian opposition. The Russian military deployment must deter both Turkey and NATO, ideally splitting the Alliance. If deterrence fails, the deployed troops will likely be ready to go into action. Read the full story here.

HT and Source:

#Russia-n forces encircling #Turkey with sudden, massive drills
cc @EjmAlrai https://t.co/oCZVK4KbAz pic.twitter.com/h8S8W7o4nD

— маяковский (@moscow_ghost) February 12, 2016

Related:

A must read by @20committee Mounting Evidence #Putin Will Ignite WWIII. https://t.co/0S3BmKSTYO

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) February 12, 2016

Video - Munich: Lavrov, Kerry and de Mistura speak on Syrian crisis

Russian PM Medvedev warns of 'world war' if nations fail to negotiate over Syria.

Russia raises spectre of 'world war' if nations fail to negotiate over Syria. (DS).

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said all powers must sit at the negotiating table to forge an end to the war in Syria "instead of unleashing a new world war".

"The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?" Medvedev told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper, due to be published on Friday.

It would be impossible to win such a war quickly, he said according to a German translation of his words, "especially in the Arab world, where everybody is fighting against everybody".

"All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table instead of unleashing a new world war," he said.

He said the United States and Russia must exert pressure on all sides in the conflict in order to secure a ceasefire.

Russia is carrying out bombing sorties around the key city of Aleppo, in support of advances by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad. U.S. and other Western air forces are also involved in air strikes in northern Syria. Hmmm......The world would be a much better place without the Muslim Brotherhood war dogs. 

Lavrov: Obama 'admin' admits lack of prospects of restoring Ukrainian solvency.

Lavrov: Obama 'admin' admits lack of prospects of restoring Ukrainian solvency.  (RBTH).

By having refused to guarantee Ukraine's debt as part of Russia's proposal to restructure it, the United States effectively admitted the absence of prospects of restoring its solvency, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Interfax.

"We were ready to restructure Ukraine's $3 billion debt at much more advantageous terms than those asked of us by the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. But these terms, which extend the repayment not by one but three years and in equal installments, were certainly tied to these payments by Ukraine being guaranteed by the EU, the U.S. and the IMF or a first-class international bank. We were denied it. By officially rejecting the proposed scheme, the United States thereby subscribed to not seeing any prospects of Ukraine restoring its solvency," Lavrov said.


"This reform, which they are now trying to implement, designed to suit Ukraine only, could plant a time bomb under all other IMF programs," Lavrov said.

"Essentially, this reform boils down to the following: since Ukraine is politically important - and it is only important because it is opposed to Russia - the IMF is ready to do for Ukraine everything it has not done for anyone else, and the situation that should 100 percent mean a default will be seen as a situation enabling the IMF to finance Ukraine," the minister said.

The IMF Executive Board is meeting on Tuesday to consider changes to the IMF policy with respect to countries with a debt to official creditors.

The IMF's current lending policy rules out the possibility of providing financing for a member state which has a debt to an official creditor. Removing this restriction will enable the IMF to continue disbursements to Ukraine under the current extended-financing program, even if Kyiv defaults on its debt to Russia for the $3 billion Eurobonds issued in 2013. Hmmm.......NEXT... IMF about to create 'Greek situation in Ukraine'?

Debt ridden Ukraine asks Russia for lower gas prices for coming winter season

Debt ridden Ukraine asks Russia for lower gas prices for coming winter season. (AP).

Emboldened by a deal with international creditors to write down part of its debt, Ukraine on Friday asked Russia for lower gas prices for the winter season.

Russia and Ukraine last year struck an emergency deal on prices through the winter. That deal has expired, however, and the sides have to hold new talks if Ukraine is to receive more Russian gas.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Friday he is convinced that Kiev and Moscow should go back to the last winter deal, which saw Ukraine pre-pay for gas but receive a sizeable discount.

"We are convinced that the only mechanism to ensure a gas transit to the EU as well as stable supplies to Ukraine is applying the same mechanism that was worked out last year between the EU, Ukraine and Russia," he said in comments released by his press office.

The Ukrainian government on Thursday reached a deal with its international bondholders to lighten its public debt burden. It will see the creditors write off 20 percent of their bond holdings, shrinking $19 billion in sovereign debt to $15.5 billion.

Russian creditors did not take part in talks, but Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko on Thursday insisted that Moscow should accept the same terms because "it would not get a better deal" than Ukraine's other creditors.

Moscow insists that it wants to be fully repaid for a $3 billion loan it gave to Ukraine. The debt is due at the end of the year.

Speaking to reporters late Thursday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that Russia's loan "was not a commercial one. We provided funds for Ukraine with a below-market interest rate."
 Hmmmm......"Gazprom" has asked the Stockholm arbitration to collect the $ 29.2 billion Gas debt from Ukraine.Read the full story here.

Related:   Belarus ready to increase Russian gas transit to EU if needed.

Belarus ready to increase Russian gas transit to EU if needed.

Belarus ready to increase Russian gas transit to EU if needed. (Taz).

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that his country was ready to increase the volume of Russian gas transiting through Belarus to Europe, if needed, Sputnik reported.

Earlier in the day, Lukashenko and Miller formally announced the construction of the multifunctional Gazprom Center in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus was not an "alien territory" for the Russian energy company.

Last month, Ukraine, via which Europe receives over 40 percent of its gas from Russia, ceased all purchases of gas from Gazprom because Kiev and Moscow were unable to reach an agreement on gas deliveries for the third quarter of 2015.


Moscow has repeatedly voiced concerns over Ukraine's reliability as a transit country. Hmmm.......Sounds like a long , Cold Russian winter is coming to the Ukraine.

Related: EU, Russia and Ukraine meeting, trying to resolve 'Winter' gas issue could take place at end of September.

EU, Russia and Ukraine meeting, trying to resolve 'Winter' gas issue could take place at end of September.

EU, Russia and Ukraine meeting, trying to resolve 'Winter' gas issue could take place at end of September. (RBTH).

The European Commission sent Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers a document which sets out the main points on which an agreement on gas supplies to Ukraine is needed, European Commission member for energy Miguel Arias Canete said.

"This paper will be discussed in bilateral meetings at the ministerial level. The first one will be on August 27 with the Ukrainian minister and possibly at the beginning of September with the Russian minister. There is a convergence that there will be probably a trilateral ministerial meeting at the end of September," Arias Canete said at a press conference in Brussels on August 20.

The document outlines the nature and timeline for the protocol, formula for prices and discounts, minimum purchase amounts and their financing.

The European Commission is working tirelessly in order to reach a new gas delivery protocol from Russia to Ukraine from October 2015 to March 2016, Arias Canete said.

"The commission wants very clearly to have the second winter package. This is our position", he said.

Arias Canete said that the last three-sided ministerial meeting on gas in Vienna finished without results. A draft protocol was readied for Vienna upon which the sides reached a working level agreement, however the positions changed on the ministerial level.

"It became clear that at the moment there is no political will on both sides to agree on a new protocol. That is why the commission has informed the Normandy Group about the deadlock of the negotiations and asked for a stronger political steering from the heads of states and government commissars," he said.

He also outlined the arguments of the European Commission in favor of a protocol. First of all, it is necessary to ensure the gas supply to Ukraine in the coming winter. And although the situation has improved a bit compared to last year due to the reverse gas supplies from EU countries, "Ukraine still needs to fill its storages to at least 19 billion cubic meters (bcm) in order to prepare for a rough winter. 

The current level is 13.5 bcm. They need to buy more gas," Arias Canete said.

Additionally he said that it is necessary to guarantee the supply for Ukraine, while at the same time maintaining the transits of gas from Russia to the European Union, as it is in the interests of Moscow, so that they can retain their position as a reliable supplier. Hmmm.........I wouldn't count too much on a solution, in view of: "Gazprom" has asked the Stockholm arbitration to collect the $ 29.2 billion Gas debt from Ukraine.

"Gazprom" has asked the Stockholm arbitration to collect the $ 29.2 billion Gas debt from Ukraine.

"Gazprom" has asked the Stockholm arbitration to collect the $ 29.2 billion Gas debt from Ukraine. (RBC). [GoogleTranslate].

"Gazprom" said the amount of claims to "Naftogaz Ukrainy", transmitted to the Stockholm arbitration is $ 29.2 billion

The total amount of claims against "Gazprom" to "Naftogaz Ukraine", is $ 29.2 billion, follows from the report "Gazprom" for the second quarter 2015. The document notes that the company has specified the total amount of their claims in a counter lawsuit, filed in the Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce June 12, 2015.

At the beginning of May 2015 it was reported that the total amount of the claims of "Gazprom" to "Naftogaz Ukraine" in the Stockholm arbitration is $ 23.837 billion. However, in late May, the head of "Gazprom" Alexei Miller said the company will send a new view arbitration with the requirement to recover from the "Naftogaz Ukraine" another $ 8.197 billion in accordance with the rule spelled out in the contract "take-or-pay" for 2014.

The total amount of debt, "Naftogaz of Ukraine" with the additional requirements of Miller appreciated then at $ 29.477 billion.

Oral hearings on the suit of "Gazprom" to "Naftogaz Ukraine" in the Stockholm arbitration scheduled for February and March 2016, a decision may be rendered by the arbitrators at the end of June 2016.

In the report "Gazprom" also reported that in June 2015 the company "Gazprom export" initiated in the same Stockholm arbitration proceedings against the company SC "Turkmengaz". "Daughter" of "Gazprom" requested arbitration to revise the price of the purchased from GC "Turkmengaz" natural gas. Hmmm.....Ukraine is totally broke, ready to default and has no gas reserves for coming Winter.....Any guess what will happen next?

Large Russian military offensive in Ukraine possible within weeks: US analyst.

Large Russian military offensive in Ukraine possible within weeks: US analyst. (Unian).

Russian troops in east Ukraine could launch a major offensive within weeks, said American military analyst Phillip Karber in an interview with Ukraine Today.

“They have intelligence, they are run by Russian officers, there is Russian electronic warfare and they have heavy artillery brigades so they can orchestrate and coordinate….this is not the infrastructure you put in if you're expecting a ceasefire to last, this is the infrastructure you want to put in if you want to launch a major offensive, and not just one that goes a little way, but one that goes very deep," says Karber, arguing that the Kremlin hardly expects the Minsk ceasefire agreement to last, Ukraine Today reports.

Karber also suggested that Washington benefits from US Army training Ukrainian servicemen. According to Karber, the American instructors claim that they are “learning more from them than they are learning from us. They taking mass fire artillery strikes that we've never experienced, they are under UAV's constantly, we've never experienced that”.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has stopped short of sending weapons to Ukraine, proclaiming that a diplomatic solution to the Donbas conflict is instead, the way forward.

See unian.info’s video section for more of the latest news from Ukraine in video from Ukraine Today, Ukraine’s 24-hour English-language news channel.

#ATO Press Center: 106 attacks on #Ukrainian Army positions in #Donetsk and #Lugansk Regions. http://t.co/FFYOGQUud2 pic.twitter.com/swDxls4idr

— Lugansk News Today (@LUGANSK_TODAY) August 7, 2015

(L) Recent sat (c/o @finriswolf) of Russian army depot (R) Krasnyi Luch, Luhansk reg, Ukraine https://t.co/yrFb1YNMl0 pic.twitter.com/jiUnAgXufc

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 7, 2015

Minsk peace talks on Ukraine end without any agreement.

All ye tankmen, watch this and take note: How *not* to ford a river and take a 90deg turn ;) https://t.co/6OND35riLl

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 4, 2015

Minsk peace talks on Ukraine end without any agreement. (UAE).

Another round of peace talks on Ukraine, ending without any agreements. Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, east Ukraine militants and Europe's OSCE watchdog debated long into the night at this hotel in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Monday.

Four main themes were discussed - based around security, the economy, politics and humanitarian issues. In particular, the demilitarization of the Azov Sea coastal village of Shyrokyne and the extension of a buffer zone along other parts of the front line.

Martin Sajdik, OSCE representative at talks: "Work is being conducted, as you know, on the agreement on the pullback of tanks and artillery - calibre of up to 100mm and mortars of a calibre of up to 120mm. This work will continue tomorrow."

Plans to create a buffer zone east of Mariupol have angered a proportion of local residents and Ukrainian fighters. They argue Russian-backed militant units would launch a fresh advance along the coastline, if Ukrainian forces were to give up land in line with any political agreement.

Diplomat talk of a largely-held ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has not mirrored along parts of the front line, where Ukrainian troops and joint Russian-separatist forces blame each other for launching attacks. Read the full story here.

Important if true ===> Lukashenko: No intervention in Ukraine from Belarusian territory http://t.co/NR72gvMYbP

— John Schindler (@20committee) August 4, 2015

Russian DPR/LPR units now openly talking about their readiness to begin offensive for the "complete liberation of Donetsk & Luhansk regions"

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 4, 2015

You've seen already. But worth remembering this is only one of many Russian (hybrid) forces depots in occupied Donbas pic.twitter.com/84qsiChZao

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 4, 2015

Somewhere in Russian-occupied Luhansk region, Ukraine, 3 or 4 August 2015 https://t.co/sWlShyO7UQ #PutinAtWar pic.twitter.com/QFHNl7XixM

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 4, 2015

Source (not original source, but for these particular photos via so-called "DPR armed forces") https://t.co/Gfvh4lRG8J

— GorseFires Collectif (@GorseFires) August 4, 2015

Video - Captured Russian officer explains how 2-3k Russian officers w/ fake ID run Putin's proxy Ukraine forces.

Full video transcript in English here: http://t.co/X7yCGzF0Ym via @LUGANSK_TODAY

— Silver Surfer (@RobPulseNews) July 30, 2015

Video - The Honeymoon Is Over In the Crimea.

Russian prosecutors to review legality of Baltic independence.

Russian prosecutors to review legality of Baltic independence. (Interfax).[Googletranslate].

Earlier, the Prosecutor General's Office acknowledged the illegal decision on the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954.

Russian Prosecutor General's office began checking the legality of recognition of the independence of the Baltic republics by the State Council of the USSR in 1991, "Interfax" on Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation.

"Legally, the decision to recognize the independence of the Baltic States is defective due to the fact that it was taken by an unconstitutional body," - said the agency interlocutor corresponding parliamentary inquiry into the main supervisory authority.

In his opinion, the answer to the appeal "would be the same as for the request to the Crimea." Source Agency said that Prosecutor General's Office has recognized the illegal decision on the transfer in 1954 of the Crimea from the RSFSR in the Ukraine, but, according to him, this decision has no real legal consequences.

"Prosecutor General's Office only stated a fact, namely, that the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in the days of Nikita Khrushchev did not occur on a constitutional basis, since the relevant decisions are not taken by the competent authorities", - said the agency.

According to him, "in the present circumstances and realities that no authoritative body that could reverse this decision." "Although such a need has not. Crimea is again a part of Russia, and the question went to the political plane," - said the source.

However, he believes that the answer to the request of the Prosecutor General should be "more balanced". "Recognizing the illegal or that fateful decision, one can go too far - until the problem of the legitimacy of the Soviet Union and other countries" - said the source.

Because, he says, when making such decisions on a deputy's request "should take into account not only the legal but also the political aspect of the issues raised." Hmmm...So this time, they'll send lawyers in stead of little green men?

Video - Eye-witness: the Russian's wiped out TWO full mechanized Ukraine battalions in 3-mins using thermobaric weapons

Video - Eye-witness: the Russian's wiped out TWO full mechanized Ukraine battalions in 3-mins using thermobaric weapons. HT and Source: RobPulseNews.

Joseph Wood, Professor at The Institute of World Politics, and Phillip A. Karber, President of The Potomac Foundation and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, discussed " NATO and Central and Eastern Europe."

This panel was part of the The Fifth Annual Kosciuszko Chair Spring Symposium on the topic of "Between Russia and NATO: Security Challenges in Central and Eastern Europe." The event, which took place on April 25, 2015, was sponsored by The Institute of World Politics.

Surprise! - Belarus will deploy Russian S-300 missiles near the Polish border.

Surprise! - Belarus will deploy Russian S-300 missiles near the Polish border. (politnavigator).[GoogleTranslate].

Defense Minister of Belarus Andrei Ravkov said that Belarus received the Russian missile systems S-300 and will be located in Brest, Grodno and Vitebsk regions, respectively, at the borders of Poland and the Baltic countries.

This was reported by "Polish Radio".

Head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry also said that Minsk is negotiating to obtain from the new Russian air defense systems S-400.

General Ravkov added that his country considers the potential threat on its borders stay of NATO troops. He also noted that, to date, no country in the world is a potential opponent of Belarus.

The military said that Belarus will cooperate with NATO, and it does not prevent the strategic relationship with the Russian Federation.

As reported by "PolitNavigator" Warsaw previously stated about the need to be placed on Polish territory heavy weapons because of the "threat of the aggressive actions of Russia" in the region. And today, in Poland were carried out exercises NATO Response Force.

Video - Ukrainian drone confirmed concentration of Russian troops in Lugansk. 63 tanks detected in 2 hours

Video - Ukrainian drone confirmed concentration of Russian troops in Lugansk. 63 tanks detected in 2 hours.(Lugansk).[GoogleTranslated].

Intelligence unit of Ukrainian Army Regiment “Dnipro-1″ published a video recorded by the drone that was flying over Lugansk.

In 2 hours flight they confirmed concentration of Russian troops on the East of Ukraine. They checked several bases and found 63 tanks, 32 APCs and 96 military trucks. Read the full story here.

 

Putin: 'I'll see you and raise you' - 40+ ICBMs targeted for 2015 nuclear force boost

Putin: 'I'll see you and raise you' - 40+ ICBMs targeted for 2015 nuclear force boost. (RT).

Over 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles will be delivered to Russia’s strategic forces in 2015, President Vladimir Putin announced at the opening ceremony of the Army-2015 Expo, an international military forum held near Moscow.

“This year, our nuclear forces are going to get more than 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of penetrating all existing, even the most advanced missile defenses,” the Russian president said, adding that the state would persist in paying specific attention to realization of a massive military rearmament program and modernization of the defense industry, Putin said.

Vladimir Putin also said that tests of a new radar station capable of beyond-the-horizon aerial target detection will start soon in Russia. The system will be directed westward. A similar radar station is also due to be deployed eastward. And in April a new radar station started operations in the city of Armavir, in southern Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov says that NATO is provoking Russia into an arms race. Antonov’s statement was made referring to US plans to put its F-22 jets in Eastern Europe.

“I believe the statement must be looked at together with other similar statements, which have recently been numerous,” the deputy defense minister said. “A few days ago, reports started to turn up about certain [American] missiles put in a certain location and about certain ammunition depots in Eastern European countries and the Baltic. It looks like our colleagues from NATO member states are pushing us into an arms race,” he said. Hmmm.....And we're off at the Nuclear races.