Military & Security

Turkey’s double-standard policy toward the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group proves that Ankara has its own geopolitical goals in the region, analysts said. Turkey has rejected a US proposal to deploy additional troops to seal the stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border controlled by Daesh terrorists, local media reported last week.The 98-kilometer stretch of the …

The Pentagon wants to dramatically increase the funding of its European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) under the too-familiar pretext of protecting its European allies from the non-existent Moscow threat or, as Geoff Dyer put it, “to send a message to Russia.”  The exact number has not been made public …

Russia could use its brand new Pantsir-S1 (SA-22 Greyhound) and S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) anti-aircraft systems deployed to Syria to uncover secrets of the most advanced weapons in the US arsenal, including the F-22 fifth generation fighter, Major Jahara ‘Franky’ Matisek of the US Air Force believes. The …

German Vice Chancellor and SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel warned the Gulf state against financing religious extremists in his country and called for a decisive approach against radical mosques, German media reported. The German politician “made it clear that the time of looking away is over” and warned Saudi Arabia …

Russian President Putin has given his yearly address to the Russian Federal Assembly. In the context of terrorism and the shooting down of the Russian fighter in Syria he addressed some very harsh words to the Turkish President Erdogan: The Turkish people are kind, hardworking and talented. We …

The UK Royal Air Force began its second sortie on the targets of the Islamic State in Syria on Saturday, local media reported. According to the BBC, the jets, two Tornados and two Typhoons, were aiming at the group’s oil fields.The first UK strikes against the Islamic State (IS or Daesh …

Moscow and Astana have agreed the terms of Russia’s use of a Kazakh radio communications center as part of Russia’s ballistic missile early warning system, media reports said on Saturday. The head of the Defense Ministry’s international cooperation department, Sergei Koshelev, said the measure would enhance Russia’s defense capability …

Baghdad expects Ankara to explain the deployment of Turkish troops in the Iraqi territory, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Nasir Nouri told Sputnik Saturday.  On Friday, various media reports said that about 130 Turkish military personnel had been deployed to the Mosul area in Iraq allegedly to provide training to Kurdish Peshmerga militia fighting …

A platform in the Caspian Sea caught fire on Friday as a gas pipeline was damaged by heavy wind.  At least 19 people were evacuated from a burning platform in an oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) said on Saturday. “More than 19 people …