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Ukraine says it has destroyed a sophisticated Russian air defence system in occupied Crimea. Kyiv's security service (SBU) and navy carried out the attack on a Russian facility near Yevpatoriya using cruise missiles and drones, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the BBC. Video footage on social media showed a fire and smoke near the city, in the west of the Russian-occupied peninsula. Moscow has yet to directly comment on the claim. (snip) According to the BBC's intelligence source, the Ukrainian operation used drones to take out radar equipment, then cruise missiles to hit air defence missile launchers. "After disabling the...

On Monday, June 21, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that his recent meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels opens a "new era" in diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to Erdogan, there are no problems in relations between Turkey and the United States that cannot be solved, and there are much more areas for cooperation. Biden expressed the hope that countries can make real progress. At the same time, the parties did not agree on problematic issues, such as the acquisition by Turkey of Russian S-400 anti-missile systems, violation of...

BUCHAREST, Romania — Government ministers in the former Soviet and communist countries along the Black Sea basin are bracing for President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia next Wednesday in Geneva. But, analysts are warning them to keep their expectations low. They hope the American president will stand for democratic ideals and support their security, but regional analysts say they may be pawns in a broader geopolitical chess match between great power rivals. From Kyiv to Bucharest, government leaders are attempting to influence Biden ahead of the meeting, underscoring that their democracy depends on the United States and...

"He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again." The words of President Trump's UN Ambassador Nikki Haley interviewed by "Politico". Haley commenting on President Trump's campaign against election fraud following last year's presidential election... The impeachment trial today and President Trump's defense lawyers making their case that the Democrat-led impeachment of Trump is based on hatred of him and purely political... In Washington DC federal prosecutors piling on the charges against Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, who was inside the US Capitol on the...

Russia's ambassador to Iran has said Moscow will consider selling its advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to Tehran, despite U.S. objections and threats. Ambassador Levan Jagarian told the Resalat daily newspaper Sunday that Russia would have "no problem" selling S-400 systems to Iran when the United Nation arms embargo on the country expires on October 18, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported. "We are not afraid of U.S. threats and we will live up to our commitments," Jagarian said, explaining that Russia will properly consider Iranian arms requests despite continued pressure from the U.S. for nations to further isolate Tehran. President...

The tests last year were already known, so Russia’s agenda of discussing them again may be linked to wider agenda Turkey, a member of NATO, tested the Russian-made S-400 air defense system on US-made F-16 jets during a drill in November 2019, Russia’s state media TASS reported. The use of the S-400 against the F-16s was already reported last year, but the new details from Russian media appear to cement the claim and infer that something more was going on in those tests. Russia has an interest in knowing how well its air defense performs against US warplanes. Russia’s S-400...

The United States has offered to sell Turkey its Patriot missile defence system if Ankara promises not to operate a rival Russian system, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, in what he called a significant softening in Washington's position. Two Turkish officials told Reuters News Agency that Turkey was evaluating the US offer but added that Ankara had not changed its plans for the Russian S-400 systems, which it has said it would start to activate next month. NATO allies Turkey and the US have been at odds over Ankara's purchase last year of the S-400s, which Washington says...

Putin offers to sell Saudi Arabia its missile defense systems in the wake of the attack on its oil facilities. “We are ready to help Saudi Arabia so that she can protect her territory,” he says. “She can do so in the same way that Iran has already done in buying the S-300 Russian missile system and the same way that Turkey has already done in buying the S-400 Russian missile system,” Putin adds at a press conference in Ankara, alongside the Turkish and Iranian leaders. The US has blamed Iran for the attack on the Saudi oil facilities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday it is “not fair” to either Turkey or the United States that Washington cannot sell Ankara billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets after it bought a Russian air defense system. Turkey started taking delivery of Russia’s S-400 air defense system last week in defiance of U.S. warnings that the Pentagon would kick it out of the F-35 stealth fighter program Washington’s concern is that deploying the S-400 with the F-35 would allow Russia to gain too much inside information of the stealth system. Thomas Karako, an analyst at...

Just rumors, though. Still, just in case... At least THREE Arab media outlets reporting Turkish President @RTErdogan dead of a heart attack. If true, this will have massive implications for #Turkey, Syria, Iraq, #NATO, Russia.

A defiant Turkey said it was considering “alternatives” to US fighter jets, including Russian models or making its own, a day after Washington suspended it from a programme to build and deploy advanced warplanes. The US punished Turkey for its purchase of a Russian air defence system by pushing it out of a long-term programme to upgrade Nato forces with F-35 advanced fighter jets. The Kremlin quickly attempted to exploit the disagreement, which has already drawn Ankara closer to Moscow, offering to sell Turkey Russian fighter planes. Ismail Demir, head of Turkey’s defence industries, responded that “all kinds of options...

The S-400 is a generic name for a variety of air defence systems configured in slightly different ways. But whatever version Turkey is buying, the simple fact is that the Russian system cannot be easily incorporated into the wider Nato air-defence system in the region. This matters because air defences - and we are talking here about defending against both manned aircraft and ballistic missiles - comprise a variety of radars and missiles, each tailored to dealing with particular kinds of threats at particular altitudes. So the whole is more than just the sum of the parts. Remove one crucial...

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s defense minister said it was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, even while he said there was some improvement in talks with the United States over buying F-35 fighter jets.... ...Akar said linking the S-400s purchase with that of the F-35s is “another hurdle” and noted that nine NATO partners have a stake. “There is no clause anywhere in the F-35 agreement saying one will be excluded from the partnership for buying S-400s,” he said. “Turkey has paid $1.2 billion. We also produced the parts ordered from us...

The United States has halted delivery of equipment related to the stealthy F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey, sources familiar with the situation said, marking the first concrete U.S. step to block delivery of the jet to the NATO ally in light of Ankara’s planned purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

US officials said on Monday that Washington has stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts to Turkey in response to Ankara's decision to move ahead with the purchase of a Russian surface-to-air missile system, The Associated Press reported. The officials spoke anonymously to discuss the decision before it was announced. Ankara's push to buy the systems from Moscow has caused tensions with the US, its NATO ally. Military experts are concerned that the deployment of S-400s would put the security of allied weapon systems, particularly F-35 aircraft and radar facilities, in danger. The US believes the S-400 sale is part...

Russia has completed an elaborate air defense system in Syria that curbs the operational capabilities of both the United States and Israel, according to a report by the Washington- based Institute for the Study of War. The deployments throughout the conflict-ravaged country include variations of the advanced S-300 and S-400 systems in addition to other cutting-edge technologies. Moscow long ago exported such systems to Syria, however, they remained under the control of its own army. Only after the accidental downing in September by Syrian forces of a Russian reconnaissance plane, an incident the Kremlin blamed on Jerusalem which minutes earlier...

Caption -- Donald Trump and PM Modi at the G-20 Summit, PTI The United States is not going to put pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets or any other defence system, a senior US diplomat has said here. United States Consul General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said India has purchased more than USD 15 billion worth of American defence materials and the US is "very proud" of the expanding defence ties between the two countries. Asked if there was a threat of the US imposing trade sanctions on India after its multi-billion deal with Russia for the S-400...

With India signing a pact with Russia to purchase the S-400 missile defence system, Washington has informally conveyed to Delhi that it could avoid sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if India were to give an assurance that it would buy the F-16 fighter aircraft from the United States. Not keen on buying an aircraft already in service with Pakistan, India has refused to give any such assurance till date. The fallout of the Trump administration’s reaction to the S-400 deal featured in the wide-ranging discussion between Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US counterpart James Mattis...

It’s understandable that the Chinese would seek the S-400, given Beijing’s lengthy ties to the Russian defense industry. But Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 is particularly worrisome given that Turkey is a NATO ally and buying a weapon system from a great power rival of the alliance can be viewed as Ankara moving closer to Moscow in general. Also, buying a rival country’s air defense system cuts down on interoperability, which NATO is working to improve as Russia continues to pose significant threats to European interests.

PARIS: Saudi Arabia has threatened military action against Qatar if it goes ahead and acquires Russia's top of the range S-400 air defence missile system, Le Monde daily reported. Citing information it had obtained, Le Monde said Friday that Riyadh had written to French President Emmanuel Macron asking him to intervene to prevent the deal going ahead and to help preserve regional stability. There was no immediate official reaction from the president's office or the French foreign ministry to the report. Saudi Arabia, backed by other regional powers including Bahrain and the Unite Arab Emirates, broke off relations with Qatar...