Free Republic

Qatar and Ukraine have signed a defence agreement seeking joint expertise on countering threats from missiles and drones, according to Qatar’s Ministry of Defence, as Iran continues attacking its Gulf neighbours. The agreement was made on Saturday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Doha, following his stop in the UAE earlier in the day. Earlier on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates had also agreed to cooperate on defence, a day after signing a deal with Saudi Arabia during his visit to the kingdom on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that his country will stand with Moscow against “unilateralism and hegemonic bullying” during a visit to the country to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. -snip- “In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behaviour, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,” Xi told Putin. -snip- Xi said that China and Russia would jointly defend the “correct view” of the history of WWII, protect the “authority and status” of the United Nations, and defend the...

Russia is closely monitoring Donald Trump’s territorial claims to Greenland, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said, after the US president-elect refused to rule out the possibility of using military force to acquire the Danish territory. “We are following this rather dramatic development closely. Thankfully, for now, it remains at the level of statements,” Peskov told a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. -snip- “The Arctic zone is an area of our national and strategic interests. We are present in the Arctic and will continue to be. Maintaining peace and stability in the region is paramount, and we are open to...

North Korean leader expresses hope that Moscow will defeat ‘neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory’ in Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid homage to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a New Year’s message extolling deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, state media has reported. In a letter to mark the New Year, Kim extended his greetings to his “dearest friend and comrade” Putin, the Russian people and Russian military personnel, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday. Kim wished Putin “greater success in his responsible and heavy state leadership activities and the Russian people prosperity, wellbeing...

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called on Russia to “admit its guilt” for unintentionally shooting down an Azerbaijani airliner, an incident that killed 38 people and injured 29. - snip- “First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must acknowledge its guilt. Third, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions,” he said, adding that the first demand had already been addressed with Putin’s apology. Putin and Aliyev spoke by telephone call again on...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged retaliation after Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings in the city of Kazan in Russia’s Tatarstan region. Putin made the comments via videolink on Sunday while addressing the local leader of Tatarstan in a road-opening ceremony. “Whoever, and however much they try to destroy, they will face many times more destruction themselves and will regret what they are trying to do in our country,” Putin said. -snip- Kazan is more than 1,000km (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border.