Free Republic

An ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that "a full-scale war" in the Middle East is possible following Israel's airstrikes on Iran. -snip- Konstantin Kosachev, vice-speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, made clear that Russia would stand by its ally, Iran. "Israel's actions cannot be justified from a legal, political, military or moral point of view. The only hope, albeit illusory, of avoiding a full-scale war is a consolidated condemnation of this operation by the international community," he said, according to Russia's official TASS news agency. "We can and must hope for another demonstration of restraint from...

Russian officials offered support for Lula, who now presides over the country that like Russia is a member of the club of BRICS emerging economies: — Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the upper-house Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee: “I was in Brazil when Lula was inaugurated and saw everything with my own eyes: there were no signs of disturbances at all. What happened now is difficult to explain and, from my point of view, non-systemic.”

A senior Russian lawmaker called Saturday for Russia to be included in US plans to build a missile defence system in Europe, warning Moscow will otherwise view the antimissile shield as a threat. "Russia has every reason to be interested in close cooperation in creating Eurasian missile-defense systems," Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the State Duma, wrote in an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune. "And any attempt to build them without Russia (which is not only an interested party but also geographically and technically the most suitable place for an effective antimissile defense) automatically...