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Archives: Russia

Enter the Bear: Does Russia plan air strikes on Daesh/ISIL in Syria?

By Juan Cole| (Informed Comment) | - - The Israeli press is reporting that Iran has made a firmer military alliance with the Russian Federation in Syria, and that Moscow is sending…

Egypt’s al-Sisi and Putin Pledge Common Front against Terrorism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Wednesday for the third time in a year with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Putin is…

As GOP fumes re: Iran, Russia & China are outflanking West with New Eurasia Silk Road

By Pepe Escobar | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - Let’s start with the geopolitical Big Bang you know nothing about, the one that occurred just two weeks ago. Here are its results:…

Did rise of Daesh/ ISIL ensure Iran Nuclear Deal?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In Iraq on Tuesday, Iraq militias and the Iraqi military launched a counter-attack on Falluja with the ultimate aim of driving Daesh (ISIS,…

Middle East Conflicts Trigger New U.S.-Russia Arms Race

By Thalif Deen | -- UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The escalating military conflicts in the Middle East – and the month-long aerial bombings of Yemen by an Arab coalition led by Saudi…

Iran: US, Israel dare not attack us; anyway if they could have, they would have

RT | -- "With a nuclear deal around the corner, Russia's decision to proceed with the sale of the sophisticated S-300 missile defense system to Iran sparked a flurry of speculation. How…

Iran: Putin Explains to Israel’s Netanyahu that Air Defense Batteries are, like, Defensive

Iran: Putin Explains to Israel’s Netanyahu: Air Defense System is, like, Defensive

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday with regard to the Russian Federation's decision to go ahead with…

Yemen: Russia, Red Cross Demand halt to Bombing to Avert Humanitarian Catastrophe

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - The Red Cross and the Russian Federation are both demanding a temporary cease-fire in the aerial bombardment of Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, to allow…

Putin on the Nile: an Isolated Russia Seeks friends in Egypt w/ offer of Nuclear Plant

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation paid a state visit to Cairo on Tuesday, consulting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on a range…

Putin, Blocked by Europe, turns to Turkey for Gas Pipeline

By Juan Cole | --- The Russian annexation of Crimea and heavy interference in the Ukraine has had a significant consequence for its hydrocarbon industry. President Vladimir Putin has been forced to…

Oil Price Fall: Saudi Arabi targets US Shale Oil, Iran, Iraq, Russia

Oil Price Fall: Saudi Arabia targets US Shale Oil, Iran, Iraq, Russia

By Juan Cole It is clear that among the major losers in the fall in the price of Brent crude petroleum from $115 a barrel last summer to about $75 a barrel…

Saudi Arabia at the G20: Is it waging Econ War on Iran, Russia and N. Dakota?

By Juan Cole The G20 is a conference of the world's top 20 economies as measured by Gross Domestic Product. Some observers have slammed it as an unelected and arbitrary body that…

Does Bear + Dragon Trump Eagle? How Russia & China may block the US in Asia

By Pepe Escobar via Tomdispatch.com A specter haunts the fast-aging “New American Century”: the possibility of a future Beijing-Moscow-Berlin strategic trade and commercial alliance. Let’s call it the BMB. Its likelihood is…

Russia denounces Obama Plan for Syria Air Strikes as Violation of Int’l Law

By Juan Cole Russia on Thursday pushed back against President Obama's state plans for taking on the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in Syria. Russian Foreign…

Natural Gas Battle: Ukraine vs Russia – An Animated History

AJ+ "While the West threatens further crippling sanctions on Moscow for invading and supporting Ukrainian rebels, Russia controls the nozzle that supplies Europe and Ukraine with natural gas. And they've already cut…

Chechens Now Fighting On Both Sides In Ukraine

By Liz Fuller via RFE/ RL Eighteen years after the signing of the Khasavyurt Accord that ended the 1994-96 Chechen war, a veteran Chechen field commander has issued a timely reminder that…

Ukraine: What is the word for What is Happening There?

By Daisy Sindelar via RFE/RL Oleksandr Chernov, a doctor and journalist from eastern Ukraine, spent 10 days as a captive of pro-Russian separatists based in Slovyansk. During that time he was blindfolded,…

US Public Worried about ISIL, Putin– But Climate Change is Real Challenge

By Juan Cole In a new Pew/ USA Today poll, the American public shows itself alarmed by the rise of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Iraq…

Wagging the Dog: Gaza & MH Plane Deaths Stem from Netanyahu, Putin, Search for Popularity

Wagging the Dog: Gaza & MH17 Plane Deaths Stem from Netanyahu, Putin, Search for Popularity

By Martin Shaw Russia-Israel: domestic politics and serious blowback The Ukraine and Gaza crises alike demonstrate the risks of aggressive policy based on short-term calculations. Vladimir Putin and Binyamin Netanyahu's war-as-politics invites…

Obama needs Europe in responding to MH17 Crash, but NSA Spying a Bar

By Simon Reich, Rutgers University The tragic circumstances surrounding the downing of Malaysian Airlines’ flight MH17 remain unclear. The three parties who might be responsible – the Ukrainians, the Russians and the…