Putin, Macron Discuss Situation Around Ukraine, Possible Personal Meeting

Moscow and Paris will look at the possibility of a personal meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Emmanuel Macron of France, the Kremlin press service said on Monday after a telephone conversation between the two presidents.

"The sides agreed on further telephone contacts. They also agreed to look at the possibility of a personal meeting between the Russian and French presidents," it said.

"The leaders continued to exchange views on the situation around Ukraine and on issues linked with the long-term legally binding security guarantees to Russia," it said. "Vladimir Putin once again informed about Russia’s principled approaches to these problems."

It was the second telephone call between the two presidents in the past week. They spoke over the phone on Friday, January 28. Their conversation focused on the issue of security guarantees to Russia. The Russian president said that Moscow would analyze the United States’ and NATO’s written responses to its draft agreements and before making a decision on further actions. He stressed however that the West had ignored Russia’s principled concerns in its responses.

Russian UN Envoy Says US Seeking To Mislead Int’l Community About Real Situation Around Ukraine

The United States is seeking to mislead the world community about the real state of things around Ukraine and the reasons for the current outburst of global tensions, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Monday.

"In its explanatory note to the initiative to call today’s meeting, the US delegation said it considers the deployment of Russian troops on Russian territory as a threat to international peace. It is not only inadmissible interference into the domestic affairs of our country but also an attempt to mislead the international community about the real situation in the region and the reasons for the current global tensions," he said at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation around Ukraine.

Putin, Justice Minister Discuss Russia's Penitentiary System

Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko on Monday.

The main topic of the meeting was the Concept for the development of the penitentiary system until 2030.

Kremlin Says Truss' Statements About New Sanctions Undermine Investment Attractiveness Of UK

Statements by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss about possible new sanctions against Russian businessmen undermine the investment attractiveness of the United Kingdom, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Also, he has called on Europeans to ultimately understand that it is inadmissible that the United States is meddling into their affairs, bearing in mind that Washington is seeking to fan tensions.

On January 30, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in an interview with Sky News, said that the country's authorities would amend the current legislation in order to be able to expand the sanctions list. According to her, at present, London can only impose sanctions against those who are directly involved in destabilization activities in Ukraine. Amendments to the legislation will expand the list so that any company of interest to the Kremlin and the Russian regime could be subject to sanctions.

Liz Truss refused to disclose any details about the announced restrictions. When asked about possible measures against the property of large Russian businessmen residing in London, the UK Foreign Secretary noted that nothing is ruled out.

Russia Seeks To Achieve From West Regard For Its Interests

Russia knows from its own mistakes what statements of the West are worth, and it will seek to achieve that they take into account Russia’s legitimate interests, Sergey Lavrov told the Voskresnoye Vremya program on Channel One on Sunday.

According to the top diplomat, Russia is facing serious problems now because the West acted carelessly and dishonestly towards Russia’s interests. "It could have been different, but history has no subjunctive mood. We have become wiser. They say one can learn only from one’s own mistakes. Now we know what the West’s words are worth," Lavrov stressed.

"We will now seek to achieve not only pledges, political commitments ‘on paper’, but also legally binding guarantees that would ensure security across the European continent with the full and equal regard for the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation," Lavrov said.

Relations between Russia and the US looked absolutely cloudless in the early 1990s, he said. "Of course, there was a touch of euphoria. It seemed to those who were determining the foreign policy, that all problems would be settled automatically, since Russia would become part of a "civilized" world, Western culture, the architecture of security, and would get strong support on different tracks," Lavrov added.

In the same time, the West was confident that Russia would now follow the path meeting its interests, and this continued rather long in the 1990s, he said. However, at the start of the 2000s, Russia regained the historical and national self-awareness.

President Vladimir Putin’s Munich speech in 2007 came as the landmark. "Reputed authors of a number of US scientific, political magazines draw attention to Russia’s statement of 2007 about its concerns, and about agrowing disillusionment in the West and its interests. They say directly that Putin’s words fell on deaf ears back then," Lavrov added.

Lavrov Answers McFaul's Question On Ukraine, Donbass Via 'Russia's Liberals'

Sergey Lavrov answered Stanford University professor Michael McFaul's "absolutely ignorant" (according to him) question about Ukraine, the recognition of Donbass, etc. which was 'kindly voiced' by Echo of Moscow radio station Editor-in-Chief Alexei Venediktov (representative of the so-called "Russian liberals")during an interview on Friday.

Lavrov Answers Media Question About Possibility Of Full Breaking Russia-US Relations

In an interview on Friday, Sergey Lavrov answered a question from Govorit Moskva radio station Editor-in-Chief Roman Babayan about the possibility of a complete severance of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States due to ignoring Russian proposals for security guarantees, the threat of unprecedented sanctions against Russia's top leadership (in particular against Vladimir Putin and himself), as well as the aggravated diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Lavrov Insists Russia Doesn’t Want War, Yet Won’t Allow Its Interests To Be Disregarded

Russia is not interested in a war, yet Moscow won’t allow its security interests to be disregarded, Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with radio stations on Friday.

"If it depends on the Russian Federation, there won’t be a war. We do not want wars, but we won’t allow our interests to be flagrantly stepped on and ignored," he emphasized.

The Russian top diplomat noted that the talks with the US and NATO on security issues have not yet been concluded. "As you know, the Americans and NATO members have studied our extremely simple proposals contained in the drafts of an agreement with Washington and an agreement with the North Atlantic alliance for over a month and we received the answers only the day before yesterday, which muddy the waters in many ways in such a Western style, yet there are some rational kernels on secondary issues," he explained.

The foreign minister specified that these "secondary issues" at certain stages were very important. According to him, they involve the issue of intermediate-and shorter-range missiles that emerged after the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). "We urged them to listen to the voice of reason after all, and the President of Russia then sent his message to all OSCE members, inviting them to join our unilateral moratorium with the coordination of verification measures. This was shrugged off, but now it is included in their proposals," he pointed out.

Additionally, according to the top diplomat, the counter-proposals contained concepts similar to the previously ignored Russian initiative to withdraw the exercises away from the border on both sides and to agree on a limit distance for the approach of combat aircraft and warships, [in addition to] a number of other deconfliction, de-escalation, and confidence-building measures. "All of this has been rejected for the past two or three years.

 Now, all of this is being put forward for discussion. So the constructive content in these proposals, essentially, has been borrowed from recent Russian initiatives. Nevertheless, I think that this is still something, as we say in Russia. Yet, the important part for us is to sort out the conceptual foundations that European security is built on," the foreign minister concluded.

Even Zelensky Doesn't Believe 'Russian Threat' Myth

Incredible case! Pan Zelensky did not speak in unison with his supreme curator.

A fragment of his interview with foreign journalists after the same telephone conversation with Joe Biden, when the US and Ukrainian administrations were forced to make excuses.

The reason was the words of a CNN correspondent in Kiev, as if Biden warned a younger colleague: Kiev is threatened with ruin, namely ruin, by Russian troops. Zelensky seems to have found it too theatrical even for his own standards.

"I don't think the White House is wrong in its analysis. I believe that today they are participants in this informational situation that has developed around our borders. Since the White House understands that there are risks, they constantly talk about it, they constantly support this topic and make it as sharp as possible. In my opinion, this is a mistake, such signals cause a very powerful reaction in the world," President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said. 

Lavrov Says Russia Won’t Change Its Position On Security Guarantees

Russia will not change its position on security guarantees and there is no room for compromise, Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"If they [US] insist that they will not change their positions, we will not change our positions either," he said in an interview with radio stations on Friday. "It's just that their position is based on false arguments, and on a direct misrepresentation of facts, while our position is based on what everyone signed," he maintained.

"I don’t see any possibility for a compromise here, otherwise what can we agree on if they openly sabotage and misrepresent previous decisions. This will be a key test for us," Lavrov said.

"It is very important to not try to simply shake off the responsibility, and this is exactly what our American and other NATO partners are doing now," he stated. "It will be impossible for them to evade answering the question of why they are not doing what their presidents signed up to in terms of the inadmissibility of strengthening their defense at the expense of the security of others," Lavrov added.

The United States and NATO gave Russia written responses to proposals for security guarantees that Moscow demanded from Washington and Brussels on Wednesday. According to these statements, the West did not make concessions for Russia, but outlined directions for further negotiations.

Putin, Macron Discuss Issue Of Providing Russia With Legally Binding Security Guarantees

Vladimir Putin discussed the issue of providing Russia with long-term and legally binding security guarantees by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

EU Promotes A 'Trench' Philosophy, Wants To Present Everything In Friend-Or-Foe Paradigm

The EU promotes a “trench” philosophy and wants to present everything in the friend-or-foe paradigm (or ally-adversary, to use the current terms), Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department Alexey Zaitsev side on Thursday.

"The “conclusions” of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on January 24 confirmed that the EU has an extremely ideological approach to the new world order. Obviously prompted by the anti-Russian wing, the text was written in a confrontational style and follows Cold War patterns. Meaningful analysis and perception of European security problems have been replaced with politicised assessments. There is an obvious reluctance to address the root causes of the deteriorating situation and to understand that NATO’s unrestrained expansion is clearly dangerous," he said.

All this runs counter to the principle of indivisible security that was  set forth and repeatedly affirmed by the EU countries and in OSCE documents adopted at the top level, including the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, the 1999 European Security Charter and the 2010 Astana summit declaration.

"The EU’s “conclusions” are permeated with hypocrisy. It is emphasised that “spheres of influence” are unacceptable in the 21st century. That said, a number of EU functionaries openly declare that the Western Balkans belong to the EU (President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said this at the EU-Western Balkans summit on May 6, 2020). Or that “whenever we are present in the region, there is no space for others” (as former Head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini told ambassadors of the EU countries on September 3, 2018). In one-on-one conversations, EU officials bluntly say that Mali and the CAR are the EU’s “backyard.” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell also said that after the departure of the US and NATO, it is necessary to prevent Afghanistan from falling into the hands of Russia and China," Zaitsev added.

In essence, the issue of European security is reduced to Ukraine. The pathological inability to acknowledge its mistake of supporting the Ukrainian coup d’etat in 2014 and stop openly abetting the Kiev authorities that are discriminating against Russian speakers, is preventing the EU from facilitating the settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict (via direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk). It doesn’t allow the EU to take a broad view of the situation in Europe either. It also prevents the EU from understanding that the implementation of the Russian proposals on the legally binding security guarantees from the US and NATO will create the necessary conditions for the stable development of all countries of our common continent (regardless of their membership in military blocs or unions). It will also enhance European security, thereby allowing the EU to ensure its required strategic autonomy and independence.

"We are surprised by the EU’s call for dialogue after it unilaterally decided to immediately freeze the entire diverse system of cooperation with Russia in 2014, including in foreign policy and security. It refuses to engage in top-level contacts or discussion of security issues," he said.

Zaitsev added that simply put, the EU’s desire to take part in discussing Russian proposals on security guarantees looks strange against the backdrop of such “conclusions.”

Putin Considers MFA Proposals For Further Action On Security Guarantees

Vladimir Putin convened the Security Council to discuss the proposals of the Foreign Ministry on further actions on security guarantees on Friday.

"By and large, the Security Council of Russia and its regular meetings prepare strategic planning documents in a variety of spheres. But today we will talk about foreign policy, an area of the Security Council’s direct responsibility," he said.

Putin added that Foreign Ministry has prepared an updated draft of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. It is certainly a strategic planning document. The Foreign Ministry took into account the recent global changes, including changes that took place in international politics over the past five years.

The report of Minister Sergey Lavrov was held behind closed doors.

NATO's Tantrums Over 'Russian Threat' Designed To Justify Containment Of Russia

Russia understand why NATO is throwing tantrums about the Russian threat in front of the countries of the Alliance: how else would they explain and justify the need for the military containment of Russia? Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department Alexey Zaitsev side on Thursday.

"Such statements by the NATO Secretary General create an unfavourable environment for the dialogue on security guarantees. They go to show that it has become common practice for the Alliance to bolster its negotiating position with military capabilities," he said, answering a question on the statement by Jens Stoltenberg that Alliance is considering increasing its presence in the east, including possible deployment of additional combat groups.

For decades, the Alliance has consistently reinforced its eastern flank, taking over the territories of new member states and creating new infrastructure and weapons depots. Reconnaissance aircraft are present in the air space near the Russian borders almost around the clock. NATO strategic aviation is practicing attacks on Russian facilities and command and control centres. NATO military planning is entirely geared towards the same goal which is “deterring” Russia and achieving military superiority on all potential theatres of war and in all operational environments. The threshold for the use of nuclear weapons is lowered conceptually and technically. The sea is used for projecting power. As a reminder, Romania and Poland are home to the US global missile defence system with the capability of launching Tomahawk missiles.

Putin To Comment On Western Replies To Security Guarantee Proposals

Vladimir Putin will find the time and the form in which to express his position regarding the West’s reply to Russia’s security guarantee proposals, but no decision regarding the details has been made yet, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.

"I have no doubts that this will happen. I have no doubts that the president will set a date and find the form in which to express his position. In this particular case no decisions have been made yet. As soon as they have been made, we will let you know," the Kremlin official said, when asked if Putin was going to describe his reaction to the replies received from the West.

The United States and NATO on Wednesday handed to Russia their written answers to Russia’s security guarantee proposals. The US sides asked Russia to refrain from making these documents public, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reviewed their highlights. As follows from their statements, the West failed to agree to any concessions of fundamental importance to Russia, but outlined prospects for further talks.

Moscow Says Without 'Western Aid' Conflict In Eastern Ukraine Would Have Ended Long Ago

Moscow are convinced that without “Western aid” the conflict in eastern Ukraine would have ended long ago, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department Alexey Zaitsev side on Thursday.

"Moreover, the conflict that began with the advent of nationalists to power in Kiev most likely would have never happened," he added.

The past week has clearly shown the artificial character of the domestic conflict in Ukraine. Some Western countries are trying hard to fuel it in an effort to divide the historically common peoples of Russia and Ukraine and create a hotbed of instability, complicating relations between the EU countries and Moscow.

"We consider unacceptable even the idea of a war between our peoples," Zaitsev side.

"We urge the Ukrainian authorities to finally show independence, think about the interests of their own country and its people and find a sustainable political solution to the current conflict in direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk. We hope the NATO countries will stop fuelling the conflict in eastern Ukraine and abstain from interfering in the domestic affairs of that country. This should allow the contracting Ukrainian parties to resolve their differences in a direct dialogue between themselves," he added.

Moscow Says US Military Again Showed Their Uselessness On Northeastern Syria

Clearly, neither the Americans nor the local Kurdish government are able to ensure reliable security in northeastern Syria, in areas under their control, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department Alexey Zaitsev side on Thursday.

The successful ISIS attack on Al-Sinaa prison was yet further evidence of the failure of the US military that, according to official Washington, are there to put an end to ISIS. Several hundred terrorists who are now at large undoubtedly pose a security threat not only to Syria, but to other countries in the region and beyond as well. The legitimate Syrian authorities will now face the additional dangerous challenge of neutralising a significant number of escaped gunmen who are capable of wreaking much havoc.

"We reiterate our position whereby Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be unconditionally respected and the legitimate authorities must reinstate control over all regions of that country after the foreign military contingents, that are deployed there illegally, pull out of Syria. This is the only way to finally eliminate the presence of international terrorism in Syria and to ensure sustainable stability and security in and around Syria," he said.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry put out an official statement on January 22 in connection with the developments in Al-Hasakah, calling the ISIS attack and the response by the Syrian Democratic Forces crimes that led to the tragic loss of life and the mass exodus of local residents, as well as to the significant destruction of civilian infrastructure. Damascus used the same language to describe the US actions, emphasising “barbaric” nature of the US air raids. The statement emphasises that despite the difficult circumstances caused primarily by the Western sanctions on Syria, the Syrian authorities provided every possible assistance and support to the people who fled the area of hostilities. In this context, UN humanitarian organisations, including UNHCR, the WHO and UNICEF, are also called on to make vigorous efforts to immediately help the internally displaced persons, and the UN Security Council to take effective measures to protect civilians residing in northern and northeastern Syria. The United States and Turkey have once again been called on to end their illegal military presence in Syria.

Kremlin Says US, NATO Shrugged Off Russia’s View Of Security Guarantees

The United States and NATO don’t seem to have taken Russia’s concerns on security guarantees into account when drawing up responses to Moscow’s proposals, nor did they demonstrate any willingness to do so, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

The United States and NATO handed their written responses to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees over to Moscow on Wednesday.

"The numerous statements that our colleagues made yesterday make it clear that as for the major aspects of the draft agreements that we earlier presented to other parties, we can’t say that they took our concerns into account or showed any readiness to take our concerns into consideration," he pointed out.

Peskov noted that the US and NATO had asked Russia not to make their responses public. "However, our colleagues spelled out the contents of those papers and in fact, maybe they really should not be [published] now," the Kremlin spokesman said.

On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry released draft agreements on the security guarantees that Moscow expects to receive from Washington and NATO. The two accords - one with the US and the other with the Western-led bloc - particularly oblige NATO to cease its eastward expansion, namely to drop plans on granting Ukraine membership, and envisage restrictions on the deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones.

Putin Honors Victims Of Siege Of Leningrad At Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

Vladimir Putin visited Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in the city of St. Petersburg on Thursday to honor the defenders of the city and the victims of the Siege of Leningrad that was lifted 78 years ago today.

The head of state laid flowers at a common grave, which, according to documents, contains the remains of his brother who died as a child during the Siege of Leningrad. The president also laid a wreath at the Motherland monument.

Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery is the largest common burial site of World War II, where about half a million residents and defenders of Leningrad were buried during the siege. Only some 150,000 of them have been identified so far and search activities continue to this day.

Putin, a Leningrad resident born in 1952, participates in memorial events dedicated to the Siege of Leningrad on a regular basis. It is a very personal story for the president. His father Vladimir Putin fought at the Nevsky Pyatachok southeast of Leningrad during the siege, his mother stayed at the city for the entire duration of the siege and his elder brother Viktor died of diphtheria in the besieged city in the winter of 1942.

This year marks the 78th anniversary of the lifting of the German Siege of Leningrad. The siege, which lasted 872 days from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of the city’s residents. Historians still find it difficult to give a specific number, which ranges from 500,000 to 1.5 mln people. The Battle of Leningrad went down in history as one of the longest and deadliest fights of World War II.

Lavrov Reacts To US Response On Security Guarantees 'Russia's Proposals Are Not A Menu'

Washington’s replies on security guarantees reveal no indication that it sees the main issue of NATO’s further expansion as being unacceptable, Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"There is no positive reaction in this document on the main issue. The main issue is our clear-cut position on the inadmissibility of NATO’s further eastward expansion and the deployment of strike armaments that may threaten the territory of the Russian Federation," Russia’s top diplomat said.

The US response on security guarantees makes it possible to expect a serious conversation to begin but on secondary issues, Lavrov pointed out.

"As for the contents of the document, it contains a reaction, which makes it possible to expect the commencement of a serious talk but on secondary issues," the Russian foreign minister said.

Russia’s top diplomat said he was confident that Washington’s response to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees would become known to the public at large in the near future.

"I think that the substance of the reply will become known to the public at large shortly. As our American counterparts told us (although they prefer this document to remain confidential for a diplomatic dialogue), it had been agreed with all of the US allies and the Ukrainian side. There are no doubts that it will be ‘leaked’ very soon," Russia’s top diplomat said.

Russia will put the emphasis on explaining the West’s crafty claims it is allegedly impossible to guarantee NATO’s non-expansion, Lavrov stressed.

"We were told [concerning the admission of new members to the military alliance] that in the 1990s there were no written guarantees regarding NATO’s non-expansion, whereas now we do have such written pledges. They were confirmed within the OSCE framework more than once, including at the summit level. Now we will put the emphasis on explaining this crafty stance taken by our Western counterparts," Lavrov said.

When presented with Russia’s arguments on their pledges to halt NATO’s eastward expansion, the Western countries began to explain their policy towards the alliance’s careless expansion not quite in ‘an adult way,’" the Russian foreign minister pointed out.

"Now that we present not verbal pledges but written documents signed by the leaders of all the countries - parties to the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], including the US president - and these are the 1999 Istanbul Declaration and the 2010 Astana Declaration - our Western counterparts have to find crafty ways out of a more serious situation," he added.

"Under these documents, the right to choose unions "is clearly conditioned by the need to take into account the security interests of any other OSCE member state, including the Russian Federation," Lavrov pointed out.

With regard to the issue of NATO’s non-expansion, the West deliberately hushes up the principle, which stipulates that a state cannot strengthen its security at the expense of the security of other states, Russia’s top diplomat said.

"Our Western partners do not mention either the Istanbul or the Astana declaration in ongoing discussions on European security. These items are sidestepped. However, we cannot accept this," Lavrov said.

As Russia’s top diplomat pointed out, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave no reply to his request at the Geneva negotiations on January 21 to explain the grounds, on which the Western countries "considered the commitments assumed within the OSCE solely as a ‘menu."

"I warned him and also our other counterparts that we would shortly send them an official inquiry with a demand to explain why they pull out only one point from their own obligations while they are trying to ignore the terms of complying with this favorite point for them," Lavrov said.

"This will be an official inquiry to all the countries whose leaders signed the Istanbul and Astana declarations. I hope that in this case no extra time will be required to explain why the West holds precisely this stance," Russia’s top diplomat said.

On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published Russia’s two draft agreements on security guarantees, which Moscow expects from Washington and NATO. The agreements with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stipulate, among other things, the US-led bloc abandoning its designs on eastward expansion along with denying membership to Ukraine, in addition to restrictions on deploying serious offensive armaments, in particular, nuclear weapons. The sides have already held several rounds of consultations in various formats but have not announced any agreements reached yet.

On January 26, the United States and NATO handed over their written reply to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees.

Normandy Format Talks In Paris Were Long And Fruitless

In Paris, negotiations were held for 8,5 hours between political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four - Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.

Naturally, the focus was on the situation in the Donbass. No one expected a breakthrough, but the very fact of such a meeting is already important. Therefore, all of Europe closely followed the consultations. Russia was represented by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Kozak. The situation in southeastern Ukraine is heating up again, but for some reason Kiev is in no hurry to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements.

“Our disagreements often come to such an extent that we don’t understand from which document they take and draw some conclusions. I have repeatedly said, maybe we have some kind of different documents? Maybe there are other Minsk agreements in the Normandy format for the USA? Or do they have some obligations of Russia written in invisible ink between the lines? Let's get a look. We didn't find anything," Kozak said.

The next round of talks of the Normandy Format political advisers will take place in Berlin in two weeks. 

'He Has Lost Touch With Reality' Lavrov Ignores Stoltenberg's Statements

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has lost touch with reality and it is difficult to perceive his statements seriously, Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday, commenting on Stoltenberg’s words about a potential military buildup on the eastern flank.

"You know I have not been giving any consideration to his statements for a long time. In my opinion, he has already lost touch with reality," Lavrov said.

On Monday, the North Atlantic Alliance said that NATO Allies "are putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in eastern Europe, reinforcing Allied deterrence and defense as Russia continues its military build-up in and around Ukraine." For his part, Stoltenberg argued that the deployments of new Allied forces in Eastern Europe "does not threaten Russia" and that NATO "remains ready to continue dialogue with Russia."

Communists Propose To Recognize DPR, LPR As Independent, Sovereign States

On Wednesday, in the State Duma, communist deputies proposed to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent and sovereign states.

"To quarrel Russians on the borders of Russia and Ukraine is the golden dream of the Anglo-Saxons. I believe that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are one people, with a common history, faith and victories. And those who offer to quarrel us there are the criminals themselves. We must do everything not to follow this path.

We made a proposal [State Duma] to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. This does not provoke a war, it provokes the defense of our citizens, because there are already 600,000 citizens of the Russian Federation there," General Secretary of Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov said.

Putin Believes Russia Has Competitive Advantages In Cryptocurrency Mining

Putin instructed the government and the Bank of Russia to come to a consensus on the regulation of cryptocurrencies and report on the results.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a competitive advantage in the field of cryptocurrency mining.

Cryptocurrency has pros and cons. New technologies are a source of profit. But you can also permanently lose your wallet if you forget or lose your password.

Last week, the Central Bank proposed to ban cryptocurrencies in Russia.

Putin instructed the government and the Bank of Russia to come to a consensus on the regulation of cryptocurrencies and report on the results.

United Russia Asks Russian Authorities To Provide Military Aid To Donbass

The United Russia political party asked the Russian leadership to provide aid to Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR) and ship military products, necessary to deter aggression and protect their citizens, the United Russia Duma faction leader Vladimir Vasilyev announced Wednesday.

"We address the leadership of our country, [asking] to provide aid to Lugansk and Donetsk Republics in form of shipment of military produce necessary to deflect military aggression and to take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the citizens," Vasilyev said, according to the party press office.

"We are concerned with protection of lives of Russian citizens and compatriots living in DPR and LPR. We held consultations in the Duma Council and in the faction, and came to an understanding that we cannot leave the people to the mercy of the Kiev regime," Vasilyev added.

According to the politician, NATO actions "are no longer simply worrying, they are truly alarming and bewildering." "To orchestrate a hysteria in the global media and to pump Ukraine with Western lethal weapons at the same time is very dangerous," Vasilyev underscored.

He noted that Ukraine today receives missile systems, grenade launchers and other armaments, as well as "instructors, who teach how to use these systems." "This is a big danger, this is preparation for hostilities, undoubtedly. For hostilities against civilians who live there," Vasilyev said.

He added that Russia cannot allow an "extermination of people."

"We’ve been waiting for a long time for reason to prevail in Washington, but this does not happen. We hear only about sanctions and about weapons coming to the conflict area. The scenario, displayed by the collective West in Ukraine, looks like a return to Nazism and times of [Stepan] Bandera. We cannot put up with this," Vasilyev underscored.

"United Russia is watching with great concern the pumping of Western lethal weapons into Ukraine. Almost all leading NATO countries do this, and they do it on a very large scale. The number of shellings in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions has increased many times, civilians are dying, and at this time, Western curators are pushing the Ukrainian junta to a direct invasion of the Donbass. They arm the national battalions, for whom Bandera and Hitler are heroes, and the swastika is their respected sign. I believe that under these conditions, Russia should provide the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics with the necessary assistance in the form of the supply of certain types of weapons to increase their defense capability and deter the military aggression clearly being prepared by Kiev. We must stop the Kiev regime," Secretary of the General Council of United Russia Andrey Turchak said.

Putin's Remarks At Virtual Meeting With Italian Business Community

Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting with heads of leading Italian companies on Wednesday.

The discussion focused on trade, economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Italy and prospects for further expanding bilateral business ties.

Russia and Italy managed to keep the economic cooperation at a high level during the pandemic period, Vladimir Putin said.

Supporting the macroeconomic stability in the country remains the priority for Russian authorities, President Putin said.

Italian companies are receiving Russian natural gas at prices much lower than market ones owing to long-term contracts, Putin said.

Russia sees serious prospects for expansion of the business partnership between Moscow and Rome in other energy spheres as well, the President said. This refers in the first instance to development, use and commercialization of renewable energy sources, he noted.

The Italian business has already invested about 500 mln euro into construction of wind power plants in three Russian regions, Putin added.

The absence of mutual recognition of COVID vaccines and vaccination certificates between Russia and the EU does not contribute to an intensification of business contacts and trips, Putin said.

In this context, he mentioned the recent joint Russian-Italian comparative research of coronavirus vaccines, performed by the National Institute for Infectious Diseases of Italy. According to this research, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine "displayed the highest titer of antibodies to the Omicrons strain and once again proved its efficiency," Putin noted.

The president noted that the online meeting with the Italian business was attended by key Russian economic ministers and heads of largest Russian companies, so that the Italian businessmen could listen to Russian colleagues’ first-hand assessments of the development perspectives of the Russian-Italian economic ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian businessmen that Moscow will compete with Rome for the right to host the World Expo 2030.

"The Russian capital, Moscow, has put forward its candidacy to host the World Expo 2030. We know, of course, that Rome is also a candidate city," Putin said at a meeting with representatives of leading Italian companies on Wednesday. He recalled that Italy has already held such events. "Our country has never done this, although it has been participating in it for 170 years and was represented at the first Expo in London in 1851," Putin noted.

Russia was the first country to formally apply in April to host Expo 2030, proposing Moscow as the location for the event. In June, it was reported that the South Korean Busan has also applied. On October 7, Italy nominated Rome. Ukraine also applied to host Expo 2030.

Lavrov Says Russia To Take Measures If West Provides No Response On Security Guarantees

Russia will take necessary measures, should the West fail to provide a constructive response to Moscow’s initiatives on guarantees of security, Sergey Lavrov said, speaking in the State Duma Wednesday.

"Should there be no constructive response, should the West continue its aggressive course, then, as [President Putin] said repeatedly, Moscow will take necessary response measures," the Minister said. "In any case, everyone must consider the security of Russia and its citizens an absolute priority, and it will be ensured under any circumstances."

The United States has promised Russia that it will provide its replies to security guarantee proposals this week. Moscow will not let the West downplay this initiative and brush it under the carpet during endless discussions, Lavrov said.

"Depending on the contents of that reply we and our colleagues from other agencies will draft our proposals addressed to President Vladimir Putin regarding further steps. There is a distinct trend towards downplaying our proposals and brushing them under the carpet in endless discussions. In particular, this concerns the attempts to dump this issue onto the OSCE and the insistent calls by the European Union for finding a place for it in these discussions. We will not let this happen. We will not let them emasculate our initiative," Lavrov said.

He stressed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting in Geneva on January 21 promised that Washington would hand to Moscow its item-by-item replies explaining the US stance in writing already this week.

On December 17 last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements on security guarantees addressed to the US and NATO, which say NATO won’t expand eastward, deny membership to Ukraine and limit deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones. There are fewer and fewer countries willing to sacrifice their national interests for the West, or pull chestnuts out of the fire for the United States and the European Union, Lavrov said.

According to him, the world is no longer US-centric or even Western-centric and the unipolar global order will never be restored. "The number of those willing to sacrifice their core national interests and, so to say, pull chestnuts out of the fire for their superiors from Washington and Brussels is declining," the Russian top diplomat emphasized.

Lavrov pointed out that the vast majority of countries shared Russia’s principled approaches, which rejected the West’s diktats in terms of ideology and its geopolitical "zero-sum games."

Lavrov Says West Seeks To Punish Russia, China By Sanctions, Provocations

The West is trying to punish Russia and China by various unsuitable tools, including sanctions, Sergey Lavrov said at a plenary session of the State Duma on Wednesday.

"The West is trying, as they say, to punish dissidents, who pursue an independent policy, primarily our country and China, by various unsuitable tools such as different kinds of sanctions, demonization in the media space, provocations carried out by special services and so on," the top diplomat noted.

Lavrov pointed out that "the West led by the US" was trying to confront the objective course of history, seeking to secure a one-sided advantage for themselves "not really considering the interests of others, in fact not taking them into account at all."

"Washington and its allies are persistently imposing their own vision of international life on the global community, calling it the need to establish and respect an order based on rules. As part of this concept, the West arrogates to itself the right to set up rules in various fields, completely ignoring the principle of genuine, universal multilateralism, embodied in the UN, thereby undermining international law and the UN-centric architecture of international ties," the Russian top diplomat said.

20 Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Warships Deploy To Sea For Drills

Over 20 combat ships and vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet departed from their naval bases in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk for drills in the Black Sea waters, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The drills of combined-arms task forces, naval strike and amphibious assault groups in the Black Sea involve frigates, guard ships, missile corvettes and missile boats, amphibious assault ships, small anti-submarine warfare ships and also minesweepers.

During their transit to the designated areas, the warships’ crews will hold a series of communications and safe maneuvering drills in the sea lanes with intensive shipping and also an exercise to provide air defense at sea, the press office specified.

In compliance with the 2022 plan of the Russian Armed Forces’ training, a series of naval drills will be held in January-February this year in all the areas of responsibility of the Navy’s fleets under the general command of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov.

The naval maneuvers will focus on measures by the Navy and the Aerospace Force to protect Russia’s national interests in the World Ocean and counter military threats to Russia from the direction of seas and oceans.

The drills will cover the seas adjacent to Russian territory and also operationally important areas of the World Ocean. Separate drills will run in the Mediterranean, North and Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

Overall, the sweeping drills will bring together over 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military hardware and about 10,000 troops.

Putin Sees Off Russia’s Team To Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin met with members of Russia's national team ahead of the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Putin expressed his certainty that Team ROC will do everything it can during the Beijing Olympics to once again prove the high standards of the Russian sports school. He made this remark during his video conference meeting with the athletes.

"We believe that our athletes - the Russian Federation national team - will do everything it can to prove the high class of the Russian sports school and to delight its fans. I wish you all the best and good luck," Putin said.

Speaking to ice hockey player Yegor Yakovlev, Putin noted that he, being a champion of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics "must be well aware of how the country reacts to what our hockey team does on the ice."

"Russia likes winter sports - both figure skating and ice hockey. This always takes a special place, although other winter sports have a lot of fans as well. But, I believe, ice hockey matches attract the most fans," Putin noted. "We know that there are no easy matches at the Olympics, we understand that all this is difficult, but we will sincerely root for you and hope for success," he added.

Putin Congratulates University Students On Russian Students Day

On Russian Students Day, Tuesday, Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting, with students from Moscow, St Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Nizhny Novgorod universities.

"Today, in line with an ancient tradition, we mark Tatyana’s Day, also known as Russian Students Day. I would like to convey my greetings to undergraduate students, medical residents, post-graduate students, and of course school pupils who are only preparing to enrol at universities. It goes without saying that my greetings also go to well-established adults. After all, the memories of student camaraderie and the marvellous university years stay with us forever. It is not surprising that even many years after graduating, today’s researchers, doctors, engineers and specialists in various fields stay friends and meet up with their peers to share memories of the wisdom and advice they received from their professors and mentors," he said.

Putin noted that it is thanks to this connection between generations that Russia is moving forward, making scientific and technical breakthroughs, including in mathematics and digital technologies.

"In fact, Russia has built a solid track record in these disciplines and has firmly established itself as a frontrunner," he added.

Kremlin Says Putin, Cuban President Did Not Discuss Deploying Military Bases

Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel did not discuss bolstering bilateral military-technical cooperation or deploying military bases during their telephone conversation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"No," the Russian presidential spokesman said, replying to a question about whether the Kremlin press office’s message that the leaders discussed "both countries’ further coordination on the international scene in line with the principles of strategic partnership and the traditions of friendship and mutual understanding" should be understood to mean bolstering military-technical cooperation and deploying Russian military bases.

As the Kremlin press secretary pointed out, "the relations between Russia and Cuba have deep traditions."

"They are filled with solid content and, indeed, it is extremely important to synchronize positions on international and regional issues of mutual interest. This is what the heads of both countries spoke about yesterday," Peskov insisted.

The Kremlin press office reported on January 24 that Putin and Diaz-Canel held a telephone conversion.

"The leaders had an in-depth exchange of opinions on bilateral cooperation in trade, the economy and investment. The Cuban head of state thanked Russia for the humanitarian aid supplied to the republic, including in the context of countering COVID-19. The presidents discussed both countries’ further coordination on the international scene in line with the principles of strategic partnership and the traditions of friendship and mutual understanding," the Kremlin press office said in a statement.

During their talk, both leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and agreed to intensify contacts at different levels," the statement reads.

Putin Hosts Kamchatka Governor In The Kremlin

Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Governor of Kamchatka Territory Vladimir Solodov to discuss the territory’s socioeconomic development on Monday.

The President started the meeting by saying that growth in the territory’s agricultural output has been gathering momentum, alongside higher fixed capital investment, while industrial output and construction had decreased slightly, and the share of substandard housing is quite high. In response, the Governor noted that in 2021 industrial output started to recover, which is mostly attributable to fish processing following a very good fishing season.

As for construction, Kamchatka has been struggling with this sector for a while now. The territory has finally succeeded in ending the stalemate on the substandard housing issue and has drafted several comprehensive housing development projects. It raised funds for improving the utility infrastructure through infrastructure loans, and is preparing to build a total of 200,000 square metres of housing. The construction of single-family homes is receiving special attention.

On the coronavirus, the Governor said that the situation has been quite stable in Kamchatka. The Defence Ministry has done a lot to help the territory by deploying an infectious disease hospital, with military personnel stepping in to help the territory during peak periods. Vladimir Solodov also reported on launching the construction of the Kamchatka Regional Hospital, and asked the President for his support in approving allocations for the construction.

The Governor went on to emphasise that improved living standards was a priority for the territory, which managed to prevent a decline in real disposable income during the epidemic. Support measures taken under the President’s instructions, as well as the decision to increase the minimum wage played a special role in this regard. Unemployment remained relatively low as well, and fewer young people left the region, which is another positive development.

Vladimir Putin said the territory needs to install broadband, and Vladimir Solodov replied by noting that the territory’s northern areas will benefit from internet connection as soon as 2023, although the northernmost districts, as well as the Komandorskiye Islands will still have to rely on satellite communications. The Governor pointed out that when asked what they need the most, young people in the northern villages ranked internet first, followed by quicker postal deliveries. The territory intends to carry out a pilot project on using drones for this purpose.

The Governor spoke about the construction of new facilities, in particular, sport centres. One unique facility has already been completed and will open soon – a year-round winter sports centre, where athletes will be able to train right on the Avachinsky volcano, including in summer. This first major ice arena in Kamchatka has been built with private money.

Vladimir Solodov brought up a problem that is common for most regions in the Far East. It has to do with the normative level of the federal government’s co-financing of the national projects in the Far Eastern regions. In particular, according to him, standard projects do not objectively take into account the higher construction costs in regions such as Kamchatka. The President suggested that the Governor should formulate the relevant proposals in writing and send them to him in order to instruct the Government to work on this.

The Governor also raised a number of questions that are very important for Kamchatka Territory. They concern a fair indexation of fees on aquatic biological resources, investment quotas for the construction of fishing vessels and so on.

Vladimir Solodov stressed that the region expected a tangible effect from the Northern Sea Route. Novatek is already implementing the first project for the shipment of liquefied natural gas. Kamchatka is a convenient transshipment point in the east of the country.

The President and the Governor also discussed the construction of roads and air transport, especially in the region. In this regard, the Governor asked for federal subsidies to partially finance such non-alternative routes, as the regional government cannot afford this. The President also asked him to prepare relevant proposals.

The discussion predictably covered tourism, which Vladimir Solodov called the most promising industry. He said Kamchatka was known to the whole world. At present, work is underway in the Valley of Geysers. The region has seen a 60 percent increase in tourist inflow. New tourist facilities are being added. One of them is a falconry centre. Its first stage has already been completed, and the first batch of birds is going to be delivered soon.

The Governor also said that the region was going to host the Ecosystem Nationwide Youth Forum in August, before the Eastern Economic Forum. It will be the first carbon-neutral forum, innovative in many ways. Mr Solodov invited the President to attend it.

Putin's Telephone Conversation With Cuba's Bermudez

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on Monday.

The leaders had an in-depth exchange of opinions on bilateral cooperation in trade, the economy and investment. The President of Cuba thanked Russia for the humanitarian aid supplied to the republic, including in the context of countering COVID-19. The presidents discussed further coordination of Russia’s and Cuba’s actions in the international arena in line with the principles of strategic partnership and the traditions of friendship and mutual understanding.

Vladimir Putin and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and agreed to intensify contacts at different levels.

Kremlin Says Reports About Reducing Gas Supplies To EU Amid Sanctions Are ‘Fake Hysteria’

Reports that Russia could allegedly cut gas supplies to Europe in the event of sanctions are an example of "fake hysteria", Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"This is another brilliant example of fake hysteria. Hysteria, which is constructed through various fake and provocative false stories," he said.

Peskov stressed that Russia, even in the most difficult moments of relations with the West, "was a reliable guarantor of Europe's energy security". "In the most difficult moments of confrontation between East and West, Russia flawlessly fulfilled its contractual obligations," he recalled.

When asked if Moscow would continue to behave this way in the event of new sanctions, Peskov confirmed, "Russia has never given anyone a reason to doubt its reliability."

DPR Head Says Ukraine Pull Artillery And Tanks To Donbass

Kiev is actively preparing for a forceful solution to the conflict in Donbass, Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin said on Monday.

The US and UK are recalling their diplomats from Ukraine. Austria and Latvia are also ready for this. At the same time, even the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called such decisions premature. Because of the same mythical threat of military action from Russia, NATO announced today that the Alliance is sending ships and fighters to Eastern Europe.

Earlier, Western media, including The New York Times, citing informed sources in the US administration, wrote that Washington could transfer up to 5,000 military and equipment to the countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. The day before, a new batch arrived in Ukraine - more than 80 tons of weapons, as well as Javelin anti-tank missile systems.

The fact that Kiev is actively preparing for a forceful solution to the conflict in Donbass was reported today in both Luhansk and Donetsk. Ukraine is pulling up artillery and tanks to the line of contact. The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, spoke about this in an interview with Channel One.

“The concentration of personnel along the line of contact, as well as the pulling up of equipment from Ukraine, causes more concern. There are instructors from the United States and instructors from the UK. Several groups have been transferred over the last period of time, the last group is 40 people, which is now based in the Avdiivka area. Before that, several sabotage groups were deployed, which were aimed specifically at destruction, at the commission of terrorist acts against infrastructure facilities,” he said.

'Blinken's Paradox' History Of Anti-Russian Hysteria

Drawing a parallel with Secretary of State Blinken's favorite hobby, there are only two songs in his repertoire lately, but both have already become hits in America. Here is the first one: “Russia has begun planning military operations in Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, unforgivable, unacceptable.” And here is the second disc, which seems to be jamming: “The consequences for Russia will be severe! Moscow will face very serious consequences. There will be very serious consequences for Russia.”

It seems to be nothing surprising, because the future Secretary of State studied and took his first steps in politics at the height of the Cold War. But when official Washington considered the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and imposed sanctions, Blinken opposed a confrontation with Moscow.

The main gas pipeline from the Yamal Peninsula through the Volga region and Ukraine was supposed to pump blue fuel to the capitalist countries of Europe, which gave the USSR billions in loans for construction. Germans, British, French, Belgians, Italians and Dutch - potential adversaries for Moscow turned into Western partners. The US was furious.

The United States imposes sanctions on the export of oil and gas technologies to the Soviet Union, then expands them so that Europeans cannot use American developments in Siberia. Europe called the sanctions illegal, and notes of protest flew across the ocean.

At this time, a young lawyer and aspiring apparatchik of the Democratic Party, Blinken, writes the monograph “Ally versus Ally”, in which he argues that American sanctions, first of all, harm the Americans, because they themselves could make good money on the Siberian gas pipeline.

“For American business, the most obvious effect of pipeline sanctions is the loss of Soviet contracts. According to the US government, the sale of oil and gas technologies and equipment to the USSR would bring profit to our companies in the amount of 300 to 600 million dollars," Blinkin writes in his monograph.

An even bigger problem, Blinken believed at the time, was that America, with a whip in its hands, ceased to be a reliable partner for anyone.

“Foreign buyers of American technology have realized that their introduction into production carries a double risk. First, embedded technologies may suddenly become unavailable due to sudden US export bans. And secondly, fearing the same sudden bans, other countries may refuse to import products just because they are made using American technology," he writed.

The conflict with the European home is a direct damage to American interests, but this is not even the main thing. Blinken argued that people on the other side of the Iron Curtain were not afraid of sanctions.

“You can destroy the communist ideology, but Russian patriotism will unite millions of people. For Russians, this is at the level of reflexes - in difficult times to rally under the flag ... Even a successful trade war for the West can be much more dangerous than the peaceful sale of non-strategic technologies to Moscow,” Blinkin writes in his monograph.

As for bilateral relations, Blinken advocated an early end to the Cold War.

“Many Western diplomats have claimed that personal contact with the Russians led them to the idea of seeking a constructive working relationship with the Soviet Union. Similar things can happen to the Soviet elite in contact with the West. In this way, Cold War stereotypes can be erased,” he writed.

It is a paradox, but Blinken himself, once in power, first in the Obama cabinet, and then as head of the State Department under Biden, began to reproduce exactly the same stereotypes on an industrial scale.

More than 30 years have passed, and in the US-Europe tandem, as before, an ally goes against an ally. The USSR is long gone, but the problems of the leaders of the "free world" are still the same. In addition, the leaders themselves have become minor.

It used to be that even Democrats voted for a Republican president, Reagan's support was so great. And on the other side of the Atlantic, Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand discussed with him on an equal footing. And when Washington tried to create a special economic secretariat in NATO in order to dictate its will to all Western business, the Europeans immediately blocked the project. But now the US Secretary of State speaks directly about American exceptionalism, while the allies keep quiet.

“The world does not organize itself. When America retreats, one of two things happens. Or another country that does not share our interests and values is trying to take our place. Or no one does, and the world plunges into chaos. In both cases, this is bad for America,” said Anthony Blinken.

This insight probably came to Blinken in the 1990s when he became a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Formally unaffiliated with the state, this organization has been working for almost a century on various forms of exporting American ideology. For example, the architecture of NATO was invented there. Once in this closed club, Blinken automatically got into the personnel reserve of the Democratic Party.

“Ideologically, he always belonged to the so-called group of liberal interventionists - people who, since the Clinton era, believed that it was necessary to overthrow objectionable regimes and establish democratic ones. Blinken, although forced to act on the instructions of his boss, is generally a hardliner," Professor of political science of  Tennessee University Andrey Korobkov said.

  Is it because when the Republicans came to the White House, Blinken waited out, working in lobbying structures? He worked closely with the defense departments, and therefore hardly accidentally advocated the invasion of Iraq and demanded that the most severe measures be applied to Iran. Calling for a military operation in Libya, he went against his boss, Biden. And he supported Trump's opponent, as soon as he wanted to bomb Syria. Blinken is not so much a Democrat as a representative of the Washington "war party", which was bored after the end of the Afghan campaign.

“As soon as the campaign in Afghanistan ended, in America they suddenly started talking about the growing tension in Ukraine and about the Russian invasion. What does it mean? Quite simply, the US foreign policy and defense establishment needed a new conflict. It's a huge business, worth hundreds of billions of dollars. More conflicts, more tension: with Russia, China, Iran. People like Blinken don't want to solve problems, they want tension because it's good for business,” Journalist John Varoli said.

However, Russia is not Iraq, it is not worth straining it too much, otherwise the business may burn out. It's written in Blinken's book as a candidate of law. Maybe Secretary Blinken should reread it?

Zakharova Says West Seeking To Prepare Information Space For Major Provocations

The West is seeking to prepare information space for a series of large-scale provocation, including military ones, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"[Information space] is being prepared, probably, for a range of large-scale provocations and public opinion is being prepared for that. It is very important for the collective West, for NATO, for Britons and Americans to create a corresponding information realm. They cannot act without it," she said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel.

"Why are they doing that? What for? We don’t rule out large-scale information manipulations and provocations in future. We don’t rule out military provocations either," she said.

According to Zakharova, a series of fakes have already been spread via traditional mass media, not at the level of social networks. "Let us remember an article in the New York Times about the alleged evacuation of the Russian embassy in Ukraine. Let us remember a recent Bloomberg publication (that China’s leader had allegedly asked Russia not to invade Ukraine during the Olympic Games), which was refuted by both the Russian foreign ministry and China’s foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy said it yesterday," Zakharova said, adding that another example is the British Foreign Office’s fake about Russia’s alleged plans to change government in Ukraine.

The UK Foreign Office said earlier that Russia’s government is seeking to install a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, with former member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Yevgeny Murayev as its head.

Commenting on this statement, the Russian foreign ministry called on the British colleagues to stop indulging in provocations.

British Founds Future President Of Ukraine In Russian Sanctions Lists

The Russian Foreign Ministry called on British diplomats to "stop spreading nonsense" after claiming that Moscow allegedly plans to bring a pro-Russian politician to power in Kiev. The  Foreign Office even names the name - Yevgeny Muraev, a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. True, he himself, as it turned out, did not suspect this. In addition, Muraev, to put it mildly, does not have the best relationship with Moscow.

Did the Ukrainian politician Yevgeny Muraev, speaking about power, know that the West would prophesy for him the presidency in all seriousness? In any case, the statement of the British Foreign Office, published today, was commented by the ex-deputy of the Rada with surprise. More precisely, not a statement, but an exposure of the "insidious plan of the Kremlin."

"We have information that indicates that the Russian government intends to imprison a pro-Russian leader in Kiev, while at the same time considering whether to invade and occupy Ukraine. Former Ukrainian MP Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a possible candidate," it says in a statement.

Meanwhile, Muraev has been banned from entering Russia for three years now.

“I have been under Russian sanctions since 2018 because of the conflict with Medvedchuk. My family's assets have been seized there. How does the British intelligence services and the Foreign Office combine this with the fact that Russia allegedly wants to appoint me the head of the 'occupation government.'  This is a question for Mr. Bean,"politician said.

British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, who exposed the "Kremlin's plan," does not explain why Muraev was chosen. Notorious for her ride in a NATO tank near Russian borders, Truss has repeatedly sparkled with belligerent rhetoric against Moscow this week, fueling hysteria about a mythical Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Truss says has already survived (and this is a quote from an Oxford graduate) - “invasions from Mongols to Tatars."

Here is how the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted to the exposure of their British colleagues: “The disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is another evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine. We call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities, stop spreading nonsense and concentrate on studying the history of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.”

Earlier, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, did not rule out that more and more provocations should be expected from the West.

"A Bloomberg publication that Chinese President Xi Jinping allegedly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine during the Olympic Games is an operation of US intelligence agencies," she said.

The Chinese embassy in Moscow called these reports lies. Zakharova called it not just a fake, but a US special information operation. 

"We are expecting provocations from the US and the Kiev regime led by them, both informational and, it cannot be ruled out, military ones," she wrote on her Telegram channel. "They may do it, especially since they have a plenty of experience."

Immediately after the publication of the statement of the British Foreign Office about the imaginary plans of the Kremlin, the United States expressed concern. Biden discussed the situation around Ukraine with members of the National Security Council. As reported in the White House, it was about possible measures to contain Moscow and the supply of military assistance to Ukraine, whose army is already concentrating additional forces in the Donbass. This was announced from the territory not controlled by Kiev.

“The enemy placed the Osa complex near the settlement of Dmitrovka. Ukrainian militants prevented the work of OSCE observers in two settlements. Thus, in the areas of the settlements of Artem and Zolotoe, the mobile groups of the battalion, using the Bukovel-AD station, suppressed the signals of the control channels of the UAV mission of the OSCE mission," Officer of the press service of the People's Militia Department of the LPR Alexander Mazeikin said.

Ukraine needs more and more weapons. Official Kiev not only does not hesitate to ask the West for this, taking advantage of the fear that is being pumped up about the Russian threat. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry even called the German ambassador to the carpet, expressing deep disappointment that the FRG did not provide weapons. In addition, Kiev is outraged by the words of the commander-in-chief of the German fleet Schönbach, who dared to deny the likelihood of a Russian invasion.

"No, this is nonsense," he said. 

He also urged Kiev to forget about Crimea. “There is no Crimean peninsula, it will never return. Everything! This is a fact,” said Kai-Ahim Schönbach.

However, Schönbach has already been forced not only to publicly declare that all this is his personal opinion, but also to resign.

Su-35S Fighters Relocate To Belarus As Part Of Check Of Reaction Forces Of Union State

EMD's Su-35S fighters crews relocate to the Republic of Belarus as part of the check of the reaction forces of the Union State on Saturday.

During flight tasks, the crews of the Russian Aerospace Forces will practice flights to the maximum range, landing at Belarusian airfields, as well as joint preparation for re-flights with Belarusian specialists.

The check of the reaction forces of the Union State will take place in two stages.

At the first stage (until February 9), there will be the transfer and creation of groupings of troops (forces) on the territory of the Republic of Belarus as soon as possible, the organization of protection and defence of important state and military facilities, the protection of the State Border in the airspace, the check of the readiness and ability of the air defence forces on duty and means to fulfill the tasks of covering important objects on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

At the second stage of the check, from February 10 to February 20, Union Courage 2022 joint exercise will be held, the purpose of which will be to practice tasks of suppressing and repelling external aggression during a defensive operation, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State.

During the exercise, measures will be taken to strengthen the protection of the State Border to prevent the penetration of armed groups of militants, to block the channels for the delivery of weapons and ammunition, as well as to search for, block, and destroy illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy.

Practical actions of troops (forces) will take place at the Domanovsky, Gozhsky, Obuz-Lesnovsky, Brestsky and Osipovichsky training grounds, as well as certain areas located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. It is planned to involve Baranovichi, Luninets, Lida and Machulishchi airfields.

The number of participants in the exercise, as well as the number of major weapons systems that fall under the scope of the Vienna Document 2011, do not exceed the parameters determined by it, which are subject to notification.

Joint Naval Exercise CHIRU-2022 Of Warships Of Russia, China And Iran In Gulf of Oman

The CHIRU-2022 joint Russian-Chinese-Iranian naval exercise took place in the Gulf of Oman (the northern part of the Arabian Sea) and in the airspace above it.

The Russian side was represented by a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet consisting of the guards cruiser Varyag, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the large sea tanker Boris Butoma. A total of 14 warships and auxiliary vessels were involved in the exercise from three fleets.

In the course of practical actions, the ships of the Russian Navy, together with the Chinese and Iranian Naval Forces, performed artillery firing on a naval target, carried out joint tactical maneuvering, worked out search and rescue tasks at sea.

In the final part of the CHIRU-2022 exercise, the practical skills of the parties in conducting inspection actions and freeing a ship conditionally captured by pirates were improved. In this episode of the exercise, an amphibious helicopter and special units of the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Armed Forces of Iran) were involved.

After the completion of the exercise, the ships of the Pacific Fleet will continue the transition according to the long-distance campaign plan.

A detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet left Vladivostok for a campaign in December 2021 to solve tasks in the Asia-Pacific region. During this period, the ships conducted a number of private training sessions at sea, visited the Indian port of Cochin and took part in the PASSEX exercise with an Indian Navy ship.

In the future, the ships of the Pacific Fleet will make the transition to the Mediterranean Sea, where, together with the forces of the Northern and Baltic fleets, they will take part in the exercises of the Navy's inter-fleet grouping.

In accordance with the training plan of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for 2022, a series of naval exercises are held in January-February in all areas of responsibility of the fleets under the general leadership of the Russian Navy Admiral Nikolai Evmenov.

The main focus of the exercises is to work out the actions of the Navy and Aerospace Forces to protect Russian national interests in the world Ocean, as well as to counter military threats to the Russian Federation from sea and ocean directions.

In total, it is planned to involve more than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment, and about 10,000 military personnel to participate in the events.

Lavrov Сalls US State Department Report On 'Kremlin Disinformation' Unreadable And Deceitful

A recent report penned by the US Department of State in the run-up to the Geneva meeting about Russia’s so-called ‘disinformation’ on Ukraine is impossible to comprehend, and Moscow has already expressed its reaction on this score, Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"These papers, which the [US] Department of State specifically prepared for today’s meeting, are impossible to read," Lavrov said following his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"However, we have a special department, which is led by an official representative of the ministry and which is obliged to carefully scrutinize them," Lavrov noted. "Our reaction to them [the documents] has been already expressed," he concluded.

According to Lavrov, the reader should randomly open any page of the said report to understand that it can't stand up to any criticism.

"It’s a pure lie regarding the most of it [the so-called report]," Russia’s top diplomat stated.

On January 20, the US Department of State released ‘examples’ of Russia’s alleged "disinformation" efforts and its sole evaluation of the role of RT TV and the Sputnik news agency in Russia’s "disinformation and propaganda ecosystem."

According to the Department of State, "the Kremlin creates and spreads disinformation in an attempt to confuse and overwhelm people about Russia’s real actions in Ukraine, Georgia, and elsewhere in Europe," while RT and Sputnik "play a crucial role in how Russia uses disinformation to advance its foreign policy."

Lavrov Says Experience Of Russia West Relations Abounds In Examples Of Unfulfilled Promises

The experience of Russia’s relations with Western countries abounds in examples of their failure to fulfill their promises on European security issues, Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after his talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

"The experience of our communication with Western counterparts on the issues of European security abounds in examples when something was promised but was not fulfilled," Russia’s top diplomat pointed out.

"Our American counterparts, other West Europeans and NATO members are, of course, not good at this [the fulfillment of promises]," Lavrov said.

Lukashenko Warns Against Ukrainian Neo-Nazism

We had no idea that several decades after the end of the Great Patriotic War, thugs with fascist swastikas would march along the central streets of Kiev and other cities, Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday.

Lavrov Participates In Bilateral Meeting With Swiss' Cassis

After Friday talks in Geneva with the US Secretary of State, Sergey Lavrov participate in a bilateral meeting with President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis.

Zakharova Сlaims US Officials Themselves Do Not Understand What They Are Saying

US officials invariably mention the US education system as one of their achievements. But their statements cast doubts on this claim. They either don’t understand the reality, or don’t know facts or are unable to draw conclusions based on the available facts, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"It is impossible to accept what our US partners are saying because of their complete disregard for the situation in Belarus, its reality and everything that is taking place around it and on its border. Moreover, they are highlighting a certain political component and are citing “facts” that are not facts at all. It is impossible to go into detail on these issues," she said, answering the agency's Belta question. Zakharova gave an example confirming her point of view.

"The US President held a news conference yesterday. Just take a look at the questions about Ukraine the journalists asked. They said clearly (their words cannot be interpreted in any other way) that Russia is ready to attack Ukraine. They presented this assumption as a hard fact. Moreover, they used it to ask the US President about the US response and possible plans to repel Russia. But this assumption is not a fact. Planted in the US information space through leaks, sources and official statements, this assumption has proliferated, has become a subject for analysis in the media, and is now formulated as a question for the US politicians. There is a difference between reality and assumptions, but assumptions have been repeated so often that they are now presented as reality and facts," she noted. Much of what Washington representatives are saying now is something even their American colleagues find hard to understand.

"The other day, Victoria Nuland mentioned 18 response scenarios in case Russia attacks Ukraine. It looks as if this shocked everyone, including the US State Department, the White House and US security agencies. What 18 scenarios? Where did she get them? Nobody could answer this question when people started asking," she added.

"Such statements are cut from the same cloth," she stressed.