Mikhail Mishustin participates in the celebrations in Athens on the occasion of the Greek Independence Day.
200 years ago, Russia helped the Greeks free themselves from the Ottoman yoke. Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations today. The Russian Prime Minister laid flowers at the monument to the Unknown Soldier. And then he watched the military parade.
Earlier, Mishustin held talks with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Seoul and Moscow will make every effort to quickly organize the visit of President Vladimir Putin to South Korea, Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday at a joint press conference following talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul.
The ministers stressed the importance of the joint production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in terms of combating coronavirus infection.
Moscow and Seoul remain committed to the earliest possible resumption of the negotiation process between South Korea and the DPRK in the interests of a lasting settlement of the entire range of problems in this region.
Sergey Lavrov summed up the results of a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, during a joint press conference in picturesque Guilin.
The positions of Moscow and Beijing on key issues of our time coincide, according to the Minister, they advocate building interstate relations on the principles of mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests, justice, non-interference in internal affairs.
Russia and China reject zero-sum geopolitical games, unilateral illegitimate sanctions that are increasingly being used by their Western counterparts.
Sergey Lavrov became the first Russian official to visit China after a forced pause caused by the coronavirus, and naturally, the host country did everything to make this meeting special. The meeting with Wang Yi takes place not in Beijing, but in Guilin - this is one of the most picturesque places in the country.
However, at the negotiating table everything is as serious as possible. Today and tomorrow, the focus is on issues of bilateral relations and the global agenda.
So, fellow ministers told each other about their countries' relations with the United States. With Moscow and Beijing, they are far from ideal - in both cases, contrary to their wishes.
Vladimir Putin held a video meeting on increasing vaccine production and the course of vaccination against COVID-19 in Russia.
The President thanked the representatives of pharmaceutical companies, who present at the meeting, manufacturers of vaccines for the truly dedicated work of those.
Putin stressed the significant role of the implementation of a wide range of preventive and proactive measures in normalizing the epidemiological situation, including mass vaccination.
The success of Russian scientists and specialists is also confirmed by the growing geography of the use of Sputnik V, despite the deliberate discrediting of the Russian vaccine.
Government agencies in Mexico and Argentina analyzed the use of the Russian vaccine on their territory and concluded that there were no side effects.
Well, and finally the long-awaited news for many - tomorrow, February 23, Vladimir Putin to take Russian Coronavirus Vaccine.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin will take one of three Russian-made coronavirus vaccines, without specifying. He added that Putin’s vaccination will not be a public event.
Before his visit to the PRC, Sergey Lavrov gives interviews to the Chinese Media.
On March 23, in Guilin, he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The meeting is timed to organize contacts at the highest level and prepare events timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the Russia and China.
The reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia restored historical justice, Vladimir Putin said at a festive event held at Luzhniki as part of the Days of Crimea in Moscow on Thursday. This is a holiday for the entire largest country in the world.
The President recalled the history of the peninsula, which shows that ultimately the restoration of Crimea's status as an integral part of the Russian state has always been inevitable.
Russia is always ready to help its neighbors [the countries of the former USSR] Putin concluded, but will not tolerate geopolitical damage, and this is obviously addressed primarily to Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin spent the weekend in the snowy taiga with Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu told Putin about the surroundings, the area was well known to him. They walked up the hillsides, looking at the scenery, and also looked at the animals in the distance through binoculars.
Putin entered Shoigu's workshop for woodwork. On the tables and workbenches lay wooden blanks, saw cuts and blocks, carpentry tools. Untreated roots and branches of an unusual shape were folded separately. The Minister showed how he composes a composition from this, drawing attention to the already finished ones - one of such works Shoigu called "The Snow Leopard", he compared another with a dragon.
Putin and Shoigu also talked while eating outdoors at a wooden table in the shade of spruce branches, sitting on benches covered with skins. On the tablecloth were placed plates with cucumbers, tomatoes, sauerkraut and sausage, and the guests drank from metal mugs.
On a trip on a tracked all-terrain vehicle, Putin and Shoigu rode out in traditional local sheepskin coats and high fur boots. Making their way through snowdrifts, streams and narrow passages between trees, travelers made stops - in particular, at an abandoned wooden structure.
Vladimir Putin wished his American counterpart Joseph Biden good health in response to his insults in a television interview with George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, and also expressed his readiness to hold an online discussion with him as soon as possible.
Interviewed on the ABC network Biden said that the Russian leadership would have to pay a price for Moscow’s alleged attempts to interfere in the US election. Also, he replied in the affirmative, when asked if he regarded Putin as a "killer".
So, Putin was asked to comment on the offensive statements of the American president during a meeting with representatives of the Crimean public, dedicated to the 7th anniversary of the reunification of the peninsula with Russia. The President wished his opponent health, apparently referring to mental health. In any case, it turned out quite amusing, considering that the killer (according to Biden) wishes the "whistleblower" health.
Further, Dr. Vladimir conducts an absentee psychoanalysis of Joe patient and insists on the need for his urgent online diagnosis, from which he is carefully protected by nurse Kamala, reasonably suspecting the evil intentions of the insidious doctor.
Apparently, the insidious Kremlin's villain knows how to poison the victim with the power of thought. How else to explain the behavior of the poor fellow from the White House?
We will all, willingly or unwillingly, be forced to follow the development of these events.
On March 18, 2014 Crimea was accepted as an inalienable part of the Russian Federation.
For us, the issue of Crimea has been settled once and for all because its reunification with Russia was the result of the free expression of the will of the population at the referendum that was held in line with international legal standards and was a great triumph of democracy.
Sergey Lavrov congratulated the inhabitants of the peninsula on this significant date.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the divided people were reunited.
According to the Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Crimea has a huge potential for development.
However, passions around Crimea do not subside. The FSB provided footage of the arrest of Russian citizen Vladislav Esipenko, who secretly worked for Ukrainian intelligence and was obviously preparing something. During the arrest, FSB officers found an improvised explosive device in his car.
As part of the preparation of the President's message to the Federal Assembly 2021, Vladimir Putin held a meeting with representatives of the business community on measures to increase investment activity.
He noted that the number of uncertainty factors does not decrease, providing the recent US riots as an example.
With regard to investment, Russia's interests should come first.
Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan have launched the pouring of "first concrete" for the third unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Mersin Province of Turkey.
In Turkey, the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is called the "project of the century", emphasizing in every possible way that it must be ready by 2023, the date when the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic will be celebrated. More than eight thousand specialists are working here right now.
The attention Turkey pays to the construction of the nuclear power plant was clearly visible even from the fact that two translators began to translate the speech of the Turkish President into Russian at the same time. However, this was quickly fixed.
Recep Erdogan spoke about the importance of the nuclear power plant itself under construction, and about strengthening bilateral relations and even about Russian tourists.
In November last year, the first nuclear reactor vessel was delivered to Turkey from Russia, having covered three thousand kilometers. For this, a special sea terminal was built nearby, and this is also part of the project.
Alexei Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation spoke about the uniqueness of this project.
The uniqueness also lies in the fact that such contracts have never been concluded in world history.
Turkey even made a special animation explaining that Rosatom, which has a large 99% share in this project, will design, build, maintain and even, in the distant future, decommission the nuclear power plant.
Servicemen, policemen, rescuers and volunteers congratulated unknown women, gave flowers, recited poems as part of the To you, beloved ones! action, which takes place throughout Russia on the eve of International Women's Day. At midnight on March 8, Sergey Lavrov joined the action and congratulated the women.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented Secretary of State Antony Blinken's speech on "A Foreign Policy for the American People."
Vladimir Putin discussed with the We Are Together volunteers, how to protect Russian children from manipulation on the Internet, from encouraging suicide, from outright provocations and pornography
And, in fact, the conversation between the President and the volunteers went beyond these issues of greatest importance to society and the future of the country.
At the beginning of the week, parents of metropolitan teenagers received a message from school administrations and parent chats. This is a warning that in one of the social networks children are being called to commit suicide. Mass suicide was scheduled for March 3. The state reacted with lightning speed. Destructive content has been monitored on social networks for several years, and therefore clips with appeals were blocked at the request of Roskomnadzor. So the action was disrupted. However, it is still unknown who its author and what the task was.
The death of Russian teenagers was hardly an end in itself, rather, someone decided to make money on the hype around this topic and on the attention of the media, the Putin said.
A year ago, when the pandemic had just begun, Russia showed the whole world an example of mutual assistance, support, and spiritual strength. Thousands of caring people decided: we are together will help those who need it so much - the elderly, the disabled, doctors in the red zones. Vladimir Putin met with them today. The We Are Together Movement is no longer a trickle, but a real river of goodness, flowing throughout the country.
The help of volunteers is difficult to measure in numbers, but statistics are still being kept. During the year, almost five million people in Russia received support within the framework of the We Are Together campaign.
Vladimir Putin, speaking at the collegium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, noted the positive dynamics of solving grave and especially grave crimes, neutralizing dangerous groups. But at the same time, the situation in cyber space has sharply deteriorated - over the past six years, the number of crimes there has increased more than 10 times. Technology has spawned a new world of communication, commerce and entertainment. At the same time, a whole army of digital swindlers has emerged.
Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the development of the coal industry. The focus is on mining, transportation, and supplies abroad. And a very important and interesting topic is why it is too early to give up coal and switch only to more environmentally friendly energy sources. So, why is Texas frozen, what is zero emissions from combustion, will coal consumption grow, and how can all this affect the development of the Russian coal industry?
To imagine the importance that coal plays in the Russian economy, suffice it to say that the well-being of 11 million people directly depends on it. This is the number of people living in those regions where the production of this type of fuel is a key sector of the economy.
The President urged to consider various scenarios for the development of the coal industry in the world. In the context of the development of alternative, so-called green energy sources, Putin recalled the recent Texas collapse, when massive blackouts occurred due to bad weather and people froze in their homes. Apparently, it is too early to completely abandon coal and not to switch to ecological energy sources.
However, so far the majority of forecasts are still quite optimistic. Asian countries remain the main consumers of coal in the world, and demand there is only growing due to the construction of new thermal power plants. They are still the cheapest way to get electricity, but not the dirtiest anymore.
Today, first and only President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev celebrated his 90th birthday.
It was under him that the world learned such words as "perestroika" and "glasnost" and "new thinking". He went from rural hinterland to the highest echelons of power, received the Nobel Peace Prize and is remembered as one of the youngest general secretaries in Soviet history. Gorbachev is called a global reformer and politician who knew how to talk to people beyond a piece of paper, who knows how to inspire and surprise with his openness.
Shortly before his birthday, in a short interview with Interfax, he called on the current US President Biden, whom he met when he was still a senator, to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin and discuss the threat of nuclear war. Indeed, back in 1987 it was Gorbachev, then the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, who signed the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles with Ronald Reagan. Then everyone smiled when they heard the phrase of the American president, said in Russian "trust, but verify." Gorbachev trusted. The United States liked our country as trusting and naive as it was then.
What would he "correct" Gorbachev always refused to say. Without explaining the reasons, but knowing full well that abroad he is respected more than at home. There was "detente" and the Berlin Wall, which divided Germany, destroyed with his direct participation. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the Nobel Peace Prize.
Here, in his homeland, the failed "anti-alcohol campaign", the Chernobyl accident, queues, empty counters and, finally, a week before the final collapse of the USSR in December 1991, even bread cards in Moscow. Everything was then a wonder. Even the constant appearance of his wife, Raisa Maksimovna, next to him, was outlandish for the Soviet people. Hence the rumors of those years that the main politician in the country was her, not him. Only after many years, when Gorbachev is left alone, everyone will understand that it was love. And nothing more. The euphoria from "perestroika", however, passed quickly, and he himself understood that the reforms he had started were half-hearted.He stood his ground to the last. But, after the Emergency Committee, in 1991, the country did not follow Gorbachev. The Belovezha Accords put an end to the history of the USSR, and he, the man who, in fact, turned the world upside down, resigned 30 years ago. This is another round date in 2021, like the 90th anniversary of Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last President of the Soviet Union.
Moscow expects foreign journalists to cover events related to Russia objectively and comprehensively, Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with representatives of leading foreign media.
Lavrov has described the attempts to use the issue of vaccination against the novel coronavirus for geopolitical insinuations as regrettable and stated that Moscow was prepared to promote impartial media coverage of this subject.
According to Maria Zakharova, by violating the rights of its own citizens the United States has lost the moral right to lecture other countries on the observance of civil freedoms.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman thinks the new US administration should first and foremost turn an attentive ear to its own citizens and not conduct a witch-hunt at home.
She stressed that the United States had embarked on persecuting politicians over unfounded allegations of Russian ‘intervention’ in the US elections and also branded participants in the so-called storming of the Capitol on January 6 as ‘domestic terrorists’.
Russia strongly condemns the US strike and calls for unconditional respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, Maria Zakharova said at a weekly briefing by the Russian Foreign Ministry. She reiterated that any attempt to turn Syrian territory into an arena for settling geopolitical scores is unacceptable.
Sergey Lavrov commented on this event during joint press conference with his Afghanistan colleague. The minister said that the Russian military had been warned literally before the attack. He also questioned the legality of the United States presence in the country.
According to Lavrov, the United States is blocking supplies, including humanitarian aid, and illegally using Syrian oil.
Vladimir Putin congratulated military personnel of the Special Operations Forces on their professional holiday.
The elite of the Russian army, universal soldiers who can fight in the sky, on land, and in water.
These are the same "polite people" as they have been called since 2014, when Crimea returned to Russia. The unit has shown its high efficiency, providing a calm environment on the peninsula.
Top-class fighters also helped to destroy terrorist facilities and eliminate militant leaders in Syria.
Efforts are still ongoing to weaken Russia and place it under external control, as can be seen in the case of some former Soviet republics, Vladimir Putin said in the opening remarks at a session of the Federal Security Service (FSB) board.
The instruments of such a policy have also been known for a long time - these are information attacks, when Russia is accused of all sins on the principle of "highli likly", economic sanctions and open interference in Russia's internal affairs.
Russia's determination to defend its sovereignty can be tested already in the fall, when elections to the State Duma are held in the country.
Against this background, the role of counterintelligence becomes especially noticeable. Last year, 72 staff members and 423 agents of foreign special services ended up in her hands. By the way, these special services do not hesitate to use even terrorists for their own purposes. And although in December they managed to destroy the last of the bandit groups operating in Chechnya, the terrorists are not abandoning their attempts to declare themselves, as evidenced by the increase in the number of prevented attacks.
Also, Russia is facing an increasing number of threats on the other flank - in the cyber environment.And even the ongoing pandemic in the world is becoming a field for attacks aimed at Russia.
Sergey Lavrov dubbed as political censorship the closure of Russian-language TV channels in Ukraine and the Baltic countries, as he addressed the high-level segment of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council."Those, who have been preaching to the world about freedom of speech and expression, are now demonstrating intolerance of alternative points of view," diplomat said.
Sergey Lavrov said in his video address to participants in the Geneva disarmament conference that the threat of an arms race in outer space is growing, but there is still a chance to work out measures that can prevent it.
What became known about the newest Russian SU 57 fighter, despite all the secrecy that always surrounds new Russian weapons?
The Sukhoi Su-57 is a stealth, single-seat, twin-engine multirole fifth-generation jet fighter being developed since 2002 for air superiority and attack operations. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service to use stealth technology. Its maiden flight took place on 29 January 2010 and it entered service on 25 December 2020. The fighter is the world's fourth operational fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft after the F-22, F-35, and J-20.
The fighter is designed to have supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and advanced avionics to overcome the previous generation fighter aircraft as well as ground and naval defences. The Su-57 is intended to succeed the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force.
According to the latest Russian military doctrine which considers the Russian Armed Forces as defensive forces meant to protect the country and its allies while maintaining a strategic deterrence capability, this fighter follows a different design philosophy when compared to western fifth generation fighter. With its forward-optimized stealth and infrared sensor, the aircraft could be considered as a counter-stealth fighter meant to get as close as possible to adversary stealth jets before engaging them, diminishing the enemy's stealth advantage and forcing them to a close quarter dogfight, where it has the theoretical advantage due to its 3-D thrust vectoring and supermaneuverability.
According to Bill Sweetman, the Su-57's high operational speed and altitude combined with its standoff weaponrycould be hinting at its role as a "sort of airborne sniper", designed to fly fast and high to engage enemy support aircraft. This claim is supported by Russia's intentions to adapt the new R-37M air-to-air missile with range of more than 300 km to the Su-57's armament, giving it a role similar to the MiG-31BM interceptors. Newly designed anti-ship and hypersonic weapons like Kh-47M2 Kinzhal could also enable the Su-57 to perform as a maritime strike aircraft.
The Su-57 could also serve as a testbed for advanced AI and man-unmanned teaming technologies intended for use in a future sixth-generation fighter program.
On 23 February, Defender of Russia Day is celebrated in Russia. Defender of the Fatherland Day is a holiday for all those who served, who are on alert now, and those who are just going to join the ranks of Russian army. All over the country there are celebrations. It all starts with laying flowers at the memorials of glory. Traditionally, Vladimir Putin made address to congratulate veterans, the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces and all Russian citizens on this holiday.
Alexandr Lukashenko arrived in Sochi to meet with Vladimir Putin. The day before, 26 years have passed since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Russia and Belarus, the first integration document after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin meets a guest on the street. A warm welcome and an immediate invitation to the house, it's cool now in the mountains. The negotiations are taking place in a small cottage on the territory of the hotel in Krasnaya Polyana, at an altitude of almost 1.5 kilometers above sea level. Leaders communicate without ties, like old friends.
Indeed, it is difficult to imagine another country with which such close ties can be. Belarus became the first state to take part in clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine. In the near future, joint production of the vaccine on the territory of the republic is planned.
As for the economy, Russia has supported Belarus annually by an average of $ 20 billion. Although the turnover has decreased by about 15% due to the pandemic and the immediate task is to restore and increase it. At the same time, Russia buys almost half of everything that Belarusians sell. These are mainly machines, equipment and agricultural products.
And, of course, jobs for Belarusians. There are now about a million citizens of the union country in Russia. Among them there are 10 thousand students who entered our universities through a general competition. Negotiations are already underway to open points for the USE in the republic. And the largest joint project in recent years for $ 10 billion is the BelNPP. The first power unit has already been brought to full capacity. The nuclear power plant will ensure the energy security of Belarus.
By the way, gas and oil are supplied to the Union country on preferential terms. Over the past 10 years, Minsk has saved a huge amount on this - about $ 70 billion. Belarus processes Russian raw materials and sells the resulting gasoline, diesel and fuel oil to the West.
Putin and Lukashenko took a break from work and rode snowmobiles to the ski slope. Both presidents love this winter sport. At the same time, no one closed the resort, and the leaders greeted the vacationers. They were lucky with the weather today - the tracks were rolled out after a heavy snowfall, which lasted several days here.
Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov warned in advance that the meeting in Sochi would be "very long." And so it happened. In general, everyone is used to it. The talks with the leader of the allied country have never ended quickly.
The ambitious tasks to be solved in outer space were discussed today by President Vladimir Putin and the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin. The Moon program and the strengthening of the satellite constellation, the renovation of the ISS. Rogozin reported to the head of state on new projects and the results of 2020.
Almost 60 years ago, Yuri Gagarin said let's go. Russia will celebrate the round date of the first manned flight into space on April 12, but what now?
Today, Vladimir Putin discussed with Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, how Russia maintains its reputation as a space power.
First, Luna (Moon) -25 will fly to the natural satellite of the Earth by automatic vehicles, then a manned program will fly. The new "Eagle" is already, as experts say, in iron, that is, it is ready for testing. The newest Angara rocket should put it into orbit.
The successful launch of the heavy "Angara" in December last year was called by many a breakthrough, and not only in the context of Moon exploration, the family of carriers up to the super-heavy class opens up opportunities for flights much further.
However this, although not far off, is still the future. The present, what matters here and now, is the orbital satellite constellation.
The sea transport will have its own space eye, Roscosmos plans to launch a radar apparatus this year, this is especially important for the development of the Northern Sea Route, the earth's weather interferes with ordinary satellites in those latitudes.
The state defense order, according to Rogozin, is 100% fulfilled, but, by the way, in the case of Roskosmos, we are talking not only about flights and spacecraft and not only about military needs.In addition, it is planned to launch two modules to the ISS. They have already been delivered to Baikonur. The Science, multifunctional laboratory module, will be launched in May this year.
This year, according to Rogozin, promises to be intense, and therefore interesting. Anticipation of a really big holiday for astronautics should help too.
This video is about secret negotiations and the real reasons for US pressure on Europe.
The aggravation of the situation around the gas pipeline is extremely beneficial for American politicians, and even freezing it is an American dream in general. But while European wind turbines freeze and aquariums in American homes freeze. And nobody could question the reliability of Russian gas for heating.
Never before has a US President spoken at a Munich Security Conference. The circumstances are exceptional. Transatlantic unity is bursting at the seams. First of all, because of the actions of Washington itself, but for some reason, Russia is again to blame.
The US President said that the Kremlin is attacking Western democracy, seeks to weaken the European project and NATO. According to him, it is easier for Russia to intimidate individual countries than to negotiate with the united transatlantic community.
Greenhouse conditions have been created for Biden. At the conference, in fact, only the closest allies in NATO and the EU. Even discussions are not provided for by the program.
Angela Merkel noted that it is important to develop a common transatlantic agenda with regard to Russia. Germany believes that NATO and EU defense policies should complement each other.
Angela Merkel noted that it is important to develop a common transatlantic agenda with regard to Russia. Germany believes that NATO and EU defense policies should complement each other.
The general approach is likely to take into account not only American interests. A clear allusion to Nord Stream 2 is the most painful topic for the Germans in relations with the United States.
American senators, for example, threatened with sanctions the leadership of the German port of Mukran in the Baltic, this is the logistics base for the construction of the pipeline. The port is 100% owned by the city of Sassnitz and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Frank Kracht, the Burgomaster of Sassnitz, stressed that the Germans should not allow the US to dictate how to build an energy and environmental policy that serves the interests of Germany and Europe.
House Republican chief foreign affairs official Michael McCaul announced that Biden's administration announced only two sanctions today in a Congress-approved report on entities involved in sanctioned activities related to Russia's malicious Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. According to the statement, the report lists only Russian pipe-laying vessel Fortuna and its owner, KVT-RUS, "which were both already sanctioned by the previous Administration under separate authorities.".
Earlier, Bloomberg, citing its sources, reports that the US government will not impose restrictions on German companies yet. Washington does not intend to go to a sharp confrontation with allies now.
Severe frosts in the US and Europe have demonstrated how vulnerable green energy can be. Typical problems when ice builds up on the blades of a wind turbine. In the end, a fossil-fueled helicopter comes to the rescue. Many in Europe did not even think about the fact that solar panels, it turns out, can be covered with snow, and windmills stop due to cold weather.
Against this background, Russian gas is a real guarantee of energy security. So what's the point of hindering the construction of another gas pipeline? Vladimir Putin recently spoke about the reasons for the opposition.
The United States wants, Putin said, to make Russia pay for its failed geopolitical project called Ukraine. The idea is that the current regime in Ukraine will continue to feed on money for the transit of Russian gas.
It is known that Berlin is holding closed negotiations with the new American administration on the Nord Stream 2 issue. Die Welt publishes commentary by ex-vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. “From the point of view of European sovereignty, this issue has nothing to do with the United States. I believe that the fate of the pipeline should be determined by a European decision with all the chances and risks associated with the project. But not America. "It is noteworthy that this is not just said by an ex-member of the government, but by the current head of the organization, a lobbyist for the development of relations with the United States. The Germans are extremely annoyed. Judging by the publication in the business publication Handelsblatt, Washington offered Berlin options that were completely offensive for German sovereignty, such as automatically limiting gas pumping through a new pipeline from Russia in the event of a reduction in transit through Ukraine. “Automatism, as the US government imagines it, is rejected by Berlin. This would make the supply of gas to the German government too dependent on Ukraine. Finally, it is possible that the confrontation will be provoked by Kiev itself. "
And again about sovereignty. The Germans even offered the Americans a deal that strongly resembles a bribe. Here is a letter signed by the Minister of Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olaf Scholz. It was addressed at that time to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The document was published a week ago by German environmentalists. Scholz writes about his intention to invest up to a billion euros in terminals for receiving liquefied gas from the United States just so that Washington does not interfere with the construction and operation of Nord Stream 2, which, by the way, is already 95% ready.
Here is a high allied relationship based on rules and values.
NATO's new strategy, according to Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, will be aimed at containing Russia and China. At the same time, he noted: in the previous concept it was about partnership with Russia, now the situation has changed.
In China, they called the NATO concept a manifestation of the Cold War mentality.
The reaction of the Russian Foreign Ministry was also obvious. Maria Zakharova recalled that the rapprochement between Russia and NATO was interrupted in 2002 through the fault of Western partners.
Who after that is more aggressive ? Especially if we recall all kinds of NATO military exercises of recent times, now in the Black Sea, now in the Baltic, now in Poland and Lithuania, but, most importantly, everything is near the borders of Russia.
The invariably loud names of the exercises like "Defender of Europe", "Allied Spirit" or "Iron Wolf". What is this whole flock of thousands with ships, planes and tanks trying to achieve?
And as if the Cuban missile crisis was so long ago that the red light of the threat of mutual destruction does not light up in the heads of NATO strategists.
And also the memory of the Second World War is so short that the possibility of the Third in Brussels and the Pentagon is treated with some frightening ease.
Yes, Russia has something to answer - for example, hypersonic weapons. And this still cools the ardor of the armchair generals, but the degree of the imposed confrontation is only increasing, and the struggle itself goes far beyond the framework of military blocs.
That is, NATO is opposing the multipolarity of the world with an increase in military spending and a desire to open a new ideological front. In other words, it creates new threats.
Freedom of speech in the United States and other Western countries, Putin said, is questionable. An example of this is the efforts of Big Tech to restrict user access to various Internet platforms and the US vassals policy of double standards in relation to undesirable media for them.
The actions of IT companies are a serious challenge not only for Russia, this can be seen in the example of the United States, Putin said. According to him, it is quite clear that such an ideological split is taking place all over the world.
The so-called double standards have become quite evident lately, according to the President, and there is no doubt that so-called opponents are working against Russia.
Ukraine’s move to ban three TV channels is based on double standards related to freedom of expression. Also. concerns Latvia, which in one attack hit 16 Russian media outlets.
There was no reaction from European free speech advocates. That is, all the statements that the West considers wrong are propaganda.
It’s nothing but attempts to use some tools to achieve geopolitical goals, Putin stressed.related videos
Vladimir Putin said that the West is using people like Navalny to try to destabilize Russia, which is becoming stronger, contrary to their wishes. He recalled that the West hastened to declare the collapse of the Soviet Union, the destruction of the national economy and all the country's defense achievements as a victory in the Cold War.
And the need for "such decisions", as a rule, is justified from the standpoint of their own exceptional superiority. Those notorious democratic values, the need to protect which every American president declares, eventually turn into planes with bombs and missiles flying to unwanted countries to spread liberal values.
And this path, which is different from the West, which Russia is following, irritates the West the more, the less influence it has. Yes, 30 years ago, a significant part of the Soviet arsenal was scrapped, but already in the 2000s, domestic scientists developed an even more accurate and much less vulnerable weapon. In early 2018, the world first heard about the Sarmat missile system, Poseidon underwater drones, the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, laser and hypersonic weapons.
Achievements of Russian biologists who gave the world coronavirus vaccines, breakthrough achievements of physicists, successes of domestic farmers ... all this, according to the President, became a great irritant for Western colleagues.
Well, we present to your attention another episode of the closed meeting of Vladimir Putin with the chief editors of the media. The patriotism of multinational Russia, according to Putin, is the basis for its development.
The President believes that the interethnic and inter-confessional unity of the peoples of Russia, their love for the Fatherland, reverence for the older generation, memory and respect for history will become the basis for the great future of the country.
A second Democratic attempt to impeach Trump has failed. The Senate found the 45th President of the United States not guilty of incitement to mutiny and an unauthorized action staged by Trump supporters outside the walls of the Capitol, when the results of the presidential election were approved there.
Only 57 senators voted in support of the impeachment - 10 less than the indictment needed. In support, Trump supporters unfurled flags outside his Florida residence.
The former head of the White House retained the opportunity to participate in the elections, although this is precisely what the Democrats sought to prevent. "This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country,"Trump said, adding that "no president has ever gone through anything like it."
Earlier, in his interview, Sergey Lavrov called Donald Trump a striking personality and politician. The minister added that he is "following with astonishment" the Trump impeachment proceedings.
Vladimir Putin discussed Russia's success in the defense industry, the fight against COVID-19, protests in defense of Navalny and relations with the West, and more with the editor in chiefs of Russian media.
A big conversation took place last week, as they say, in a non-public format. But then the Kremlin decided to publish the details of the meeting.
Despite the pandemic and the restrictions associated with it, the president has no shortage of communication with the press. For example, just two months ago there was a big press conference. By tradition, although in a new format, Putin answered journalists' questions for several hours.
The meeting with the chief editors of the media is also an annual event, but the conversation at it is about more global, if not to say, conceptual topics. The meeting with the editor-in-chief took place, as they say, "not for publication," but some details of this frank conversation were leaked to the press, after which the Kremlin published some of the responses. Who and what exactly asks questions remained behind the scenes, but they spoke, in particular, about the recent attempts to provoke street riots in Russian cities and what this means from the point of view of geopolitics.
All this is largely, in Putin's opinion, a manifestation of the policy of containing Russia. The West does not succeed. Therefore, elements of irritation are more and more clearly felt. Perhaps no less annoying "potential opponents" and our successes in the economy.
For three consecutive years Russia has been the world leader in wheat export, for example. Agriculture is not just booming - it has, in fact, been resurrected from the ashes. A surprise for the West, according to Putin, was the success of Russian doctors and scientists in the fight against COVID-19.
Russian healthcare showed such results not just because the authorities "invested" in it, but because they "developed" it. This is the result of systematic work, a systematic approach. It is for the even development of the country in all main areas that the national projects were launched by the presidential decree. They have set more ambitious goals than previous programs.
Ivan Dedov, the main person in Russia in the fight against diabetes and other diseases of the endocrine system, who turned 80 today, is receiving congratulations.
Vladimir Putin also congratulated the outstanding doctor on his birthday. For his special services to the nation, Vladimir Putin conferred upon Ivan Dedov the title of Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation.
When Ivan Dedov graduated from the university, there was virtually no endocrinology in our country.And we are talking primarily about patients with high sugar levels. In the 70s, people with this diagnosis often became disabled, with gangrene, amputated legs, completely blind.
At the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology, which Dedov created from scratch, the diabetes department is just one of many. Here they learned how to solve almost any problem related to hormones.
