themoscowtimes--2020-10-22--Russia Moves to Open Defense Ministry Office in Serbia

Serbia , which claims military neutrality , is an EU candidate country that also maintains close ties with Moscow .
Belgrade suspended its military drills with all partners for six months last month , pointing to pressure from the EU to drop out of joint military drills in Belarus with Russia .
Russia is moving toward opening a Defense Ministry office in Serbia to deepen military ties with its longtime ally , a move that risks straining relations with the West , Reuters reported Tuesday .
According to Reuters , Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order last Thursday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s head to inspect Serbian military units that are armed with Russian weapons .
Serbia would first need to consent to the inspections .
Serbia ’ s defense ministry said in a later statement that “ a legal procedure that precedes the concluding of the agreement ” had been launched , according to Reuters .
Serbia ’ s military relies on Russian-made weapons , including fighter jets , helicopters and tanks , which the West watches with unease .
Serbia also depends on Russian oil and gas , and the Balkan nation wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would bypass Ukraine and carry Russian gas to European markets .
Serbia cooperates with NATO but says it has no plans to join the Western military alliance , reflecting deep resentment among Serbs over NATO ’ s airstrikes against the country during the Kosovo War in 1999 .
The Associated Press reported that NATO refused to comment on the possible Russian Defense Ministry representative office in Serbia .

Serbia, which claims military neutrality, is an EU candidate country that also maintains close ties with Moscow. Belgrade suspended its military drills with all partners for six months last month, pointing to pressure from the EU to drop out of joint military drills in Belarus with Russia.
Russia is moving toward opening a Defense Ministry office in Serbia to deepen military ties with its longtime ally, a move that risks straining relations with the West, Reuters reported Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order last Thursday authorizing the proposed Defense Ministry office’s head to inspect Serbian military units that are armed with Russian weapons. Serbia would first need to consent to the inspections.
Serbia’s defense ministry said in a later statement that “a legal procedure that precedes the concluding of the agreement” had been launched, according to Reuters.
Serbia’s military relies on Russian-made weapons, including fighter jets, helicopters and tanks, which the West watches with unease. Serbia also depends on Russian oil and gas, and the Balkan nation wants to join the TurkStream gas pipeline that would bypass Ukraine and carry Russian gas to European markets.
Serbia cooperates with NATO but says it has no plans to join the Western military alliance, reflecting deep resentment among Serbs over NATO’s airstrikes against the country during the Kosovo War in 1999.
The Associated Press reported that NATO refused to comment on the possible Russian Defense Ministry representative office in Serbia.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-22--Putin Says Karabakh Deaths Soaring as Diplomats Scramble

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that weeks of fighting over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh province had left close to 5,000 people dead as world leaders scrambled to broker a truce .
The disputed region in Azerbaijan is controlled by Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan , who declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in a conflict that erupted again into full-scale fighting last month .
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan 's President Ilham Aliyev have rebuffed calls for peace and fighters on the ground have left two ceasefires in tatters after accusing the other side of violations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that both sides had incurred losses nearing 2,000 people in fighting that has seen thousands of people displaced and both sides levy allegations of war crimes .
`` The total number of deaths is already nearing 5,000 , '' Putin said .
Armenian separatists and the Azerbaijani military claim to have inflicted devastating losses on the other side in terms of military hardware and military personnel .
Yet the confirmed death toll from the most recent outbreak of fighting that erupted on Sept. 27 is just under 1,000 including civilians — a figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the real human cost since Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military fatalities .
Azerbaijan has repeatedly boasted of military gains after nearly a month of fighting and Pashinyan conceded this week his country was facing `` a difficult situation '' on the frontline .
Aliyev made the significant claim Thursday — denied by Armenia — that his military now had full control of the border with Iran .
`` The state border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been completely secured through liberation of the Agbend settlement , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never hidden its desire to regain full control over Karabakh and the seven regions , but analysts say it will struggle to achieve this by military means alone .
Yet diplomacy also appears exhausted for now , with Pashinyan ruling out any diplomatic solution to the conflict for the moment and Aliyev recently vowing to hunt down Armenian troops `` like dogs . ''
The foreign minsters of Azerbaijan and Armenia are to meet separately with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday after the diplomats flew to Moscow for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lavrov , this week .
Putin said Thursday that he was in `` constant '' communication with Pashinyan and Aliyev to the point where he talks to them on the phone `` several times a day . ''
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday also spoke with both leaders and met with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian .
The search for a long-term solution to the conflict — one of the most enduring problems left after the fall of the Soviet Union — is in the hands of the Minsk Group of regional powers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S .
The group brokered a ceasefire in 1994 , but lacked political clout to secure a lasting resolution to the simmering territorial dispute .
Pashinyan has said the Minsk group 's roadmap for peace is now unacceptable and Azerbaijan says after nearly 30 years of impasse , its staunch ally and military sponsor Turkey should be given a seat at the negotiating table .
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday he expected alliance member Turkey to use its influence to help head off further fighting and called for an immediate ceasefire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but I also expect Turkey to use its considerable influence in the region to calm tensions . ''
In an interview with AFP , the head of an International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) mission monitoring the conflict urged all parties to stop shelling civilians .
`` We insist that the sides to the conflict comply with international humanitarian law , '' Gerardo Moloeznik said .

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that weeks of fighting over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh province had left close to 5,000 people dead as world leaders scrambled to broker a truce.
The disputed region in Azerbaijan is controlled by Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan, who declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in a conflict that erupted again into full-scale fighting last month.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev have rebuffed calls for peace and fighters on the ground have left two ceasefires in tatters after accusing the other side of violations.
Putin said in a televised appearance Thursday that both sides had incurred losses nearing 2,000 people in fighting that has seen thousands of people displaced and both sides levy allegations of war crimes.
"The total number of deaths is already nearing 5,000," Putin said.
Armenian separatists and the Azerbaijani military claim to have inflicted devastating losses on the other side in terms of military hardware and military personnel.
Yet the confirmed death toll from the most recent outbreak of fighting that erupted on Sept. 27 is just under 1,000 including civilians — a figure that is believed to be much lower than the real human cost since Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military fatalities.
Exhausted diplomacy
Azerbaijan has repeatedly boasted of military gains after nearly a month of fighting and Pashinyan conceded this week his country was facing "a difficult situation" on the frontline.
Aliyev made the significant claim Thursday — denied by Armenia — that his military now had full control of the border with Iran.
"The state border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been completely secured through liberation of the Agbend settlement," he said on Twitter.
Baku has never hidden its desire to regain full control over Karabakh and the seven regions, but analysts say it will struggle to achieve this by military means alone.
Yet diplomacy also appears exhausted for now, with Pashinyan ruling out any diplomatic solution to the conflict for the moment and Aliyev recently vowing to hunt down Armenian troops "like dogs."
The foreign minsters of Azerbaijan and Armenia are to meet separately with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday after the diplomats flew to Moscow for talks with their Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, this week.
Putin said Thursday that he was in "constant" communication with Pashinyan and Aliyev to the point where he talks to them on the phone "several times a day."
'Calm tensions'
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday also spoke with both leaders and met with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian.
The search for a long-term solution to the conflict — one of the most enduring problems left after the fall of the Soviet Union — is in the hands of the Minsk Group of regional powers chaired by France, Russia and the U.S.
The group brokered a ceasefire in 1994, but lacked political clout to secure a lasting resolution to the simmering territorial dispute.
Pashinyan has said the Minsk group's roadmap for peace is now unacceptable and Azerbaijan says after nearly 30 years of impasse, its staunch ally and military sponsor Turkey should be given a seat at the negotiating table.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday he expected alliance member Turkey to use its influence to help head off further fighting and called for an immediate ceasefire.
"Turkey is a valued ally, but I also expect Turkey to use its considerable influence in the region to calm tensions."
In an interview with AFP, the head of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission monitoring the conflict urged all parties to stop shelling civilians.
"We insist that the sides to the conflict comply with international humanitarian law," Gerardo Moloeznik said.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-22--EU, UK Slap Sanctions on Russian Spies for Hacking German Parliament

The head of the GRU military intelligence agency , Igor Kostyukov , and intelligence officer Dmitri Badin have been banned from EU soil and are subject to an asset freeze .
The EU and Britain imposed sanctions Thursday on senior Russian intelligence officers for their alleged role in hacking the computer network in the German parliament in 2015 .
A GRU unit , alleged to be responsible for cyber attacks , has also been added to the EU sanctions list .
Britain , which formally left the EU in January , said it was joining the bloc in enforcing asset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers and intelligence unit .
A cyber attack in April and May 2015 completely paralyzed the IT infrastructure of the Bundestag and the entire parliament had to be taken offline for days while it was fixed .
In a statement , the European Council said that `` a considerable amount of data had been stolen '' and that `` the email accounts of several members of parliament , including that of Chancellor Angela Merkel '' had been hit .
Merkel has publicly blamed Russia for the hacking .
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to shoulder with Germany and our European partners to hold Russia to account for cyber attacks designed to undermine Western democracies .
`` This criminal behavior brings the Russian Government into further disrepute , '' he added .
Kostyukov was already on another EU sanctions list .
In January 2019 , he was banned from entering the UK and bank accounts allegedly link to him in the EU were frozen because of the nerve agent attack on British-based former double agent Sergei Skripal .
Badin had already been identified by German investigating authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Bundestag .
An arrest warrant was issued against him by Germany 's Federal Public Prosecutor General in May .
The U.S. FBI is seeking Badin on suspicions of having influenced the presidential election of 2016 .
According to the European Council , Badin is alleged to have worked for the GRU 's 85th Main Center for Special Services ( GTsSS ) — a notorious cyber unit also known as `` APT28 '' and `` Fancy Bear . ''

The head of the GRU military intelligence agency, Igor Kostyukov, and intelligence officer Dmitri Badin have been banned from EU soil and are subject to an asset freeze.
The EU and Britain imposed sanctions Thursday on senior Russian intelligence officers for their alleged role in hacking the computer network in the German parliament in 2015.
A GRU unit, alleged to be responsible for cyber attacks, has also been added to the EU sanctions list.
Britain, which formally left the EU in January, said it was joining the bloc in enforcing asset freezes and travel bans against the two officers and intelligence unit.
A cyber attack in April and May 2015 completely paralyzed the IT infrastructure of the Bundestag and the entire parliament had to be taken offline for days while it was fixed.
In a statement, the European Council said that "a considerable amount of data had been stolen" and that "the email accounts of several members of parliament, including that of Chancellor Angela Merkel" had been hit.
Merkel has publicly blamed Russia for the hacking.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Germany and our European partners to hold Russia to account for cyber attacks designed to undermine Western democracies.
"This criminal behavior brings the Russian Government into further disrepute," he added.
Kostyukov was already on another EU sanctions list. In January 2019, he was banned from entering the UK and bank accounts allegedly link to him in the EU were frozen because of the nerve agent attack on British-based former double agent Sergei Skripal.
Badin had already been identified by German investigating authorities as the suspected mastermind behind the attack on the Bundestag.
An arrest warrant was issued against him by Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor General in May. The U.S. FBI is seeking Badin on suspicions of having influenced the presidential election of 2016.
According to the European Council, Badin is alleged to have worked for the GRU's 85th Main Center for Special Services (GTsSS) — a notorious cyber unit also known as "APT28" and "Fancy Bear."


themoscowtimes--2020-10-22--Oil Spill Hits Russia’s Pacific Coast Amid String of Pollution Incidents

Aerial photographs showed a rainbow-colored area consistent with an oil spill on the water 's surface near the shipyard in the Far East city of Nakhodka .
An oil slick has appeared in a bay near a ship repair plant on Russia ’ s Pacific coast , local media reported Thursday , marking at least the third oil spill to hit Russia this month .
The Nakhodka Ship Repair Yard told the newsnhk.com website that they first noticed a film of oil covering the nearby bay earlier Wednesday .
The Russian natural resource watchog ’ s affiliate in the Primorye @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city , collected water samples to determine the source of the spill .
Newsnhk.com reported that none of the nearby heating plants experienced leaks .
An oil and debris collection vessel has begun cleaning the water surface , it added .
The regional administration ’ s environmental authorities said they were looking into installing floating barriers called booms to localize the spill .
Earlier in October , a ruptured transport barge caused 500 liters of diesel fuel to spill into the Angara River in Siberia and another vessel spilled a layer of fuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Volga River north of Moscow .
This month 's spills are dwarfed by a major fuel spill that hit Russia 's Arctic in May , when a tank believed to be damaged by melting permafrost leaked some 20,000 liters of diesel fuel into the Ambarnaya River .
Russia has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in 2020 , including massive wildfires in Siberia and a mysterious die-off of nearly all seabed life along the coast of the Far East Kamchatka peninsula .

Aerial photographs showed a rainbow-colored area consistent with an oil spill on the water's surface near the shipyard in the Far East city of Nakhodka.
An oil slick has appeared in a bay near a ship repair plant on Russia’s Pacific coast, local media reported Thursday, marking at least the third oil spill to hit Russia this month.
The Nakhodka Ship Repair Yard told the newsnhk.com website that they first noticed a film of oil covering the nearby bay earlier Wednesday.
The Russian natural resource watchog’s affiliate in the Primorye region, where Nakhodka is the second-largest city, collected water samples to determine the source of the spill.
Newsnhk.com reported that none of the nearby heating plants experienced leaks.
An oil and debris collection vessel has begun cleaning the water surface, it added.
The regional administration’s environmental authorities said they were looking into installing floating barriers called booms to localize the spill.
Earlier in October, a ruptured transport barge caused 500 liters of diesel fuel to spill into the Angara River in Siberia and another vessel spilled a layer of fuel the size of a hockey rink into the Volga River north of Moscow.
This month's spills are dwarfed by a major fuel spill that hit Russia's Arctic in May, when a tank believed to be damaged by melting permafrost leaked some 20,000 liters of diesel fuel into the Ambarnaya River.
Russia has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in 2020, including massive wildfires in Siberia and a mysterious die-off of nearly all seabed life along the coast of the Far East Kamchatka peninsula.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-23--Russia Surpasses 17K Coronavirus Cases in New One-Day Record

This is the first time that Russia has confirmed more than 17,000 Covid-19 infections in a single day .
Russia confirmed 17,340 new coronavirus cases Friday , setting a new one-day record as the country grapples with a second wave of the virus .
Friday ’ s increase pushes the overall number of Covid-19 cases in Russia to 1,480,646 , or 1 % of the country ’ s population .
Russia has the world ’ s fourth-highest number of Covid-19 cases .
Moscow , the epicenter of Russia ’ s outbreak , confirmed 5,478 new Covid-19 cases .
Russia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people died from the disease Friday , a decrease from the record 317 Covid-19 deaths confirmed Wednesday .
Russia ’ s overall Covid-19 death toll based on aggregated daily figures from regional crisis centers stands at 25,525 .
Monthly statistics published by Russia ’ s state statistics agency Rosstat place the real number of coronavirus deaths at 45,663 between April and August , the latest available month , with a mortality ratio of 4.6 % against the global rate of 3-4 % .
Russia has reported record numbers of new infections and deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warn that its regions could see a second wave that is 10 times worse than the first .
President Vladimir Putin pledged to avoid returning to strict lockdown measures like those Russia imposed in spring despite the record-setting rise in new Covid-19 cases .
Authorities have introduced targeted measures at what they deem to be coronavirus hotspots to slow the spread of the disease .

This is the first time that Russia has confirmed more than 17,000 Covid-19 infections in a single day.
Russia confirmed 17,340 new coronavirus cases Friday, setting a new one-day record as the country grapples with a second wave of the virus.
Friday’s increase pushes the overall number of Covid-19 cases in Russia to 1,480,646, or 1% of the country’s population. Russia has the world’s fourth-highest number of Covid-19 cases.
Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s outbreak, confirmed 5,478 new Covid-19 cases.
Russia’s national coronavirus information center said 283 people died from the disease Friday, a decrease from the record 317 Covid-19 deaths confirmed Wednesday.
Russia’s overall Covid-19 death toll based on aggregated daily figures from regional crisis centers stands at 25,525.
Monthly statistics published by Russia’s state statistics agency Rosstat place the real number of coronavirus deaths at 45,663 between April and August, the latest available month, with a mortality ratio of 4.6% against the global rate of 3-4%.
Russia has reported record numbers of new infections and deaths over the past week as disease experts warn that its regions could see a second wave that is 10 times worse than the first.
President Vladimir Putin pledged to avoid returning to strict lockdown measures like those Russia imposed in spring despite the record-setting rise in new Covid-19 cases. Authorities have introduced targeted measures at what they deem to be coronavirus hotspots to slow the spread of the disease.