Category: News

Photo:  AFP 2015/ OZAN KOSE

 

Turkey has refused US demands to close the part of the border with Syria which is controlled by ISIS  militants,  reports, quoting Turkish sources.

Ankara said that it is impossible to close the border and ISIS terrorists may boost their forces in response, according to The Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also underscored that if the border is closed Ankara will not be able to accept refugees from Syria.

However, closing the border along the area controlled by ISIS would create obstacles for smuggling the oil Turkey buys from the terrorists. Recently, Russia accused Ankara of buying illegal oil from militants in Syria and transporting it to three ports across the Turkish-Syrian border.

The Russian Defense Ministry provided evidence of Turkey buying and transporting illegal oil, including images of oil-carrying tank trucks near the border. The ministry claimed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his family are involved in selling illegal oil.

Earlier, Washington proposed to close 98 kilometers of the Turkish-Syrian border and deploy additional forces to the area. According to estimates, the measure would require nearly 30,000 troops and building watchtowers each three meters along the borderline.

Davutoglu said the county does not have enough money and asked the US to partially fund the initiative.

Earlier, a representative of the US State Department admitted that illegal oil from Syria has been delivered to the Turkish market. Washington asked Ankara to close the border. The US also said it did not believe Erdogan was involved. However, its stance toward Erdogan may change if the border remains open for oil smuggling.

 

Photo: Getty Images

 

Germany’s parliament has voted to send German military support to the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, the BBC reports.

MPs approved the controversial plan for a German non-combat role.

Tornado jets – for reconnaissance – a naval frigate and 1,200 soldiers will be sent to the region.

The vote comes after a French request following last month’s Paris attacks. Ministers believe Germany is now an IS target too.

On Thursday, British warplanes carried out their first air strikes on IS targets in Syria after the country’s parliament authorised the military operation.

 

Photo: EPA

 

Scott Weiland, former frontman of the US rock band Stone Temple Pilots, has died at the age of 48, the BBC reports.

The singer’s manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed his death on Thursday night.

A statement, on Instagram, said Weiland had “passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts.”

Weiland had a history of drug problems. He formed the Grammy-winning band Stone Temple Pilots, and was a member of supergroup Velvet Revolver.

TMZ is reporting Weiland’s body was discovered on his tour bus outside a motel, near the venue where the band were due to play.

Born in California, Weiland formed the band Stone Temple Pilots with brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo in the late 1990s and went on to enjoy early critical and commercial success.

But the success of tracks such as Big Empty, Vasoline and Interstate Love Song, which propelled the 1994 album Purple to the top of the US charts, was marred by in-fighting among band members.

The band took a number of breaks, with Weiland eventually leaving and forming the supergroup Velvet Revolver – with former Guns N’ Roses members Slash (guitars), Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums) – in 2002.

However, the singer’s drug addiction issues were becoming increasingly problematic.

In 1995, the singer was convicted of buying crack cocaine and sentenced to probation.

He was jailed in 1999 for violating his probation after being convicted of heroin possession in 1998, and four years later, in 2003, sentenced to three years’ probation for drug possession.

In 2008, he was sentenced to eight days in jail after pleading no contest to a drink driving charge.

Velvet Revolver frequently had alter its schedules to accommodate Weiland’s court appearances and spells in rehab and the band’s 2007 release, Libertad, was the last to feature Weiland on vocals.

They parted ways with Weiland the following year, blaming the singer’s “erratic behaviour”.

He later returned to the reformed Stone Temple Pilots – but in 2013 they, too, ejected him from the band, claiming he had been “misappropriating” their name to further his solo career.

 

Photo:  ITAR-TASS/Dmitry Rogulin

 

Russia has begun the supplies of S-300 air defense systems to Iran, Russian presidential aide for military-technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin has told .

“The contract is in action. They’ve begun,” Kozhin said in reply to a question.

Iranian ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai late last month said his country had received the first S-300 systems.

The head of the Rostec corporation (to which the Rosoboronexport company is affiliated) Sergey Chemezov said earlier the new contract for selling S-300 to Iran had taken effect at the beginning of November. The contract was concluded after Russian President Vladimir Putin had lifted the ban from selling this air defense system to Iran. Iran will get the S-300PMU-2 configuration.

Russia and Iran signed a contract in 2007 for the supply of five S-300PMU-1 battalions but in the autumn of 2010 then-President Dmitry Medvedev banned the supply of these systems to Tehran. The contract worth more than $800 million was annulled and the paid advance was returned to Iran.

Iran filed an almost $4 billion lawsuit against Russia at the Geneva Court of Arbitration over Russia’s nonfulfillment of the contract.

In the spring of 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on the supply of S-300 systems to Tehran.

There is no official information yet which modification of S-300 Iran plans to obtain: S-300PMU-1, which has been discontinued but may be specially produced for the Iranian side, or S-300VM.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, James Warlick and Pierre Andrieu and the Personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Belgrade.

The parties continued the discussions on the perspectives of furthering the process of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Reference was made to the issue of organization of a meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Edward Nalbandian reiterated the Armenia’s commitment to continue to work with the Minsk Group Co-chairs to reach an exceptionally peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Photo: Sputnik/Alexey Kudenko

 

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that all negotiations over the Turkish Stream pipeline have been suspended, reports.

On December 3, the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states was held in Belgrade under the chairmanship of Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, the Chairman of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers.

The ministers discussed the process of implementation of decisions made at the session of the Collective Security Council on September 2015, as well as issues of coordination of foreign policy of the CSTO member states.

The members of the CSTO Foreign Ministers’ Council discussed issues on the agenda of the 22nd Ministerial Council of the OSCE member states.

The participants exchanged views on the issues impacting the global and regional security, the fight against terrorism.

The current situation, which resulted after the shooting down by the Turkish armed forces of the Russian SU-24 plane, which was carrying out an anti-terrorist military operation in Syria, was touched upon. In that context Minister Nalbandian noted that the shooting down of the plane is a serious blow to the consolidation of the efforts of international community in its fight against terrorism and to the political settlement in Syria.

The CSTO Foreign Ministers approved the agenda of the Collective Security Council, which will be held in Moscow in December, as well as exchanged views on the activities of the CSTO statutory bodies.

Statement by Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia At the 22nd Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council

Mr. Chairman,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to join the previous speakers in expressing our deep condolences with regard to the tragedy in California.

Dear colleagues,

I would like to thank Chairman-in-Office, Ivica Dacic and his team for their contribution to the activities of this Organization throughout the year, as well as to extend my gratitude to the Government of Serbia for the warm hospitality.

The 2015 marks the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide which has rallied a worldwide support, sympathy and condemnation of this heinous crime. In six days, on December 9th for the first time ever the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of Victims of Genocide will be marked. Its proclamation was recommended by the Resolution on the Prevention of Genocide initiated by Armenia and unanimously supported by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2015 and then adopted by the UN General Assembly again upon Armenia’s initiative. As a nation which passed through the horrors of genocide we feel moral obligation in contributing to the international efforts of prevention of crimes against humanity.

Today, we cannot remain indifferent to the repetition of such crimes by ISIS/Daesh, Al-Nusra, other terrorist groups and foreign terrorist fighters. Two years ago, when in the framework of the OSCE Armenia condemned atrocities committed by those groups in Iraq and Syria, particularly against the national and religious minorities, including our own compatriot Armenians in Kessab, Deir Zor and other places, one could have hardly imagined how the violence by terrorists would magnify and erupt in places far beyond the region.

Armenia values unambiguous implementation and strengthening of the OSCE commitments related to combatting terrorism. We encourage further efforts aimed at the protection of ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians whose fundamental rights and cultural heritage have been targeted. It is also important to adequately address the ongoing crisis of migrants and refugees emanating from the OSCE neighborhood. Armenia is not a bystander in this regard and has already received more than 17 thousand refugees from Syria.

Mr. Chairman,

40 years ago at the singing of the Helsinki Final Act German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt made a statement that sounds as a prophecy today. He said “it remains our aim to work for a state of peace in Europe in which the German nation will regain its unity through free self-determination”. In a month Germany will assume the Chairmanship of this Organization exactly as was preached – unified and in a state of peace. Not only the German nation but many others embraced the principles empowering the people to promote and protect their rights and to freely pursue their own future and thus contributing to the peace and security.
Mr. Chairman,

Unfortunately, peace continues to be challenged by those who refuse to abide by the common norms and principles. It has been more than two decades now that Azerbaijan rejects to recognize the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination. It turns a blind eye that this very right is proclaimed by the presidents of the Co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group as one of the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. Azerbaijan fails to notice that the determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will stands at the core of the settlement proposed by the Co-chairs.

The blatant defiance to the proposals of the Co-chairs is not the only path through which Baku tries to undermine the peace process. It boasts about solving the conflict through the military buildup pumped by oil revenues and continues provocations on the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh and the borders with Armenia. The cease-fire violations by Baku have reached alarming levels. Baku uses heavy weaponry and deliberately targets civilians, which resulted in high numbers of casualties. Azerbaijan has an illusion that it can gain by negotiating with guns.

It does not come as a surprise that the Co-chairs directly called upon Azerbaijan to observe its commitments to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and to agree to the proposal on the creation of the mechanism of investigation of incidents, which Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have long accepted. The Co-chairs have also stated that Baku’s attempts to change the format or create parallel mechanisms can disrupt the negotiation process and impede progress towards a settlement. They called Azerbaijan to respect their mandate and the duties of the OSCE monitors.
Unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia has never criticized the Co-chairs. Attempts of Azerbaijan to blame the Co-chairs for setbacks in the negotiation process only mask the primary obstacle to peace – the lack of political will in Azerbaijan to reach a negotiated settlement.

Mr. Chairman,

The conflict resolution requires necessary political will which is manifested through unconditional adherence to the peace process, full implementation of the commitments, and readiness to build up trust. We have been witnessing time and again throughout the whole negotiation process the consistent efforts of Azerbaijan to disrespect prior agreements. Baku’s refusal to accept proposals that are the product of the tireless efforts of about twenty summits, several dozen ministerial-level meetings, and innumerable visits of the three Co-Chairs to the region has inflicted a serious blow to the negotiation process and severely damaged the trust. Therefore, curbing Azerbaijan’s destructive behavior at the negotiation table is key to the success of the peace process.

Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has stated many times that it is ready to continue negotiations, based on the proposals of the presidents of the Co-chair countries. As for Azerbaijan, it tries to present its distorted approaches as a position of the Co-Chairs, misinterpreting the ideas presented by foreign ministers, the presidents of the Co-chair countries and even the UN Security Council resolutions. However, a mere glance reveals that the approaches of Azerbaijan contradict to the principles and elements of the five well-known statements of the heads of the Co-chair countries.

Needless to say that successful peaceful settlement requires cessation of hostilities on the ground, creation of the conditions conducive for negotiations, through full respect to the 1994 trilateral cease-fire agreement and the 1995 agreement on the consolidation of the cease-fire regime. These documents, which do not have time limitations, are agreed and signed by Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia and are prerequisites of the peace efforts.

The OSCE can contribute to the peace process by reaffirming its support to the cease-fire agreements encouraging the implementation of the confidence and security building measures, reinforcing the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Nagorno-Karabakh as the only permanent presence on the ground in the conflict zone, through increasing the number of monitors, allocating more resources and technical means.

Mr. Chairman,

Azerbaijan tries to invoke the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in an effort to justify the noncompliance to the OSCE commitments. Likewise, Baku attempts to divert the attention from the outrageous human rights situation in Azerbaijan and the growing international criticism in this regard by escalating the military situation in the conflict zone. We are confident that the international reaction to Baku’s policy of escalation of tensions should not be less targeted and strict as it is on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

Baku’s consistent policy of reducing OSCE presence in the region is another worrying trend that ca
nnot be disregarded. Having first downgraded and then closed the OSCE Office in Baku, imposing restrictions on ODIHR election monitoring mission, now Azerbaijan is trying to curtail activities of the Personal Representative as well. Apparently, Azerbaijan would prefer to continue its destructive policy without international witnesses. This applies also to the ICRC – the work of which Baku is continuously impeding and using for the purposes of propaganda. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have closely cooperated with the Red Cross to address humanitarian issues, particularly that of missing persons. We value this cooperation which should be always based on status neutral approach and impartiality.

Mr. Chairman,

Finally, I would like to brief you on the Constitutional referendum that will take place in Armenia in couple of days. The reform process is based on Armenia’s commitment at development and consolidation of the democratic institutions and good governance, protection and promotion of human rights, strengthening the rule of law, enhancing the independence of judiciary. According to the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe the draft is of “extremely high quality” and “is in line with international standards”. We have invited the ODIHR and other international institutions to observe the referendum, not having a formal commitment to do so.

Mr. Chairman,

The ever evolving security environment makes it even more important to have a unifying agenda of cooperation at the OSCE. We stand with the incoming German Chairmanship in ensuring the unity of our efforts throughout three dimensions and enhancing the viability of this Organization and its capacity to strengthen the safety and security in the OSCE region.

Thank you.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at “part of the leadership in Turkey” during his annual address to the parliament, accusing Ankara of having trade ties with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq,  reports.

He also promised more sanctions for Turkey over downing of the Russian jet.

Putin said Russia still cannot comprehend why the downing of the plane happened.

“We were prepared to cooperate with Turkey on most sensitive issues and go further than their allies. Allah knows why they did it. Apparently Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by taking their sanity,” Putin said.

Putin stressed that Moscow’s anger over the incident is directed at particular individuals and not at the Turkish people.

“We have many friends in Turkey,” he said. “They should know that we do not equate them and part of the current Turkish leadership, which holds a direct responsibility for the deaths of our troops in Syria,” he said.

He added that the killing of Russian officers would have long-term consequences for those responsible.

“We will not forget this aid to terrorists. We have always considered betrayal the worst and most shameful act. Let those in Turkey know it who shot our pilots in the back, who hypocritically tries to justify themselves and their actions and cover up the crimes of terrorists,” he said.

Putin said Russia would not resort to saber-rattling to respond to the Turkish actions, but neither would it limit itself to the economic sanctions it imposed since the incident.

The incident with the Russian Su-24 bomber shot down by Turkish warplanes near the Turkish-Syrian border has greatly deteriorated relations between the two countries. Turkey insists it acted in response to a brief violation of its airspace and was justified in using lethal force. Russia insists no violation took place and has accused Turkey of supporting terrorists in Syria.

The downing of the bomber resulted in the deaths of two Russian troops, who were the first combat losses during the two month-long Syrian campaign. The pilot of the downed plane was killed by a pro-Turkish militant group as he was parachuting to the ground. A marine was killed by militants when a helicopter dispatched to rescue the bomber crew came under fire from the ground.

Putin’s address started with a minute’s silence to commemorate the two troops. The widows of the dead Russians were present at the event.

Putin stressed that the Russian operation in Syria is aimed first and foremost at preventing fighters who went to the Middle East from Russia and its neighboring countries from returning home and bringing the threat of terrorist attacks to Russian soil.

“They are getting money, weapons, gathering strength. If they get stronger, winning there, they will inevitably come here to sow fear and hatred, blast, kill and torture people,” Putin said.

Putin called on all nations that have pledged to fight terrorism to join forces and abandon the notion that terrorist groups can be used for country’s own goals. He stressed that the rise of terrorism in the Middle East over the last few years was caused to a large degree by foreign meddling.

“Some countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which used to be stable and relatively prosperous – Iraq, Libya, Syria – have turned into zones of chaos and anarchy that pose a threat to entire world,” Putin said.

“We know why it happened. We know who wanted to oust unwanted regimes, and rudely impose their own rules. They triggered hostilities, destroyed statehoods, set people against each other and simply washed their hands [of the situation] – giving way to radicals, extremists and terrorists.”

Russia’s lost thousands of lives over two decades of terrorist attacks and is still not safe from terrorist attacks, as evidenced by the bombings in Volgograd in 2014 and the bombing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt in October, Putin reminded.

“Breaking the bandits’ back took us almost 10 years,” he said. “We practically pushed the terrorists out of Russia, but we are still engaged in a fierce fight against the remainder of the gangs. This evil still comes back occasionally.”

Putin said the rise of jihadists in the Middle East in our time is not unlike the rise of Nazism in the mid-20th century, and that the world should learn from the mistakes of the past, when a failure to act in time resulted in the loss of millions of lives.

“We are facing a destructive barbaric ideology again and we have no right to allow those new obscurants to achieve their goals. We have to abandon all differences, create a single fist, a single anti-terrorist front, which would act in accordance with the international law and under the aegis of the United Nations,” he said.

Putin was speaking on Thursday before the Federal Assembly, a joint session of the two chambers of the Russian parliament, plus regional governors and the cabinet. The annual address is a traditional key policy report of the executive, which focuses on domestic politics rather than international relations.

Bomb equipment, weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found at the home of the San Bernardino shooters, US police have said, the BBC reports.

Police found the weaponry following the shootout of the two suspects after they killed 14 people and wounded 21 more at a social services centre.

Authorities still have not found a motive in the attack by Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27.

Police said the attack indicated there had been “some degree of planning”.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said it appeared that the duo was prepared to carry out another attack.