Month: July 2023

WASHINGTON — Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to several U.S. drone aircraft over Syria again Thursday, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force said. It was the second time in 24 hours that Russia has harassed U.S. drones there. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement. Colonel …

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WHITE HOUSE – As the war on Ukraine rages, Russia remains the biggest and most immediate threat for NATO. However, as allied leaders meet for their summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week, a key agenda item will be to implement the Strategic Concept adopted during the Madrid summit in 2022, where the alliance recognized security challenges emanating from China. NATO’s strategic concept states that the alliance faces “systemic competition” from Beijing’s “ambitions and coercive policies” that challenge members’ “interests, security and values.” While allies may agree that the China challenge is real, they differ in how to address it. Many …

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A former Azerbaijani parliamentarian was arrested and charged with extortion this week because he has been speaking out about recent environmental protests against a planned disposal site for chemical waste, he and his lawyer said.     Nazim Baydamirli, who represented the Gadabay district in Azerbaijan’s west, was detained Tuesday and placed on four months of pre-trial detention. He called the accusations of extortion fraudulent. Instead, he told the court that his imprisonment was related to his support of protests against the planned chemical waste reservoir in the Soyudlu village of the Gadabay district.      “He said in court that the …

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The United States, France and Britain have accused Iran and Russia of violating a U.N. Security Council resolution over Tehran’s transfer of drones to Moscow, which its military then used to repeatedly attack Ukrainian cities. The three powers said Thursday that Tehran and Moscow violated obligations under U.N. Resolution 2231, which enshrined the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in international law; and by conducting the drone transfers without advance approval from the U.N. Security Council, they had violated the resolution. They urged the U.N. to address the alleged violations during the semiannual meeting about implementation of the resolution. “Specifically, the U.N. …

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Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich on Friday marks his 100th day in detention in Russia on espionage accusations.  The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested March 29 while on assignment in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Russian authorities have accused the Moscow-based reporter of spying.  Gershkovich, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny the espionage charges.  Media watchdogs say his arrest marked a new low in Russia’s declining press freedom environment under President Vladimir Putin.  “Evan’s detention marked a new escalation in Putin’s war on the free press, expanding his crackdown beyond Russia’s domestic media which has already been totally …

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Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced the expelling of nine Finnish diplomats and shutting down of Finland’s consulate in St. Petersburg in retaliation for Finland expelling nine Russian diplomats last month. The ministry said in a lengthy statement that it summoned Finland’s ambassador to Russia, Antti Helantera, on Thursday, and relayed its “strong protest in connection with the confrontational anti-Russian policy pursued by the Finnish authorities.” The statement also noted that “the parameters of Finland’s accession to NATO create a threat” to Russia’s security, and “encouraging the Kyiv regime to (go to) war and pumping it with Western weapons means …

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Sharing a border with Ukraine, Romania has become one of the European Union countries most exposed to the conflict and a key NATO supplier of weapons to Kyiv. Despite Romania’s support of Ukraine, its historically troubled relations with Ukraine still pose difficulties. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Bucharest. …

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus and had returned to Russia. Prigozhin went to Belarus as part of a deal to end an armed mutiny by his Wagner mercenary group last month. Lukashenko brokered the agreement, which included security guarantees for Prigozhin and his fighters. Lukashenko told reporters Thursday that his offer to allow some Wagner fighters to be stationed in Belarus still stood. “At the moment the question of their transfer and setup has not been decided,” Lukashenko said. “I am absolutely not worried or concerned that we …

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Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 rocket blasted off for a final time on Wednesday, with its farewell flight after 27 years of launches coming at a difficult time for European space efforts.    Faced with soaring global competition, the continent has unexpectedly found itself without a way to independently launch heavy missions into space due to delays to the next-generation Ariane 6 and Russia withdrawing its rockets.  The 117th and final flight of the Ariane 5 rocket took place around 2200 GMT on Wednesday from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.  The launch had been postponed twice. It was originally scheduled on …

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