Russia

Russia threatens to strike NATO missile defense sites

Published by on May 3, 2012

Russia’s most senior military officer said Thursday that Moscow would preemptively strike and destroy U.S.-led NATO missile defense sites in Eastern Europe if talks with Washington about the developing system continue to stall. “A decision to use destructive force preemptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” Russian Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov said at an international missile defense conference in Moscow attended… Read more →

Russia warns on missile defence deal with Nato and US

Published by on May 3, 2012

Russia says it is prepared to use “destructive force pre-emptively” if the US goes ahead with controversial plans for a missile defence system based in Central Europe. The warning came after the Russian defence minister said talks on missile defence were nearing a dead end. Moscow fears that missile interceptors would be a threat to Russia’s security. But the US… Read more →

NATO Faced with Rising Flood of Cyberattacks

Published by on April 26, 2012

NATO cyberwarfare experts suspect that Chinese and Russian intelligence services are behind a recent uptick in cyberattacks against the Western alliance. SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that NATO’s cyberwarfare unit registers up to 30 such attacks each day. Employees have been warned to be on their guard. The number of cyberattacks perpetrated against NATO is on the rise, say experts at… Read more →

Obama tells Medvedev he’ll have ‘more flexibility’ after election

Published by on March 26, 2012

President Obama assured Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday that he’d have “more flexibility” after the November election, during a conversation that appeared to focus on the touchy issue of missile defense. Obama, during a sit-down with Medvedev in Seoul, urged Moscow to give him “space” until after November. The conversation was relayed by a TV pool producer who listened to… Read more →

Russian view of US in the Middle East

Published by on March 22, 2012

Moscow’s ready to back a UN resolution on Syria, as long as it contains no ultimatums aimed at Assad’s regime. That’s according to the Russian Foreign Minister, who’s voicing strong support for the UN special envoy’s roadmap to peace in the conflict-torn country. The UN Security Council is set to consider voting on a draft statement on Syria later on… Read more →

Iran must stand firm against Western ‘bullying’ on nuclear program

Published by on March 7, 2012

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Days before Iran’s just-completed parliamentary elections, the country’s supreme leader gave what amounted to a pep rally on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear views. Atomic technology is a pillar of “national dignity,” boasted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran must stand firm against the “bullying” pressures from the West. It showed how deeply Iran’s leadership cares about… Read more →

Putin power play casts cloud over Obama’s ‘reset’ with Russia

Published by on March 3, 2012

The United States may have to hit reset on its “reset” with Russia, as an embattled-yet-emboldened Vladimir Putin aims to reclaim the presidency after a four-year hiatus. Ahead of this Sunday’s elections, Putin has been running a decidedly anti-American campaign. The rhetoric follows clashes with the Obama administration over Syria, missile defense and December’s parliamentary elections. Should Putin win, as… Read more →

China calls US critique on Syria “super arrogant”

Published by on February 27, 2012

China has hit out at comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on its stance on Syria. A foreign ministry spokesman called the comments unacceptable, and the official Communist Party newspaper described the criticism as “super arrogant”. Mrs Clinton on Friday called China and Russia’s veto of a UN resolution on Syria “despicable”. The Chinese criticism came a day… Read more →