After
the widespread sociopathy of the 1990s—when people had to break all
rules just to feed their families, and it was not unknown even for
priests to steal from their flocks—a too-high proportion of the Russian
population remains in a state of going through each day with little
thought other than how to cheat and defraud its fellow man. Yet it is
also a fact that you cannot lock up everyone (Всех не посадишь, as the
Russians say) or you would have no country left.
The Kremlin’s
solution has been to make conspicuous examples of some, while creating
parallel structures to work around corrupt or incompetent state bodies
and officials.
Probably the most prominent example of such a structure is the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, commonly known by its Russian initials, SK or SK RF, or less commonly by the acronym, Sledkom.
The
SK traces its history to 2007—when authority to make criminal charges
was taken away from Russia’s Prosecutor General—and has existed in its
current form since early 2011.
Today, the Office of the Prosecutor
General is responsible for prosecutions only. It is the SK that
investigates crimes and decides whom to bring to trial and on
what charges.
Since it was brought out from under the Prosecutor
General and made into an independent body reporting only to the
President, the SK has been at the very center of the Kremlin’s
anticorruption drive.
Russia’s military forces are stepping up their airstrikes against the Islamic State as new information has confirmed an explosive device was behind the crash of the A321 jet in Egypt’s Sinai desert. Murad Gazdiev has the latest.
..........
Plane crash in Sinai a terrorist attack - Russian Security Service
The Russian plane crash in Sinai, Egypt, was caused by a terrorist attack as traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of the plane, Federal Security Service director Aleksandr Bortnikov told President Vladimir Putin.
“We can say that that [Sinai plane crash] was a terror act,” Bortnikov told Putin. According to the FSB chief, experts analyzed passengers’ belongings as well as the parts of the plane. “After the examination on all these objects, we have found traces of a foreign-made explosive substance,” Bortnikov said.
“During the flight, a homemade device with the power of 1.5 kilograms of TNT was detonated. As a result, the plane fell apart in the air, which can be explained by the huge scattering of the fuselage parts of the plane,” he added.
Russia will act in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which provides for countries’ right to self-defense, Putin said. “Those who attempt to assist criminals should be aware that the consequences of such attempts will be entirely their responsibility,” he added.
ISIS says Russia targeted over Syria campaign, shows alleged Sinai jet 'bomb'
An image of alleged parts of a “bomb” used to take down a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai, killing all 224 people onboard, was posted by Islamic State’s magazine.
A soft drink can and what appeared to be a detonator and switch allegedly made up the parts of an improvised homemade bomb, a photo published online on Wednesday by Dabiq magazine suggests.
Another photograph showed passports said to belong to Russian passengers killed in the bombing, with the documents allegedly obtained by Islamic fighters.
The authenticity of the images has not been verified.
Reports Egypt detained 2 airport workers suspected of aiding bomb plant on Russian plane denied
A report that Egypt is holding two employees of Sharm el-Sheikh Airport on suspicion of assisting those who planted the explosive device on the Russian jet that crashed in Sinai have been denied by Egyptian authorities and other airport officials.
"Seventeen people are being held, two of them are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane at Sharm al-Sheikh Airport," one of the officials apparently told Reuters.
The reports, however, were promptly denied first by Egyptian authorities, and later by one of the airport employees, who spoke with RIA Novosti.
“I have been here [in the airport] during these days, so I can say that no one was detained. In the first days after the tragedy, many people were questioned, but no one was arrested,” he said.
ISIS releases video claiming revenge ‘downing’ of Russian passenger jet over Sinai
A new Islamic State video shows a Russian-speaking jihadist praising his “Sinai brothers” for “taking down” a Russian passenger jet and threatening more attacks, while both Russia and Egypt say the group doesn’t possess the means to shoot down a plane.
In the newly-released video, five Islamic State (IS, formely ISIS/ISIL) jihadists are seen sitting outside as one of them praises militants in the Sinai Peninsula for allegedly bringing down the Russian A321 passenger jet with 224 people on board.
Surrounded by four fellow jihadists, a Slavic-looking man speaking both in Russian and Arabic, addresses President Vladimir Putin, warning the Russian leader that he would regret targeting ISIS in Syria.
With a knife in hand, he threatens to continue taking down planes, invading countries, and killing people in retaliation for Russia’s military operation in Syria.
Islamic State first attempted to claim responsibility for bringing down the Airbus 321 shortly after the plane crashed en route from Egypt’s Sharm-el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on October 31.
However, the claim was quickly rejected by both Russian and Egyptian officials as “unlikely.”
‘Bogus bomb detectors’ used in Sharm el-Sheikh hotels before Sinai plane crash
Bomb detectors used in Sharm el-Sheikh hotels as part of security procedures introduced to tackle terrorism have been exposed as “fake” by experts, it has emerged.
Hundreds of Britons are still stranded in the Egyptian resort after a plane carrying 224 people crashed in Sinai last week.
Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond announced on Monday it is “highly likely” a bomb planted by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) supporters caused the disaster.
A number of hotels in the resort have been using a wand-like aerial attached to a box to screen luggage.
Guards have been using the devices to sweep hotel guests, cars and luggage to ensure no explosive devices are kept in rooms or taken on to planes.
Experts, however, have revealed the supposed bomb detectors offer “no protection” whatsoever against terrorism.
This revelation means a bomb could have easily been smuggled into a hotel and planted in a passenger’s luggage before the Russian jet crashed last week.
According to the Mail Online, the devices were being used to protect at least five top hotels in Egypt catering for Britons.
Vladimir
Putin said the US is trying to “neutralize Russia’s nuclear potential”
with its on-going deployment of a missile defense shield in Europe. The
Russian president has promised a response.
“References
to Iran and North Korea nuclear threats are just a cover for the true
purpose [of NATO missile defense]. That is to neutralize the potential
of other nuclear states not the US or its allies – primarily Russia,” Putin said during a meeting in Sochi dedicated to national military development. “The US is attempting to achieve strategic military superiority, with all the consequences that entails.”
Vladimir
Putin has reminded that Iran reached a landmark nuclear deal with world
powers in July. The agreement would remove sanctions that have crippled
its economy, in exchange for severe restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear
program.
Russia has been repeatedly told Iran is the main threat.
“Now,
the Iranian problem is off the table – treaties have been signed and
ratified. Yet, the work on missile defense continues, as before,” Putin said.
The Russian leader promised Russia would take the “necessary measures to respond by strengthening its own missile defense.”
“And at the first stage we are also going to develop strike weapons that can penetrate any missile defense shield.”
Vladimir
Putin orders halt to all flights to Egyptian airports as evidence
mounts that flight 9268 was brought down rather than suffering
mechanical failure
Russian tourists queue at the airport in Sharm El-Sheikh. Photograph: Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP/Getty
Friday 6 November 2015 15.42 EST Last modified on Friday 6 November 2015 20.10 EST
The
sound of an apparent explosion can be heard on the flight recorder of
the Russian-operated plane that came down over the Sinai peninsula,
killing all 224 people on board, adding to mounting evidence that a bomb
was smuggled aboard, French media sources said on Friday. Giving
further credence to the idea that the plane crash was a terrorist act
rather than because of structural failure, Russia, which for a week has been resistant to speculation about a bomb, suspended flights to all Egyptian airports.
An
Egyptian-led international team of aviation experts, including some
from France, successfully recovered the black box, the flight recorder,
from the crash site. Several French media outlets, including the
television station France 2, reported that the investigators had
listened to it and concluded that a bomb had detonated, which would seem
to rule out structural failure or pilot error. The pilots can be heard
chatting normally, including contact with airport controllers, up until
the apparent explosion.
The reports about the black box contents came as British attempts to bring passengers home from Sharm el-Sheikh descended into chaos on Friday.
While
Russia had earlier suggested that the UK was acting prematurely in
halting flights to the Red Sea resort over terrorism fears, Vladimir Putin
ordered even wider restrictions on Friday, including halting all
flights from Cairo. The head of his federal security services said it
would be “expedient” to suspend flights until they had discovered why
the Airbus 321 had crashed last Saturday.
Meanwhile, the US
announced new security measures – including tighter screening – for
flights from some airports in the Middle East. Jeh Johnson, the homeland
security secretary, said that the move was motivated by “an abundance
of caution”. Russia initially dismissed claims by Islamic State
(Isis) of responsibility for downing the Metrojet flight, which came
weeks after threats of retaliation for Russian planes bombing Syria, and
Moscow reacted angrily after David Cameron said it was “more likely
than not” a bomb.
Clues
about the fate of Airbus A321 have mounted quickly over the last few
days, pointing to the conclusion that the Russian plane was brought down
by a bomb.
The balance tipped towards terrorist action when Russia,
which had urged the UK against jumping to premature judgments, finally
bowed and suspended all Russian flights to and from Egypt.
The
move was in response to a series of developments since Tuesday, when it
was revealed that US satellite imagery had picked up a heat flash before
the plane went down.
British government sources reported
“chatter” picked up by surveillance agencies, hinting that a bomb may
have been involved. There was alarm over the extent of lax security at
Sharm el-Sheikh airport and on Friday, French media reported that
sources close to the investigation were saying evidence on the black
boxes pointed towards an attack.
The “chatter” was picked up by
one of the most important of the overseas listening stations run by
Britain’s surveillance agency GCHQ at Mount Troodos, in Cyprus. From
that listening post, the British can pick up communications as far away
as Beijing but the interest this time was nearer at hand, information
heard linking the crash to Islamic State and a bomb.
Egyptian security officials frisk a child as part of the increased
security measures at Sharm el-Sheikh airport amid chaotic scenes on
Friday. Photograph: Peter Beaumont for the Guardian
The
UK government’s attempt to evacuate thousands of stranded British
holidaymakers from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh
descended into angry scenes as tourists berated the UK ambassador to
Cairo over further delays, with only eight out of 29 planned flights
cleared to fly.
The first two repatriation flights from Sharm to the UK touched down on Friday afternoon
after a day of conflicting information from airlines, embassy staff and
Egyptian officials over the timetable for flights, during which the
ambassador, John Casson, was heckled by furious tourists.
Sharm
el-Sheikh airport is at the centre of security fearsafter a Russian
airliner crashed last weekend in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.
British officials fear the plane was brought down by a bomb.
In
a crowded terminal of the resort’s airport hundreds of Britons were
hoping to return home after they were ferried to the airport in buses,
only for easyJet to tell them that Egypt was blocking the arrival of extra flights.
“Since
I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me
privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of
commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of
something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so
subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that
they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in
condemnation of it.” – Woodrow Wilson, American academic, politician and the 28th president of the United States (source)
What
are politics today, and how do they relate to what’s happening on the
planet? On the surface, it seems to be nothing more than the ‘political
leaders’ of one country using their media outlets to ‘bash’ the
‘political leaders’ of another country.
A great example right now
is the ongoing situation between the United States and Russia. Here in
Canada, newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently called
Putin, Russia’s President since May of 2012, a bully, and the United
States did the same. HERE is what Putin had to say after Russia was accused of being a bully.
On
the other side of the pond, you have millions of people listening to
Russian and Chinese media outlets saying something completely different.
Apart
from mass propaganda that’s dished out to us regarding political issues
via the mainstream media, where are we to turn to get more information
on this subject when global media outlets are basically supporting the
interests of their own country? On some issues it seems a little
clearer, for example, what is the United States doing with regards to
their infiltration of so many countries across the world? Why have they
established so many military bases? What is going on here?
That
being said, are these matters really in the hands of these politicians,
or are they governed by a hidden hand that’s rocking the cradle mixed
with corporate influence?
Another certified moron bites the dust
JOHN
SIMPSON, BBC: Western countries almost universally now believe that
there’s a new Cold War and that you, frankly, have decided to create
that. We see, almost daily, Russian aircraft taking sometimes quite
dangerous manoeuvres towards western airspace. That must be done on your
orders; you’re the Commander-in-Chief. It must have been your orders
that sent Russian troops into the territory of a sovereign country –
Crimea first, and then whatever it is that’s going on in Eastern
Ukraine. Now you’ve got a big problem with the currency of Russia, and
you’re going to need help and support and understanding from outside
countries, particularly from the West. So can I say to you, can I ask
you now, would you care to take this opportunity to say to people from
the West that you have no desire to carry on with the new Cold War, and
that you will do whatever you can to sort out the problems in Ukraine?
Thank you!
Moscow has struck a
devastating political blow against the West yet again, especially
against its Middle Eastern policy, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
visit to Moscow on October 20 to meet his Russian counterpart –
Vladimir Putin. Spokesman for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov said
talks were held in both narrow and expanded format with the
participation of key figures of Russia’s government. “The talks were
held for a long while, and their subject is quite clear,” – said Peskov.
Assad relayed to Putin about the situation in Syria and upcoming
operations Syrian government troops. The two leaders have also discussed
topics related to the participation of Russian Air Force warplanes in
those operation. “The most pressing topics were the fight against
terrorist groups and the extension of Russian operations to support the
offensive of the Syrian armed forces, “- said Peskov. Peskov did not
specify whether the political future of Bashar al-Assad himself was
discussed or not. Moreover, Russia is willing to assist Syria in the
search for a political solution to the crisis in the country. “On the
basis of positive dynamics in combat, in the end, a long-term settlement
will be achieved with the participation of all political forces, as
well as ethnic and religious groups. The Syrian people certainly must
have the final say. – Vladimir Putin said after the meeting was over.
It
is clear that such an unexpected visit does not pursue the goal of
detailed discussion of specific aspects of bilateral cooperation. Those
are usually carried out by experts and heads of government bodies, in
this case they were held by Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey
Lavrov and the Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. The main goal of the
Russian-Syrian talks was a demonstration of the determination that both
Moscow and Damascus both have to put an end to ISIL or any other illegal
armed group, created at the expense of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates and Qatar with an extensive amount of support from the US,
Turkey and Jordan.
For the last three weeks, while Russian
warplanes have been obliterating extremist groups in Syria, Russia has
been repeatedly offering the White House broad cooperation at the
highest level in the fight against ISIL, starting from the coordination
of air strikes and ending with intelligence data sharing. Washington and
Barack Obama personally have continuously turned down these calls.
Moreover, last week the US president, after consulting the Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland,
refused to receive a high-level Russian delegation led by Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev that sought to discuss a wide range of topics
related to the situation in Syria. At the same time Moscow has openly
stated that it’s critical at this stage to preserve the government of
Bashar Al-Assad, while the Syrian Arab Republic is caught in a middle of
a brutal war with hordes of foreign mercenaries. Once this war is over,
an internal political settlement can be pursued, but only on the
condition that Syrians themselves decide the fate of their country,
leaving foreign and regional forces with no say in this matter.
Obama says the Russian leader is acting out of weakness in Syria. (CBS 60 Minutes' image grab)
Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign in Syria is an act
of weakness and Moscow is spending resources “it doesn’t have” to keep
his Syrian ally in power, says US President Barack Obama.
“The
fact that they [Russians] had to do this is not an indication of
strength, it's an indication that their strategy did not work,” Obama
told CBS’s 60 Minutes, on Sunday.
He added that Putin is
running his “economy into the ground” in a bid to “prop up” Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad who, he said, was on the brink of an “imminent
collapse.”
“You don't think that Mr. Putin would've preferred
having Mr. Assad be able to solve this problem without him having to
send a bunch of pilots and money that they don't have,” he asked.
“Mr.
Putin now is devoting his own troops, his own military, just to barely
hold together by a thread his sole ally,” Obama further noted.
A
video grab from the footage made available on the Russian Defense
Ministry's official website, shows a Russian airstrike in Syria,
September 30, 2015. (AFP Photo) ‘US failed in Syria’
On
his own strategies in Syria, namely the $500 million “train-and-equip”
program aimed to produce the so-called “moderate” militants, Obama
admitted that Washington had failed to create a proxy force in the Arab
country.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin speaks during the 7th annual VTB Capital
"Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia, October 13, 2015.
(AFP photo)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has
censured as mindless the United States policies vis-à-vis Syria and
Washington's refusal to cooperate with Moscow on ending the crisis in
the Arab country.
"I believe some of our partners simply
have mush for brains," Putin said at an investment forum in the Russian
capital, Moscow, on Tuesday, adding that Washington has declined to
share intelligence on Syria.
“How is it possible to work together?” the Russian president said.
He
added that his country has offered US authorities to have talks at a
high military-political level on the resolution of the conflict in
Syria.
“We proposed a meeting at the high military-political level
in Moscow. I said that we can send a major delegation to Washington to
primarily discuss the issues of Syrian settlement, but there is no
response so far. We believe that it would be a serious authoritative
delegation headed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Anatolyevich
Medvedev,” Putin said.
‘Contributing to the fight against terror’
Putin also said Russia is fighting terrorism in Syria, and not striving for leadership there. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks during an investment forum in Moscow, Russia, October 13, 2015. (AFP)
“We
are not in pursuit of any leadership in Syria. There is only one leader
that can be in Syria, it is the Syrian people. We are striving for
contribution to the fight against terrorism, something that is dangerous
for both US and Russia, for European countries, as well as for the rest
of the world, without any kind of exaggeration," the Russian president
stated.
Despite
stating otherwise, the Russian airstrikes so far has targetted
non-Daesh targets, including several bases of anit-regime rebel groups
[file photo of a member of the Aleppo Es Samiyye Front]
Israel
will provide Russia with intelligence information about opposition sites
in Syria to facilitate Moscow’s military operations, Channel 2TV
has reported. The Israeli network said that a senior delegation of
Russian army officials will arrive in Israel on Tuesday to coordinate
the military cooperation.The delegation will be led by First Deputy
Chief of General Staff General Nikolai Bogdanovsky, who will meet his
Israeli counterpart, Major-General Yair Golan as well as senior
officials in Israeli military intelligence, the air force and the
Mossad. Channel 2 noted that the visit follows the meeting
between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Moscow three weeks ago.
Analysis: Russian military role in Syria has implications for Israel, West
Putin: We respect Israel's interests, but are concerned over its attacks on Syria
PM underlined to Russia that Israel will continue to protect interests, says Ya'alon
Israel
will think twice and more before it decides to initiate air force
attacks inside Syria – as it did at least 10 times in the past three
years.
A gun placed on stage in the first act must be fired by
the last one. This axiom is attributed to Russian playwright Anton
Chekov – the same one whose work Minister of Culture Miri Regev proudly
declared she has never read.
Even though it was clear that the
extensive military buildup by the Russia Army in Syria was bound to
eventually lead to military intervention in the civil war, the first
Russian air strikes yesterday were received with a bit of surprise.
Yesterday morning the Russia Duma (parliament) approved the use of
military force – as if President Vladimir Putin really needed their
approval – and yesterday by noon missions were executed near the towns
of Homs, Hama, and Latakiya. According to Western sources, the Russians
targeted positions of rebel groups opposing the regime of President
Bashar Assad, including factions supported by the US. The Russian
Ministry of Defense, on the other hand, said that its air force targeted
ISIS.
Nevertheless, one can assume that Russia is trying to
create a division of labor that is not to the liking of the US and its
Arab and Western coalition partners assembled to fight on two fronts:
the Assad regime and Islamic State.
The Russian logic is that the
US-led coalition will attack ISIS and Russia will attack the rest of the
rebel groups. Regardless of whether such a division will be in place de
facto, one conclusion is emerging: the big winner of the new situation
is Assad and his failed regime.
Russia,
Iran, Iraq and Syria have agreed to establish a joint information
center in Baghdad to coordinate their operations against Islamic State
(IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS) militants, according to sources.
“The
main goal of the center will be gathering, processing and analyzing
current information about the situation in the Middle East – primarily
for fighting IS,” a military-diplomatic source told Russian news agencies on Saturday.
The
information center in the Iraqi capital will be headed by an officer of
one of the founding countries on a rotating basis. Rotation will take
place every three months. According to the source, Iraq will run the
center for the next three months.
Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria may
also use the information center to coordinate anti-IS combat plans, the
source said, adding that the agreement is a milestone for uniting the
region’s countries in the war on terrorism – primarily on Islamic State
militants.
The Iraqi army’s joint operations command confirmed the agreement on Saturday, saying that it came with “increased
Russian concern about the presence of thousands of terrorists from
Russia undertaking criminal acts with Daesh [Islamic State],” Reuters reported.
On Friday, the US TV-Channel Fox News reported the four countries were establishing a “coordination cell” in Baghdad, but Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin, denied this. “We have already said there are many reports which are not true,” he told news agencies.
Recent
media reports indicate Russia is boosting its cooperation with Syria
and other Middle East countries in the fight against terrorism.
Russia
and China have just signed what is being called "the gas deal of the
century", and the two countries are discussing moving away from the U.S.
dollar and using their own currencies to trade with one another. This
has huge implications for the future of the U.S. economy, but the
mainstream media in the United States is being strangely quiet about all
of this. For example, I searched CNN's website to see if I could find
something about this gas deal between Russia and China and I did not
find anything. But I did find links to "top stories" entitled "Celebs
who went faux red" and "Adorable kid tugs on Obama's ear". Is it any wonder why the mainstream media is dying?
If a particular story does not fit their agenda, they will simply
ignore it. But the truth is that this new agreement between Russia and
China is huge. It could end up fundamentally changing the global
financial system, and not in a way that would be beneficial for the
United States.
Russia and China had been negotiating this natural
gas deal for ten years, and now it is finally done. Russia is the
largest exporter of natural gas on the entire planet, and China is
poised to become the world's largest economy in just a few years. This
new $400 billion agreement means that these two superpowers could
potentially enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship for the next 30 years...
Russia reached a $400 billion deal to supply natural gas to China through a new pipeline over 30 years, a milestone in relations between the world’s largest energy producer and the biggest consumer.
President
Vladimir Putin is turning to China to bolster Russia’s economy as
relations sour with the U.S. and European Union because of the crisis in
Ukraine. Today’s accord, signed after more than a decade of talks, will
allow state-run gas producer OAO Gazprom (GAZP) to invest $55 billion
developing giant gas fields in eastern Siberia and building the
pipeline, Putin said.
It’s an “epochal event,” Putin said in
Shanghai after the contract was signed. Both countries are satisfied
with the price, he said.
Of course countries sell oil
and natural gas to each other all the time. But what makes this deal
such a potential problem for the U.S. is the fact that Russia and China
are working on cutting the U.S. dollar out of the entire equation. Just
check out the following excerpt from a recent article in a Russian news source...
Russia and China are planning to increase the volume of direct payments in mutual trade in their national currencies,
according to a joint statement on a new stage of comprehensive
partnership and strategic cooperation signed during high-level talks in
Shanghai on Tuesday.
“The sides intend to take new steps to
increase the level and expansion of spheres of Russian-Chinese practical
cooperation, in particular to establish close cooperation in the
financial sphere, including an increase in direct payments in the Russian and Chinese national currencies in trade, investments and loan services,” the statement said.
In my recent article entitled "De-Dollarization: Russia Is On The Verge Of Dealing A Massive Blow To The Petrodollar",
I warned about what could happen if the petrodollar monopoly ends. In
the United States, our current standard of living is extremely dependent
on the rest of the world continuing to use our currency to trade with
one another. If Russia starts selling natural gas to China without the
U.S. dollar being involved, that would be a monumental blow to the
petrodollar. And if other nations started following the lead of Russia
and China, that could result in an avalanche from which the petrodollar
may never recover.
And it isn't just the national governments of
Russia and China that are discussing moving away from the U.S. dollar.
For example, the second largest bank in Russia just signed a deal with
the Bank of China "to pay each other in domestic currencies"...
Angela Merkel aide 'attended Vladimir Putin party'
Angela
Merkel "furious" after reports that her foreign policy expert attended
Gerhard Schroeder's birthday party with Vladimir Putin
Gerhard
Schroeder, the former German chancellor, celebrated his 70th birthday
with President Vladimir Putin at St Petersburg's Jussapov Palace on
Monday nightPhoto: GETTY IMAGES
By Tony Paterson in Berlin
5:44PM BST 01 May 2014
Chancellor
Angela Merkel is said to be furious following reports that her own
party's foreign policy expert attended a much criticised party in St
Petersburg with Vladimir Putin.
German
media reports said Philipp Missfelder, the chief foreign policy expert
for Mrs Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Party was also a
guest at the controversial party held by a subsidiary of the Russian
energy giant, Gazprom.
Mr Schroeder,
who is on the board of Gazprom and a personal friend of Mr Putin was
criticised in Germany on Tuesday for openly rubbing shoulders with the
Russian president while German diplomatic observers were being held
hostage by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
Mrs
Merkel was on Thursday reported to have asked Mr Putin for help in
getting the hostages freed during a telephone conversation between the
two leaders.
Despite
stating otherwise, the Russian airstrikes so far has targetted
non-Daesh targets, including several bases of anit-regime rebel groups
[file photo of a member of the Aleppo Es Samiyye Front]
By Michael Snyder, on May 21st, 2014
