Sarkozy urges the West not to start a new Cold War with Russia . Diplomatic and military leaders call for urgent conflict prevention. While US claims concern.

Starting a New Cold War With Russia a Big Mistake – Sarkozy

Sputnik International

© RIA Novosti. Ekaterina Chesnokova

Europe

09:05 10.09.2015(updated 09:09 10.09.2015)

The world needs Russia to end the civil war in Syria and flush out the Islamic State, French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview Wednesday. He also urged the West not to start a new Cold War with Russia.

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Could the West ACCIDENTALLY start a war with Russia? Warning over aggressive military exercises – as U.S. fears build-up of Putin's forces in Syria could spark conflict

• Diplomatic and military leaders call on Russia and the West to 'urgently' begin talks to prevent conflicts being accidentally triggered
• Comes as Russia holds an increasing number of military exercises
• US asked Greece to deny Russia the use of its airspace for flights to Syria
• Washington concerned by reports of Russian military build up in country

By Keiligh Baker for MailOnline

Published: 02:11 EST, 8 September 2015 | Updated: 09:00 EST, 8 September 2015 

The European Leadership Network, a group made up of members from both Russia and Europe, has warned that relations are heading towards Cold War levels of hostility following events in Ukraine

Diplomatic and military leaders are calling on Russia and the West to 'urgently' begin talks to prevent conflicts being accidentally triggered by an increasing number of military exercises and encounters

The European Leadership Network, a group made up of members from both Russia and Europe, has warned that relations are heading towards Cold War levels of hostility following events in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the United States has asked Greece to deny Russia the use of its airspace for supply flights to Syria, a Greek official said on Monday, after Washington told Moscow it was deeply concerned by reports of a Russian military build up in Syria.

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• VOA

US Wary, Not Surprised, by Russia's Syria Efforts

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, left, speaks during a meeting in Moscow, Russia. 

Jeff Seldin, Jonas Bernstein

Last updated on: September 10, 2015 5:57 PM

WASHINGTON—Top U.S. intelligence and security officials say Russia’s ramped up presence in Syria should come as little surprise though they remain concerned about Moscow’s increasingly aggressive posture. “Russia has been very candid. There is some additional people and stuff that is on its way to Syria,” CIA Director John Brennan told a meeting Thursday of intelligence and security professionals in Washington. “They are stating it is a dual purpose,” he said.

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China warns of dangerous Russia sanctions 'spiral'

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Author Baycrest
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By Noah Barkin and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:35am EDT

(Reuters) - China's top envoy to Germany has warned the West against punishing Russia with sanctions for its intervention in Ukraine, saying such measures could lead to a dangerous chain reaction that would be difficult to control.
In an interview with Reuters days before the European Union is threatening to impose its first sanctions on Russia since the Cold War, ambassador Shi Mingde issued the strongest warning against such measures by any top Chinese official to date.
"We don't see any point in sanctions," Shi said. "Sanctions could lead to retaliatory action, and that would trigger a spiral with unforeseeable consequences. We don't want this."
The interview was conducted on Wednesday, the same day that the EU agreed a framework for sanctions that would slap travel bans and asset freezes on people and companies accused by Brussels of violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has taken the lead in trying to mediate in the crisis, has said the measures, which mirror steps announced by the United States, will be imposed on Monday unless Russia accepts the idea of a "contact group" to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
Using her toughest rhetoric since the crisis began, she warned in a speech in parliament on Thursday that Russia risked "massive" political and economic damage if it did not change course in the coming days.
Russia's Deputy Economy Minister Alexei Likhachev responded by promising "symmetrical" sanctions by Moscow.


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A New Cold War? Ukraine Violence Escalates, Leaked Tape Suggests U.S. Was Plotting Coup

democracynow


 

Published on Feb 20, 2014

http://www.democracynow.org - A short-lived truce has broken down in Ukraine as street battles have erupted between anti-government protesters and police. Last night the country's embattled president and the opposition leaders demanding his resignation called for a truce and negotiations to try to resolve Ukraine's political crisis. But hours later, armed protesters attempted to retake Independence Square sparking another day of deadly violence. At least 50 people have died since Tuesday in the bloodiest period of Ukraine's 22-year post-Soviet history. While President Obama has vowed to "continue to engage all sides" a recently leaked audio recording between two top U.S. officials reveal the Obama administration has been secretly plotting with the opposition. We speak to Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University. His most recent book, "Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War," is out in paperback. His latest Nation article is "Distorting Russia: How the American Media Misrepresent Putin, Sochi and Ukraine."

Report: Classified U.S. Intelligence 'Black Budget' Revealed

Aug. 29, 2013

By LEE FERRAN

Lee Ferran More from Lee »

Investigative Reporter

Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, June 9, 2013.

The Guardian/AP Photo

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents providing the most detail yet about how the vast U.S. intelligence community uses its nearly $53 billion so-called "black budget," according to a report by The Washington Post.
Today the Post published several stories and statistics based on the U.S. intelligence agencies' 2013 Congressional Budget Justification, a classified document that breaks down how much money goes to which agency and, to a certain extent, what those agencies do with the funds. The newspaper reported Snowden was the source of the document. Prior to the leak, only the total budget was public knowledge.
Though the newspaper published graphs and pie charts tracking the spending of each of the intelligence community's 16 agencies, it said withheld "some information after consultation with U.S. officials who expressed concerns about the risk to intelligence sources and methods."
READ: U.S. Spy Network's Successes, Failures and Objectives Detailed in 'Black Budget' Summary (WaPo)
According to the Post, the budget document reveals that the CIA receives the most funding of any intelligence agency with a proposed $14.7 billion for 2013 -- $11.5 billion on data collection expenses, $1.8 billion on management, facilities and support, $1.1 billion on data analysis and $387.3 million on data processing and exploitation.
Next up is the National Security Agency, for whom Snowden worked as a contractor, which spends almost as much on management, facilities and support -- $5.2 billion -- as it does on collecting, processing and analyzing data -- $5.6 billion.
Together the documents reportedly reveal NSA and CIA have launched aggressive "offensive cyber operations" to steal information from foreign computer networks or disrupt enemy systems.


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U.S. Intelligence Spending Now Higher Than During the Cold War

—By Kevin Drum

| Thu Aug. 29, 2013 11:07 AM PDT

26

Barton Gellman and Greg Miller have just released yet another document from the Snowden cache: a classified breakdown of U.S. intelligence spending.

The $52.6 billion “black budget” for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses those funds or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress.

Huh. I wonder how long the Post has been holding onto this? In any case, here's the basic breakdown of the $52 billion we're spending this year:

Unsurprisingly, the CIA, NSA, and reconnaissance satellites collectively account for nearly 80 percent of our total civilian-ish intelligence spending. Another $23 billion goes to "intelligence programs that more directly support the U.S. military." That's a total of $75 billion. Adjusted for inflation, Gellman and Miller say this exceeds our peak spending during the Cold War. Here are a few of their main takeaways:


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Relations Strained Over Russia's Decision to Grant Asylum to Edward Snowden

The Wall Street Journal

Obama Cancels Meeting With Putin Amid Tension Over Snowden

Relations Strained Over Russia's Decision to Grant Asylum to NSA Leaker

By
• PETER NICHOLAS

Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Group of Eight Summit in Northern Ireland on June 17.

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama canceled a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin set to be held in Moscow next month, following Russia's decision to grant asylum to former U.S. contractor Edward Snowden, the White House said Wednesday.

President Obama canceled a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month. WSJ's Jerry Seib explains the move follows Russia's decision to grant asylum to former U.S. contractor Edward Snowden. Photo: AP.

Russia-U.S. relations face more strain after Barack Obama canceled his meeting with Vladimir Putin ahead of the G-20 summit next month. Will world leaders be able to achieve anything with the two parties sitting at opposite ends of the room? Dr. Donald Jensen of Johns Hopkins University joins Lunch Break. Photo: AP.

Timeline: Obama and Russia

• Look Back at U.S.-Russia Relations

U.S.-Russian relations have been strained over Moscow's handling of Mr. Snowden, the National Security Agency leaker who was granted asylum in Russia last week. The White House had previously signaled Mr. Obama was unlikely to attend a planned one-on-one meeting with Mr. Putin next month in Moscow ahead of the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg.
"There are times when they slip back into Cold War thinking and Cold War mentality," Mr. Obama said of Russia in an interview on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Tuesday night. "What I continually say to them and to President Putin, that's the past."
Mr. Obama still plans to attend the G-20 summit scheduled for early September, which Russia is hosting.


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