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Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed the establishment of an airbase in neighboring Belarus, the latest move by Moscow to project its military power abroad.

Polish border service is running an active surveillance operation against these drones as we speak

(Aug 2, 2012) POLISH officials have unveiled a statue of former President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, honouring two men widely credited in this Eastern European country with helping to topple communism 23 years ago. The statue was unveiled in Gdansk, the birthplace of Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement, in the presence of about 120 former Solidarity activists, many of whom were imprisoned in the 1980s for their roles in organising or taking part in strikes against the communist regime. The bronze statue, erected in the lush seaside President Ronald Reagan Park, is a slightly larger-than-life rendering of the...

Soviet Communism, the dark tyranny that controlled nearly 40 nations and was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 100 million victims during the 20th century, suddenly collapsed 20 years ago without a shot being fired. In just two years--from 1989 to 1991--the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union disintegrated, and Marxism- Leninism was dumped unceremoniously on the ash heap of history. There was dancing in the street and champagne toasts on top of the Brandenburg Gate. For 40 years, the United States and the West had been following a policy of containment, détente, accommodation. Ronald Reagan decided it was...

Belarus's recent leaning towards pro-Western nations in the Middle East follows fast on the heels of rapprochement with the West. On 6-7 May, Joint Belarus-Saudi Committee on Cooperation will meet in Riyadh. On 15 April, Belarus opened an embassy in Qatar. Establishing closer links with the very centres of conservative Arab bloc allied with the West is a milestone in Belarusian foreign policy. In the past, Minsk enjoyed amicable relations primarily with the so-called radical republican regimes in the Middle East. Saddam's Iraq, Qadhafi's Libya, Assad's Syria, as well as Ahmadinejad's Iran figured among Belarus's main partners. The shift towards...

Feb 28, 2002 -- (BBC Monitoring) Text of report by Russian news agency Ekho Moskvy. [No dateline as received] Russia is using Belarus as a "channel" for selling arms to such countries as Iraq, Iran and Libya, the former chairman of the Belarusian parliament, the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, Stanistaw Shushkevich, has said in an interview for Ekho Moskvy radio. He added: "Russia is a major country and cannot break UN sanctions, but it is of course very convenient for it to have such an obliging leader by its side." "I am practically sure that it is ...

Russia has deployed hundreds of troops for drills in Central Asia with its ex-Soviet allies in a show of force as anxiety grows over a surge in fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan. Around 2,500 personnel from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) are taking part in joint exercises due to run to Wednesday in Tajikistan. The move is seen as re-enforcing Moscow's role as the main guarantor of the fragile region's security after US troops leave Afghanistan. The Russian deployment of about 500 troops for the drills started last week, bolstered by soldiers from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus....

A huge military parade has been held in the Russian capital, Moscow, to commemorate 70 years since victory over Nazi Germany by Allied forces. Some 16,000 troops took part in the Victory Day parade in Red Square with President Vladimir Putin, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top officials, both Russian and foreign, in attendance. Addressing the gathering, Putin thanked the Allies for their contributions to the victory, singling out France, Britain, and the United States. Putin said "our grandfathers lived through horrible suffering." He criticized the "folly" of creating a "unipolar" world, an apparent swipe at the United...

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says he will travel to Moscow to participate in events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 7 and 8, but he will not attend a Victory Day military parade in the Russian capital on May 9. In an interview with Russia's ITAR-TASS, Lukashenka said he will preside over a Victory Day parade in Minsk on May 9 instead.

MOSCOW: Russia and five former Soviet republics on Monday launched a new military-political bloc in the East, similar to NATO of the US-led western nations. At a summit near Dushanbe, leaders of Russia, Armenia, Belorus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan formalised their collective security pact into Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) with a charter containing an article similar to the article 5 of NATO when an act of aggression on one member-nation would be considered as an aggression on all the member-nations, state-run 'Rossia" channel reported. "At Monday's session we finally agreed on military and military-political mechanisms, decided to set up...

ASTANA, March 16. /TASS/. The presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus will meet in Astana on March 20, a spokesman for the Kazakh leader said on Monday. The spokesman said Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko had already confirmed they would attend the meeting. "The heads of state will discuss bilateral trade and economic cooperation," the spokesman said adding that they would also focus on global economic issues and the Ukrainian crisis.

MOSCOW, 3 March (BelTA) – President of Russia Vladimir Putin has conferred an Order of Alexander Nevsky upon Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, BelTA has learned.

MINSK, 20 February (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko would like to expand cooperation with Latvia and other European Union member states without any prejudices. The Belarusian head of state made this statement as he met with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics on 20 February, BelTA has learned. “There are issues that we have to keep in mind all the time, discuss them and, if possible, find acceptable solutions. I have never had and hopefully will never have any prejudices against Latvia. We have always managed to find common ground with our partners, in particular, in trade and economy. I...

Alexander Lukashenko wants the Chief of General Staff to report on the plans of special operations, the readiness of the Armed Forces to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country in order to prevent anyone from attempts to impose military pressure on Belarus.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says his country is ready for a "constructive dialogue" with NATO. Speaking to top Belarusian military officials in Minsk on February 19, Lukashenka said: "As a sovereign state we are open, in particular, to constructive dialogue with NATO on parity and transparency principles." He added that "we have a lot of common issues [with NATO]; joint work on which fully meets Belarus’s interests." Lukashenka -- who has ruled for 21 years and been called the last dictator of Europe -- said the fighting in Ukraine has shown that Belarus must have an army capable of protecting...

Russian tanks descending on Warsaw and Berlin? Missiles lobbed at Washington and London? Such are the scenarios aired by a Russian national television program in response to suggestions that world leaders mark the defeat of Nazi Germany somewhere other than in Moscow. In a recent segment broadcast by the St. Petersburg-based Channel 5 station, presenter Nika Strizhak and a reporter suggest sending Russian tanks, fighter jets, and nuclear missiles to Western capitals should world leaders snub Russia's celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory Day in May. "It's a very intriguing idea to move our Victory Day parade to London...

(Reuters) - A Belarusian delegate at a United Nations disarmament forum warned fellow diplomats about an unusual type of weapon: jars of mayonnaise being thrown by topless women during discussions about war and peace. The delegate issued a statement of concern during the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Disarmament's discussion on Tuesday about improving its transparency. Belarus asked whether there was a plan to open up the meetings to members of the general public. (snip) "What if there were topless ladies screaming from the public gallery throwing bottles of mayonnaise, asked Belarus," the official summary said. The record added that the...

New Stalin monument in Russia-occupied Crimea At a time when each day brings fresh evidence that Russia is headed in a very dangerous direction and many news items that leave one shaking one’s head or feeling the need to say “I’m not making this up,” there are nonetheless some “smaller” stories that must not be ignored because of the long shadows they cast on the future. Three in the last several days fall into this category and are thus mentioned here, not because they provide a comprehensive picture of what is happening but because they point to trends already well-established...

Hopefully, Russians realize that our House of Representatives often passes thunderous resolutions to pander to special interests, which have no bearing on the thinking or actions of the U.S. government. Last week, the House passed such a resolution 411-10. As ex-Rep. Ron Paul writes, House Resolution 758 is so "full of war propaganda that it rivals the rhetoric from the chilliest era of the Cold War." H. R. 758 is a Russophobic rant full of falsehoods and steeped in superpower hypocrisy. Among the 43 particulars in the House indictment is this gem: "The Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Georgia...

Russia's railway authorities have announced the cancellation of all passenger rail services to Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan for 2015. All international passenger rail services to these countries will cease to run on 14 December, with the cancellation of services set to last for at least one year - TASS reports. Officials have said the decision to cancel these rail routes was taken due to their low profitability. Passenger services between Russia and Belarus, Moldova and Uzbekistan will reportedly continue.