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US submits to Moscow: Kerry and Nuland have 'comprehensive' meeting with Putin and Lavrov


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:27 UTC
kerry putin talks
© kremlin.ru
Russia and the US have agreed on a number of 'critical' issues, particularly with regard to Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following talks in Moscow.

"The US stands ready to work with Moscow," Kerry told journalists after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. He added that the two countries' officials had had "a productive day" and the discussions had been "constructive."


Calling the effort "good diplomacy," the top US diplomat said that the whole global community benefits from such cooperation.

Moscow and Washington confirmed their previous agreements to work together to fight "the evil" of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria, Lavrov told journalists, adding that some "practical steps" to advance this effort had been agreed upon at the meeting.

"We see Syria fundamentally very similarly," Kerry said, adding that the two nations have been "honest with differences," but in general agree that the crisis in the Middle Eastern country "requires political process."


Comment: Does Kerry know that he's lying here, or does he actually believe that the US sees the situation in Syria the same as Russia? The US created, armed and funded ISIS and put the terrorist group in Syria in order to destabilize and ultimately overthrow the Assad government. Russia, on the other hand, has fought to keep the Assad government in power and has made huge gains in destroying the Islamic State. The US and Russia's positions could not be more fundamentally dissimilar. So Kerry is either delusional or lying through his teeth.

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Radar

Syrian opposition providing Russian Air Force with coordinates to target terrorists


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:56 UTC
Russia's Su-34 fighters
© Russian Defense Ministry / Sputnik
The Russian military in Syria is in "constant contact" with the Syrian opposition forces that are fighting Islamic State, Russia's Ministry of Defense says. The opposition is providing the Russian Air Force with coordinates to strike at terrorists.

"Contact has been established and is constantly maintained. Opposition groups are providing the command of the Russian Air Force coordinates to strike terrorist targets," Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy told journalists on Tuesday.

Comment: So again we are seeing more tangible results from the real coalition fighting Islamic State versus the US' lame attempt: Calling out US hot air: Russian Foreign Ministry says US 'surgical strikes' on IS shouldn't result in 'plastic surgery'

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MIB

US and Turkey failed to inform UN about illegal oil smuggling says Russia


PressTV
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:32 UTC
Russia Ambassador
© AFP
Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vitaly Churkin
Russia says both the US and Turkey failed to inform the UN Security Council (UNSC) about the illegal smuggling of oil from the territories held by Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq although they were obliged to do so under international law.

Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vitaly Churkin made the remark in an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, which was published on Monday.
"Under Resolution 2199, which was adopted in February at our initiative, countries must provide information [about financing for terrorists] to the Security Council if they have such information," Churkin said.

"That means the Americans had to provide such information, and of course Turkey, which should have reported any illegal [oil] trade going on there. They didn't do it," he added.

"Together with the Americans, we're drafting a new resolution tightening regulations on that kind of reporting. Possibly we could oblige the [UN] secretary general to deliver regular reports on the issue, or it would be some sort of counter-terrorist agencies. We hope to adopt this resolution on December 17," the Russian envoy said.
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Map

Redraw Middle East borders along ethnic lines? Why it would be sheer folly

Giovanni Pagani
Open Democracy
Wed, 09 Dec 2015 00:00 UTC
Territorial integrity and preservation of existing borders have always seemed essential preconditions for any international resolution over Syria. Diplomatic efforts were made to foster a dialogue among the parties; a feeble military coalition was formed to "degrade and destroy" Daesh; and military advisors sent on the ground to simultaneously assist "moderate rebels", the Kurdish Peshmerga and a crumbling Iraqi Army. However fanciful such a strategy may appear, it is safe to say that these operations were all supposed to work in the same framework: maintain existing borders, facilitate a political transition in Syria and fully restore Damascus and Baghdad's territorial sovereignty.

The last weeks suggest a trend reversal. Diplomats, analysts and generals from various political environments have started toying with the idea that remapping the region along ethnic lines might be the key for a resolution to the conflict. In other words, the possibility of partitioning Syria and Iraq into minor ethnic states has become a more tangible option. The proposal never came out coherently, but started appearing on media commentaries; and as some observers noticed, it was circulating in the corridors of the last Vienna Talks. The reality is that a reshuffling of borders in 'Syraq' would probably meet positive consideration in more than one capital city, from Jerusalem to Tehran.

Comment: There is no simple, logical, implementable solution to the mess in the Middle East. With every twist of the road a new faction, destabilizer, corruptor emerges to compound the problems and up the ante for resolution and relief. One helluva plan, you guys! Now you want to redraw the map? What for? Respecting borders, it seems, has never been your strong suit, nor likely any time in the future, just saying...

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Arrow Up

Putin gives Russian Constitution precedence over international court rulings


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 10:10 UTC
putin
President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the bill allowing the Constitutional Court to overrule the decisions of international courts if such decisions contradict the principle of supremacy of the Russian Constitution.

The new act published on the government website on Tuesday reads that the Constitutional Court will look into every decision of any intergovernmental body based on an international treaty and find if it matches the Russian Constitution and the rights and freedoms guaranteed by it. Upon such consideration the Constitutional Court can allow the decision to be executed in Russia, in full or in part, or ban its execution - also in full or in part. The ban would automatically cancel any national acts allowing the execution of the unconstitutional ruling.

The law has been developed and drafted in order to fulfill the mid-July ruling of the Russian Constitutional Court reading that the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) must be individually approved and only carried out if they do not contradict basic Russian law.

In late 2013, the Russian Constitutional Court ruled that it had the right, but not an obligation to decide on the execution of contradictory ECHR decisions in Russia. The July decision expanded the supremacy of the Constitutional Court over foreign judiciaries and international treaties, and established the priority of the Constitution in general.
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Eye 1

ISIS flags, symbols, severed head photos found among belongings of asylum seekers in Norway


RT
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 12:48 UTC
ISIS
© Fyodor Porokhin/Reuters
Norwegian police say they have found images of severed heads and executions on mobile phones belonging to refugees entering the country. Flags and symbols belonging to Islamic State were also found as they inspected the luggage of the migrants.

The Norwegian Police Immigration Service (PU) has been dealing with an explosion in the number of refugees and migrants wishing to cross its borders in recent months. While searching asylum seekers, they also came across photos of dead children and other victims of war and terrorism, Nettavisen reports.

"There are several reasons why there may be such images. One is that they could have been a witness and want to show people what they have seen. Alternatively, they could have been carrying symbols associated with terror groups which they were passing through. Although it may look alarming, there may be other explanations rather than support for terrorist organizations," said Erik Haugland, the head of Norway's asylum program.


Comment: They also could have been planted among the refugees to create fear.


Norway has been toughening its asylum rules since November to try to stem the tide of refugees. The new regulations, which will come into force for two years, will make it easier for the authorities to deny asylum claims if the applicant had previously been in a third country, which is deemed safe.

"The debate over refugees has shifted significantly during the autumn, from a discussion marked by sympathy and compassion to one concerned with the problems that refugees and immigrants bring," political scientist Johannes Bergh, of the Institute for Social Research, told the Dagbladet newspaper.

Comment: ISIS as Instruments of Proxy War on Western Populations

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Arrow Up

Pepe Escobar: Russia and its lethal arsenal is ready for war

Pepe Escobar
Sputnik News
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:19 UTC
S-400 air defence missile
© Sputnik/Dmitriy Vinogradov
Russia deploys S-400 air defence missile system in Syria.
Nobody needs to read Zbigniew "Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski's 1997 opus to know US foreign policy revolves around one single overarching theme: prevent - by all means necessary - the emergence of a power, or powers, capable of constraining Washington's unilateral swagger, not only in Eurasia but across the world.

The Pentagon carries the same message embedded in newspeak: the Full Spectrum Dominance doctrine.

Syria is leading all these assumptions to collapse like a house of cards. So no wonder in a Beltway under no visible chain of command - the Obama administration barely qualifies as lame duck - angst is the norm.

The Pentagon is now engaged in a Vietnam-style escalation of boots on the ground across "Syraq". 50 commandos are already in northern Syria "advising" the YPG Syrian Kurds as well as a few "moderate" Sunnis. Translation: telling them what Washington wants them to do. The official White House spin is that these commandos "support local forces" (Obama's words) in cutting off supply lines leading to the fake "Caliphate" capital, Raqqa.

Another 200 Special Forces sent to Iraq will soon follow, allegedly to "engage in direct combat" against the leadership of ISIS/ISIL/Daesh, which is now ensconced in Mosul.
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Bad Guys

Everyone needs a way out of Turkey

Henry Kamens
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:14 UTC
Turkish military guard
© AP Photo/ Burhan Ozbilici
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the well-known fan of air defense systems, is facing impeachment for an endless list of crimes. We have only got to this point because he is probably guilty of most of them.

The Speaker of Parliament, accountable to parliament and not government, has the authority to unveil official documents concerning his actions which have been hidden until now. If that happens, it is very likely that Erdogan's rule will come to an abrupt end, simply because the list of charges is so long that even if only 10% can be proven that will be enough to sink him.

Many unofficial sources are claiming that Erdogan is going mad at hearing that the nation is no longer following him. Even former supporters who stood by him when he was accused of corruption are now leaving him. Erdogan is blaming all this on his former American aide, the Islamist Sai Baba Fethullah Gulen, the leader of a worldwide movement which is halfway between a faith organization and bunch of jack-of-all-trade agents active from China to the US. But it is not Gulen but Erdogan himself who is the object of criticism, and it would come as no surprise if documents released by his own comrades brought about his downfall.
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Nuke

This is it: IAEA meets to vote on P5+1 Iran resolution


Press TV
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:27 UTC
Amano
© Reuters
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano, Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria
The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors has convened in the Austrian capital of Vienna to vote on a draft resolution forwarded to it by the P5+1 group of countries on Iran's nuclear program. The Tuesday meeting is to be followed by a press conference in which the nuclear agency's Director General Yukiya Amano will announce the session's outcome.

Iran and the P5+1 - the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany - concluded a nuclear agreement dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on July 14. Under the JCPOA, limits are put on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

The agreement has obliged putting an end to the past and present outstanding issues pertaining to Iran's nuclear program. As per Article 14 of the JCPOA, the P5+1 has submitted the draft resolution to the Board of Governors for approval, which would seal the case. During its Tuesday session, the Board of Governors discusses Amano's final assessment about the outstanding issues before making a final decision on the case.

Prior to the session, the Iranian Ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi read out a statement on the part of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which is currently being chaired by Iran. "NAM reiterates its principled position that diplomacy and dialogue are the only way for a long term solution of Iran's nuclear issue," he said. "NAM encourages all Member States to contribute positively to that effect."

Comment: This should be a done deal, without last minute wrinkles... (Any such agreement at this stage of the game is probably a minor miracle, given the players!)

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Post-It Note

Calling out US hot air: Russian Foreign Ministry says US 'surgical strikes' on IS shouldn't result in 'plastic surgery'


ITAR-TASS
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:01 UTC
US AWAC plane
© AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic
The US "surgical strikes" against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) should not boil down to "plastic surgery", which only masks the problem without solving it, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.

"Obama said it was necessary to carry out 'surgical strikes' against IS," she noted. "The main thing is that they, as seen by Washington, should not result in the plastic surgery that, instead of solving the problem, only changes its appearance."

Speaking at the Pentagon on Sunday, US President Barack Obama said that the United States was "squeezing the heart" of Islamic State by "targeting ISIL surgically with precision."
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