Berlin has made a mistake by placing its obligations to NATO above the interests of the German people, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now business people, the country's economy and its citizens are paying for this choice, he told journalists on Friday.

"Apparently, some kind of allied obligations have been placed to the forefront" by Germany "within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance," Putin said at a press conference after the Central Asia-Russia summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

"Is it right or wrong? I believe that it's a mistake, and business, the economy, and the citizens of the Federal Republic [of Germany] are paying for this mistake, because it has negative economic consequences for the eurozone in general and for the Federal Republic in particular," Putin pointed out.

For energy-starved EU, Algeria is no longer a metaphoric dependable girl next door. She's suddenly blossomed into a hottie who gets chased after by all her divorced former classmates at the high school reunion.

Just a year ago French President Emmanuel Macron could hardly bother to give the former North African French colony the time of day. It was mostly taken for granted that Algiers would keep pumping gas for the European Union as the bloc's third largest natural gas supplier after Russia and Norway. Macron even accused the country's "political-military system" of inciting "hatred towards France." He went as far as to ask, "Was there an Algerian nation before French colonization? That's the question." Sounds a lot like the rhetoric someone hears when they're in an exploitative relationship, "You were nothing before I came along and started taking advantage of you." But now that the EU is undergoing an acrimonious divorce from former natural gas main squeeze, Russia, its tune sure has changed.

French President Emmanuel Macron's accusations that Russia is playing a negative role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict twist reality and were unacceptable, President Vladimir Putin has said.

"I believe that those statements show a lack of understanding of the nature of the conflict. There appears to be a lack of knowledge about the positions of the parties," the Russian leader said on Wednesday during an international event in Astana. "Consequently, they sounded wrong and even twisted in a way and were unacceptable."

Russia welcomes all efforts to mediate the conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Nagorno-Karabakh and will continue to play its part, Putin added. He invited the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet in Moscow to discuss the differences between their nations.

This week, Macron claimed that Russia "played Azerbaijan's game with Turkish complicity and came back to weaken Armenia, which was once a country it was close to."

Everything that matters in the complex process of Eurasia integration was once again at play in Astana, as the - renamed - Kazakh capital hosted the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

The roll call was a Eurasian thing of beauty - featuring the leaders of Russia and Belarus (EAEU), West Asia (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Palestine) and Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan).

China and Vietnam (East and Southeast Asia) attended at the level of vice presidents.

CICA is a multinational forum focused on cooperation toward peace, security, and stability across Asia.,Kazakh President Tokayev revealed that CICA has just adopted a declaration to turn the forum into an international organization.

CICA has already established a partnership with the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). So in practice, it will soon be working together side-by-side with the SCO, the EAEU and certainly BRICS+.

The Russia-Iran strategic partnership was prominently featured at CICA, especially after Iran being welcomed to the SCO as a full member.

President Raeisi, addressing the forum, stressed the crucial notion of an emerging "new Asia", where "convergence and security" are "not compatible with the interests of hegemonic countries and any attempt to destabilize independent nations has goals and consequences beyond national geographies, and in fact, aims to target the stability and prosperity of regional countries."

For Tehran, being a partner in the integration of CICA, within a maze of pan-Asia institutions, is essential after all these decades of"maximum pressure" unleashed by the Hegemon.

Moreover, it opens an opportunity, as Raeisi noted, for Iran to profit from "Asia's economic infrastructure."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, predictably, was the star of the show in Astana. It's essential to note that Putin is supported by "all"nations represented at CICA.

High-level bilaterals with Putin included the Emir of Qatar: everyone that matters in West Asia wants to talk to "isolated" Russia.

Putin called for "compensation for the damage caused to the Afghans during the years of occupation" (we all know the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder will refuse it), and emphasized the key role of the SCO to develop Afghanistan.

He stated that Asia, "where new centers of power are growing stronger, plays a big role in the transition to a multipolar world order".

He warned, "there is a real threat of famine and large-scale shocks against the backdrop of volatility in energy and food prices in the world."

He further called for the end of a financial system that benefits the "Golden billion" - who "live at the expense of others" (there's nothing "golden" about this "billion": at best such definition of wealth applies to 10 million.)

And he stressed that Russia is doing everything to "form a system of equal and indivisible security". Exactly what drives the hegemonic imperial elites completely berserk.

President Joe Biden will celebrate his 80th birthday party on Nov. 20 at the White House in a celebration that is being described as subdued, White House sources told Politico Tuesday.

Biden will become the first president to hold office as an octogenarian, a day that White House aides are reportedly trying to downplay, according to Politico. He was the oldest president ever elected, being 77 on Election Day in 2020 and 78 on inauguration day in 2021, topping his predecessor Donald Trump who was inaugurated at 70.

Biden's birthday will come 12 days after the midterm elections, where Democrats are expected to lose control of the House, posing major obstacles to Biden's efforts to enact his agenda ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has been generous in providing free Starlink satellite internet terminals for Ukraine's military to boost communication channels as the war enters its eighth month.

Musk recently tweeted the Ukrainian "operation has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year."

As it pertains to the American public, Ukraine's response to the Russian invasion can be summed up with two words: "Zelensky demands."

To date, Washington elites and their politicians have been happy to provide — at public expense — lining their own pockets in the process.

As of this writing, U.S. aid for Ukraine has reached approximately $67.5 billion, a figure greater than Russia's entire 2021 military budget. According to the State Department, this support includes $15.2 billion in direct military assistance. The support comes although 60-70% of lethal aid never reaches the front lines, according to a now-redacted CBS interview with on-the-ground activists.

US President Joe Biden is "re-evaluating" the country's close relationship with Saudi Arabia following a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production, national security spokesman John Kirby revealed on Tuesday in an interview with CNN.

"I think the president's been very clear that this is a relationship that we need to continue to re-evaluate, that we need to be willing to revisit. The president is willing to work with Congress to determine what that relationship ought to look like going forward."

The official stressed that time was of the essence, insisting the re-evaluation was not "anything that's going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly, for much longer." Not only are US interests in Ukraine at stake, but its national security interests as a whole are imperiled, he said.

Biden's apparent desire to reconsider Washington's partnership with Riyadh is a major shift from just four months ago, when he wanted to reset the relationship to a more friendly tone and discard the harsh rhetoric he'd leveled against the Saudis while on the campaign trail.

Moscow has slammed the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) decision to adopt a resolution on the non-recognition of the referendums held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, on joining the Russian Federation.

Speaking to Russia's Channel One on Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western nations of using diplomatic terror and of "twisting the arms of developing countries and threatening them will all sorts of punishments," in order to get them to vote to adopt the resolution.

"Only through such undisguised blackmail and threats did they manage to ensure the result. We all understand perfectly. And the statements of the Americans that they are not persuading anyone, and that everyone is voting by themselves, is a lie. And they also know it."

The minister's statement comes after the assembly held an emergency special session on October 12 to vote to recognize the referendums as null and void. 143 out of 193 UN members voted in favor of the resolution. Five states, including Russia, voted against and 45 abstained or did not vote.

Ukraine is a de facto member of the NATO alliance, despite not having officially joined the US-led military bloc, Kiev's Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov has claimed.

He made the statement in a tweet following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the bloc's headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

"We have come a long way and have de facto joined the alliance," the minister wrote, while also thanking Stoltenberg for his support for Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia.

"Ukraine is already making significant contributions to the security of the free world," the minister added.

Reznikov also expressed confidence that victory over Moscow and "successful reforms" domestically would "open up new horizons" for his country, seemingly a reference to Ukraine officially joining the bloc at some point in the future.