Puppet MastersS


USA

Top Iranian official claims Republicans in the US asked Iran to delay prisoner exchange until US elections


Tasnim News Agency
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:38 UTC
Ali Shamkhani
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said a recent prisoner exchange between Iran and the US went ahead as planned despite calls by Republicans for a delay until US presidential elections.

"In the course of the talks for exchanging prisoners, the Republican rivals of the current US administration who claim to be humanitarians and advocates of human rights sent a message telling us not to release these people (American prisoners) and continue this process (of talks) until the eve of US presidential elections," Shamkhani said Thursday in an address to a rally held in the central city of Yazd to mark the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution's victory.

"However" he said "we acted upon our independent resolve and moved the process forward."

Iran's move to exchange prisoners was based on the country's humanitarian approach and was made in accordance with ensuring the country's interests and securing the release of Iranian citizens in the US, he added.

Comment: For the corrupt US politicians, this kind of maneuver is Standard Operating Procedure: New Reports Say 1980 Reagan Campaign Tried to Delay Hostage Release. In what's now known as the October Surprise, in 1980 presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan delayed the release of prisoners in Iran until after the elections so as not to benefit then-president Jimmy Carter.

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Light Sabers

Lavrov: Russia has made Syria ceasefire proposal, awaits US response


RT
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:12 UTC
lavrov
Russia has made "specific proposals" on a ceasefire in Syria and is waiting for a reaction from the US, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

"We made proposals on implementing a ceasefire, quite specific ones," Lavrov said. "We are waiting for a US response before putting them before the International Syria Support Group."

Lavrov made the statement before meeting his US counterpart John Kerry on the eve of the start of the Munich Security Conference.

Earlier on Thursday, Moscow said that negotiations about a possible ceasefire were still ongoing and no solution has yet been found.

"The process is very fragile, discussions are under way, one can't speak about unanimity in the process of a Syrian settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call. His statement came in response to a question asking if Moscow had proposed March 1 as a possible date for the start of a ceasefire.
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Magnify

Russian Defense Ministry: Terrorists are fleeing Syria disguised as Aleppo civilians


TASS
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:08 UTC
Syria refugees
© EPA/SEDAT SUNA More: http://tass.ru/en/politics/855905
Terrorists in Syria are trying to flee to Turkey 'blending into' civilians of Aleppo as they know Russian warplanes don't attack peaceful population, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.

"Mass desertion is fixed among gunmen groups operating in the area of Aleppo. Terrorists intimidate local population and use force to drive people to the Turkish border," he said.

Dropping their weapons, gunmen are trying to hide among these crowds as Russian warplanes and Syrian government troops never target civilians, he told reporters.
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No Entry

Erdogan calls for no-fly zone in Syria, again


Press TV
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 10:07 UTC
Erdogan
© www.presstv.irErdogan: A human no-fly zone
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renews a call for the establishment of a no-fly zone in Syria in the face of Russian airstrikes which have led to a series of militant losses recently. The Syrian army is closing in on the last pockets of militant positions in Aleppo which borders Turkey, prompting an outcry among supporters of armed groups which are warning of a refugee influx.

Turkey has long pushed for the creation of a no-fly zone in northern Syria but the proposal has so far gained little traction with the US or NATO allies. The US and Europe fear such a move could put them in direct confrontation with Russia and other allies of the Syrian government.

Erdogan accused the United Nations of insincerity in calling on Turkey to do more to help Syrian refugees instead of taking action to stop Russian airstrikes. Russian war planes have been bombing areas around Aleppo in support of a Syrian government offensive to recapture the city.

A Greek news website said on Monday that Erdogan had threatened to flood Europe with refugees if EU leaders did not offer a better deal to Turkey. On Wednesday, Erdogan accused the US of creating a "pool of blood" in the region by failing to recognize Kurdish organisations fighting Takfiris in Syria as terrorist groups.

Comment: Erdogan would love the establishments of 1) a Syrian no-fly zone, and 2) the proposed buffer ("refugee safe") zone in order to gain access to supply the Daesh Takfiris without risk of Russian intervention. He would then gain Daesh support for his long-standing primary goal: to eliminate the Kurds, currently fighting for Syria. He is using the Turkish refugee gate-keeper issue as leverage against the EU to bolster support for his demands.

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Key

PM Zvizdic: Bosnia to submit EU membership


Press TV
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 11:43 UTC
flags
© www.worldbulletin.netWill Bosnia become the next EU member?
Bosnia has fulfilled the preconditions for joining the European Union and is ready to submit its request for membership in the bloc, says the country's prime minister. Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic said the Bosnian government is now ready to move forward with its aspirations to join the 28-nation bloc and will submit its request to Brussels on Monday, February 15. Zvizdic expressed optimism that the EU will grant Bosnia candidate status in 2017.

Hours after Zvizdic's announcement, the government of the Bosnian Serb region complained it had not been consulted about the decision. Bosnia has been divided in two semi-autonomous regions since the 1992-95 war, one for the Serbs and the other shared by Bosniaks and Croats.

The two regions are linked by a joint government, parliament and presidency. For years, the two regions have adopted opposite visions for the future of the country. The Serbs are pushing for greater autonomy or even secession, while the other two ethic groups want a united Bosnia and EU membership.
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Stock Down

Total CEO says two-thirds of US shale oil rigs shut down


RT
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:33 UTC
Shale oil rig plant
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
American shale drillers have closed two-thirds of all the country's oil rigs; TASS quotes the head of France's Total Patrick Pouyanne.

"Since March 2015 we are witnessing a decline in oil shale output in the United States, which has been reduced by 500,000 barrels per day. We don't know how fast it will fall but we know that two-thirds of drilling rigs is no more working there," Pouyanne said on Thursday at the International Petroleum Week forum.
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Info

Thailand wants to supply Russia with food in exchange for military equipment


Sputnik
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:20 UTC
Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan
© AFP 2016/ CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT
Thailand is due to supply Russia with agricultural products and food in exchange for military and engineering equipment, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan said Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Russian-Thai working group on security issues held a meeting in Bangkok. The same day, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev discussed with his Thai counterpart the issues of ensuring regional and international security.

"We plan to purchase in Russia special fire-fighting aircraft and military-technical equipment necessary for the elimination of consequences of natural disasters and other emergencies, and in return we are ready to sell agricultural products and food to Russia of equal sums," the deputy prime minister said ahead of a meeting with Patrushev.
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Snakes in Suits

Is the US leading Saudi Arabia down the Kuwaiti invasion road?

JC Collins
Philosophy of Metrics
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:24 UTC
Iraq invasion
For the first time in a long time I feel concerned and worried about the prospect of war. The reaction of Saudi Arabia to the Russian intervention in Syria has always been the wild card in the shifting geopolitical power base in the Middle East. Turkey and Israel, along with Saudi Arabia are the three countries with the most to lose because of a strong alliance between Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia.

These three traditional American allies have been accustomed to Western support in regards to their own specific regional goals and ambitions. This support has been so staunch and counterproductive to regional stability that the growing comfort and alliance between Iran and the US should be both confusing and worrisome to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Comment: More articles on this topic:

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Jet5

Russian jets conduct snap drills over Crimea


Sputnik
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:11 UTC
Russian Sukhoi SU-27 jets
© Sputnik/ Vasiliy Batanov
Russian fighter jets have taken to the skies over the Crimean Peninsula during snap military exercises, Armed Forces 4th Army Vice Commander Col. Andrei Novoseletsky said Thursday.

"Radio technical troops conducted constant radar surveillance at a distance of over 400 kilometers. The coordinates of the air targets were forwarded to the aviation crews in the air using automated control systems," Col. Novoseletsky told General Staff Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov.
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Jet3

Russia's successful Syrian intervention has left Turkey a 'helpless spectator'


Sputnik
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:25 UTC
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
© AP Photo/ Burhan Ozbilici
It is Moscow which is running the game in Syria: nailed to the ground by Russia's S-400 air defense systems and state-of-the - art SU-35 fighters, Turkey is now left in the role of a helpless spectator, while the Kremlin is playing yet another of its cards, according to the French newspaper Le monde.

Turkey is already unable to get in the way of Russia's strategy in Syria.

"Ankara has been left in the role of a helpless spectator of the final phase of the Russian plan to help its ally Bashar Assad to remain in the saddle, which it began in September 2015," says the newspaper.

"Turkey is suddenly being ousted from Syrian land," it states.

Comment: Further reading: South Front: Turkey's intervention in the Syrian war, the Russian battle for the Arctic

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