US President Barack Obama hopes President-elect Donald Trump will stand up against Russia when needed and cooperate when &quot;values and interests align&quot;.&nbsp; 
&quot;In order for us to solve many big problems around the world, it is in our interest to work with Russia,&quot; he told reporters in Berlin.&nbsp;

The President who is on his last leg of the Europe tour before he leaves office addressed a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.&nbsp;

&quot;My hope is that the president-elect coming in takes a similarly constructive approach, finding areas where we can cooperate with Russia where our values and interests align, but that the president-elect also is willing to stand up to Russia when they are deviating from our values and international norms,&quot; he continued.&nbsp;

&quot;My hope is that he does not simply take a realpolitik approach and suggest that we just cut some deals with Russia even if it hurts people, even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long term problems in countries like Syria,&quot; Obama said.

The President also warned that the sanctions imposed on Russia must remain until Moscow abided the Minsk peace agreement.&nbsp;

Democracy will break down

Obama warned Americans &quot;If we can&#39;t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems.&quot;

&quot;If people - whether they are conservative or liberal, left or right - are unwilling to compromise and engage in the democratic process and are taking absolutist views and demonising opponents, then democracy will break down,&quot; he added.

Work in Syria to continue

&quot;We are going to continue to work as we have over the last five, six years to push towards a political transition and settlement. It would be naive of me to suggest that with Russia committed militarily as it is to supporting what, in many cases, are barbarous tactics by the Assad regime to crush the opposition,&quot; Obama said in reference to Russia&nbsp;backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s regime.

He added that he would continue to try to &quot;obtain cessations of hostilities that lessen the human tragedy and the migration that&#39;s taking place&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;You cannot purchase people&#39;s consent through killing them. They haven&#39;t made that transition yet but we are going to keep on trying,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

He urged Trump to follow US long standing policy towards Russia, adding there must be cooperation where 'values and interests align'

US President Barack Obama hopes President-elect Donald Trump will stand up against Russia when needed and cooperate when "values and interests align". "In order for us to solve many big problems around the world, it is in our interest to work with Russia," he told reporters in Berlin. The President who is on his last leg of the Europe tour before he leaves office addressed a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. "My hope is that the president-elect coming in takes a similarly constructive approach, finding areas where we can cooperate with Russia where our values and interests align, but that the president-elect also is willing to stand up to Russia when they are deviating from our values and international norms," he continued. "My hope is that he does not simply take a realpolitik approach and suggest that we just cut some deals with Russia even if it hurts people, even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long term problems in countries like Syria," Obama said. The President also warned that the sanctions imposed on Russia must remain until Moscow abided the Minsk peace agreement. Democracy will break down Obama warned Americans "If we can't discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems." "If people - whether they are conservative or liberal, left or right - are unwilling to compromise and engage in the democratic process and are taking absolutist views and demonising opponents, then democracy will break down," he added. Work in Syria to continue "We are going to continue to work as we have over the last five, six years to push towards a political transition and settlement. It would be naive of me to suggest that with Russia committed militarily as it is to supporting what, in many cases, are barbarous tactics by the Assad regime to crush the opposition," Obama said in reference to Russia backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. He added that he would continue to try to "obtain cessations of hostilities that lessen the human tragedy and the migration that's taking place" "You cannot purchase people's consent through killing them. They haven't made that transition yet but we are going to keep on trying," he added. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Obama hopes Trump will stand up against Russia

US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on&nbsp;phone over normalising relations,economic issues and challenges that both countries face on Monday.&nbsp;

A statement issued by Trump camp stated both agreed on &quot;the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present&quot; and &quot;declared the need for active joint work to normalise them.&quot;

The Kremlin issued a statement saying Putin was ready to &quot;create a dialogue of partnership with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-intervention in each other&#39;s domestic affairs.&quot;

Both &quot;agreed on the need to unite efforts in the struggle with the enemy number one: international terrorism and extremism,&quot; in reference to solving the Syrian crisis.&nbsp;

&quot;The importance of creating a solid basis for bilateral ties was underscored, in particularly by developing the trade-economic component,&quot; Reuters quoted Kremlin&#39;s statement.&nbsp;

Obama assures NATO

Before setting out for his farewell visit to Europe, US President Barack Obama reassured Europe that Trump will maintain US&nbsp;&quot;commitment to NATO&quot; and that &quot;there is no weakening of resolve&quot; when it comes to ties with NATO.

During the presidential campaign, Trump had said if any NATO country was attacked, under his presidency the&nbsp;US would not defend until the ally does not increase its contribution to NATO.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s unexpected victory has left NATO countries worried, with future ties uncertain.&nbsp;

US defense secretary Ashton Carter told NATO leaders to talk to Donald Trump saying &quot;We&#39;re much better at protecting ourselves if we can find a way to work together.&quot;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

 
&nbsp;

Putin and Trump agreed on the 'unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present,' and 'need for active joint work to normalise them'

US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on phone over normalising relations,economic issues and challenges that both countries face on Monday. A statement issued by Trump camp stated both agreed on "the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present" and "declared the need for active joint work to normalise them." The Kremlin issued a statement saying Putin was ready to "create a dialogue of partnership with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-intervention in each other's domestic affairs." Both "agreed on the need to unite efforts in the struggle with the enemy number one: international terrorism and extremism," in reference to solving the Syrian crisis. "The importance of creating a solid basis for bilateral ties was underscored, in particularly by developing the trade-economic component," Reuters quoted Kremlin's statement. Obama assures NATO Before setting out for his farewell visit to Europe, US President Barack Obama reassured Europe that Trump will maintain US "commitment to NATO" and that "there is no weakening of resolve" when it comes to ties with NATO. During the presidential campaign, Trump had said if any NATO country was attacked, under his presidency the US would not defend until the ally does not increase its contribution to NATO. Trump's unexpected victory has left NATO countries worried, with future ties uncertain. US defense secretary Ashton Carter told NATO leaders to talk to Donald Trump saying "We're much better at protecting ourselves if we can find a way to work together." (WION with inputs from agencies)

Trump, Putin speak on phone, aim to 'normalise' relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated president-elect&nbsp;Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election in a telegram on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

&quot;Putin expressed hope for joint work to restore Russian-American relations from their state of crisis, and also to address pressing international issues and search for effective responses to challenges concerning global security,&quot; the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin also said he was sure a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington would serve the interests of both countries, the Kremlin said. 
&nbsp;

(Reuters)

In a telegram to Trump, Putin hoped to restore Russian-American relations, address international issues and dealing with global security

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated president-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election in a telegram on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. "Putin expressed hope for joint work to restore Russian-American relations from their state of crisis, and also to address pressing international issues and search for effective responses to challenges concerning global security," the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin also said he was sure a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington would serve the interests of both countries, the Kremlin said. (Reuters)

Russia's Putin congratulates Trump on election win

The state-owned media was seen aggressively pushing for Trump and showed reports that Clinton had the backing of 'oligarchic' corporations

As the race for the White House is hotting up, the Russian state-owned media is devoting most of its time elaborating Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's allegations that his rival Democract candidate Hillary Clinton is corrupt and the "rigged elections". "Clinton has a choice. Either she gets the presidency or she goes behind bars," pro-Kremlin journalist Dmitry Kiselyov said during his flagship Sunday program on the state-controlled Vesti channel, news agency PTI reported. The state media did little to hide its preference in the upcoming US election, telling viewers that Clinton had the full backing of the US security services, "oligarchic" corporations and the media. Several other reports highlighted concerns about Clinton's health, linked her to sex scandals and suggested that the Democratic Party is "panicking" over recent polls, PTI said. However, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied claims that the Kremlin would like to see Trump win the elections. But he did not fail to point out the string similarities between their positions on major foreign policy issues, including Syria and Ukraine. The Russian media is widely covering the presidential battle and is pushing for Trump's candidacy aggressively, according to a European Union official. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Russian media backs Trump, questions US democracy

Controversial transparency group Wikileaks on Saturday released&nbsp;three of US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s &nbsp;&#39;paid speeches&#39; to heavyweight Goldman Sachs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

For more than a week, the transparency group has been publishing &#39;hacked emails&#39; from the account of John Podesta, Clinton&#39;s campaign chairman, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In its &#39;latest batch&#39; of hacked emails, Wikileaks claims that the documents show &nbsp;&quot;question-and-answer sessions with Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Tim O&#39;Neill, the bank&#39;s head of investment management, at three separate events in 2013 in Arizona, New York and South Carolina&quot;, the international news agency highlighted in its report.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In what appear to be the &#39;transcripts&#39; &nbsp;of the speeches that Clinton made to the financial giant between the time she left her position as secretary of state in 2013 and launched the presidential campaign in 2015, Clinton is shown offering her opinions on a range of issues. &nbsp;She is talking about financial regulations, relations with Russia and negative effects of previous WikiLeaks releases on US foreign policy, AFP reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;There was also a need to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it&#39;s all the fault of Wall Street, you can&#39;t sit idly by and do nothing,&quot; Clinton reportedly said as she talked about how something had to be done to &quot;rein in Wall Street abuses&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Clinton collected &quot;at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks&quot;, CNN reports quoting the figures released by Clinton&#39;s campaign and tax documents she released earlier this year.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Clinton&#39;s campaign refused to comment over the leaks, however, the US government has repeatedly&nbsp;stressed that Wikileaks is working in collaboration with Russia.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;There is no getting around it: Donald Trump is cheering on a Russian attempt to influence our election through a crime reminiscent of Watergate but on a more massive scale,&quot; Glen Caplin, a Clinton campaign spokesman was quoted as saying by CNN.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election.&quot;

&nbsp;

According to Reuters, Clinton has previously come under fire for not releasing her speeches made to the big banks while opponents accused her of having a &nbsp;&quot;cozy relationship with the bankers and other firms&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Earlier, Democratic primary rival Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had argued that she could not be relied upon to regulate firms by which she has been paid, AFP reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Trump has also attacked the Democratic presidential&nbsp;nominee over the leaked emails while referring to the private speeches to major banks in 2013 and 2014 where she apparently expressed views in favour of free trade and Wall Street self-regulation that are at odds with her positions as a candidate.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP, Reuters)&nbsp;

The Democratic presidential candidate earlier came under fire for not releasing her speeches made to big banks

Controversial transparency group Wikileaks on Saturday released three of US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 'paid speeches' to heavyweight Goldman Sachs. For more than a week, the transparency group has been publishing 'hacked emails' from the account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman, Reuters reported. In its 'latest batch' of hacked emails, Wikileaks claims that the documents show "question-and-answer sessions with Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Tim O'Neill, the bank's head of investment management, at three separate events in 2013 in Arizona, New York and South Carolina", the international news agency highlighted in its report. In what appear to be the 'transcripts' of the speeches that Clinton made to the financial giant between the time she left her position as secretary of state in 2013 and launched the presidential campaign in 2015, Clinton is shown offering her opinions on a range of issues. She is talking about financial regulations, relations with Russia and negative effects of previous WikiLeaks releases on US foreign policy, AFP reported. "There was also a need to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it's all the fault of Wall Street, you can't sit idly by and do nothing," Clinton reportedly said as she talked about how something had to be done to "rein in Wall Street abuses". Clinton collected "at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks", CNN reports quoting the figures released by Clinton's campaign and tax documents she released earlier this year. Meanwhile, Clinton's campaign refused to comment over the leaks, however, the US government has repeatedly stressed that Wikileaks is working in collaboration with Russia. "There is no getting around it: Donald Trump is cheering on a Russian attempt to influence our election through a crime reminiscent of Watergate but on a more massive scale," Glen Caplin, a Clinton campaign spokesman was quoted as saying by CNN. "We're witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election." According to Reuters, Clinton has previously come under fire for not releasing her speeches made to the big banks while opponents accused her of having a "cozy relationship with the bankers and other firms". Earlier, Democratic primary rival Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had argued that she could not be relied upon to regulate firms by which she has been paid, AFP reported. Trump has also attacked the Democratic presidential nominee over the leaked emails while referring to the private speeches to major banks in 2013 and 2014 where she apparently expressed views in favour of free trade and Wall Street self-regulation that are at odds with her positions as a candidate. (WION with inputs from AFP, Reuters)

Wikileaks releases Clinton's 'paid speeches' for Goldman Sachs

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met today&nbsp;for the ninth time in over two years but the salubrious weather in western Indian state of Goa&nbsp;did not appear to bridge the chasm that divides the two Asian neighbours.

&nbsp;

Modi and Xi agreed to disagree on issues that are of immediate concern to India, namely India&#39;s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the proposed United Nations ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, who India accuses of having had a hand in a series of terrorist attacks in India, including the September 18 Uri attack in northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir.

&nbsp;

Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, told reporters that Modi spoke &quot;frankly&quot; about the need for finding a common ground on the proposed UN ban on Masood Azhar.

&nbsp;

&quot;China has proposed that second round of consultations on the NSG issue will be held soon. Also, Chinese state councillor Yanj Jiechi can be expected to hold talks with national security adviser AK Doval,&quot; he said.

&nbsp;

India, Swarup added, has had a &quot;continuous dialogue&quot; with China on terrorism and it remains hopeful of China&#39;s cooperation on these and other issues bilateral, regional and global issues of interest to both Beijing and New Delhi.

&nbsp;

Modi has pursued high-velocity diplomacy, logging frequent flyer miles along the way but his attempts to forge a modus vivendi with Beijing has come unstuck and in the process exposed the limits of his personalised diplomacy.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In fact, in the run-up to the Modi-Xi Goa meet, Beijing pre-empted New Delhi by iterating its positions on NSG and Masood Azhar, partly in deference to the sentiments of its all-weather ally Pakistan but also as a lever to pin India down geopolitically in South Asia.

&nbsp;

Modi&#39;s first meeting with Xi after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power was at the BRICS Summit hosted by Brazil in July 2014. &nbsp;Modi invited Xi to Gujarat&nbsp;in September the same year in an apparent effort to extricate the Sino-Indian ties from a diplomatic cul-de-sac and introduce an element of personalised diplomacy into India&#39;s foreign policy.

&nbsp;

Although Modi has met both Xi and US President Barack Obama eight times each, his personal chemistry with Xi couldn&#39;t really take off. This, in spite of Modi and Xi sharing some similarities. For one, both have risen to the pinnacle of their political careers around the same time. Both appear to revel in popular nationalism.

&nbsp;

As Avinash Godbole writes in a paper for the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Xi and Modi enjoy a significant mandate as the leaders of their respective constituents. &quot;There is [also] the case of their overlapping foreign policies that focus on neighbourhoods and a vocal approach to engagements,&quot; Godbole points out.

&nbsp;

However, Modi&#39;s engagements with Putin stand in sharp contrast to Xi. Modi and Putin share some personality traits, including their penchant for a muscular approach to diplomacy -- Ukraine in the case of Putin and Pakistan so far as Modi is concerned. It helps that India&#39;s ties with Russia stand on a different pedestal than China.

&nbsp;

As foreign secretary of India, S Jaishankar points out, Russia has been a time-tested partner and friend of India and it is reflected in Putin&#39;s &quot;unequivocal condemnation&quot; of terrorism directed against India. Diplomats everywhere are not seldom given to making off-the-cuff remarks, so when Jaishankar uses the phrase &quot;a meeting of minds&quot; to describe the Modi-Putin talks, it assumes a special significance of its own.

&nbsp;

(WION)&nbsp;

Indian PM and Chinese President met today and agreed to disagree on issues that are of immediate concern to India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met today for the ninth time in over two years but the salubrious weather in western Indian state of Goa did not appear to bridge the chasm that divides the two Asian neighbours. Modi and Xi agreed to disagree on issues that are of immediate concern to India, namely India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the proposed United Nations ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, who India accuses of having had a hand in a series of terrorist attacks in India, including the September 18 Uri attack in northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir. Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, told reporters that Modi spoke "frankly" about the need for finding a common ground on the proposed UN ban on Masood Azhar. "China has proposed that second round of consultations on the NSG issue will be held soon. Also, Chinese state councillor Yanj Jiechi can be expected to hold talks with national security adviser AK Doval," he said. India, Swarup added, has had a "continuous dialogue" with China on terrorism and it remains hopeful of China's cooperation on these and other issues bilateral, regional and global issues of interest to both Beijing and New Delhi. Modi has pursued high-velocity diplomacy, logging frequent flyer miles along the way but his attempts to forge a modus vivendi with Beijing has come unstuck and in the process exposed the limits of his personalised diplomacy. In fact, in the run-up to the Modi-Xi Goa meet, Beijing pre-empted New Delhi by iterating its positions on NSG and Masood Azhar, partly in deference to the sentiments of its all-weather ally Pakistan but also as a lever to pin India down geopolitically in South Asia. Modi's first meeting with Xi after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power was at the BRICS Summit hosted by Brazil in July 2014. Modi invited Xi to Gujarat in September the same year in an apparent effort to extricate the Sino-Indian ties from a diplomatic cul-de-sac and introduce an element of personalised diplomacy into India's foreign policy. Although Modi has met both Xi and US President Barack Obama eight times each, his personal chemistry with Xi couldn't really take off. This, in spite of Modi and Xi sharing some similarities. For one, both have risen to the pinnacle of their political careers around the same time. Both appear to revel in popular nationalism. As Avinash Godbole writes in a paper for the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Xi and Modi enjoy a significant mandate as the leaders of their respective constituents. "There is [also] the case of their overlapping foreign policies that focus on neighbourhoods and a vocal approach to engagements," Godbole points out. However, Modi's engagements with Putin stand in sharp contrast to Xi. Modi and Putin share some personality traits, including their penchant for a muscular approach to diplomacy -- Ukraine in the case of Putin and Pakistan so far as Modi is concerned. It helps that India's ties with Russia stand on a different pedestal than China. As foreign secretary of India, S Jaishankar points out, Russia has been a time-tested partner and friend of India and it is reflected in Putin's "unequivocal condemnation" of terrorism directed against India. Diplomats everywhere are not seldom given to making off-the-cuff remarks, so when Jaishankar uses the phrase "a meeting of minds" to describe the Modi-Putin talks, it assumes a special significance of its own. (WION)

Modi-Xi talks hint at limits of personalised diplomacy

India is expected to continue with its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan on the issue of terrorism originating from there when it plays host to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and leaders of Brazil and South Africa at the Summit of five-nation BRICS grouping here on Sunday.

Even preceding the BRICS Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to raise these issues with Putin and Xi on Saturday when a series of bilateral meetings are slated at the seaside venue.

With the summit&nbsp;taking place within weeks of Uri terror strike by Pak-based terrorists, India will be forceful in its demand at BRICS Summit, which will also have a BIMSTEC outreach meet, for intensified efforts to tackle terrorism including action against countries providing safe havens to terrorists and arming them.

India has made strong references both at UNGA as well as G-20 regarding Pakistan&#39;s continued support to cross-border terrorism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without naming Pakistan at G-20, had said that &quot;one single nation in South Asia&quot; is spreading &quot;agents of terror&quot; in the region and it must be isolated while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the UNGA had said confessions of captured terrorists involved in terror strikes in India including in Uri &quot;is a living proof of Pakistan&#39;s complicity in cross-border terror&quot;.

Apart from the heads of governments of BRICS to attend the Summit on October 16, Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) will be here to participate in the BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach meet.

New Delhi will also make all out efforts to revive Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) when Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) attend the BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach meet.

This also assumes significance given the collapse of recent SAARC Summit after four countries apart from India pulled out of the meet to be hosted by Pakistan over the issue of cross-border terrorism, maintaining that environment was not conducive to hold such an event.

Indian officials have made it clear that India&#39;s effort would be to have strong language in the BRICS outcome document on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries, safe havens and finances.&nbsp;

&quot;Terrorism is a global problem. It cannot be tackled individually and has to be tackled collectively. We cannot have a differential policy towards terrorism. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist. So, these are the issues on which there will reiteration of national positions,&quot; Secretary (Economic Relations) in External Affairs Ministry Amar Sinha had said.

During the meeting of NSAs of BRICS grouping, India had strongly pitched that action should not only be taken against sources of finances but also sources from where terrorists get arms and ammunition.

Three MoUs including those on cooperation in the area of environment and customs have been agreed upon by the BRICS countries, Sinha had said, adding the pact pertaining to customs will help in breaking the trade barriers between these countries.

The other key issues to be taken up during these significant diplomatic outreach events include cooperation in areas of economy, tourism, connectivity, cultural, education and sports.

The main BRICS Summit on October 16 will begin with a photo opportunity followed by restricted talks between the leaders and later a meeting of business captains from the member-countries. In the second half, after the speech of the leaders, there will be BRICS and BIMSTEC retreat. 
&nbsp;

Security situation in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan is also expected to be discussed when the BRICS leaders take up important regional and international issues.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to raise the issue with Russian President Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

India is expected to continue with its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan on the issue of terrorism originating from there when it plays host to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and leaders of Brazil and South Africa at the Summit of five-nation BRICS grouping here on Sunday. Even preceding the BRICS Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to raise these issues with Putin and Xi on Saturday when a series of bilateral meetings are slated at the seaside venue. With the summit taking place within weeks of Uri terror strike by Pak-based terrorists, India will be forceful in its demand at BRICS Summit, which will also have a BIMSTEC outreach meet, for intensified efforts to tackle terrorism including action against countries providing safe havens to terrorists and arming them. India has made strong references both at UNGA as well as G-20 regarding Pakistan's continued support to cross-border terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without naming Pakistan at G-20, had said that "one single nation in South Asia" is spreading "agents of terror" in the region and it must be isolated while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the UNGA had said confessions of captured terrorists involved in terror strikes in India including in Uri "is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror". Apart from the heads of governments of BRICS to attend the Summit on October 16, Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) will be here to participate in the BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach meet. New Delhi will also make all out efforts to revive Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) when Prime Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar (State Counsellor) attend the BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach meet. This also assumes significance given the collapse of recent SAARC Summit after four countries apart from India pulled out of the meet to be hosted by Pakistan over the issue of cross-border terrorism, maintaining that environment was not conducive to hold such an event. Indian officials have made it clear that India's effort would be to have strong language in the BRICS outcome document on terrorism including how to deal with countries that provide sanctuaries, safe havens and finances. "Terrorism is a global problem. It cannot be tackled individually and has to be tackled collectively. We cannot have a differential policy towards terrorism. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist. So, these are the issues on which there will reiteration of national positions," Secretary (Economic Relations) in External Affairs Ministry Amar Sinha had said. During the meeting of NSAs of BRICS grouping, India had strongly pitched that action should not only be taken against sources of finances but also sources from where terrorists get arms and ammunition. Three MoUs including those on cooperation in the area of environment and customs have been agreed upon by the BRICS countries, Sinha had said, adding the pact pertaining to customs will help in breaking the trade barriers between these countries. The other key issues to be taken up during these significant diplomatic outreach events include cooperation in areas of economy, tourism, connectivity, cultural, education and sports. The main BRICS Summit on October 16 will begin with a photo opportunity followed by restricted talks between the leaders and later a meeting of business captains from the member-countries. In the second half, after the speech of the leaders, there will be BRICS and BIMSTEC retreat. Security situation in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan is also expected to be discussed when the BRICS leaders take up important regional and international issues. (PTI)

India expected to continue diplomatic offensive against Pak terror at BRICS summit

Russia and India will sign a multi-billion dollar deal for S-400 &#39;Triumf&#39; long-range air defence missile systems on Saturday following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa, state media in Moscow reported on Thursday.

&quot;Following the results of the negotiations between our president and (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, an agreement will be signed on the delivery of S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems to India, as well as some other documents,&quot; Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency. India is interested in getting five systems of the most modern air defence system, capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence, and simultaneously engaging 36 targets.

It has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. If India signs the deal, it would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China which had struck a $3 billion (Rs 20,054 crore) contract last year.

The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007.

Ushakov said part of the documents will be signed behind closed doors. The Kremlin aide declined to comment on the details of the deal, suggesting that first the document should be signed. Russia also plans to sign an agreement on building Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy and setting up a Russian- Indian joint venture to produce Kamov Ka-226T helicopters, the agency reported.

Following the results of their talks, Putin and Modi will adopt a joint statement to reflect their common approaches towards solving various global and regional issues. Both sides will also approve a roadmap of measures timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Overall, Russia and India are set to sign about 18 documents, he said.

The Russian presidential aide said Putin and Modi will hold their talks in Goa ahead of the summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of leading emerging economies. The Russian and Indian leaders are first expected to talk in a narrow format and then negotiations will be held at the level of delegations.

Russia&#39;s delegation will also be represented by Vice- Premier Dmitry Rogozin, the heads of the Industry and Trade, Energy and Economics Ministries, state civil nuclear power corporation Rosatom and others.

After the talks, the Russian and Indian leaders will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation for the third and fourth power units of India&#39;s Kudankulam nuclear power plant via a video conference, make statements for the media and hold a tete-a-tete lunch.

(PTI)

India aims to build a modern air defence by procuring five systems capable of firing three types of missiles and engaging 36 targets

Russia and India will sign a multi-billion dollar deal for S-400 'Triumf' long-range air defence missile systems on Saturday following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa, state media in Moscow reported on Thursday. "Following the results of the negotiations between our president and (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, an agreement will be signed on the delivery of S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems to India, as well as some other documents," Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency. India is interested in getting five systems of the most modern air defence system, capable of firing three types of missiles, creating a layered defence, and simultaneously engaging 36 targets. It has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. If India signs the deal, it would be the second customer of the prized missile system after China which had struck a $3 billion (Rs 20,054 crore) contract last year. The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. Ushakov said part of the documents will be signed behind closed doors. The Kremlin aide declined to comment on the details of the deal, suggesting that first the document should be signed. Russia also plans to sign an agreement on building Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy and setting up a Russian- Indian joint venture to produce Kamov Ka-226T helicopters, the agency reported. Following the results of their talks, Putin and Modi will adopt a joint statement to reflect their common approaches towards solving various global and regional issues. Both sides will also approve a roadmap of measures timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Overall, Russia and India are set to sign about 18 documents, he said. The Russian presidential aide said Putin and Modi will hold their talks in Goa ahead of the summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of leading emerging economies. The Russian and Indian leaders are first expected to talk in a narrow format and then negotiations will be held at the level of delegations. Russia's delegation will also be represented by Vice- Premier Dmitry Rogozin, the heads of the Industry and Trade, Energy and Economics Ministries, state civil nuclear power corporation Rosatom and others. After the talks, the Russian and Indian leaders will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation for the third and fourth power units of India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant via a video conference, make statements for the media and hold a tete-a-tete lunch. (PTI)

Russia, India to sign $5 billion S-400 missile deal ahead of BRICS summit

Accepting the United States is probably the world`s sole superpower, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was ready to work with Washington. 
 
Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said: &quot;America is a great power.&nbsp;Today, probably, the only superpower. We accept that.&quot; 
 
&quot;We want to and are ready to work with the United States,&quot; Putin added. 
 
Hinting to the US-EU sanctions on Russia in response to its military actions in Ukraine, Putin said: &quot;The world needs such strong nations, like the US. And we need them.&nbsp;But we don`t need them constantly getting mixed up in our affairs, instructing us how to live, preventing Europe from building a relationship with us.&quot; 
 
When asked about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, Putin called him as a &quot;flamboyant&quot; or &quot;colourful&quot; man. 
 
Putin also spoke about the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying he did not work much with her directly when she was the secretary of state. 
 
&quot;She probably has her own view of US-Russian relations,&quot; he said. The Russian President, however, praised her husband and former US president Bill Clinton. 
 
&quot;We had a very nice relationship,&quot; the Guardian quoted Putin as saying.&nbsp; 
(ANI)

Russian President doesn't really know Hillary Clinton but praises Bill

Accepting the United States is probably the world`s sole superpower, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was ready to work with Washington. Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said: "America is a great power. Today, probably, the only superpower. We accept that." "We want to and are ready to work with the United States," Putin added. Hinting to the US-EU sanctions on Russia in response to its military actions in Ukraine, Putin said: "The world needs such strong nations, like the US. And we need them. But we don`t need them constantly getting mixed up in our affairs, instructing us how to live, preventing Europe from building a relationship with us." When asked about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, Putin called him as a "flamboyant" or "colourful" man. Putin also spoke about the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying he did not work much with her directly when she was the secretary of state. "She probably has her own view of US-Russian relations," he said. The Russian President, however, praised her husband and former US president Bill Clinton. "We had a very nice relationship," the Guardian quoted Putin as saying. (ANI)

Putin says America 'probably' the only superpower and calls Donald Trump 'flamboyant'

US officials say Russia is using US President Barack Obama&#39;s last days in office, and the intervening months before an administration with a tougher policy on Syria could possibly&nbsp;take&nbsp;charge, to help strengthen Bashar al-Assad&#39;s hold on power in Syria, AFP reported.

Russian President Putin&#39;s strategy, according to US officials, is to use this time -- when Obama will not be able to intervene in Syria&#39;s escalating conflict --&nbsp;to consolidate gains in the war-ravaged country.&nbsp;

It is still not certain however what the new, if any, US policy on Syria will be.&nbsp;

Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence on Tuesday described Putin as a &ldquo;bullying leader&rdquo; whose provocations need to be met with &ldquo;American strength&rdquo;.

&ldquo;The United States of America should be prepared to use force to strike military targets of the Assad regime,&rdquo; Pence added on Russia&#39;s alleged goal to help Syria retake the besieged city of Aleppo.

His potential boss,&nbsp;Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, however&nbsp;seems unsure of his relationship with the Russian leader.

&quot;I don&#39;t love Putin, I don&#39;t hate. We&#39;ll see how it works. We&#39;ll see,&quot; Trump told supporters on Wednesday in Nevada.&nbsp;

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has also called for stronger action on Syria by suggesting the US military enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilian&nbsp;areas.

Russia has supported Assad, sending him troops and warplanes, in the bloody conflict&nbsp;that has killed over 300,000 people over the past&nbsp;five years.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

US officials fear the Kremlin is racing to consolidate its gains in Syria before a new, possibly tougher administration takes charge

US officials say Russia is using US President Barack Obama's last days in office, and the intervening months before an administration with a tougher policy on Syria could possibly take charge, to help strengthen Bashar al-Assad's hold on power in Syria, AFP reported. Russian President Putin's strategy, according to US officials, is to use this time -- when Obama will not be able to intervene in Syria's escalating conflict -- to consolidate gains in the war-ravaged country. It is still not certain however what the new, if any, US policy on Syria will be. Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence on Tuesday described Putin as a “bullying leader” whose provocations need to be met with “American strength”. “The United States of America should be prepared to use force to strike military targets of the Assad regime,” Pence added on Russia's alleged goal to help Syria retake the besieged city of Aleppo. His potential boss, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, however seems unsure of his relationship with the Russian leader. "I don't love Putin, I don't hate. We'll see how it works. We'll see," Trump told supporters on Wednesday in Nevada. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has also called for stronger action on Syria by suggesting the US military enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilian areas. Russia has supported Assad, sending him troops and warplanes, in the bloody conflict that has killed over 300,000 people over the past five years. (WION with inputs from AFP)

With US focused on vote, Russia steps up efforts to secure Syria's Assad in power

&nbsp;

The United States has suspended bilateral talks with Russia on renewing the ceasefire deal in Syria, the US state department said on Monday.&nbsp;

US state department spokesman&nbsp;John Kirby&nbsp;said, &quot;The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the Cessation of Hostilities.&quot;

The US blames Russia for failing to comply with the ceasefire agreement, so that aid could be provided to Syrians trapped in the besieged city of Aleppo.&nbsp;

&quot;Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments - including its obligations under international humanitarian law and UNSCR 2254 - and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed,&quot; Kirby told reporters during the daily news briefing.&nbsp;

&quot;Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the Cessation of Hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need, including through the September 19 attack on a humanitarian aid convoy,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s forces and his allies have been&nbsp;aggressively attacking Aleppo since last week, bombing hospitals and water pumps.&nbsp;

The US&#39;s decision comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a treaty on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

However, a senior state department official denied Putin&#39;s decision had anything to do with the suspension of the ceasefire deal.&nbsp;

Kirby assured that channels of communication with Russia will continue to be used to ensure the armies of both countries are safe and to allow them to fight the Islamic State group.&nbsp;

&quot;The US will also withdraw personnel that had been dispatched in anticipation of the possible establishment of the Joint Implementation Centre,&quot; Reuters quoted Kirby as saying.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council began drafting a resolution&nbsp;Monday to try and get&nbsp;the US and Russia to agree to a temporary truce in Aleppo.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

 
&nbsp;

The US blames Russia for failing to comply with their ceasefire agreement, so that aid could be provided to Syrians trapped in Aleppo

The United States has suspended bilateral talks with Russia on renewing the ceasefire deal in Syria, the US state department said on Monday. US state department spokesman John Kirby said, "The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the Cessation of Hostilities." The US blames Russia for failing to comply with the ceasefire agreement, so that aid could be provided to Syrians trapped in the besieged city of Aleppo. "Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments - including its obligations under international humanitarian law and UNSCR 2254 - and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed," Kirby told reporters during the daily news briefing. "Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the Cessation of Hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need, including through the September 19 attack on a humanitarian aid convoy," he added. President Bashar al-Assad's forces and his allies have been aggressively attacking Aleppo since last week, bombing hospitals and water pumps. The US's decision comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a treaty on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium, Reuters reported. However, a senior state department official denied Putin's decision had anything to do with the suspension of the ceasefire deal. Kirby assured that channels of communication with Russia will continue to be used to ensure the armies of both countries are safe and to allow them to fight the Islamic State group. "The US will also withdraw personnel that had been dispatched in anticipation of the possible establishment of the Joint Implementation Centre," Reuters quoted Kirby as saying. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council began drafting a resolution Monday to try and get the US and Russia to agree to a temporary truce in Aleppo. (WION with inputs from agencies)

US suspends talks with Russia over Syria ceasefire

The ruling United Russia party cruised to victory with 44.5 percent of the votes in the parliamentary election on Sunday.&nbsp; 
 
An exit poll showed President Vladimir Putin&#39;s party in the lead, despite the longest economic crisis of his 16-year rule. &nbsp; 
 
&quot;We can announce already with certainty that the party secured a good result, that it won,&quot; Putin said after the vote. 
 
The win paves the way for Putin&#39;s fourth term as president in 2018 elections.&nbsp; 
 
So far United Russia has won 66 out the 76 single candidate seats that have been counted so far, the electoral commission said.&nbsp; 
 
The overall tally for United Russia could be down slightly on the 49 percent they claimed in 2011 but Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that party would still end up with an &quot;absolute majority&quot; in the Duma.&nbsp; 
 
The nationalist LDPR party was in second place with 15.3 percent, according to the exit poll by state-run pollster VTsIOM. The Communists were in third on 14.9 percent and the Just Russia party was fourth with 8.1 percent. 
 
Liberal opposition parties, the only grouping openly critical of Putin, failed to get over the five percent threshold needed for party representation. 
 
The ruling party faced mass protests last time with many Russians miffed by the near total-power that Kremlin wields.&nbsp; 
 
But despite a low turnout the numbers were still enough to preserve Putin&#39;s dominance in Parliament.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The situation is tough and difficult but the people still voted for United Russia,&quot; Putin said.&nbsp; 
 
For the first time since Moscow seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, residents there voted for Russia&#39;s parliament. 
 
The vote in Crimea stirred anger in Ukraine, sparking protests in Kiev.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party claimed absolute majority with 44.5 percent of the votes counted so far

The ruling United Russia party cruised to victory with 44.5 percent of the votes in the parliamentary election on Sunday. An exit poll showed President Vladimir Putin's party in the lead, despite the longest economic crisis of his 16-year rule. "We can announce already with certainty that the party secured a good result, that it won," Putin said after the vote. The win paves the way for Putin's fourth term as president in 2018 elections. So far United Russia has won 66 out the 76 single candidate seats that have been counted so far, the electoral commission said. The overall tally for United Russia could be down slightly on the 49 percent they claimed in 2011 but Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that party would still end up with an "absolute majority" in the Duma. The nationalist LDPR party was in second place with 15.3 percent, according to the exit poll by state-run pollster VTsIOM. The Communists were in third on 14.9 percent and the Just Russia party was fourth with 8.1 percent. Liberal opposition parties, the only grouping openly critical of Putin, failed to get over the five percent threshold needed for party representation. The ruling party faced mass protests last time with many Russians miffed by the near total-power that Kremlin wields. But despite a low turnout the numbers were still enough to preserve Putin's dominance in Parliament. "The situation is tough and difficult but the people still voted for United Russia," Putin said. For the first time since Moscow seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, residents there voted for Russia's parliament. The vote in Crimea stirred anger in Ukraine, sparking protests in Kiev. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Putin's party dominates Russian parliamentary vote

After being suspended from next month&#39;s Rio Paralympics, Russia has now been banned from the 2018 Paralympics to be held in &nbsp;Pyeongchang, South Korea. 
 
The ban comes in the wake of the allegations of Russia running a state-sponsored doping programme for its atheletes. A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report had found that Russian government had, over years, covered up hundreds of doping cases across Olympic and Paralympic events.&nbsp; 
 
Ban from Winter Paralympics comes a week after Russia lost an appeal against suspension issued over evidence of state-sponsored doping. Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the appeal.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The decision taken by the IPC, upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Russian Paralympians being excluded from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, has also been extended to include the Winter Games in 2018 in Pyeongchang,&quot; the Russian Paralympic Committee said on their website. 
 
Russia have appealed to the Swiss Federal Court against the CAS ruling. The result is expected to come on Monday or on Tuesday.&nbsp; 
 
Russian Presdident Vladimir Putin had earlier lashed out at anti-doping organisations, calling the Rio ban immoral and cynical.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The decision to disqualify our Paralympic team is outside the law, outside morality and outside humanity,&quot; he added. 
 
He had also said that the organisations singled out Russia because of &ldquo;political pressure&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
Russia finished fourth in the Rio Olympic medal table with 56 medals, including 19 gold.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Russia have appealed to the Swiss Federal Court against the ruling, the result of which will come on Monday or on Tuesday

After being suspended from next month's Rio Paralympics, Russia has now been banned from the 2018 Paralympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The ban comes in the wake of the allegations of Russia running a state-sponsored doping programme for its atheletes. A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report had found that Russian government had, over years, covered up hundreds of doping cases across Olympic and Paralympic events. Ban from Winter Paralympics comes a week after Russia lost an appeal against suspension issued over evidence of state-sponsored doping. Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the appeal. "The decision taken by the IPC, upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Russian Paralympians being excluded from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, has also been extended to include the Winter Games in 2018 in Pyeongchang," the Russian Paralympic Committee said on their website. Russia have appealed to the Swiss Federal Court against the CAS ruling. The result is expected to come on Monday or on Tuesday. Russian Presdident Vladimir Putin had earlier lashed out at anti-doping organisations, calling the Rio ban immoral and cynical. "The decision to disqualify our Paralympic team is outside the law, outside morality and outside humanity," he added. He had also said that the organisations singled out Russia because of “political pressure”. Russia finished fourth in the Rio Olympic medal table with 56 medals, including 19 gold. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

After Rio Paralympics, Russia banned from 2018 Winter Games

A ban on Russia&#39;s Paralympic team competing in Rio next month is cynical and immoral, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today.&nbsp; 
 
He lashed out the anti-doping organisations, saying they singled out Russia because they were subjected to &quot;political pressure&quot;. 
 
&quot;I used to say this before and I still believe that these international anti-doping structures should be rid of political pressure,&quot; Putin told Russian Olympians in a speech at Kremlin ceremony to welcome home participants of Rio Olympics 2016.&nbsp; 
 
Putin said the decision to ban atheletes, even those who had tested negative for consuming banned drugs, shows &ldquo;how the humanistic foundations of sport and Olympism are shamelessly flouted by politics&quot;. 
 
He, however, added that Moscow has acknowledged its mistakes and will try to rectify them in the most &ldquo;transparent ways&rdquo;.&nbsp;He also pledged to organise competitions for the banned Paralympians to show how skilled its atheletes are.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The decision to disqualify our Paralympic team is outside the law, outside morality and outside humanity,&quot; Putin said. 
 
Russia narrowly escaped a blanket ban from the Rio Olympics last month after the world doping authorities accused Moscow of running a state-sponsored sports doping programme. Its track-and-field team was, however, excluded from the Games.&nbsp; 
 
Russia&#39;s Paralympic team has been suspended over the same doping allegations.&nbsp; 
 
Russia had last week appealed a decision to suspend the country over evidence of state-sponsored doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) however said that Russia had lost its appeal.&nbsp; 
 
Russia finished fourth in the Olympic medal table with 56 medals, including 19 gold. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

He said the anti-doping organisations targeted Russia under 'political pressure' and pledged to organise competitions for banned athletes

A ban on Russia's Paralympic team competing in Rio next month is cynical and immoral, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today. He lashed out the anti-doping organisations, saying they singled out Russia because they were subjected to "political pressure". "I used to say this before and I still believe that these international anti-doping structures should be rid of political pressure," Putin told Russian Olympians in a speech at Kremlin ceremony to welcome home participants of Rio Olympics 2016. Putin said the decision to ban atheletes, even those who had tested negative for consuming banned drugs, shows “how the humanistic foundations of sport and Olympism are shamelessly flouted by politics". He, however, added that Moscow has acknowledged its mistakes and will try to rectify them in the most “transparent ways”. He also pledged to organise competitions for the banned Paralympians to show how skilled its atheletes are. "The decision to disqualify our Paralympic team is outside the law, outside morality and outside humanity," Putin said. Russia narrowly escaped a blanket ban from the Rio Olympics last month after the world doping authorities accused Moscow of running a state-sponsored sports doping programme. Its track-and-field team was, however, excluded from the Games. Russia's Paralympic team has been suspended over the same doping allegations. Russia had last week appealed a decision to suspend the country over evidence of state-sponsored doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) however said that Russia had lost its appeal. Russia finished fourth in the Olympic medal table with 56 medals, including 19 gold. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Russian President Putin slams Paralympic ban, calls it immoral

Russian President Vladimir Putin today arrived in annexed Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, days after he accused Kiev of attempting an armed incursion into the peninsula. 
 
Putin is to chair a meeting of his powerful security council in Crimea and visit a youth forum on his fifth visit to the strategic Black Sea peninsula since annexing it from Ukraine in March 2014. 
 
The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev over an incident on the frontier between Crimea and Ukraine, accusing it of &quot;practising terror&quot; and sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea ahead of the elections. 
 
Two Russian officers were killed in the incident, in which Ukraine denied any involvement. 
 
Ukraine&#39;s President Petro Poroshnko on Thursday said he considered the likelihood of an escalation &quot;high&quot; and could not rule out a &quot;full-scale Russian invasion along all fronts&quot;. 
 
Kiev said Thursday heavy rebel shelling killed three soldiers in its east, where the government has been battling pro-Russian separatists since 2014.&nbsp;Western leaders expressed alarm at the possibility of any escalation. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev, and accused it of 'practising terror'

Russian President Vladimir Putin today arrived in annexed Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, days after he accused Kiev of attempting an armed incursion into the peninsula. Putin is to chair a meeting of his powerful security council in Crimea and visit a youth forum on his fifth visit to the strategic Black Sea peninsula since annexing it from Ukraine in March 2014. The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev over an incident on the frontier between Crimea and Ukraine, accusing it of "practising terror" and sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea ahead of the elections. Two Russian officers were killed in the incident, in which Ukraine denied any involvement. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshnko on Thursday said he considered the likelihood of an escalation "high" and could not rule out a "full-scale Russian invasion along all fronts". Kiev said Thursday heavy rebel shelling killed three soldiers in its east, where the government has been battling pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Western leaders expressed alarm at the possibility of any escalation. (AFP)

Putin arrives in Crimea after Ukraine incursion claims

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin today jointly inaugurated the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 
 
Speaking from Moscow via video conference, President Putin highlighted that the plant was mostly about bringing advanced technology to India, adding that Russia has huge plans regarding this matter and that the deed for the third unit of the plant should be signed by the end of this year. 
 
&quot;Russia is a world leader in the&nbsp;nuclear market. Nuclear power plants build by Russians are of high standards and safe. 85 per cent fund comes from the Russia federation. I thank all who worked in implementing the project,&quot; Putin said. 
 
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi, speaking from the national capital via video conference, asserted that the plant marks another step in Indo-Russian cooperation, and is a celebration of the collaboration between the two nations. 
 
&quot;The first unit is the single largest power plant in India and we have planned for five more. Today&#39;s event is a joyful occasion for the experts and scientists of Russia and India in the nuclear field. I&#39;m grateful to President Putin and I deeply value our friendship. I looking forward to meeting you in G20 in China,&quot; he said. 
 
Speaking at the inauguration from Chennai, chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, asserted that the Nuclear Plant is a monument of the long-standing relationship between India and Russia, adding this project is important to Tamil Nadu, which is trying to rise above in all sectors. 
 
&quot;As chief minister, I have always extended support of the Kudankulam projects and also allayed the fears of local people regarding the plant. This project has overcome many hurdles so far, politically, financially and technically. The successful commission is a testimony of how the fear of the people should be allayed,&quot; she said. 
 
She further requested that the second unit of the plant also be commissioned at the earliest, considering their need for the growing industrial and farming sectors.The first unit of Kudankulam nuclear power plant attained criticality in July 2013. 
 
Till now, more than 10,800 million units of power have been generated from the first unit according to site director R S Sundar. The 1,000 megawatt Kudankulam nuclear power plant was built with Russian expertise following a pact between the then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1988. The first unit was synchronised with southern power grid on October 22 in 2013 and commercial power generation started by the end of December 2014. 
 
(ANI)

The Indian PM said the plant is a celebration of the collaboration between the two nations

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin today jointly inaugurated the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Speaking from Moscow via video conference, President Putin highlighted that the plant was mostly about bringing advanced technology to India, adding that Russia has huge plans regarding this matter and that the deed for the third unit of the plant should be signed by the end of this year. "Russia is a world leader in the nuclear market. Nuclear power plants build by Russians are of high standards and safe. 85 per cent fund comes from the Russia federation. I thank all who worked in implementing the project," Putin said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi, speaking from the national capital via video conference, asserted that the plant marks another step in Indo-Russian cooperation, and is a celebration of the collaboration between the two nations. "The first unit is the single largest power plant in India and we have planned for five more. Today's event is a joyful occasion for the experts and scientists of Russia and India in the nuclear field. I'm grateful to President Putin and I deeply value our friendship. I looking forward to meeting you in G20 in China," he said. Speaking at the inauguration from Chennai, chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, asserted that the Nuclear Plant is a monument of the long-standing relationship between India and Russia, adding this project is important to Tamil Nadu, which is trying to rise above in all sectors. "As chief minister, I have always extended support of the Kudankulam projects and also allayed the fears of local people regarding the plant. This project has overcome many hurdles so far, politically, financially and technically. The successful commission is a testimony of how the fear of the people should be allayed," she said. She further requested that the second unit of the plant also be commissioned at the earliest, considering their need for the growing industrial and farming sectors.The first unit of Kudankulam nuclear power plant attained criticality in July 2013. Till now, more than 10,800 million units of power have been generated from the first unit according to site director R S Sundar. The 1,000 megawatt Kudankulam nuclear power plant was built with Russian expertise following a pact between the then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1988. The first unit was synchronised with southern power grid on October 22 in 2013 and commercial power generation started by the end of December 2014. (ANI)

Modi in Delhi, Putin in Moscow inaugurate Kudankulam nuclear plant via video conference

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan today looked to rebuild ties as they met for the first time since Ankara downed one of Moscow&#39;s warplanes in November. 
 
Erdogan&#39;s visit to Putin&#39;s hometown of Saint Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey&#39;s relations with the West.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey,&quot; Putin said after the two leaders shook hands.&nbsp; 
 
Erdogan, who has said the trip represents a &quot;new milestone&quot;, told Putin that ties had entered a &quot;very different phase&quot; and thanked the Kremlin leader for his backing after the coup attempt.&nbsp; 
 
Thaw after jet downing rift&nbsp; 
 
The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 over the Syrian border last fall saw a furious Putin slap economic sanctions on Turkey and launch a blistering war of words with Erdogan that seemed to irrevocably damage burgeoning ties. 
 
But in late June, Putin surprisingly accepted a letter expressing regret over the incident from Erdogan as an apology and quickly rolled back a ban on the sale of package holidays to Turkey and signalled Moscow would end measures against Turkish food imports and construction firms. 
 
Now in the wake of the failed July 15 coup attempt, there are fears in Western capitals that NATO-member Turkey could draw even closer to Moscow -- with Erdogan bluntly making it clear he feels let down by the United States and the European Union. 
 
Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support after the coup attempt and shares none of the scruples of EU leaders about the ensuing crackdown. 
 
In the latest sign of rocky relations with the West, Turkey&#39;s justice minister today warned that the United States will &quot;sacrifice relations&quot; unless it extradites Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed coup.&nbsp; 
 
Relations between Turkey and Russia -- two powers vying for influence in the strategic Black Sea region and Middle East -- have historically not been straightforward.&nbsp; 
 
Yet before the plane downing crisis, Moscow and Ankara managed to prevent disputes on Syria and Ukraine harming strategic cooperation on issues like the TurkStream gas pipeline to Europe and a Russian-built nuclear power station in Turkey. 
 
Those projects were all put on ice with trade between the two countries falling 43 per cent to $6.1 billion in January-May this year and Turkey&#39;s tourism industry seeing visitor numbers from Russia fall by 93 per cent. 
 
Now with Russia mired in economic crisis due to Western sanctions over Ukraine and low oil prices along with Turkey&#39;s outlook flagging, both men want to get business started again. 
 
&#39;Assad must go&#39; 
 
Turkish media said Erdogan&#39;s entourage was made up of over half a dozen ministers including his son-in-law energy minister Berat Albayrak and the powerful head of the country&#39;s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) Hakan Fidan. 
 
The earlier uptick in relations between Turkey and Russia was built on a macho friendship between Putin and Erdogan, two combative leaders in their early 60s credited with restoring confidence to their nations in the wake of financial crises but also criticised for clamping down on human rights. 
 
But after such a bitter dispute -- which saw Putin accuse Erdogan of stabbing Russia in the back and profiting from an illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group -- it will take a lot for the pair to reheat relations. 
 
Russia, which is conducting a bombing campaign in support of Erdogan&#39;s foe President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, transformed the balance of the Syrian civil war last September when it intervened militarily, to Turkey`s consternation. 
 
Erdogan has insisted that Assad must still go -- a position opposed by Putin -- but told Russian media that the conflict at the heart of the falling out with Moscow could now become the focus for renewed cooperation between the two sides. 
 
&quot;Russia is a main, key and very important player in establishing peace in Syria,&quot; Erdogan said in comments translated into Russian. &quot;The problem needs to be solved with the help of joint steps between Russia and Turkey.&quot; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

'Your visit today indicates we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations,' Putin said after the two leaders shook hands

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan today looked to rebuild ties as they met for the first time since Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes in November. Erdogan's visit to Putin's hometown of Saint Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey's relations with the West. "Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey," Putin said after the two leaders shook hands. Erdogan, who has said the trip represents a "new milestone", told Putin that ties had entered a "very different phase" and thanked the Kremlin leader for his backing after the coup attempt. Thaw after jet downing rift The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 over the Syrian border last fall saw a furious Putin slap economic sanctions on Turkey and launch a blistering war of words with Erdogan that seemed to irrevocably damage burgeoning ties. But in late June, Putin surprisingly accepted a letter expressing regret over the incident from Erdogan as an apology and quickly rolled back a ban on the sale of package holidays to Turkey and signalled Moscow would end measures against Turkish food imports and construction firms. Now in the wake of the failed July 15 coup attempt, there are fears in Western capitals that NATO-member Turkey could draw even closer to Moscow -- with Erdogan bluntly making it clear he feels let down by the United States and the European Union. Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support after the coup attempt and shares none of the scruples of EU leaders about the ensuing crackdown. In the latest sign of rocky relations with the West, Turkey's justice minister today warned that the United States will "sacrifice relations" unless it extradites Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed coup. Relations between Turkey and Russia -- two powers vying for influence in the strategic Black Sea region and Middle East -- have historically not been straightforward. Yet before the plane downing crisis, Moscow and Ankara managed to prevent disputes on Syria and Ukraine harming strategic cooperation on issues like the TurkStream gas pipeline to Europe and a Russian-built nuclear power station in Turkey. Those projects were all put on ice with trade between the two countries falling 43 per cent to $6.1 billion in January-May this year and Turkey's tourism industry seeing visitor numbers from Russia fall by 93 per cent. Now with Russia mired in economic crisis due to Western sanctions over Ukraine and low oil prices along with Turkey's outlook flagging, both men want to get business started again. 'Assad must go' Turkish media said Erdogan's entourage was made up of over half a dozen ministers including his son-in-law energy minister Berat Albayrak and the powerful head of the country's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) Hakan Fidan. The earlier uptick in relations between Turkey and Russia was built on a macho friendship between Putin and Erdogan, two combative leaders in their early 60s credited with restoring confidence to their nations in the wake of financial crises but also criticised for clamping down on human rights. But after such a bitter dispute -- which saw Putin accuse Erdogan of stabbing Russia in the back and profiting from an illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group -- it will take a lot for the pair to reheat relations. Russia, which is conducting a bombing campaign in support of Erdogan's foe President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, transformed the balance of the Syrian civil war last September when it intervened militarily, to Turkey`s consternation. Erdogan has insisted that Assad must still go -- a position opposed by Putin -- but told Russian media that the conflict at the heart of the falling out with Moscow could now become the focus for renewed cooperation between the two sides. "Russia is a main, key and very important player in establishing peace in Syria," Erdogan said in comments translated into Russian. "The problem needs to be solved with the help of joint steps between Russia and Turkey." (AFP)

Putin, Erdogan meet for first time since Ankara downed Moscow warplane

More than 168,000 Russians have signed an online petition calling for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev&#39;s resignation after he suggested a low-paid lecturer get a different job. 
 
His comments -- widely seen as out of touch and uncaring -- unleashed a torrent of bile in the press and on social media, with a petition on Change.org calling for his ouster garnering 168,000 signatures by today afternoon. 
 
&quot;The cabinet should be led by a person who is competent, educated and cares about the country,&quot; wrote the petition&#39;s author, Alexander Li. 
 
&quot;We are seeing the opposite right now.&quot; 
 
The lower house of parliament is obliged to debate any petition that gets 100,000 signatures. 
 
What plunged Medvedev into trouble&nbsp; 
 
At a youth education forum on Tuesday, Medvedev was asked by a university lecturer from the impoverished Dagestan region why teachers receive only around 15,000 rubles ($230) per month, while police are significantly better paid. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s no need to compare,&quot; Medvedev said. &quot;The issue is what you choose in life. 
 
Teaching, he said, &quot;is a vocation. If you want to earn money, there are a bunch of great places where you can do that quicker and better in business. And you didn&#39;t go into business.&quot; 
 
Official statistics show the average monthly salary in Russia is around 37,000 rubles (507 euros/$566). Teachers make an average 32,000 rubles per month but the figure varies greatly depending on the region. 
 
In the Dagestan region, teachers earn a monthly average of 18,000 rubles, Kommersant daily reported. 
 
&#39;Hang in there&#39; remark by premier also drew public ire&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The prime minister&#39;s impressions are completely understandable,&quot; said a wry editorial in tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets. 
 
&quot;We all know very well of government officials who successfully manage to combine their main job with business, including big business.&quot; 
 
Novaya Gazeta lashed out at the premier over his remarks. 
 
&quot;Cynism cannot be at the foundation of the state&#39;s domestic policy. That usually ends badly for the state and the bureaucrats,&quot; it said. 
 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the petition. 
 
In May, Medvedev -- who served as president from 2008 to 2012, between current President Vladimir Putin&#39;s terms -- once again sparked public ire after telling a group of pensioners: &quot;There&#39;s no money, but hang in there.&quot; 
 
The phrase has since gone viral. 
 
Russia&#39;s energy-reliant economy is reeling from the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow&#39;s meddling in Ukraine. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
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Medvedev told a university lecture to get a different job if he was looking for a better pay scale

More than 168,000 Russians have signed an online petition calling for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's resignation after he suggested a low-paid lecturer get a different job. His comments -- widely seen as out of touch and uncaring -- unleashed a torrent of bile in the press and on social media, with a petition on Change.org calling for his ouster garnering 168,000 signatures by today afternoon. "The cabinet should be led by a person who is competent, educated and cares about the country," wrote the petition's author, Alexander Li. "We are seeing the opposite right now." The lower house of parliament is obliged to debate any petition that gets 100,000 signatures. What plunged Medvedev into trouble At a youth education forum on Tuesday, Medvedev was asked by a university lecturer from the impoverished Dagestan region why teachers receive only around 15,000 rubles ($230) per month, while police are significantly better paid. "There's no need to compare," Medvedev said. "The issue is what you choose in life. Teaching, he said, "is a vocation. If you want to earn money, there are a bunch of great places where you can do that quicker and better in business. And you didn't go into business." Official statistics show the average monthly salary in Russia is around 37,000 rubles (507 euros/$566). Teachers make an average 32,000 rubles per month but the figure varies greatly depending on the region. In the Dagestan region, teachers earn a monthly average of 18,000 rubles, Kommersant daily reported. 'Hang in there' remark by premier also drew public ire "The prime minister's impressions are completely understandable," said a wry editorial in tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets. "We all know very well of government officials who successfully manage to combine their main job with business, including big business." Novaya Gazeta lashed out at the premier over his remarks. "Cynism cannot be at the foundation of the state's domestic policy. That usually ends badly for the state and the bureaucrats," it said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the petition. In May, Medvedev -- who served as president from 2008 to 2012, between current President Vladimir Putin's terms -- once again sparked public ire after telling a group of pensioners: "There's no money, but hang in there." The phrase has since gone viral. Russia's energy-reliant economy is reeling from the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's meddling in Ukraine. (AFP)

Angered by 'careless remark', 168,000 Russians demand PM  Dmitry Medvedev's resignation

US President Barack Obama said Thursday that he was &quot;not confident&quot; that Russia and President Vladimir Putin could be trusted as partners in trying to end Syria&#39;s bloody civil war. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m not confident that we can trust the Russians and (President) Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities that includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we have seen carried out by the Assad regime,&quot; Obama said. 
 
&quot;We go into this without any blinders on.&quot; 
 
Obama expressed concern about Russia&#39;s military action in support of the Syrian regime, and urged Moscow to cooperate with Washington to find a way out of the crisis. 
 
&quot;The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Syria,&quot; Obama told reporters at the Pentagon. 
 
&quot;But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives,&quot; Obama said, following a meeting with his national security council. 
 
Russia and the United States back opposing sides in Syria&#39;s five-year war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes. 
 
Multiple rounds of international negotiations to end the war, which erupted in 2011 after the Assad regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt, have so far failed. 
 
Russia, an ally of Damascus, and the United States, which supports moderate rebels fighting to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, are nominally co-chairs of the international effort to bring the Syrian regime and armed opposition groups to the negotiating table as a step toward ending the war. 
 
Following heavy Russian air strikes on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, US secretary of state John Kerry on Monday urged Russia to &quot;restrain&quot; itself and its ally in Damascus from &quot;offensive operations.&quot; 
 
(AFP) 
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Washington has urged Moscow to 'restrain' itself and its ally in Damascus from 'offensive operations'

US President Barack Obama said Thursday that he was "not confident" that Russia and President Vladimir Putin could be trusted as partners in trying to end Syria's bloody civil war. "I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians and (President) Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities that includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we have seen carried out by the Assad regime," Obama said. "We go into this without any blinders on." Obama expressed concern about Russia's military action in support of the Syrian regime, and urged Moscow to cooperate with Washington to find a way out of the crisis. "The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Syria," Obama told reporters at the Pentagon. "But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives," Obama said, following a meeting with his national security council. Russia and the United States back opposing sides in Syria's five-year war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes. Multiple rounds of international negotiations to end the war, which erupted in 2011 after the Assad regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt, have so far failed. Russia, an ally of Damascus, and the United States, which supports moderate rebels fighting to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, are nominally co-chairs of the international effort to bring the Syrian regime and armed opposition groups to the negotiating table as a step toward ending the war. Following heavy Russian air strikes on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, US secretary of state John Kerry on Monday urged Russia to "restrain" itself and its ally in Damascus from "offensive operations." (AFP)

US President Obama says not confident Putin can be trusted to cooperate in Syria

President Vladimir Putin said a shadowy political plot had succeeded in unfairly stripping some Russian sportspeople of the right to compete at the Rio Olympics over doping allegations and promised to defend Russia&#39;s tarnished sporting reputation. 
 
Addressing members of Russia&#39;s Olympic team in the Kremlin today, Putin said a decision by global sporting organisations to ban Russian track-and-field athletes and sportspeople in everything from swimming to rowing flew in the face of common sense and legality. 
 
&quot;The deliberate campaign targeting our athletes was characterised by so-called double standards and opted for the idea of collective responsibility, which is not compatible with sport, justice, or the basic norms of law,&quot; said Putin. &quot;It is an attempt to apply the rules which unfortunately dominate in geopolitics to the sporting world,&quot; he said, hitting out at what he called &quot;short-sighted political schemers.&quot; 
 
With Russia months away from parliamentary elections and stuck in an economic crisis, the scandal, which centres on allegations the Russian government and the FSB security service covered up doping for years, has rocked the Russian sports world and tarnished Putin&#39;s showcase 2014 winter Olympics. 
 
But his tactic of pinning the blame on a shadowy plot, which he has previously suggested emanates in the West, taps into voters&#39; patriotism and analysts say the imbroglio is unlikely to hurt his stratospheric ratings. 
 
Putin, a keen practitioner of judo and ice hockey, made his comments to over 100 sportspeople, some of whom have been banned from going to the Rio Games next month because of doping allegations by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and other federations. 
 
He spoke after the IAAF said there were &quot;no grounds for further review&quot; of its original decision. Occasionally looking glassy-eyed and emotional, Putin complained that many of those prevented from going had not been served with specific or proven doping accusations. 
 
&quot;It is obvious that the absence of Russian sportspeople, leaders in many sporting disciplines, will significantly affect the intensity of the competition and diminish the spectator value of the forthcoming events,&quot; said Putin. 
 
Any medal won in Rio in the absence of Russian athletes would be worth much less than usual, he added, predicting many victories would be hollow. Pledging tough action against any sportspeople guilty of doping as well as the creation of a system to prevent the practice, Putin said someone was trying to rewrite the Olympics&#39; founding principles, of equality, fairness and mutual respect. 
 
The atmosphere at the meeting, held in a glittering hall in the Kremlin, was sombre. Double Olympic champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, one of the athletes unable to attend Rio because of the scandal, became emotional when she spoke after Putin, saying her Olympic dream and that of others had been stolen. 
 
Putin said Russians excelled in the face of adversity. &quot;There is an important and wonderful quality about the Russian character,&quot; said Putin. &quot;Difficulties only unite us and make us stronger,&quot; he added. 
 
(Reuters)

Putin complained that many athletes prevented from going to Rio had not been served with specific or proven doping accusations

President Vladimir Putin said a shadowy political plot had succeeded in unfairly stripping some Russian sportspeople of the right to compete at the Rio Olympics over doping allegations and promised to defend Russia's tarnished sporting reputation. Addressing members of Russia's Olympic team in the Kremlin today, Putin said a decision by global sporting organisations to ban Russian track-and-field athletes and sportspeople in everything from swimming to rowing flew in the face of common sense and legality. "The deliberate campaign targeting our athletes was characterised by so-called double standards and opted for the idea of collective responsibility, which is not compatible with sport, justice, or the basic norms of law," said Putin. "It is an attempt to apply the rules which unfortunately dominate in geopolitics to the sporting world," he said, hitting out at what he called "short-sighted political schemers." With Russia months away from parliamentary elections and stuck in an economic crisis, the scandal, which centres on allegations the Russian government and the FSB security service covered up doping for years, has rocked the Russian sports world and tarnished Putin's showcase 2014 winter Olympics. But his tactic of pinning the blame on a shadowy plot, which he has previously suggested emanates in the West, taps into voters' patriotism and analysts say the imbroglio is unlikely to hurt his stratospheric ratings. Putin, a keen practitioner of judo and ice hockey, made his comments to over 100 sportspeople, some of whom have been banned from going to the Rio Games next month because of doping allegations by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and other federations. He spoke after the IAAF said there were "no grounds for further review" of its original decision. Occasionally looking glassy-eyed and emotional, Putin complained that many of those prevented from going had not been served with specific or proven doping accusations. "It is obvious that the absence of Russian sportspeople, leaders in many sporting disciplines, will significantly affect the intensity of the competition and diminish the spectator value of the forthcoming events," said Putin. Any medal won in Rio in the absence of Russian athletes would be worth much less than usual, he added, predicting many victories would be hollow. Pledging tough action against any sportspeople guilty of doping as well as the creation of a system to prevent the practice, Putin said someone was trying to rewrite the Olympics' founding principles, of equality, fairness and mutual respect. The atmosphere at the meeting, held in a glittering hall in the Kremlin, was sombre. Double Olympic champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, one of the athletes unable to attend Rio because of the scandal, became emotional when she spoke after Putin, saying her Olympic dream and that of others had been stolen. Putin said Russians excelled in the face of adversity. "There is an important and wonderful quality about the Russian character," said Putin. "Difficulties only unite us and make us stronger," he added. (Reuters)

Russia's Putin says expelled athletes target of political plot

With the Rio Olympics less than three weeks away, the IOC on Monday promised &quot;the toughest sanctions available&quot; after a report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi winter Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not spell out whether it would heed growing calls for Olympic bans already imposed on Russia&#39;s track and field athletes and weightlifters to be extended to all its competitors in Rio.

However, IOC President Thomas Bach said the independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation had revealed &quot;a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games&quot;.

The IOC Executive Board is to hold a telephone conference today&nbsp;to take its first decisions, which may include provisional measures and sanctions with regard to the Rio Olympics.

&quot;Therefore, the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organisation implicated.&quot;

WADA itself explicitly urged the IOC to consider banning Russia from the Rio Olympics altogether.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who staked his reputation on the Sochi Games, the costliest in history, said the WADA-backed report was the result of political interference and that the Olympic movement could now split.

The report confirmed allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov, former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory.

He told the New York Times two months ago that dozens of Russians had used performance-enhancing drugs in Sochi with the support not only of national sports authorities but even the domestic intelligence service, the FSB.

Monday&#39;s report said Russia, a traditional sporting superpower, had been stung into action by its performance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where it finished 11th, with only three gold medals.

&quot;The surprise result of the Sochi investigation was the revelation of the extent of State oversight and directed control of the Moscow Laboratory in processing and covering up urine samples of Russian athletes from virtually all sports before and after the Sochi Games,&quot; said the report, unveiled in Toronto.

&#39;Failsafe strategy&#39;

The investigation was led by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren, who sat on the independent commission that last year exposed doping and corruption in Russian track and field, leading to its exclusion from international competition.

The report said Deputy sports minister Yuri Nagornykh had been advised of every positive test across all sports from 2011 onwards and decided &quot;who would benefit from a cover up and who would not be protected.

&quot;The State implemented a simple failsafe strategy,&quot; it said. &quot;If all the operational precautions to promote and permit doping by Russian athletes proved to have been ineffective for whatever reason, the laboratory provided a failsafe mechanism.

&quot;The State had the ability to transform a positive analytical result into a negative one by ordering that the analytical process of the Moscow Laboratory be altered.&quot;

Among the hundreds of samples that disappeared were 35 from Paralympic athletes.

In Sochi itself, where international observers were scrutinising the drug tests, positive results could not simply be brushed away, so the FSB developed a method of opening urine bottles to allow samples to be swapped undetected.

Rodchenkov spoke of a clandestine night-time operation in which staff secretly took samples from the lab via a &quot;mouse hole&quot; cut into a wall, and replaced them with clean samples taken from the same athlete months earlier and sometimes manipulated.

&#39;Credible witnesses&#39;

McLaren said Rodchenkov and all other witnesses interviewed had been deemed credible, and the report said the investigators &quot;confirm the general veracity of the published information concerning the sample swapping that went on at the Sochi Laboratory during the Sochi Games&quot;.

The investigations showed that caps had been removed from a number of samples, and that they contained unusually high levels of salt, &quot;significantly exceeding the levels produced by the human body&quot;.

Nagornykh and sports minister Vitaly Mutko, who was mentioned 21 times in McLaren&#39;s 97-page report, were not immediately available for comment.

Putin said in a statement that there was &quot;no place for doping in sport&quot;, and that the officials named in the report would be suspended.

Following the statement, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev suspended deputy sports minister Nagornykh.

Putin also said the allegations were based on the testimony of only one man, and were an attempt to &quot;make sport an instrument of geopolitical pressure, to form a negative image of countries and peoples&quot;.

Harking back to the tit-for-tat superpower boycotts of the 1980s, he said: &quot;The Olympic movement ... may again be on the verge of a split.&quot;

In a leaked draft letter intended to be sent to the IOC on Monday, US&nbsp;Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart called for a ban on all Russian athletes, not only in track and field.

Paul Melia, head of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, said the letter was backed by various athletes&#39; committees and the anti-doping organisations of the United States, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, among others.

However, Russian track and field athletes have appealed against their ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is due to rule by Thursday.

If it finds in their favour, there would seem to be little chance of a wider ban on Russian competitors holding up.

Bach had indicated last week that he was reluctant to see athletes from one sport punished for the crimes of athletes or officials from another. 
 
(Reuters)

It does not say yet whether it will heed calls to ban all Russian sportsmen and women from the Rio Olympics

With the Rio Olympics less than three weeks away, the IOC on Monday promised "the toughest sanctions available" after a report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi winter Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not spell out whether it would heed growing calls for Olympic bans already imposed on Russia's track and field athletes and weightlifters to be extended to all its competitors in Rio. However, IOC President Thomas Bach said the independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation had revealed "a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games". The IOC Executive Board is to hold a telephone conference today to take its first decisions, which may include provisional measures and sanctions with regard to the Rio Olympics. "Therefore, the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organisation implicated." WADA itself explicitly urged the IOC to consider banning Russia from the Rio Olympics altogether. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who staked his reputation on the Sochi Games, the costliest in history, said the WADA-backed report was the result of political interference and that the Olympic movement could now split. The report confirmed allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov, former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. He told the New York Times two months ago that dozens of Russians had used performance-enhancing drugs in Sochi with the support not only of national sports authorities but even the domestic intelligence service, the FSB. Monday's report said Russia, a traditional sporting superpower, had been stung into action by its performance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where it finished 11th, with only three gold medals. "The surprise result of the Sochi investigation was the revelation of the extent of State oversight and directed control of the Moscow Laboratory in processing and covering up urine samples of Russian athletes from virtually all sports before and after the Sochi Games," said the report, unveiled in Toronto. 'Failsafe strategy' The investigation was led by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren, who sat on the independent commission that last year exposed doping and corruption in Russian track and field, leading to its exclusion from international competition. The report said Deputy sports minister Yuri Nagornykh had been advised of every positive test across all sports from 2011 onwards and decided "who would benefit from a cover up and who would not be protected. "The State implemented a simple failsafe strategy," it said. "If all the operational precautions to promote and permit doping by Russian athletes proved to have been ineffective for whatever reason, the laboratory provided a failsafe mechanism. "The State had the ability to transform a positive analytical result into a negative one by ordering that the analytical process of the Moscow Laboratory be altered." Among the hundreds of samples that disappeared were 35 from Paralympic athletes. In Sochi itself, where international observers were scrutinising the drug tests, positive results could not simply be brushed away, so the FSB developed a method of opening urine bottles to allow samples to be swapped undetected. Rodchenkov spoke of a clandestine night-time operation in which staff secretly took samples from the lab via a "mouse hole" cut into a wall, and replaced them with clean samples taken from the same athlete months earlier and sometimes manipulated. 'Credible witnesses' McLaren said Rodchenkov and all other witnesses interviewed had been deemed credible, and the report said the investigators "confirm the general veracity of the published information concerning the sample swapping that went on at the Sochi Laboratory during the Sochi Games". The investigations showed that caps had been removed from a number of samples, and that they contained unusually high levels of salt, "significantly exceeding the levels produced by the human body". Nagornykh and sports minister Vitaly Mutko, who was mentioned 21 times in McLaren's 97-page report, were not immediately available for comment. Putin said in a statement that there was "no place for doping in sport", and that the officials named in the report would be suspended. Following the statement, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev suspended deputy sports minister Nagornykh. Putin also said the allegations were based on the testimony of only one man, and were an attempt to "make sport an instrument of geopolitical pressure, to form a negative image of countries and peoples". Harking back to the tit-for-tat superpower boycotts of the 1980s, he said: "The Olympic movement ... may again be on the verge of a split." In a leaked draft letter intended to be sent to the IOC on Monday, US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart called for a ban on all Russian athletes, not only in track and field. Paul Melia, head of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, said the letter was backed by various athletes' committees and the anti-doping organisations of the United States, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, among others. However, Russian track and field athletes have appealed against their ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is due to rule by Thursday. If it finds in their favour, there would seem to be little chance of a wider ban on Russian competitors holding up. Bach had indicated last week that he was reluctant to see athletes from one sport punished for the crimes of athletes or officials from another. (Reuters)

IOC vows 'toughest sanctions' after report corroborates systematic doping, cover-up by Moscow

Moscow offered to fly its jets over the Baltic region with their transponders engaged, an apparent concession to NATO powers who accuse Russia&#39;s air force of endangering aviation by turning off the devices that allow them to be detected by ground radar. 
 
Moscow&#39;s envoy to NATO told alliance ambassadors that Russian pilots could turn on the cockpit transmitters, known as transponders, if alliance planes did the same. 
 
&quot;We are ready to fly with transponders along certain flight trajectories,&quot; Russia&#39;s ambassador Alexander Grushko said after the NATO-Russia Council, a forum bringing together Russia and the 28 NATO ambassadors. 
 
&quot;The aircraft of many countries do fly in the region with their transponders off,&quot; Grushko said. 
 
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the proposal but said that all jets under NATO command already flew with their transponders on.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Transponders are important, but they are only one element of a broader picture related to air safety. The basic thing is safe behaviour, to fly in a safe and professional way,&quot; Stoltenberg said. 
 
The proposal comes after two years of several near misses between Western planes, both civilian and military, and Russian jets in the skies above the Baltics that NATO has patrolled since Russia&#39;s annexation of Crimea in 2014. 
 
It also comes after several gestures by Russian President Vladimir Putin that seem to aim at defusing East-West tensions despite NATO&#39;s summit last weekend in Warsaw. There, the alliance agreed to deploy a multinational force to the Baltics and Poland and to take over a US-built missile shield that Russia sees as hostile. 
 
Putin agreed to Wednesday&#39;s meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, only the second since mid-2014, while also recently allowing a UN resolution authorising the EU to intercept arms shipments to Libya in the Mediterranean. Putin has talked by telephone US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland in recent days. 
 
&quot;Back to the Cold War&quot; 
 
The transponders plan, which was raised by Putin during a visit to Finland this month, was put to NATO ambassadors both by Russia&#39;s envoy and generals at the meeting at NATO headquarters. Diplomats said there was no detailed discussion. 
 
Diplomats told Reuters the Russian proposal appeared to be directed at US military reconnaissance flights that regularly fly through the region, and which Russia has intercepted in what Washington says is an unsafe manner. 
 
In one instance in April, Russia sent a fighter plane to intercept a US aircraft approaching its border over the Baltic Sea, accusing the plane of turning off its transponders. 
 
It was not immediately clear if US reconnaissance jets have flown with their transponders off in the region. 
 
In a sign of the continued strains between Russia and the West, Grushko reiterated Moscow&#39;s position that NATO&#39;s biggest modernisation since the end of the Cold War is putting Europe&#39;s security at risk. NATO denies that, saying its military build-up is a proportionate response to Russia&#39;s actions in Ukraine. 
 
&quot;The message was very clear. There is no reason for NATO to do what it is doing. The direction in which NATO is moving in military terms is very worrisome,&quot; Grushko said. &quot;It takes us back to the Cold War,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters)

The proposal comes after several gestures by Russian President aimed at defusing East-West tensions despite NATO's summit in Warsaw

Moscow offered to fly its jets over the Baltic region with their transponders engaged, an apparent concession to NATO powers who accuse Russia's air force of endangering aviation by turning off the devices that allow them to be detected by ground radar. Moscow's envoy to NATO told alliance ambassadors that Russian pilots could turn on the cockpit transmitters, known as transponders, if alliance planes did the same. "We are ready to fly with transponders along certain flight trajectories," Russia's ambassador Alexander Grushko said after the NATO-Russia Council, a forum bringing together Russia and the 28 NATO ambassadors. "The aircraft of many countries do fly in the region with their transponders off," Grushko said. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the proposal but said that all jets under NATO command already flew with their transponders on. "Transponders are important, but they are only one element of a broader picture related to air safety. The basic thing is safe behaviour, to fly in a safe and professional way," Stoltenberg said. The proposal comes after two years of several near misses between Western planes, both civilian and military, and Russian jets in the skies above the Baltics that NATO has patrolled since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. It also comes after several gestures by Russian President Vladimir Putin that seem to aim at defusing East-West tensions despite NATO's summit last weekend in Warsaw. There, the alliance agreed to deploy a multinational force to the Baltics and Poland and to take over a US-built missile shield that Russia sees as hostile. Putin agreed to Wednesday's meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, only the second since mid-2014, while also recently allowing a UN resolution authorising the EU to intercept arms shipments to Libya in the Mediterranean. Putin has talked by telephone US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland in recent days. "Back to the Cold War" The transponders plan, which was raised by Putin during a visit to Finland this month, was put to NATO ambassadors both by Russia's envoy and generals at the meeting at NATO headquarters. Diplomats said there was no detailed discussion. Diplomats told Reuters the Russian proposal appeared to be directed at US military reconnaissance flights that regularly fly through the region, and which Russia has intercepted in what Washington says is an unsafe manner. In one instance in April, Russia sent a fighter plane to intercept a US aircraft approaching its border over the Baltic Sea, accusing the plane of turning off its transponders. It was not immediately clear if US reconnaissance jets have flown with their transponders off in the region. In a sign of the continued strains between Russia and the West, Grushko reiterated Moscow's position that NATO's biggest modernisation since the end of the Cold War is putting Europe's security at risk. NATO denies that, saying its military build-up is a proportionate response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. "The message was very clear. There is no reason for NATO to do what it is doing. The direction in which NATO is moving in military terms is very worrisome," Grushko said. "It takes us back to the Cold War," he said. (Reuters)

Russia offers to fly warplanes more safely over Baltics

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said today he has never faced pressure from Russia to step aside, as US secretary of state John Kerry headed to Moscow seeking to revive stalled peace efforts. 
 
Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, Assad insisted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition. 
 
&quot;Only the Syrian people define who&#39;s going to be the President, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this,&quot; he said. 
 
Assad&#39;s fate is a key question in efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to Syria&#39;s five-year civil war.&nbsp; 
 
Hopes for the existing peace process rest on the UN-backed blueprint sketched out by the 22-nation, US and Russian-led International Syria Support Group. 
 
Under this road map, signed by both Syria&#39;s ally Iran and Assad&#39;s pro-rebel foe Saudi Arabia, a nationwide ceasefire will precede Geneva-based talks on &quot;political transition&quot;. 
 
But there has been little progress towards a resumption of talks that had been expected to take place this month. 
 
And the prospects for a political transition beginning August, as laid out in the road map, now appear slim. 
 
Kerry was due to arrive later today in Moscow, a close ally of Assad&#39;s government that launched air strikes in support of regime forces last September. 
 
Kerry said before leaving Washington that he would meet Putin &quot;to see if we can somehow advance this (the peace process) in the important ways that people want us to&quot;. Moscow and Washington brokered a landmark partial ceasefire in Syria in February but it has since all but collapsed amid continued heavy fighting. 
 
Kerry&#39;s spokesman John Kirby told reporters his boss was &quot;extremely frustrated&quot; with the failure of peace efforts and &quot;his patience was growing thin&quot;. 
 
In Washington, many observers have criticised Kerry&#39;s outreach to Russia on Syria, arguing he has been strung along by Putin as he seeks to protect his client Assad. 
 
But Kirby insisted the administration is not being naive, and that today&#39;s visit to Moscow, Kerry&#39;s third this year, would &quot;probe the sincerity&quot; of Putin&#39;s promises. 
 
Syria&#39;s conflict began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war that has left more than 280,000 dead and forced millions from their homes. 
 
Efforts to bring an end to the war have taken on greater urgency since the emergence of the Islamic State group, which seized control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in mid-2014. 
 
The jihadist group has committed widespread atrocities in areas under its control and organised or inspired a wave of attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities. 
 
A US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against the jihadists in Syria and Iraq and recent months have seen IS lose significant territory. 
 
The Washington Post reported today that Washington was to offer to cooperate with Russia in joint military action against IS and the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front. 
 
In Paris before heading to Moscow, Kerry did not deny the report, but refused to discuss the proposal in detail until he had been to the Kremlin. 
 
According to the Post, which cited sections of what it said was a draft agreement, US and Russian commanders would set up a joint command and control centre to direct intensified air strikes against the groups. 
 
Such a deal is likely to face criticism that it amounts to a tacit acceptance of Putin&#39;s efforts to shore up Assad&#39;s regime.&nbsp; 
 
It was her own fault 
In his interview with NBC, Assad also said a US reporter killed in alleged Syrian government bombardment in 2012 was responsible for her own death. 
 
Marie Colvin, a 56-year-old war correspondent working for British newspaper The Sunday Times, died in the rebel-held Baba Amr district of Syria&#39;s third city Homs. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a war and she came illegally to Syria. She worked with the terrorists, and because she came illegally, she&#39;s been responsible of everything that befall on her,&quot; Assad said, speaking in English. 
 
Asked if she was responsible for her own death, Assad replied &quot;of course&quot;, though he denied that his forces had targeted her. 
 
His comments came days after relatives of Colvin filed a lawsuit in a US court alleging Assad&#39;s regime targeted her to stop her covering government atrocities. 
 
The suit, based on information from captured government documents as well as defectors, claims the Syrian military intercepted Colvin&#39;s communications and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on her location, killing her and French photographer Remi Ochlik. 
 
(AFP)

'Only the Syrian people define who's going to be the President, when to come, and when to go,' he said

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said today he has never faced pressure from Russia to step aside, as US secretary of state John Kerry headed to Moscow seeking to revive stalled peace efforts. Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, Assad insisted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition. "Only the Syrian people define who's going to be the President, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this," he said. Assad's fate is a key question in efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement to Syria's five-year civil war. Hopes for the existing peace process rest on the UN-backed blueprint sketched out by the 22-nation, US and Russian-led International Syria Support Group. Under this road map, signed by both Syria's ally Iran and Assad's pro-rebel foe Saudi Arabia, a nationwide ceasefire will precede Geneva-based talks on "political transition". But there has been little progress towards a resumption of talks that had been expected to take place this month. And the prospects for a political transition beginning August, as laid out in the road map, now appear slim. Kerry was due to arrive later today in Moscow, a close ally of Assad's government that launched air strikes in support of regime forces last September. Kerry said before leaving Washington that he would meet Putin "to see if we can somehow advance this (the peace process) in the important ways that people want us to". Moscow and Washington brokered a landmark partial ceasefire in Syria in February but it has since all but collapsed amid continued heavy fighting. Kerry's spokesman John Kirby told reporters his boss was "extremely frustrated" with the failure of peace efforts and "his patience was growing thin". In Washington, many observers have criticised Kerry's outreach to Russia on Syria, arguing he has been strung along by Putin as he seeks to protect his client Assad. But Kirby insisted the administration is not being naive, and that today's visit to Moscow, Kerry's third this year, would "probe the sincerity" of Putin's promises. Syria's conflict began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war that has left more than 280,000 dead and forced millions from their homes. Efforts to bring an end to the war have taken on greater urgency since the emergence of the Islamic State group, which seized control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in mid-2014. The jihadist group has committed widespread atrocities in areas under its control and organised or inspired a wave of attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities. A US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against the jihadists in Syria and Iraq and recent months have seen IS lose significant territory. The Washington Post reported today that Washington was to offer to cooperate with Russia in joint military action against IS and the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front. In Paris before heading to Moscow, Kerry did not deny the report, but refused to discuss the proposal in detail until he had been to the Kremlin. According to the Post, which cited sections of what it said was a draft agreement, US and Russian commanders would set up a joint command and control centre to direct intensified air strikes against the groups. Such a deal is likely to face criticism that it amounts to a tacit acceptance of Putin's efforts to shore up Assad's regime. It was her own fault In his interview with NBC, Assad also said a US reporter killed in alleged Syrian government bombardment in 2012 was responsible for her own death. Marie Colvin, a 56-year-old war correspondent working for British newspaper The Sunday Times, died in the rebel-held Baba Amr district of Syria's third city Homs. "It's a war and she came illegally to Syria. She worked with the terrorists, and because she came illegally, she's been responsible of everything that befall on her," Assad said, speaking in English. Asked if she was responsible for her own death, Assad replied "of course", though he denied that his forces had targeted her. His comments came days after relatives of Colvin filed a lawsuit in a US court alleging Assad's regime targeted her to stop her covering government atrocities. The suit, based on information from captured government documents as well as defectors, claims the Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on her location, killing her and French photographer Remi Ochlik. (AFP)

Have never faced pressure from Russia to step aside: Assad

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin spoke on the telephone today and both expressed a determination to revive mutual relations and fight against terrorism, Erdogan&#39;s office said in a statement. 
 
The call was arranged after Erdogan expressed regret in a letter to Putin on Monday over Turkey&#39;s downing of a Russian warplane last year. 
 
The two also agreed during their call to meet in person, Erdogan&#39;s office said, adding that &quot;necessary steps&quot; should be taken to revive relations. 
 
(Reuters)

A phone call was arranged after Erdogan expressed regret in a letter to Putin over downing a Russian warplane last year

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin spoke on the telephone today and both expressed a determination to revive mutual relations and fight against terrorism, Erdogan's office said in a statement. The call was arranged after Erdogan expressed regret in a letter to Putin on Monday over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last year. The two also agreed during their call to meet in person, Erdogan's office said, adding that "necessary steps" should be taken to revive relations. (Reuters)

Turkey and Russia agree to revive mutual relations

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