Russia’s politics in the world arena can be explained by their desire to compete with the United States and defend its spheres of influence. This was the view expressed by German Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier in an interview with Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung.

“In Russia’s actions I see a willingness to participate in world politics on equal terms with the United States and an attempt to defend and expand its spheres of influence,” he said. Also according to Steinmeier, “ …

At a meeting in Brussels on October 26th and 27th, the 28 defense ministers of NATO member-states will discuss strengthening the alliance’s presence in the Black Sea region, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated.

"We will implement plans to strengthen NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region. We will assess the infrastructure needed for NATO countries to ensure the rapid deployment of our forces in Europe,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

In February, NATO defense ministers agreed on …

During the last two years the hidden "protest potential" of students and teachers at Russian universities have been monitored, as reported by the Deputy Head of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Projections at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (PFUR), Nikita Danyuk, at the Congress of the vice-rectors for educational work, Kommersant reports.

As part of the educational program "Scenarios for the Future of Russia," Danyuk, together with his colleagues, visited more than 40 …

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine expressed their opposition to the deployment of an OSCE armed police mission in the region. The Chairman of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, stated on the 24th of October in Moscow that the presence of any foreign groups in the territory of the self-proclaimed is contrary to the set of measures taken to consolidate peace.

Pushilin believes that the deployment of an OSCE armed group in the region would require changing the …

The USS Carney, a US destroyer equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, has entered the Black Sea. This information was made available on the Twitter page of the Turkish Bosphorus Naval News Portal.

This portal tracks the movement of ships through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits. The report said that “USS Carney is passing through Istanbul one day after the USS Mount Whitney left”.

In June, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on the dangerously close encounter of the Russian …

More than 80 human rights and humanitarian organizations have signed a petition to prevent the election of Russia into the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). According to British newspaper, The Independent, they are in opposition because of Russia’s policy towards Syria.

The organizations involved include the Human Rights Watch and Care International.

The newspaper noted that the petition appeared shortly before the next voting session on the structure of the UNHRC, which will be held on Friday. …

Ukraine and four more countries have agreed with the EU Council’s decision to extend sanctions against Russia until the 15th of March 2017. These sanctions were initially imposed because of Russia’s involvement in the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This was stated in a statement by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on the 24th of October.

“The candidate countries of Montenegro and Albania, members of the …

According to Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov, the military infrastructure in the Arctic has been developed to the point that several Russian army units have assumed combat duty in the region, TASS reported.

"The infrastructure preparedness on all the Arctic islands has already allowed units there to assume combat duty," Bulgakov stated.

The Deputy Defense Minister added that military facilities are still under construction in the Arctic, specifically in Tiksi, Anadyr, Vorkuta, …