First pipes for Nord Stream 2 have arrived on the island of Rugen

A permit for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has not yet been obtained, but the implementation of the project is continuing. On Thursday, October 27, the first pipes for the proposed 1,200-km-long gas pipeline arrived from Russia on the island of Rügen in Germany, DPA agency reported. There they will be stored at a special plant and covered with concrete for future pipe-laying.

At the end of 2019, Nord Stream 2 will begin operation of the gas pipeline, the cost of which is …


Kremlin declines to comment on report that U.S. and Russian aircraft had a close encounter over Syria

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on statements made by Pentagon officials that Russian and U.S. planes had a close encounter over Syria on October 17th, RIA Novosti reported.

When asked to comment on the incident, Peskov said, “It is for my colleagues at the Ministry of Defense."

Earlier on Friday, Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigian, the commander of U.S. Air Force Central Command, described an incident in which a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft and a Russian fighter flew …


Ukraine and Turkey agree to step up negotiations on a free trade zone

The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, agreed to step up negotiations on a free trade area and discussed procedures for further negotiations at the highest level, during a recent telephone conversation, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian State.

According to the report, Poroshenko informed the Turkish leader about an increase in the period for a visa-free stay from 60 to 90 days for Turkish citizens visiting Ukraine.

The Turkish …


Putin: The U.S. is responsible for the breakdown of the ceasefire in Syria

At a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the United States had disrupted the ceasefire in Syria.

According to him, US President Barack Obama had promised to separate the terrorists from the opposition in Syria in seven days. “The United States have admitted that part of Aleppo is still occupied by terrorist organizations, Jabhat an-Nusra [also known as the Al-Nusra Front] and ISIL, and it can be seen on video, when we observe the …


U.S. and Swedish reconnaissance aircraft fly over Russian Kaliningrad and Crimea

On Friday, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Black Sea near the coast of the Crimea and a Swedish Gulfsteam 4 signals intelligence aircraft flew over Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, Interfax reported.

According to websites that track the movement of military aircraft, the U.S. P-8A with tail number 168 761 took off from the Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily and flew over the southern coast of the Crimea.

The Swedish Air Force’s Gulfstream 4 with …