Tag Archives: Russia

Russia calls Britain’s new aircraft carrier ‘a convenient target’

Britain's Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting, in London, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

By Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Solovyov

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian military mocked Britain’s new aircraft carrier on Thursday, saying the HMS Queen Elizabeth presented “a large convenient target” and would be wise to keep its distance from Moscow’s warships.

The giant vessel, Britain’s most advanced and biggest warship, embarked on its maiden voyage on Monday, prompting British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon to say he thought the Russians would look at it “with a little bit of envy.”

Stung by that remark and angered by Fallon calling Russia’s sole aircraft carrier “dilapidated,” the Russian defense ministry issued a strongly-worded statement on Thursday, criticizing Fallon and deriding the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

“These rapturous statements … about the supremacy of the new aircraft carrier’s beautiful exterior over the Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov expose Fallon’s utter ignorance of naval military science,” the ministry said.

“Like a bee, the British aircraft carrier is only capable of independently releasing planes from its belly closely flanked by a swarm of warships, support ships and submarines to protect it. That is why … the British aircraft carrier is merely a large convenient naval target.”

The aging Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, and a ship that Fallon has criticized more than once, was by contrast armed with an array of defensive missiles, the ministry said, warning the HMS Queen Elizabeth to keep her distance from the Russian navy.

“It is in the interests of the British Royal Navy not to show off the ‘beauty’ of its aircraft carrier on the high seas any closer than a few hundred miles from its Russian ‘distant relative’,” the ministry said.

Fallon offended Russia’s military in January when he dubbed Moscow’s sole aircraft carrier “a ship of shame” as it passed through waters close to the English coast on its way back from bombing raids in Syria.

Russia said at the time that Britain was staging a show by escorting the ship, the Admiral Kuznetsov, through the English Channel designed to distract attention away from the shortcomings of the British navy.

The Kuznetsov, which entered service in 1991 in the Soviet Union’s dying days, is part of Russia’s Northern Fleet near Murmansk and is currently awaiting serious repairs.

Russia, striving to promote a more assertive foreign policy amid chilly ties with the West, is in the process of re-arming its army and the navy.

But some experts at home and abroad say the Cold war-era Kuznetsov is now obsolete and that Russia needs a new generation of aircraft carriers.

(Editing by Richard Balmforth)

France sees Syria opportunity through closer dialogue with Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron walks next to Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian after a meeting about Qatar crisis at the Elysee Place in Paris France, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) – France said on Thursday it saw a chance to break the stalemate in Syria’s war as Russia now seemed to accept there could be no military solution and preconditions set by some opponents of President Bashar al-Assad had been dropped.

The election of President Emmanuel Macron has provided an opening for Paris to re-examine its Syria policy, with the view that the previous government’s stance that Assad must step down was too intransigent and an obstacle to peacemaking.

Macron last week reversed France’s stance on the future of Assad, saying he saw no legitimate successor at this time and the priority was to prevent Syria becoming a failed state. The United States has also backed away this year from an insistence on Assad’s departure to allow a political solution.

Assad has held on with Russian and Iranian military support in a six-year war with rebels and Islamist militants that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

New Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has been pushing for closer dialogue with Moscow as Paris also seeks to use the lack of clear U.S. policy on Syria to give itself a greater role.

“I can’t give any details, but I think that there is a window of opportunity at the moment. Like everybody, I think the Russians are conscious that there is no military solution to the conflict,” Le Drian, who was defense minister under Macron’s predecessor Francois Hollande, said in an published interview.

“We should be able to get there with a new method that encompasses establishing robust principles that seem unquestionable, without setting rhetorical preconditions but by creating new bridges between the different actors,” he said.

Le Drian did not explain in the interview with Le Monde what those principles were or what incentives Russia would be given.

France, a supporter of the Syrian opposition until now, has demanded the conflict be resolved through a credible political transition based on U.N. Security Council resolutions negotiated between the warring parties with the United Nations in Geneva.

Le Drian, who held six hours of talks primarily on Syria with Russian officials in Moscow last week and has said the priority for France was weakening the threat from Islamic State militants, made no mention of the those resolutions or Geneva.

He called for diplomatic support from permanent members of the Security Council and regional players. A French diplomat said Paris hoped to create a small contact group that could push peace efforts forward.

French officials said part of the reason why Paris has pushed for renewed dialogue with Russia on Syria is the vacuum left by the United States, which they deem has no clear policy beyond defeating Islamic State.

“The Russians have nobody else. They have no coherent interlocutor. The Russians have nothing else to get their teeth into other than the French,” said a European diplomat.

Syria’s civil war has turned to Assad’s favor since 2015, when Russia sent its jets to help his army and allied Shi’ite militias backed by Iran turned back rebels and won new ground.

But the conflict is far from over, with rebels holding swathes of Syria, especially in the northwest and southeast, and Islamic State controlling other areas in the north and east.

(Reporting by John Irish; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Global business reels from second major cyber attack in two months

Customers queue in 'Rost' supermarket in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 27, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. MIKHAIL GOLUB via REUTERS

By Eric Auchard and Jack Stubbs

FRANKFURT/MOSCOW (Reuters) – A major cyber attack, believed to have first struck Ukraine, caused havoc around the world on Wednesday, crippling computers or halting operations at port operator Maersk, a Cadbury chocolate plant in Australia and the property arm of French bank BNP Paribas.

Russia’s biggest oil company, Ukrainian banks and multinational firms were among those hit on Tuesday by the cyber extortion campaign, which has underscored growing concerns that businesses have failed to secure their networks from increasingly aggressive hackers.

The rapidly spreading computer worm appeared to be a variant of an existing ransomware family known as Petya which also has borrowed key features from last month’s ransomware attack, named “WannaCry”.

ESET, an anti-virus vendor based in Bratislava, said 80 percent of all infections from the new attack detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, with Italy second hardest hit at around 10 percent. Several of the international firms hit had operations in Ukraine.

Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk <MAERSKb.CO>, which handles one in seven containers shipped worldwide and has a logistics unit in Ukraine, is not able to process new orders after being hit by the attack on Tuesday, it told Reuters.

“Right now, at this hour, we’re not able to take new orders,” Maersk Line Chief Commercial Officer Vincent Clerc said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

BNP Paribas Real Estate <BNPP.PA>, which provides property and investment management services, confirmed it had been hit but declined to specify how widely it had affected its business. It employed nearly 3,500 staff in 16 countries as of last year.

“The international cyber attack hit our non-bank subsidiary, Real Estate. The necessary measures have been taken to rapidly contain the attack,” the bank told Reuters on Wednesday, after a person familiar with the matter had said that some staff computers were blocked on Tuesday due to the incident.

Production at the Cadbury <MDLZ.O> factory on the island state of Tasmania ground to a halt late on Tuesday after computer systems went down, said Australian Manufacturing and Workers Union state secretary John Short.

Russia’s Rosneft <ROSN.MM>, one of the world’s biggest crude producers by volume, said on Tuesday its systems had suffered “serious consequences” but said oil production had not been affected because it switched over to backup systems.

The virus crippled computers running Microsoft Corp’s <MSFT.O> Windows by encrypting hard drives and overwriting files, then demanded $300 in bitcoin payments to restore access.

Several security experts questioned whether the effort to extort victims with computers hit by the virus was the main goal, or whether the unknown hackers behind the attack could have other motives.

(Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Adrian Croft)

U.S. worries Russia could step up North Korea support to fill China void

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley testifies to the House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee on the budget for the U.N. in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – As the United States pressures China to enforce United Nations sanctions on its ally North Korea, Washington is concerned that Russia could provide support to Pyongyang and fill any vacuum left by Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.

“I’m concerned that Russia may backfill North Korea,” Haley told U.S. lawmakers in Washington. “We don’t have proof of that, but we are watching that carefully.”

While Washington has urged countries to downgrade ties with Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a cross-border ferry service was launched in May between North Korea and neighboring Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the world should talk to, rather than threaten, North Korea.

“We just need to keep the pressure on China, we need to keep our eyes on Russia, and we need to continue to let the North Korea regime know we are not looking for regime change … we just want them to stop the nuclear activity,” Haley said.

The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs and has ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches. The government in Pyongyang is threatening a sixth nuclear test.

The Trump administration has been pressing China aggressively to rein in its reclusive neighbor, warning that all options are on the table if Pyongyang persists with its nuclear and missile development programs.

Beijing has repeatedly said its influence on North Korea is limited and that it is doing all it can, but U.S. President Donald Trump last week said China’s efforts had failed.

The United States has struggled to slow North Korea’s programs, which have become a security priority given Pyongyang’s vow to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

“The pressure on China can’t stop,” Haley said. “We have to have China doing what they’re supposed to. At the same time all other countries need to make sure they’re enforcing the sanctions that the Security Council has already put in place.”

Trump, increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea and bilateral trade issues, is now considering possible trade actions against Beijing, senior administration officials told Reuters.

The United States also plans to place China on its global list of worst offenders in human trafficking and forced labor, sources said, a step that could aggravate tensions with Beijing.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by G Crosse)

Three CNN journalists resign after Russia-related article retracted

(Reuters) – Time Warner’s news division CNN has accepted the resignations of three journalists after the publication of a Russia-related article that was later retracted, a CNN spokesperson said on Monday.

The three journalists included Thomas Frank, the writer of the story; Eric Lichtblau, an editor in CNN’s investigative unit; and Lex Haris, who oversaw the unit, the network had earlier reported. [http://cnnmon.ie/2td7Ufy]

The Russia-related story, published on Thursday, reported Congress was investigating the ties of a Russian investment fund to an aide of U.S. President Donald Trump.

CNN had reported an internal investigation by its management found that certain editorial processes were not followed when the article was published.

The report said CNN had deleted the story from its website on Friday night after its investigation.

The story was replaced with an editor’s note of apology to Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump aide who was reported to be investigated in the story. [http://cnn.it/2rVWDgm]

Trump has been critical of CNN, calling the news outlet “fake news” and refusing to take a CNN reporter’s questions at his first formal news conference earlier in the year after his Nov. 8 electoral win.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott)

Germany sees ‘very difficult’ situation in eastern Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, June 5, 2017.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday that both Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists were violating a ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine and it would likely be difficult to resolve the crisis in the short term.

“It’s very difficult to find a way out after so many years,” Gabriel told an event hosted by the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Of course we are trying, but it does not look like we will have a (short-term resolution) of the difficulties in the region.”

Gabriel said he backed continued efforts by the so-called “Normandy format” group – involving Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia – to resolve the crisis, but observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were not optimistic, given the situation in the region.

“I have no good messages on this issue,” he said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Joseph Nasr)

Norway-Russia relations to deteriorate following U.S. Marines’ base extension: Russian embassy

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Marines, who are to attend a six-month training to learn about winter warfare, arrive in Stjordal, Norway January 16, 2017. NTB Scanpix/Ned Alley/via REUTERS

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s decision to extend the presence of U.S. Marines on its soil will worsen relations with neighboring Russia and could escalate tensions on NATO’s northern flank, the Russian embassy in Oslo told Reuters on Saturday.

Some 330 Marines will be stationed in Norway until the end of 2018, the government said on Wednesday, doubling the length of what was initially billed as a one-year trial period.

The deployment last January to practice winter warfare and cross-country skiing, and to participate in joint exercises, marked the first foreign troops to be stationed in the NATO member country since the end of World War Two.

“We consider that this step contradicts Norwegian policy of not deploying foreign military bases in the country in times of peace,” the Russian embassy wrote in an statement to Reuters.

It further “makes Norway (a) not fully predictable partner, can also escalate tension and lead to destabilization of the situation in the Northern region,” it added.

Norway has downplayed the significance of the deployment, emphasizing the training element and denying that the arrival of Marines was an act directed against Russia. The U.S. troops are stationed some 1,500 km (900 miles) from the Russian border.

“A high level of regular allied presence creates a stabilizing state of normality in times of peace, which contributes to deterrence and defence,” Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a June 21 statement.

The center-right minority government’s decision received broad support from Norwegian opposition parties, but was criticized by the far left.

“The deployment … shows the government being more concerned by being well-liked by the Americans and in NATO than by conducting responsible security policy,” Lars Haltbrekken of Norway’s Socialist Left Party told public broadcaster NRK.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik; Editing by Toby Chopra)

White House says it retains right to self-defense in Syria; Moscow warns Washington

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the Mediterranean Sea June 28, 2016. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan U. Kledzik/Handout via Reuters

By Steve Holland, Phil Stewart and Andrew Osborn

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The White House said on Monday that coalition forces fighting Islamic State militants in Syria retained the right to self-defense as Russia warned it viewed any planes flying in its area of operations as potential targets.

Tensions escalated on Sunday as the U.S. military brought down a Syrian military jet near Raqqa for bombing near U.S.-allied forces on the ground, the first time Washington had carried out such an action in the multi-pronged civil war.

It was also the first time the U.S. Air Force had shot down a manned aircraft since May 1999.

In a move that will fan tensions between Washington and Moscow, Russia made clear it was changing its military posture in response to the U.S. downing of the jet.

Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said it would treat U.S.-led coalition aircraft flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria as potential targets and track them with missile systems and military aircraft. It stopped short of saying it would shoot them down.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it was also immediately scrapping a Syrian air safety agreement with Washington designed to avoid collisions and dangerous incidents.

Moscow accused Washington of failing to honor the pact by not informing it of the decision to shoot down the Syrian plane despite Russian aircraft being airborne at the same time.

Washington hit back, saying it would “do what we can to protect our interests.”

“The escalation of hostilities among the many factions that are operating in this region doesn’t help anybody. And the Syrian regime and others in the regime need to understand that we will retain the right of self-defense, of coalition forces aligned against ISIS,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

The U.S. military said it was repositioning its aircraft over Syria to ensure the safety of American air crews targeting Islamic State.

The White House also said it would work to keep lines of communication open with Russia amid the new tensions. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the United States was working to restore a “deconfliction” communications line with Russia meant to avoid an accidental clash over Syria.

Marine General Joseph Dunford said there were still communications between a U.S. air operations center in Qatar and Russian forces on the ground in Syria, adding: “We’ll work diplomatically and military in the coming hours to re-establish deconfliction.”

The U.S. Central Command had issued a statement saying the downed Syrian military jet had been dropping bombs near U.S.-backed SDF forces, which are seeking to oust Islamic State from the city of Raqqa.

It said the shooting down of the plane was “collective self-defense” and the coalition had contacted Russian counterparts by telephone via an established “de-confliction line to de-escalate the situation and stop the firing.

Russia is supporting Assad militarily with air power, advisers and special forces as he tries to roll back Islamic State and other militant groups. Unlike the United States, it says its presence is sanctioned by the Syrian government.

Adding to the tension, Iran launched missiles at Islamic State targets in eastern Syria on Sunday, a strike seen as a projection of military power into part of Syria identified as a top priority by Damascus and its allies.

(Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Peter Cooney)

U.N. mediator targets fresh Syria talks for July 10

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura attends a news conference during the Intra Syria talks at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy

VIENNA (Reuters) – The United Nations special mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, wants to start a fresh round of talks between Syrian factions on July 10, his office said on Saturday.

Since a resumption of negotiations last year, there have been multiple rounds brokered by the United Nations between representatives of Syrian rebels or the government of Bashar al-Assad, resulting in scant progress.

“(De Mistura) wishes to announce he will convene a seventh round of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva.  The target date for arrival of invitees is July 9, with the round beginning on July 10,” it said in an emailed statement.

“He intends to convene further rounds of talks in August and in September.”

De Mistura said earlier this week such talks would depend on the progress made in setting up “de-escalation” zones in Syria, where over six years of conflict have killed more than 400,000 people.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran to discuss these zones would take place in the Kazakh city of Astana in early July.

Russia and Iran back Assad against rebels supported by Western powers, while both sides, aided by Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia, fight against Islamic State militants.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Bolton)

Putin: more U.S. sanctions would be harmful, talk of retaliation premature

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with journalists following a live nationwide broadcast call-in in Moscow, Russia June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said new sanctions under consideration by the United States would damage relations between the two countries, but it was too early to talk about retaliation, state news agency RIA reported on Saturday.

The U.S. Senate voted nearly unanimously earlier this week for legislation to impose new sanctions on Moscow and force President Donald Trump to get Congress’ approval before easing any existing sanctions.

“This will, indeed, complicate Russia-American relations. I think this is harmful,” Putin said, according to RIA.

In an interview with Rossiya1 state TV channel, excerpts of which were shown during the day on Saturday, Putin said he needed to see how the situation with sanctions evolved.

“That is why it is premature to speak publicly about our retaliatory actions,” RIA quoted him as saying.

Russia and the West have traded economic blows since 2014, when Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and lent support to separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The West imposed economic and financial sanctions that battered the rouble and the export-dependent economy. Moscow retaliated by banning imports of Western food, which also hit ordinary Russians by spurring inflation, and barred some individuals from entering Russia.

The threat of a new wave of sanctions emerged this month as U.S. policymakers backed the idea of punishing Russia for alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and for supporting Syria’s government in the six-year-long civil war.

Putin had previously dismissed the proposed sanctions, saying they reflected an internal political struggle in the United States, and that Washington had always used such methods as a means of trying to contain Russia.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)