The New Cold War with Russia

Russia Does Not Exclude Possibility Of War With NATO

Zero Hedge,

3 October, 2017

Just days after the conclusion of Russia's largest military exercise ever (which US military chiefs believe broke 'observer rules') and NATO's massive war games, Pravda reports a recent Russian Defense Ministry report says that Russia is preparing for the possibility of a military conflict with NATO countries.

While Russia's defense ministry said the Zapad exercises would involve 12,700 Russian and Belarusian troops, about 70 aircraft, up to 250 tanks, 200 artillery systems and 10 warships; Military.com reportsthat the U.S. Army's commander in Europe says Russia broke up its Zapad war games with Belarus into parts to avoid having international monitors watch the weeklong exercises last month.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said Monday that the two countries deployed "way over 12,700" personnel, the limit beyond which Europe's OSCE security organization should be allowed to send observers.

 Hodges said: "My guess is that there probably were over 40,000 service members."

 

He told reporters at NATO headquarters that Russia and Belarus "broke it up into all these little exercises" but that "these were all connected, because this was a whole of government effort."

Meanwhile, what the NATO commander forgot to mention is that just days before the dreaded Russian "Zapad 2017" exercise was set to begin, NATO's own Steadfast Pyramid 2017 military exercise kicked off in Latvia on Sunday, with 40 senior commanders from NATO states, as well as Finland and Sweden. 

They are expected to train how to “plan and conduct operations” amid the bloc’s buildup in the region.

Steadfast Pyramid 2017 and Steadfast Pinnacle 2017, involving more than 40 senior officers from NATO member states, plus Finland and Sweden, will take place at the Riga-based Latvian Defense Academy, the country’s national news agency LETA reported on Sunday.

 

Covering the duration of Russia's drills, Steadfast Pyramid, the first part of the exercise, will last until September 15. It is reportedly “to improve the ability of top-level officers and commanders to plan and lead joint operations,” according to LETA. Steadfast Pinnacle, the next stage of the drill, will last from September 17 until September 22.Steadfast Pyramid and Steadfast Pinnacle were first held in Latvia in 2011.  British General James Everard, the NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is expected to arrive in Latvia to oversee both stages of the exercise, Latvia’s Defense Ministry said, according to LETA.

 

 

Meanwhile, not much is known so far about NATO's war games. A NATO fact sheet says Steadfast Pyramid and Steadfast Pinnacle are focused on “further developing the abilities of commanders and senior staff to plan and conduct operations through the application of operational art in decision making.”

While NATO has denied it, Moscow has repeatedly accused NATO of offensive behavior, and justifies its own defensive buildup and posture on NATO's encroachment on Russian borders.

And with that in mind - as NATO builds its presence along Russia's borders - Pravda reports, a recent report from the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation about the assessment of the state of Russia's national security in the field of maritime activities says that Russia considers a possibility of a military conflict with NATO countries.

The report indicates a number of geopolitical challenges that Russia faces today. They include a "potentially possible military conflict" with NATO countries, the complicated situation in the Azov-Black Sea region, Japan's territorial claims to the Kuril Islands, and Norway's plans for Spitsbergen.

 Experts emphasize that "the role of the factor of force" has been increasing in international relations.

 "Therefore, Russia is building up its naval potential for the "strategic deterrence" of potential adversaries and as an "important factor in ensuring international stability."

 

Russia will not leave all possible threats unanswered, the authors of the report summarize adding that the probability of "large-scale military actions" against Russia from the direction of sea is not too high.

But while NATO and Russian military rattle sabres at one another Russian President Vladimir Putin said, as he received diplomatic credentials from new ambassadors to Moscow, including US envoy Jon Huntsman, that Moscow wants “predictable, constructive, mutually beneficial cooperation” with Washington.

Current Russia-US bilateral relations cannot “cause satisfaction,” Putin said during an official ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow.

“We are advocating constructive, predictable and mutually-beneficial cooperation,” the Russian leader stressed, adding that “strict adherence to the principles of equality, respect for national interests and noninterference in the internal affairs” must be the basis of the bilateral cooperation.

After the ceremony, the new chief of the US diplomatic mission vowed to work on restoring trust and strengthening bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Washington... we wonder if he will be 'allowed' by The Deep State. For now, it appears the direction of reconciliation is coming from Moscow as Washington (and NATO) remain steadfast in their belief that the red menace is biding its time.

US staging ‘fatal provocations’ against Russian forces in Syria – Lavrov

RT,

3 October, 2017

Washington is playing a dangerous game of encouraging terrorists in Syria to attack government forces and the Russian military, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Moscow won’t leave aggressive US steps unanswered, but wants to overcome the political deadlock, he added.

In an interview with the London-based, Arabic-language Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, taken ahead of the visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Moscow, Lavrov noted that the US-led coalition and the Syrian rebel forces they support consistently act in a way that helps Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other terrorist groups.

“In some cases, these forces mount allegedly accidental strikes against the Syrian Armed Forces, after which Islamic State [banned in Russia] counterattacks. In other cases, they inspire other terrorists to attack strategic locations over which official Damascus has restored its legitimate authority, or to stage fatal provocations against our military personnel,” Lavrov said.

Washington is guided by “double standards” in Syria, the Russian foreign minister said, slamming the US for failing to acknowledge that there are no such things as bad or good terrorists.

“If you apply double standards, divide terrorists into ‘bad’ and ‘very bad,’ force others to enter the coalition on political motives, forgetting about the necessary UN sanction to approve these actions, then it’s hard to speak about the effectiveness of an anti-terror campaign,” he said.

Russia’s involvement in the campaign against ISIS in Syria aids not only Russia’s national security, but also regional stability, Lavrov said. He added that it is not enough to defeat terrorists on the ground to bring peace to embattled regions, noting the importance of diplomatic efforts.

READ MORE: 2 years of Russia in Syria: ISIS shrinking, Iran & Turkey linking, conflict risk with US lurking

“It’s impossible to eradicate terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa through military means only. We are deeply convinced about that. The advantage of our policy lies in that it is not self-interested and does not have a hidden agenda,” he said.

Moscow will continue to engage in the process of conflict resolution in these regions through peaceful political and diplomatic efforts, and it “invites everyone interested to participate in this joint and honest work,” Russia’s top diplomat said.

The major contribution to the defeat of IS in Syria has been made by the Syrian Armed Forces and the Russian Air Force, Lavrov noted.

With regard to Syria and Iraq, where government armed forces and allied militias are pushing to take the remaining jihadists’ strongholds, the cooperation between Moscow, Ankara and Teheran is playing a decisive role in bringing back stability, Lavrov argued.

READ MORE: Russian op saved Syria from being overrun by ISIS – analysts to RT

“Our practical cooperation at all levels and inter-agency daily contacts illustrate that Turkey and Iran play, in the full sense of the word, the key role in terms of stabilizing the situation in Syria and Iraq,” he told the publication.

He also hailed Saudi Arabia for its lead in forming a Syrian opposition delegation at the Geneva talks so that it “could become a fair merit partner of the delegation of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic at the talks under the UN auspices in Geneva.”

Speaking of the upcoming visit of Saudi King Salman Al Saud to Moscow, Lavrov expressed the hope that it would “bring our cooperation to a totally different level” and pave way for a more stable Middle East and North Africa region.

‘Sanctions won’t go unanswered’

Speaking about the chances of US-Russia relations improving, Lavrov said that anti-Russian hysteria in the US has become a huge obstacle on the road to normalizing relations. Reiterating that Moscow did not meddle in the US presidential elections, Lavrov argued that by making Russia a scapegoat, “someone in Washington doesn’t’ want to accept the result of the vote” while “shamelessly exploiting the Russian card in the power struggle.”

While Moscow takes into account the complex inner political situation in the US, it will have to prepare a set of counter-measures of its own.

“We cannot let such aggressive US steps, as, for instance, “Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” adopted in July, go unanswered. We hope that reason will prevail in Washington and a spiral of confrontation will be stopped. On our part, we are not aiming for it.”

Lavrov stressed that it will takes political will on both sides to find a way out of an “artificially created deadlock” in US-Russia cooperation.

READ MORE: US 'completely & unlawfully seize' Russian SF consulate as blacksmith breaks lock (VIDEO)

With Russia-US relations currently at rock bottom, the potential for joint work in various areas is wasted, Lavrov lamented, adding that Moscow has consistently called on Washington to upgrade the cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

"The potential for Russian-American cooperation in international affairs is great, although in many respects it remains underdeveloped. We have long been urging our colleagues to establish real coordination in the area of counter-terrorism and in dealing with other dangerous challenges, i.e. the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, drug trafficking and cybercrime,” Lavrov said.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for “constructive, predictable and mutually-beneficial cooperation” with Washington as he accepted the credentials of the newly appointed US ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman, for his part, said he would strive to rebuild the trust eroded in recent years and work to strengthen cooperation.