Turkey
Wednesday 16 January 2019
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![Dmitry Smirnov]()
Dmitry Smirnov
Kremlin Special Correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper
“At the age of 94, George Bush Sr. died - the man who started the Gulf War, marking the beginning of the current chaos in the Middle East.
If we say nothing but good about the dead, about Bush Sr. say nothing.”
Read more...While many have criticized President George H.W. Bush for an inconclusive outcome of the Persian Gulf War, it is simplistic and misleading to attribute Middle Eastern conflicts, or “current chaos” to Bush’s actions in 1991. -
![Dmitry Belik]()
Dmitry Belik
State Duma Deputy from Russian-occupied Crimea
“Unlike Ukraine, we don’t drag our military into adventures and do not shirk international law. And if Ukraine indicated its position, pushing it into international waters, then it shouldn’t make loud statements about ‘ramming, attacks, provocations.’ Moreover, our vessels have moved far ahead in their technological development, we do not use ramming as a tactic."
Read more...A video shows the Russian Coast Guard vessel deliberately ramming an unarmed Ukrainian tugboat. Claims that it had violated Russia’s borders don’t hold water. -
![Sputnik]()
Sputnik
State-owned media outlet
“The step (reducing U.S. Treasury Securities) is being considered a prudent approach directed towards insulating the country from the US attempt to weaponize the dollar.”
Read more...India has joined a number of other countries in reducing their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities recently. This is largely due to market factors, not “weaponization of the dollar.” -
![Oleg Syromolotov]()
Oleg Syromolotov
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
“Russia, Turkey and Iran have managed to achieve progress. Syria is preserved as an independent state, ISIS war machine is in ashes and peace talks are underway.”
Read more...Syrian government reconstruction of ruined cities is “non-existent,” a significant portion of the country is not under government control, Islamic State is capable of launching attacks and the Assad regime is dependent on Russian and Iranian support for its survival. -
![Russian foreign ministry]()
Russian foreign ministry
“Apparently, our American colleagues do not want to present any evidence of the ‘Russian cyber interference,’ which they supposedly have, and that is to avoid shame. There is not and there cannot be any [such evidence].”
Read more...Russia’s interference is detailed in multiple, publicly-available cyber security reports. The shuttered internet domains are connected to Fancy Bear, which the reports say has compromised and attacked Western leaders, governments, political groups and private corporations. -
![Semyon Slepakov]()
Semyon Slepakov
Russian TV Comedy host and singer
“Russia is ready to host the World Cup. The stadiums are open. The cops are polyglots. That is a quick recap of many years of work.We're not going to lose face in front of the planet. It’s not for nothing we terrified [the planet] with a missile. In general, all is well. But there is only one “but”: Our team, frankly, is sh-t.”
Read more...The International Federation of Football Association, the world soccer authority better known as FIFA, ranked Russia’s national team #70 and labeled it a “worst mover.” -
![Sergey Lavrov]()
Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister
"It is clear that the US probably have such a strategy to settle in Syria forever, with its armed forces, just as they want to do in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite all promises made. And so when they [U.S.] settle forever in Syria, which they are already doing now, and despite all promises, they isolate a huge piece of the Syrian territory, in infringement of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, and create there some kind of quasi-local authority. And in every possible way try to create there an autonomous unit with the support of the Kurds."
Read more...While there is no known publicly available official U.S. document indicating that Washington plans to partition Syria, geopolitical developments and official U.S. government statements suggest Washington has considered and even pursued such a scenario. -
![Habertürk TV]()
Habertürk TV
The Russian Ministry of Defense has gained notoriety by using clips from video games as real combat footage. Now a Turkish news segment purports to show combat against Kurdish “terrorists” in Syria.
Read more...A Turkish news broadcast shows footage of what it says is combat against Syrian Kurdish “terrorists.” But it is actually from a 2010 video game.
