Focus: Russia - Nov 29, 2016

Note: The next US Secretary of State should be one who has a deep knowledge of Russia, willing to engage in friendly talks with Moscow and build a partnership to foster world peace and security. In my opinion Russia is right in Syria, Ukraine and with regard to NATO.

11 NATO states take part in massive ‘Iron Sword’ drills in Lithuania - RT News

New Cold War: US Marines' war games on Norway-Russia border - CNN.com

VIDEO: US Marines in Lithuania - Exercise Iron Sword 16 - YouTube

German president visits NATO command center, reassures eastern members of Berlin's commitments, questions Trump campaign comments - DW.COM

Britain expects Donald Trump to 'stand up' to Russia and not treat it 'as any kind of equal partner’, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon warns - telegraph.co.uk

Britain to send troops to Poland as NATO deployment against ‘increasing Russian aggressiveness’ - news.com.au

NATO should be acting as a bridge between Baltics & Russia, defuse tension: UK Tory MP - RT UK

France says lifting sanctions on Russia would be counterproductive - Reuters

Italian minister would welcome more openness to Russia from U.S. - Reuters

Peace talks in Minsk end without agreement, both Ukraine and Russia hardened their positions and there was no political agreement on holding local elections in Donbass - Reuters

Russian Senator warns Ukraine against missile-firing exercise in Crimea airspace - TASS

Does NATO need Montenegro? How does this tiny Balkan nation contribute to NATO’s collective security? The short answer is: It doesn’t. - The National Interest

Arms expert Joe Cirincione op-ed: Trump should halt US missile-defense plans in Europe - Defense One

GOP supporters of better Cuba relations warn Trump not to let Russia, China step in. - McClatchy DC

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Russia fully deploys 2 new divisions near Western border - The Washington Post

Russia to deploy S-400 and nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems in Kaliningrad as "countermeasures" to NATO expansion - CBS News

Putin's robo-tank: New weapon is deployed to the Polish border to protect Russia's missile launchers from attack - Daily Mail Online

Moscow offered NATO to hold consultations on military flights over Baltic sea but the bloc refused - Sputnik

NATO drills in Georgia negatively affect regional safety: Russia Foreign Ministry - Sputnik

No sign of NATO giving up myth of 'Russian threat' in policymaking: Envoy - Sputnik

Russian diplomat says spending so much time on Russia-NATO Council agenda is pointless - TASS

Russia, Uzbekistan sign treaty on military-technical cooperation - TASS

Armenia is literally joining forces with Russia - Foreign Policy

Russia eyes supplying military hardware to the Philippines - ABC News

Philippines foreign affairs secretary: Duterte to visit Russia in 2017 - CNN Philippines

Libyan commander Haftar visits Russia to ask for help: 'We hope we will eliminate terrorism with your help in the nearest future' - Reuters

Russian top diplomat Lavrov praises Libyan army for its role in protecting state’s independence - TASS

VIDEO (Russian/Arabic): Lavrov and Libyan Marshal Haftar laud strong bilateral ties - YouTube

Putin orders mobile hospitals to be sent to residents of Aleppo, Syria - RT News

Russia to send 100,000 tons of wheat in humanitarian aid to Syria - THE DAILY STAR

Turkey entered Syria to end al-Assad’s rule: President Erdoğan - hurriyetdailynews.com

Turkish parliament endorse ratification of the Turkish-Russian stream pipeline deal - Sputnik

Turkish premier to visit Russia on December 6-7 - TASS

Are relations between Pakistan and Russia beginning to thaw? - Daily Mail Online

To contact Bartolo email peaceloverblog[at]yahoo[dot]com (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)