Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Told Putin to 'Get Out of Ukraine'

   (Censor.NET) --- Stephen Harper told Russian President Vladimir Putin flatly that he needs "to get out of Ukraine".

   He told this at a Group of 20 summit of major economies in Brisbane, Censor.NET informs, referring to Ukrinform.
   Putin stuck out his hand. Mr. Harper accepted the gesture but said to the Russian Leader: "I guess I'll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you, you need to get out of Ukraine."‎ A spokesman for the Canadian Prime Minister Jason MacDonald relayed the details of the encounter. "Mr. Putin did not respond positively", he added.
   Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who wants to redirect discussion back to economic matters, sounded exasperated Friday. "Russia would be so much more attractive if it was aspiring to be a superpower for peace and freedom and prosperity, instead of trying to recreate the lost glories of tsarism or the old Soviet Union", Abbott said.

France hits back after Russia warns of Mistral compensation

    MOSCOW/PARIS (Reuters) --- Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday that France would not be dictated to after an unidentified Russian official was quoted as giving Paris two weeks to deliver the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers or face possible compensation claims.

An aerial view shows the Mistral-class helicopter carrier Vladivostok constructed for Russia at the STX Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard site in the port of
Montoir-de-Bretagne near Saint Nazaire, western France, September 22, 2014.

   France has for months resisted pressure from Washington and other allies to scrap the 1.2 billion euro ($1.58 billion) contract and in September said it would only hand over the first carrier, the Vladivostok, if there was a lasting ceasefire and a political settlement in Ukraine.

   With the situation worsening on the ground in Ukraine, France has again come under fire over the deal, while Moscow has tried to drive a wedge between Paris and its allies on the issue knowing that failure to deliver the carriers could damage France's image at a time when it is finalising other military contracts.

   "Today, the conditions to deliver the Mistral aren't there," Valls told reporters. "France honours its contracts, but France is a nation that counts, wants peace in Ukraine and that makes sovereign decisions without anybody from outside dictating how it acts."

   An unidentified Russian source quoted by state news agency RIA on Friday said if the Mistral was not delivered by the end of November Moscow would seek compensation.

   The comments were published on the day a Russian delegation, including arms exporter Rosoboronexport, had originally been invited by the Mistral's manufacturer DCNS - 65 percent-owned by the French state - to travel to France for a ceremony to transfer the first ship.

   "We are preparing for various scenarios. We will wait until the end of the month then we will announce some serious claims," the unidentified Russian source was quoted as saying.

   Analysts were looking at various amounts of compensation, the source said, adding that the sum would not be kept secret.

   French President Francois Hollande said at the end of October he would make a decision during November, but his defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, told parliament on Wednesday DCNS had not been given the necessary government export licence.

   "No date for delivery can be fixed at this stage," he told lawmakers. "A definitive decision will be taken when the time comes."

   Europe and the United States have imposed numerous rounds of sanctions on Russia for its role in eastern Ukraine and EU foreign ministers will discuss further sanctions on Monday.

   Hollande is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 leaders summit in Australia this weekend.

   "What's key - and the president will discuss it with several leaders during the G20 - is to rediscover the path to peace between Ukraine and Russia," Valls said. "We're far from that today."

Russian troops hold drills in Serbia

   NIKINCI, Serbia (AP) — Camouflage-clad Russian soldiers parachute from the sky, armored vehicles fire live rounds on an open field after being dropped from military transport jets and helicopters fire missiles against enemy positions.

During a military exercise two Russian airborne 

infantry fighting vehicles BMD-2, front and an 

Serbian armoured personnel carrier roar during 

the Russian-Serbian joint anti-terrorist exercise 

Srem 2014, at Nikinci training ground, 60 km

west of Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. 

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

   Although the flat terrain resembles the Ukrainian war zones, this is not an armed Russian intervention against its neighbor. It's the first-ever joint Serb-Russian military exercise in Serbia, the Balkan country that has been performing a delicate balancing act in between its Slavic ally Russia and Western Europe, with which Belgrade wants to integrate.

   The "anti-terrorist' drill on Friday — the first such by the Russians outside the former Soviet Union — of elite Russian troops in northern Serbia, not far from NATO-member Croatia, has stirred controversy both here and abroad.

   "Serbia's government wants to try and keep everyone happy," said prominent Balkan political analyst Tim Judah. "So, the U.S. helps finance and modernize Serbia's army while now Serbian soldiers train with Russians. In normal times there would be little to say about this, but post-Crimea, these are not normal times anymore."

   Although Serbian officials say they respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and do not support Russia's annexation of Crimea, they have refused to impose sanctions against Russia like the EU and the U.S. have. Russia and Serbia have traditionally close historic and cultural ties, and Moscow has backed Belgrade's bid to maintain its claim over Kosovo — a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008 with the support of Washington and its allies.

   The show of Russian military might in a country seeking to join the European Union comes as Russia, blamed by the West for fomenting the Ukraine crisis, tries to increase the Kremlin's presence in the Balkans.

   "During our short stay in Serbia, we established the basis for expanding of our military relations," said Russian Gen. Vladimir Shamatov.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Belgrade last month where he received a hero's welcome that included a Soviet-style military parade. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, arrived in Belgrade on Friday.

   "Serbia says it supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, yet it welcomes Putin with a military parade and its soldiers are training with the army that annexed Crimea and is fighting in Ukraine," Judah said. "As the (Ukrainian) war goes on this is an increasingly untenable position and Serbia's government will just annoy both Russia and its Western friends rather than being on good terms with all."

   Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic said he believes Serbian "neutrality" is tenable and defended holding the drill with the Russians.

   "There are no secrets about this exercise," he said after the drills that included a mock live-ammunition attack against a terrorist base with armored vehicles and about 200 troops, some deployed by Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft.

   "We are militarily neutral and we would like to maintain good relations with everyone, including Russia, the European Union, the United States and China," Gasic said, adding that Serbia — which has never been part of any Russian or Western military alliance — will also hold military drills with the Americans next month in Serbia.

Putin to face icy reception at G20 summit

   Brisbane (Australia) (AFP) --- Vladimir Putin faces an icy reception at the G20 summit with Britain's David Cameron telling the Russian leader to stop bullying smaller states and Australia's Tony Abbott accusing him of trying to relive the "lost glories of tsarism".

   The Russian president arrived in Brisbane late Friday for the weekend summit of world powers at a time of heightened tension with host Australia, which has sent three ships to its northern coast after a flotilla of Russian navy vessels appeared there this week.

   Prime Minister Abbott said the appearance of the four Russian vessels, which include a heavily armed cruiser and destroyer, were "part of a regrettable pattern" of growing Russian military bullishness.

   Russia in turn on Friday warned France of "serious" consequences unless Paris this month delivers a warship whose handover has been delayed by the Ukraine crisis -- setting the stage for confrontation with French President Francois Hollande.

   The French presidency confirmed that Hollande and Putin would hold a bilateral meeting in Brisbane on Saturday evening. It declined to comment further on the warships controversy in light of Moscow's latest intervention.

   On Thursday, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that conditions "have not been met" to deliver the ships to Russia.

   Britain's prime minister, speaking to the Australian parliament, warned Russia it faces further sanctions if it does not commit to resolving the conflict in Ukraine, calling Moscow's actions "unacceptable".

   "It is a large state bullying a smaller state in Europe. We've seen the consequences of that in the past and we should learn the lessons of history and make sure we don't let it happen again," Cameron said.

- 'Unacceptable' Russian actions -

   Russia on Thursday dismissed the West's claims that it has been sending fresh military hardware into eastern Ukraine, which could fuel a return to all-out conflict in place of an uneasy ceasefire.

   The West's relations with Moscow have grown increasingly tense since the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet over territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in July, killing 298 passengers and crew including 38 Australian citizens and residents.

   Kiev and the West claim the plane was blown out of the sky with a missile supplied by Russia, an allegation Moscow denies.

   Abbott told Putin to "come clean and atone" for the shooting down of Flight MH17.

   "Russian action in Ukraine is unacceptable," Cameron told reporters in Canberra before heading to Brisbane.

   "If Russia takes a positive approach towards Ukraine's freedom and responsibility, we could see those sanctions removed. If Russia continues to make matters worse, we could see those sanctions increase. It's as simple as that."

- New 'tsarism' -

   The European Union, the United States and Australia are among those that have imposed sanctions on Russia for what they see as Moscow's desire to redraw modern Europe's borders.

   Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April in a war that has claimed more than 4,000 lives and driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

   The Australian navy said Friday it had sent a third ship to help monitor the Russian fleet that has appeared in international waters off its north coast, which also includes a tugboat and a refuelling vessel.

   Abbott said in a joint press conference with Cameron that Russia was "being much more assertive now than it has been for a very long time".

   "Whether it's the bullying of Ukraine, whether it's the increasing Russian military aircraft flying into the airspace of Japan, European countries, whether it's the naval task group which is now in the south Pacific, Russia is being much more assertive now than it has been for a very long time," Abbott said.

   But, with oil prices at their lowest level in four years and the ruble tanking against the dollar, he stressed: "Interestingly, Russia's economy is declining even as Russia's assertiveness is increasing.

   "Russia would be so much more attractive if it was aspiring to be a superpower for peace and freedom and prosperity... instead of trying to recreate the lost glories of tsarism or the old Soviet Union."

   Abbott's latest remarks come after a highly anticipated exchange between him and Putin at a trade summit in Beijing earlier this week.

   Abbott had famously vowed to "shirtfront" Putin -- an Australian football term in which a player charges an opponent -- in Brisbane over the downing of MH17, but the Beijing encounter passed off without incident.

Belarus official: Ukraine war may push us to West

   LONDON (AP) — Belarus wants to strengthen its economic ties to the West and could even help it bypass Russia's ban on some Western foods by reprocessing EU products.

   Belarus' Economy Minister Nikolai Snopkov made the statement in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a Friday investment conference in London, saying that if the Ukrainian crisis continues, "it will drag Belarus to cooperate more with the Western countries."

   Snopkov said in Wednesday's interview that Moscow, which has faced Western sanctions over its annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine, would not object to Belarus expanding its ties with the West.

   "Our colleagues and our partners from the Eurasian Economic Community" — the Moscow-dominated trade bloc — "do not mind Belarus linking together with the European partners," Snopkov said, speaking through a translator.

   Snopkov suggested that Belarus could help ease the sting of sanctions on European food products imposed by Moscow by importing them, processing them, and shipping them across its eastern border. Russia and other Eurasian Economic Community members "are ready to see Belarus processing milk, vegetables, fruits, food from the European countries and re-export it or export it to the partners in the Eurasian Economic (Community,)" he said.

   Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose government long has been targeted by U.S. and EU economic and travel sanctions over its crackdown on opposition and independent media, has managed to improve his credentials in the West thanks to hosting Ukrainian peace talks that produced a fragile cease-fire deal.

   Friday's investment conference is part of his government's effort to raise foreign interest in Belarus' largely state-controlled economy. In the same interview, Deputy Finance Minister Maksim Yermalovich said there was even talk of listing Belarusian companies on the London or the New York Stock Exchange.

NATO Jets Intercept Russia Military Plane Over Baltics

   (Bloomberg) --- Two Dutch F-16 fighter jets on a NATO mission intercepted a Russian aircraft in the Baltics after it approached Estonian and Lithuanian airspace.

   The F-16s intercepted an Ilyushin transport plane that hadn’t announced a flight plan yesterday near the two countries and escorted it out of the area, the Dutch Defense Ministry said on its website. The plane flew in the direction of the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, the ministry said.

   Increased Russian aerial activity coincides with rising tension pitting Russia against the U.S. and the European Union over Ukraine. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization detected and tracked Russian military aircraft including fighter jets, long-range bombers and tankers over the Baltic region, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean for three days in late October.

   “Increased activity of Russian military aircraft by the Baltic borders is raising concerns,” Lithuania’s defense ministry said by e-mail today, adding that interceptions are a “standard procedure.”

   NATO says interceptions rose to 100 since the start of the year, three times the total for 2013. The alliance pledged in September to bolster the defenses of frontline states in eastern Europe in response to what it said was Russian action in Ukraine.

Repeated Incidents

   While most interceptions don’t involve airspace incursions, Latvia’s northern neighbour Estonia and non-aligned Finland have reported repeated incidents this year where Russian aircraft violated their airspace. Sweden staged its biggest naval mobilization since the Cold War earlier this month in a week-long hunt for a suspected foreign vessel in the Stockholm archipelago.

   Russia’s increased military activity in the Baltic region is aimed at undermining security and testing the preparedness of the country and its NATO allies, Lithuanian Chief of Defense, Major General Jonas Vytautas Zukas, said on Facebook Nov. 11. Russia has a record of increasing the activity of warplanes and ships when Baltic states hold large military exercises, he said.

   Lithuania is currently hosting the Iron Sword military exercise with 2,500 soldiers from nine NATO countries.

   Its northern neighbour Latvia’s defense forces today spotted Russian navy’s Zhigulevsk GS-19 vessel at nine nautical miles from its territorial waters, the country’s army said on its Twitter page. 

Russia Threat Prompts Nordic Governments to Prepare for Worst

   (Bloomberg) --- Governments in the Nordic and Baltic region are stepping up their defense preparedness in response to repeated Russian incursions into their territories.

   “What we are doing is what is to be expected from a military and political alliance: We are preparing ourselves for what we hope will not happen, we are preparing ourselves for the worst,” Norway’s Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said today in Oslo. “That’s our obligation, that’s an important step in preventing something from happening.”

   At a meeting in the Norwegian capital today that included U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, ministers agreed to step up cross-border training as part of a regional alliance to ward off any Russian threat. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly flouted international airspace rules, a behavior that Fallon characterized as “provocative.”

   Russia is engaged in “dangerous brinkmanship” toward NATO and Nordic nations in its military moves, with almost 40 incidents of incursions and close encounters since March, according to a Nov. 10 report by European Leadership Network.

   The research group identified three incidents that carried a “high probability” of causing casualties or direct military conflict, including a narrowly avoided collision on March 3 between a civilian SAS Group AB airliner taking off from Copenhagen and a Russian reconnaissance plane operating without its transponder, a device that identifies a plane.

Abducted Officer

   On Sept. 5, an Estonian intelligence officer was abducted from a border post, while Swedish military spent much of October hunting down a suspected Russian submarine that was hiding in Stockholm’s archipelago, the group said.

   The Nordic and Baltic region, which is geographically closer to Russia than the rest of Europe, is coordinating its military preparedness as the European Union and the U.S. discuss the possibility of imposing further sanctions on Putin’s administration. The escalation in tensions follows reports of tanks, artillery and combat troops moving into eastern Ukraine.

   Russian actions in Ukraine are “unacceptable,” Soereide said, also citing an increase in Russian training in the Arctic as a further cause for concern. Though Norway sees no “direct” threat from Russia, the development demands a response, she said. Fallon said further Russian incursions into the region’s airspace won’t be tolerated.

   “What’s serious here is that what we perceive as defensive measures to defend our allies, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity from any kind of attack is interpreted in Russia as something quite different,” Soereide said.