Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: September 29, 2011

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Libya: 24,236 NATO Air Missions, 9,040 Combat Sorties

Libya: NATO Air Strikes Destroy Central Sirte

NATO Continues To Bombard Sirte, Though Resistance Holds Out

U.S. Warplanes In Iraq Till 2020; $3 Billion F-16 Deal Signed

Defense Minister: Turkey Mulls Ground Operations In Iraq

Skopje: Turkey Backs Macedonia’s NATO, EU Integration

UN Security Council Session On Kosovo: West Versus The Rest

NATO Deploys Armored Vehicles Against Kosovo Serbs

Tensions Remain At Serbia-Kosovo Border

Video And Text: NATO Provoking New Balkans, European, World Conflict – Russian Envoy

Russian Ambassador On NATO Firing At Kosovo Serbs: Irresponsibility Of This Sort Leads To War

U.S. Condemns “Violent Attack By Serb Mob” On NATO Troops

UN Security Council To Meet On Kosovo Violence

Kosovo Protected War Crimes Witness Found Dead In Germany

Kosovo: Another War Crimes Witness Fears For His Life

Women, Children Among 19 Killed In NATO-Led Afghan Operation

Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

More U.S. Military Actions In Pakistan Possible: Senator Graham

U.S.-Pakistan Crisis: Watershed Or Waterloo?

Pakistan: U.S. Seeks Scapegoat For Failed Afghan Policy

NATO Acknowledges First Strike Interceptor Missile Plans

U.S. ABM Options: Destabilizing Pre-Emptive Strike, Retaliation, Interception

Georgia Prepared To Host U.S.-NATO Interceptor Missile Radar

Tense Atmosphere At NATO-Russia Talks On Missile Shield

Netherlands To Join NATO Interceptor Missile System

NATO Implements Second Layer Of Continental Missile Shield

U.S.-Led Team Wins European Theater Interceptor Missile Contract

Netherlands Extends Libya War Mission

40 Aircraft: Attack Helicopter In Scotland Ahead Of Major NATO Exercise

NATO Formalizes Complete Absorption Of Bulgaria

U.S. Marks 19th Anniversary Of Restructuring Bulgarian Military For NATO

Florida: Pentagon Trains Balkans, Caucasus, Eastern European Navies

Poland Slams Belarus For Foreign Minister’s No-Show At Eastern Partnership Summit

Eastern Partnership: EU Targets “Frozen Conflicts,” “Color” Changes

20 Million Tons Of Azeri, Kazakh Oil For Caspian-Baltic Pipelines

Bryza: U.S. To Protect Caspian Energy Infrastructure

British Energy Minister: Caspian Gas To Europe Soon As Possible

West Completes Caspian Energy War Plans

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Libya: 24,236 NATO Air Missions, 9,040 Combat Sorties

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110929_110929-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 29, 2011

NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ

…

Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 06.00GMT) a total of 24,236 sorties, including 9,040 strike sorties, have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 28 SEPTEMBER: 96

Strike sorties conducted 28 SEPTEMBER: 30

…

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Libya: NATO Air Strikes Destroy Central Sirte

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/28/56895822.html

Itar-Tass/Voice of Russia
September 28, 2011

Sirte destroyed by NATO raid

Photo: EPA

Fresh NATO air raids have all but destroyed the central part of Gaddaf’s home city Sirte, where his loyalists are still holding out.

The anti-Gaddafi side is bringing in troops to reinforce its siege of the Mediterranean port.

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NATO Continues To Bombard Sirte, Though Resistance Holds Out

http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7292:nato-bombs-sirte-resistance-persists-in-some-fronts&catid=3:world&Itemid=14

Prensa Latina
September 28, 2011

NATO Bombs Sirte; Resistance Persists in Some Fronts           

Tripoli: NATO warplanes strengthened on Wednesday air raids over Sirte backing the rebels´ land offensive, although those loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi continue resisting in this city and two other southern strongholds.
Reports coming from Sirte, Gaddafi´s hometown, noted that pro-Gaddafi forces controls the downtown of the city despite NATO´s four-day-in-a-row air raids.

Rebels have captured many territories but are still facing a strong pro-Gaddafi resistance, according to numerous contradictory press reports that differ from the deliberately conflicting and triumphalist statements of the National Transitional Council though.

A NTC military source claimed that the rebels fully controlled the harbor in Sirte and some downtown areas as part of a strategy to advance from the eastern periphery and join the brigades deployed in the western flank.

Despite the fact that the NTC claimed that Bani Walid succumbed to its attacks, the rebels only control some outlying neighborhoods, but pro-Gaddafi artillery response prevents them from approaching the city´s downtown, where locals support Gaddafi.

Sabha, which was also declared as “liberated” a week ago, is still not fully controlled by the rebels, who are not backed by the people, even though they set up a NTC headquarter in the Al-Gurtha neighborhood and checkpoints in the roads that lead to the city´s downtown.

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U.S. Warplanes In Iraq Till 2020; $3 Billion F-16 Deal Signed

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/28/501364/main20112723.shtml

CBS News/Associated Press
September 28, 2011

U.S.: Iraq inks $3B deal for F-16 fighter jets

-The deal has been in the works for years, but was shelved in February when Iraq decided to spend more on food rations for its poor before buying the fighter jets. In August, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced Iraq would buy 32 fighter jets — twice as many as originally planned.
-Iraq has said its air force is not ready to protect its air space alone, and the country’s top-ranked military officer last year said U.S. help may be needed until 2020.

BAGHDAD – Iraq has signed an estimated $3 billion deal to buy 18 fighter jets from the United States, officials said Tuesday…

The F-16s aren’t expected to arrive in Iraq until next fall at the earliest, and more likely not until 2013 — meaning U.S. troops may still be asked to patrol the country’s skies and train its air force for months, if not years, to come.

But U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter called the F-16 deal “a game-changing capability.”

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Iraq has said its air force is not ready to protect its air space alone, and the country’s top-ranked military officer last year said U.S. help may be needed until 2020.

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York that the importance of the deal is “for the world to know that Iraq is an ally of the United States in the region.”

The deal has been in the works for years, but was shelved in February when Iraq decided to spend more on food rations for its poor before buying the fighter jets. In August, however, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced Iraq would buy 32 fighter jets — twice as many as originally planned.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh cited a recent push to revive the F-16 deal “because the country’s security is important, and the air force is the backbone for Iraq’s defense.”

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The jets come with a package to train Iraqi pilots for up to 18 months and is valued at $3 billion, according to another senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security deal. Al-Dabbagh said $1.4 billion has already been transferred as a partial payment.

Ferriter said it’s still up to Iraq’s government to decide if it wants U.S. forces to do some of the training, or leave it all to private contractors.

Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, said “the idea, the policy, is to reach some training mission arrangements, agreement” with the United States.

At least some of the training — including English-language classes — will be done in the United States, he said.

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Washington is especially concerned about Iran’s extended influence in Baghdad and instability throughout the region. Negotiations to keep a few thousand American troops in Iraq next year are ongoing, although officials on both sides say little progress has been made.

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Defense Minister: Turkey Mulls Ground Operations In Iraq

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/turkey/1938445.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

Minister: Turkey considers launching ground raid in northern Iraq
A. Taghiyeva

Baku: Turkey is considering launching a ground raid in northern Iraq, and if the country’s security forces decide that a ground raid is necessary the authorities will take appropriate action, the Anadolu news agency quotes the Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz as telling journalists on Thursday.

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Air strikes were conducted after [an] attack in southeastern Turkey on Aug. 17, in which nine Turkish servicemen were killed.

These were the first strikes by Turkey in northern Iraq in more than a year.

…

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Skopje: Turkey Backs Macedonia’s NATO, EU Integration

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-258365-pm-erdogan-supports-macedonias-eu-nato-bid.html

Zaman
September 29, 2011

PM Erdoğan supports Macedonia’s EU, NATO bid

-Erdoğan is going to visit several cities in Macedonia as his visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence and the 10th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the [NATO-EU-U.S.] peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Albanian representatives on Aug. 13, 2001. The agreement ended an armed conflict between the National Liberation Army and the Macedonian security forces…

İSTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Macedonia will enter the European Union soon and that Turkey supports its integration into NATO during a trip to the country this week.

Answering questions in Skopje on Thursday at a joint press conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Erdoğan said the country is likely to enter the EU before Turkey since its accession process is proceeding quickly.

Turkey’s prime minister said he sees Macedonia as an important actor for maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans. Erdoğan said Turkey hoped Macedonia would become a NATO member as soon as possible.

Erdoğan was critical of the Greek government’s attitude, which has been blocking the country’s NATO membership over a name dispute. Greece does not allow Macedonia to be called the Republic of Macedonia because of its own region of Macedonia. Greece claims that Macedonia, if it keeps the name, might territorially claim the Greek northern province of Macedonia.

“Turkey has always supported Macedonia, particularly its bid to integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions, since it gained its independence, and will continue to do so,” Erdoğan told a press conference before he left Ankara for Macedonia.

Turkey, a NATO member which became one of the first countries to recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name, is a staunch supporter of Skopje becoming a member of NATO. Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia with little bloodshed in 1991.

Erdoğan, who is visiting Macedonia from Sept. 29-30 as a guest of PM Gruevski, said Turkey and Macedonia shared a common history and culture for almost six centuries. The prime minister will meet with ethnic Turks living in Macedonia and listen to their expectations and demands.

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Erdoğan is going to visit several cities in Macedonia as his visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence and the 10th anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the [NATO-EU-U.S.] peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Albanian representatives on Aug. 13, 2001. The agreement ended an armed conflict between the National Liberation Army and the Macedonian security forces…

The agreement also included provisions for altering the official languages of the country, with any language spoken by over 20 percent of the population becoming co-official with the Macedonian language on a municipal level. Currently, only Albanian with an approximate 25 percent of the population fulfils this criterion.

Upon arrival to Macedonia, Erdoğan visited Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, constructed by the Turkish firm TAV Construction, together with his Macedonian counterpart. Erdoğan is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Education Minister Ömer Dinçer.

Meanwhile, İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş is in Skopje, a sister city of İstanbul, to meet with his counterpart, Trifun Kostovski. Erdoğan and Topbaş will attend a graduation ceremony at the International Balkan University on Friday.

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UN Security Council Session On Kosovo: West Versus The Rest

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110929/167243844.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 29, 2011

UN Security Council fails to agree on Northern Kosovo

SARAEVO: Member states of the UN Security Council failed to find a common approach to the situation in Northern Kosovo, the Belgrade-based Tanjug news agency said on Thursday.

At Russia’s request, the Security Council gathered for emergency consultations in New York late on Wednesday to discuss the recent flare-up of tension in Kosovo.

Four NATO soldiers and seven Serb protesters were wounded on Tuesday in clashes between locals and the military at the disputed Kosovo northern border crossing with Serbia known as Jarinje. The incident disrupted a regular round of consultations between Belgrade and Pristina.

“Most UN Security Council members showed they understood the severity of the situation [in Kosovo],” diplomatic sources told Tanjug.

Western countries in the UN Security Council believe the situation in northern Kosovo is under control, and the EULEX and KFOR security forces are acting in line with their UN mandate. They said the Kosovo issue should be solved only through dialog with the mediation of the European Union.

The United States condemned the incident, describing it as a “violent attack by a Serb mob,” and called on all the sides to remain calm and resume dialog.

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the rising tensions in Kosovo, saying that “indulging the Kosovo-Albanian side promotes the growth of its aggression, its unwillingness to seek compromise solutions and to consider the legitimate interests of all ethnic groups living in Kosovo.”

The ministry also reiterated its appeal to the international presence to “strictly stick to the principle of neutrality status.”

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly in New York and provided him with all information about the border incident, the BETA news agency said.

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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=29&nav_id=76609

Tanjug News Agency
September 29, 2011

Security Council again without common stance on Kosovo

NEW YORK: The UN Security Council finished consultations late Wednesday without a common stance on the situation in northern Kosovo, Tanjug has learned.

In the closed-doors meeting held at Russia’s request, Western countries reiterated their earlier position that the problems in northern Kosovo could only be solved through dialogue, with the mediation of the EU, said the sources.

Western countries in the UN Security Council believe the situation in northern Kosovo is under control, and EULEX and KFOR are acting in line with the mandate given to them by the UN.

Most UN Security Council members showed they understood the severity of the situation in the Serbian province, the sources said.

The consultations were held at the request of Russia, which expressed concern Tuesday over the violence against the Serb population permitted by the international KFOR troops, at the same time urging KFOR and EULEX to remain strictly status-neutral.

The consultations followed a confrontation which erupted Tuesday at the Jarinje administrative crossing between KFOR troops and local Serbs, in which 11 people were wounded – seven Serbs and four KFOR members.

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NATO Deploys Armored Vehicles Against Kosovo Serbs

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=29&nav_id=76616

B92
September 29, 2011

KFOR starts demolishing alternative road

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: KFOR troops exited their base at the Jarinje checkpoint and blocked the road with two armored cars on Thursday.

They have started demolishing an alternative Kosovska Mitrovica-Raška road with dredgers.

The two KFOR armored vehicles are parked only several hundred meters from the Jarinje checkpoint, a B92 reporter has said.

The situation in Kosovo is otherwise peaceful. Serbs reinforced a barricade in Kosovska Mitrovica last night.

Kosovo police arrested a Serb under suspicion of taking part in an incident in Kosovska Mitrovica yesterday, when three persons were injured, Kosovo police Spokesman Besim Hoti.

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Tensions Remain At Serbia-Kosovo Border

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/29/56935628.html

Voice of Russia
September 29, 2011

No calm at Serbian-Kosovo border
Lyudmila Morozova

The UN Security Council has held closed-door consultations on the situation in northern Kosovo but its member states have once again failed to work out a single stand. On September 28th, Russia initiated an emergency session following clashes between locals and troops of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) near the Yarine checkpoint at the administrative Serbia-Kosovo border. 

What is meant here is a conflict at two checkpoints controlled by the northern Kosovo Serbs. Back in July this year, the self-proclaimed republic’s Albanian authorities attempted to get them under control but failed in their endeavors. Today, the support of NATO forces and European police finally helped the Albanians appoint their customs and police officers at the two disputed checkpoints of Yarine and Brnyak. In response, the local Serbs blocked both of them, says head of the Institute of Europe’s group of ethno-political conflicts Dr. Pavel Kandel:

“The Serbs are opposed to the presence of Kosovo customs officers there and naturally try to force them out. The Kosovo authorities, in their turn, seek to bring their own officials to the checkpoints, thus making the best use of KFOR peacekeepers’ support and tearing off northern Kosovo from Serbia. It is quite natural that the indignant local Serbs arranged a demonstration resulting in clashes with the KFOR and subsequent injuries,” Pavel Kandel explains.

Seven Serbs and four KFOR servicemen were injured in the incident. In response to accusations of violence on the part of NATO, the peacekeepers were said to have only shot for self-defense purposes.

Speaking at the latest Russia-NATO Council session, Russian envoy to the Alliance Dmitry Rogozin demanded an inquiry into the shooting of Kosovo Serbs near the Yarine checkpoint. “Irresponsibility of this sort leads to a war,” the official said.

…

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Video And Text: NATO Provoking New Balkans, European, World Conflict – Russian Envoy

http://rt.com/news/kosovo-nato-conflict-603/

RT
September 28, 2011

NATO provoking another conflict in Balkans – Rogozin

Video

The NATO peacekeeping force KFOR has sent more troops to the Serbian-Kosovo border following bloody clashes there. But as Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told RT, the alliance is creating a new conflict in the region.

“It’s another mistake that NATO is making by provoking another conflict in the Balkans,” Dmitry Rogozin said.

According to witnesses, KFOR has deployed armored vehicles, sandbags and barbed wire around the Jarinje border crossing, about 100 km (60 miles) from Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, on Wednesday.

“It seems my NATO colleagues don’t have a clue what the consequences of their involvement in the conflict could be,” Dmitry Rogozin said. “Instead of taking a neutral position in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution, they took the side of Kosovo-Albania. Basically, NATO is blocking the only road of life between the Kosovan Serbs and Serbia. It’s the international peacekeepers who are involved in the civil conflict in the north of the region.”

NATO reinforced the border a day after clashes which left 16 Kosovo Serbs and four KFOR members injured.

Milan Jakovljević, the director of Kosovska Mitrovica Health Center, said six people sustained serious injuries from live rounds and one person had been taken to the ophthalmology ward due to eye problems caused by tear-gas, Serbian radio and television broadcaster B92 reported.

Both sides blame each other for starting the violence, in which rubber bullets and tear-gas were used by NATO forces.

It is believed the clashes took place when alliance peacekeeping forces tried to dismantle a roadblock set up by Serbs. NATO’s spokesperson insists that KFOR troops had fired on Serb protesters in the Mitrovica region in response to an attack by the crowd.

Meanwhile, according to Rogozin, NATO does not want to discuss the situation in Kosovo or to investigate the latest bloody accident. 

“They are hiding behind formal phrases that mean nothing,” he said.

“We are witnessing outright lies about what kinds of measures have been used against the civilian population in Kosovo. We have been told that only rubber bullets and tear-gas were used. But according to the information from the hospital, all the injured have gunshot wounds. And physicians from Mitrovica complained about the bombardment of ambulances, which were transporting the wounded from the conflict zone,” Rogozin told Interfax news agency.

Russia has demanded that NATO creates a commission to investigate what happened in the region.

“I have just asked for an objective investigation into what the so-called NATO peacekeepers are doing in Kosovo. But they just ignored my question,” Rogozin said. “If NATO is concerned about its reputation they should stop this immediately, become neutral again, and investigate the crimes that have taken place against the civilians in northern Kosovo,” he added.

He stressed that Russia would support and protect civilians, and would also protect decisions made by the UN Security Council. 

John Laughland of the Paris-based Institute for Democracy and Cooperation agrees the deployment of KFOR troops has reactivated a ‘frozen conflict.’

“If they took away their newly sent force from the borders between the northern Kosovo and the rest of Serbia, then yes, I do think that the region would go back to being peaceful,” John Laughland told RT.

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Russian Ambassador On NATO Firing At Kosovo Serbs: Irresponsibility Of This Sort Leads To War

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/235813.html

Itar-Tass
September 28, 2011

Ambassador demands investigation of NATO’s firing at Kosovan Serbs

BRUSSELS: Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin has issued a demand that NATO officials investigate the incident, in which NATO forces opened fire at Kosovan Serbs near the Jarinje check-post in Kosovo.

He wrote about his demand at his Twitter microblog.

“I’ve demand an investigation of the fact of fire by NATO servicemen at Kosovan Serbs, who protested against the blocking of the administrative border between Kosovo and Serbia,” Rogozin said.

“What I’ve heard in response is apologies only,” he said. “Irresponsibility of this sort leads to a war.”

Earlier, a demand to investigate the incident was made by Serbia’s President Boris Tadic, who had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Tuesday, KFOR servicemen made an attempt to pull down the barricades that the Kosovan Serbs had put up in front of the Jarinje check-post. They opened fire with rubber bullets and used teargas after the Serbs had thrown several stones at them.

In retaliation, the Serbs hurled a few improvised bombs at the troops.
The incident left four KFOR soldiers and seven Serbs wounded.

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U.S. Condemns “Violent Attack By Serb Mob” On NATO Troops

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n260507

Focus News Agency
September 29, 2011

US condemns violence in Kosovo

Washington: The United States on Wednesday condemned what it called a “violent attack by a Serb mob” against NATO peacekeepers at a checkpoint in northern Kosovo, calling for calm from Pristina and Belgrade, AFP reported.

The State Department said that nine members of the alliance’s KFOR peacekeeping force were injured in Tuesday’s incident on the disputed border. An earlier toll said four peacekeepers were hurt.

“The United States condemns the violent attack by a Serb mob against the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) on September 27th,” it said in a statement.

“We encourage the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to remain committed to the EU-facilitated dialogue process, to encourage calm, and to find agreements that improve the lives of the ordinary citizens in both countries,” it said.

Those talks – the latest round in a six-month bid by the European Union to help settle friction between the two neighbors – were shelved on Wednesday.

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UN Security Council To Meet On Kosovo Violence

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/28/56888906.html

Voice of Russia
September 28, 2011

Russia calls for discussion on Kosovo

       
Russia hopes the NATO contingent in Kosovo will prevent separatist violence against the Kosovo Serbs.

The Russian NATO Ambassador was speaking about this Wednesday after the Alliance refused to discuss regional instability from the Kosovo crisis on its joint council with Russia.

Two weeks ago, there were clashes and casualties after the separatist authorities seized two crossing points from Serb-populated northern Kosovo to southern Serbia.

KFOR attacks Kosovo Serbs

Representatives of the Serbian community in Macedonia are indignant at the groundless attack of the KFOR international security force in Kosovo against Kosovo Serbs, Ivan Stoilkovic,  leader of the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia, declared to the ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday.

“According to its status, KFOR is to remain neutral and protect citizens rather than get into conflicts with them,” he pointed out. “There can be no excuse for the outrageous behaviour of KFOR servicemen who tried to cold-bloodedly kill people only for being Serbian.”

The clash occurred at the security check-point on the administrative border between Serbia and the self-proclaimed republic. The Serbs were protesting against the Kosovo administration establishing control over the security check-point.

The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the Kosovo issue over clashes between KFOR troops and Serbian forces.

The UN press-service says the session will be held behind closed doors.

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Kosovo Protected War Crimes Witness Found Dead In Germany

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=28&nav_id=76608

Tanjug News Agency
September 28, 2011

Protected witness in ex-KLA trial found dead

PRIŠTINA: A protected witness in the village of Klecka war crimes case was found dead, EULEX Spokeswoman Irina Gudeljević told Tanjug.

According to her, the protected witness was found dead in a park in Germany.

The German authorities are investigating the case. The protected witness was Kosovo Albanian Agim Zogaj. He was supposed to testify in the trial of ex-Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Fatmir Limaj and nine more persons for war crimes in Klečka. The trial is expected to begin by the end of October.

Limaj, who has been under house arrest since last week, will be tried on an indictment charging him with war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war.

The Priština District Court, headed by a EULEX judge, prolonged custody to the group of nine accused for another two months.

Limaj and other defendants are charged with murders, torture and health endangerment of Albanian and Serb civilians from Kosovo and prisoners of war.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-kosovo-war-crimes-idUSTRE78R5O320110928

Reuters
September 28, 2011

Kosovo war crimes witness found dead in Germany

PRISTINA: A witness in a war crimes case against a member of Kosovo’s parliament has been found dead in Germany, an EU police and justice mission (EULEX) spokesman said on Wednesday.

Ruling party parliamentarian Fatmir Limaj, who was put under house arrest last week, and nine other people arrested in March are accused of committing murder, torture and violations of the human rights of ethnic Albanians, Serbs and prisoners during Kosovo’s 1998-99 war with Serbia.

Agim Zogaj, known as witness X in the war crimes case, was found dead in a German park, said EULEX spokesman Blerim Krasniqi, adding: “The German authorities are conducting the necessary investigation to determine the circumstances of his death.”

A German police spokesman said investigators suspected that Zogaj killed himself but the investigation was still in progress and the police were waiting for the coroner’s report.

“There are no indications it was anything else,” the police spokesman said. He added an autopsy would be carried out on Thursday.

Zogaj, who was a soldier under Limaj’s command during Kosovo’s war for independence, was sent to Germany as a protected witness. Police would not confirm media reports in Kosovo that he had killed himself.

Those charged are former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought Serb forces for independence.

Limaj, an ally of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, was a leading figure in the KLA.

…Limaj was acquitted by The Hague war crimes tribunal in 2005, two years after he was indicted on similar charges.

Limaj also faces corruption charges relating to his time as transport minister in a previous government.

…

(Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr in Berlin; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

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Kosovo: Another War Crimes Witness Fears For His Life

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=29&nav_id=76621

Beta News Agency
September 29, 2011

Witness in ex-KLA trial fears for safety, won’t testify

BELGRADE: A potential witness of the prosecution in ex-Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Fatmir Limaj has said that he does not want to testify for safety reasons.

The witness informed the deputy prosecutor on Thursday, after learning of protected witness Agim Zogaj’s death, that he did not want to testify in the Klečka case for safety reasons.

“The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution believes that justice in the region is jeopardized by Agim Zogaj’s death and expresses concern over the information that Zogaj, a protected witness in the EULEX Prosecution’s case against Fatmir Limaj, was found dead in a park in Duisburg, Germany,” it was announced on Thursday.

The Serbian prosecution stressed that its 2008 investigation against Limaj and 28 more KLA members had greatly contributed to EULEX Prosecution’s case.

Aside from Limaj, the EULEX indictment charges nine more persons with war crimes against Serb and Albanian civilians in the village of Klečka in 1999.

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http://rt.com/news/kosovo-crimes-witness-dead-647/

RT
September 29, 2011

Key Kosovo war crimes witness found dead

A key witness in a war crimes trial in Kosovo has been found dead in Germany. He had apparently committed suicide.

Nicholas Hawton, an EU spokesman in Kosovo, said on Wednesday Agim Zogaj’s body was discovered in a city park in Duisburg, reports Associated Press.

Police believe that he hanged himself late on Tuesday.

…

Zogaj was a protected witness in the trial of Fatmir Limaj. The ethnic Albanian and former transport minister under Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is suspected of unlawfully killing and torturing Serb prisoners during the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Many of the charges were based on Zogaj’s witness statements.

Limaj, who remains an influential political figure in Kosovo, is also under investigation over alleged embezzlement of budget money during his time in the cabinet.

Last week, the former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army was put under a month-long house arrest by a judge of the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo pending his trial for war crimes. 

Limaj was cleared of similar charges by a UN court in 2005 which ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

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Women, Children Among 19 Killed In NATO-Led Afghan Operation

http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/09/28/19-civilians-killed-nuristan-operation-mps

Pajhwok Afghan News
September 28, 2011

19 civilians killed in Nuristan operation: MPs
By Abasin Zaheer

KABUL: Afghan and foreign forces killed 19 civilians, including women and children, during an operation on Sept. 20 in eastern Nuristan province, a parliamentarian said on Wednesday.

Militants had fled the Want Waigal district before the operation was launched, a Wolesi Jirga member from the province, Maulvi Ahadullah Mowahid, told a press conference in Kabul.

“For two days, foreign forces did not allow locals to collect the dead bodies that were eaten by animals,” the legislator alleged, claiming provincial authorities were not taken into confidence over the operations.

Mowahid said a hospital and several shops in the remote district also came under attack during the offensive, he said.

Another member of the assembly from Nuristan, Hazrat Shah Nuristani, said tribal elder Juma Gul was stabbed to death and several locals were arrested by NATO-led troops. “Such actions only widen the gap between the government and the people.”

Provincial council chief, Qazi Inayatullah Mazhabyar, said the district had been under the Taliban’s control for the past six months but the fighters left it as a result of the operation.

“The combined force came to the district, killed innocent people and once again left Want Waigal to militants,” he remarked.

…

====

Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1665686.php/Five-foreign-soldiers-killed-in-Afghanistan

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 28, 2011

Five foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Kabul: Five soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed Wednesday in separate incidents in Afghanistan, the military coalition said.

Three ISAF service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, ISAF said in a statement.

In a separate incident, one soldier died as a result of a non-battle related injury in southern Afghanistan.

ISAF did not release details about the deceased or exactly where the incidents took place.

Earlier in the day, ISAF said one soldier had died following an insurgent attack in Wardak province, bordering Kabul.

Even though military officials have projected a fragile gain, violence has erupted recently in much of Afghanistan, including the capital.

The United Nations said Wednesday Afghanistan was witnessing ‘considerable political volatility and disconcerting levels of insecurity’ with average monthly ‘security incidents’ up by 39 per cent through August, compared to the same period in 2010.

Last month was the deadliest for US and NATO allies in Afghanistan, according to an independent tally website, iCasualties.org.

At least 81 international soldiers died in Afghanistan, the highest this year, of which 70 were Americans, the highest casualties in a month for the US forces since the war started in 2001.

====

More U.S. Military Actions In Pakistan Possible: Senator Graham

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/us-pakistan-usa-graham-idUSTRE78S0CZ20110929

Reuters
September 28, 2011

More U.S. military action in Pakistan possible: Graham
By Missy Ryan and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON: Support is growing in the U.S. Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond drone strikes already used to target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican U.S. senator says.

The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network’s September 13 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

With growing calls for a tougher stance on militants accused of such high-profile attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington was closer to deciding whether to label the Haqqanis a terrorist group.

…

Graham said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. lawmakers might support military options beyond drone strikes that have been going on for years inside Pakistani territory.

Those options may include using U.S. bomber planes within Pakistan. The South Carolina Republican said he did not advocate sending U.S. ground troops into Pakistan.

“I would say when it comes to defending American troops, you don’t want to limit yourself,” Graham said. “This is not a boots-on-the-ground engagement — I’m not talking about that, but we have a lot of assets beyond drones.

“A perfect world … would be Afghan, Pakistan and (U.S. and NATO) coalition forces working jointly on both sides of border to deny safe havens, inside of Afghanistan and on the other side,” in Pakistan’s western tribal regions from which the Haqqani network and other militants are believed to operate, Graham said.

Graham said U.S. lawmakers will think about stepping up the military pressure. “If people believe it’s gotten to the point that that is the only way really to protect our interests, I think there would be a lot of support,” he said.

…

Increased U.S. military action on Pakistani soil, including the idea of U.S. soldiers crossing the porous border from Afghanistan, would be deeply unpopular in Pakistan. Pakistan viewed the U.S. military raid in May that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden as a grievous breach of its sovereignty.

The tense ties between Pakistan and the United States worsened last week after Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the Haqqani network as a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s ISI spy agency.

Graham, known as a hawk, said on Sunday that the United States must consider all options “including defending our troops” in confronting Pakistani support for militant networks active in Afghanistan.

Such remarks from the U.S. Congress, where patience has worn thin with Pakistan, have intensified speculation that the United States might resort to another cross-border raid such as the one that killed bin Laden, intensify drone attacks in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions or send in bomber planes to attack militant hide-outs.

Lawmakers are proposing to restrict U.S. aid with stricter conditions under which Pakistan, which possesses nuclear arms but is desperately poor, can access U.S. military and economic assistance.

The unusually public criticism from Washington has provoked anger among Pakistani leaders who warn that the United States may lose a key ally in an unstable region.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Will Dunham and Anthony Boadle)

====

U.S.-Pakistan Crisis: Watershed Or Waterloo?

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=69976&Cat=9#;

News International
September 29, 2011

Watershed or Waterloo?
Raoof Hasan

-Since the initiation of wars by the US has been part of a jaundiced but unchanging strategy of cultivating strife to keep its arms industry going and to physically occupy all sources of energy, there has been no let-up in its scope or intensity, and there will not be any. Region after region has been mercilessly subjected to US brutality.
-The manner in which governance has been abdicated; state institutions brutalised; rule of law subverted; apex court’s injunctions rubbished; parliament marginalised with its unanimous resolutions consigned to the bin; alleged acts of subversion overlooked; and crooks, criminals and those given reprieve through presidential pardons appointed at key government positions, are just some of the manifestations of a captive political leadership doing America’s job in Pakistan.

The inherent artificiality of US-Pakistan relations was bound to assert itself as it has now. After a spate of bellicose statements from the US military hierarchy directly targeting the military and the ISI, it was the COAS who showed the grit to defend Pakistan’s legitimate strategic interests. The responsibility for doing so rested on the shoulders of the political leadership, but they constitute an important component of the problem that Pakistan is faced with today.

The US is losing the war in Afghanistan just like all previous invaders have. It has lost wars in the past that it started with intention of stamping its illegitimate hegemony on various regions. In the process, it destabilised the world, causing untold mayhem and impoverished millions of people who are still struggling to cope. Since the initiation of wars by the US has been part of a jaundiced but unchanging strategy of cultivating strife to keep its arms industry going and to physically occupy all sources of energy, there has been no let-up in its scope or intensity, and there will not be any. Region after region has been mercilessly subjected to US brutality.

Today, at the receiving end of the US pounding stands Pakistan – a country that has repeatedly compromised its sovereignty considerations to serve an alien cause. I call it alien because there are numerous inherent factors that separate US interests from those of Pakistan.

The US preoccupation with establishing effective control over political and economic developments in Central Asia, to the exclusion of China, is not congruent with Pakistan’s interests while the latter’s strong relations with China and their potential to expedite Pakistan’s development are not convergent with US strategic interests.

The frenetic US endeavour to establish Indian hegemony in this region, as its proxy flag bearer, runs counter to Pakistan’s priorities. Pakistan’s desire to promote reconciliatory initiatives aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan do not tally with the US aim of securing long-term presence in that country. Pakistan’s nuclear capability is viewed by the US as a threat to its interests and that of its principal ally in the region, India, while Pakistan and its allies view this as an essential requisite for stability in the region.

If Pakistan’s leadership thought that the US would stand down in the face of its military’s increasing assertiveness once its immediate interests had been secured, it was a fatal fallacy. US interests run permanently counter to those of Pakistan and are not likely to change with the passage of time. To force total and unconditional capitulation, the US has wantonly used its vast network of non-state militant collaborators and paid agents to destabilise Pakistan as has been evident from scores of incidents in the recent past.

It is here that one begins to understand the need for crafting the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and the induction of a tainted and servile political leadership to replace a pliant dictator. The manner in which governance has been abdicated; state institutions brutalised; rule of law subverted; apex court’s injunctions rubbished; parliament marginalised with its unanimous resolutions consigned to the bin; alleged acts of subversion overlooked; and crooks, criminals and those given reprieve through presidential pardons appointed at key government positions, are just some of the manifestations of a captive political leadership doing America’s job in Pakistan. In this, it has been extended support by those who are complicit in endeavours to denude this country of its wealth, employing fraudulent means and push it into permanent enslavement and those who, because of an unmitigated hatred for the armed forces, would tolerate even the most corrupt and complicit government to the exclusion of the army. While it may serve their bloated egos, it is doing no service to Pakistan and its strategic interests.

It may sound trite to state that Pakistan faces its most gruesome existential challenge, but it really does. There is widespread internal strife due to the government’s inability and unwillingness to control the vitiating factors. Pakistan also confronts external threats from many directions. Across the eastern border is an unfriendly India and across its western border is a belligerent Afghanistan ruled by a US stooge who will do as commanded. Then there is this adversary garbed as an ally who is pounding Pakistan with incessant drone strikes in connivance with its political leadership and is now threatening to go for over 300 targets inside Pakistan’s territory. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s economy is on a life-support system while it is being systematically stripped of its wealth by a vast network of corrupt and complicit political mafias.

Pakistan’s ailment is discernable and there may even be doctors to write a prescription, but there is no one who would like to perform the bitter procedure. The army looks patently disinterested and the judiciary hides behind a heavy pile of cases that lie in pendency. There is no easy cure. It is a complicated operation involving numerous vital organs that need serious attention, even replacement. The system is corrupt beyond repair and those who have done the trick still have the reins in their hands.

Pakistan is precariously perched at the edge: on one side is a government that is complicit and on the other are a string of vultures with their mouths open. One false step and there is no rescue. Watershed or Waterloo? Pakistan’s plunge can only be stopped through a display of raw courage. It is time for people to stand up for their country that may not have given them anything, but that remains their only source of hope and inspiration.

The writer is a political analyst and an adviser to the PTI.

====

Pakistan: U.S. Seeks Scapegoat For Failed Afghan Policy

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20119\29\story_29-9-2011_pg11_8

Daily Times
September 29, 2011

‘US looking for scapegoat for their failed Afghan policy’

ISLAMABAD: Pak-China Institute Chairman Mushahid Hussain Sayed, on Wednesday, said the Americans were looking for a scapegoat for their flawed and failed policy on Afghanistan.

“We should be grateful to the US administration as their blame-game and baseless accusations have united all Pakistanis. This unity and resolve by Pakistanis is reflected in today’s All-Parties Conference (APC),” said Mushahid while addressing the participants of the book-launching ceremony of Yan Lijin, a distinguished Chinese scholar among modern Chinese entrepreneurs and philosophers.

The launching ceremony of the book titled “Harmony”, held under the aegis of Pak-China Institute, was also addressed by Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, former foreign secretary Akram Zaki, former ISI chief and chairman joint chiefs of staff committee General (retd) Ihsanul Haq and Yan Lijin.

…

====

NATO Acknowledges First Strike Interceptor Missile Plans

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=aerospacedaily&id=news/asd/2011/09/29/03.xml&headline=Guidance%20Needed%20For%20NATO%20Missile%20Defense%20Ops

Aviation Week
September 29, 2011

Guidance Needed For NATO Missile Defense Ops
By Amy Butler

-An actual flight test pitting a German Patriot terminal defense battery against a short-range missile target is scheduled for November. During the trial, which will take place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, a U.S. Aegis cruiser will provide target tracking.
-”Many nations have capabilities that would allow us to go in and strike a missile site before it launches an attack, if NATO ever made that decision.”

NATO missile defense officials are awaiting approval of a plan to lay out guidance for unified alliance missile defense in advance of a key interim operational capability declaration for the system slated for May.

The North Atlantic Council is reviewing this plan, which includes weapons release authority, contingency response, rules of engagement and weapons control status guidelines, says U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh, who oversees American air forces in Europe. He says approval is needed by December to conduct proper testing in advance of the May milestone. Welsh is confident that with the North Atlantic Council’s approval, the interim operational capability goal is achievable.

This interim capability encompasses the exchange of data between the disparate command-and-control systems operated by NATO and the U.S.

“We have done data transfer of all types. We have worked email — which sounds minor but isn’t — [but] we have not done active voice testing yet across the system. That is the next set along with the [Internet] chat,” Welsh tells Aviation Week. “We are very close to being able to transfer an air tasking order and an airspace coordination order for missile defense across this system.”

This coordination order provides guidance to forces on which systems and shooters operate in which airspace areas; it also outlines which terminal engagement systems are responsible for acting in the event of an attack.

Welsh acknowledges that the interim milestone planned for May is one of many steps needed to stand up a NATO missile defense in Europe. “We are at step zero right now trying to build this; the first step is connectivity…We still have to prove that,” Welsh says. “The next step is once we do have that, we will have a very small capability to actually intercept and destroy an incoming missile.”

Declaration of an initial operational capability was originally planned for 2014-15, with full operational capability to follow in 2018. The general acknowledges these dates are up for debate now at NATO. But “we are not far off” that plan, he says.

An actual flight test pitting a German Patriot terminal defense battery against a short-range missile target is scheduled for November. During the trial, which will take place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, a U.S. Aegis cruiser will provide target tracking.

…

[Welsh] outlines four “pillars” for missile defense: active defense (intercepting a missile); passive defense (warnings to populations and consequence management); offensive operations (including preventing a launch and/or striking a launch site); and command and control.

“There are lots of things they can do if they would look at things with a little bit broader scope than they have,” Welsh says. “Many of the nations can contribute in [various] ways, for example, in offensive operations. Many nations have capabilities that would allow us to go in and strike a missile site before it launches an attack, if NATO ever made that decision.”

====

U.S. ABM Options: Destabilizing Pre-Emptive Strike, Retaliation, Interception

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/opinion/28iht-edlet28.html

New York Times
September 29, 2011

Letters to the International Herald Tribune

In Defense of U.S. Missile Defense

Regarding “The delusion of missile defense” (Views, Sept. 21), Yousaf Butt claims, erroneously, that the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System depends on “essentially rigged tests, where the intercept team knew the precise timing and trajectory of the incoming missile.”

He ignores the fact that such tests must occur within a certain “window” due to air and sea traffic. In recent tests launch crews did not know when the target missile was to be launched, although they knew they were in a “period of interest.”

In a real world situation they would also know the “period of interest,” and, due to the physics of ballistic missiles, the trajectory of the target. Since 2001 the missile defense system has had an 83 percent success rate.

Moreover, despite what Mr. Butt implies, it would not be simple for our enemies to launch decoys. Even in recent test failures, the missile system’s kill vehicles accurately locked onto enemy warheads amid decoys, countermeasures and debris.

Should a missile be pointed toward the United States, the options are to inflict a destabilizing pre-emptive strike, retaliate, or intercept an attack with our Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III (ret.), Rebeccah Heinrichs, Washington General Obering is the former director of the Missile Defense Agency. Ms. Heinrichs is an adjunct fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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Georgia Prepared To Host U.S.-NATO Interceptor Missile Radar

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110929_3752.php

Global Security Newswire
September 29, 2011

Georgia Prepared to House U.S. Missile Defense Radar

Georgia is prepared to host a long-range U.S. radar system on its soil as part of NATO plans to establish a European missile defense system, the nation’s president said in an interview with Newsweek published on Monday (see GSN, Feb. 4).

The Caucasus nation is not a member of the Western alliance but it has close military ties with the United States.

President Mikhail Saakashvili said his government would be agreeable to providing information collected by the early warning X-band system with any nation, including Israel.

The Obama administration earlier this month struck a deal to deploy an X-band radar in Turkey as part of allied efforts to counter a potential ballistic missile attack from the Middle East. That arrangement, however, has not sat well with a number of senators, who have requested White House assurances that data collected by the system would be quickly shared with Israel.

…

Separately, Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin was expected on Wednesday to air complaints to the Russia-NATO council on alliance missile defense plans, Interfax reported.

Rogozin said NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen would use the meeting to “outline NATO’s vision of the course of missile defense negotiations between Russia and the U.S., as well as between Russia and the alliance.”

The diplomat who represents the Kremlin in missile defense negotiations with NATO said he would therefore “express certain complaints in relation to our partners that emerged during recent talks.”

…

Russia is also upset with the Obama administration for moving to implement its program for European missile defense while negotiations are ongoing.

…

Meanwhile, NATO intends to pay $3.4 million to a private consortium to spell out initial actions for a program to broaden the alliance’s existing battlefield antimissile capabilities into a system capable of protecting both military troops and civilians across the continent, Aviation Week reported .

“The results will then be taken forward for implementation in the NATO command and control network to broaden the capabilities of the NATO commander well beyond those demonstrated recently in missile defense testing between the United States and NATO elements last month,” the alliance said in a statement issued last week.

The consortium consists of Science Applications International of Virginia, TNO of the Netherlands, Qinetiq of the United Kingdom, Selex SI of Italy, EADS Astrium of France and IABG of Germany.

…

====

Tense Atmosphere At NATO-Russia Talks On Missile Shield

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=6&id=276611

Interfax
September 29, 2011

Russia to insist U.S., NATO take realistic approach to missile threats – envoy to NATO

BRUSSELS: Problems of negotiations on missile defense aspects were discussed in a tense atmosphere at an ambassadorial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Wednesday, Russian permanent envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax.

“I presented findings by American researchers from the University of Massachusetts, which confirm the Russian Federation’s concerns that the U.S. plans of deploying its missile defense group in the northern seas and on Polish territory on the third and fourth stages will pose a real threat to the Russian strategic nuclear forces,” he said.

“If our NATO partners do not believe our Russian researchers and experts, the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, then they should at least listen to their own experts. They virtually have nothing to parry such information,” Rogozin said.

Russia will continue “to use authority, opportunities, and goodwill of our partners, researchers from Europe and the U.S., to ensure that the United States and those who support it in NATO regarding the missile defense deployment plans in Europe take an appropriate approach, which presumes that, if there are missile threats, then a system opposing them should be absolutely proportional to these risks,” he said.

“And when all plans are being sewn together and all agreements are being signed already now, including with Warsaw, on deploying U.S. missile defense elements right near Russia’s northwestern borders on the pretext of the so-called much talked-about Iranian missile threat, there should be no illusions that Russia will silently swallow such propagandistic moves. We won’t swallow this, and if we don’t obtain coherent reaction from our partners in the negotiations, we will have to resort to the best guarantee of which Czar Alexander III said calling the army and the navy Russia’s only allies,” Rogozin said.

====

Netherlands To Join NATO Interceptor Missile System

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110928/167228879.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 28, 2011

Netherlands to join NATO missile defense program

The Netherlands will contribute to the NATO missile shield to protect Europe against missile attacks from countries such as Iran, the NRC Handelsblad newspaper said.

The Defense Ministry has approved a 250 million euro program to modernize the air-defense radar system and frigates for the sea-based defense system, the paper said.

The system will allow missiles to be spotted and tracked, NATO officials say.

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NATO Implements Second Layer Of Continental Missile Shield

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1000091-second-anti-missile-shield-europe

NRC Handelsblad
September 27, 2011

Second anti-missile shield in Europe

“The Netherlands is contributing towards a missile shield,” announces NRC Handelsblad. On September 26, the country’s minister of defence announced the installation of the Smart-L radar system on the Netherlands’ four frigates and in its air defence command. These systems are part of NATO’s ALTBMD (Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence), intended to protect the territory of Europe from incoming hostile missiles.

The range of the ultra-modern systems is very high: two frigates, one in the Baltic Sea and one in the Mediterranean, would be enough to cover all of Europe’s airspace. But the project has a price: for the Netherlands, 250 million euros, which be set off against “savings for the ministry of one billion euros” writes the daily.

The Netherlands is “the first European country in NATO to contribute significantly” to NATO’s missile shield over the continent, which is independent of the shield that the United States has installed in Romania, Poland and Turkey.

====

U.S.-Led Team Wins European Theater Interceptor Missile Contract

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2011/09/28/04.xml&headline=U.S.-Led%20Team%20Wins%20NATO%20Missile%20Shield%20Work

Aviation Week
September 28, 2011

U.S.-Led Team Wins NATO Missile Shield Work
By Amy Svitak

PARIS: NATO has awarded a contract worth €2.5 million ($3.36 million) to a U.S.-led industry team to define the first steps of a plan that would expand NATO’s theater missile defense system to form a broader shield over the alliance’s territory and population in Europe, as well as for deployed forces.

The industry team, led by McLean, Va.-based Science Applications International Corp., comprises EADS Astrium of France, IABG of Germany, Selex SI of Italy, TNO of the Netherlands, U.K.-based Qinetiq and the British arm of Raytheon. Work under the yearlong effort is to be performed at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency in The Hague.

“The results will then be taken forward for implementation in the NATO command and control network to broaden the capabilities of the NATO commander well beyond those demonstrated recently in missile defense testing between the United States and NATO elements last month,” the international organization said in a Sept. 20 statement.

…

The NATO contract follows a November 2010 decision at the Lisbon Summit to provide the alliance with an additional layer of capability to protect Europe.

Astrium Space Transportation, the prime contractor for France’s missile defense program, has already proposed a plan to validate the underlying technology for a €1 billion missile defense system dubbed Exoguard. The unsolicited proposal aims to achieve the flight test of an in-space interceptor around mid-decade at a cost of €225 million.

====

Netherlands Extends Libya War Mission

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/dutch-mps-extend-nato-libya-mission

Radio Netherlands
September 28, 2011

Dutch MPs to extend NATO Libya mission

A large majority of Dutch MPs has voted in favour of extending the NATO mission in Libya by another three months. Six F-16 fighter planes, a mine sweeper and more than 200 Dutch troops have participated in the mission since it began at the end of March. Dutch military personnel have also flown in AWACS radar planes.

The minority VVD and Christian Democrat (CDA) coalition decision was supported by the Labour Party (PvdA) Green Left, Christian Union and SGP in parliament. The government’s support party the Freedom Party and opposition party the Socialist Party (SP) opposed extending the military operation.

The Christian Democrats said this extension had to be the last one. But Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said it would be a bad sign to indicate at this stage that the mission could not be extended a third time.

The SP said the objective of the mission had been continually stretched. MP Harry van Bommel said NATO has turned into an air force for Libya’s new leaders…

There was criticism in parliament that MPs had only been informed by letter about the decision to extend the mission one day ahead of the previous mandate expiring…

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40 Aircraft: Attack Helicopter In Scotland Ahead Of Major NATO Exercise

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-15091998

BBC News
September 28, 2011

Chinook low flying ahead of Exercise Joint Warrior

Military helicopter crews have been training in low flying over the Highlands ahead of a major UK-led Nato exercise.

A Chinook has been flying low over Loch Ness, Inverness and Ullapool as part of what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) called a medium scale exercise.

The training has been held ahead of Exercise Joint Warrior, which will take place from 3-17 October.

Joint Warrior is held twice a year, with the first staged in spring.

According to an MoD website, the sea, air and land training will mostly take place in the Highlands, Western Isles, the Borders and north east England.

The public have been told to expect large formations of fast jets.

Up to 40 Nato aircraft may take part in training simultaneously, the MoD said.

…

====

NATO Formalizes Complete Absorption Of Bulgaria

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/28271/?SID=be757f60109e5d96226db9e96694b3fe

Defence Professionals
September 28, 2011

Bulgaria and NATO Sign a Declaration for Concluding Integration Program into NATO

On September 27th, General Simeon Simeonov, Chief of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria, and Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, signed a Declaration for concluding the Program for Integration of BU Armed Forces into NATO.

“The Declaration we signed today is a confirmation that Bulgaria has accomplished the Integration Plan objectives. The Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria have gone through a period of comprehensive transformation. We have brought our regulations and procedures in line with those of NATO,” Defence Chief General Simeon Simeonov said in his address. He emphasized that the experience gathered by the Bulgarian Army will be of great importance to future joint activities and cooperation.

“The Bulgarian declared units have gone through intensive training in order to achieve interoperability with NATO forces. The certification and affirmation process has proved their readiness to participate in NATO operations. During the last several years the Bulgarian Armed Forces managed to create a pool of sufficient number of evaluators capable of conducting both national certification and NATO affirmation. Their experience is of great importance to our efforts to enhance the training of the Bulgarian declared units and make it more efficient and effective. With these units, as part of a single set of forces, Bulgaria has been successfully participating in NATO, UN and EU operations,” General Simeonov added.

In turn, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, said, “You have demonstrated the requisite operational capabilities necessary for inclusion in the NATO Force Structure and Integrated Air Defense System. We are honored to sign the “Declaration on the Bulgarian Armed Forces’ Integration into NATO”,” emphasized Admiral Locklear. “We are confident that the affirmation of Bulgarian units and their addition to the NATO Pool of Forces will increase the Alliance’s operational capability and significantly contribute to regional and global security,” Admiral Locklear pointed out.

Earlier today, Defence Minister Anu Anguelov met with Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples. Minister Anguelov underlined that the accomplishment of the objectives of integration and interoperability of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria into NATO is a result of the good interaction we have had for many years now. He introduced his guest to the documents, recently adopted by the National Assembly: the new National Defence Strategy, the White Paper on Defence, as well as with the Plan for the Development of the Armed Forces, elaborated on the basis of the Defence Strategy and the White Paper. Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III thanked our country for the participation of the Bulgarian military in ISAF, the deployment of the Drazki frigate to support the embargo of Libya, and the conduct of the annual Exercise BREEZE, which has improved interoperability among NATO units in the Black Sea.

Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples was received earlier today with full military honors at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.

====

U.S. Marks 19th Anniversary Of Restructuring Bulgarian Military For NATO

http://www.sofiaecho.com/2011/09/28/1164601_us-security-assistance-programme-marks-19th-anniversary

Sofia Echo
September 28, 2011

US security assistance programme marks 19th anniversary

The Office of Defence Cooperation at the US embassy in Sofia marked the 19th anniversary of its security assistance programmes with Bulgaria with a ceremony and reception hosted by ambassador James Warlick at the US embassy on September 27 2011.

The security assistance programmes consist of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme and the Combined Education and Training (CETP) programme, which incorporates the International Military Education and Training (IMET) Program, the Counter terrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP), specialised training via FMF, all of which involve English-language training, as well as academics and training at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany. All of these programmes are made possible through U.S. Security Assistance grant funding as mandated by the US congress.

Since 1992, the Office of Defence Cooperation has spent more than 22 million dollars to train more than 1400 Bulgarian military officers, Ministry of Defence civilians and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) who have benefited from educational programmes and training offered under the security assistance programme.

Over the same period, Bulgaria has been allocated approximately 143 million dollars under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme to assist with the modernisation of its armed forces, as well as to enhance interoperability within Nato and with US forces.

In recognition of the programme’s success, ambassador Warlick welcomed many of the Bulgarian graduates of the education and training programmes, as well as other defence officials, including SSG Deyan Madin of the 61st Mechanized Brigade in Karlovo, an honour graduate of the Warrior Leaders Course held at the US 7th Army NCO Academy in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

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Florida: Pentagon Trains Balkans, Caucasus, Eastern European Navies

http://jacksonville.com/military/jax-air-news/2011-09-28/story/ukrainian-officers-learn-about-nas-jax-operations

Florida Times-Union
September 28, 2011

Ukrainian officers learn about NAS Jax operations
By Kaylee LaRocque
NAS Jax Deputy PAO

-Th[e] program provides cooperative relationships with maritime nations and is key to regional stability and security. MPP Det 513 works directly with Commander, 6th Fleet Headquarters in Naples, Italy coordinating, engaging and executing military to military events with Eastern European countries. These countries include: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Poland and the Ukraine.

Four Ukrainian naval officers and their civilian interpreter visited NAS Jacksonville Sept. 18-23 to gain insight into aviation survival and safety, search and rescue (SAR) capabilities, and squadron operations.

The group began day one with a visit to the NAS Jax Air Traffic Control Tower where they witnessed air traffic controllers directing pilots using the airfield and learned about daily operations in the tower and radar room.

The afternoon was spent visiting Hangar 1000 to learn about fleet logistics squadron missions and responsibilities at VR-62 and VR-58.

…

The group also visited VP-30 to learn how patrol squadron pilots are trained for the fleet…and HSM-74 and HSL-42 to talk with pilots about the capabilities and mission of the SH-60B Seahawk and the new MH-60R Romeo helicopters.

On the final day of the visit, the Ukrainian officers spent several hours “flying” the Romeo helicopter flight simulator.

The visit was sponsored through the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Commander 6th Fleet, Maritime Partnership Program (CNE-C6F MPP) and coordinated by Naval Reserve officers from CNE-C6F MPP Detachment 513 based at Navy Operations Support Center (NOSC) Great Lakes, Ill.

This program provides cooperative relationships with maritime nations and is key to regional stability and security. MPP Det 513 works directly with Commander, 6th Fleet Headquarters in Naples, Italy coordinating, engaging and executing military to military events with Eastern European countries. These countries include: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Poland and the Ukraine.

…

“The Ukrainian and U.S. Navies jointly participate in exercises and operations so this trip will help enhance our capabilities during these international evolutions. By learning about search and rescue procedures, it will allow our military to better assist during emergency situations for our aviators and those participating in joint operations,” said [Capt. Yurii Zabolotskyi, deputy navigator, Ukraine Aviation Squadron, Naval Aviation Brigade].

…

CNE-C6F MPP Det 513 is comprised of approximately 60 reservists with a variety of skill sets. Some of the unit’s personnel live and work in Europe and speak foreign languages which benefits the CNEP allowing U.S. and foreign military members better interaction and success in their missions.

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Poland Slams Belarus For Foreign Minister’s No-Show At Eastern Partnership Summit

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110929/167247458.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 29, 2011

Poland condemns Belarus minister no-show at Eastern Partnership summit

[The Eastern Partnership program, complemented by a European Union initiative aimed at the former Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - largely intended to replace Russian oil and gas supplies to the European Union, the world's second-largest energy consumer - will destroy the Commonwealth of Independent States, leaving Russia isolated in the so-called Former Soviet Space.]

WARSAW: Poland has criticized the refusal by the Belarusian foreign minister to attend an Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw.

Warsaw is hosting a two-day summit (September 29-30) on the Eastern Partnership, an initiative to bring the EU’s eastern neighbors closer to the 27-nation bloc.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov declined the invitation. The country will be represented at the summit by the Belarusian ambassador to Warsaw.

Belarus’ decision is yet another step toward the country’s “self imposed isolation,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday.
The Eastern Partnership program, initiated by Poland and Sweden in 2008, seeks to bring the six post-Soviet countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine closer to the democratic and economic workings of the EU.

The summit is expected to produce a declaration on the “European aspirations” of the EU’s partners in the program.

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http://en.trend.az/regions/world/europe/1938440.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

Poland sees EU path for democratic states in East

Poland’s foreign minister says European Union membership could become more realistic for nations on the bloc’s eastern periphery in the next decade if they become “a little bit like Norway or Switzerland.”

Radek Sikorski spoke Thursday ahead of a summit on the Eastern Partnership, an initiative aimed at deepening EU integration with Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, AP reported.

Sikorski said EU membership “at this point is distant” for the countries. But he urged them to adopt Western-style laws and democratic standards, saying that was their only hope for eventual membership, Kyiv Post reported.

He said, “if you become legally speaking and commercially speaking a little bit like Norway or Switzerland, then things become possible. Of course if you don’t, you won’t (join).”

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http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1938047.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

Georgian President to attend the “Eastern Partnership” summit
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will participate in the summit of the “Eastern Partnership” which will be held September 29-30 in Warsaw. As reported to Trend with reference to the Georgian presidential administration, Saakashvili is already in Warsaw.

The leaders of the program participants – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, and EU leaders and the leaders of several EU countries will attend the summit of the “Eastern Partnership”.

The summit will begin tonight at 19.00, and a briefing will be given summit on September 30.

As stated by the president’s spokesman Manana Manjgaladze, Saakashvili will hold several bilateral meetings, including with the High Commissioner for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton, at the summit.

As Manjgaladze noted, at the summit, along with other issues topics of regional security will be discussed. According to her, it’s planned to adopt a joint communique. “We also have the opportunity to present 27 EU member states and five countries members of the “Eastern Partnership” our vision, priorities and initiatives that will make us closer to the EU”, she said.

Georgia hopes to specifically define the date of commencement of negotiations with EU on free trade.

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Eastern Partnership: EU Targets “Frozen Conflicts,” “Color” Changes

http://en.trend.az/news/karabakh/1938031.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

Conflicts in the region are the most concerning obstacles to progress – EU
E. Aliyev

Baku: In Warsaw, the EU and its Eastern partners will be meeting in the context of strong relationships, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has said ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit in the Polish capital on 29-30 September, reported Trend with reference to an ENPI press release.

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ashton said, “We are all committed to making the Warsaw Summit a success, and to giving renewed momentum to building the closest possible relations with our Eastern partners and neighbours.”

Progress has been made on mobility, the High Representative said, citing the implementation of Visa Action Plans with Ukraine and Moldova and the new Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements with Georgia that had entered into force earlier this year. The EU aims to launch negotiations on similar agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus in the near future, said Ashton.

Citing the recent Review of the Neighbourhood Policy, Ashton said the EU would provide more support to civil society in the partner countries, in particular through a new Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility. She also said the EU would establish a new European Endowment for Democracy to support democratic change in the neighbourhood.

Turning to the conflicts in the region (in Nagorno Karabakh, in Transistria, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia) the High Representative said they were “perhaps the most concerning obstacles to progress.”

“We expect our Eastern partners in the region to do their utmost to make progress towards peaceful settlement,” said Ashton, adding: “Progress here will mean progress in our relationship as a whole.”

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20 Million Tons Of Azeri, Kazakh Oil For Caspian-Baltic Pipelines

http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1938276.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

Minister: Azerbaijan may place up to 20 million tons of oil from eastern Caspian Sea
E. Ismayilov

Baku: Azerbaijan could easily transport 20 million tons of oil from Kazakhstan and other Caspian countries in its pipelines, Azerbaijan, Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said today.

Aliyev said the Eurasian oil transportation corridor project deserves special attention.

Azerbaijan is actively involved in the construction project of the Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk oil pipeline, which is a part of the corridor. SOCAR is one of the participants of the Sarmatia international pipeline company.
At present, Ukraine and Poland agree on the issues of financing the oil pipeline construction from the European Union.

Kazakh oil may be one of the sources for this route. It may be delivered to Azerbaijan through the Caspian Sea by tankers. It is necessary to build the Eskene-Kuryk pipeline in Kazakhstan to create this system, as well as the terminals on both sides of the Caspian Sea to transport oil.

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Bryza: U.S. To Protect Caspian Energy Infrastructure

http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1938238.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

U.S. assists Azerbaijan in protecting Caspian energy infrastructure
N. Ismayilova

Baku: The U.S. is working with the Azerbaijani government on ensuring that the Caspian energy infrastructure is protected from a wide variety of risks, U.S. Ambassador to Baku Matthew Bryza told journalists on Thursday.

…

He said some problems relate to natural disasters such as big storms, some relate to technological, like a major oil problem in the Gulf of Mexico and, of course, some are caused by terrorism.

“Azerbaijan and the U.S. work together to understand these risks and extend our experience in reducing risks,” Bryza underscored.

The West is interested in cooperating with Azerbaijan in energy sphere, particularly within the Southern Corridor Project.

The Southern Corridor is a priority EU energy project. It will diversify energy supply routes and resources, and increase EU energy security. The Southern Corridor includes the Nabucco gas pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), White Stream, and ITGI (Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline).

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British Energy Minister: Caspian Gas To Europe Soon As Possible

http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1938465.html

Trend News Agency
September 29, 2011

UK energy minister: Azerbaijani gas should be supplied to Europe as soon as possible
A. Badalova

Baku: Today the transportation of the Azerbaijani gas to the European market is an urgent issue, UK Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Charles Hendry told journalists in Baku on Thursday.

He said this issue requires a prompt solution. “The Shah Deniz field is one of the largest gas fields, and it is very important to deliver gas from this field to the European market as soon as possible,” he said.

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West Completes Caspian Energy War Plans

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=156126

Azeri Press Agency
September 29, 2011

US analyst: “Moscow has less and less leverage in the energy realm”
Isabel Levine

-[T]he Absheron discovery is a potentially strategically important event for European consumers. It means that there is more confirmed alternative natural gas available in the Caspian, to be developed by Western companies and piped to Western countries…[T]he EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan should and will likely continue negotiations on a Trans-Caspian gas option irrespective of Russian bullying. Moscow has less and less leverage in the energy realm over all three actors and gone are the days when Russian bluster could alter the course of the winds of change on the Caspian.

Washington: APA US correspondent’s interview with Alexandros Petersen, Advisor to the European Energy Security Initiative (EESI) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington DC. An internationally recognized scholar of grand strategy and energy geopolitics, he is the author of The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West.

- Just recently the French Total has announced discovering a major gas field in the Caspian Sea, in Azerbaijan’s sector. What could be the Absheron field’s contribution to Azerbaijan’s energy security?

- In general, the Absheron discovery is a potentially strategically important event for European consumers. It means that there is more confirmed alternative natural gas available in the Caspian, to be developed by Western companies and piped to Western countries. Azerbaijan was already the focal point of European energy security opportunities and Absheron’s development will only confirm that top spot. Although it will take a decade or so for Absheron gas to become available, this timeline probably fits well with those of the Southern Energy Corridor projects under consideration.

- A lot is being said about the Nabucco project and Azerbaijan’s role in it, but no real steps were taken, why is that? Will the discovery of Absheron improve Nabucco’s chances?

- The real question is what are the implications for the expansion of the Southern Energy Corridor. Nabucco is just one of three major projects competing to bring gas from the Caspian to European markets through the Corridor. The first of October is in fact a milestone in moving the Corridor’s vision forward, when each of the projects: IGI, Nabucco and TAP will be submitting tariff and commercial transit terms to the Shah Deniz consortium with a view towards the consortium picking a project before the end of the year. The Absheron gas field will certainly factor into these considerations – especially as it shares stakeholders with Shah Deniz – but the consortia developing the two projects are different. For now, a Southern Energy Corridor project will probably move forward based on Shah Deniz II development. The real question is about whether the next stage will be to link in Absheron gas or build a Trans-Caspian gas option – or both.

- Russia says EU’s decision to give a mandate to the European Commission to negotiate on the legal framework for a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan as third party intervention in the Caspian Sea sector. Does this sound like there could be an energy war in the Caspian Sea?

- Russia’s reaction to the EU announcement was regrettable, not only because it was antagonistic, but because it was short-sighted. There will not be an “energy war” in the Caspian any time soon, mainly because the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan should and will likely continue negotiations on a Trans-Caspian gas option irrespective of Russian bullying. Moscow has less and less leverage in the energy realm over all three actors and gone are the days when Russian bluster could alter the course of the winds of change on the Caspian.

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