investigation

Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, April 21

Posted by

0

From Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation

April 21, 2017

On April 21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a call initiated by the American side.

When discussing international issues, Minister Lavrov expressed his regret that the United States spoke at the OPCW special meeting against Russia’s initiative to send inspectors to Syria to verify allegations of the use of sarin in the town of Khan Sheikhun on April 4 and the presence of chemical warfare agents at Shayrat Airbase in Syria. The sides agreed to examine once again the possibility of carrying out an objective investigation into the incident under the auspices of the OPCW.

Some bilateral issues were considered as well. Minister Lavrov reiterated the demand that Russian diplomatic property in the United States illegally seized by the Obama Administration be returned. The parties agreed that a joint working group at the level of deputy foreign ministers will begin work soon to find ways to remove irritants from bilateral relations.

http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2735390

Syria: OPCW’s block of on-site probe of chemical incident shows Western powers now aiming to oust Assad – Lavrov

Posted by

0

From RT
April 21, 2017

The attempt by Western countries to derail Russia’s fact-finding initiative in Syria to examine the site of the chemical incident in Idlib province exposes their aim to topple the Syrian government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

READ MORE: Russia questions Britain’s chemical weapons investigation in Syria

“I believe that it’s a very serious situation, because now it’s obvious that false information about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government is being used to move away from implementing Resolution 2254, which stipulates a political settlement with the participation of all the Syrian parties, and aims to switch to the long-cherished idea of regime change,” Lavrov said, speaking at a press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Astana.

Read more

A man breathes through an oxygen mask in Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017 © Ammar AbdullahRussia questions watchdog’s swift identification of sarin in Syria chemical incident

UNSC Resolution 2254 calls for an inclusive government in Syria and a peace process that would involve a new constitution and free and fair elections.

According to the minister, the decision displayed “complete incompetence” on the part of his Western colleagues, who, in fact, are “prohibiting the OPCW from sending their experts to the site of the incident, as well as to the airfield from where aircraft loaded with chemical weapons allegedly flew out.”

“Yesterday [April 20], our proposal that experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [OPCW] visit the sites of the suspected chemical attack in Syria was blocked by Western delegations without any explanations,” Lavrov said.

In the meantime, the UK and France claim their experts have received samples from the site of the incident, Lavrov added.

READ MORE: UN doesn’t send experts to Idlib ‘chemical incident’ site as West & US are blocking it – Assad

“London, Paris, and the OPCW have given no answers to our questions as to where they took these samples, who took them, or when they were delivered,” Lavrov stated.

“I think we are very close to this organization [OPCW] being discredited,” Lavrov added.

On Thursday, the OPCW’s executive council overwhelmingly rejected a proposal from Russia and Iran for a new investigation into the Idlib chemical incident.

The proposal had been amended to agree to Western demands that the investigation into the alleged attack be carried out by the existing OPCW fact-finding mission, but was defeated nonetheless.

The draft proposal seen by AFP called on the OPCW “to establish whether chemical weapons were used in Khan Sheikhoun and how they were delivered to the site of the reported incident.”

Both OPCW fact-checking missions tasked with looking into the Idlib incident are being headed by UK citizens, which Lavrov called “a very strange coincidence” that “runs contrary to the principles of an international organization.”

Earlier in April, an incident in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun reportedly killed as many as 100 people and injured several hundred. The US has squarely laid the blame on Damascus, claiming that it hid chemical weapons stockpiles from the OPCW after pledging to hand them over in 2013.

Moscow, however, said a thorough investigation, including an on-site inspection in rebel-held territory, should be carried out before jumping to any conclusions. Russia has cautioned that the incident may have been a false flag operation meant to provoke a US attack against Syrian government forces.

https://www.rt.com/news/385515-lavrov-opcw-mission-syria-blocked/

Russian Foreign Ministry briefing: Venezuela; Syria; Silicon Valley is hacking the Foreign Ministry website

Posted by

0

Briefing by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova
April 12, 2017

Excerpts:

The situation in Venezuela

We’re receiving a lot of requests to explain Moscow’s position on this issue.

We’re watching with concern the situation in Venezuela, a country with which we maintain friendly relations, where opposition activists continue to clash with law-enforcers, even with the Easter holidays approaching. We feel sorry for the people who were killed or injured in street violence that is spiralling out of control. We cannot help mentioning a growing risk that the destructive scenarios which we have spoken about time and again and have warned against and which call to mind the grievous events in Chile in the 1970s might be implemented.

We believe that non-violence offers a way to end political confrontation – this is exactly our vision of how to resolve the political crisis and resume nationwide dialogue for the sake of searching jointly for answers and solutions to the socioeconomic challenges facing the country.

In this context, we’re concerned about the statements by the US Southern Command to the effect that further aggravation of the crisis in Venezuela might require a prompt response at a regional level. It should be understood that statements like these are adding to the instability, escalating the situation in that country. They cannot be treated otherwise than words to encourage Venezuelan radicals to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and instability and incite violent confrontation. We consider the fact that tensions are running high in Venezuela to be a very dangerous trend. Honestly, in our view, this would hardly be in the interests of the United States and the entire international community, including the countries in the region.

We would like to say again that all political processes unfolding in Venezuela should be strictly in line with the constitution, keep to both its letter and spirit in full, and comply with the governing laws. There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of Venezuela’s internal problems reached at the negotiating table and in compliance with the constitution – and there cannot be any.

The situation in Syria

The military-political situation in Syria sharply deteriorated following the massive US strike on April 7 against the al-Shayrat airfield where Syrian Air Force planes are based. In this room, as well as for many other audiences, we have given an extended evaluation of that, issuing corresponding statements and explanations and making comments. As is known, Russia responded to that outright act of aggression against a sovereign UN member state by suspending the Russian-US memorandum on the prevention of air incidents in the course of operations in Syria. A corresponding explanation was provided via both the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry. Washington’s use of force is a serious challenge not only to regional but also to international security.

Continue reading →

The real reasons why FBI Director James Comey reopened the Hillary email investigation

Posted by

0

By Joachim Hagopian
Global Research, October 30, 2016

This last Friday it became public record that FBI Director James Comey reopened the Hillary Clinton email server investigation after repeatedly testifying before Congress and the world up to last July that he’d closed the case, after in his words not finding sufficient evidence of “any criminal wrongdoing” to indict her in spite of her four years as Secretary of State egregiously breaching our national security:’ 

-committing obstruction of justice and willful tampering with evidence, 

–deleting 30,000 emails after receiving a court subpoena constituting destruction of evidence,

-not to mention repeatedly engaging in perjury before Congress and the FBI.

But obviously a federal investigation still in process in late June never stopped Bill Clinton’s illegal ambush at the Phoenix airport of Comey’s boss US Attorney General Loretta Lynch (image right) “clearing” the way for Hillary to proceed without consequence to be anointed as the next US figurehead puppet president by the ruling elite.

Because it’s so blatantly obvious to the entire world that Hillary is guilty as sin, Comey’s whitewash didn’t go over well with either Americans or longtime FBI agents who reacted angrily to Comey’s over-the-top corruption. Subsequently in recent months Comey has had a virtual mutiny on his hands as in the FBI boss has lost all credibility, respect and moral authority. 

Former federal attorney for the District of Columbia Joe diGenova spelled it all out in a WMAL radio interview last Friday just hours after the news was released that Comey had sent a letter informing Congress that the case is being reopened. DiGenova said that with an open revolt brewing inside the FBI, Comey was forced to go public on Friday with reopening the investigation. The former DC attorney added that the FBI investigators discovered more emails on a phone confiscated from the former New York Congressman and separated husband Anthony Weiner that also included his wife and longtime Hillary’s right-hand woman Huma Abedin’s communications that allegedly bear pertinent relevance to the Hillary case. Funny how things have a karmic way of coming full circle – the Clintons first introduced Weiner and Abedin 15 years ago and they married a half dozen years ago.

In a separate FBI investigation involving Weiner’s alleged sexting messages with a 15-year old minor, the phone in question was handed over to the FBI. The investigating teams of both the Weiner and Hillary cases compared notes and apparently additional emails not already issued by WikiLeaks or already in FBI possession recently came to light on Weiner’s phone. The legions of rank and file FBI agents were already fuming over Comey’s complete ethical and legal lapses in his choice not to indict Hillary. Joe diGenova believes that FBI personnel forced Comey’s hand to reopen the investigation after giving him the ultimatum that if he failed to do so, the FBI defiantly would. According to diGenova, this latest plot twist only proves that: 

The original investigation was not thorough, and that it was an incompetent investigation.

Continue reading →

Court in the Hague investigates claim of Kiev participation in murders on Maidan

Posted by

0

From DONi News

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 – 19:35

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague started an investigation of the Ukrainian Institute of legal policy and social protection’s complaint concerning the participation of the current authorities’ representatives in murders on Maidan – the Head of the Institute, the ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Irina Berezhnaya.

The International Criminal Court in the Hague started an investigation of our complaint concerning the participation of members of the current Ukrainian authorities in massacre on Maidan.

She explained that the court would consider some episodes, in particular, the cases on the first dead on “Maidan” and an attempt of the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Sergey Pashinsky to bring away a sniper rifle without being seen, and also the shooting of participants of “Maidan” and law enforcement authorities by the unknown snipers on February 20, 2014.

Berezhnaya has also published the letter from the International Criminal Court in a social network with a promise to consider the complaint quickly.

DONi News Agency

https://dninews.com/article/court-hague-considers-claim-kiev-participation-murders-maidan

U.S. rejects independent Afghan hospital bombing investigation, and smashes into hospital destroying evidence

Posted by

0

By Robert Barsocchini
Global Research, October 17, 2015
Washington’s Blog 15 October 2015
medicines sans frontieres logo

After changing its story many times, the US now admits that it intentionally threw bombs, for more than an hour, at the now famous Doctors Without Borders hospital, proving accurate the assessment of DWB staffer Meinie Nicolai, who said the US attack was “a premeditated massacre.”

Since initial US claims that the protected DWB hospital was a “Taliban stronghold” and so forth have been debunked as stupid, the US now claims it targeted the hospital because one man, a “Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence spy”, was inside.

However, Glenn Greenwald points out that the US puppet government in Afghanistan has had it out for DWB for some time because they treat patients indiscriminately, whereas US allies like Israel, for example, discriminate between patients, treating Al Qaeda fighters while targeting members of the UN-recognized Syrian government: “Israel has opened its borders with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to Nusra Front and al-Qaida fighters wounded in the ongoing civil war, according to The Wall Street Journal.”

On October 14th, an “international panel” announced that it was “ready to investigate the deadly US [hospital] bombing”, but would need “assurances from Barack Obama and the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, that their governments [would] comply.”

The US rejected the initiative for the investigation, and instead, on October 15th, sent soldiers to smash up the bombed hospital with a tank, “destroy[ing] potential evidence” for the war crimes investigation.

To explain this, the US announced that the tank was carrying the US’s own “investigators”.

In the mean time, a whistle-blower has released classified documents on Obama’s global assassination ring that illustrate gross recklessness and confirm that almost one hundred percent of the people being killed are not actual targets – though targeting people and executing them is also criminal.

Robert Barsocchini  focuses on force dynamics, national and global, and also writes professionally for the film industry.  Contact on Twitter.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-rejects-afghan-hospital-bombing-investigation-instead-smashes-into-hospital-destroying-evidence/5482625

More on Macedonia: Scenario of a Ukraine style protest movement and coup d’etat?

Posted by

0

Victoria Nuland was charged with conspiring in this attempted coup. Here is an earlier post: http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/02/16/nuland-attempts-kiev-version-2-skopje.html
On this website at https://freeukrainenow.org/2015/02/24/victoria-nuland-attempts-another-coup-kiev-version-2-0-in-macedonia/

From Independent Macedonia

Additional details from the investigation over Zoran Verusevski, the former head of Macedonia UBK State Security agency, reveal that he was discussing the possibility of a Ukrainian style protests that would bring down the Government in Macedonia and bring the opposition SDSM party in power.

Verusevski, who held high positions in the security services appointed by SDSM, is charged, together with SDSM leader and several others, of trying to blackmail the Government to bring SDSM into the ruling coalition, and also of cooperating with foreign intelligence agencies.

Former Head of UBK State Security Agency Zoran Verusevski. Photo: Dnevnik

Police confiscated Verusevski’s computers and other electronic devices when he was arrested in mid­January, and since, several leaks from the investigation revealed details about his correspondence with Zaev and with Gjorgji Lazarevski, another former high ranking UBK official who is also charged. Zaev confirmed some of the leaks as authentic. Several media outlets reported on Saturday about a cache of Skype messages exchanged between Verusevski and Lazarevski, in which the two former security officials are mentioning Ukraine, as a political disturbance scenario that they could develop in Macedonia. In one message Lazarevski says that SDSM leader Zaev should move his “old behind” and be more like Vitaly Klichko, the Ukrainian boxer who energized the Maidan protests.

Verusevski responds that Zaev does not have the credibility, because “an amnestied politician is like a released pedophile”. Zaev was amnestied in 2008 by then President and leading SDSM politician Branko Crvenkovski over the charges that as mayor of the city of Strumica he allowed a corrupt real­ estate deal that benefited him and his business associates. In another batch of Skype messages, Verusevski says “Ukraine has collapsed”, with Lazarevski replying that “we are not far behind”, only to add that “SDSM doesn’t have the capacity for a coup”. An earlier leak from their correspondence showed Verusevski and Lazarevski discussing that what they are preparing could lead to a civil war in Macedonia.

The two are charged with recruiting an UBK surveillance system technician Zvonko Kostovski to wiretap phones from leading Government and opposition officials, and of preparing English language reports they then gave to a foreign intelligence service, which paid them substantially. Verusevski is charged with joining forces with Zaev, and planning to use the cache of information his rogue spy ring has gathered in an attempt to pressure VMRO-­DPMNE leader and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski into bringing SDSM to the Government. Gruevski responded by asking the Public Prosecutor’s office to investigate the case, and currently Zaev and Verusevski are charged, while Zaev is holding press conferences at which he is presenting audio files he claims prove corruption and election irregularities perpetrated by VMRO-­DPMNE officials. VMRO-­DPMNE insists that the material is taken out of context and fabricated.

Verusevski had a day long hearing at the Prosecutor’s office on Friday, with the entirety of the evidence gathered against him presented, likely for the first time. Zvonko Kostovski was already sentenced to three years in prison, in exchange for his confession, the details of which were likely presented before Verusevski on Friday as well.

The fear that political and inter-­ethnic tensions could appear as result of the political situation was often discussed by commentators on both sides. Macedonia experienced an armed insurgency by ethnic Albanian rebels in 2001, which ended with international mediation and a political agreement. That insurgency was preceded by a 2000 wiretapping scandal in which then opposition leader Branko Crvenkovski blamed then VMRO’-DPMNE leader and Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski of mass wiretapping, and presented transcripts of conversations he allegedly got from insiders in the UBK service. Crvenkovski’s source was never revealed, as the country became engulfed in the 2001 insurgency, with commentators close to VMRO­DPMNE saying that, both in 2000 and in 2015, Verusevski was the main source of the wiretapping charges.

Copyright the Independent, Macedonia 2015

http://m.independent.mk/view_news.php?id=15869

http://www.globalresearch.ca/macedonia-scenario-of-a-ukraine-style-protest-movement-and-coup-detat/5439397

MH-17 documentary interviews international experts

Posted by

0

Reflections on MH17
From Russia Today

http://rt.com/shows/documentary/223071-mh17-plane-crash-investigation/

27:54

Startling information about what was done and what wasn’t done in the investigation. This is an overview documentary on some of the issues. More has been posted at Global Research and here.

From RT’s website:

“The tragedy of MH17 in which 298 people lost their lives made the conflict in Ukraine real for many other countries. While the international community awaits the outcome of the crash investigation, speculation in the media continues to fuel the blame game. RTD travels far and wide to interview international experts on what has hindered the investigation, what procedures were needed to collect vital evidence and what might have brought down the ill-fated Boeing 777.”

Investigators are considering multiple scenarios of Nemtsov’s murder

Posted by

0

Posted on Fort Russ

2/27/2015
Preliminary scenarios have appeared in the Boris Nemtsov murder case.

 Translated from Russian by J.Hawk

Investigators are considering a personal motive scenario of the killing, as well as an contract killing by the Ukrainian sponsors of Nemtsov.

Izvestia reports that the investigators are considering several possible scenarios of Nemtsov’s murder. They are not excluding the possibility he was killed for ordinary personal reasons.

“The young woman who was with Nemtsov at the moment of his murder is a citizen of Ukraine. We have established that she recently flew from Moscow to Switzerland to have an abortion. The investigators are trying to establish whether Nemtsov was her only partner, and we are not excluding the possibility there was a personal conflict over her,” notes a highly placed law enforcement source.

Nemtsov himself went to Ukraine on many occasions and had many contacts with the representatives of the local political and business elites, which represent the “party of war.”

“They could have given him means to destabilize the situation in Russia. They could have well expected him to use the money to create a schism within the Russian society. However, there was no schism, rather the opposite—there was a consolidation. Once they realized there was no result the sponsors decided to get rid of the politician who could not carry out his task,” the same source describes the second scenario.

The third scenario also has political character.

“This could have been a contract killing whose objective was to strike a blow against the government through a provocation. Both internal and external adversaries may have chosen their “victim” to destabilize the situation in Russia. Nevertheless, one must express surprise at the choice of the target. Given the record-high popularity of the current government, Nemtsov was little more than an average person who played a minimal role in society,” states the law enforcement source.

Those and other scenarios will be thoroughly investigated by the law enforcement.

As a reminder, Nemtsov was killed on Friday night in the center of Moscow on the Bolshoy Moskvoretskiy bridge.

According to preliminary information, the killer fired at least seven times at Nemtsov, hitting him in the back, then left the scene. Nemtsov died on the scene. The young woman who was with him was not injured.

J.Hawk’s Comment: I suppose the fourth scenario would be that the Russian government had him killed, but that one is the least plausible of all. This is simply not how politics are conducted in Russia these days. Of the scenarios above, the personal motive actually sounds the most plausible at the moment. It seems unlikely that Nemtsov could have obtained large sums of money and disposed of them without attracting anyone’s notice. Even if he did misuse them, why kill him? He would still be useful to the Ukrainians alive. There’s always a possibility Ukraine’s “war party” needed a martyr, of course, so their involvement cannot be ruled out entirely. 

However, in the end, it does not seem coincidental that the young woman in question, a 23-year-old actress-model Anna Duritskaya, a native of Kiev, was with Nemtsov at the moment of his killing. She might have had other lovers; she most likely has relatives. At least one of them might not have been happy with her lifestyle choice. Moreover, a contract killer would have likely a) not needed to fire seven shots and b) would not have left a live witness on the scene. 

http://www.fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/02/investigators-are-considering-multiple.html