Putin and Erdogan conclude an economic and energy agreement at their meeting in Sochi. Gazprom apparently burns gas at the starting point of Nord Stream 1 in a targeted manner. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war in the ticker.
9:51 p.m .: Foreign Minister Lavrov, in particular, is currently communicating in the Russian government, analyzes the political scientist and Russia expert at Lund University (Sweden), Kristian Gerner, for the “Aftonbladet”. “Vladimir Putin has isolated himself from other opinions and only the foreign minister speaks for the country,” said the scientist. The Russian President has “created a political desert around him.”
And further: “I would like to emphasize that today in Russia there is no political life. There is no political debate, not in the Duma, not in the public media, anywhere. It is a politically dead society. And so they go on and wage war that way.”
8:15 p.m .: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed at their meeting to expand economic relations between their two countries. At the meeting on Friday in the southern Russian tourist metropolis of Sochi, “very important decisions” were made in the area of trade and the economy, said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak, according to the TASS agency. For example, the conditions for cooperation are to be made easier for Russian and Turkish companies.
The Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu, which is being built by a Russian state-owned company, was also discussed at the four-hour meeting, Nowak said. In addition, both sides had agreed that Turkey would in future pay for Russian gas in rubles.
Putin and Erdogan also confirmed their willingness to implement a recently concluded agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain. The need to “ensure the full implementation of the package agreement” was emphasized, Russian agencies quoted from a joint statement by the two heads of state. Two weeks ago, with Turkish mediation, among others, Moscow and Kyiv agreed on an agreement to release grain exports, which had been blocked in Ukraine for months because of Russia’s war of aggression.
4:15 p.m .: At his meeting with Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out in favor of signing an agreement to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. “I hope that today we can sign a memorandum on the development of our trade and economic relations,” Putin said at the meeting in the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi on Friday.
“I believe that (today’s meeting) will turn a whole new page in Turkish-Russian relations,” Erdogan said. He added that the conflict in Syria will be discussed in particular. Ankara wants to launch another military operation there against Kurdish fighters. At the last meeting between Erdogan and Putin in Tehran in mid-July, the Russian president made it clear that he rejected Turkey’s plans. Before the meeting in Sochi, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Turkey against “destabilizing the situation in Syria”.
Putin also thanked Erdogan for mediating the conclusion of the grain agreement. Erdogan not only promoted the resumption of Ukrainian grain deliveries from the Black Sea ports, Putin said in a statement with Erdogan in Sochi before joint talks on Friday. “But at the same time, a package solution was adopted for the trouble-free delivery of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets.”
Agricultural exports via the Ukrainian Black Sea ports had recently been blocked for months because of the Russian war of aggression. War opponents Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement separately with Turkey on July 22, through UN mediation, to allow grain exports from Ukraine from three ports. As part of the agreement, the UN and Russia also signed a separate memorandum of understanding. According to UN information, this provides for the promotion of the export of Russian food and fertilizers.
3:10 p.m .: The television journalist Marina Owsjannikova, who became known for her live protest against the Russian military operation in Ukraine, compared her return to Moscow to a game of Russian roulette. In an interview with the AFP news agency, the 44-year-old said she knew she could be arrested at any time: “I decided to play Russian roulette.” She was “a fighter” and was “not afraid despite the intimidation.” .
“You can find a law to punish any person,” Ovzyannikova said, alluding to a somber aphorism from the days of Stalinist terror. “If they make that decision, they will arrest me within a day, it will only be a few seconds last.”
Ovzyannikova came to international attention when she appeared behind the news anchor during a live TV show on March 14 and held a protest poster up to the camera. The journalist then spent several months abroad and worked briefly for the German newspaper “Die Welt”, among other things. In early July, she announced her return to Russia to resolve a custody battle over their two children with her ex-husband, who works at pro-Kremlin broadcaster RT.
After her protest action on television, she was briefly taken into police custody, but was released again. However, she has since been fined for repeatedly criticizing the military operation in Ukraine. She has to appear in court again on Monday for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army.
Friday, August 5, 8:05 a.m.: As the news channel “Nexta” reports on Twitter, the dead bodies of civilians are said to still lie on the streets of Mariupol. The city was fiercely fought over. The news channel relies on an advisor to the mayor for its statements.
Fighting in the southern Ukrainian city claimed the lives of thousands of people. Russia recently announced plans to rebuild the city, which its army had previously destroyed in large parts. According to this, the first residential buildings and hospitals are said to be in place in September.
8:08 p.m .: The Russian company Gazprom apparently burns parts of the gas that should actually go to Germany at the compressor station of Nord Stream 1 near Saint Petersburg. This is reported by the Finnish news site “Yle” and shared corresponding photos on Twitter. The “world” also reports.
The compressor station should be visible on these, with a large flame blazing above it. This is so high that it can be seen across the national border. The station near St. Petersburg is the starting point of Nord Stream 1.
In fact, data from the NASA space agency’s “Fire Information for Resource Management Systems” also shows that larger fires have been blazing steadily across the site since June 16. There had been no flames there prior to the curtailment deadline. The starting point of Nord Stream 1 is located on the site near Saint Petersburg. Here the Russian natural gas is compressed and pressed into the pipeline, which then leads to Lubmin in Germany.
Gazprom claims the gas throttling is due to technical reasons. The federal government considers this to be a pretense. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visited a turbine that was serviced in Canada and brought back to Germany on Wednesday. Russia has not yet requested them again.
7:24 p.m .: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan want to meet this Friday in the Russian seaside resort of Sochi. The conversation should start around 2:00 p.m. CEST, it was said on Thursday from the Turkish presidential palace.
According to the Kremlin, possible sales of combat drones from NATO member Turkey are also on the agenda. Turkish sources did not confirm this for the time being. The Ministry of Communications said it would deal with current global and regional issues. In addition to the war in Ukraine, Turkish plans for a new offensive in northern Syria are also likely to be discussed. Moscow recently advised against this.
Shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Erdogan said he would not rule out arms deals with Russia. For example, Russia is interested in the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2, which has been successfully used by the Ukrainian military. Putin has suggested working with Turkey on Baykar’s drones, Erdogan said, according to broadcaster CNN Türk.
5:08 p.m .: The US basketball player Brittney Griner has been found guilty by a court of drug smuggling. She was sentenced to nine years in prison. This was reported by the Tass agency on Thursday from the court in Chimki near Moscow.
The US is trying to get Griner free as part of a prisoner swap. This could succeed with the judgment that has now been passed.
US President Biden has sharply criticized the conviction and called for her release. “Russia is wrongly holding Brittney,” Biden said in a written statement Thursday. “This is unacceptable and I urge Russia to release her immediately to be with her wife, family, friends and teammates.” Biden said the US government is continuing to work tirelessly to secure Griner as soon as possible to bring home.
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