🇩🇪🇷🇴🇻🇪 Why Venezuela cancelling their own presidential elections is bad and why Romania doing the same is good according to the spokesman of the German Foreign Office:

German journalist:

”In Romania, the Constitutional Court has annulled the first round of presidential elections following complaints based on intelligence regarding alleged Russian influence through TikTok videos, which have so far been almost impossible to verify. Elena Lasconi, who is considered pro-European and came 2nd, called the decision illegal. The winner of the first round, Georgescu, spoke of a coup. The information published so far does not even mention Russia as an actor. In this context, I would be interested to find out what is the political assessment of the German government regarding the cancellation of an election with reference to a TikTok campaign, given the upcoming parliamentary elections?”

Spokesman Sebastian Fischer:

“It would be difficult for me to comment from here on the constitutional order of Romania. There was a decision of the Constitutional Court, which, like all decisions of the constitutional courts, must be respected. In this respect, the Romanian judiciary came to the conclusion that there was electoral interference in the first round of voting and took the necessary decisions from its point of view”.

The German journalist:

“Our colleagues at Deutsche Welle describe the Constitutional Court of Romania as an extension of the political establishment, while Deutschlandfunk describes it as a servant of the Social Democratic Party, and it is already clear that there have been a number of political problems and interference. I have been in BPK (German media organization) long enough to remember that you have taken a very clear stance on the power dispute between Maduro and Guaidó, including on the decisions of the Constitutional Court in Caracas. Therefore, I do not see why it should be so different now in the case of Bucharest. Will the German government have formed an opinion on this truly unique act of annulment of the elections with reference to several thousand TikTok accounts – which many call a historic act?”

Sebastian Fischer:

“Romania is a constitutional state and a democracy. This is in contrast to the situation we are seeing in Venezuela.”

🔗 NachDenkSeiten

🇹🇷🇮🇷🇷🇺🇸🇾 Turkey Says Told Russia, Iran Not To Intervene Militarily In Syria Rebel Push

Turkey said Friday it had urged Russia and Iran not to intervene militarily to support Bashar al-Assad's forces as Islamist-led rebels mounted their lightning advance on Damascus that ended with the Syrian strongman's ouster.

"The most important thing was to talk to the Russians and Iranians to ensure that they didn't enter the equation militarily. We had meetings with (them) and they understood," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Turkey's private NTV television.

"If Assad had received support, the opposition could have achieved victory with their determination, but it would have taken a long time and could have been bloody," he said.

Turkey's aim was to "hold focused talks with the two important power players to ensure minimum loss of life," Fidan said.

They quickly realised the game was up, that Assad "was no longer someone to invest in" and "there was no point anymore", the Turkish minister added.

🔗 https://www.barrons.com/news/turkey-says-it-told-russia-iran-not-to-intervene-militarily-in-syria-rebel-push-3c3e5168

#BREAKING

💰🚀📈 Bitcoin hit a new All-Time-High at $107000!

@FelipeChannel

🇩🇪🗳❗️ — Germany's Social-Democrat chancellor Scholz loses parliamentary confidence vote, paving way for snap elections to be held in February 2025.

🇸🇾 🇸🇾 - JUST IN: Ex-President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, issues statement on his loss in the Syrian Civil War and flight to Russia.

Follow: @ThermopylaeNews

🇷🇺❌🌐 Russia must be ready to fight NATO in Europe in next decade, Russian minister says

🇺🇸📱 TikTok files emergency appeal with Supreme Court to block a US ban unless it's sold.

— AP

🇺🇸📱 Trump is set to meet with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago Club today.

— CNN

🇨🇦 - 60 liberals MPs sign a letter urging Trudeau to resign.

🇧🇴⛓🛠 — A prosecutor in Bolivia has confirmed the existence of an arrest warrant against former socialist president Evo Morales on charges of human trafficking.

🇻🇺📈 - A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu.

A precautionary tsunami warning is issued.

The earthquake in Vanuatu caused severe damage to the United States Embassy in Port Vila.

🇺🇦❌🇷🇺❗️ — The head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces has been killed by an explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block in Moscow!

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦 — Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev: The Kiev Regime will face imminent revenge for Russian general's killing

🇺🇸🗯🇷🇺❌🇪🇺 — 🇩🇪 BILD:

"NATO chief accuses Russia of direct attacks on Alliance countries

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia had long been waging an open, rather than covert, war against NATO countries. Speaking to security experts in Brussels, Rutte stressed the need to change approach and adopt a “war mindset” to be prepared for possible attacks, including, for example, the use of drones in Europe.

According to a report provided by the American delegation to the OSCE, Russia has launched about 150 attacks on NATO territory since the start of the war in Ukraine. These include cyberattacks on railways, hospitals, GPS systems in aviation and water supply facilities. The report also mentions hacking, sabotage and threats to military facilities and underwater infrastructure.

Particular attention is paid to attacks on critical infrastructure. For example, in 2024, major hospitals in Romania and pharmacies in the United States were paralyzed by hacker attacks, and mass failures of GPS signals were recorded in Europe. Russia is also suspected of sabotaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, which affected communications and data transmission.

In addition to cyberattacks, the report mentions cases of physical violence and assassination attempts. In Italy, a plot to assassinate the defense minister was foiled, and plans to attack defense industry executives were uncovered in Germany and the United States.

Moscow is also accused of using the migration crisis to destabilize the borders of EU countries. The document also highlights the role of Russian propaganda and interference in elections."

🔗 Source:

🫡👋🇸🇾 — 🇩🇪 BILD:

"Russia has begun a large-scale withdrawal of military equipment from Syria

Satellite images from Maxar confirm the transfer of Russian military equipment from Syria. The photos show heavy weapons being loaded onto two An-124 aircraft with open noses at the Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province. Disassembled helicopters are also prepared for transportation.

According to the British Channel 4 television channel, large convoys with more than 150 military vehicles are moving towards Latakia. Among them, tanks and armored personnel carriers have been spotted, which were previously deployed in the southern regions of Syria, such as Damascus and Daraa. Apparently, the Russian command was able to agree with the new authorities on a controlled withdrawal of troops.

Russian warships have reportedly already left the port of Tartus entirely. US sources suggest that Russia is looking for a new base for its fleet in the Mediterranean, possibly off the African coast. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh noted that Russia is taking steps to protect its resources as the regime of Bashar al-Assad falls.

Assad himself, who had held power in Syria for a long time with the support of Russia, was overthrown and given asylum in the Russian Federation. After the rebels came to power in Syria, Russian troops began to curtail their presence in the country."

🔗 Source

🇭🇺💬👤👎🕊🇷🇺 — 🇭🇺 Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán on 𝕏:

"At the end of the Hungarian EU Presidency, we made new efforts for peace. We proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange. It’s sad that President @ZelenskyyUa clearly rejected and ruled this out today. We did what we could!..."

🔗 PM_ViktorOrban

🔗 @ZelenskyyUa:

We all hope that @PM_ViktorOrban at least won’t call Assad in Moscow to listen to his hour-long lectures as well.

It’s absolutely clear that achieving real peace and guaranteed security requires America’s determination, Europe’s unity, and the unwavering commitment of all partners to the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter.

No one should boost personal image at the expense of unity; everyone should focus on shared success. Unity in Europe has always been key to achieving it. There can be no discussions about the war that Russia wages against Ukraine without Ukraine.

I am grateful to @realDonaldTrump and many European leaders with whom we are already working to find the right and strong solutions for real peace...."

#Ukraine

🇷🇴😀❌👨🏻‍🦳⚡️🇺🇸 — 🏴 ZeroHedge | Romania's Constitutional Coup Is Meant To Buy More Time For NATO In Ukraine | Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack | December 16, 2024:

"(...)

This is a disturbing precedent that can easily be exploited by the West the next time that a populist conservative-nationalist with “politically incorrect” foreign policy views wins an election. At the time of writing, a redo hasn’t yet been scheduled, but it’s expected after the new pro-Western parliament convenes on 20 December. About that, their elections were held after the first presidential round, but no accusations of foul play followed. This is obviously due to the West receiving its desired result.

It remains unclear who’ll serve as Commander-in-Chief until the next one is elected, but whoever it is, nobody should anticipate them implementing any radical policies like Georgescu’s. Accordingly, more time has been bought for NATO to organize its reportedly planned peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, even if it’s carried out under a non-NATO mandate. Had Georgescu won the second round and been inaugurated later this month, he could have ruled out his country’s participation in this possible plan.

Romania isn’t as indispensable for NATO’s military logistics to Ukraine as Poland is, but it still borders Ukraine’s western and southwestern regions that are of strategic importance for the bloc. Even if Romania wouldn’t directly participate in any such mission, regardless of whether it’s carried out under the peacekeeper pretext, it could still let the alliance’s troops and equipment transit through its territory to Odessa for example. Georgescu, however, could have cut that off and greatly complicated their plans."

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