Georgia’s efforts to protect itself from foreign meddling cause US outrage

The United States’ anger over the new foreign agents law recently adopted in Georgia stems from the fact that non-government organizations and media currently remain the only regime change tool at the West’s disposal in this Caucasus region country, says Arno Khidirbegishvili, general director and chief editor of the Georgian Information and Analytical Agency "GEOINFORM."

During the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, Khidirbegishvili explains, the West had many more options available: “the Saakashvili regime itself, president Saakashvili, [foreign] aid, credits, investments and all the rest.”

“Today, only the non-government organizations and media are left – that is, foreign agents and their funding. And so we – the government, that is – hit them where it hurts, the bullseye,” he tells Sputnik. This is why the protests against the law in question started, Khidirbegishvili explains – Western powers realized that they were losing their hold on Georgia.

According to him, Western attempts to destabilize the situation in Georgia, which involve efforts to destroy Georgia's currency, may lead to armed clashes within the country. That, in turn, could be used as a pretext for a military intervention by a “peacekeeping” NATO force, he suggests.

Meanwhile, Western pressure aimed at bringing Georgia to heel and turning it into a weapon against Russia only evokes outrage among the Georgian people, Khidirbegishvili adds.

“If the grand purpose of the United States and the foreign agents in Georgia, including their leader [Georgian] President Zurabishvili, was to somehow push Georgia towards Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union, then they succeed splendidly,” he quips.

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Blinken’s visit to Moldova: $50mln for professional reporters on “malign Russian influence”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova “to support its aspirations to join Western institutions.” However, Western institutions influenced Moldovan politics by bringing President Maia Sandu to power and steering the country toward confronting Russia.

Meeting Moldova’s president during his visit, Blinken said the White House would ask Congress to earmark an additional $50mln “to help Moldova, among other things, in counteracting Russian influence.”

Among the Western initiatives to counter Russian influence in Moldova, Sandu was the most cost-effective. A former World Bank employee and J.F. Kennedy School of Government graduate, Sandu severed ties with Russia, invited US military for maneuvers, and brought in German police for "security." In an interview with Le Monde, Sandu pledged to "help Ukraine with everything it needs," likely including arms. Here are her helpers:

🔶 The US-based International Republican Institute (IRI). It specializes on elections and recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its activity in Moldova. It was the IRI that recommended Sandu’s candidacy in 2015.

🔶 Soros Foundation Moldova. It promotes the “reform of the police and the internal affairs system.” In the framework of that reform, a special State Protection and Security Service was established, and whose job is to protect “pro-European” high officials. German policemen were invited for “border security.”

🔶 National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which is busy “fighting malign Russian influence.” Its local “partners” live by “deconstructing manipulative narratives,” or just reporting on the media critical of Sandu.

🔶 USAID is also fighting “malign” Russia, but in the ways of “conflict prevention.” Judging by USAID’s track record in Haiti (numerous coups, murder of the president) and Libya (10-year civil war), Moldova might want to carefully consider the implications of following its guidance.

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One child killed, 10 people injured in Israeli strikes on Syria

A little girl has been killed, and ten people have been injured as a result of Israeli strikes on a facility in central Syria and an apartment building in the western city of Baniyas, the Syrian Defense Ministry said.

"Today, at about 7.30 p.m. [16:30 GMT], the Israeli enemy committed acts of air aggression from Lebanon's direction, striking a facility in the central region and one of the residential buildings in the city of Baniyas. As a result of the aggression, a little girl was killed, ten civilians were injured, and some material damage was caused," the statement read.

Earlier in the day, Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the country's air defense systems were repelling a missile attack near the city of Homs in western Syria.

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The US will boycott the UN General Assembly ceremony honouring Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi.

An anonymous US official told Reuters that the US would not ‘attend in any capacity’.

The General Assembly traditionally meets to pay tribute to any world leader who was a sitting head of state at the time of his death. The session with speeches about the deceased Raisi is scheduled for this coming Thursday.

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American politeness at its finest

US President Joe Biden respond with an insult to a question about whether he intends to serve a full term if re-elected, or whether he will delegate authority to Vice-President Kamala Harris.

"Are you all right? Did you fall on your head or something?" Biden replied.

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US navy years behind, already over budget in designing new class of frigates

The US Navy is encountering more problems with designing its new proposed force of 20 Constellation-class frigates and even before the first one is properly designed, they are three years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said.

"Delays in completing the ship design have created mounting construction delays," the report said on Wednesday. "The Navy acknowledges that the April 2026 delivery date, set in the contract at award, is unachievable. The lead frigate is forecasted to be delivered 36 months later than initially planned."

Over at least two decades, the Navy's Constellation class Guided Missile Frigate program plans to acquire and deliver up to 20 frigates - multi-mission, small surface combatant warships at a combined cost of over $22 billion, the report said.

However, the Navy lacks visibility into the true scope of work remaining to stabilize the frigate’s functional design and the extent to which ongoing delays in completing the design will have on construction of follow-on ships, the report said.

"It is, therefore, uncertain when fleet operators will have the new frigates available for mission tasks," the report also said.
The Navy's decision to begin construction before the design was complete is inconsistent with leading ship design practices, the report added.

Then, design instability caused weight growth and therefore the frigate's 3D design was still incomplete over a year after construction began, according to the report.

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❗️ Convening a peace conference with the participation of Ukraine and Russia could be a continuation of China's efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik.

The main task is to address the root causes of the crisis and reach agreements based on the principle of equal and indivisible security. But with respect for the the realities on the ground, which reflect the will of the people, the minister stressed.

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Russia believes the US has become an accomplice to Kiev's crimes, when it comes to Ukraine's missile strikes on Russian cities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"In the US national security strategy, Russia is called an immediate threat. The US and NATO explicitly say that their goal is to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on our country. In this context, the fate of the civilian population of Russian cities is not of interest to the White House, which has become an accomplice to the crimes of the Kiev regime," Lavrov said.

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🗣 Assessing Washington's statement about the potential halt of certain arms supplies to Israel in light of the Israeli operation in Rafah, Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik that - based on Russia's experience - Americans cannot be trusted.

"The Americans continue to publicly speak about their commitment to a just solution to the Palestinian problem. At the same time, in practice, they plentifully add oil to the flame of the armed confrontation," Lavrov said in an exclusive interview with Sputnik.

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🗣 "The supply of increasingly destructive weapons to the Kiev regime indicates the West's lack of interest in ending the conflict," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, commenting on the reports that the first F-16s may arrive in Ukraine within weeks.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia will treat the multi-role fighter jets sent by the West and operated by Ukraine as nuclear-capable assets.

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The drills on the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons of Russia and Belarus should talk sense into western opponents about the consequences of escalation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"We hope that the Russian-Belarusian drills held these days to practice the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons will bring our opponents to reason, reminding them of the catastrophic consequences of further progress of nuclear escalation," Lavrov said.

On Monday, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said that Belarusian and Russian air forces are conducting joint tactical flight drills on May 27-31.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳Russia and China share opinion on the importance of increasing defense cooperation not only on a bilateral basis, but also within the framework of multilateral formats, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"Russian-Chinese cooperation is aimed at strengthening international security and is carried out in accordance with the norms of international law. The combination of our efforts is not aimed against third countries," the minister said.

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Russian air defenses destroyed eight ATACMS missiles over the Sea of Azov and intercepted eight UAVs over the Black Sea near Crimea overnight.

In addition, two unmanned boats traveling in the direction of Crimea were also destroyed in the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🗣 If the United States deploys ground-based medium- and shorter-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Russia could take additional measures in the field of nuclear deterrence, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said.

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The West could theoretically "accelerate" the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis by halting arms deliveries to Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"To do this, it is necessary for the West to stop pouring weapons into Ukraine, and for Kiev to stop fighting. The sooner this happens, the sooner a political settlement will begin," Lavrov said.

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It is currently difficult to imagine a dialogue on peace, given that the "war party" rules in Ukraine, which seeks, at least in words, to defeat Russia on the battlefield, Lavrov told Sputnik.

"Let us hope that sooner or later political forces will appear in Ukraine that care about the interests of the people. In the meantime, there is no other option but to continue the special military operation until its goals are achieved," the foreign minister said.

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The only purpose of Russia's current participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the possibility of expressing our position to other participants, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"Perhaps the only goal of Russia's participation in the OSCE remains the opportunity to bring our position on topical issues directly before the other 56 participants, including those Western states that have 'frozen' dialogue with us in other formats," Lavrov said.

The consensus rule that exists in the organization allows Russia to block proposals by unfriendly countries that do not suit Moscow, the minister added.

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Highlights from Lavrov's interview to Sputnik on the geopolitical risks simultaneously growing in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific:

🔸 The deployment of US land-based intermediate-range missiles (INF) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific pose a serious security challenge for Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing acknowledge the importance of increasing defense cooperation not only on a bilateral basis, but also within multilateral formats. The Russo-Chinese partnership isn't aimed against third countries.

🔸Russia will reject self-restrictions introduced after the US pullout from the INF Treaty and take additional steps in the sphere of nuclear deterrence if Washington proceeds with deployments of INFs on Russia's doorstep.

🔸Providing the Kiev regime with more lethal types of weapons indicates the West's lack of interest in ending the conflict. Moscow will regard the deployment of nuclear-capable F-16s in Ukraine as a deliberate signal from NATO in the nuclear field to Russia.

🔸The US and NATO have made it clear to Moscow that all options are on the table as they seek to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. The White House does not care about the fate of Russian civilians, as it has become an accomplice in Kiev's crimes. Lavrov hopes joint Russian-Belarusian non-strategic nuclear drills will bring NATO members to their senses.

🔸Russia hails China's Ukraine peace efforts. In order to begin talks, the West must stop flooding Ukraine with weapons and the Kiev regime should stop hostilities. The agreements should be based on the principle of equal and indivisible security and the reality on the ground.

🔸The US' vow to suspend the delivery of some arms systems to Israel amid its Rafah operation has so far affected only one type of munition – aerial bombs – from "one shipment of short-term aid." Having blocked the UN Security Council's ceasefire initiatives for six months, the US has given Israel a green light to destroy the Gaza Strip.

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