🗣 Russia, Iran, and Turkiye have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, commenting on the outcomes of the recent Astana ministerial meeting in Doha.

The three countries urged all parties involved to prioritize peace and stability in the region.

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🪖What makes Russian tanks superior to Western ones?

Thanks to their defense system and design, Russian tanks have proven to be highly resilient in the special military operation zone, while Western machines do not perform well, experts from Russia's Rostec corporation tell Sputnik.

Features that make Russian tanks bulletproof:

⚪️ Strong armor: numerous small explosives hidden inside help absorb the energy of the blast.

⚪️Automatic loading system: in tanks such as the T-72, it automatically loads the cannon, reducing the number of crew members and increasing the thickness of the armor.

⚪️Anti-drone protection: metal mesh shields protect the vehicle from enemy drones and projectiles.

⚪️Special camouflage: reduces the tank's visibility to enemy radars, infrared sensors, and optical systems.

⚪️Additional defenses: reinforced armored skirts, turrets and tenders, electronic warfare tools.

Russia’s technological innovations are particularly evident compared to Western alternatives, especially the UK-made Challenger tank, which “was reduced to dust and scattered over two hectares by a single loitering munition,” Rostec pointed out.

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🎥🎥 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's press conference after speaking at Doha forum

👉 Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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🇰🇷 What are the chaebols who dominate South Korea's economy?

This week’s coup attempt in South Korea made headlines across the world, with several media outlets delving into the historic and economic aspects of this crisis mentioning the word “chaebol.”

So what exactly is a chaebol and why does it comes up so often when the South Korean economy is discussed?

▪️In layman’s terms, chaebol is a family-run business conglomerate, a handful of which currently dominate the economy of South Korea.

▪️The five top chaebols are Samsung (Lee family), LG (Koo family), SK Group (Chey family), Hyundai (Chung family) and Lotte (Shin family). Their wealth and power vastly exceed those of other South Korean business entities that qualify as chaebols.

▪️Chaebols rose to prominence in the 1960s during the reign of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee who sought to make them the lynchpin of his economic development strategy.

▪️A former WWII Japanese collaborator, Park drew inspiration from the modernization of Japan during the second half of the 19th century, which was spearheaded by zaibatsu – business conglomerates that were each governed by a single family.

▪️Park’s strategy of providing funding to chaebols and subsidizing key sectors of his country’s economy such as electronics bore fruit and helped turn South Korea into East Asia’s economic powerhouse.

▪️A survey in 2016 determined that chaebols account for 77% of the South Korean economy, based on market capitalization. Today, chaebols and their subsidiaries generate nearly half of South Korea’s GDP.

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❗️Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said that the main task now in the situation around Syria is to stop the fighting

More statements by Lavrov:

▪️It is necessary to ensure the territorial unity and sovereignty of Syria, while ensuring the security of the border between Syria and Turkiye.

▪️The offensive of militants of the banned Tahrir al-Sham* group and disparate opposition groups in Syria has been prepared for a long time.

▪️It is unacceptable to use terrorists for geopolitical purposes, as is happening now in Syria.

▪️Russia will work with both the government and the legitimate opposition in Syria, encouraging them to negotiate.

▪️Together with Turkiye and Iran, Russia will take steps to ensure that the call for de-escalation in Syria is heard.

*a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.

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📹🇫🇷 French demanding Macron's resignation protest in Paris.

The rally was organized by Florian Philippot's party The Patriots.

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Lavrov believes Western experts are analyzing Oreshnik's strike range in Belarus

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed confidence that both Western and Russian experts are studying which military sites in the West and NATO countries would fall within the range of the Oreshnik missile system when it is deployed in Belarus.

A journalist at his press conference in Doha referenced expert calculations, noting that the deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus would put all of Europe and NATO bases in the Middle East within its strike range.

On Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko requested that Russian President Vladimir Putin deploy advanced Russian weapons, including the Oreshnik system, on Belarusian territory. His request came following the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State. Putin responded, stating that the deployment could take place in the second half of 2025.

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📑 Questions for Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference are already being received and collected. They will continue to be accepted until the end of the program on the day.

Submissions can be made online through the website or Russian social media, as well as via SMS and phone calls.

Putin's annual end-of-year press conference, Direct Line, will be combined with a Q&A session and is scheduled for December 19 at noon Moscow time (9am GMT).

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader’s CNN appearance raises eyebrows

"This raises questions, to say the least," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after the Doha Forum.

The leader of the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)*, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, recently gave an interview to CNN, in which he acknowledged for the first time that the goal of the militants in Syria is to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

Lavrov pointed out that CNN is a network closely associated with the administration of US President Joe Biden. He added that the Biden administration had previously communicated that it still considers Hayat Tahrir al-Sham a terrorist organization, not only because it is on the UN’s terrorist list but also because it is on the US list of terrorist groups.

*terrorist group banned in Russia

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❗️🇸🇾 The Syrian military command stated that the army is strengthening its positions in the outskirts of Damascus in response to attempts by terrorists to destabilize the situation.

At the same time, the army continues to engage in combat against terrorists in the provinces of Hama, Homs, and Daraa, having eliminated hundreds of militants.

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📹🇫🇷 The opening ceremony of Notre Dame in Paris is taking place under heightened security measures: citizens are being searched by the police, special forces are on duty on the embankment, and a helicopter is hovering over the area.

Parisians are outraged that the authorities have closed the city center, and many will have to watch the ceremony “from behind bars on some screen.”

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🇷🇴 Romanian court overturns election results: Are elites afraid of losing to Georgescu’s pro-sovereignty agenda?

Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election, revealing the political elite’s fear of losing to Călin Georgescu, Moldavian political commentator Cornel Ciurea tells Sputnik.

Georgescu’s win would shift power to pro-sovereignty forces seen as radicals and anti-system by the establishment.

“The pillars of Romania’s elite – social democrats and national liberals first and foremost, and President Iohannis represents national liberals – could make such a decision and force the Constitutional Court to approve it,” Ciurea says. He notes that Georgescu, though labeled as pro-Russian, has only advocated for peace and resolving the Ukraine conflict - positions unwanted by the elite.

Such views, Ciurea explains, lead to Georgescu being branded as an extremist and sidelined. Tatiana Bitkova, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAN), agrees, adding that Euro-Atlantic institutions had a vested interest in Georgescu’s defeat and called the annulment abnormal.

Ciurea added that Georgescu’s near-victory in a US-dominated Romania likely triggered intervention by American elites to block his win.

“The annulment effectively bans Georgescu from victory,” he says, comparing it to US-EU interference in Georgia’s elections, where tensions are rising.

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🇷🇺🇸🇾 Over 300 terrorists, 55 vehicles eliminated in Syria in 24 hours - Russian Army

The Russian Air Force continues its joint operations with the Syrian army to repel the terrorist offensive in the Syrian provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria reported.

"Over the past 24 hours, more than 300 militants have been eliminated and 55 motor vehicles and an equipment depot have been destroyed," the report said.

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❗️ US prepares new $988 million military aid package for Ukraine - reports

With $2.21 billion remaining in the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the Biden administration is pushing to buy arms for Ukraine for nearly half of that amount, Reuters reports.

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