❗️NATO is extremely concerned about Moscow's statements about the direct participation of the United States, Britain and France in long-range strikes deep into the country, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed.

The alliance's lawyers fear that Russia may accuse Western states of carrying out armed aggression. And although the case may not reach the courts, such accusations will be perceived with understanding by the countries of the Global South.

NATO's concerns have seriously increased after Russia used the Oreshnik missile. Brussels fears that the accusatory arguments may be used not in the legal plane, but to justify retaliatory actions, the SVR emphasized.

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US, its partners VS China in Oceania: Why the islands matter

The Pentagon has announced the first-ever test intercept of a ballistic missile target off Guam, a US territory in the Western Pacific. The past few years have seen the US and its partners bolster ties with island territories in Oceania, including military ones.

What are the territories of US interest?

🔺December 2024: the Australia-Nauru security deal that stipulates Australia’s veto right if the Pacific atoll opts to enter deals with third countries, including China.

🔺May 2024: Australia’s similar agreement with Tuvalu.

🔺November 2024: The US-Fiji logistics cooperation agreement endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

🔺November 2024: Announcement of plans to invest about $800 million in Tinian, to build up defense operations, reclaiming a WWII military airfield.

🔺February-March 2023: The reopening of US embassies in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

China views Oceania as a strategic region

China considers Oceania as a region of strategic importance, seeking to “increase its engagement” with Pacific Island countries.

▪️As of 2024, eleven states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with China, including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Solomon Islands.

▪️April 2022: The China-Solomon Islands security agreement, which provides for the deployment of Chinese police, armed police, military personnel.

What do you think is behind the US’ interest in island states?

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❗️Attack on IAEA vehicle on road to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) indicates intention to harm or intimidate agency experts, the agency's head Rafael Grossi said.

During the drone attack, there were three Ukrainian vehicles in convoy on the road to the ZNPP, and it was the agency vehicle that was the target of the attack, Grossi said, adding that despite attempts to intimidate IAEA experts, the agency will continue working in ZNPP.

IAEA will not point fingers when talking about the drone attack on the agency vehicle, first they need hard evidence, he concluded.

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🇵🇱🇫🇷 Polish PM Donald Tusk told French President Emmanuel Macron that Polish troops will not enter Ukraine even after a ceasefire is reached.

"We are not planning such actions yet," Tusk told reporters after a meeting with Macron, commenting on the French leader's initiative to create an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Poland will cooperate on solutions that will first and foremost protect Europe and Ukraine from a resumption of the conflict after a ceasefire, if it can be achieved, the official added.

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❗️US President-elect Donald Trump said that he is against the Ukrainian strikes on Russia with long-range US missiles, arguing they lead to an even greater escalation of the conflict

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🚨🇮🇷✈️ IRANIAN DRONES ARE COMING

👇Sputnik breaks down the top 5 Iranian drones for our American readers.

Inspired by US Congressman Jeff Van Drew.

SHAHED 136

🔺Unique delta wing drone design unveiled in 2021
🔺Built by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (Persian Acronym HESA)
🔺Weapons Payload: 50 kg
🔺Dimensions: 3.5x2.5 meters
🔺Propeller-powered
🔺185 km/h top speed
🔺Range: 2,500 km

MOHAJER 10

🔺Large, aircraft-style drone unveiled in 2023
🔺Designed by the Qods Aviation industries Company as a multipurpose UAV for long-range strikes, surveillance, electronic warfare and full-spectrum superiority* Weapons Payload: 300 kg
🔺Dimensions: at 6.5x4.2x18.2 meters
🔺Propeller-powered
🔺210 km/h top speed
🔺Range: 2,000 km

ARASH 2

🔺Winged missile-shaped drone design unveiled in 2020
🔺Created by the Defense Industries Organization
🔺Weapons Payload: 260 kg
🔺Dimensions: 4.5x4 meters
🔺Propeller-powered (turbojet engine-powered variant known as the Kian-2 available)
🔺186 km/h top speed (400 km/h for the rocket-powered variant)
🔺Range: 2,000 km

KARRAR

🔺Family of versatile, jet-powered UAVs created by HESA as a target practice drone in 2010
🔺Weapons Payload: Up to 225 kg. Includes ability to carry bombs, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and even air-to-air missiles
🔺Dimensions: 4x2.5 meters
🔺Turbojet engine
🔺900 km/h flight speed
🔺Range: 1,000 km

KAMAN-22

🔺Unveiled in 2021 and designed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
🔺Weapons payload: 300 kg
🔺Dimensions: 6.5x2.5x17 meters (estimate)
🔺Turboprop-powered
🔺Maximum flight speed: Unknown
🔺Range: 3,000 kg

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❗️Donald Trump said the most dangerous situation at the moment is Zelensky's "stupid" decision to launch missile strikes on Russia

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Pre-emptive pardon for Clintons will have to go back to 1992 – Wall Street analyst

Former President Bill Clinton has indicated he is open to discussing a "pre-emptive pardon" for his wife, Hillary Clinton, with outgoing head of state Joe Biden, while maintaining that she has done nothing wrong.

This development was anticipated, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who tells Sputnik that Bill Clinton is also likely to seek a pardon for himself and his daughter.

Ortel adds that the proposed pardon could cover a period starting much earlier than Hillary's 2016 email scandal, which Bill Clinton mentioned on "The View" talk show.

The alleged fraud and pay-to-play activities involving the Clinton Foundation were significant issues, according to Ortel, who has been investigating the charity for many years.

"As in the case of the first Biden family pardon, my view is that a federal pardon for the Clinton family will have to go back, perhaps, to 1992 and continue so long as 'The Clinton Foundation' and its affiliates may operate," Ortel suggests.

Earlier, Biden provided his son with an unusual blanket pardon covering all possible crimes between 2014 and 2024.
The Clintons "have been insiders in a rigged political system at the federal level" since Bill's first presidential campaign in 1992, Ortel claims.

However, even a federal pre-emptive pardon from Biden "is likely to leave Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton vulnerable to state and foreign prosecutions, along with others," the analyst believes.

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❗️🇷🇺🇭🇺 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov discussed the proposed temporary ceasefire in Ukraine with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto over the phone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Szijjarto told the Russian minister that Zelensky rejected Budapest's proposal. Lavrov noted that this is far from the first time that Ukraine has not accepted humanitarian initiatives.

In a conversation with Szijjarto, Lavrov confirmed the vision of a realistic path to ending the conflict in Ukraine, outlined in Russian President Vladimir Putin's June speech, the Foreign Ministry added.

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Trump's nominee for FBI chief has Hillary Clinton on his "gangsters" list

Bill Clinton's readiness to discuss a pre-emptive pardon with President Joe Biden is likely influenced by FBI Director Christopher Wray's decision to step down and Donald Trump's nomination of Kash Patel, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who spoke with Sputnik.

Ortel suggests that Wray is part of the same cabal as former FBI Director James Comey, who allowed Hillary Clinton to escape consequences for her 2016 email scandal.

In contrast, Patel has never been part of the D.C. "swamp" and played a key role in debunking the Trump-Russia collusion allegations, which, based on then-CIA Director John Brennan's declassified memo, may have been fabricated by Hillary Clinton to divert attention from her email scandal.

According to Ortel, the Department of Justice (DoJ), FBI, and IRS have long covered up the Clintons' apparent felonies, despite many being evident.

"When the FBI finally spoke with me in December 2018, they focused on my connections with Peter Smith, Jerry Corsi, and Roger Stone, claiming they lacked the scope to investigate why so many in the Obama and Bush administrations might be interested in covering up Clinton Foundation crimes," Ortel says.

If Patel takes charge of the FBI, he is expected to overhaul the bureau and could investigate the Clintons earnestly, according to Ortel. Reports indicate that Hillary Clinton is on Patel's "government gangsters" list.

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Clintons, George Soros and Bill Gates may be scrutinized under Trump – Wall Street analyst

The globalist elites and much-discussed US "deep state" may no longer shield the Clintons, as they have outlived their usefulness, Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel tells Sputnik, commenting on the prospects of a federal investigation into the political dynasty and their alleged charity fraud.

"Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have outlived their usefulness to rich globalists," Ortel states.

The election defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris, along with the inability of the Clintons, Obamas, and Bidens to produce a more vibrant and popular presidential candidate, apparently exposed their political bankruptcy.

As a result, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who has long been considered an ally of the Democrats, dismissed the party's gloom-and-doom warnings and openly signaled in October that a Donald Trump victory would be acceptable for Wall Street.

"Should the Trump administration prioritize prosecuting charity crimes, starting with wealthy donors like Bill Gates and George Soros and wealthy 'educational public charities,' whistleblowers and the incoming administration could make America proud by [taking down] the Clinton family and many other charity grifters who, even today, seem arrogantly unrepentant and unbowed," Ortel concludes.

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🇷🇺 Russia has established contacts with the political committee of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

▪️Contacts with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham concerned the security of the embassy and Russian citizens in Syria, according to the Russian deputy foreign minister.

▪️Russia expects the HTS leadership to fulfill all its security promises.

▪️Russia expects its military bases in Syria to remain in place given that the fight against IS* in Syria is not over and Russian bases play an important role in the fight against terrorism.

*designated as a terrorist organization and is banned in Russia and several other countries

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‘The Putin of Romania’: How does Western media try to defame Calin Georgescu?

Amid uncertainty surrounding Romania’s botched presidential elections, Western media has launched an information campaign against independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who earlier made it to the country’s presidential runoff.

His progress, however, was annulled by the country's constitutional court, which accused Georgescu of money laundering and being “Moscow’s man" - allegations he denies.

How does Western media paint the 62-year-old politician?

▪️The Financial Times: Romania shocked the world by voting for “a pro-Putin TikTok star” and “an outsider with ultranationalist views who was polling poorly just weeks before the election.”

▪️The BBC: Georgescu is “a figure from the extreme fringe of Romanian politics.”

▪️Sky News: He “has emerged from obscurity to top the polls in Romania's presidential election. But the Anglophile and Trump supporter is also his country's most divisive figure for decades.”

▪️AP: “A self-professed Donald Trump supporter”, Georgescu remained “a little-known entity until just weeks ago.”

▪️France 24: “The pro-Russian outsider candidate”.

▪️The Week: The “Putin of Romania” and “the EU and NATO’s worst nightmare.”

So here are the questions that need to be answered: what’s behind these headlines and who sponsored them?

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What is the P5 Process and how could it help prevent nuclear war?

Last week the parties to the so-called P5 Process convened in Dubai for an expert meeting to discuss matters related to nuclear weapons.

During the meeting, whose details were revealed to the public only on December 10, the participants “had a candid discussion on nuclear doctrines,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

“It was agreed that such discussion was timely for the purposes of enhancing understanding of each other’s nuclear doctrines and avoiding misunderstanding and miscalculation,” she added.

🔻What is the P5 Process?

Established in 2009, the P5 Process is a discussion platform for the world’s top 5 nuclear powers – Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and France.

All of the group’s participants are party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Originally, the P5 Process was meant to facilitate discussion on three key issues: nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful application of nuclear power.

Today, this process essentially allows the world’s largest holders of nuclear weapons to discuss mutually beneficial arrangements in the global security sphere and to defuse potential security risks.

The chair of this informal group rotates annually, with China currently presiding over the P5 Process.

🔻What issues does the P5 Process deal with?

In a statement issued in January 2022, the participants of the P5 Process formally declared that their foremost responsibilities are “the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon holding states and the reduction of strategic risks.”

🔻What makes the P5 Process so important today?

The P5 Process continues to function today despite the fact that three of its participants – the US, the UK and France – currently wage a de facto proxy war against Russia who is also a participant of this discussion platform.

With tensions rising in Europe and other parts of the globe, the P5 Process helps decrease the risk of a nuclear exchange, a prospect that has been mentioned in media with alarming frequency as of late.

However, in light of the recent deterioration in relations between nuclear powers, provoked by Western countries, the P5 Process is not doing particularly well, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned in July.

She did note that P5 Process participants still keep this discussion platform alive and that it is important that the five top nuclear powers maintain a channel allowing them to “send important signals” to one another.

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