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Researcher & writer based in Hong Kong. Former academic. Longform articles archived at https://lauraruggeri.substack.com and https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com. Email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
Ukraine launches "Test dummies" program. Foreign arms manufacturers will be allowed to use Ukrainian soldiers as test dummies, according to a new programme launched on Thursday.
Brave1, a defence technology incubator supported by the Ukrainian government, announced the “Test in Ukraine” initiative, where allied governments could hand over prototypes for new air defence capabilities, drone interceptors, AI-guided systems, loitering munitions, naval drones, electronic warfare systems etc, for testing on the battlefield.
In exchange, Brave1 would return with a detailed report about how it performed on the battlefield and suggest any additional real-time changes that would have to be made. (Source: Reuters/Euronews) @LauraRuHK
Dopo aver riportato la notizia di un "attacco di droni russi sulla città ucraina di Voronezh", confondendo autori dell'attacco (ucraini) e obiettivo (Voronezh è russa), ecco un'altra perla. I nazisti dell'Illinois, quelli dei Blues Brothers, avrebbero assassinato il colonnello dell'SBU Ivan Voronych. Secondo la giornalista de La Repubblica è andata proprio così, ma ovviamente dietro ai nazisti di John Belushi ci sarebbe il Cremlino. Elementare, Watson. A questo punto viene naturale il sospetto che nella redazione de La Repubblica la macchinetta del caffè sia stata da tempo sostituita con un erogatore di sostanze allucinogene. @LauraRuHK
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The European Union has blacklisted two small Chinese banks in its latest package of sanctions, despite a warning from Beijing to expect consequences.
Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank and Heihe Rural Commercial Bank, two regional lenders from cities close to China’s border with Russia.
The move could prompt retaliation from China, which has lobbied intensely behind the scenes to get the banks removed from the package. It also comes less than a week out from a high-stakes summit in Beijing.
During a meeting with the EU’s worst diplomat, Kaja Kallas, this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned her “three or four times” that there would be a response to the banks’ inclusion, according to sources familiar with the exchange. (Source: SCMP) @LauraRuHK https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318793/european-union-sanctions-2-chinese-banks-over-aid-russia?module=top_story&pgtype=homepage
Most EU countries are heading for bankruptcy. They want to finance digitization, decarbonization and increase miliary spending (all at the same time!) against a backdrop of unsustainable debt, deficits and demographic decline. ▪️Take France, for example. Prime Minister François Bayrou presented plans for €44 billion in tax increases and social cuts in next year’s budget — at least €7 billion in cuts via a freeze to pensions and public sector salaries next year, €5 billion in healthcare spending cuts, and billions more from a draconian “reform” of unemployment insurance. He also announced mass job cuts in the public sector and sharp regional government spending cuts. The cherry on the cake was the scrapping of two public holiday. All to address the ballooning deficit, which is already three times the EU's target. France's sovereign debt has reached 114% of its GDP and the country spends €100 billion yearly on servicing its debt to the banks. The cost of servicing that debt cannot help but grow in the next couple of years, as governments around Europe refinance at much higher interest rates the money that they borrowed years ago. ▪️Bayrou's class war budget would impose sweeping cuts to key social programs to free up tens of billions of euros for the ongoing French and European military build-up. While 91 percent of the French people opposed Macron’s 2023 pension cuts, Bayrou is further escalating austerity. @LauraRuHK
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A chi mi chiede perche' non seguo i media italiani di solito rispondo che vivendo in Cina e occupandomi prevalentemente delle relazioni tra Asia e Europa, e del paese piu' grande del mondo che vi si trova in mezzo, non sento un grande bisogno di farlo. Per giunta gli affari esteri sono trattati da giornalisti che spesso si limitano a tradurre, riassumere, a volte stravolgere, quello che ho gia' letto prima in altre lingue. Ora che mi trovo in Italia per la pausa estiva ho deciso di dedicare un po' di tempo ai giornali italiani. Leggo cosi' che droni russi avrebbero colpito una citta' ucraina, Voronezh. L'ultima volta che ci sono stata era una citta' russa da secoli. Mi chiedo, da quando e' diventata ucraina?? Beh, sembra che i giornalisti italiani per navigare nel mare periglioso dell'informazione si affidino alla griglia interpretativa "Russi cattivi/Ucraini buoni" con effetti spesso surreali. Voronezh grazie al cielo e' ancora in Russia e guarda caso i droni che l'hanno colpita erano ucraini.@LauraRuHK
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Four EU countries, Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Italy, have already refused to buy weapons for Kiev from the United States. @LauraRuHK
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Dopo aver sospeso la sua partecipazione al CSTO, un'alleanza militare composta da Armenia, Bielorussia, Kazakistan, Kirghizistan, Russia e Tagikistan, "l'Armenia è più propensa a lasciare l'organizzazione che a riprendere la sua adesione", ha detto il Primo Ministro Nikol Pashinyan in una conferenza stampa.
Lo scorso dicembre, ha affermato che le relazioni tra l'Armenia e CSTO avevano superato il punto di non ritorno. (Fonte: TASS) ▪️Questo è ciò che hanno comprato centinaia di milioni di dollari in sovvenzioni e aiuti finanziari da Washington e Bruxelles. /channel/LauraRuHK/10302
/channel/rian_ru/305229 Mass anti-government protests in support of the Druze community in southern Syria are taking place in Jamaran — a suburb of Damascus, calling for the removal of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, witnesses tell RIA Novosti.
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The US wants to know what Japan and Australia would do in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. The question appears to have been asked behind closed doors but also appears to have been leaked exactly when Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is making a landmark official visit to China from Saturday to Friday. Obviously someone wanted to spoil it. Albanese declined to make a public commitment, alluding to the ‘strategic ambiguity’ about how the US itself would respond. @LauraRuHK
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Dead Season is my weekend's recommendation if you like old Soviet films as much as i do. Legendary spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (William August Fisher) for the first time showed himself to the general public with an introductory speech to the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUKRIEsRl_c
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Yet another US provocation? Several Chinese media report that Julie Eadeh — who was a political counselor at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong during the failed colour revolution that rocked the city in 2019-20 — is now being considered for the post of US Consul General in Hong Kong. In her previous role she was caught on camera briefing leaders of the sedition such as Joshua Wong and Nathan Law in a hotel. @LauraRuHK
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Trump ha trasformato il sostegno militare degli Stati Uniti e i dazi sulle importazioni in una merce di scambio. Washington continuerà a fornire a Kiev sistemi d'arma sia difensivi che offensivi fin tanto che i vassalli dell'UE pagano. E se questi ultimi osano tergiversare, saranno colpiti da dazi più alti.
Secondo la Reuters, il pacchetto potrebbe includere missili Patriot difensivi e razzi a medio raggio. Finora l'amministrazione Trump aveva inviato solo armi autorizzate dall'ex presidente Joe Biden. Ora, per la prima volta da quando è ritornato in carica, Trump invierà armi a Kiev in base alla Presidential Drawdown Authority, un potere presidenziale spesso utilizzato dal suo predecessore, che consente al presidente degli Stati Uniti di “attingere dalle scorte di armi per aiutare gli alleati in caso di emergenza”. Gli Stati Uniti hanno ancora 3,86 miliardi di dollari di Presidential Drawdown Authority per l'Ucraina. L'ultimo prelievo è stato quello di 500 milioni di dollari concesso da Biden il 9 gennaio. L'unica differenza è che con il “racket della protezione” potenziato da Trump i Paesi dell'UE dovranno sborsare di più. Resta da vedere quanto velocemente verranno distrutte le armi in Ucraina e quanto velocemente le scorte potranno essere rimpinguate. @LauraRuHK
🇷🇺 🇨🇳 “La cooperazione tra Cina e Russia non tollera interferenze da parte di terzi” - ha risposto Mao Ning, portavoce del ministero degli Esteri cinese, al presidente della Commissione europea Ursula von der Leyen, che aveva chiesto un freno alle relazioni Cina-Russia. @LauraRuHK
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Mentre il fantoccio dell'Occidente Nikol Pashinyan reprime aspramente l'opposizione e la Chiesa apostolica armena, affermando che la “libererà” personalmente dalla sua guida spirituale, l'UE premia questi sforzi per abbracciare i “valori europei” con 270 milioni di euro. L'Armenia e l'UE hanno stabilito un tavolo di lavoro per “missioni e operazioni di gestione delle crisi” e hanno avviato le prime consultazioni Armenia-UE in materia di sicurezza e difesa, con particolare attenzione al “contrasto delle minacce ibride e informatiche, delle interferenze straniere e della disinformazione”. L'UE ha inoltre espresso il proprio sostegno "agli sforzi dell'Armenia per raggiungere la piena normalizzazione delle relazioni con la Turchia e l'Azerbaigian." @LauraRuHK
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⚡️Il primo ministro armeno Nikol Pashinyan ha confermato che oggi incontrerà il presidente azero Ilham Aliyev.
L'incontro si terrà ad Abu Dhabi. (Fonte: Armen Press) ▪️Aliyev è arrivato per primo, con due aerei (reg. 4K-8888, 4k-AI001) seguendo una rotta lunga che ha evitato lo spazio aereo iraniano. Pashinyan ha seguito la rotta più breve, ma il suo Airbus A319 (reg. 701) sembra essere stato registrato come un elicottero Aerospatiale 532 Cougar per evitare l'identificazione. (Fonte: Nagorno Karabakh Observer) @LauraRuHK
Maria Zakharova: Moldova is being groomed to become the next Ukraine.
"On July 4, Chisinau hosted the first Moldova-European Union summit. [...]
The longest section of the declaration focuses on security and defence cooperation. This fact only confirms what we’ve long emphasised: the West is pulling out all the stops to transform Moldova into a NATO outpost for potential confrontation with Russia. And they’re doing it with the full compliance of Chisinau’s authorities, who are systematically eroding the country’s constitutional neutrality. But how can they claim Moldova as “theirs” when its leaders are now Romanian citizens themselves, insisting that the Moldovan language be called Romanian, and rewriting Moldovans into Romanians? Let’s not forget: Neutrality is enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
Here’s more proof.
On July 10, Moldova’s parliament ratified an intergovernmental agreement with Germany on the equipment assistance program for foreign armed forces – a deal signed back in May by the two countries’ defence chiefs. The pact includes stationing a Bundeswehr advisory group in Moldova. So how, exactly, does this boost education in Moldova? How does it advance EU integration – as Chisinau keeps promising voters? Let’s not forget: the EU is, first and foremost, an economic bloc. What does any of this have to do with improving Moldova’s economy? Nothing. It’s pure deception.
On July 11, Denmark pledged roughly $8 million to strengthen Moldova’s defence capabilities – funding that won’t buy farm machinery, fertilisers, or loans for local industry. Instead, it serves one clear purpose: advancing Moldova’s militarisation for NATO’s benefit.
Moldova is further accelerating its integration with NATO countries, conducting over 30 joint military exercises with alliance forces in 2024 alone.
Why? The answer is obvious. Moldova is being groomed to become the next Ukraine. Tellingly, on July 13, Moldovan media reported four Moldovan officers killed near Kherson. According to reports, ten servicemen had been sent to a Ukrainian Armed Forces training ground – supposedly to “gain advanced experience.” Mission accomplished, it seems.[...] The crackdown against the opposition continues unabated. On July 10, a Chisinau court extended the house arrest of Gagauzia’s leader, Evghenia Guțul, for another 30 days – until August 12. On July 11, the Moldovan Prosecutor’s Office escalated pressure against opposition MP Marina Tauber (Victory Bloc), demanding a 13-year prison sentence on far-fetched charges of “illegal financing” and putting her on the wanted list. [...] Chisinau’s regime is desperately diverting public attention from its socio-economic failures. No time to address Moldova’s real problems – to develop its science, industry, arts or culture. There’s only one priority from Brussels: fast-track Moldova into NATO’s orbit as a staging ground against Russia."
🤡Battle of the braincells: According to "La Repubblica", one of the most disgustingly factious and deceitful newspapers in an environment already rich in factious and deceitful newspapers, the Ukrainian secret agent who was murdered was killed by "American neonazis linked to the Russian Federation".
Normally I'd have a snarky comment for bullshit such as this one, but honestly after hearing this I feel like my IQ has dropped by fifty points. Now if you excuse me, I'll go help myself to a gallon of vodka to numb the pain.
@Slavyangrad
I paesi dell'UE in corsa verso la bancarotta. Vogliono finanziare la digitalizzazione, la decarbonizzazione e l'aumento delle spese militari (tutto allo stesso tempo!) in un contesto di debito, deficit e declino demografico insostenibili.
Prendiamo ad esempio la Francia. Il primo ministro François Bayrou ha presentato un programma economico che prevede 44 miliardi di euro in aumenti di tasse e tagli sociali nel piano di bilancio del prossimo anno - almeno 7 miliardi di euro di tagli attraverso il congelamento delle pensioni e degli stipendi del settore pubblico il prossimo anno, 5 miliardi di euro di tagli alla spesa sanitaria e altri miliardi di euro verranno tagliati con una “riforma” draconiana dei sussidi per la disoccupazione. Ha inoltre annunciato tagli massicci ai posti di lavoro nel settore pubblico e forti tagli alle spese delle amministrazioni regionale. La ciliegina sulla torta è stata la cancellazione di due festività pubbliche. Il tutto per far fronte a un aumento del deficit, che è già tre volte il limite fissato dall'UE. Il debito sovrano della Francia ha raggiunto il 114% del PIL e il Paese spende 100 miliardi di euro all'anno per pagare il debito con le banche. Questo costo non potrà che crescere nei prossimi due anni, dato che i governi di tutta Europa pagano tassi di interesse molto più alti sul denaro preso in prestito anni fa a tassi inferiori.
Il piano di bilancio "lacrime e sangue" presentato da Bayrou intende iimporre tagli radicali a programmi sociali chiave, al fine di trovare decine di miliardi di euro per il rafforzamento militare francese ed europeo. Ricordiamo che il 91% dei francesi si era opposto ai tagli alle pensioni previsti da Macron per il 2023, ora Bayrou sta spingendo per misure di austerità che potrebbero esacerbare il conflitto sociale. La guerra di classe delle elites contro il popolo è stata dichiarata. @LauraRuHK
Western elites seek to gain preempted access to rare-earth metals in the countries of the global majority by pursuing a neo-colonial policy that borders on robbery, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an op-ed for the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily titled "Neo-coloniAIism."
"Rare-earth metals, whose reserves are quite limited, are the key resource required to continue increasing production and more solidly introduce AI standards. They are the prize in the trade wars underway between the key suppliers of AI solutions to the market. Political elites in Western countries, most of which don’t have such reserves, seek to gain preempted and unrestricted access to the fields held by the countries of the global majority, and while doing so, they pursue an aggressive neocolonial policy bordering on robbery and looting,"
"The world outside the area inhabited by the ‘golden billion’ has to deal with newly-formed mechanisms of dependence, which are more sophisticated than the traditional forms of submission of colonies to their metropoles, and are also more pervasive and long-term. This is about developing countries’ dependence not only on the supplies of equipment and software but also on the control of algorithms that guide key processes, from logistics to education, medicine, and public opinion,"
"In pursuit of unconditional leadership and the role of masters of people’s fate, they risk finding themselves in a future different from the one depicted by supporters of digital transition. This is a problem that requires careful consideration, taking into account both current progress in the field of high technologies and the economic realities that also have an environmental aspect,"
# Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions following the SCO Foreign Ministers Council Meeting, Tianjin, July 15, 2025. This meeting marked the culminating stage of preparations for the upcoming SCO Summit, which will likewise be held in Tianjin in late August – early September.
There are still nuances in national approaches, it cannot be otherwise; but, nevertheless, the main trends towards further consolidation of the SCO and increasing its role in the international arena are encouraging. We stated that our common policy of strengthening the SCO as one of the pillars of a fairer and multipolar world order remains unchanged. This fully takes into account the representative composition of the Association's members that we are witnessing today, and we also see a large number of people wishing to join the work of the SCO.Читать полностью…
The geographical area of our structure covers a significant part of the Eurasian continent. We noted that cooperation within the framework of our Organisation objectively contributes to the creation of an architecture of equal and indivisible security throughout Eurasia. We see its socioeconomic foundation as the Greater Eurasian Partnership based on cooperation between multilateral associations operating in the region, such as, first of all, the SCO, the EAEU, the CIS and ASEAN. We are taking into account China's One Belt, One Road project, including the existing agreements between this project and the EAEU. ▪️Read more 👉https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/2036142/
The head of RT bureau in Lebanon, Steve Sweeney, was detained in his homeland, Britain, when he returned for a family visit.
The police took away his phones and laptop, and interrogated him for a long time about his work at RT.
They asked if he was being forced to say things on RT that he didn't want to say, if the Russian authorities were giving him instructions, and if he loved his homeland.
They also took photos of his Che Guevara tattoo, and asked if he was a communist or connected to Hezbollah. @LauraRuHK
After freezing participation in the work of the CSTO, a military alliance consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, "Armenia is more likely to quit the organization than resume its membership," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference.
Last December, he said that relations between Armenia and the CSTO had passed the point of no return. (Source: TASS) ▪️That's what hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and financial aid from Washington and Brussels bought. @LauraRuHK
🗣 🇸🇾 Jolani's sectarian massacres serve the Zionist Oded Yinon plan
In the latest round of unhinged Wahabbi terrorists attacking minority groups in Syria, the Druze of Sweida find themselves in the crosshairs following the coastal massacres of Alawites.
However, the leadership who calls the shots are not entirely unhinged as the sectarian footsoldiers they send to commit the crimes. Given that normalization between Jolani and the illegitimate Zionist entity is all but official — and the entire "revolution" in Syria being a Zionist/NATO-orchestrated regime change plot from day one to achieve this normalization — everything Jolani does actually serves the Zionist and American strategy of "ordo ab chao" (order out of chaos, a Masonic motto).
This Zionist formula for Balkanization of Syria according to the Oded Yinon plan is simple:
1. Install "former" ISIS commanders into power in Syria, give them suits and ties to "rebrand" their bloodsoaked image
2. Have this new government led by merciless Wahabbi terrorists commit sectarian massacres at the behest of the Zionists who brought them to power in the first place
3. The Zionist regime then pretends to cry crocodile tears for various minority groups which they pretend to have affinity for, such as the Druze (due to some — not all — Druze leaders being pro-Zionist).
4. The Zionists use this as an excuse to occupy larger parts of Syrian land under the guise of protecting the Druze.
A proven case of the Zionist regime controlling both sides of the war: they control Jolani and the takfiri terrorists while also controlling the percentage of pro-Zionist Druze leaders who issue statements for the "israelis" to come and save them. There are some honorable Druze leaders who oppose the Zionist regime and issue statements noting that these massacres serve a suspicious Zionist agenda, but the Zionist regime puts the statements of pro-Zionist Druze leaders as a sort of colonial charter and permission to occupy more parts of Syria.
The tragic massacres of Druze in Sweida that are surfacing on social media are not just planned in Damascus by Jolani and his "former" ISIS thugs, but planned in "Tel Aviv" and Washington, D.C. too.
⚡️The US intends to manage the Zangezur corridor "to advance peace talks between Baku and Yerevan", Middle East Eye reports, citing US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas J. Barrack. ▪️The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan will soon be successfully resolved, Donald Trump says. ▪️The EU has pledged 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) to Armenia to “support Armenia’s information ecosystem,” and “strengthen” the country’s independent media. 🔺Read more here 👉/channel/LauraRuHK/10287 and here 👉 /channel/LauraRuHK/10282
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'Coalition of the willing' — led by Britain and France — ready to deploy within hours of a ceasefire deal. Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Paris would be the new headquarters for the so-called 'coalition of the willing' while a coordination cell is being set up in Kiev. The HQ will then rotate to London after the first 12 months. Although this coalition is touted by the media as a multinational force to help monitor a potential ceasefire deal, its real objective is to boost Kiev's capabilities. ▪️Why on earth would Moscow ever agree to a ceasefire whose aim is to "regenerate Ukraine’s land forces, provide air policing in coordination with Ukraine’s Air Force and restore maritime access to the Black Sea after clearing mines"? 'Ceasefire monitoring' provides a fig leaf for the official deployment of Western forces to Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly stated that they would become a legitimate target.
Suffices to look at who is pushing this plan: Macron and Starmer held virtual talks with Zelensky, General Keith Kellogg, Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Richard Blumenthal among others. @LauraRuHK
Palletized field artillery launchers (PFAL) that can be concealed on trucks, railcars, or ships raise operational, legal, and political concerns – especially regarding their use on allied soil and civilian cargo vessels, argues Gabriel Honrada. The U.S. is turning to them. R. Robinson Harris and Colonel T.X. Hammes argued in a January 2025 article for the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) that containerized launchers support rapid, cost-effective fleet expansion. They estimated that converting merchant ships into missile platforms with modular payloads can be done in under two years for $130 to $140 million each, dramatically faster and cheaper than building destroyers or frigates, which take seven to nine years and billions to construct. @LauraRuHK https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/us-containerized-missiles-steathy-firepower-high-strategic-cost/
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Trump turned US military support and import duties into a bargaining chip. Washington will continue to supply Kiev with both defensive and offensive weapon systems as long as EU vassals pay for them. And if they drag their feet they will be slapped with higher tariffs.
According to Reuters, the package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets. So far, the Trump administration had only sent weapons authorized by former President Joe Biden. Now for the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kiev under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, which allows the U.S. president to "draw from weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency." The U.S. has $3.86 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine remaining. The last drawdown was a $500 million award by Biden on January 9. The only difference is that under Trump's enhanced "protection racket" EU countries will have to fork out more for "protection." It remains to be seen how fast those weapons will be destroyed in Ukraine and how fast stocks can be replenished. @LauraRuHK
🇷🇺 🇨🇳 "Cooperation between China and Russia does not tolerate interference from third parties," — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, who demanded restrictions on China-Russia relations. @LauraRuHK
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While Western puppet Nikol Pashinyan cracks down on the opposition and the Armenian Apostolic Church, claiming he will personally “liberate” it from its spiritual leadership, the EU rewards these efforts to embrace "European values" with EUR 270 million. Armenia and the EU established a framework for "crisis management missions and operations", and launched the first Armenia – EU Security and Defense Consultations with a focus on "countering hybrid and cyber threats, foreign interference and disinformation." The EU also expressed its support to "Armenia’s efforts to reach full normalization of relations with Türkiye and Azerbaijan." @LauraRuHK
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⚡️Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed to meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev today.
The meeting will be held in Abu Dhabi. (Source: Armen Press) ▪️Aliyev arrived first, he took the long route avoiding Iran airspace with two aircraft (regs. 4K-8888, 4k-AI001). Pashinyan took the shorter route, but his Airbus A319 (reg. 701) appears misidentified or disguised as an Aerospatiale 532 Cougar helicopter. (Source: Nagorno Karabakh Observer) @LauraRuHK