Friday’s announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency reported a vessel from Russia’s Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria’s Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries’ naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed “further strengthening mutual trust [...]

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Does the United States really need Russia? According to many pundits, we need Russia more than it needs us. Russia could cause a lot of problems if we’re not careful.
I say bunk to that nonsense. It’s time to throw down the gauntlet. If Russia is going to terrorize its neighbors and exercise strategic unhelpfulness on [...]

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With the assistance of Israeli defense companies Israel Military Industries (IMI), Soltam and Elbit, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense is developing its indigenous defense industry to manufacture three modern artillery systems at its Petropavlovsk PZTM industrial complex to equip the Kazakh army (FGUP Rosoboroneksport, July 21). What is most striking about the three systems under development [...]

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The leasing by India of a Russian Project 971 nuclear submarine built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the latest hot news.
The agreement, whose significance for Russian-Indian cooperation has yet to be assessed, could have a profound impact on the balance of forces in the region.
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Russia has overtaken Niger to become the world’s fourth largest uranium producer, after Canada, Australia, and Kazakhstan. Russia received its new rating in 2007, when it produced 3,527 tons of uranium.
It has ambitious plans to mover even further up the league, based on promising deposits in Eastern Siberia and other regions, and opportunities for mutually [...]

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China and Saudi Arabia have signed a declaration to strengthen strategic cooperation during a visit to Saudi Arabia by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and likely successor to President Hu Jintao.
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Chinese dragon in Mideast politics
Washington Times, DC - 4 hours ago
The relationship between China and Saudi Arabia, as well as with other Gulf countries, are based [...]

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South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak hopes to develop farmland in Sudan as part of efforts to secure offshore grain resources to help North Korea cope with its worsening food crisis.
Meeting with visiting Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir, Lee discussed the proposed cooperation, which includes building grain storage facilities, Lee’s aides said.
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Russia’s new President Dmitry Medvedev, winding up his first foreign trip, said Saturday the world could not ignore the joint voice of his country and China, and rejected criticism of the alliance.
Medvedev said it was symbolic that he picked China as his first destination outside the former Soviet Union. The two countries have been increasingly [...]

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Documents that Colombia says it recovered from a slain guerrilla leader give the clearest indication yet that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sought to arm and finance insurgents across the border.
The documents — more than a dozen internal rebel messages — detail several years of close cooperation between top officials in Venezuela’s government and military and [...]

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