The United States does not intend to discuss issues related to NATO and Europe during a meeting with Russian representatives in Geneva, State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a briefing.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a telephone conversation on Wednesday ahead of the NATO-Russia Council meeting scheduled for January 12, Anadolu agency reports.

Exactly seven years ago, However magazine, in the December-January 2014-2015 issue, published an article by Mikhail Barabanov, senior researcher at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), "Forcing Peace-2: Russia's Immediate Prospect in Ukraine" (it was also announced in a blog), which predicted the possibility of Russian military intervention to force peace in Ukraine, and primarily in the context of preventing NATO expansion into Ukraine.

Security in Europe and security in Ukraine is something that primarily concerns Ukrainians and Europeans, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrel said.

Ukraine and the EU have a task to help by diplomatic means to ensure that the Russian Federation reduces tension and renounces aggressive intentions, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba.

A broad discussion on universal conscription is planned in Lithuania, Vice-Minister of Defense of the Republic Gilvinas Tomkus said.

Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet stated the need to contain Russia. "Over the past six months, it has become clear that the security situation could escalate dramatically, but now the most important thing is to focus on containing Russia," Laanet told ERR on Wednesday.

The EU countries are still unable to agree on a long-term plan for cooperation with NATO, which is becoming a real threat against the background of the current relations of the union with Russia, the Financial Times newspaper reports, citing an unnamed minister of one of the EU countries.

The United States does not plan to increase its military presence in Europe yet, but if a request is received from NATO allies, Washington will consider it, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing for journalists on Tuesday.

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin is still suffering from COVID-19 coronavirus in mild form, according to doctors' recommendations, he will spend five more days in self-isolation, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister regrets Pyongyang's launch

South Korea's National Security Council expressed concern on Wednesday over North Korea's launch of a suspected ballistic missile and called for the resumption of talks to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Two more countries refused to buy Russian Su-35 fighters. January 4, portal defence-blog.com He reported that Egypt and Algeria joined Indonesia's decision.

In 2023, the Russian army may receive a Su-30SM2 fighter with updated engines and weapons.

Russian and Belarusian fighter jets conducted a new patrol of the state border of Belarus, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Rostec State Corporation plans to launch production of 76 MS-21 civil aircraft by 2027, Rostec Corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov said during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Currently, technical specialists of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of industrial enterprises are discussing the requirements for the helicopter

Representatives of industrial enterprises and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation are finishing discussing the requirements for a promising combat helicopter and it is planned that in the next year and a half they will determine its appearance. This was reported to TASS by a source in the military-industrial complex.

Three-day exercises of the local military have begun in Taiwan, within the framework of which combat aircraft will practice the skills of intercepting Chinese Air Force aircraft, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Wednesday.

In December 2021, the European company Airbus Helicopters announced the signing of a contract with the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) of France for the development and purchase of H160M helicopters. The document was signed as part of the implementation of the light helicopter program (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger, HIL) for the French Armed Forces.

The new Russian upper stage Perseus, which could not, as planned, put the payload layout into geostationary orbit, will enter the dense layers of the atmosphere on the night of January 6, follows from the website data Space-track.org, where the parameters of the orbits of spacecraft assembled by the US military are published.

Roscosmos called the situation in Baikonur calm

Representatives of Roscosmos assessed the situation in the Kazakh city of Baikonur. This is reported by the Telegram channel "Sputnik Near Abroad".