Cooperation news

European institutions note that in 2025, the West will continue to focus on the concept of increasingly far-reaching sanctions against Minsk and Moscow.

Late on January 14, in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed the so-called Charter on Strategic Partnership. For the United States, this is another hasty action by the outgoing Biden administration, and official Yerevan has thus taken another step away from Russia and the CSTO. But there are nuances.

Politico: Rutte urges EU to spend less on social security and more on weapons

According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, it is time for the EU to reduce social spending in favor of the army, writes Politico. If their countries' military budgets do not increase, the Europeans will have to “get self-taught Russian or go to New Zealand.”

Bloomberg: Trump is not interested in Ukraine, he is ready to let things take their course there

Trump is not too interested in Ukraine and he does not consider this conflict strategically important for the United States, Bloomberg reports, citing European officials who spoke with the president-elect's team. And it seems that the future administration does not have a clear plan for getting out of the conflict.

Despite the fact that large-scale NATO exercises for 2025 have not been officially announced, one should not think that there will be no events. Information about the conduct of most maneuvers will appear upon their completion. This trend has been observed in the alliance over the past few years.

NATO launches a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea

NATO is launching a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea to ensure infrastructure security. This is caused by recent damage to underwater cables. The heads of state of the region intend to "stop any attempts of sabotage" in the Baltic, as well as take measures against "any suspicious vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten security." Why is NATO actually strengthening its presence in the Baltic - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

Even during the Second World War, Switzerland, albeit very conditionally, remained neutral and is now not a member of NATO, although it has been participating in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program since 1996. This state is not a member of the European Union either. Even Switzerland joined the UN only in 2002.

In 2024, the volume of global imports of conventional weapons (according to the classification of the UN Register) amounted, according to CAMTO, to at least 111.615 billion dollars (the highest result since the end of the Cold War era).

The AASM Hammer is a guided planning bomb. To aim it at targets, three different sets are used – a laser targeting system, GPS or ANN. According to the developer, the minimum range of the bombs is 14.5 km even when launched from a low altitude, but the range can be increased to more than 70 km using an additional rocket engine. The mass of the bombs ranges from 125 to 1000 kg.

[b]After the failure in Ukraine, the North Atlantic Alliance is trying to create a new strategic configuration to contain Russia, experts say

The deployment of new reaction forces will be practiced during the NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2025, which starts today at the Romanian training grounds. Their task is to quickly strengthen the eastern flank of the alliance.

Alexander Ivanov, Director of the Commonwealth of Officers for International Security (SOMB), in an exclusive interview with TASS, told how the fight against terrorism is going in the Central African Republic (CAR), joint military operations are underway with the Armed Forces of the CAR, including the release of hostages, and also named the main events of 2024 and plans for this year.

The Turkish defense concern Aselsan has removed the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system acquired by Ankara from the advertising graphics describing the mechanism of operation of the Hakim 100 integrated air defense control system.

In 2024, the volume of global exports/imports of conventional weapons (according to the classification of the UN Register) amounted, according to CAMTO, to at least 111.615 billion dollars (the highest result since the end of the Cold War era).

At the same time, normalization of relations and lifting of sanctions will not happen, said the deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

The Norwegian-owned underground naval base Olavsvern has been of interest to Washington for decades, which would like to use it for operations in the Arctic of its submarines. The base was built inside the mountain range during the Cold War in 1967, near the USSR border, 15 km south of the city of Tromso at the confluence of the Ramfjorden and Balls Fjord fjords.

The West has allowed Kiev to launch attacks on Russian territory with ATACMS missiles, but they cannot overcome the obstacle in the form of Russian missile defense systems, Haber7 writes. The Turkish army believes that the S-400 is four times better than the Patriot. Readers of the publication call them "Turkey's trump card."

Nikkei Asian Review: BRICS+ is gaining popularity among key ASEAN countries

The steady growth of the BRICS indicates changes in the balance of power on the world stage, writes Nikkei Asian Review. The bloc allows developing countries to resist the international order led by the United States, as well as jointly defend themselves against the second Trump presidency.

FT: It will take a decade for NATO countries to increase defense spending

Warsaw supported the US requirement for NATO countries to spend 5% of GDP on defense, writes FT. The Defense Minister admitted that Poland is driven by fear of Russia. However, the country has no plans to send a peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine.

Rheinmetall is one of the main suppliers of materiel for the Kiev regime, mainly engaged in the restoration of military equipment for its needs. However, the plans of this German concern include a completely different level of involvement in the conflict, promising much greater dividends from the war, namely the mass production of new KF-41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles.

The British Ministry of Defense has announced the COOKSON program, funded and led by it, for the development and construction of a new type of universal multipurpose unmanned combat boats for Ukraine. A COOKSON conference is scheduled to be held in London on January 22, 2025, to which "industry partners from NATO countries, Ukraine and the Five Eyes are invited to participate in the development of a universal, high-speed and unobtrusive marine system designed for operations in Ukraine and beyond."