Heading towards World War III?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Washington’s request by phone on Friday, the ministry has confirmed.

It was the first conversation between Moscow and Washington’s top diplomats since Russia launched its military offensive in Ukraine in February.

Aside from the conflict, they discussed the Ukrainian grain export deal, signed in Turkey last week, and a potential prisoner exchange between the two nations, the ministry reported.

Earlier on Friday, Blinken told a news briefing that he had “a frank and direct conversation” with the Russian minister and “pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.”

Basketball star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan are currently both in Russian custody. Griner was arrested on drug smuggling charges, and Whelan was jailed for espionage.

www.rt.com/russia/559866-lavrov-blinken-speak-phone

Turkey’s top diplomat has pledged to assist the Syrian government in efforts to oust Kurdish fighters based in the country’s northeast, regarded as “terrorists” by Ankara, despite a recent spike in tensions after Turkey made good on threats to take military action on its own.

Speaking to Turkish broadcaster TV100 for an interview on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country is prepared to work alongside Damascus against Kurdish militants fighting under the banner of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“We will give all kinds of political support to the work of the [Syrian] regime in this regard. It is the most natural right of the regime to clear a terrorist organization in its own territory,” the FM said of the SDF, which is present in Syria’s northeastern extremity.

Cavusoglu went on to say that Turkey had also reached out to Iran on the matter, as the Islamic Republic has long fought in support of the Syrian government against rebels and jihadist groups during the country’s decade-long civil war.

However, while Damascus has periodically sparred with Kurdish fighters, it has largely focused its efforts on Sunni militant factions – some linked with Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) – and has even cooperated with the SDF and allied Kurdish units in that fight at times.

The Syrian government has yet to respond to Ankara’s offer of support, but has vocally opposed any unilateral Turkish military action on its soil. In June, Turkey announced plans for a new offensive in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled regions, saying it would create a 30-kilometer ‘safe zone’ along the Syria-Turkey border, a plan similar to previous Turkish operations in border cities such as Manbij.

In response, Syria has reportedly fortified a number of positions around its Hasakah and Raqqa provinces with aid from Russian forces, warning it would not tolerate Turkish “aggression.”

Ankara appears unfazed by the warnings, however, as it has already launched armed operations in Hasakah and elsewhere, including a drone strike which killed a prominent female Kurdish commander near Qamishli last week. The attack prompted a message of condolences from Washington, which has long embedded with and supported the SDF, following a failed years-long effort to arm and train Sunni rebels aiming to overthrow the government in Damascus.

Cavusoglu slammed the American statement, calling it “unacceptable” and “a good example of the insincerity of the United States in the fight against terrorism.”

However, while Turkey remains fixated on Kurdish groups, it also supports a force of paramilitary fighters in Syria which it calls the ‘Syrian National Army’, largely made up of remnants of the rebel Free Syrian Army, another formerly US-backed faction. The FM insisted Damascus must distinguish between ‘terrorists’ and the ‘moderate opposition’, apparently referring to the Turkish-backed units operating in Syria.

www.rt.com/news/559872-turkey-syria-support-terrorists

One of Ukraine's richest businessmen has been killed with his wife in "massive" Russian shelling of the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife Raisa died when a missile hit their home overnight, Ukrainian media said.

Mr Vadatursky owned Nibulon, a group involved in grain exports. He had also received the "Hero of Ukraine" award.

Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said it was probably the heaviest Russian bombardment of the city so far.

There was damage to a hotel, a sports complex, two schools and a service station, as well as homes.

Mykolaiv is on the main route to Odesa, Ukraine's main port, and has been hit repeatedly.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62367356

Russia’s naval fleet will start receiving the newest Zircon hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles “in the coming months,” President Vladimir Putin has said.

The Russian president praised the weapon on Sunday, saying that “no obstacles” can stop the rockets.

“The Russian Armed Forces will start receiving them in the coming months,” Putin said during a Navy Day speech in St. Petersburg. “The first ship equipped with this mighty weapon will be the frigate Admiral Gorshkov,” he added.

According to Putin, the frigate’s exact deployment will be chosen “in accordance with the interest of maintaining Russia’s security.”

Putin added that Russia will defend its maritime interests “resolutely and with all its capabilities.”

The missile, which can travel up to 1,500km (932 miles) when launched from surface ships, was first tested in 2020.

www.rt.com/russia/559929-putin-update-zircon-missiles

London has eased some restrictions it imposed on Russia over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, allowing companies to provide insurance and reinsurance to entities linked to Russia. The amendment to the ‘General Trade Licence Russia Sanctions – Vessels’ was announced on Monday by the UK Department for International Trade.

“The General Licence has been revised to remove Regulation 28 (financial services and funds related to restricted goods and restricted technology) from paragraph 1(h),” the department explained in a brief statement.

“This enables the provision of insurance and reinsurance to a person connected with Russia in relation to the items in paragraph 1 (a), subject to the wider restrictions and conditions of the licence,” it added. The aforementioned paragraph mentions sea vessels and aircraft, their component parts, as well as aero gas turbine engines.

The restrictions, primarily viewed as a tool to damage Russian oil trade, have been apparently put on hold over fears that such curbs would sent crude prices up and further destabilize global energy security. “There is no current UK ban affecting global shipments of Russian oil,” Patrick Davison, underwriting director of the Lloyd’s Market Association, an industry group for insurers at Lloyd’s, has said.

“Given the global nature of the [re]insurance industry, the existence of the EU restrictions may well impact appetite for Russian oil shipments in London,” he told Financial Times on Sunday.

A similar move to ease anti-Russia sanctions was taken by the EU last month. On July 21, the EU Council allowed transactions needed for Russian state-owned companies to sell oil to third countries.

“With a view to avoid any potential negative consequences for food and energy security around the world, the EU decided to extend the exemption from the prohibition to engage in transactions with certain state-owned entities as regards transactions for agricultural products and the transport of oil to third countries,” the Council said at the time.

www.rt.com/business/560027-uk-anti-russia-sanctions

US President Joe Biden has ordered an additional $550 million in weapons shipments to Ukraine, largely to restock ammunition for the HIMARS rocket launchers that Kiev has touted as a “game-changer” in its conflict with Russia.

The latest round of weaponry for Ukraine was approved under Biden’s so-called “drawdown authority” on Friday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a White House briefing. The new aid package will include rounds for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and 155-millimeter artillery shells.

Top Biden administration officials – including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan – spoke with their Ukrainian counterparts earlier on Friday to inform them of the latest aid approval, Kirby said.

www.rt.com/news/560034-us-approves-additional-ukraine-aid