At the same time as the leaders of NATO are gathering this week at a very important summit in Madrid, the Russian authorities have given a clear message to the alliance.
The space agency Roskosmos, led by the controversial ultranationalist Dmitry Rogozin, has published the report. The message contains a clear signal for the NATO summit.
sea view
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“Just for safety’s sake”, the agency writes, before listing the coordinates of the Ifema conference center in Madrid where the summit will be held.
hardliners
In addition, the coordinates of the White House, the Pentagon, the headquarters of the British Ministry of Defense, the Reichstag in Berlin and the Élysées Palace in Paris are mentioned.
– This appears to be a PR thing. They are tough, says Russian expert and researcher at OsloMet, Jørn Holm-Hansen.
– The world has become more dangerous
He points out that the leader of Roskosmos is one of the so-called hardliners in the circle around Putin. He is far out on the right wing, and has distinguished himself with a number of plays in the past.
– He’s a bit of a hawk. It does not seem coincidental that he is the one who went out and fronted them, says Holm-Hansen.
Not by chance
He also does not think the use of the term “decision-making centers” to support “Ukrainian nationalists” is coincidental.
Putin has previously said that these goals will be met if NATO exceeds his “red line”, which is the incorporation of Ukraine into the alliance. According to Russian rhetoric, that decision will not be made from Ukraine, but from the West. That is why they use the term «decision centers».
Putin has previously reminded that Russia was ready to hit these so-called “decision centers” if NATO “crosses the line”, reports the state-controlled Russian news agency Ria.
Turkey turned
The big news from the NATO summit on Tuesday came when it became clear that Turkey has withdrawn its veto against Sweden’s and Finland’s application for NATO membership.
This became known after Russia released these coordinates and satellite images.
The agreement between the three countries involves the extradition of terror suspects in connection with the Kurdish PKK guerrillas.
– Finland and Sweden are ready to work with Turkey to extradite individuals suspected of terrorism. At the same time, this process will take place in line with the extradition convention and the countries’ laws, Stoltenberg said in a press conference on Tuesday night.
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