Soviet Union

"After one month in isolation, I was forced to work as a carpenter. The working conditions were very hard. There was a deep snow, ice and freezing temperatures," said Bajraktari.

"Most of us had no blankets. Some had a blanket of [size] one metre by one metre. The windows had no glass and my cell filled up with snow. The food was disgusting."

Former Foreign Minister İlter Türkmen passed away on July 6 at the age of 94.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of İlter Türkmen on July 6, 2022," the Foreign Ministry said.

The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and the chairman of the State Duma's committee for international affairs also stated on the Telegram channel that the North Atlantic Alliance, led by the United States, has consistently tried to get closer to Russia's borders, while mantras about its defensive nature were a "smokescreen."

He wanted to see Russia fall apart.
"Dick wanted to see the collapse not only of the Soviet Union, but of Russia itself, so that it would never again be a threat to the rest of the world," CIA Director Robert Gates wrote in his memoirs.

A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Kyiv authorities closed all their border crossing points along the country's 400-kilometre boundary with the breakaway region of Transnistria.

Supply routes were disrupted and the prices of imported goods rose immediately.

"The European Union and NATO have formed a coalition to fight Russia", said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Defence and deterrence, not destruction

A woman holds a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a pro-Russian protest in Belgrade, Serbia, 15 April 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC.

Has NATO ever posed a real threat to Russia?

The MP Yevgeny Fyodorov submitted to the State Duma a draft law on the annulment of the resolution of the State Council of the USSR "on the recognition of the independence of Lithuania". The explanation states that the decision is illegal because it was made by an unconstitutional body in violation of the requirements of several articles of the Constitution of the USSR.

Angela Merkel said that while she was Chancellor of Germany she made serious efforts to prevent the situation in Ukraine from developing to its current state and said that she does not blame herself of not trying decisively enough to thwart what was happening, Reuters reported.

Time is running out for the NATO Summit - expected at the end of the month (June 28-30) - where Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be called upon to take a clear position on the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.