Sergey Shoygu

Russia will hold ballistic and cruise missile exercises on Saturday, and such maneuvers generally required the personal involvement of President Vladimir Putin. The Black Sea Fleet will also take part in them.

Meeting in Istanbul on Nov. 15, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and his Russian counterpart Andrey Rudenko discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan.

Until then, Minister Shoygu should be summoned to the main administration of that service for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Mariupol for further processing, "Sputnik" reported.
According to the Ukrainian newspaper "Glavkom", the Russian minister is accused of being responsible, among other things, for "the formation of illegal armed formations".

The statement reads that the total number of Russian troops stationed on the borders of Ukraine and Crimea includes up to 110.000 soldiers, up to 1.300 tanks, 3.700 armored vehicles, up to 1.300 artillery systems, including up to 380 missile systems.

Russia temporarily restricted flights of aviation over parts of Crimea and the Black Sea, according to a notice to airmen (NOTAM).

"The area has been declared temporarily dangerous for aircraft flights," the NOTAM document said.

The Turkish defense minister on Jan. 30 announced the completion of the construction of the Turkish-Russian joint monitoring center in Upper Karabakh, saying it would become operational as of Jan. 30. 

Minister Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency that he has discussed matters of defense and security with his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov over the phone.

The preparations of the troops to be dispatched to Azerbaijan have been completed after a motion for the deployment was passed at the parliament, the Turkish Defense Ministry has said.

Turkish defense minister discussed regional issues with his Russian counterpart over the phone, an official statement from Russia said on Jan. 20.

Turkey's Hulusi Akar spoke to Russia's Sergey Shoygu, according to Russia's National Defense Ministry.

The officials discussed recent developments in the region and North Africa.

Moscow is hosting a series of negotiations on Jan. 12 to find a solution to the Libya crisis.

The top diplomats and defense chiefs of Russia and Turkey gathered in the Russian capital to assist the talks between Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, and Khalifa Haftar, eastern Libya-based military commander.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu also revealed how the whole system works, using the armed conflict in Yugoslavia as an example.