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RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin has thanked his US counterpart Donald Trump for the CIA’s help in thwarting a planned attack in Saint Petersburg, the second time in a week that the leaders have exchanged praise.
Putin spoke by phone with Trump to convey his gratitude for intelligence supplied by the CIA which allowed Russia’s FSB security service to break up a “terrorist cell” that was planning attacks in Russia’s second city, according to the Kremlin.
“The information received by the CIA was enough to detect, hunt down and arrest the criminals,” it added in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
Putin also pledged that Russian security agencies would pass on any information received about terrorist threats to the United States and its citizens.
The White House said the foiled attack could have killed “large numbers of people”.
It stressed that the cooperation “serves as an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together”.
The FSB announced on Friday it had arrested seven members of an Islamic State group cell that had been planning a suicide bombing and “the killing of citizens” in crowded areas of Saint Petersburg on 16 December.
On alert ahead of World Cup
Police confiscated a large number of explosives used to make homemade bombs, automatic rifles, munitions and extremist literature, it said.
On Tuesday, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said Russia was on alert for the possible return of jihadists from Syria ahead of the World Cup and the presidential election in 2018.
Russia has suffered several attacks this year, including a bombing on the Saint Petersburg metro in April that left 14 people dead.
The threat of attack has increased since Moscow’s military intervention in Syria in September 2015 to support President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, making Russia a priority IS target.
As many as 40,000 fighters travelled from all over the world, including Russia, to join IS in Syria after the 2014 declaration of its self-styled “caliphate” straddling Syria and Iraq.
In 2015, Russian security services estimated that 2,900 Russian citizens had joined the jihadist group, as well as several thousand Central Asians.
In a phone call on Thursday, Trump and Putin discussed the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear programme, and the US leader took the unusual step of thanking his Russian opposite number for hailing the American economy.
The pair have lavished praise on each other in the past, with commentators describing their cosy relationship as a “bromance”.
Diplomatic ties still fraught
But diplomatic ties between Washington and Moscow are still fraught, with both expelling some of each other’s diplomats in September and the US designation last month of Russia’s English-language news channel RT as a “foreign agent.”
Nonetheless, “President Trump appreciated the call and told President Putin that he and the entire United States intelligence community were pleased to have helped save so many lives,” the White House said.
President Trump stressed the importance of intelligence cooperation to defeat terrorists wherever they may be.
He then called CIA Director Mike Pompeo to “congratulate him, his very talented people, and the entire intelligence community on a job well done!” the statement added.
At his annual press conference this week, Putin said allegations of Russian interference in last year’s US election had been “made up by people who are opposed to Trump so as to delegitimize his work”.
The two leaders met in July on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany, after which Trump said he “accepted” Putin’s assurance that Moscow did not meddle in the vote.
“The Trump that you see on TV is very different than the real Trump,” Putin told reporters at the time. “There is every reason to believe that we will be able to at least partially re-establish the level of cooperation that we need.”
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All these people on here giving out about workers getting an extra day off a year obviously just dole merchants sitting at home scratching themselves, bitter that someone might be given a day less to contribute tax to their income. As a hard working employee I very much welcome the chance of an extra day or two a year off. Bring it on. If you’re giving out you probably aren’t working hard enough.
@Harry Paisley: jog on
@Harry Paisley: I am inclined to agree, mainly because, apart from public services, which operate in a different dimension, most working people need full time jobs to make a basic income. This drift to reduced working weeks, work from home, and extended holidays will cause more part time employment in the open economy.
PBP, the party of the work-shy, dole scroungers
@Jon Balfour: Point to the mythical millions on the dole if you like but it’s the people doing 40 hour weeks for little reward that need a break.
@Jon Balfour: not a fan of pbp but this benefits workers not dole scroungers.
@Jon Balfour: Reading is clearly a very weak point for you, amongst a lot of things.
@Jon Balfour: so PBP are trying to do something for workers and you associate this will people on the dole? Did you leave school in 5th class?
@Jon Balfour: In European terms we have one of the lowest number of bank holidays and that’s even after the addition of the latest one.
@barry williams: but most low paid retail and hospitality jobs work bankholidays anyway
@Jon Balfour: why would they bother then if every day was a waster day.
@Sickof thisshit: don’t mind the harry lad he’s a small knob and takes it out on everyone
@Jon Balfour: PBP aka Palestinians Before Patriots
Closest we’ll get to a 4 day week. At least we’ll get it once a month or so. When was the last time you heard anything about a four day week for workers?
Should be one every month
@Alan Moloney: and a bank holiday Friday at the end of the month
An absolute joke.
The school year for example has been shortened by a day for the February bank holiday. Will this mean two more days taken from the year?
@Alan OConnor: No it hasn’t. Primary schools still so 183 a year
@Alan OConnor: what if it does? I’d like to spend more time with my kid
@Lorry R: exactly. He either hates kids or teachers
Literally far more pressing and and important issues at hand other than token days off to appease the masses. We don’t need to follow the status quo of every other European country
@Sinead Merrigan: Speak for yourself Sinead, I’ll take them! Prefer one in July though.
@Sinead Merrigan: if you have any spare annual leave left will you fire it over to me? Thanks.
@sean whelan: what is this obsession with a July bank holiday?! Weather isn’t even good in July most the time! Give a September one.
@Sinead Merrigan: your on the dole yea?
@Chris: quite the assumption to make. No I’m not on the dole, I work a full time job and also volunteer in the community
If they are going to have an extra holiday have it in July for God sake when it’s of some use to people, and not the end of November when it’s freezing and have about 7 hours of daylight.
@John Brennan: farmers don’t want to give workers the day off in busy summer season
Not a lot going on in farming community in winter
Are these Politicians going to Close every Buisness in the Country, if Wages and Holidays increase, so will the Retail Prices to the Consumer increase, or do they think everyone is earning the exorbitant Salaries they Earn as Part Time Politicians.
@Owen Mc: So if we just keep going prices wont go up? :)
Over 80,000 still without power,but it’s bank holidays that we need to be talking about
@sean weir: PBP are a Dublin party, they don’t care about anything west of Lucan.
@sean weir: we can do more than one thing at once…
@damien leen: obviously he can’t
@damien leen: jaysus damien I think your giving our elected politicians a lot of credit there:)
Still along way to go to match there holidays
This is nicely played from the government. Our ESB network continues to prove it’s shoiddyness (I wonder do the even have an R&D department lol). All over our society we are under prepared for the might of the ‘future rhetoric’ we’re bombarded with, lovely speeches like, but no action. no houses, no public transport, healthcare crawling along… whats the classic?…. 10 euros and a bank holiday… it’ll work too.
For every Bank Holiday, there should be a 4% cut in dole and public worker wages…(same thing in a lot of cases, I know…)
@Paul: What about workers and Social Welfare recipients when they have to bail you out, again, clown
Why is July never considered with these proposals? Bank Holiday weekend coming up this weekend in the depths of winter, waste of time.
@Mark Murphy: Absolutely.
@Mark Murphy: Agreed, a waste of a day. Brought in to appease the hard core feminists. It should have been the first Monday in July to make our summer more enjoyable
That would be welcomed,we will be dead long enough.
They just getting us used to the fact that AI will eventually take most of our jobs and we’ll all be avid Jeremy Kyle watchers.
@Dere: Jeremy Kyle hasn’t been on TV in ages, seriously get with the times…
@Maire Hicks: A lot of people wouldn’t know that because they’re in work!
@Tezmond McVicar: And don’t read nor comprehend news, current affairs and popular culture articles.
Nice bit I think as a country we have more important things to worry about! Like the cost of a wall or fence, the children’s Hospital, the homeless and so much more
Sorry, I note that the article states bank holidays and not public holidays. There are 11 bank holidays but public holidays are what matters to workers in the private sector, so, if Paul Murphy wants more bank holidays, then he is not speaking for the ordinary workers. Does he know the difference?
@Sunny Sid: paul Murphy doesn’t even know what sex his child is, let alone the difference between public and bank holidays!
@Eric O Shea: not even sure he knows if the child is his
Ireland has 10 public holidays (not 11) and, Irish labour law allows for 20 days holidays for full time employees and pro rata for part time employees. Where is the 11 public holidays and 20 day minimum holiday entitlement coming from?
Why don’t the politicians give a paid year holiday for everyone instead of looking for more holidays. Also I thought they were looking for a 4 day working week??
Country full of lazy bas××××s!
Or how about retail premises shut on bank Holiday mondays and give staff the day off.
Civil servants are always on holidays
FFS.
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