Oliver Stone: The Putin Interviews

The numbers vary over time, but appear to be in the ballpark. See, “Russia Is Launching Twice as Many Airstrikes as the US in Syria” David Axe,” The Daily Beast (February 16, 2016). Retrieved at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/23/russia-is-launching-twice-as-many-airstrikes-as-the-u-s-in-syria

Correction: 120 times per day for 60 days is 7,200 airstrikes.

Claim: “The projected number of terrorists participating in ISIS is estimated at 80,000. 30,000 of them are foreign mercenaries from 80 countries of the world.”

The estimated number of ISIS terrorists range according to source, from 20-30,000, and from 80-100,000. As per, Putin’s estimate, see, “Russian Intel: ISIS Has 80,000 Jihadis in Iraq and Syria,” Jordan Schachtel, Breitbart (November 11, 2015). Retrieved at: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/11/russian-intel-isis-80000-jihadis-iraq-syria/

Regarding foreign mercenaries in ISIS, see: “Thousands Enter Syria to Join ISIS Despite Global Efforts,” Eric Schmitt, Somini Sengupta, September 26, 2015. Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/world/middleeast/thousands-enter-syria-to-join-isis-despite-global-efforts.html?_r=0

Background Information:

Robert McNamara was, according to the New York Times “the forceful and cerebral defense secretary who helped lead the nation into the maelstrom of Vietnam and spent the rest of his life wrestling with the war’s moral consequences.” and “the most influential defense secretary of the 20th century. Serving Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968.” See, “Robert S. McNamara, Architect of a Futile War, Dies at 93,” Tim Weiner, (July 6, 2009). Retrieved at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/us/07mcnamara.html?pagewanted=all

Correction: According to the House of Saud official website, King Abdulaziz, founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, never traveled beyond the Arab world.

See, http://houseofsaud.com/saudi-royal-family-history/

Claim: “There was a great danger of a war erupting and I believe that back then President Obama made the right decision. And he and I managed to agree on coordinated actions”

President Obama was widely criticized for making the decision not to attack Syria after the nerve agent sarin was used on a Damascus suburb. However, there was also support for the president showing restraint. See, “When Putin Bailed Out Obama,” former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Consortium News (August 31, 2016). Retrieved at: https://consortiumnews.com/2016/08/31/when-putin-bailed-out-obama/

Background Information:

See, “Russia Expands Sanctions Against Turkey After Downing of Jet,” Andrew E. Kramer, the New York Times (December 30, 2015). Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/world/europe/russia-putin-turkey-sanctions.html

Background Information:

“So you have double sanctions—you have sanctions against Turkey and the US sanctions against you.” See, “US Imposes Sanctions Over Russia’s Intervention in Ukraine,” Julie Hirshchfeld Davis, the New York Times (December 22, 2015). Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/world/europe/us-russia-ukraine-sanctions.html

Claim: “Dick Cheney, vice president—said in his meeting we… about the Middle East and the Near East being the “keys to the kingdom.”

Unverifiable claim.

Background Information:

Quote attributed to Sheikh Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister from 1962 to 1986. “The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” See, “The end of the Oil Age” The Economist (October 23, 2003). Retrieved at: http://www.economist.com/node/2155717

Claim: “it was not our initiative that back in 2014, NATO stopped all contact with us in framework of the Russia-NATO council.”

Supporting: See, “Ukraine crisis: Nato suspends Russia co-operation,” BBC (April 2, 2014). Retrieved at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26838894

Background Information:

“The Warsaw Pact was an organization of Central and Eastern European communist states. It was established on May 1, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland to counter the perceived threat from the creation of the NATO alliance, specifically the prospect of the integration of a ‘re-militarized’ West Germany into NATO, which took place on May 9, 1955, via ratification of the Paris Peace Treaties. The communist states of Central and Eastern Europe were signatories except Yugoslavia. The members of the Warsaw Pact pledged to defend each other if one or more of the members were attacked. The pact lasted throughout the Cold War. It began to fall apart in 1989, following the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and political changes in the Soviet Union.” New World Encyclopedia

See, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Warsaw_Pact

Background Information:

Renouncing his Georgian citizenship to avoid “guaranteed imprisonment” Saakashvili was granted Ukrainian citizenship and appointed governor of Odessa. See, “Georgia ex-leader Saakashvili gives up citizenship for Ukraine,” BBC (June 1, 2015). Retrieved at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32969052

Claim: “And we had to respond, because one of the first actions they took was to kill our peacekeepers from our peacekeeping battalion…”

Supporting: When Georgian forces launched their assault on South Ossetia, they did in fact kill and injure a number of Russian peacekeepers. See. “Russian troops and tanks pour into South Ossetia” Helen Womack, Tom Parfitt, Ian Black, The Guardian (August 8, 2008). Retrieved at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/09/russia.georgia

Background Information:

The St. Petersburg Marrinski Theatre Orchestra, led by acclaimed conductor Valery Gergiev, held a concert dedicated to the victims of terrorist groups at the ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria. See, “Russian orchestra plays concert in ancient Syrian ruins of Palmyra,” Fred Pleitgen, CNN (May 6, 2016). Retrieved at: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/05/middleeast/syria-palmyra-russia-concert/

Background Information:

After the collapse of a previous Minsk Protocol to stop the fighting in Donbass region of Ukraine, new peace negotiations were held on February 11, 2015 in eastern Ukraine in the Belarusian capital Minsk. Points of the Minsk Agreement ranged from immediate and full bilateral ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons by both sides, effective monitoring and verification, begin a dialogue on the holding of local elections, pardon and amnesty by banning prosecution of figures involved in the Donetsk and Luhansk conflict, release of all hostages and other illegally detained people, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, restoration of full social and economic links, full Ukrainian government control restored, withdrawal of foreign armed groups, weapons and mercenaries, and constitutional reform in Ukraine, with adoption of a new constitution by the end of 2015.

See, “Ukraine ceasefire: New Minsk agreement key points,” BBC (February 12, 2015). Retrieved at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31436513

Claim: “ But back then, our American friends, our European friends told us that the prime minister—back then it was Mr. Yatsenyuk and President Poroshenko had to pull their efforts together, they had to work together and we know how it ended”