Poland has suggested Russia's exclusion from the G20 group, while China opposes it. Should the group's democratic members boycott the planned events as long as Russia continues its war of aggression in Ukraine?
The Russian fascist aggression to Ukraine demands all and every institutional, diplomatic, and economic firm boycott of Russia. Since Putin has decided to close out any remote connection to civilization and humanity, Russian as a state aggressor should be widely boycotted, including from international organizations and associations.
In my opinion boycott is not the right answer. We should not blame Russian population of Putins' mistakes. The only solution is dialogue. But NATO (and US) has mistaken in not starting an honest dialogue before the invasion. Now it is too late.
I respectfully disagree with Montserrat Gas-Aixendri. I am wondered how a professor of "LAW" is calling genocide against the most peaceful nation in this world "Putins' mistakes"? Ever since when war crimes and genocide of a nation is called "MISTAKE"?
Is that how you train our kids in law schools?
Thank you, Montserrat, for the bold contribution to the discussion. But since the world survived Hitler and Stalin and sufficient information about their crimes spread across the world, there should be no more innocent peoples abused by their political leaders. All my life I have been responsible for the crimes committed by the Nazis on behalf of Germany. And so the Russians who support their criminal leader will also face this responsibility. Only those who show resistance or at least civil disobedience or emigrate will be able to avoid complicity. As a lawyer, you should actually be able to identify these problems yourself!
I think that everything has been moving towards this systematically in recent years.
Economic ties between Russia and the West will be seriously reduced in the near future, although their energy base will remain the same. The Russian energy sector will suffer minimally from sanctions and restrictions, both in terms of maintaining export volumes in the medium term and in terms of maintaining technological competencies.
By the decision of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after Russia recognized the sovereignty of the DPR and LPR, on February 22, 2022, the certification of the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 AG was suspended. Later, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock clarified that the gas pipeline project was "frozen". It can be completely stopped, German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said on February 23.
A number of Western companies announced the termination of participation in projects on the territory of the Russian Federation. BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are planning to exit - which will be associated with big losses for them. BP could lose $25 billion, Shell's projects cost $3 billion. The exit of the Norwegian Equinor means a loss of 1.2 billion dollars.
The French Total Energies took a special position, announcing that it would stop providing capital for new projects in Russia, but would not leave the country. It is worth noting that despite the militant rhetoric, the actual policy of France is aimed at the "quiet" preservation and even development of cooperation.
Such decisions of the European authorities and corporations had an extremely negative impact on stock prices, giving a new impetus to the growth of spot prices for gas and oil.
On March 4, according to the London ICE exchange, the cost of natural gas in Europe exceeded $2,400 per thousand cubic meters, breaking the absolute record in history. According to JPMorgan analysts, by the end of the year benchmark Brent crude could cost $185 per barrel.
Such a price is possible if disruptions in the supply of raw materials from Russia persist - in addition to the general panic atmosphere, there were difficulties with the export of Russian oil from the ports of the Baltic and Black Sea. Some shipowners fear they will face reprisals for working with Russia.
“I thought sanctions were against Russia until I went to a gas station,” Paolo Savona, an Italian economist, former industry minister and current head of the National Commission for Joint Stock Companies and Stock Exchanges, tweeted on March 5.
On March 4, the cost of a liter of gasoline at gas stations with service in Italy on March 4 exceeded 2 euros, having overcome an important psychological mark for the local market. According to the national business association Confcommercio, the total cost growth of Italian service companies will be 160% compared to 2021.
Over the year, the cost of gas for Italian consumers has almost doubled (from 70 cents to 1.37 euros per cubic meter), the cost of electricity has more than doubled (from 20 to 46 cents per kWh), which puts thousands of companies on the verge of profitability . In 2021-2022, the authorities have already allocated more than 10 billion euros to “adjust the growth of tariffs” for citizens and businesses, according to some forecasts, price shocks will require the allocation of up to 20 billion euros only for Italy.
BP could lose $25 billion, Shell's projects cost $3 billion. The exit of the Norwegian Equinor means a loss of 1.2 billion dollars.
These losses are many times greater than the damage suffered by Gazprom due to the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 project. Considering the project from the point of view of profitability, high gas prices have already allowed Gazprom to recoup the construction of the gas pipeline by 2-3 times. In addition, Germany is likely to face lawsuits from members of the Nord Stream 2 consortium - British Shell, Austrian OMV, French Engie, German Uniper and Wintershall Dea.
According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, as of February 26, the EU has completely withdrawn natural gas reserves injected in the summer of 2021. The volume of active gas in European underground storage facilities decreased compared to the previous season by 21.5%, or 7.9 billion cubic meters. m. Underground gas storage facilities in Germany are selected by 70.6%, and France - by 77.1%.
The occupancy of Ukrainian UGSFs is also at the minimum levels. On the same date, the reserves amounted to 10.3 billion cubic meters. m., which is less than last year's level by 44% (or 8.1 billion cubic meters).
To replenish gas reserves in its UGS facilities by next winter, the EU will need to pump in such significant volumes of gas that have never been pumped before in one summer season, Gazprom said.
In the event of a cessation of supplies of Russian coal or gas, the upcoming winter will be problematic for Germany, warned Vice Chancellor, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany Robert Habek in an interview with ZDF TV channel. “We will be able to get through spring and summer well, however I am still a little worried about next winter,” the official said.
It is important to emphasize that the limited military operation in Ukraine has created a new risk factor driving up gas prices. The Ukrainian gas transmission system is not attacked by Russian or Ukrainian forces, but there is no guarantee that Ukrainian nationalists, driven to desperation by the deteriorating situation at the front, will not undermine the gas pipeline, or that it will suffer from unintentional fire impact.
Given the rapidly emptying storage facilities, the EU economy is waiting for "energy poverty" and an imminent crisis. The Russian side may face a lack of technical ability to export gas to Europe.
To a certain extent, this risk can be compensated by the prompt renewal of the certification of the Nord Stream 2 operator by Germany - contrary to the information campaign, there has not yet been talk of a complete halt of the project. The entire infrastructure is ready for launch, for which only the political will of Germany is needed, and the solution of this issue is now outside the Russian competence. We should expect the opening of additional opportunities for Russian LNG supplies.
High gas prices in the EU and around the world will continue for the coming months, or even years. The article by RUSSTRAT examined in detail the issue of the inconsistency of the idea of "replacing" Russian gas with analogues, which implies the stability of demand for Russian gas in the EU.
The EU energy sector is facing serious turbulence, primarily due to the lack of attempts to compensate for the rapid increase in prices on the open market that began in the fall of 2021. The course announced by the European bureaucracy for, at the same time, liberalization of the market and the “green transition” to renewable energy unsupported by technological solutions led to a complete imbalance of the market back in December-January.
In the medium term, even barring the force majeure associated with the fighting in Ukraine, high gas prices will weaken the competitiveness of European industry in a broad sense - from fertilizer production to steel and plastic.
One should take into account the possibility of sabotage on the gas transportation system of Ukraine after the military and then the political phases of the special operation are completed. In this regard, the speedy implementation of gas pipelines passing through Mongolia to China becomes a priority, which will make it possible to compensate for the likely blocking of gas volumes reserved for deliveries to the EU through the Ukrainian GTS.
The situation with sanctions against Russian oil production and refining looks equally contradictory in terms of design and execution. On March 6, the US Treasury issued detailed instructions on how to purchase oil from Russia in circumvention of sanctions imposed by the US government.
The agency explains that the imposed financial sanctions against banks in the Russian Federation are not comprehensive, the ability to work through other banks remains. It is noted that companies need to use "bypass transactions", including using banks in third countries, where funds would be received in US dollars, and from there they would be transferred to the accounts of Russian companies, including in sub-sanctioned banks. It turned out that in this way the US Treasury also recommends working with wood, coal, uranium and refined petroleum products.
The ban on European technologies for oil refining, which was announced on February 25 by the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, according to Brussels, will not allow Russia to modernize the refinery. In this regard, the risks can be assessed as moderate - the main peak of the modernization of Russian refineries occurred in 2010-2019, in addition, European technologies are not unique.
Russian companies have their own technological school, and a number of ready-made solutions can be obtained in China. In the future, due to the lack of imported components, there may be difficulties with the overhaul and maintenance of equipment already operating at Russian refineries, including the provision of software.
The organization of "gray" schemes for the supply of imported components, an increase in the export of necessary spare parts from China, as well as the intensification of our own import substitution in this part can reduce the severity of the problem.
All the leaders are responsible for this complete failure ...
-- deaths
-- city destruction
-- refugee
-- advance of conflict
⚡️ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/fig37_359048411
⚡️ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/fig38_359048411
⚡️ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/fig39_359048411
Dear Hans-Georg Petersen,
There is an opinion that neither the G7, and even more so the G20, can not solve a single global problem without the participation of Russia. What does today's G7 represent? It is said that today's G7 is only a club of friends of the USA and nothing more. When there was G7 + Russia = G8, it somehow decided something in the world. Today's G7 (I remind you that Russia was kicked out of the G7 after 2014 when Crimea joined Russia) is just a signboard. By the way, Germany was the first to start talking about Russia's return to the G7, but Russia proudly stated that it feels quite comfortable in the G20. Now Germany (and perhaps you personally) will have another headache, because
https://news.mail.ru/politics/50636002/?frommail=1
The G7 countries refused to pay Russia for energy resources in rubles.
This means that Russia will stop supplying gas to Germany altogether, but Germany has so far met 40% of its gas needs at the expense of Russia. It can also be assumed that Russia will stop supplying all other resources to unfriendly countries that do not recognize the Russian ruble. That's what you should have a headache in the first place, because Qatar has already said that it will not be able to compensate for the demand for gas after the withdrawal of Russia. But that's your problem.
Dear Sergey, dear Gennady:
You're talking about economic costs, we're talking about the victims of the Russian attack on Ukraine - both on the Ukrainian side and on the Russian side. Of course we are also losing wealth, but you are losing thousands of lives. Our sanctions are designed to stop the madness while you are providing arguments to perpetuate the madness. What murderous war has ever produced anything positive. Please ensure that your political leaders stop this madness immediately, because they are the ones who are the source of the aggression - but I'm afraid they will also deny that. Trust is destroyed, so that change through trade is a thing of the past. It will be a long time before new trust capital can be created. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.
From March 28, the Bank of Russia will start buying gold from Russian banks at a fixed price. 5000 rubles per 1 gram. At the moment, the exchange price is 6468 rubles per 1 gram. This is based on the current exchange rate of the ruble on the stock exchange 95 rubles / $. and price in dollars per troy ounce. And the price of 5000 per gram corresponds to the rate of 79. That is, twenty percent lower.
For the first time, the ruble becomes independent! That's how they determined it at 5000 per gram - it is.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/The_russian_trolls_list_assisting_war_crimes_in_Ukraine
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habek said that the G7 countries would not comply with Moscow's demand regarding payment for gas supplied in rubles.
Western leaders motivate their decision by the fact that a different currency is indicated in the existing agreements. Consequently, by demanding to pay for raw materials in rubles, Russia violates the terms of the contracts.
Khabek added that by taking such measures, President Vladimir Putin, apparently, was trying to break the unity in the G7. However, according to the German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, the Russian leader will not be able to implement this plan.
Recall that on March 23, Vladimir Putin instructed to transfer payments for gas for countries unfriendly to Russia into rubles. Today, a list of the above instructions was published on the Kremlin's website. In particular, it states that the innovations relate to both new and existing contracts of Gazprom.
While claiming violations of treaties, the West apparently forgot how they completely illegally and unilaterally froze our gold and foreign exchange reserves, assets and real estate. By and large, sanctions were imposed against Russia, designed to completely isolate our country on the world stage. But it doesn't come out.
So who actually violates partnership agreements?
However, it is unlikely that the G7 countries, as well as other states unfriendly to us, will be able to “get out” of the current situation, referring to the terms of the contract.
Indeed, Konstantin, RG is infiltrated by trolls - just look at the number of replies these supposed colleagues produce every day and their miserable quality to come to this conclusion. They are flooding our serious discussions with their Russian propaganda. While it is better and much more comfortable for them personally to produce dozens of absurd answers every day than having to go to war as a Russian soldier in Ukraine. Don't put anything on their recommendations - they all come from the troll brothers.
Dear people,
Previous discussion called https://www.researchgate.net/post/The_russian_trolls_list_assisting_war_crimes_in_Ukraine was closed by Researchgate due to activity of russian trolls from list sending many complaints about it. Please notify Researchgate about this attack on community. We should spread true information about a war of russia against Ukraine and whole humanity.
The new discussion is at https://www.researchgate.net/post/The_hybrid_war_russian_trolls_list_assisting_war_crimes_in_Ukraine
Please fight disinformation
Watch the real face of some russian "scientists"
I'm reposting comments that one of them add to chat "Are russians responsible for state terrorism?"
Sergey P. Klykov added an answer
9 minutes ago
"Salo-Reich" is the name from Tatyana Montyan. Very correct! We are not on the way with the Salo-Reich and with the Kastr'ul'egolovymi! AntiRussia has no right to exist...Only Ukraine, but not Salo-Reich. Bandera Nazis are worse than German fascists, if only because the fascists adhered to the rules of war. Salo-Reich does not follow any rules and for this reason MUST BE destroyed. Once again: we will revive a normal Ukraine. Then, after this, we will punish the West very hard, so that it will be remembered for centuries: in the Russian zone of influence, we should not even see a smallest tracks from diabolical elites of the West! To understand the Russians, imagine the Russians came to Canada and enforce anti-American rules!..
"All wars are hateful"! in that they leave extreme misery and hopelessness. What is happening in Ukraine, at the heart of Europe, is horrible and the daily images coming from there recall dark episodes. Other examples may be cited:
1. The 'war on terror', has caused at least 500,000 dead according to AFP, Washington, 9 November 2018. https://www.ledevoir.com/monde/540962/etats-unis-la-guerre-contre-le-terrorisme-a-fait-au-moins-500-000-morts-depuis-2001-selon-une-etude Translated from French: "At least 500,000 people have died in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan since the United States launched the "war on terror" after the attacks of September 11....Iraq has the highest death toll heavy for civilians - between 182,272 and 204,575 dead -, followed by Afghanistan (38,480) and Pakistan (23,372). Nearly 7,000 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan...."We may never know the direct toll of these wars",...because many of the casualties recorded as combatants may in fact be civilians, or because civilian casualties have not yet been counted. The toll also does not include indirect victims of the conflict, including those killed by disease or lack of infrastructure".
2. The death toll has already exceeded 380,000, in the "world's biggest humanitarian catastrophe".
In seven years, the war in Yemen will have caused the death of 377,000 people, by the end of 2021, "Le Monde" with "AFP" Published on November 24, 2021
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/11/24/en-sept-ans-la-guerre-du-yemen-aura-cause-la-mort-de-377-000-people-by-the-end-of-the-year-2021_6103373_3210.html
Translation from French: The United Nations (UN) estimates that the seven-year war in Yemen will have caused the death of 377,000 people, direct and indirect victims of the conflict, by the end of 2021. Nearly 60% of deaths, or about 227,000 people, are due to the indirect consequences of the conflict, such as the lack of drinking water, hunger and disease, according to a report, Tuesday, November 23, from the United Nations Program for development (UNDP). This means according to these estimates that the fighting will have left 150,000 dead by the end of this year. The conflict pits Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, against Yemeni government forces, backed since 2015 by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Seven years of war have had "catastrophic effects on the development of the nation", underlines the UNDP, according to which "access to health care is limited or non-existent" and "the economy is on the verge of collapse
Most of the indirect victims are "children particularly vulnerable to malnutrition and undernutrition", explains the UNDP. “In 2021, a Yemeni child under the age of 5 dies every nine minutes as a result of the conflict”, it is written.
The "biggest humanitarian disaster in the world"
According to the UNDP, “1.3 million people” are at risk of death if a peace agreement is not reached by 2030. “A growing proportion of these deaths will occur… as a result of the indirect consequences of the crisis on livelihoods, food prices and the deterioration of basic services, such as health and education,” it says. Escalating fighting, including tank battles and regular bombardments by planes and drones, has destroyed even the most basic infrastructure in some areas, the report continues. Millions of people are on the brink of starvation, with two-thirds of Yemenis dependent on humanitarian aid, according to the UN. “Yemen is the worst and biggest humanitarian disaster in the world, and this disaster continues to worsen”, recalled the UN, and “more than 80% of the population” of approximately 30 million inhabitants “ need humanitarian aid”. “Millions of Yemenis continue to suffer from the conflict, trapped in poverty, with few opportunities to find work and a livelihood,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator
Russian propagandists from RIA Novosti published an article "What Russia should do with Ukraine" on the day when the world learned about the atrocities of Russians in Bucha and other cities near Kiev.
The main theses of the material are as follows:
1. Nazism infected not a few, but the majority of Ukrainians.
"In addition to the top, a significant part of the masses of the people, which are passive Nazis, accomplices of Nazism, are also guilty. They supported the Nazi power and indulged it. Just punishment of this part of the population is possible only as bearing the inevitable hardships of a just war against the Nazi system."
2. Denazification involves the cleansing of all of Ukraine, the country cannot be sovereign.
"There should not be significant differences between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the so-called national battalions, as well as the territorial defense that joined these two types of military formations. All of them are equally involved in transcendent cruelty against the civilian population, are equally guilty of the genocide of the russian people, do not comply with the laws and customs of war .War criminals and active Nazis must be exemplarily and exponentially punished."
"Denazification can only be carried out by the winner, which implies his unconditional control over the denazification process and the power to ensure such control. In this respect, the denazified country cannot be sovereign."
"The terms of denazification can in no way be less than one generation, which must be born, grow up and reach maturity under the conditions of denazification."
3. Even the very word "Ukraine" must be eliminated.
"The name "Ukraine", apparently, cannot be retained as the title of any completely denazified state entity in the territory liberated from the Nazi regime ... Denazification will inevitably be de-Ukrainization - a rejection of the large-scale artificial inflating of the ethnic component of self-identification of the population of the territories as historical Malorossiya and Novorossiya begun by the Soviet authorities ".
In the liberated territories of the Kiev region, mass graves with dead Ukrainians were found. On the streets of Irpen, Bucha and other cities lie bodies shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs, and burnt corpses on the roads. World media and Ukrainian journalists report on the atrocities of Russian soldiers during the almost month of the occupation of the Kiev region, in particular the rape of children, torture and executions.
Ambassador of the United Kingdom Melinda Simmons to Ukraine said that now the russian occupiers have taken rape into their "arsenal" as a weapon of war. She wrote about this on her Twitter page.
“Rape is a weapon of war. Though we don’t yet know the full extent of its use in Ukraineit’s already clear it was part of arcenal. Women raped in front of their kids, girls in front of their families, as a deliberate act of subjugation. Rape is a war crime".
Top kremlin propagandist vladimir solovyov said "In short, we have two options. The first is optimistic: nuclear war, the whole world is in ruins”. The second option would have "pessimistic consequences".
Earlier, Kremlin propagandists threatened russia's attack on NATO countries. In particular, the "experts" invited by the propagandist solovyov showed a map of Europe with arrows for a hypothetical transfer of russian troops, asserting the alleged intentions of the kremlin to occupy the Baltic countries and move deep into Western Europe.
Russia is waiting for new sanctions after Bucha. They will stay for a long time
The mitigation of sanctions should be forgotten until the end of the war, and their complete abolition - for many years, until the punishment of those responsible for war crimes and the change of power in russia, the statements of Western politicians and officials testify.
The developed world has imposed unprecedented restrictions on russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Their goal is to cut russia off from Western technology and money to deprive its leader, vladimir putin, of the opportunity to continue the war in a neighboring country where the russian army has already killed thousands of Ukrainians and razed several cities to the ground.
However, the restrictions have left russia free to earn upwards of 650 million euros a day selling oil, gas and coal to Europe, and the sluggish peace talks have raised hopes of avoiding further draconian measures such as shutting down European ports, shutting down banks completely from SWIFT, and an oil and gas embargo.
Children under enemy gunpoint: how russia is destroying the future of Ukraine
As of the morning of April 8, more than 475 children have suffered in Ukraine due to the full-scale armed aggression of the russian federation. At the same time, 169 children died and more than 306 were injured, and this figure is growing.
There are sufficient grounds to believe that russian servicemen are committing at least five types of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine:
- killing and maiming of children;
- rape and other forms of sexual abuse against children;
- attacks on schools, hospitals and protected individuals associated with them;
- child abduction;
- denial of access to humanitarian assistance.
These grave violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes.
Every day in Ukraine, at least four children are killed by the weapons of russian troops, and seven more children are injured, dangerous to their lives and health, and often leading to disability. More children were affected in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Nikolaev, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, Zhytomyr, Sumy regions and in Kyiv.
P.S. On the rocket that hit Kramatorsk, it was written "For the children."
Elena, your inclusion of statements from the Russian hierarchy is frightening and makes clear Russia's intended genocide in Ukraine, even if just partially. Wiping out of Ukraine's people, culture and identity.
Russia must be excluded from all of the United Nations. Ridiculous that they are still there in prominent positions.
Extract from the European Parliament debates (translated from French): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-6-2007-07-10_FR.html?redirect
Brian Simpson, on behalf of the PSE Group:....Mr. Hughes is right when he says that politics is the art of the possible. And those, a minority - and I respect their point of view - who think that we should keep the old ways, keep a monopolistic sector and a reserved domain, well, if I see the merits of their argument, in real life we we're not there, it's not the world we live in.....
If Russia continues to be among the G20 or even the UN, then aggression against another country is legitimate and anyone can go ahead.
Dear Michael Issigonis Several G20 countries have attacked and invaded other countries and this continues. If we exclude all the countries that have one day attacked other countries, there won't be many people left in the G20. Another proposal: replace each aggressor country by the attacked country and will then sit within the G20, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Tibet etc. But joking aside, excluding Russia from anything would be a serious mistake because it is simply putting out of service relays that exist and can be used and/or contribute to opening communication channels. Preserving these ways is essential, blowing them up will only open the way to unilateral decisions, always harmful!
The exclusion of Russia or anyone else will only be temporary until aggression eases (they can't go for ever) through negotiations, etc.
Michael Issigonis Excluding Russia or anyone else from any Forum (After all, these are just Meetings) would be a serious mistake because it is simply putting out of service relays that exist and can be used to tackle problems multilateral problems and crises. Blowing them up, out of spite, is pointless and will only open the way to arrogances and unilateral decisions, always harmful!
Jamel,
Given the carnage created by Putin's army, allowing Russia to continue in any of its present positions is absurd. Putin has been spoken to by a trope of worthies and has simply increased the carnage. List me list:
Nearly every major city in Ukraine has been laid waste. Ukraine has no air cover. Every minute missiles land in the country hitting schools, hospitals and ordinary housing.
It is estimated by the UN that as many as 200,000 people, half of which are children, have been kidnapped and taken into Russia
Hospitals are constantly bombed
Execution of civilians.
Possible execution of soldiers who surrender
Rape of women, and attempted genocide
This is brutality on a high level. Putin constantly threatens nuclear war. Is there any limit to his atrocities before he is ejected, leaving some window for the country at a later date.
Dear Stanley Wilkin,
"This is brutality on a high level. Putin constantly threatens nuclear war. Is there any limit to his atrocities before he is ejected, leaving some window for the country at a later date."
Can you explain the paradox?
1. Why are already 10 European countries opening their ruble accounts with Gazprombank to buy Russian gas for rubles?
2. Why Poland categorically refuses to buy Russian gas for rubles, but asks Germany to sell Russian gas to Poland on the reverse from Germany, which will buy Russian gas for rubles?
3. Why does the US buy Russian fertilizers, uranium and titanium for rubles?
This list could go on.
Is there a contradiction here: The more sanctions the West imposes against Russia, the more the West violates its imposed sanctions, allowing you to buy Russian energy resources for rubles.
Please give up Russian gas, oil, fertilizers, uranium, titanium, timber, and last but not least, Russian grain, without which Europe will simply starve, because until now it has bought this grain from Russia, and it has no other sources. When you answer this question, continue your conversation about "Putin's atrocities" again. If you can't answer, then it's better to just be silent, as they say in Russia, "be silent in a rag".
Dear Stanley Wilkin The discourse and arguments that you present are understandable and suddenly you have another discourse that is no less comprehensible, that of our colleague Gennady Fedulov for example. These discourses only engender hatred and demonization and which only stir up the reflexes of destruction. But let's be honest: the driving forces of the armed conflict reside first and foremost in geopolitical issues related to world domination and do not give a damn about the suffering of the peoples and Ukraine does not is just a link in the chain. All wars are hateful"! in that they leave extreme misery and hopelessness. What is happening in Ukraine, at the heart of Europe, is horrible and the daily images coming from there recall dark episodes. When EO Wilson the founder of sociobiology was asked if humans would be able to solve the crises they would face over the next 100 years. He replied, "Yes if we are honest and intelligent". It is difficult to apprehend the Ukrainian crisis without asking the question "Have East-West relations been intelligent and honest for the past decades"? Just let's be honest when looking in the rearview mirror of contemporary history. East-West relations were not honest at all! absolutely not intelligent! Indeed just after the cold war, the Western bloc assumed that the Eastern bloc has lost the war and the "supposed winners" not only claimed unilaterally themselves winners but did not hesitate to take strategic advantage of their supposed victory, like spoils of war in Eastern Europe. We can dispute these obvious facts and make up our minds. But making up our minds is very simple, being honest and intelligent takes more courage. OE Wilson, who knows ants very well (he is also named "Ant Men"); knows indeed that ants because they are ants, are incapable of being intelligent, they are honest by nature. That is not enough to spare them total extermination wars. Man is not always honest, he is intelligent by nature: will he be intelligent and honest enough today to honestly ask intelligent questions and intelligently give honest answers; that would spare Europe and the rest of the world!
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Change the tune, change the song, it made no real sense the first time and simply indicates your slim grasp of the matter. Russia attacked another state, killing, maiming, and raping. As difficult as it seems for you to understand there is no more than that to it as in 1939 Hitler and Germany attacked France, etc. As ancient as that conflict seems, it is the only representational point available. There is nothing in the intervening years.
Your silly, indeed fatuous, concepts do not reflect the situation and perhaps you have engaged in too much conversation with Gennady.
Gennady,
Your points mean very little and if anything merely accord with uncomfortable realities. Europe will break away from Russian gas and oil, although Britain for example already has. Europe as a whole will remove itself economically completely away from Russia and contact will virtually cease. Gennady, Russia is far too dangerous for continued interaction.
The most uncomfortable point unfortunately is the genocide: the raping: the missiles: the killing of citizens which no one in Europe, at least on the civilised side, expected.
I found this promontory column "The new cold war" by Serge Halimi (Editorial director of Le Monde Diplomatique) dating from September 2014 disconcertingly topical:
In 1980 Ronald Reagan expressed his idea of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in one short sentence: “We win, they lose.” Twelve years later, his immediate successor at the White House, George H W Bush, was satisfied that the task had been accomplished: “A world once divided into two armed camps now recognises one, sole and pre-eminent power, the United States of America.” The cold war was officially at an end.
That period too is now over. Its death knell sounded on the day Russia had had enough of “losing” and realised that its ritual humiliation would never come to an end, with one neighbouring country after another being persuaded — or bribed — into joining an economic and military alliance against it. Obama, speaking in Brussels in March, stressed that “Today, NATO planes patrol the skies over the Baltics and we’ve reinforced our presence in Poland. And we’re prepared to do more” (1). Vladimir Putin, addressing the Russian parliament, observed that this was part of the “infamous policy of containment” that the western powers had pursued against Russia since the 18th century (2).
However, the new cold war will be different from the old one. As Obama pointed out, “unlike the Soviet Union, Russia leads no bloc of nations, no global ideology.” The latest confrontation is not between an American superpower, drawing the imperial assurance of a “manifest destiny” from its religious faith, and an “evil empire” castigated by Reagan for its atheism. On the contrary, Putin is appealing with some success to Christian fundamentalism. On annexing Crimea, he suddenly remembered it was the place “where Saint Vladimir was baptised ... adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilisation and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.”
In other words, Moscow will not allow Ukraine to become a rear base for its enemies. The Russian people, inflamed by nationalist propaganda that is even more extreme than western brainwashing (and that’s saying something), won’t have it. Meanwhile, in the US and Europe, the supporters of rearmament are raising the stakes, with warlike declarations and a host of assorted sanctions that only increase the determination in the enemy camp. “The new cold war may be more perilous,” warns Stephen F Cohen, one of America’s leading Russia experts, “because, unlike its predecessor, there is no effective American opposition — not in the administration, Congress, media, universities, think tanks” (3). The well-known recipe for every kind of trap...
Serge Halimi
Editorial director of Le Monde diplomatique.
Translated by Barbara Wilson
See original column and references on: https://mondediplo.com/2014/09/01coldwar
Dear Stanley Wilkin Okay, That's my bad, I understand! And thank you for your kind words!
Jamel, you are not a historian and reveal no genuine grasp of events coming to conclusions only one of my less-informed students would arrive at. Anyone who punctuates their text with bold is not someone who recognises, for example, complexity. Now why I could very easily undermine your largely misinformed and misunderstood renditions in clear text and bold, I am assured that you will merely repeat the same assertions resulting from your poor, indeed, amateurish grasp of the recent past.
I did read your last offer and at present, I am reeling with laughter and astonishment. At your inability to grasp the issues or your pomposity with such little intellectual ammunition I do not know. Now, I could point out here your levels of ignorance, but you will as before merely repeat them. Your knowledge of Europe nevertheless seems gleaned from revisionist journals that you fail to examine, and again a lack of genuine knowledge of Europe and events over the previous decades.
Superficial and misinformed.
I will add here: forget your ludicrous vanity and pomposity with a grasp that veers from a repetition of Putin's arguments and lack of consideration for his bestial actions to assumed understanding of Europe, which you do not actually possess and do some reading, although I have little hopes of that replacing your dearly held assumptions with genuine knowledge, and pay some, if only some, attention to the murders, rapes, and genocide still ongoing. More of you, Jarmel, and you will confirm for me the lightweight nature of the site. Something I already hold.
Stanley Wilkin Okey, That's my bad again! And again thank you for your kind words which are only the privilege of your intelligence & honesty
Jamel, we had a conversation before and although I accept the desire and nature of revisionism, and later historians will pick up the threads, you seem to be associated with Genneda and expressing his and Putin's general views. Now when I made the point before that the most clearly right-wing country at present was Russia you refused pointedly to engage and nowhere above have you mentioned the ghastly events in Ukraine, establishing if nothing else your moral vistas. You desire alternatives.
I deal in history every day and why should I have to endure your feeble expositions expressing the views of particularly nasty individuals, a grasp of history which would shame a first-year student and vanity that dominates research values to the point of their extinction. History is hard work. It can take months to seek out possible truths. You believe truth exists in your prejudices and is transferable, fitting further political aims.
Do you really want to keep wasting my time? Shame on you! Shame on your morals, or lack of them, shame on your belief that truth is malleable.
I found this paper intelligent, honest and remarkably clear-sighted "The Ukraine Crisis Could Spark a New Cold War (Or a Nuclear War)" by Doug Bandow (Senior Fellow, Cato Institute)
Summary: The US and allied governments should begin planning for what follows. Today’s hot war is horrific. Another Cold War could ultimately be even more dangerous. This article appeared on March 9, 2022. Having sown the wind in Ukraine, Russia is reaping the whirlwind. Its aggression is criminal and unprovoked. The US and its allies contributed to the conflict. But the decision for war—which already is resulting in significant death and destruction—was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. If there is one lesson of Moscow’s brutal and unjustified invasion, it is that aggressors should choose their victims carefully. As the Balkan Serbs learned decades ago, it is best not to attack people in Europe, which guarantees heavy media attention in Western capitals. This may be the first conflict in which the public is driving sanctions and boycotts, in this case against all things Russian, including individuals who had nothing to do with their government’s decision for war. In contrast, Washington has been bombing and invading nations in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia for years. Despite wrecking entire states and ravaging their peoples, US policymakers have never been held accountable. The total number of victims in these wars—killed, wounded, displaced—the number in the millions. Washington typically tires of fighting and either downgrades its role or simply leaves, as in Afghanistan, without even apologizing. But no American has ever faced economic sanctions or been charged with war crimes. The US and allied governments should begin planning for what follows. Today’s hot war is horrific. Another Cold War could ultimately be even more dangerous. Today Ukrainians and to a lesser degree, Russians are suffering. The long‐term consequences for Americans and Europeans will be serious as well. No one knows how the fighting will end, but Washington should begin planning for the aftermath. The Ukrainian people’s desperate fight has created hope that they can cause enough damage and delay to force Moscow to downgrade its objectives, and perhaps even withdraw entirely. However, though Russia’s campaign so far appears to be FUBAR, Moscow’s significant military advantages still make victory likely. In that case, the best outcome would be a ceasefire and negotiated peace. Halt the killing and reach an agreement today rather than later. Leave Ukraine’s politics and economics free but accept neutralization in return for Russian withdrawal. However, the longer and most costly the fighting, the greater the likely intransigence of both sides.
Authors
Doug Bandow Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
See : https://policycommons.net/artifacts/2276672/the-ukraine-crisis-could-spark-a-new-cold-war-or-a-nuclear-war/3036665/
Stanley Wilkin Okay, That's my bad again! I again understand! And again thank you for your kind words which are only the privilege of your intelligence & honesty. But if beyond the invectives you could submit for discussion a single rational idea. And since you were talking about your students, I can only pity them!
George Orwell declared: "Those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it". What is indisputable is that Ukrainians as all peoples on the planet have the absolute and inalienable right to defend their territory till the last drop of blood or to make whatever allegiances and/or compromises that serve them the best. Cynicism and the height of hypocrisy are to decide how independent peoples have to behave evoking raisons that in no way concern them. We have seen this in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, the Middle East, and in several regions in the world, where entire populations and entire generations were sacrified and dissimated. Are we observing a new cynism episode? Each of us observes facts and we make up our minds. But making up our minds is very simple, being honest and intelligent takes more courage.
Dear Jamel Chahed ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet-Afghan_War
USSR the conflict was a Cold War-era proxy war. Between 562,000 and 2,000,000 Afghans were killed and millions more fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_War
russia Various figures estimate the number of civilian deaths at between 30,000 and 100,000 killed and possibly over 200,000 injured, while more than 500,000 people were displaced by the conflict, which left cities and villages across the republic in ruins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_War
russia The exact death toll of the conflict is unknown, although the total loss of human life, including both combatants and non-combatants, is estimated to be over 60,000.
2 million Afghans killed is nothing for you? Why you do not demand that russia should be accountable for mass killings? Thinking?
Konstantin M. Golubev Thank you for your reply. As I mentioned "All wars are hateful"! in that they leave extreme misery and hopelessness. What is happening in Ukraine, at the heart of Europe, is horrible and the daily images coming from there recall dark episodes. Several countries are still suffering martyrdom today from wars and invasions and their fallout, and that is regrettable. It is our role as scientists, and it is our duty, to deal with things rationally and objectively, far from discourses that only fuel conflicts and exacerbate sad passions. Because if we do that we can tackle crises with intelligence and honesty
Jamel,
Xavier has told you he does not support USA, nor is any other country to be nominally supported if it infracts common laws of right and wrong, understood through actions. I disagree with many of the ideas you present here, but more so as you have done it within the context of other deeper concerns.
A United Nations must reflect all countries, not simply the superpowers. Russia, given its actions, should at best be demoted from all groups and offices. Realistically, apart from its armoury, Russia is not a powerful country, or seems not to be, but neither are countries like UK and France. None have the right to special positions.
Stanley Wilkin Honestly did not understand the point, Besides I am not seeing reply of Xavier on this forum and Xavier can speak for himself. Don't understand also "within the context of other deeper concerns". I thanked you for other assaults on my person, but not for this one: I consider that it undermines my Scientific Integrity, which I hold dear. So if you can't control your emotions and/or sad passions, well, please don't talk to me anymore. Thanking you for your understanding
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Scientific_Integrity_on_ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Role_and_responsibility_of_senior_scholars_in_the_moral_anchor_of_Scientific_Integrity_Research_Ethics_and_Higher_Education_Deontology
Jamel, I didn't answer in this forum, but my answer to you was clear in other ones :
Jamel, your last article is interesting, but what strikes me is that you always put the accent on American crimes. Konstantin is right to remind Russian past crimes, for instance in Afghanistan and Chechnya, to which we can add Georgia and Syria. The responsability for the rise of Islamists is shared between Russia and America. I remember a Georgian islamist, who became the military chief of ISIS, had been trained both by American and Russian Secret Services . I am not denying American crimes, but the main problem now is definitely Putin's regime, which is becoming crazier and crazier.
Xavier Rouard And this was my answer to your post on the other forum, which was also clear:
Dear Xavier Rouard Personally, I have never spoken of the crimes of the USA or of any other country. You're talking about it! Crimes are legal issues and the thesis you mention deals with those of Russia and analyzes the mechanisms of their establishment. In principle, we can only respect any form of justice, including that which deals with war crimes. On the other hand, I spoke of wars and the sufferings of the peoples who endure them: all wars and all peoples! simply because human suffering suffers no differentiation
Dear RG friends, the question 'should a country be excluded or included, is becoming more and more relevant. If that happens, then where are the conversations on the fringes of meetings to get into conversation with the other person whose behaviour you do not like? I am in favour of democratic rules of play in bodies like the G20. So no veto and decisions with a majority of 51% or more. All the best, Carl
Jamel,
I will not take back my accusations regarding your research efficacy. I can if you wish explain more why you lack them. Firstly, bias and prejudice backed up by Google visits without any attempt to critique the information acquired by this method. Inability to determine the nature of opinion as against debate, which sustains your biases.
Nevertheless, you have recently here expressed thoughts and feelings on human suffering but made absolutely no reference that I can remember to the suffering occasioned by Russia.
Shall I itemise them again so you can remember?
Stanley Wilkin Quote you "...but made absolutely no reference that I can remember to the suffering occasioned by Russia". Scroll up the thread and you will read within my previous posts:
- 2 days ago: "What is happening in Ukraine, at the heart of Europe, is horrible and the daily images coming from there recall dark episodes"
- 2 days ago: "Ukrainians as all peoples on the planet have the absolute and inalienable right to defend their territory till the last drop of blood or to make whatever allegiances and/or compromises that serve them the best"
- April 5: "All wars are hateful"! in that they leave extreme misery and hopelessness. What is happening in Ukraine, at the heart of Europe, is horrible and the daily images coming from there recall dark episodes
I lent myself to this equivocal game which consists in demanding allegiance by showing "white paw". However, I allow myself to tell you that these kinds of prejudice and attempts at intimidation are unhealthy because it means: you are guilty (don't know of what?) until you show proof of your innocence!
Dear RG friends, although the war between Russia and the Ukraine is awful, will we moderate our tone and look at this particular war from a scientific historical perspective? Here on RG we don't have to wage war. We -also we as scientists- are people just like the Ukrainians and Russians. All the best, Carl
Stanley Wilkin quote you "I will not take back my accusations regarding your research efficacy" Well with all due respect, Il will demand: until you accept to do it, please "de Grâce" don't address my person and forget even my name.
Carl HD Steinmetz ,
Jamel is involved with Russian agents on here and is intent on presenting Russia as the victim of fascist Western governments. At no point has he condemned Putin nor referenced those Putin has killed.
Jamel, I prefer my academics to be genuine. So, no problem. I find nothing worse than someone who claims to be repulsed by suffering, yet supports those who cause it.
Men and women shot
Children killed
Prisoners shot.
Stanley Wilkin I do not accept your gratuitous accusations and your outrageous insults vis-à-vis my person, coming from a scholar, I can only feel sorry for his students. Quote you "I will not take back my accusations" Well until you accept to do it, please "de Grâce" don't address my person and forget even my name.
Dear Carl HD Steinmetz Thank you for your wise post. Unfortunately, as on all forums, there are people who apply the adage to the letter "if you don't like the message, shoot the messenger". And it is all the more regrettable that we are here on a Scientific Forum where integrity is the first thing that scholars must respect, I can only feel sorry for their students. The original idea was expressed by Sophocles as far back as 442 B.C and much later by Shakespeare in 'Henry IV, Part II' and in 'Antony and Cleopatra' (1606-07) in the form "...Don't kill the messenger..." in the sense that the messenger can possess a difficult truth that should be heard.
Why the World Can’t Ditch Diplomacy in Putin’s War, A former U.S. diplomat who served in Afghanistan on why talks still matter, By Mary Yang, an intern at Foreign Policy"...Foreign Policy spoke to New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, a former diplomat who worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department, and the National Security Council, about the role of diplomacy at this point in the war. He warned about the potential dangers of cutting off communication with Russia, assessed the international response so far, and explained why the initial framing of the crisis as a European conflict rather than a global one has made countries hesitant to get further involved....To avoid the all-out catastrophe of a regional war or something that goes on for years and years and years you need to have diplomacy,” Kim, who also served as a security advisor in Afghanistan, told Foreign Policy...". Read more on: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/07/putin-russia-ukraine-war-diplomacy/
EUvsDisinfo is the flagship project of the European External Action Service’s East StratCom Task Force(opens in a new tab). It was established in 2015 to better forecast, address, and respond to the Russian Federation’s ongoing disinformation campaigns affecting the European Union, its Member States, and countries in the shared neighbourhood.
https://euvsdisinfo.eu/trolling-for-a-victory-steeped-in-blood-and-hunger/
Trolling for a Victory Steeped in Blood and Hunger
The pro-Kremlin disinformation machine is working around the clock to saturate the aether with its favoured D’s of disinformation – denial, dismay, distractions, dismissal and distortions...While to pro-Kremlin trolls and bots seek to muddy the media environment and skew the public discourse on Putin’s war in Ukraine, the free and independent media space, as well as public access to reliable information in Russia, is shrinking by the day. The latest target for the Kremlin’s censorship has been the world-renowned repository of knowledge and information, Wikipedia...This, of course, is a consequence to the long-curated pro-Kremlin narrative of the “Russophobia” spreading in the West...
Thinking?
The New Yorker: Ukraine Is Now America’s War, Too; The U.S. is leading a new coalition of “nations of good will” as the goal expands from supporting Ukraine to weakening Russia and outlasting Putin. May 1, 2022, By Robin Wright "...In a country polarized on most other issues, a majority from both parties agreed. Three-quarters of those polled also fear that the worst is yet to come. And more than eighty per cent believe that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. Yet the public’s moral outrage “stops at the water’s edge when it comes to committing the U.S. military to the fight,” Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University analyst, noted. Only nineteen per cent of Americans believe the U.S. should do more even if it risks getting into a direct war with Russia...." The conclusion of the paper is even more intriguing. See more on: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ukraine-is-now-americas-war-too
Five chilling ways Putin could turn Ukraine war NUCLEAR from nuke bomb over Black Sea to all-out World War 3 – The Sun
Russia has already warned its shambolic invasion of Ukraine is likely to end in a nuclear world war with the Russian tyrant "more probable" to launch a nuke than accept defeat.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18410998/five-chilling-ways-putin-could-turn-ukraine-war-nuclear/
?/!
Finland will not build a nuclear power plant with Rosatom. The contract between our countries was terminated according to the old children's principle "Everything is torn between us and the path is trampled." Downright, my heart was relieved, otherwise it didn’t even turn out well somehow. The country has gathered in NATO, is going to build a border fence with Russia, has imposed sanctions against us, is driving military equipment to Ukraine with might and main, although Finnish business from Russia is crying bitter tears, it is leaving in a disciplined manner, transport communication between us is interrupted, trade is dying out and collapsing, and We were supposed to build a nuclear power plant there. Some kind of nuclear power plant would be downright wrong. And for the Finns, it would generate the wrong energy. Like those wrong bees in "Winnie the Pooh" who had clearly the wrong honey in their hollow.
No, Rosatom is probably offended. And who would not be offended in the place of this corporation? You work, you work, and then your American competitors r-times, and eat you up. And it has nothing to do with the level of your technology and the financial terms of the contract. Even though the system is free, it will still be terminated. The world war is in the yard, so the neutral status of Finland, can be considered, has remained in history. The Americans and European officials allied to them have crushed Helsinki. The Finns will not have the former economic prosperity and no one in Europe will have it. So to hell with them, with the Finns. Washington and Brussels don't care. There was nothing for the Finns to get used to the standard of living that they achieved in their neutrality. They lived throughout history in poverty, and would have lived on. And then give them a nuclear power plant ...
Finland has lost Russian markets and Russian raw materials. She has lost her historical memory and is about to lose security - and not only energy. The monument to Lenin in Turku can easily be demolished, referring to the current situation in relations between Russia and Ukraine, but NATO will not be an umbrella or a roof for the Finns. Rather, on the contrary. It is easy to turn into a target for Russia in the impending big European war, and Finland is rapidly moving towards this. Only to protect its population, as it is now in Ukraine, no one will definitely. We still won’t be one country, but for the Americans, that the Finns, that the Ukrainians, that the Europeans as a whole are consumables, nothing more. In vain, the Finns, like the Ukrainians, probably, Lenin gave the state, and Stalin left it to them
Dear people,
Interview of russian minister lavrov by chinese agency Xinhua
https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1811525/
We can see how quickly Asian, African, and Latin American countries are developing. Everyone is getting a real freedom of choice, including where it comes to choosing their development models and participation in integration projects. Our special military operation in Ukraine also contributes to the process of freeing the world
The English idiot originally meant “ignorant person,” but the more usual reference now is to a person who lacks basic intelligence or common sense rather than education.
Thinking?
I find that the first sentence "We can see how quickly Asian, African, and Latin American countries are developing. Everyone is getting a real freedom of choice, including where it comes to choosing their development models and participation in integration projects" is not totally wrong even if these transitions are often painful.
In essence, the question can be answered as follows: two options are possible. We ourselves will leave the G20 or we will be expelled.
But essentially, it doesn't change anything. You can conduct a dialogue with each country separately.
There are such examples - many countries do this.
Regards, Sergey
The "extremely important" meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine took place without any major breakthroughs. It lasted exactly two minutes, since there were no people who wanted to speak. Why was he only appointed and who was the initiator of the discussion of this, as it turned out, an unnecessary issue for anyone? However, it is basically unrealistic to deal with UN intrigues. And why deal with them? The sense of this organization is not just zero - less than zero. Eternal speculation of bureaucrats and dancing on other people's bones. Continuous grinding of budgets, mainly in favor of those who milk sponsors for them - sometimes for years, but more often for decades. Flirting with any crook, as long as he represents someone from whom the UN bureaucrats are supposed to get goodies - directly, in money, or in the development of their future careers.
So it was, is and will be. The UN is not able to solve a single issue, has never been able to and will never be able to. Whether we are talking about refugees and migrants, genocide and food shortages, the problem of pollution of the planet or peacekeeping operations, nuclear non-proliferation or the fight against the slave trade, drug trafficking and arms trafficking ... Before that, a sickening talking shop - already grind your teeth when you remember how deftly and skillfully it is being used by Western intelligence agencies to cover up their ties to terrorists and by Western politicians fighting rivals and adversaries, of which they currently believe us and China to be the first. In the case of Ukraine, this is also noticeable, as in Syria. One essence, only the rhetoric is different. Moreover, no one has any illusions about Ukraine, so there is not much to talk about. In Syria, they were still ...
No, it is clear that if we are talking about a big scam, such as the fight against "global warming", where you can smack those who continue to develop their own economy, especially industry, simultaneously selling vague technologies regarding "green energy" to new markets, then the UN ahead of the planet. Bans, emission quotas, protocols, agreements... The main thing is that in the end, those who work with this should have more powers and money, and they would bend everyone else.
The Americans are still trying to somehow persuade the Saudis to join the big Western coalition against the Russian Federation, but every attempt to establish contact exposes the United States to ridicule more and more brightly. If a few days ago Riyadh still politely refused to increase oil production in violation of the OPEC agreements, now it simply ignores all requests from Washington.
Saudi Arabia's decision to support Russia in a major geopolitical confrontation with the United States can be explained not only by economic pragmatism, but also by a special attitude towards the leadership of the Russian Federation. In cooperation with Moscow, the Saudis, however, like many others, value most of all one feature of the Russian president, which in modern times is not even dreamed of by the leaders of the collective west. We are talking about a serious attitude to any international agreements and fidelity to this word.
Why? Many answer: “You know, we have been working with Vladimir Putin for 20 years. During these 20 years, he has made many promises to us. We signed something on paper, discussed something at the negotiating table, something he could quickly say on the sidelines. So for these 20 years, he has fulfilled all his promises. In general, everything. And, accordingly, the Americans, even written agreements, as soon as the situation changes, they try in every possible way not to fulfill them. That, in fact, is the whole explanation.
Americans themselves are turning the world away from their dying liberal economic system. Russia, on the other hand, offers an alternative that has the future behind it.
European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said that a complete embargo on Russian oil would be introduced by the European Union in nine months. At the same time, as Bloomberg informs us, the European Union proposed to provide an opportunity for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to keep imports of Russian oil until 2024. Hungary and Slovakia want to give time to give up Russian oil until December 31, 2024, while the Czech Republic, for some reason, only until June 30, 2024. These concessions to countries suggest that they not veto the impending decision. Of course, it's not guaranteed that this will help.
Experts are watching the whole process with undisguised interest. And for several reasons at once. First, why did the EU decide that such an entity as Ukraine would still exist in nine months? Because, given the thoroughness and power with which the Russian army grinds the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Nazi battalions, everything can end a little faster. And then it will be both stupid and pointless to impose some kind of sanctions because of a reason that no longer exists.
Secondly, will Europe be able to abandon Russian oil even after nine months? Heavy oil (and Russian oil is heavy) is traded by only a few countries in the world, and its main owners, Venezuela and Iran, are our allies in this matter. And in a number of ways they depend on Russia both in terms of trade and in terms of security. Therefore, they will obviously not participate in attempts to strangle Russia and help the Europeans to replace the falling volumes. All the more so since official comrades from OPEC have recently stated that it is physically impossible to replace seven million barrels of oil per day - that's exactly how much Russia produces and supplies. They do not have such capacities, and desires, but they tactfully kept silent about this.
A similar picture has already emerged with Russian gas, which the European Union was also going to — for a very long time, noisily and hysterically — give up. As a result, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in an interview aired on Thursday by the Spanish radio station Cadena SER, said that the EU currently has no plans to cut off Russian gas.
According to Borrell, "if oil can be replaced, then with gas everything is different." He added that “the oil market is global and there are other suppliers. Gas is another issue. It is not only an energy resource. Gas cannot be replaced by any other petrochemical product. Closing the Russian gas valve is not discussed at the moment.”
Apparently, Borrell does not understand the oil issue in the same way as he does the gas one. Because yes, oil can be delivered not by pipelines, but by tankers. But you still need to get it somewhere, and get the same brand (or similar in composition) as the one you are going to replace. For oil is not only gasoline, but also fuel oil, lubricants, plastics, rubber, asphalt and a bunch of everything else. So it turns out that the end result with the rejection of Russian oil will be the same as with the rejection of Russian gas. They won't be able to do it.
But there is also a third one. Non-economic plan. If the European commissioners, cut off from reality, still push through the decision to abandon Russian oil (if Hungary does not veto this decision), then it will look just fine. For preferences in the form of the opportunity to continue to buy Russian energy resources (and, accordingly, will suffer the least from the consequences of Russophobic sanctions) will be given to those who are most in conflict with the leadership of the European Union. That is, the rebels will receive privileges, the obedient will receive losses. And all this will be secured by relevant documents.
Address of the President of Ukraine on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation (https://youtu.be/jVt3cLR00Bg)
Can it become black and white in spring? Is there an eternal February? Do golden words depreciate? Unfortunately, Ukraine knows the answers to all these questions. Unfortunately, these answers are yes.
Every year on May 8, together with the entire civilized world, we honor everyone who defended the planet from Nazism during the Second World War. Millions of lost lives, mutilated destinies, tortured souls and millions of reasons to say to evil: never again! We knew the price paid for this wisdom by our ancestors. They knew how important it was to preserve it and pass it on to posterity. But they did not suspect that our generation would witness the abuse of words, which, as it turned out, is far from true for everyone.
This year we say "Never Again" differently. We hear "Never Again" differently. It sounds painful, cruel. No exclamation, but with a question mark. You say: never again? Tell Ukraine about it. On February 24, the word "never" was erased. Shot and bombed. Hundreds of rockets at 4 am, which woke up the whole of Ukraine. We heard terrible explosions. We heard: again! The city of Borodyanka is one of the many victims of this crime! Behind me is one of the many witnesses! Not a military facility, not a secret base, but a simple nine-story building. Can it pose a threat to the Russian Federation, to 1/8 of the land, the second army of the world, a nuclear state? Could there be anything more ridiculous than this question? May be. 250-kilogram high-explosive bombs with which the superpower bombarded this small town. And it was dumb. It cannot say today: never again! It can't say anything today. But here everything is clear without words. Just take a look at this house. There used to be walls here. Once they had photographs. And in the photo were those who once went through the hell of war. Fifty men who were sent to Germany for forced labor. Those who were burned alive when the Nazis burned over 100 huts here. 250 soldiers who died on the fronts of World War II, and almost a thousand residents of Borodyanka who fought and defeated Nazism. To never again. They fought for the future of children, for the life that was here until February 24th. Imagine how people went to bed in each of these apartments. They wish each other good night. Turn off the light. Hug loved ones. They close their eyes. Dream about something. There is complete silence. They all fall asleep, not knowing that everyone will not wake up. They are fast asleep. They dream of something pleasant. But in a few hours they will be awakened by rocket explosions. And some will never wake up again. Never again.
The word "never" was dropped from this slogan. Amputated during the so-called special operation. They plunged a knife into the heart and, looking into the eyes, said: “This is not us!” They tortured us with the words "not everything is so simple." Killed "Never again" by saying "We can do it again." And so it happened. And the freaks started repeating. And our cities, which survived the terrible occupation - so much so that 80 years are not enough to forget about it - saw the occupier again. And they got the second occupation date in history. And some, like, for example, Mariupol, the third. After two years of occupation, the Nazis killed 10,000 civilians in it. After two months of occupation, the Russian Federation killed 20 thousand.
A decade after World War II, darkness has returned to Ukraine. And it went back to black and white. Again! Evil is back. Again! In a different form, under different slogans, but with the same goal. In Ukraine staged a bloody reconstruction of Nazism. Fanatic imitation of this regime. His ideas, actions, words and symbols. Maniacal - to the details - reproduction of its atrocities and "alibis", which seem to give an evil sacred purpose. The repetition of its crimes and even attempts to surpass the "teacher" and move him from the pedestal of the greatest evil in the history of mankind. Set a new world record for xenophobia, hatred, racism and the number of victims they can lead to.
Never again! It was an ode to a smart man! Anthem of the civilized world! But someone faked it. Disfigured "Never Again" with notes of doubt. He drowned out, starting his deadly aria of evil. And this is clear to all countries that saw the horrors of Nazism with their own eyes. And today they feel terrible deja vu. See again! All peoples branded as “third class”, slaves without the right to their own state or even to exist, hear statements that present one nation, while others are easily deleted. They say that you really do not exist, you are artificially created, which means that you have no rights. Everyone hears the language of evil. Again! And together they recognize the painful truth: we did not even last a century. Our Never again lasted 77 years. We missed evil. It has been reborn. Again and now. Аgain and now!
This is understood by all countries and all peoples who support Ukraine today. And, despite the new mask, the beast is recognized. For, unlike some, they remember what our ancestors fought for and against. They did not confuse the first with the second, did not change their places, did not forget. The Poles did not forget, on whose land the Nazis began their march and fired the first shot of the Second World War. Do not forget how at first evil accuses you, provokes you, calls you an aggressor, and then attacks at 4:45 and says that this is self-defense. And they saw how it happened again in our land. They remember Nazi-destroyed Warsaw. And they see what they did to Mariupol. The British did not forget how the Nazis wiped Coventry from the face of the earth, which was bombed 41 times. How the Luftwaffe's "Moonlight Sonata" sounded when 11 o'clock continuously struck the city. How they destroyed its historical center, factories, St. Michael's Cathedral. And they saw how rockets were beaten around Kharkov. How its historical center, factories and the Holy Assumption Cathedral were distorted. They remember how London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights. How "V" fell on Belfast, Portsmouth, Liverpool. And they see how cruise missiles arrive in Nikolaev, Kramatorsk, Chernigov. They remember how they beat Birmingham. And they see how it goes to its sister city Zaporozhye. The Dutch remember this. How Rotterdam became the first city to suffer total destruction when the Nazis dropped 97 tons of bombs on it. The French remember this. They remember Oradour-sur-Glane, where the SS burned alive half a thousand women and children. Mass hangings in Tulle, a massacre in the village of Ask. Thousands of resistance action in occupied Lille. They saw what they did in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Volnovakha, Trostyanets. They see how they occupied Kherson, Melitopol, Berdyansk and other cities where people do not surrender. And they go to many thousands of peaceful actions that are beyond the power of the occupier, and all they can do is shoot at peaceful people. The Czechs have not forgotten this. How, in less than a day, the Nazis destroyed Lidice, leaving the village as a complete ruin. They saw how they destroyed Popasnaya. Not even ashes were left of it. The Greeks, who survived the massacres and executions throughout the territory, the blockade and the great famine, did not forget. This is remembered by the Americans who fought evil on two fronts. Past Pearl Harbor and Dunkirk along with the allies. And we all go through new, no less difficult battles together.
Everyone who survived the Holocaust remembers this, how one nation can strongly hate another. This was not forgotten by the Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Danes, Georgians, Armenians, Belgians, Norwegians and many others- all those who suffered from Nazism in their own land, and all those who defeated it as part of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Unfortunately, there are those who, having survived all these crimes, having lost millions of people who fought for victory and won it, today desecrated the memory of them and their feat. The one who allowed the cities of Ukraine to be shelled from his land, next to our ancestors, was fired by his ancestors. The one who spat in the face of his "Immortal Regiment", placing executioners from Bucha next to him. And challenged all mankind. But I forgot about the main thing: any evil always ends the same way - it ends.
Watch "Press conference of the defenders of Mariupol from Azovstal blocked by the Russians"
https://youtu.be/GmRWPOoESGQ
Dear Hans-Georg Petersen,
Is the G20 able to solve the upcoming global problem, which will be discussed below? Just what Germany said about it from
https://news.mail.ru/economics/51217767/?frommail=1
Germany has warned of the worst famine since World War II.
According to the economy minister, the world is facing "the worst famine since World War II" due to drought, the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
The drought, the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the fighting in Ukraine threaten to exacerbate the situation of hunger around the world. This was stated in an interview with Bild by the Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, Svenja Schulze. According to her, food prices around the world have risen by a third and are at a record level.
“The World Food Program estimates that 300 million people in the world suffer from hunger, and these estimates are constantly being adjusted upwards. The sad news is that we are facing the worst famine since World War II, with millions dead,” she said.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, world food and fertilizer prices have risen by an order of magnitude. So, in March, food prices rose by 12.6%, to 159.3 points, which was a record for almost 30 years - since 1990, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported. This dynamics was the result of a significant rise in prices for vegetable oils (by 23.2% in March versus February) and grain crops (by 17.1%).
Russia and Ukraine are one of the largest grain suppliers in the world, according to data from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture. In the 2021/22 season, which began in July, Russia accounted for 16% of world wheat exports, Ukraine for 10%.
According to the FAO, almost 50 states depend on food supplies from Russia and Ukraine, which provide at least 30% of their wheat import needs with their help.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also warned that the world could face a food crisis. He called for the return of fertilizers and products from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to world markets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in late March of the risk of food shortages. He pointed out that the current situation hinders the sowing campaign. “The most terrible will be the famine that is approaching for different countries,” he stressed.
In turn, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in early May promised assistance to countries that may face famine. “We already have to worry about the fact that there are people who will die of hunger, that there are countries that can no longer afford grain,” said the head of Germany.
Now it becomes clear "Why Russia is in no hurry to fight with Ukraine." Soon the West will run out not only of all the Javalins, but also of ordinary food. As they say in Russia, "Западу придется положить зубы на полку" (the West "will have to put its teeth on the shelf"). As for Russia, there is no such problem, there are reserves, and the export of grain is prohibited. Russia will survive in any case.
russia has a honor to create absolutely original state called Idiotocracy
The English idiot originally meant “ignorant person,” but the more usual reference now is to a person who lacks basic intelligence or common sense rather than education.
All russian trolls and supporters should be happy presenting absurd ideas of russian greatness and humiliation simultaneously!
Slavery is Freedom, War is Peace, Truth is Lie!
Thinking?
Unexpected consequences were caused by the global campaign of the United States Department of State to force the entire world, whether it wants it or not, to join their sanctions and obstruction against Russia, as well as information stuffing about the fact that NATO should not be a North Atlantic, but a global alliance. That is, not only the Big Boring Saint - One Bottle, but also the World Gendarme loomed on the horizon. An exceptionally familiar situation, especially in Africa, where decolonization has recently taken place in the vast majority of countries - less than 60 years have passed. Call it at least democratization, at least new imperialism, at least the second edition of gunboat diplomacy - that's not the point. But everyone understands where the Americans are driving.
Accordingly, they press, press, press and hint, or even openly say what and from whom they want, only there is very little sense from this, at least in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Including, by the way, the traditional allies and partners of the United States and the countries of the Western bloc in general. So, the idea of the revival of the Non-Aligned Movement that has suddenly arisen among the leaders of African countries has every chance of success. Fortunately, Putin does not ask anyone to join us and does not ask him personally for any reason - it's only the Americans that pester the whole world like a bath list. Well, at least there will be a reason for a bunch of countries to send them away in a relatively polite manner, since they can’t calm down in any way, or they don’t want to ...
Everything that has been said about the situation with Mexico, Turkey and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf is exceptionally noticeable and indicative. Mexico City is not only a neighbor of the United States, but also one of their largest partners. But the instant allocation of $ 30 billion to Kyiv for God knows what, despite the fact that Mexico City has not been able to interrogate $ 4 billion from Washington for years for the most necessary projects for the Mexicans, caused a real shock in the leadership of this country. At the same time, Ukraine for them is God knows what, located God knows where, and they are close to the United States. And suddenly such a spit in the face! Turkey is generally a member of NATO. At the same time, the Americans stubbornly want to overthrow Erdogan and do not hide it. Well, America, with its games with Iran and cries about human rights, has long been in the throat of the Arab countries.
As a result, we have the following layout. The world has clearly ceased to be unipolar and is divided into three parts unequal in terms of population and number of countries. In one, the United States and those whom they control to varying degrees and in different ways, but quite steadily, without caring too much about their interests and, even more so, about their security. In the other, those who are not controlled, such as Russia, China, Iran or Belarus. In the third, all the rest, who may well be united in their new incarnation by the reincarnation of the Non-Aligned Movement. At the same time, we repeat and emphasize: non-alignment is with the Americans. We or the Chinese look much more decent here: we don’t strain anyone and even with the enemy we behave as conventionally as possible, although without the slightest reciprocity,
There is no justification for the horror, neither in Ukraine nor in any other country; but all the recent wars have nothing to do with the civilized world, Democracy or other claimed human rights principles. It has to do with Geopolitics, Dominance, and Power: Situations today are the result of past geopolitical decisions. Future situations of war or peace will be the result of today's geopolitical decisions. And in all this, where is Europe's Geopolitical vision? the most concerned by the resulting tensions. "Those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it" Said, George Orwell. In his promontory column "The new cold war", Serge Halimi (Editorial director of Le Monde Diplomatique) wrote in 2014: In 1980 Ronald Reagan expressed his idea of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in one short sentence: “We win, they lose.” Twelve years later, his immediate successor at the White House, George H W Bush, was satisfied that the task had been accomplished: “A world once divided into two armed camps now recognises one, sole and pre-eminent power, the United States of America.”
Photo: February 4-11, 1945, Yalta, USSR — Soviet leader Stalin, American President Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Churchill seated together during the Yalta Conference, 1945. Behind them stand their respective foreign ministers; Molotov, Stettinius, and Eden. Decisions made at this conference influenced the rebuilding of Europe after WWII. Photo: US Forces available on: https://mostbeautifulpicture.com/2017/08/23/yalta-conference-february-1945/
Journalists continue to pay a heavy price for war in areas of armed conflicts. Vira Hyrych, a reporter for Radio Liberty, was killed in April when a Russian missile attack struck her apartment complex in Kyiv. She is one of at least seven journalists who have been killed in Ukraine since the war began in February, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Other conflict zone, other journalist killed, Shireen Abu Akleh, a longtime TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was killed on Wednesday while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-tuesday-edition-1.6448268/ukrainian-journalism-pulitzer-is-bittersweet-says-slain-reporter-s-colleague-1.6448270
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61403320
Russia 'most direct threat to world order': EU's von der Leyen (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220512-russia-most-direct-threat-to-world-order-eu-s-von-der-leyen-1)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel are in Japan for talks that have touched on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and beyond. Russia "is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its worrying pact with China," von der Leyen said after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, but it shakes the core of the international order including Asia. This must not be tolerated," said Kishida, whose government has joined tough sanctions on Moscow, including on energy”.
Gennady Fedulov Whome you want to scare? This might can happened if russian army succeed, but as soon as russians can kill only civilians, Ukraine will provide grain to EU.
Ukraine, despite of russian hordes invasion, already have 80% of planned crops https://minagro.gov.ua/news/12-oblastej-zavershili-sivbu-yarih-kultur-rannoyi-grupi
Your ancestors already did hunger with Ukrainians, but EU forget that nothing good can came from moscow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor
Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin is writing absolute nonsense everywhere at Research Gate.
I want to highlight to others, that USSR was similar to Germany. But even for today, russia starts counting WWII since 1941 because of the fact, that Stalin was Hitler's partner:
a) Molotov-Ribbentrop agreements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact
b) First Soviet-Finnish War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
c) German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_military_parade_in_Brest-Litovsk
From the life of aliens. The report that Donald Trump, when he was President of the United States, was seriously interested in whether the Chinese could send hurricanes to America, using them as weapons, indicates either that the politicians there have completely lost their minds, or have fallen into childhood, continuing until old age to believe in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum, whom Alexander Volkov extremely successfully turned into the good Wizard of the Emerald City. The girl Ellie from Kansas, the doggie Totoshka, the hurricane that picked up the van... True, in the original source, he brought it down on the head of an evil sorceress, but in real life, neither Hillary Clinton, nor Nancy Pelosi, nor Kamala Harris anything flew over their heads.
Note that it was Trump, and he is one of the best in today's political America! Although relatively recently, the poisonous cartoon "South Park" over the very idea that he could become president of the United States frankly jiggled. But, as it turned out, in vain. After George Martin with his "Game of Thrones" was filmed in America, not to mention Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings", the White House, the Pentagon, the CIA, the State Department and Congress face the problem that the Chinese have dragons. , especially since, as everyone knows, they were the first to come up with them at one time. But there are also mountain trolls and other fabulous evil spirits! At one time, a substantial amount was allocated to the American defense department for the fight against flying saucers!
Why are dragons worse? And why is the idea of using for military purposes by communist China against democratic America hurricanes that fall on it every year with enviable regularity? It is strange, of course, that Trump was interested in this with an eye on China, and not on Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria or Iran, but everything is still ahead. At least, Biden definitely has Putin as the ruler of Mordor, although for a long time nothing was heard about Russian hackers and somewhere in the Western media an inseparable couple, Petrov and Boshirov, disappeared. Probably in Ukraine, military operations are commanded at the head of the GRU consolidated legion ... Was it not from Ukraine that the original, very first, coronavirus-infected bat, which, starting with the Chinese (!) Wuhan, with a pandemic, stirred up the whole world with a pandemic?
Maybe Trump will say something about it? Obama? Or Biden? On the topic of American laboratories with research on military biology, including the coronavirus, and much more dangerous types of deadly diseases, and their methods of spread, including through birds and bats? How much more entertaining could the story turn out than the myths about the Chinese hurricanes, fantasy or horror? Fortunately, in America they love scary tales ... Stories about zombies, the voodoo cult in the Southern states, killer clowns and a lot of things that make normal people throw cold sweat there are the norm of life. They pick up this rubbish from childhood, and then the whole world is on the ears from their phobias and crazy experiments.
From Joint Statement EU-Japan Summit 2022
Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against independent and sovereign Ukraine grossly violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter and undermines European and global security and stability. It makes our cooperation more necessary than ever in our determination to restore peace and stability and uphold the UN Charter and international law. We strongly condemn Russia’s aggression that causes massive loss of life and suffering to civilians. Those responsible for the war crimes and the atrocities perpetrated by Russia will be held accountable and brought to justice.
The EU and Japan demand that Russia immediately stop its military aggression in the territory of Ukraine, immediately and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders. We support Ukraine in cooperation with the G7 and other like-minded countries, including by further expanding sanctions against Putin’s Russia.
Source: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/05/12/joint-statement-eu-japan-summit-2022/?utm_source=dsms-auto&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Joint+Statement+EU-Japan+Summit+2022
Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin this discussion is about russia to be dropped out from the G20, why are you posting fairytales?
G20 is the latest in a series of post–World War II initiatives aimed at international coordination of economic policy and as russia continuously breaks all possible laws and traditions, threatening and terrorizing the world community with nuclear war it should become new North Korea and be excluded from everywhere.
The statement of Russia’s representatives to the UN that Moscow no longer sees any reason for Ukraine to follow the path of joining the European Union and treats its movements in this direction as negatively as Kyiv’s attempts to join NATO, went through our Media refrain, between stanzas. Meanwhile, this event marked a significant threshold in relations between Russia and the EU, putting an end to the endless attempts at compromise between Moscow and Brussels, which never led to anything good and could not lead in principle. Including in the post-Soviet space, where all the former fraternal Soviet socialist republics have the experience of this kind of balancing between two chairs, and it is exponentially sad.
It is pointless to be offended by the Europeans for this - they are not capable of making any reasonable compromises, not having in mind to violate them and inflate their negotiating partner, no matter what was discussed. No matter how many times you sit down at the card table with a cheater, he still won’t start playing honestly. Maybe he would even be glad, but he is simply not capable of it. Can cheat. He can revise the rules of the game on the go. It is possible to refuse any obligations, including written ones. Rake everything that you can for yourself, spitting on the interests of your partners on the gaming table - even more so. But he is not capable of playing honestly by definition. Life did not teach him this. Not used to. Although, in fact, why should the European Union behave decently with us? Why is he doing this?!
Well, yes - we, it seems, are not just natives for them and, therefore, by definition, savages, but white savages. So what? Well, we have nuclear arsenals and the army is unexpectedly good, so they themselves are not going to fight with us. For this they just have Ukraine. And if things go on like this, many more may appear, from Poles and Romanians to Finns and Swedes, who are being dragged to NATO for this. But since such a booze has begun, and it is clear that the Westerners will not agree on anything with us, why the hell should we negotiate with them and demonstrate in advance our readiness to make any concessions? Moreover, anyway, no one is going to accept it there and is not going to accept the same Turkey.
However, now a fair part of the population of Ukraine is already in the European Union. Physically located, as refugees, migrants, labor migrants and whatever else. Neither Europeans nor Ukrainians seem to experience great happiness from this. It's one thing to symbolically demonstrate solidarity on the one hand and longing for Europe on the other. Symbols, they are symbols. Quite different - to live side by side. Exceptionally good for brain clearing. As for the Russian position on the very possibility of Ukraine's European integration, clearly, clearly and unambiguously stated in the UN, it sends a signal to the European Union, simple as a railway sleeper: guys, your games in the post-Soviet space will not end in anything good. It was time to negotiate, but it happened.
Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin russian position is no longer valuable. None will negotiate with terrorist.
Very funny:
No matter how many times you sit down at the card table with a cheater, he still won’t start playing honestly. Maybe he would even be glad, but he is simply not capable of it. Can cheat. He can revise the rules of the game on the go.
This is absolute true, but only about russia. russia claimed that there were no russian militaries at Crimea and Donbas at 2014. They said several times, that they will not attack Ukraine and this is just «joint military training with belarus» not the concentration of a strike group to invade Ukraine.
And now you want to play in diplomatic games?
https://charter97.org/ru/news/2022/5/15/467906/
The Empire begs for mercy
"...such a massive, intense, focused, highly professional attack by the Kremlin on Western consciousness in general, and in a cumulative design on the consciousness of decision makers in Washington. As in the battle for Donbass, all reserves are abandoned, all masks are dropped, all legends are burned, all potential agents of influence are exposed (not even suspecting that they are being used in this capacity) - from the Pope to the liberal stars of the Washington Post.
The synchronicity of actions directed from a single directing center is amazing. The signal for the start of the operation was the Victory Parade in Moscow, or rather the speech at this parade of a mumbling "morel under a blanket" that created the necessary emotional background for a suggestive impact on world public opinion. On May 10, 11, 12, and 13, volleys of Western political and analytical celebrities fired, literally repeating each other's arguments word for word. Below are the most characteristic statements of these, of course, completely independent authors, voicing the same suggested or inspired meme to different voices:
- "Don't humiliate Russians!"
- "Russia's biggest mistake, without a doubt, was the belief that the Ukrainians would not fight, or perhaps even come over to her side.
- However, now Ukraine and its Western supporters are overestimating the chances of defeating the Russian Federation on the battlefield. Russia has enough military potential to destroy the Ukrainian infrastructure, as well as to conquer and hold territories in the Donbass and on the Black Sea coast.
- The Ukrainians are fighting resolutely, but they cannot defeat Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to suffer heavily from death, displacement and destruction. But most dangerous is the risk of nuclear escalation, which persists as long as the war continues.
- A reasonable compromise remains the only real and safe course for Ukraine, Russia and the world. The world would rally around such an agreement, and Ukraine should do the same for its own survival."
- “Ukraine will remain a divided country for a long time to come, with the Russian army looming over it on the other side of the ceasefire line. Yes, this is brutal. But let Ukrainians reflect on the inspiring examples of the successful democracies of South Korea and West Germany that have emerged under such conditions. Strategic patience should be their weapon ".
- It would be a mistake on the part of the West to define its relations with Russia solely on the basis of Russia’s behavior in Ukraine.
- How can we then solve such important issues for us as the fight against global warming without the Russians, limiting the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran?!
- Above all, the US and its allies must limit their targets in Ukraine. Yes, Ukraine should, in principle, control its territory. But this does not at all justify the desire to liberate Crimea and Donbas by military force. Some of these goals would be better to try to achieve through diplomatic means.
- Western governments also need to stop any talk of prosecuting Russian officials as war criminals and reparations to Ukraine.
- US government should make clear that, contrary to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s remarks, America’s goal is not to use the war to weaken Russia"
But this whole large-scale campaign reveals to us the state of mind and the immediate plans of the KGB-imperial group of people who make decisions in Moscow today.
Today, it is not patriotism... Having uncovered all their huge agents, they made them beg the West for mercy in unison:
- Don't humiliate Russia! Do not humiliate Russia.
- Force Ukraine to agree to the division of their country..
- Do not under any circumstances raise the issue of prosecuting Russian war criminals.
- They will still be useful to us in solving the problems of global warming."
In a Tribune in El Pais, former Colombian President Juan M. Santos, Nobel Peace Prize winner, writes: Don't forget Palestine....As a friend of Israel, I feel obliged to speak out.. The world's reaction to Putin's invasion of Ukraine is rightly one of horror. Political leaders are turning to the rules-based international order to counter this unjustified act of aggression. Yet we must not forget that the neglect of these global rules and norms around the world has long undermined peace and security, and enabled impunity - not least in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To reverse this dangerous trend, leaders must uphold these rules and norms everywhere. Double standards can undermine the case for justified action. Read more on: https://english.elpais.com/opinion/2022-05-06/dont-forget-palestine.html
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Bloomberg/ Euro Is Sliding Toward Dollar Parity for First Time in 20 Years (Euro’s slump to five-year low leads funds to bet on parity/Gloomy economic outlook is fueling demand for dollars as haven), By Alice Gledhill, May 15, 2022 ...Europe’s common currency has already slumped to a five-year low near $1.03, buckling from a rush into the greenback as a haven from market turmoil and on the war in Ukraine. That’s led the likes of HSBC Holdings Plc and RBC Capital Markets to predict the two will hit parity in 2022...Read more on:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-15/euro-is-sliding-toward-dollar-parity-for-first-time-in-20-years
https://haqqin.az/news/246064
"export controls imposed on Russia will limit the access of its military-industrial sector to advanced technologies that are critical for the production of modern military equipment, which Moscow itself does not produce and now cannot acquire from other countries.
The thing is that Russian high-tech weapons are not Russian in the full sense of the word - their main components in the form of microelectronics and computers are produced in the United States and allied countries. For example, Bulava ballistic missiles use chips from the Latvian software Alfa, and American chips from Atmel and Altera are installed on board Russian submarines.
And "Forpost" turned out to be overseas! And here is the filling of the Forpost UAV, as usual, "unparalleled in the world":
- single-cylinder engine 3W-55i of the German company "3W-Modellmotoren Weinhold GmbH";
- user-programmable gate array Spartan XC3550 of the American company "Xilinx";
- elements of the fuel system from the Irish company "Tillotson";
- GPS antenna of the American company "Antcom";
- navigation modules of the Swiss manufacturer "MicroEM";
- a dynamic measuring unit (DMU02 or DMU10 - depending on the year of manufacture of the UAV), manufactured by the British company "Silicon Sensing Systems";
- RF module 9XTend 900 MHz, manufactured by the American company "Digi International";
– iEthernet W5300 network controller manufactured by the Korean company WIZnet;
– GNSS receiver NV08C-CSM of the American company NVS Technologies AG.
As you can see, the Russian here is practically only the hull and secondary elements. A similar, if not worse, picture is in the military products of the Russian aviation industry, vaunted and over-praised fighters and attack aircraft. And it makes no sense for the states of Southeast Asia to buy Russian weapons, which, without the latest technologies that Russia cannot use in them, turn into a pile of flying and crawling scrap metal. Which, moreover, turns into trash after the use of not the most expensive Western air and anti-tank defense systems."
Thinking?
"We must not underestimate the risk of a perversion of democracy, its possible reversal into its opposite when it becomes a system in which the majority imposes its will or its opinion on the minorities without discussion, with arrogance and contempt". (Translated from French) The counter-reactionaries, 2007 - Pierre-André Taguieff. I am wondering what could be the reaction of A. Taguieff if we replace "the majority" by "the minorities" and vice-versa.
The Duma registered a bill on the creation of occupational administrations in Ukraine - LIGA.net
Members of the State Duma of the Russian Federation have registered a bill that proposes to give the president of the occupying country, Vladimir Putin, the authority to create temporary administrations outside of Russia. The bill is primarily aimed at creating such structures in the occupation zone on the occupied territory of Ukraine.
During the “great war”, Russia occupied almost the entire Lugansk region, the south of the Donetsk region, most of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as the northeast of the Kharkiv region. On May 18, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin said that the Zaporozhye region should remain under occupation in a "friendly Russian family." The Russian authorities expressed the same intentions regarding the Kherson region.
https://news.liga.net/politics/news/v-dume-hotyat-nadelit-putina-polnomochiyami-sozdavat-okkupatsionnye-administratsii-v-ukraine
Russia openly declares war in Ukraine is a war with the West
Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Administration, has said this in interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti
Quote from Kiriyenko: "Equally, we understand that it is not Ukraine that Russia is fighting in the special operation on the territory of Ukraine. Rather, the united West is fighting against us on Ukrainian territory through the hands of the Ukrainians."
Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/05/19/7347318/
Why did the State Duma of the Russian Federation begin to consider a bill that allows you to create administrations outside of Russia?
The leadership of the Russian Federation considers the creation of a new Soviet Union to be the main goal for this year. This was announced by the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Denisenko on the air of the information telethon. "The main idea of the Russian Federation for this year is the creation of the Soviet Union-2. They have no more global tasks. This will allow Putin to legitimize for the rest of his life as a person who will be the lifelong president of the so-called USSR for life. It does not matter in what format he will be who will be included in it. This is a fixed idea for him, to which he has been going for 22 years," Denisenko said. It is for this, according to him, that the State Duma of the Russian Federation began to consider a bill that allows you to create administrations outside of Russia.
"In principle, permission is granted to the president, not only to Putin, but also to those who will replace him, to make a voluntaristic decision that this territory is Russia. And here there will be no need to play democratic stories or appeals of some elders," Denisenko said. He also predicted when the Russian parliament might be expected to make this decision. “Usually, several months pass from the introduction of such bills to their adoption by the State Duma. During this time, consultations are held within the elites, certain sociological measurements begin in the Russian Federation. In this case, I think that this is a process that has begun, in general, the probability of its adoption is more than high," Denisenko said.
https://www.unian.net/russianworld/ekspert-ozvuchil-magistralnuyu-ideyu-fiks-putina-na-etot-god-novosti-rossii-11833704.html
Elena V. Sukhovaya What is indisputable is that Ukrainians as all peoples on the planet have the absolute and inalienable right to defend their territory, using all means including communication. I nevertheless have a small problem with this speech of the Ukrainian authorities by diffusing titles of the type "Russia openly declares war in Ukraine is a war with the West". I had gone to look in the article but the contents of the declarations are not in line with the title which contains a message that I have difficulty interpreting. Could you enlighten me a little bit on the objectives of such a form of communication? what is the message that politics in Ukraine want to convey to Europe and to the whole world? What should they concretely do (Europe & the world) to answer the Ukrainian desire?
The Russian Federation suffers catastrophic losses in the war and changes its propaganda.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the regime of Vladimir Putin ordered the media in propaganda to focus the attention of Russians on "the opposition of the Russian army to all the countries of the European Union and NATO”. “Having numerous advantages in manpower and equipment, the army of the occupying country suffers catastrophic losses and defeats from the defenders of Ukraine. In order to change the perception of Russians about military "invincibility" and prepare society for possible defeat, the Russian media were ordered to talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war as an armed confrontation between the Russian Federation and all countries of the European Union and NATO. According to Kremlin political technologists, this will lessen the shame of losing to a more powerful adversary like Ukraine."
Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/05/10/7345246/
Elena V. Sukhovaya Thanks for the response even though indirect. This is precisely what I cannot assimilate: If as you said which I can understand "Russian media were ordered to talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war as an armed confrontation between the Russian Federation and all countries of the European Union and NATO", why then do Ukrainian politicians will hold the same discourse, will they relay it, and even extrapolate the message behind it? I find that contradictory! What do you think?
Le Parisien, Le 19 mai 2022, (translated from French) A totally unwarranted invasion of Iraq… I mean Ukraine: "George W. Bush’s Lapsus in the form of a confession. During a speech about the war in Ukraine, the former US president criticized the invasion led by Vladimir Putin. But he made a small slip that did not go unnoticed". Amazing See:
https://www.leparisien.fr/international/une-invasion-totalement-injustifiee-de-lirak-je-veux-dire-de-lukraine-le-lapsus-en-forme-daveu-de-george-w-bush-19-05-2022-KLMW3TGXBNE6NGI6GRUU3SANC4.php
42 countries are ready to join the suit of Ukraine against the Russian Federation in the International Court of Justice.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about this on his Twitter page. "42 states sided with Ukraine in the case against the Russian Federation in the International Court of Justice and announced their intention to join our lawsuit. I am grateful to the partners who chose the right side of history. This is the side of truth, international law and justice. Together we will hold the Russian Federation accountable", Zelensky says.
Earlier, the Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denys Malyuska said that the tribunal to hold Russia accountable for armed aggression would be formed within the framework of the International Court of Justice, but it could also be a separate structure. According to him, the establishment of the International Tribunal requires an agreement by many countries, which should be formalized by an international agreement.
"Such an agreement and such an international treaty should receive international support from international organizations. First of all, of course, the UN General Assembly is considered," Maliuska said.
Source: https://www.unian.net/war/42-strany-gotovy-prisoedinitsya-k-isku-ukrainy-protiv-rf-v-mezhdunarodnom-sude-oon-novosti-vtorzheniya-rossii-na-ukrainu-11834592.html
Elena V. Sukhovaya Could we see in this highly anticipated massive happy engagement, a long-awaited prelude to massive military engagement against evil Russia? Otherwise, this never hurts! (ça ne mange pas de pain!) would say a French. This comes in the same vein of my previous interrogation about your previous post, I recall here: This is precisely what I cannot assimilate: If as you said which I can understand "Russian media were ordered to talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war as an armed confrontation between the Russian Federation and all countries of the European Union and NATO", why then do Ukrainian politicians will hold the same discourse, will they relay it, and even extrapolate the message behind it? I find that contradictory! What do you think?
BBC: Russia has halted its gas supply to Finland - the latest escalation of an energy payments row with the West. Russia's gas giant Gazprom confirmed it had completely halted exports to Finland at 04:00 GMT on Saturday. Finland said all the deliveries had stopped, but added there would be no disruption to customers. Helsinki has been refusing to pay for its supplies in roubles. But the cut-off also follows an announcement that Finland will apply for Nato membership. Despite its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Russia continues to supply gas to many European countries. After Western powers sanctioned Russia over the war, Russia said "unfriendly" countries must pay for gas using the Russian currency, a move the EU considers blackmail. Reliance on Russian energy is a contributing factor in the cost-of-living crisis faced by many consumers....Read more on: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61524933
German intelligence learned about neo-Nazis in the ranks of the Russian forces in Ukraine.
German intelligence has information that in the ranks of the Russian forces involved in the war in Ukraine, there are members of Russian right-wing radical and neo-Nazi organizations. This is reported by Spiegel, referring to a confidential document of the Federal Intelligence Service. The seven-page review was given to several federal ministries last week.
The document states that members of at least two right-wing groups, the Russian Imperial League and Rusich, are participating in the war against Ukraine, and that the Kremlin is cooperating with at least one right-wing individual for its own purposes. The authors of the review write that cooperation with such groups "reduces the 'denazification of Ukraine' as the alleged cause of the war to absurdity."
Sources:
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/ukraine-krieg-organisierte-neonazi-gruppen-kaempfen-fuer-russland-geheimdienstbericht-a-f1632333-6801-47b3-99b9-650d85a51a52
https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/05/22/7347804/
The UN compared the refusal to unblock Ukrainian ports with a declaration of war on the world.
Refusal to unblock Ukrainian ports would be a "declaration of war" on global food security, says UN World Food Program Director David Beasley. He warned that without Ukrainian grain, which cannot be exported in the required quantity along land routes, the world is threatened by starvation destabilization and forced mass migration. David Beasley said that it's vital that we can open these ports because it's not just about Ukraine. It's about the poorest of the poor in the world who are on the brink of starvation.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also believes that Putin deliberately uses food, primarily grain, as a weapon against the world.
Source: https://news.liga.net/politics/news/v-oon-sravnili-otkaz-razblokirovat-ukrainskie-porty-s-obyavleniem-voyny-miru