Read more at:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-to-host-putin-erdogan-rouhani-summit-on-syria/
Showing posts with label Vladimir Putin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vladimir Putin. Show all posts
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Monday, November 26, 2018
World War III ? Russia vs Ukraine War? Ukrainian President Says Neighbor Is Preparing Ground Attack - by Cristina Maza
During a televised speech on Monday in which he outlined his case for
imposing martial law, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko claimed that
his country’s intelligence service had evidence that Russia was
preparing a ground attack.
Poroshenko's speech was given after Russia blocked three Ukrainian navy vessels from passing from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait on Sunday. The incident was a major escalation of the tensions that have existed between the two countries ever since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and began backing armed separatists in the country in 2014. Poroshenko is close to imposing martial law in Ukraine, which would allow the military to run the country, saying it was necessary for Ukraine’s security.
Many experts said Russia’s attack on Ukrainian naval ships on Sunday was a game changer.
“The big story here is that Russia’s armed forces, in broad daylight, launched an attack on Ukrainian navy ships. This crosses a new line. Moscow, of course, seized Crimea with its military, but under the guise of unidentified ‘little green men.’
Moscow has been conducting a not-quite-covert war in Donbass. Yes, there are thousands of Russian officers there and they control the fighting, but Moscow denies it. In this case, there is no denial,” John Herbst, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006, told Newsweek.
Note EU-Digest : For those of us remembering our history classes, this is starting to resemble very much how the second world war started, when on October 1, 1938, Adolf Hitler's army marched into the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.
This accelerating Nazi Germany's aggressive World War II offensive.
At that time Europe also was divided, as it is now over Brexit, and to make natters even worse, the US, which used to be the West's major defender of Democracy, has now taken an isolationism turn under the leadership of a not too bright, ego-maniac President, who is in charge of a dysfunctional government, and a population, divided in two polarized camps.
Putin looking at this picture is probably thinking in the same way as Hitler thought back in 1939. "this is a window of opportunity and it appears there is no need to pull down the shades." Bottom-line, we in the West, and specially the EU, could become involved in a major war pretty soon, if we don't get our act together.
Read more: Russia vs. Ukraine War? Ukrainian President Says Neighbor Is Preparing Ground Attack
Monday, June 11, 2018
EU in the danger zone: The United States and Russia Target Germany - by Judy Dempsey
Europe is not in good shape.
Italy now has a government of leftist and rightist populists in power. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is telling the opposition party in Macedonia to reject a proposed deal between Skopje and Athens to resolve the dispute over Macedonia’s name.
Forget the fact that an end to this conflict would fill one of the security vacuums in this part of the Western Balkans, which should enhance European security. Macedonia could join NATO which Greece, until now, had vetoed because of the name issue.
More worrying, is that what is taking place in Europe today is, unwittingly, a collusion of interests between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
These interests are about dividing the EU. In the case of the United States, these policies undermine the transatlantic alliance and weaken the West’s projection of its values. But above all, these interests are about undermining Germany, and in particular Angela Merkel, who has been chancellor of Europe’s biggest economy since 2005.
So why are Russia and the Trump administration targeting Merkel?
Let’s take Russia.
Once she became chancellor in late 2005, Merkel slowly chiseled away at the policies of her Social Democrat predecessor Gerhard Schröder. The former German chancellor had established very close links with Putin, even referring to him as “an impeccable democrat.”
Merkel was having none of that. She reached out to Russia’s civil society activists. She spoke her mind with Putin. By the time the Russian president had illegally annexed Crimea in March 2014, Merkel knew where she stood with him.
Putin underestimated Merkel’s ability to get all EU member states on board to impose sanctions on Russia. Yet she did it. That weakened, to a big degree, the pro-Russia wings in Germany’s Social Democratic Party. The party’s “Ostpolitik”—or eastern policy that was based on rapprochement with Russia—was put on hold. So far, that Merkel line has held.
It hasn’t been easy. Both Germany’s pro-Russian Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Italy’s new government want to end the sanctions on Russia. There were similar calls to lift the sanctions during Putin’s fulsome welcome by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna on June 5.
Putin is intent on dividing the EU, which means undermining Merkel’s authority. Needless to say, he denied that during an interview with Austria’s public TV channel ORF: “We do not pursue the objective of dividing anything or anyone in the EU,” he said.
As for Trump, his policies are far more dangerous because, for the first time since World War II, the leader of the West is trying to isolate and undermine Germany. That means weakening Europe and the alliance.
This goes against the strategic policies of every, successive American administration since 1945. Policies that have been unflinchingly committed to building a Western, and later united, Europe anchored on the Franco-German alliance and “embedded” in what is today’s European Union.
Yes, there were big differences and quarrels over the deployment of U.S. Pershing missiles in West Germany in the 1980s and later the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The point is that the alliance and the EU managed to hold together. So why are Trump and his emissaries now trying to do the opposite?
One reason is that Trump sees allies not based on values but based on short-term American interests in which allies are chosen at random. Yet slapping protectionist trade measures on key allies such as Mexico, Canada, and Europe on the spurious grounds of national security begs the question why the United States should be doing business with non-democratic or authoritarian countries such as Egypt or China. Do they enhance America’s security?
Second, Trump’s attack on Europe is not just about trade and spending more on defense—issues that the U.S. president will no doubt raise at next month’s NATO summit in Brussels. It is about Germany. Or rather it is about Angela Merkel.
Merkel has refused to pander to Trump since the day he was elected. She stood up to him on trade and climate change issues during the 2017 G20 and G7 meetings. She endured humiliation when he gave her limited time during her recent visit to Washington in April. And all the while, Trump’s new ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, has spoken about “empowering anti-establishment European leaders.”
Merkel, for the moment, has wisely shrugged off Grenell’s statements and interviews by leaving it to others to respond. But what Merkel cannot shrug off is how the American administration is singling out Germany for its trade surplus, for its car exports to the United States (forget the fact that the German car industry combined has created 110,000 jobs in America), for its refugee policy, and for its policy toward Russia. In short, for its status in Europe.
It’s as if the United States was trying to set other EU countries against Germany, especially given Berlin’s anti-austerity policies in dealing with indebted eurozone countries. All the more reason for EU heads of state and government to rally behind a leader that has shown some spunk when it comes to dealing with Putin, refugees, and Trump. And for keeping the EU together.
Read more: The United States and Russia Target Germany - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Italy now has a government of leftist and rightist populists in power. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is telling the opposition party in Macedonia to reject a proposed deal between Skopje and Athens to resolve the dispute over Macedonia’s name.
Forget the fact that an end to this conflict would fill one of the security vacuums in this part of the Western Balkans, which should enhance European security. Macedonia could join NATO which Greece, until now, had vetoed because of the name issue.
More worrying, is that what is taking place in Europe today is, unwittingly, a collusion of interests between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
These interests are about dividing the EU. In the case of the United States, these policies undermine the transatlantic alliance and weaken the West’s projection of its values. But above all, these interests are about undermining Germany, and in particular Angela Merkel, who has been chancellor of Europe’s biggest economy since 2005.
So why are Russia and the Trump administration targeting Merkel?
Let’s take Russia.
Once she became chancellor in late 2005, Merkel slowly chiseled away at the policies of her Social Democrat predecessor Gerhard Schröder. The former German chancellor had established very close links with Putin, even referring to him as “an impeccable democrat.”
Merkel was having none of that. She reached out to Russia’s civil society activists. She spoke her mind with Putin. By the time the Russian president had illegally annexed Crimea in March 2014, Merkel knew where she stood with him.
Putin underestimated Merkel’s ability to get all EU member states on board to impose sanctions on Russia. Yet she did it. That weakened, to a big degree, the pro-Russia wings in Germany’s Social Democratic Party. The party’s “Ostpolitik”—or eastern policy that was based on rapprochement with Russia—was put on hold. So far, that Merkel line has held.
It hasn’t been easy. Both Germany’s pro-Russian Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Italy’s new government want to end the sanctions on Russia. There were similar calls to lift the sanctions during Putin’s fulsome welcome by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna on June 5.
Putin is intent on dividing the EU, which means undermining Merkel’s authority. Needless to say, he denied that during an interview with Austria’s public TV channel ORF: “We do not pursue the objective of dividing anything or anyone in the EU,” he said.
As for Trump, his policies are far more dangerous because, for the first time since World War II, the leader of the West is trying to isolate and undermine Germany. That means weakening Europe and the alliance.
This goes against the strategic policies of every, successive American administration since 1945. Policies that have been unflinchingly committed to building a Western, and later united, Europe anchored on the Franco-German alliance and “embedded” in what is today’s European Union.
Yes, there were big differences and quarrels over the deployment of U.S. Pershing missiles in West Germany in the 1980s and later the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The point is that the alliance and the EU managed to hold together. So why are Trump and his emissaries now trying to do the opposite?
One reason is that Trump sees allies not based on values but based on short-term American interests in which allies are chosen at random. Yet slapping protectionist trade measures on key allies such as Mexico, Canada, and Europe on the spurious grounds of national security begs the question why the United States should be doing business with non-democratic or authoritarian countries such as Egypt or China. Do they enhance America’s security?
Second, Trump’s attack on Europe is not just about trade and spending more on defense—issues that the U.S. president will no doubt raise at next month’s NATO summit in Brussels. It is about Germany. Or rather it is about Angela Merkel.
Merkel has refused to pander to Trump since the day he was elected. She stood up to him on trade and climate change issues during the 2017 G20 and G7 meetings. She endured humiliation when he gave her limited time during her recent visit to Washington in April. And all the while, Trump’s new ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, has spoken about “empowering anti-establishment European leaders.”
Merkel, for the moment, has wisely shrugged off Grenell’s statements and interviews by leaving it to others to respond. But what Merkel cannot shrug off is how the American administration is singling out Germany for its trade surplus, for its car exports to the United States (forget the fact that the German car industry combined has created 110,000 jobs in America), for its refugee policy, and for its policy toward Russia. In short, for its status in Europe.
It’s as if the United States was trying to set other EU countries against Germany, especially given Berlin’s anti-austerity policies in dealing with indebted eurozone countries. All the more reason for EU heads of state and government to rally behind a leader that has shown some spunk when it comes to dealing with Putin, refugees, and Trump. And for keeping the EU together.
Read more: The United States and Russia Target Germany - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Britain - Russian Spy Case - Putin is 'tearing up the international rulebook' - EU must show solidarity against Putin's Mafia practises regardless of BREXIT
As tensions mount between the UK and Russia over the poisoning of a former double agent on British soil, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears ready to "tear up completely the rulebook of international behaviour," a senior official at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank has told Euronews.
Prime Minister Theresa May gave Russia until midnight on Tuesday to explain how former spy Serguei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the southern English city of Salisbury with a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union.
Moscow has fiercely denied any connection to the poisoning and says the UK is whipping up anti-Russian hysteria. RUSI International Director Jonathan Eyal said in a Skype interview that May's move had not intended – at least initially – to be an ultimatum.
"As the British prime minister sees it, she was basically trying to give the Russians at least a possibility of getting out of a difficult situation. She hinted at the possibility that they may suggest that these are chemical compounds that have escaped from government control," Eyal said.
"But it is already clear that there is nobody in Moscow in any mood whatsoever at the moment to take that elegant way out and to prevent a much bigger showdown."
Eyal says the UK could cripple the Russian embassy in London by expelling a raft of diplomats, including the Russian ambassador. But any diplomatic retaliation would be more effective if the UK could show it has the support of its European allies.
"I think what will be watched very carefully in Moscow is if Britain is out on a limb on this one, or if the British government manages to carry its allies with it," Eyal said
May, who said on Monday (March 12) it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the Skripal poisoning, has already won support from the European Union, which denounced the attack as "shocking."
"As things currently stand, it appears that President Putin in Moscow believes that there is no hope for any good relations with the West, and therefore it’s his turn to tear up completely the rulebook of international behaviour."
Note EU-Digest: Now is the time for the EU to stand firm together with Britain and provide complete support against these Mafia practices of President Vladimir Putin's Government. This is also the time for the EU to put Brexit on the back burner and take up the fight against these totally unacceptable crimes committed on the territory of Britain (EU) by a foreign power.
As to the lip service provided by the US President Trump to Theresa May, one should consider these assurances of support "dubious", given that the US Trump Administrations relationship with the Russian government is still under investigation by the FBI.
EU-Digest
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Russia: Vladimir Putin's Top Critic Arrested as Russians Protest Election - by Damien Sharkov
 |
| Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin |
Anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny mobilized two waves of protests in dozens of cities last year, incensed at the reported wealth of government officials under Putin’s protection.
As Putin announced last month he is seeking re-election in March’s presidential vote, Navalny has repeatedly called for a boycott at the ballot boxes in a bid to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Putin’s campaign by lowering turnout.
While Navalny is regularly arrested at his rallies, police went a step further in the early afternoon on Sunday, forcing their way into Navalny’s office and detaining six members of his team in a raid, according to independent monitoring group OVD-Info.
Protests gripped not only Moscow but Russia’s second most important city, St. Petersburg, as well as cities in the country’s east.
“They are the future of Russia,” Navalny tweeted with a photo of two young protesters. “Putin and his band of thieves are her past.”
Friday, April 21, 2017
France: Champs-Elysées terror shooting impact on the French election? Could LePen Presidency increase terrorism?
 |
| Terrorism or manipulation ?: The French Presidential Elections |
The news that a policeman had been shot dead on the famous Champs-Elysées avenue broke as the 11 presidential candidates were appearing live on TV in a show dubbed “15 minutes to convince” France.
The far-right Marine Le Pen had not long finished her 15-minute slot when it became clear that France had been hit by another jihadist attack against its forces of law and order. An attack quickly claimed by terror group Isis.
Authorities had long feared an Isis-inspired or organised attack in the run-up to the election, as it would represent not just a symbolic attack on democracy, but also a chance to perhaps influence the result to their liking, with a victory for Le Pen fitting in with their desire to divide France's communities.
Hence the reason the government extended the state of emergency to cover the campaign.
The immediate impact of Thursday night's attack saw Marine Le Pen, François Fillon and Emmanuel Macron announce they were suspending their campaigns. They all cancelled meetings on Friday, the last official day of campaigning.
Although events have been cancelled the candidates haven’t quite gone quiet.
Marine Le Pen, who has seen her campaign tail off in recent weeks launched an attack on previous governments.
Mrs. Le Pen, however, has several major supporters in Europe and the US, including President Putin and President Trump
Marine Le Penn went to Russia only recently and met with President Putin and has often also praised President Trump on his foreign and immigrant policies.
Yesterday, right after the attack in Paris, Mr. Trump went live on US TV and deplored not only the attack in Franc, but also indirectly mingled in French politics, supporting Marine Le Penn by saying that the attack will have a "big impact" on the polls in France, as they relate to the Sunday Presidential elections there.
Unfortunately, US president Donald Trump, whose own populist victory was celebrated by Marine Le Pen, used this deplorable attack in France to once again show his loyalty to fellow populist right-wing nationalist politicians in Europe - just as he had done earlier in the week, after the contested Turkish Referendum, by congratulating Turkish "strongman" Erdogan with his so-called victory.
Even though the Paris Champs-Elysées terrorist carried a note on himself showing support for ISIS, one can only hope that the French criminal investigators will scrupulously investigate this case to eliminate all possible doubts, as to the motives of this attack, so close to the French Presidential elections
EU-Digest
Friday, December 2, 2016
Russia sets out its policy on terrorism, nuclear war & global ties in new Foreign Policy Concept
The document specifies Moscow's position on key global issues, highlighting its relations with the US, EU, China and other countries.
Published on Thursday, the concept is now in force, replacing the previous one from 2013. Moscow's "views on core principles, priority directions, aims and tasks of the Russian foreign policy" are stated in the document of almost 40 pages.
Putin: We won’t allow infringement of Russia’s rights, will decide our own fate Saying that Russia pursues an independent foreign policy based both on national interests and respect for international law, the concept states that Moscow's policy is "open, foreseeable" and "shaped by centuries" of Russia's historic role in the development of global civilization.
"Russia is fully aware of its special responsibility for maintaining security in the world both on global and regional levels, and is aimed at cooperative actions with all concerned states in the interest to solve common issues," the document says.
Moscow calls for "creation of a broad international anti-terrorist coalition, firmly based on a legal framework, and effective and systematic cooperation among states," the document says. No "double standards" should have a place in such a coalition, which should become the main force to fight global terrorism.
Read more: Russia sets out its policy on terrorism, nuclear war & global ties in new Foreign Policy Concept — RT News
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