Exclusive-Chevron set to trade Venezuelan oil if U.S. relaxes sanctions -sources
Marianna Parraga and Matt Spetalnick
·5 min read
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chevron is seen at the company's office in Caracas
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By Marianna Parraga and Matt Spetalnick
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Chevron Corp. is preparing to take operating control of its joint ventures in Venezuela if Washington relaxes sanctions on Caracas to boost crude supplies after banning Russia's oil imports, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The U.S. oil major has begun assembling a trading team to market oil from Venezuela, two of the people said. If U.S. approvals are received, Chevron aims to expand its role in the four joint ventures it shares with state-run company PDVSA, they added.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin has only made the NATO Western defense alliance “stronger” through his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The NATO alliance is stronger and Russia is weaker because of what Putin has done. That is very clear to us,” Harris told reporters alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.
“We must set additional sanctions against Russia. We cannot tolerate such military activity that carries with it hallmarks of genocide,” Duda added.
“Because no one has any doubts that... if regular people are being killed, if bombs and rockets are being launched at residential areas where there are no military installations, then that is barbarity.”
Both leaders condemned Russia’s bombing of a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s Mariupol on Wednesday, with Harris calling it “an act of violence – unprovoked, unjustified.”
“We have been witnessing for weeks and certainly just in the last 24 hours atrocities of unimaginable proportion,” she added.
To justify invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has painted Russia as a hegemonic power re-asserting its rightful claim to imperial greatness. Yet even before the invasion, Russia’s economic capabilities were hardly capable of sustaining an empire.
Now, with foreign sanctions presiding over a plummeting Russian ruble, Russia’s economic standing has fallen further still. If measured at today’s exchange rates, Russia’s economy would be the 22nd largest in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) not much larger than the state of Ohio’s.
The Netherlands and other Nato countries will continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine even as these deliveries could become the target of Russian attacks, Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Wednesday.
“The Netherlands and other countries will continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine”, Ollongren said at her arrival for a meeting with Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
“Ukraine has the right to defend itself, we will continue to support it.”
Russia is losing both wars – the propaganda war and the one on the ground
Three weeks into a war that was supposed to last three days and, to adapt the famous euphemism employed by Emperor Hirohito in 1945 after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Russia’s advantage". It certainly seems to be so on the propaganda front.
The latest dissident to make the headlines is actually a bit of a professional in the field. Marina Ovsyannikova, a producer on the primetime Russian state TV news show, leapt onto the set with a banner declaring that viewers shouldn’t believe the propaganda. Her message, “No war, stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here”, was backed up with a passionate online video. She hasn’t been seen since, naturally.
Gen. Kellogg: Russia is losing this war and 'everybody sees it'
KEITH KELLOGG: Every day that goes by, and we're now getting a day 15, they're losing this war. They're... losing in the information space where the entire world to see what's going on. They're losing in the military space. They're being beaten by Ukrainians and the whole world is going ‘what? We thought these guys were really 10 feet tall.' They're not. They're about five point five. It's almost like they're… I hate to say this because I'm probably insulting the state… but it's almost like the Vermont National Guard with nuclear weapons. They're not performing very well at all. Everybody is saying that. Everybody sees it.
The desperation of the crumbling country is becoming apparent... Putin's days are numbered.
Russian state TV calls for REPARATIONS from the US over sanctions: Putin's lapdogs demand return of 'Alaska and California's Fort Ross', threaten nuclear strikes on US, and call for public hangings in Ukraine
Moscow-backed pundits have also begun normalizing the idea of publicly hanging Ukrainians who are fighting against Russia's war
State Duma member and Kremlin 'spin doctor' Oleg Matveychev appeared on a Sunday news program to share a list of demands 'after Ukraine’s demilitarization'
It includes the dissolution of NATO, lifting of sanctions, and extradition of 'war criminals' President Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Poroshenko and others
A Russian TV host railed against the US's sanctions after his two Italian villas were seized, offering a threat of nuclear strikes if not lifted in 24 hours
'You’re the thieves, our talk is short with you: a bullet to the head,' he said
DJ, short summery of what A.M. makes of the situation;
-Ukraine forces 60-70,000 military trapped in 3 pockets in Eastern Ukraine
-Zelinsky staying in Kiev (meeting with three East European politicians Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) maybe for-staying in power, if he leaves for Lviv someone else may try to "get in control" or Kiev may fall in Russian hands...
-In a military sense Ukraine may be on breaking point...(DJ-I do not find any further info on Odessa, Russian landings on West-Ukraine Black Sea coast...reports false ?)
-Russia wants Ukraine to sign a treaty with Russia on neutrality...much more then just "words"...
-China did discuss with US in Rome (Italy) on lots of things; Iran, Afghanistan, Korea, Taiwan...Ukraine just one of the subjects
-China accused US of misinformation on China-Russia relations
The Russian war in Ukraine has hit a grim milestone as the United Nations on Tuesday says that now more than three million refugees have fled the country since the invasion began late last month.
The UNHCR in its latest statement sounded the alarm that "In the coming days millions more lives will be uprooted, unless there is an immediate end to this senseless conflict." The agency said "This is now the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."
DJ Ukrainians have a legal status in the EU...for that matter are not seen as (other) refugees...may now stay/travel in the EU for two years...However I understand the UK may indicate they want to "limit the influx."..
As Chinese diplomats enter Pakistani politics after mingling with Nepal, Shekhar Gupta traces the ever-evolving Pakistan politics. Why is Imran government in panic mode ahead of voting on no- trust in episode 959 of#CutTheClutter
DJ, Pakistan is partner of China in the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor CPEC [url]http://cpec.gov.pk/[/url] or http://cpec.gov.pk/ . Imran Khan-PM of Pakistan was in Moscow meeting Putin when Russia invaded Ukraine...Both India and Pakistan want/need to make deals with Russia (from fertilizer, grain to oil, gas).
Pakistans politics are "complicated"; with lots of divisions on religion (Shia/Sunni) but also regions...The US was a "major factor" but during trump US-Pakistan relations "collapsed". One can see Pakistan as part of TIP-Turkey-Iran-Pakistan all three trying to "balance" between Russia, China, EU, Africa, Arab World, US...Ukraine, Afghanistan could become also members of such a SW-Asia/Eastern Europe cooperation...(Turkey did try to get into the EU...like Ukraine ending up on a waitinglist).
:
2019 interview with Oleksiy #Arestovych, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of #Ukraine:
'Our price for joining #NATO is a big #war with #Russia'.
So who wanted this in the first place,
Pakistan is the fifth largest country in the world by population and ranked as the 42nd largest economy in 2020 to according to IMF estimates. The United States is Pakistan’s largest export destination country, while China is Pakistan’s largest source of imports. The United States has been one of the top investors in Pakistan over the last two decades, with major U.S. investments concentrated in consumer goods, chemicals, energy, agriculture, business process out-sourcing, transportation, and communications. The United States has sought to deepen commercial ties with Pakistan, with senior officials from the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) engaging with Pakistani leaders. However, Pakistan’s significant business climate issues, including regulatory barriers, weak intellectual property protections, and discriminatory taxation, have impeded U.S. firms’ operations in the country. Pakistan has made some progress, ranking 108 in the World Bank‘s most recent Ease of Doing Business index in 2019, a 28-slot improvement from its prior review. The United States continue to work with Pakistan to achieve further business climate enhancements.
Russia has been accused by Britain, the US, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway of war crimes in Ukraine, as Paris claimed Vladimir Putin was only pretending to be interested in negotiating a peace deal, Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh report.
The six nations challenged Russia before a UN security council meeting as the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said there was now “very, very strong evidence” of war crimes being committed by Russian forces.
“Vladimir Putin is behind them,” Truss said.
It is ultimately a matter for the international criminal court to decide who is or isn’t a war crime and for us to bring the evidence.
THE BIG PICTURE The Empire of Lies is goading Germany and Russia to war. Wet dream: use it to re-capture Eurasia from Russia-China. Ukraine is merely a ploy in an attempt to break up a potential Bismarckian Germany, Russia and China alliance covering all of Eurasia.
CENSORED: YouTube/Google are offended by my criticism of the Military Industrial Complex and my advocacy for negotiated settlement in Ukraine, because they are the social media arm of that warmongering Power Elite/MIC.
#Russia is fighting a NATO trained/equipped army in #Ukraine, a battle that the #US prepared since 2014 when the army was only 120,000 men and become 450,000 men, notwithstanding the dear economic situation. This is what I told
-unwelcome facts-it looks more and more the US did plan this war for years...goal; end EurAsian integration...It is the only way to explain why biden is escalating the war...not de-escalating...The US elite want this war...
DJ, in short; Most of the fighting in Eastern Ukraine...not that much in Kiev, Charkov...Ukraine forces are losing terrain in East Ukraine...
Putin claiming "all going as planned"-Ukraine government not willing to come to an agreement...
Western aid will only prolong the fighting, not change the outcome
Time is NOT on the side of Ukraine...the longer the war goes on the more Russia wants out of it...
Biden/Xi phone call, US again expecting China to sanction Russia...China will not do so...
DJ-US threatening China only pushing China-again-closer to Russia. With (limited) western sanctions (oil/gas still exported to the West) and China also in need of Russian energy (in exchange for Chinese consumer goods) Russia now increasing trade with Asia...
Another aspect from Chinese view may be to see Ukraine is for Russia as what Taiwan is for China...US major military activity on Taiwan may bring the same kind of Chinese reaction as Russia now is giving Ukraine...invasion...and if need be regime change, sort of occupation...
The US has had very limited succes-if any-in replacing Russian (special sort of) oil with oil from other countries. In talks on a new Iran-deal Iran working with Russia and China to "get the best" out of it for Iran...
Most of Europe now realize sanction on Russia may hurt Europe more then they will hurt Russia...(DJ-Europe/EU should have avoided this war by making very clear Ukraine "was not ready" for both EU and NATO...Did some "US person" talk to Zelinsky about Ukraine getting nuclear weapons at tne Munich security conference ? Knowing that would be yet another "red line" for Russia ? If Taiwan would claim it would seek nuclear weapons it should be seen as a declaration of war...).
The bigger picture;
Spain once was the global dominant power, NL just for a few decades...France played some major roles but the UK "ruled the waves" after Napoleon-1815. Transition processes often bring conflict-resulting in war(s)...
The US was the only nuclear power in 1945-with that the only "super power"...Other countries did get nuclear weapons...It did not restore UK, France former colonial empire...The US$ being used for global energy trade since 1972 did make the US-in many ways-the dominant global power...
In 1991 the Soviet Union (and Warsaw Pact) ended...And-in my opinion-the West going for confrontation with Russia (Yugoslavia War 1995 a.o.) and "out sourcing" jobs to China (cheap labor) laid the foundation of the present crisis...
Russia did get rich from oil/gas trade-a.o. with a booming China...China did do global trade...lots of western products were "Made in China"....starting also Chinese innovations...(At a certain moment the US no longer made TV's - all that production was gone overseas...).
US/western sanctions escalating (because of trade) further pushed Russia-China, but also Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, closer to each other...organizing a.o. the Shanghai Cooperation Organization...(SCO) now also including India, Pakistan...Iran in the proces, Turkey on the waiting list...More then half of all humans live in Asia...most of economic growth now is in Asia...
The US being #1 had to end...one way or another "Asia' will take over...if not Russia and China maybe India, Iran...but most likely a group of (Eur)Asian countries are on their way to become the global economic #1...(Turkey and Russia both are partly in Europe, partly in Asia).
DJ-Again...it should not surprise anyone that "Asia" wants more global influence...Diplomacy may avoid conflicts. Claiming to be "exceptional" and you can "order all others what to do" is creating conflicts...
Countries do not stay global #1 that long...pay a high price for it. The UK since 1800 did get in war with allmost all countries in the world...Maybe UK's major role could be put at running from 1815 (beating France-Napoleon) to 1945 (beating Germany-hitler)...but the price for beating hitler was the end of British rule in the decades later on (India 1947...).
DJ-So the US has choices...going for confrontations or reorganizations...If most energy/international trade will no longer use US$ and the US has extreme high debts confrontation may harm the US much more then trying to "limit the damage" and make "the best of it"...
DJ-again my opinion-Russia WILL use nuclear weapons if they think they need to...Confrontation instead of diplomacy may increase nuclear risks...
in my opinion we should "rethink" NATO-maybe even end NATO...There is a global climate crisis, food-crisis, energy-crisis, health-crisis...all getting worse if we go for "another global war"...
If humans are NOT self-destructive high time to show it !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Statement by Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina in follow-up to Board of Directors meeting on 18 March 2022 | Bank of Russia https://www.cbr.ru/eng/press/event/?i...
DJ, In short (did watch first 30 minutes); AM wonders if Biden (79) realizes the US is NOT in a position to tell other countries what to do.
China will not sanction Russia, welcomes talks between NATO and Russia on European safety
China will not accept (more) US sanctions
AM does see a repeat of history. US ignoring Russian red lines did cause the Ukraine crisis. US is also ignoring China red lines...a.o. on Taiwan, South China Sea...
DJ-There are "some parallels" between Ukraine-Russia and Taiwan-China...Both Ukraine and Taiwan follow a course that can bring "serious problems" with its major neighbour making sort of claims on them...
DJ-US/NATO is NOT willing to take safety concerns of Russia, China serious...
This may result in China also going for "military action" (most likely both Taiwan, South China Sea-against the US)
Iran is allready "fed up" with "the West", so is a,o, Syria...Maybe also some Latin American countries...
NOTE: This debate was recorded during the directives on social distancing and no audience is present. First broadcast on Monday 14 March 2022 The show in London with experts in studio and video links is hosted by George Galloway
In this episode we are asking the biggest question of all: are we heading towards nuclear war? The short answer is not yet but if one looks at that question from the point of view of the famous doomsday clock then we're definitely a few seconds from midnight we've never been closer to nuclear war than we currently are as you watch this program. ************************
CONTRIBUTORS: Prof Andrew MacLeod Visiting Professor, King’s College London Expert on Conflict and security; Human Rights Shiraz Paracha Commentator/Analyst on Central Asia, Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan Deepa Govindarajan Driver Academic and Trade Unionist Fra Hughes Video link from Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Author at Independent Journalist Prof. Alexander Lukin Video link from Moscow, Russia Head of Department of International Relations at High School of Economics University (HSE) in Moscow
DJ, A US political elite still hangs on to US exceptionalism, the idea the US "has to rule the world" with sanctions for countries not following US orders...or wars like Syria, Iraq, Libya,...
I did hear a "psychologist-historian" (from Groningen university-NL) coming up with; Putin following trump; "make Russia great again"...If that are the "experts" giving advice to politics in "the West" their utter stupidity only can result in nuclear war.....
NOT able to see that NATO moving east, Ukraine speaking of nuclear weapons means a major risk for Russia...NOT able to see that talking of "one-China" but sending delegations, even basing US military in Taiwan-action is telling Bejing a total different thing...
"F.ck the world" as the basis for US foreign policy HAS to end...or it will end in a confrontation of "much of the globe" with the US and the remaining allies...
As Alexander Mercouris pointed out...the global situation is derailing high speed...Somehow the "west" is that blinded by its own propaganda and "hopium" it seems unable to see the consequences...
In Ukraine-YES-Russia did not take over Kiev, Charkov...but not out of weakness but out of strategy...most of the fighting is in the east and the south...That is also where most "Ethnic Russians"live...Somehow the US/UK fail to get it....
"The West" is in a narcistic tunnelvision...AM also warning the sort of "western sanctions" the US now promoting for Russia-if US wants that kind of sanctions also for China it will result in economic collapse...
We are moving in the wrong direction...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ AM wonders if Kiev believed its own "winning the war' propaganda-now in shock when the are almost losing Mariupul. Also main Ukraine opposition leader now "in Russian hands" ?
Biden-Xi tele-meeting AM, Xi more or less told Biden he did not believe him....
AM, the Ukraine crisis only the start of a major crisis....
DJ, Russia is calling its war in Ukraine a "police action"...Compared what Russia could be doing in bombing, artillery there is such a lot they did not yet do....
US foreign policy is a TOTAL disaster ! I only hope EU countries start realizing this in time...maybe even able to stop the US from doing more insane things...(like telling Zelensky to start talking about Ukraine getting nuclear weapons)....
DJ-Some claim "World War Three" allready started...a.o. relating wars in Syria, Yemen with it...Ukraine only a "next step"...A next major war does not have to be a nuclear one...Diplomacy-mixed with pressure (a.o. sanctions) will most likely be the "main frontline"...
From a historic perspective one could claim splitting up the Roman Empire may have been the basis of the end of the Western Roman Empire (with the fall of Rome)...but also ensured another 1000 years for the Eastern Roman Empire/Byzanthium...
In fact both Russia and China want respect, end of western encirclement..."We" can give them both and still gain with it...Confrontation is a very expensive way of "diplomacy" (resulting in a Military Industrial Complex + banks maybe even taking over foreign policy for THEIR goals-profit !).
Maybe the US as a "global police(wo)man" did work one day...it may be damaging the US in my opinion for decades...The West did take "the wrong turns" after the fall of the Soviet Union...From NATO expansion-not accepting neutral bufferzone's, to outsourcing of work/tech to China...other low pay countries...
What is wrong with;
-Eastern Europe getting security guarantees both from the West AND the East but removing out of NATO, still remaing in the EU....
-US maybe getting out of Asia-including Japan...be in talks with Russia, China on Korea reunification and demilitarization...
-The US (and for some parts EU) restarting their own consumer/pharma industry (in a new way-robots doing a lot of the work)...
-Going for renewable energy used much more wiser so we can do much more with less energy....
DJ-I am NOT anti-American ! I believe the US has the brains, tech, and when it comes to it will to find better alternatives then seeking "global dominance" when that confrontation-politics brings us World War Three...We all deserve better !
There is a climate crisis, a food crisis, a healthcrisis...if we want to survive better rethink our actions !
The Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and China are starting to design a new monetary and financial system bypassing the U.S. dollar, supervised by Sergei Glazyev and intended to compete with the Bretton Woods system.
Saudi Arabia – perpetrator of bombing, famine and genocide in Yemen, weaponized by U.S., UK and EU – is advancing the coming of the petroyuan.
India – third largest importer of oil in the world – is about to sign a mega-contract to buy oil from Russia with a huge discount and using a ruble-rupee mechanism.
Riyadh’s oil exports amount to roughly $170 billion a year. China buys 17% of it, compared to 21% for Japan, 15% for the U.S., 12% for India and roughly 10% for the EU. The U.S. and its vassals – Japan, South Korea, EU – will remain within the petrodollar sphere. India, just like China, may not.
Sanction blowback is on the offense. Even a market/casino capitalism darling such as uber-nerd Credit Suisse strategist Zoltan Poznar, formerly with the NY Fed, IMF and Treasury Dept., has been forced to admit, in an analytical note: “If you think that the West can develop sanctions that will maximize the pain for Russia by minimizing the risks of financial stability and price stability for the West, then you can also trust unicorns.”
Unicorns are a trademark of the massive NATOstan psyops apparatus, lavishly illustrated by the staged, completely fake “summit” in Kiev between Comedian Ze and the Prime Ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, thoroughly debunked by John Helmer and Polish sources.
Poznar, a realist, hinted in fact at the ritual burial of the financial chapter of the “rules-based international order” in place since the early Cold War years: “After the end of this war [in Ukraine], ‘money’ will never be the same.” Especially when the Hegemon demonstrates its “rules” by encroaching on other people’s money.
And that configures the central tenet of 21st century martial geopolitics as monetary/ideological. The world, especially the Global South, will have to decide whether “money” is represented by the virtual, turbo-charged casino privileged by the Americans or by real, tangible assets such as energy sources. A bipolar financial world – U.S. dollar vs. yuan – is at hand.
DJ. "Either you are with us or you are against us" may leave one with no friends..."Fiat-currency" based on "future profits/future economic growth" or monet backed by oil, gas, gold, uranium...
Two "views" may be colliding; an extreme capitalist one-no government is the best government, the other going for "governments have to make sure company interests do not damage national/social interests"-balancing...
Most of the EU has a "Rhineland-model" with a balance between government and major companies...public healthcare, housing, education...payed by tax. The US/UK model (republican/conservative view) wants "the market" run the country...with that they mean "big money"....(because big money runs the market...).
This un-balance may-in my opinion-be one of the reasons we also now face the pandemic; "economy first, public health not a priority...".
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
In perfect Chinese diplomatic terms, it looks like business as usual. Taken outside of the perfect diplomatic terms, it is a true spanking.
Let’s take one paragraph only and remember a few things first:
Washington, as usual, threatened and danced something like the haka and warned Xi not to support Russia in any way or the consequences would be dire for China. Washington threatened with equally applied sanctions and other dire unmentionables. Apparently, Washington can support who it wants, but China is in some form prohibited from exactly that. Hypocritically they want it both ways. That era is over.
A few hours before the ‘summit’, China had a perfectly normal sail-by through the Taiwan Straits of their aircraft carrier Shandong. Yes, this is ‘likely routine’ says their spox. Sure, it was highly likely just routine. It must have been a wonderful day for the Shandong to take a little sail through the Taiwan Straits.
A few hours before the ‘summit’ Global times had an interview with an unnamed official. (Is China playing the US game here by not naming the official?). This is the take-away: “The international community can fairly judge who is frank and open and who is up to something, who is easing the situation and who is aggravating tension, who is promoting peace talks and who is pouring fuel on the fire, and who is maintaining peace and stability and who is provoking confrontations between blocs.”
Xi Jinping made a pre-summit statement: Countries should not come to the point of meeting on the battlefield. Conflict and confrontation are not in anyone’s interest. Peace and security are what the international community should treasure the most.
So, this is the milieu that Biden walked into at the online summit. We must know by now what this is all about. None of the boring line-up of US representatives could bend China to their will to support sanctions against Russia, so, time for a Presidential Summit to yet again attempt to split China and Russia. This is how perfectly ridiculous this attempt is: Can you help me fight your friend so that I can concentrate on fighting you later?
Here is how it went:
President Biden expounded on the US position and expressed readiness for communication with China to prevent the situation from exacerbating.
Simply said: How can we make a deal so that the US/Nato alliance remains a unipolar world and all others must be subservient.
President Xi pointed out that China does not want to see the situation in Ukraine to come to this. China stands for peace and opposes war. This is embedded in China’s history and culture.
DJ, In december 1944 the US bombed Wuhan-as a training for the fire bombing of Tokyo....Wuhan was under Japanese occupation (Japan using Chinese as less then slaves...) the US bombing killed 40,000 Chinese...In the Korean War China did see 400,000 of its soldiers die (most) due to US military action...In the Vietnam war China again faced US agression...The US has been using Uyghur-nationalism to undermine China (resulting in "re-education/concentration camps for Uyghurs...in China).
My view; China may hate the US even more then Russia does...The US role in Japan is just one of many problems for many SE Asia countries...In their view often the US is an even bigger blockade for Korean reunification then the NK dictatorship...(DJ-US sanctions may have kept Fidel Castro in power in Cuba...normal US-Cuba relations may have resultde in Cuba now being much more "western"...).
I once did see on YouTube a former Malaysia Foreign Minister warning that the alternative for the Chinese Communist Party in China could be nationalists even less willing to make deals with the US...In Russia the second political party (after United Russia-Putin) is the Communist Party with restarting the USSR/CCCP high on the agenda...
Certainly China's recent history-with the West trying to colonize it some 120 years ago...Japan only the next one after World War One...has left scars in how China does see the (barbaric) West...
DJ-Another point the US seems totally unable to understand....
-India has had good relations with the Soviet Union/Russia even before 1947 independence...does the US realy thinks it would all of a sudden now dump Russia for some US adventurism ?
-China-Russia working together has been a nightmare for some-better informed-US diplomats...You can not think US sanctions will result in China now taking side with the US...for what ?
-US foreign policy resulted in Russia and China becoming strategic partners...In the past there have been major differences (China supported-more or less PolPot in Cambodia, Russian/Soviet backed Vietnam ended that horror ("killing fields" 1-out-of-3 Cambodians were killed because of the Red Kmher terror). However Vietnam intervention in Cambodia resulted in "border conflicts" between Russia/USSR and China in 1979..).
-Sanctions against Iran (linked by the Caspian Sea with Russia) did result in RIC-Russia, Iran, China...The US insulting Pakistan did bring China-Pakistan Economic Corridor...
Does the US never learn from its mistakes ?
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Last night, the influential Institute of the Study of War, a US thinktank tracking the fighting, said: “Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial Russian campaign of this war. Its culmination is creating conditions of stalemate throughout most of Ukraine.”
Logistics Wins Wars and Russian Military Logistic Problems
Russia’s military in Ukraine has shown that they still have major military logistics problems.
“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” quote from Army General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front during WWI.
Russia moves military forces and supplies around primarily with rail inside of Russia and Belarus. Ukraine’s resistance has destroyed/damaged the rail at the border of Ukraine and Russia and Belarus.
Russia is mainly relying on trucks to supply their forces.
Russia has elements of its forces at most of the cities and most of the places that they were targeting. They have to buildup more forces and supplies and then constantly resupply. The logistic problems and failures make it slow going.
If Ukraine’s resistance gets constant significant resupply then they can either hold out a long time or mount a constant resistance that would make Ukraine a problematic quagmire that never stays conquered. Despite those problems, Putin can continue to draft more replacement soldiers and keep fighting. The sanctions will prevent Russia from ramping up and make it harder to sustain operationns at a high level and tempo. The troops that survive on both sides will continue to get more and more experience. Certain current problems with logistics and tactics should get improved and corrected.
There is no reason to think that Russia will be able to use this military to effectively threaten and capture Poland, Finland, Sweden or the Baltics when those places have strong NATO support. This is clearly the biggest conventional war that Russia is capable of fighting. They might capture half of Ukraine but will have a lot of trouble keeping and holding or putting in any lasting puppet government for any length of time.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Ludmila Denisova this morning accused Russian forces of forcibly transporting Ukrainian citizens to Russia. In a post on Telegram, she said:
In recent days, several thousand Mariupol residents have been deported to Russia. These are people from the Left Bank district of the city and the bomb shelter in the building of the sports club, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) hid from the constant bombing ...
It is known that the captured Mariupol residents were taken to filtration camps, where the occupiers checked people’s phones and documents. After the inspection, some Mariupol residents were transported to Taganrog and from there sent by rail to various economically depressed cities in Russia.
Our citizens have been issued papers that require them to be in a certain city. They have no right to leave it for at least two years with the obligation to work at the specified place of work. The fate of others remains unknown.
She accused Russia of a gross violation of international laws, including the Geneva convention, and called on the international community to increase sanctions against Russia.
Russia's elite wants to eliminate Putin, they have already chosen a successor - intelligence
ROMAN PETRENKO - SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2022, 11:40
A group of influential people who oppose President Vladimir Putin and who plan to assassinate him, is forming among the Russian business and political elite, according to the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
Details: The goal of this group is to remove Putin from power as soon as possible and restore economic ties with the West, destroyed by the war in Ukraine.
Quote: "A part of Russia's political elite sees Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov as Putin's successor. It is Bortnikov who has recently fallen out of favour with the Russian dictator. The official reason for the FSS leader's downfall is fatal miscalculations in the war against Ukraine.
It was Bortnikov and his department who were responsible for analysing the views of the Ukrainian population and the capacity of the Ukrainian army.
It is known that Bortnikov and some other influential members of the Russian elite are considering various options for removing Putin from power. In particular, poisoning, sudden illness, or other "accident" is not excluded.
It is possible that these processes are connected with the recent "leak" of the location of Chechen units in the north of Kyiv. "
More details: According to intelligence, this leak may have been intended both to weaken Kadyrov's influence and as an attempt to establish cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities in advance, bypassing the current leadership of the Russian Federation.
Russia's priorities - laid out in a call with Turkey last week - consist of two categories of demands; Ukraine must remain neutral and not apply to join Nato, a point Zelensky has already conceded. Ukraine would also need to undergo a disarmament process to ensure it isn't a threat to Russia, as well as 'de-Nazify' its armed forces.
The second category of Russian demands is where more difficulty will lie, according to top Turkish government adviser Ibrahim Kalin, and will require face-to-face negotiations between Putin and Zelensky.
DJ-A possible US escalation scenario would first get Poland involved...the US goal is to get Germany to fight Russia.
Ending all Eur-Asian integration plans...My impression is "some US neo-cons" expect in this way "the US will stay #1".....
Again-my opinion-Zelensky is buying time-has limited room for compromise if he wants to stay in power. In the Ukraine "power elite" he may be the more moderate person still at least willing to talk..."Nationalistic extremists" push for escalation-my impression US/UK supports those extremists...while the EU, Turkey, Israel hope Zelensky may be able to end the conflict...
The way I see it this war was a US goal....end-goal-again-regimechange in ALL THREE countries Russia, Iran, China (with North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua etc as bonus). IF (only IF !!!) Russia-Iran-China also see it this way their real enemie is the US/UK-NATO and they "could be preparing" for the "real war"....
Again-hope to be very wrong !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ-Is the basic of the US/NATO-Russia conflict the insane phantasy of "Putin made trump US president"? Totally insane ! IF a foreign power would be able to get its candidate become US president maybe a reform of the US election-system would be more usefull then "starting world war three"....
DJ-IF most of the world see the present "Ukraine crisis" is the outcome of "western lack of wisdom" they may turn against the west...
The idea of starting world war three because h.clinton did not get elected is beyond crazy....IF that is the US basic idea the world has a major problem ...with the US !
Western sanctions most damage the west...is the west able to think ? Or a bunch of hysteric maniacs ?
Tulsi Gabbard (has to fall back on fox news) on US censorship....Democracy is under attack !!!! Both in the US and EU; "embedded media" doing the same as happening in Russia...(Fox-news try to lonk their idea of the pandemic...Media should provide room for discussion...like this forum could do...).
Freedom of speech, of getting your own info...without being attacked, banned (or at risk of being beaten up....). We all have our limits, not even the best " experts" know it all...If there is no room for respect, discussion, different views democracy is simply over....
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Uzbekistan becomes first former Soviet Central Asian country to distance itself from Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Uzbekistan has become the first former Soviet Central Asian country to properly distance itself from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It says it insists on Ukraine's territorial integrity and will not recognise Russia's puppet republics in Luhansk and Donetsk.
"Uzbekistan recognises the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We have not recognised the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics," Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov stressed as he addressed a Senate session on March 17.
"First, the situation around Ukraine causes serious concern in Uzbekistan. Secondly, we are in favour of finding a peaceful solution to this situation and resolving the conflict by political and diplomatic means. But for this, first of all, it is necessary to immediately stop military actions, violence," Kamilov said.
"Uzbekistan has historically had traditional comprehensive ties with both Russia and Ukraine. We will continue mutually beneficial co-operation with these two countries based on our national interests. On the one hand, Russia is a leading trade partner of Uzbekistan, we have a strategic partnership and allied relations with it. On the other hand, we co-operate with Ukraine in many areas, including trade, economic, cultural, educational, agricultural spheres," the foreign minister
While Russian bombs and missiles continue to rain down on Ukraine's cities, inflicting a terrible slaughter on the civilians there, the fact is that we're nearly a month into an invasion that many observers expected to take just a few days at most. The war appears to be stalemated, and Russia is suffering the consequences. Its economy has been shattered by Western sanctions and probably won't recover for a very long time, and reports suggest that tens of thousands of young professionals are fleeing the country to work and live elsewhere, depriving it of crucial intellectual capital. Perhaps worst of all from Putin's standpoint, Russia's military has been revealed to be something of a paper tiger, scarier in theory than in practice.
Instead of reasserting Russia's greatness, then, it looks very likely that Putin has actually hastened his country's decline — both as a place for its citizens to live, and as a player on the world stage. "Russia is now, for the foreseeable future and as long as Putin is president, washed up as a world power," The Atlantic's Tom Nichols wrote last week on Twitter.
No one is talking about the decline of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, but maybe we should be. People are instead talking about how effective sanctions are and how they might tilt Russians and the oligarchs against Putin, so maybe we should examine that theory. Since we took Xi’s comments as an indication that he doesn’t support the war, maybe we need to question that too?
The one thing I hear a lot, especially in the bullish conversations lately, is that “they” need “us” more than “we” need “them.” Whether it is innate American exceptionalism coming through, or something else, I am not sure that those statements are true (while acknowledging that the “us,” the “we,” and “them” are a bit vague).
So, when thinking about “who needs who,” I thought it might be interesting to build a very crude table to help think about it. It is crude, simplistic, and not at all rigorous in terms of underlying data, but probably good enough to illustrate a point.
Anywhere you have a large check mark in one country and a corresponding red X in another, there should be the possibility of doing business.
When looked at through this simple lens, China and Russia are perfect bedfellows. What China needs, Russia has, and vice versa! India, which is a net food exporter, isn’t quite as perfect of a match, but maybe we can see why India has been reticent to join sanctions on Russia?
I didn’t add the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as they don’t align well with Russia, but they do align well with China.
I didn’t add Iran or Venezuela, both countries the U.S. has reached out to for oil and gas, because that didn’t fit this chart, but it does open another parallel dialogue – “closeness.”
In any case, I think that if we think about what countries “need,” especially at the basic levels of food, raw materials, and finished goods, it is far less clear that other countries need “us” (the U.S. and Europe) more than we need “them.” That is already occurring and will continue to occur.
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So, for all those who seem to think that countries won’t be able to figure out how to trade without the dollar, I don’t believe it for a second.
China has been pushing the IMF to increase their currency’s percentage in the SDR. They have been encouraging trading oil and gold futures in their currency. They have almost certainly been suggesting to central banks that they should hold Chinese bonds in proportion to their SDR representation or more.
If you are a country that is not “close” to the U.S. and you are witnessing the issues that Russia (its Central Bank in particular) is facing from sanctions, maybe you need to think twice about what you hold. If we can “weaponize” the dollar or Treasuries, then it changes the calculus on what you should hold (or at least I think it will).
Who Really Needs Who?
I am far from convinced that the narrative of “them needing us more than we need them” is correct.
While the near panic early last week about the de-dollarization was overdone, I think that is a risk that is real and increasing. It will take time, but if China continues to buy Russian products, then why wouldn’t other countries look to make arrangements with China, especially if they aren’t “close” to us? Despite Xi’s comments, there is no indication that they will stop. Nor, as far as I can tell, is there any indication that India will stop securing natural resources at extreme discounts.
How can we tell if this shift away from the dollar is occurring?
I don’t know, but I think that we can look to a few things:
Dollar weakness and Yuan strength. A bit messy, especially when one isn’t freely traded, but something to watch.
“Intermediate” assets rising in price. Could we see money shifted into things like gold or crypto as they make their way out of dollars and into other currencies?
Any TIC data that shows countries that are not “close” to us reducing their Treasury holdings. Since most countries tend to own shorter dated Treasuries, this would put pressure on the front end of the yield curve.
I’m not sure that we need to react to this today, but it is something to think about (especially since so many people have mentioned that China is stockpiling commodities, in what could be viewed as a step towards “sanction proofing” themselves).
DJ, Both the EU and US may need access to the Asian market...with 4 billion consumers....For the EU the perspective/connections may be better then for the US...Sanctions may increase prices-for EU/US - while "friends" of Russia, China can get goods at lower prices...
"Dumping" of the US$ however could result in better export position for the US....however imports for the US may become more expensive.
DJ, most likely "moderate neo-nazi's"? Like IS are western backed "moderate terrorists" ? (Or bolsenaro was "more acceptable" for the US then Lula...in Brazil...).
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Update(12:15ET): Greater escalation is in the air as two nuclear-armed superpowers continue stumbling toward a hugely alarming WWIII scenario as the Russian invasion of Ukraine reaches almost a full month. The Wall Street Journal on Monday has cited US defense officials who say Washington is covertly sending Soviet-made air defense equipment to Ukraine to help repel Russian air power. It seems this is the Biden administration's 'alternative' to directly imposing a no-fly zone, yet it's still a step in that direction. But given the fact that these systems might go all the way back to the 1960's or 70's - and perhaps more appropriately belong in a museum in some midwest town - it could be more of a symbolic step to appease the hawks without really doing anything too severely escalatory.
"The U.S. is sending some of the Soviet-made air defense equipment it secretly acquired decades ago to bolster the Ukrainian military as it seeks to fend off Russian air and missile attacks, U.S. officials said," WSJ writes. "The systems, which one U.S. official said include the SA-8, are decades old and were obtained by the U.S. so it could examine the technology used by the Russian military and which Moscow has exported around the world."
Apparently not content with diplomatic war on one front with Russia, the Biden administration appears ready to escalate with China following on the heels of last week's persistent accusations that Beijing was mulling cooperation with Moscow on weapons resupplies for its Ukraine operation, as well as assistance on Western sanctions evasion.
Monday afternoon Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more visa restrictions on Chinese officials related to prior charges that state authorities are overseeing the ethnic cleansing of Uighurs. It's certainly interesting timing in terms of pulling out the the human rights card, given that throughout last week the admin's China criticisms seemed exclusively focused on its "fence-sitting" over Ukraine.
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Geopolitical analysts, including ones who cover markets too, note that underneath the algo-triggering headlines the reality was that Beijing:
Blamed the US for the crisis by expanding NATO, rather than Russia expanding Russia;
Stated the US would have to resolve it using a Chinese idiom;
That this includes addressing Russian security needs too, and linking this all back to Taiwan;
Saying China would help if the US backs off on trade war, tech war, AUKUS, the Quad, etc.
DJ...instead of seeing the views of China, India...but also Turkey, Israel as a sign for de-escalation the US/NATO still going full speed escalation...
But it is not, in fact, the case that every act of diplomacy or compromise designed to avoid war is appeasement. Moreover, we can find countless examples in which nonintervention and a refusal to escalate a situation was—or would have been—the better choice.
In other words, it's not always 1938. Rather than fixating on the "lesson of 1938" the better lesson to learn is often the "lesson of 1914" or perhaps even the lessons of 1853, 1956, or 1968. In all these cases, military escalation was—or would have been—the wrong response. Moreover, in the age of nuclear weapons—something that did not exist in 1938—the world is a different place, and confrontation with a nuclear power could potentially bring about the end of human civilization. Casually bandying about demands for a "no-fly zone"—which would mean war with Russia—is both irresponsible and the sort of rhetoric fit for a nonnuclear world that ceased to exist many decades ago.
The Foundations of the "Lesson of Munich"
The supposed lesson of Munich is based on two basic pillars. The first is the assumption that any act of military aggression will lead to many more acts of military aggression if not forcefully countered. It is basically a variation on the domino theory: if one nation submits to conquest by an aggressive neighbor, other nations will soon be forced to submit as well. This assumes every allegedly aggressive state has the same motivations as Nazi Germany and can plausibly seek a large, region-wide chain of military conquests across numerous states.
The second pillar of the lesson of Munich is that since every aggressive military act is likely to lead to many more, the only realistic option is to meet aggression with escalation and a no-compromise response.
This is precisely why Western advocates of military adventurism repeatedly equate every foreign leader Western elites don't like with Hitler. Or, as noted at The Conversation:
This kind of parallelism is not new; it is used every time there is a new enemy the public opinion should focus on. In recent years, according to Western rhetoric, Adolf Hitler has already been apparently reincarnated several times—as Saddam Hussein, Mohammad Qaddafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and more besides.
In 2022, Putin is the new Hitler, which necessarily means to some that any failure by the West to respond to the Russian invasion with a full-blown military escalation is a Munich-style appeasement.
The fact that the events of 1938 are so well known by so many has helped considerably in pushing the narrative that compromise or nonintervention is appeasement. For most Americans, it's likely the only event in the history of diplomacy they actually know anything about. Never mind the fact that the lesson of Munich has often been proven quite inapplicable to the modern world. As noted by Robert Kelly at the hardly noninterventionist publication 1945:
This frightening image of falling dominoes is not actually historically common though, thankfully. It was in the 1930s, but it was not, for example, in the Cold War. Aggressors do not always read one victory in place to mean they can automatically push on other "dominoes." Deterrence is structured by local and historical factors; some commitments are much more credible than others. So even though the US lost in Vietnam, North Korea or East Germany did not attack South Korea or West Germany, just as the US did not attack Cuba or Nicaragua after the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan.
In Ukraine that means that Western reticence to fight directly against the Russians in Ukraine does not automatically mean that Putin will test NATO's collective security commitment or that China will attack Taiwan.
But none of this matters when the public believes what it's told by politicians and the media about how every rogue state is the equivalent of Nazi Germany. There is no foreign policy lesson to learn except that of opposing each new "Hitler."
DJ, Just like "you are with us or against us" may leave you with no allies, a lack of will to find compromise can make any small problem a major one...
Which brings us to the WEF's latest - warning of an impending food crisis kicked off by the war in Ukraine.
Key points:
More people around the world will go hungry as a result of the pandemic, high fuel prices and the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine are also major producers and suppliers of fertilizers and their raw materials.
Existing logistical issues with moving grain and food are likely to worsen.
Disruptions will put further pressure on this year’s harvest and lead to higher food prices.
Even before the pandemic, the FAO estimated that 690 million people or 9% of the world’s population, were facing food insecurity.
In short, the Ukraine war is accelerating the existing problem of inflation and food shortages, so hold on to your hats and consider a 'more sustainable diet' because things are about to get much, much worse.
We are currently witnessing the beginning of a global food crisis, driven by the knock-on effects of a pandemic and more recently the rise in fuel prices and the conflict in Ukraine. There were already clear logistical issues with moving grain and food around the globe, which will now be considerably worse as a result of the war. But a more subtle relationship sits with the link to the nutrients needed to drive high crop yields and quality worldwide.
...
In this context, calling for an immediate government intervention to the market is therefore the natural thing to do. Yet government budgets are severely stretched after COVID, leaving little room for direct monetary support and contribution. In view of the recent promises to remove all Russian oil and gas from our imports, there will be some tough decisions ahead for governments, farmers and consumers alike.
In the medium term, it highlights the need to transform our food system, using more green energy. We should also be encouraging more sustainable diets, which contain fewer grain fed animal products; and regenerative agricultural practices, which improve soil health and the efficiency of nutrient use by the crop. -WEF
DJ...to end this part...if politicians want war-let them fight in such a war ! Not only make profit out of it....maybe that will end war...
NATO maybe decreased risks for global conflicts...NATO expansionism (based on article 10- "open doors" ) now is INCREASING risks for global conflicts...wake up !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan, warning that Moscow-Washington relations are on the verge of entire collapse as the Russian military operation in Ukraine enters its 26th day.
Tensions between the United States and Russia escalated after US President Joe Biden recently labeled President Vladimir Putin of Russia a “war criminal,” marking the first time a US official used the term to characterize Putin since February 24.
“Such statements from the American president, unworthy of a statesman of such high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture,” the ministry said in a Monday statement. It also told the American envoy that hostile actions against Russia would meet with a “decisive and firm response.”
On March 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced Biden’s comment as “unacceptable and unforgivable.”
US-Russian relations "gone" ...US-China relations next ?
Since it became clear that the Assad government emerged victorious after the decade-long proxy war to effect regime change in Damascus sponsored by the West and Gulf powers, there have been slow but consistent efforts by Arab countries to normalize relations with Syria once again.
On Friday, for the first time since the war began in 2011, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited an Arab state to meet with its leader. It was none other than US and Saudi ally UAE. After long being branded an international 'pariah' it was a shock for some to see Assad in photographs speaking warmly to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Another unwelcome reality for a "West/NATO" working-again-with extremists (like they also did in Afghanistan...even further in history...Time-man of the year 1938....)....
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ZRhw75qmM[/url] or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ZRhw75qmM Alexander Mercouris wondering what the point is of continuing this Ukraine war...Is the US/NATO agenda regime change in Russia ? Polls indicating most Russians now backing a harder line against that "West"...growing anger in China, India on the US pushing sanctions on them for their trade-decades old-with Russia...
The US even asking Turkey to send Russian S-300 to Ukraine...most likely paying for Turkish drones send to Ukraine-only to be destroyed on arrival...(Like Israel did manage to destroy Iran supplies for Hizbollah in Syria-Russia NOT stopping that-while they could...Russia is NOT in Syria to fight Israel...).
That is to say, Ukraine brought the Russian attack on itself by poking the bear in its eyes repeatedly since the 2014 coup. Yet now its leader has the gall to petition the US Congress to start WWII via standing-up a No Fly Zone in lieu of the obvious solution: Namely, Zelensky should resign and make way for a collaborationist government that will sue for peace on the following basis:
Recognize that Crimea is Russian territory and always has been since it was purchased by Catherine the Great in 1783;
Permit the separation of the Donbass Republics from Ukraine because the overwhelmingly Russian speaking populations there has been part of “New Russia” for more than 300 years and do not wish to be ruled by the anti-Russian fascists and oligarchs who control Kiev;
Amend the constitution of the rump state of Ukraine to prohibit its joining NATO or any similar western alliance, while reducing its military to a domestic law enforcement agency.
Those terms may seem harsh, but it’s the only alternative to the complete destruction of Ukraine and an eventual Russian win anyway. The fact is, the NATO cavalry simply ain’t coming no matter how many standing ovations are stumped up by the armchair warriors of the US Congress.
Even with NATO sending in supplies and special forces, volunteers most "sources" expect this Ukraine war to end in may...if not sooner...with tens of thousends being killed, millions of refugees...and for what ?
NATO not publicly willing to say they will not accept Ukraine....totally insane !
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Pro-Putin pollsters maintain that most Russians support the “special military operation” against Ukraine. But artificial efforts to stir public enthusiasm can’t hide the disastrous effects the war is having on ordinary Russians.
It’s no coincidence that the Russian government prohibits using the word ‘war,’ which would indicate a situation that cannot be perceived neutrally.
The government’s concealment of events in Ukraine has already started pushing away its most loyal and faithful audience — the military and the ‘patriots
Could Ukraine's David defeat Russia's Goliath? Yes, it’s possible
First, Ukraine fights Russia to a draw and negotiates the withdrawal of Russian forces, possibly giving up much of eastern Ukraine and all claims to Crimea. Ukraine is forced to renounce ever joining NATO and the European Union. Also, Moscow will almost certainly require a new election and constitution that mandates Ukraine embrace a permanent neutral status.
Second, Russia wins and dismembers Ukraine and installs a puppet government. However, Moscow would likely face years of insurgency and be considered a global pariah, weighed down by crippling sanctions, sputtering forward thanks only to China’s economic support. Meanwhile, the annihilation of Ukraine sparks a new cold war with NATO that finds barriers separating the new east from west and forward deployed combat forces face off on both sides of a new "Iron Curtain."
Third, there is the real possibility that the West intervenes in the fight and convinces Moscow to withdraw to avoid escalation to nuclear war while the West removes all sanctions and provides guarantees that Ukraine will never become a member of NATO or the EU. At that point the West launches a Marshall Plan-like program to help rebuild Ukraine and returns to the status quo Antebellum.
Fourth, a real "David"-like best outcome for the West and Ukraine is the withdrawal of Russian forces and the restoration of the state. The Scowcroft Center says this is the "rosiest" possible scenario which allows that Ukraine’s resistance overcomes "the odds and grind Moscow’s advance to a halt." Then the wounded Putin seeks an escape as his country turns on him.
Each of these scenarios bring an end to hostilities but leaves open the possibility of a future east, west war.
It will be interesting to see how the Russian propaganda sites like Zero Cred spin this, not to mention Russian indiscriminate killing of defenseless civilians.
Russian forces 'kidnapped' 2,389 children from Donetsk and Luhansk, US embassy says
The US embassy in Kyiv cited Ukraine’s foreign ministry as saying 2,389 Ukrainian children have been “illegally removed” from the Russian-controlled territories of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts and taken to Russia.
UN secretary-general António Guterres has been speaking to reporters, where he has described the war in Ukraine as “unwinnable”.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a month ago, the world has seen “appalling human suffering and destruction” in Ukraine, “systematic bombardments that terrorise civilians” and the “shelling of hospitals, schools, apartments buildings and shelters”, Guterres says.
All of it is intensifying, getting more destructive and more unpredictable by the hour.
The devastated city of Mariupol has been encircled by Russian forces for more than two weeks, subjected to relentless bombardment and shelling, Guterres said, and for what?
Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house.
The only outcome to all this is more suffering, more destruction and more horror as far as the eye can see.
Personally I think Putin will have to win Ukraine (or at least some of it's territory) or I think it'll go nuclear. And it'll certainly go nuclear if NATO and the rest of the world pile in. We've never been closer to nuclear war than we are right now.
Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
Experts are providing more context to earlier comments made today by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov about Russia’s possible use of nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine invasion.
Peskov said Russia would only use nuclear weapons if its very existence were threatened, reported Reuters.
Here’s Matt Tait, former principal security consultant for iSEC Partners and NGS Secure:
Personally I think Putin will have to win Ukraine (or at least some of it's territory) or I think it'll go nuclear. And it'll certainly go nuclear if NATO and the rest of the world pile in. We've never been closer to nuclear war than we are right now.
Well given Bidum is traveling to Poland which borders the Ukraine I think that shows the threat of nuclear war or world war is extremely unlikely. Otherwise POTUS would not be going there. His trip shows exactly how much the threat isn't likely otherwise he wouldn't be traveling outside the US, let alone in that geographical region in direct proximity to the fighting in the Ukraine.
"Facts don't care about your feelings" I'M A UNVAXXED DEVIL so kiss my rebel ass.
-Assad-Syria visiting the UAE, Saudi Arabia did have talks with Iran...Arab Gulf States NOT going to increase oil production...
-bojo-UK visited some Gulf States but his visit was such a disaster the UK press kept it silent...(bojo wanted more, cheaper, energy to replace Russian energy).
-Japan PM visited India, trying to get India at least to condemn Russian intervention in Ukraine...answer was "No"
Discord between the two Gulf governments, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the Biden administration is breaking out in the open. Both governments, according to Gulf sources, refused to receive US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week for talks in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Blinken was on a mission to persuade their leaders to reduce energy prices, overheated by Western sanctions against Russia.
So my view; the "West" (10% of the global population live there-depending on definition) is getting isolated...
Maybe two main reasons;
-long term; lack of strategy; West invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2003...wars/crises in Libya, Syria go on for years...Yemen-war..what is the western goal in those wars ? Regime change-and then ? Stealing oil ?
-short term; US/NATO lost Afghanistan, Syria, is losing Ukraine...a crisis NATO created themselves...
So why do trade with the West under western terms, being bullied and insulted, in US$....when Russia, China are willing to make deals in Indian ruppees, other local currencies...
Another point is the west is very divided;
-Turkey still NATO but doing its own thing...DJ-In my opinion not a part of "the West" any longer...EU did cause a break up of EU-Turkish relations pushing Turkey towards Russia, Iran..
-Germany, Hungary openly saying the will-have to-keep buying Russian energy...(AM may be correct; Europe can make plans to decrease energy-import from Russia but on the short term has no alternatives...DJ-And a lot of Russian energy is used in industry glass-farming etc. NOT in households, not (much) effected by a warm winter...)
-Australia, South Korea, Japan all three in different positions...Japan-for now-most pro-US...Australia needs exports to (most) China-de fact an ally of Russia...South Korean industry has an eye on the growing Asian market...(Korea, China united in hatred against Japan; in recent history-till 1945-Japan treated Koreans and Chinese as sub-humans...in many ways Japan never apologized or changed its views...An increase of Japan as a military power is very unwelcome for the rest of East Asia...Given the US total lack of understanding such sensitivities another crisis could be coming around Japan-US military build up).
-UK-clown bojo-looking for the US to be an alternative for the EU....will bojo-party king-political survive this year ? And at what costs...
-EU...in fact political chaos...followed US " instructions", taking Ukrainian lies serious...now facing both a refugee and an energy crisis...on top of a healthcare crisis...I expect "unrest"...
-USA...biden....showing himself to be even worse then trump, or bush.jr....His political circle may have total unrealistic ideas of what the world in 2022 looks like...
Risks for nuclear war;
DJ-In my opinion Russia, China, Iran, North Korea see the US as their main enemy...If "the west/US" would now also go for sanctions against India, Pakistan (maybe even Arab Gulf States ?) US "foreign policy/insanity" may even be able to end up in conflict with them...
Many "experts" point we are living in transition-times; US being replaced by RIC-Russia-Iran-China as the global #1 (you may not like it, may not agree with it...but if it is happening simply have to make the choice between accepting it or fighting it...). The US$ is the basis for US economic power...
In my view we are in a very major GLOBAL crisis...
-Battlefield use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine (by Russia) 0%...however if NATO would get involved it may be 100%....a MAJOR NATO allack on Russia could mean Russia using nuclear weapons in a very early stage...
-A build-up of Japan military power by the US, certainly with the US now following Japanese claims on islands Japan had to give up after 1945...DJ-What is the US doing !!!...could be crossing red lines for both Russia and China (to name just the two nuclear powers...but also India may not welcome it...). I do not think China wants to invade Taiwan...however if there would be a major US military build-up in Taiwan it means war...
-Any (further) US/Israel plans of attacking Iran could start a conflict with Russia, China and even India (major investor in Iran)...
-US attack on North Korea....(US regime-change operations...)
-For that matter even any further US agression against cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela...
DJ-Major point is that "RIC" Russia, Iran, China are that fed up with "the West" breaking all agreements. "The West" still believes in its own (racism based) "superiority" and phantasies of global importance by now MOST OF THE WORLD !!!! may want to show they can do without them....
Again EU may play still some role in EurAsian-African trade...China is allready " very involved" in Latin American energy, raw materials, food...paying for it via investments in infrastructure...
The US may find itself getting "very isolated" but still with lots of nuclear weapons...(and other parts of the military depending that much on imports it may be unable to fight a long major conflict..The US could play a major role in World War 2 because there still was a lot of global trade making the US war economy possible).
DJ-Since I do not expect NATO/Europe willing to get involved even more in Ukraine swamps a possible "nuclear exchange" could be between the US and Russia, China (North Korea)....
Maybe to end with;
Ukraine is the size of Iraq...It would be unrealistic to believe the Ukraine War would be over in a month..Russia does not have the goal to occupy Kiev, Charkov...the goal is to keep Ukraine out of NATO/US hands (also sending a warning to other east European countries). The picture I get is that Russia (not only Putin...but a political Russian top) is getting that goal...has no need for "NBC" (Nuclear, Bio, Chemical) warfare...
Still it may not stop the "west"-like they did in Syria-to provide "rebels/moderate neo-nazi's in this case-with all kinds of criminal weapons and then blame Russia...
However there may be NO public support in any western country to go for war against Russia...even if some insane criminal leaders (bojo, biden) push for it...I notice that even here in NL the "mood is changing"...
The "West" is now confronted with the "fall-out" of its choices; energy/food/transport getting very expensive...even more refugees...and again the outcome of US foreign policy disasters...(and a failure of EU leaders to correct it). The West is now confronted with severe economic damage that also will effect their position in global trade...Western economies unable to compete on global markets...I think the US may be even get hit harder then the EU. EU still playing a role in Asia/Africa/Latin America trade-in part because of its position...
The US may have to face its worst crisis since 1861-65 US civil war....
Bad leaders make bad choices, bad choices have bad consequences...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Today's move to demand rubles for hydrocarbons is only on of the many steps Russia can, and likely will take, to retaliate for sanctions from the 'west'.
All energy consumption in the U.S. and EU will now come at a premium price. This will push the EU and the U.S. into a recession. As Russia will increase the prices for exports of goods in which it has market power - gas, oil, wheat, potassium, titanium, aluminum, palladium, neon etc - the rise in inflation all around the world will become significant.
As he heads to Europe, President Biden will press U.S. allies to help impose even more aggressive sanctions on Russia.
Biden demands that Europe suicides itself while he is protecting the U.S. industry. I hope that some people in the European capitals are still able to think clear enough to recognize the racket the U.S. is trying to run here:
Together with the economic devastation that U.S. and European sanctions on Russia are causing in their own economies this will end in regime-changes in several European countries. The U.S. is of course again protecting itself from as much as it can at the cost of others.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China stands ready to elevate solidarity, friendship and cooperation with the Islamic world to a new level.
Wang made the remarks while meeting with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, where he attended the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC on March 22 in Pakistan. It was the first time for a Chinese foreign minister to attend an OIC session.
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He also reiterated China's support for safeguarding sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Islamic countries as well as for exploring a development path suited to their national conditions.
On COVID-19, Wang said China will provide an additional 300 million doses of vaccines to Islamic countries and support the OIC's member countries in Africa fighting the pandemic.
He also said China will enhance bilateral cooperation in education and training sectors, and jointly hold the fifth seminar of the Chinese-Islamic civilization dialogue.
On behalf of over 50 member countries of the OIC, the secretary-general welcomed Wang by saying that his attendance will further boost ties between the two sides.
Expressing appreciation for China's efforts in helping Islamic countries fight the pandemic, providing assistance to least-developed Islamic countries and the Islamic Development Bank, and offering training to thousands of students from Islamic countries in Africa, Taha said Islamic countries hope to enhance dialogue and communication with China, promote mutual understanding and work together to meet challenges.
The two sides also exchanged views on Palestine and Afghanistan, among other issues.
China and Saudi Arabia expressed solidarity on current regional and international issues
On Tuesday, Wang Yi held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The two sides reaffirmed solid diplomatic relations and expressed solidarity on current regional and international situations.
The Islamic Republic of Iran opposes any war and urges the resolution of disputes between countries through dialog, says Iran’s foreign minister, welcoming a détente in relations between Syria and other regional countries.
Speaking at a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is satisfied with the fact that some regional countries are trying to normalize their relations with Syria.
He was making a reference to President Assad’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, which marked the latest sign of warming ties between the two countries after the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and sent its foreign minister to visit Syria in late 2021.
“China will avoid conflict with US not proactively challenge US, but will use our power to force US to accept peaceful coexistence. Russia is the most important partner to achieve this goal. That’s why we can’t abandon Putin during this war. This is in our long term interest” end
Top Russian officials on Wednesday condemned Poland's proposal to send NATO "peacekeeping forces" into Ukraine as a "very reckless and extremely dangerous" idea that would risk a full-scale war between the alliance and Moscow.
"This will be the direct clash between the Russian and NATO armed forces that everyone has not only tried to avoid but said should not take place in principle," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in remarks to students and staff at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations as Russia's deadly assault on Ukraine entered its 28th day. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov echoed Lavrov's assessment, telling reporters Wednesday that "the consequences of a possible engagement between our troops and NATO forces are quite clear and they would be hard to mend."
Russia allready has its own "peacekeepers in Ukraine"....
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
DJ, US LNG export to Europe at max capacity, others not willing to increase LNG export. Qatar sending LNG to Europe would simply mean Qatar sending less LNG to Asia-wich will be replaced by Russian LNG....
DJ-Most EU"leaders" act as US vazals-not even as US friends....Germany, France warned in 2008 that NATO moving further east (Ukraine, Georgia) would bring war....but they kept silent when they should have opened their mouth early 2022....
AM mentioning rationing energy, food in the west, inflation above 10%-with US pushing for sanctions against China allready....DJ-The level of "totalitarian stupidity" with widespread censorship ;
Biden Admin is doubling down on their vision of a “new world order” with Biden as President of the World spreading “democracy” around the globe, instead of improving lives of the American people. But if he really believed in democracy, he wouldn’t be undermining it here at home
is beyond of what I could think of untill recently....
DJ-In my opinion we now are facing a complete faillure of political parties, media in the "free west"....a total lack of self-reflection...
AM did warn the present Ukraine crisis (he thinks comparable to the Cuba-crisis; I think it is far worse...) is only a starter for a much worse US-China crisis on its way....
If you look at history dominance of a country (Spain, NL, UK) had an end...somehow the US seems to be unable to find a diplomatic way out of it....The US, UK, EU deserve better leaders...sad that it has to go via this major crisis....
By the way, AM mentioning Ukraine war-in the view of several sources-may be over in april...DJ-Maybe as a part of an agreement Poland may send in "peacekeepers" in Western Ukraine...if Moscow agrees with it...(In itself it could start another crisis between Ukrainians and Poles...over 100,000 were killed in a conflict between them during world war two...).
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook agreed on the need to take "firm" actions against North Korea's latest ballistic missile test, calling it a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday.
They also strongly condemned the North's latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in a bilateral phone call.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Thursday that "accusing China of spreading false information about Ukraine is itself spreading disinformation".
"China's position is consistent with the wishes of most countries... any unwarranted accusations and suspicions against China will be defeated," he said.
"We have always maintained that Ukraine should become a bridge between the East and West, rather than be in the frontline in a game between great powers."
India: US, Russia ties 'stand on their own merit'
India also said it has friendly relations with both the United States and Russia that stand on their own merit.
Junior foreign minister Meenakashi Lekhi made the remark in response to a query whether the Ukraine crisis had affected ties.
"India has called for immediate cessation of hostilities and return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue with respect to the conflict in Ukraine," Lekhi told parliament.
"India has close and friendly relations with both the US and Russia," she added. "They stand on their own merit."
DJ, The US invaded/still has troops in Syria, Iraq, most likely Yemen, Libya...involved in all kinds of dirty wars...working with IS and neo=nazi-scum....
Yet it is the military & retired military personnel that call out the danger of this exceptialism as inherently dangerous to not only the world, but to the Republic of the United States also. I’ve tweeted a lot about need to dismantle NATO, & need for global development.
"Babylon is burning"
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
Many in Moscow have cited soaring inflation as the most egregious problem.
Well it looks like there is common ground between Russia and the US after all. They both have the same egregious problem. Inflation at a 40 year high in US.
"Facts don't care about your feelings" I'M A UNVAXXED DEVIL so kiss my rebel ass.
DJ, AM; Most of the war in the east of Ukraine...Russia does not have the plan to take over cities-just for taking over cities...Western/Ukraine propaganda on Russian losses would translate to Russia losing more military now then in the battles in that region in 1943 against the Germans...unrealistic...
NATO 'very united", jens stoltenberg has to stay another year because of disagreement on who would become the next secretary general of NATO, beginning to see how much damage the sanctions-war against russia is doing to the west....NATO trying to convince itself of its strenght, while it could not prevent or protect Ukraine...only causing the war by "moving east"...Baltic states wondering what NATO protection means...(Will they be next to be used in creating a Russian-EU crisis by the US)
DJ. biden (still US president - 79 y/o) comes up with claims of Russia planning to use bio/chemical warfare...When Russia so far even is limiting bombing...The "west" is claiming Ukraine is winning the war...on the other hand telling Russia to stop that war...
...the neo-liberal conservative political elite showing they are empty bla-bla; only good for making the rich even richer...but even now failing here...
Again my opinion; how bad is this crisis ? Very bad...maybe even "worst ever"...
-As if it was a western-movie biden thinks NOT talking about compromise is strenght...sort of biden-Putin in a western town both hands near the gun...only in reality that gun is nuclear...
-US goal was to stop Eur-Asian integration...
-Russia, China reacted with de-dollarization of a lot of global trade...not only in energy but all kinds of trade..
-"West" going for sanctions against Russia...
-Russian energy export to China, India did increase the last months...
-The EU can not do without Russian energy....now has to pay for it in rubles....
-Most of the world NOT joining the West...
-US pushing for sanctions against China, India, South Africa...
-Russia, China only can see the US has the goal of regime change in Moscow, Bejing...
In short;
-Russia, China will NOT accept any try of regime change
-US, EU now with $/€ worth less in international trade
-Western interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria total faillure, Ukraine will be next
Choices;
-US, accept at least a need for (indirect) talks with Russia, China or push further for escalation. (Getting anti-ship missiles in (west) Ukraine is act of agression...NATO special forces very likely still in Ukraine-Mariupol...(Has an ethnic Greek population of 100,000)
Further escalation means increasing risks for "major war"...
-Russia, China already very active on the global diplomatic front. Most of non-western countries want to stay out of the conflict...Even Turkey (NATO), Israel "position themselves" to be able to negotiate..On the economic front Russia-China introducing an alternative for SWIFT, but also for € and US$...
-EU, starting to realize-at least somewhat-sanctions most did damage to the EU..."We" (I live in NL-EU) still import energy from Russia-now have to pay for that in Russian currency...face hyperinflation, another refugee-crisis...US claiming US-LNG "would be able to replace" Russian energy imports...
DJ-Major European companies (but also in South Korea) may face bankruptcy because of sanctions...Since every $, € or Yen counts in our "democrazy" they may push politics for de-escalation...next in line will be social unrest...food, energy, healthcrisis for what ?
It is easy to say "blame Putin" as .....biden does....
Outcome; major political crisis in the West...wich in itself could cause "politicians" to go for military escalation (and repression in their own countries).
Present situation; Russia slowly taking over Ukraine...next goal may to fully occupy the Black Sea coast (Odessa)..So far (Belarus) the borders with Poland, Romania (etc) are still open...so refugees can move west...If (to much) weapons move east the border between Ukraine and EU may be closed...
DJ-The way the western "media" , "politics" is dealing with the present crisis also-again-makes me question the western claim on the MH17-airplane shootdown (from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia, killing 298 passengers, of wich 196 were Dutch). Ukraine was part of the Joint Investigation Team. Malaysia, Russia were kept out of that team...The JIT still claims "Russian seperatists" did shoot down that plane (that should not even be above eastern Ukraine battle front !)...The BUK-missile used however may have been an older one in use still by Ukraine-not Russia...
In 1988 the US did shoot down an Iranian civil plane-Iran did very likely react with "Lockerbie"PanAm bombing later that year-however the West did find it easier to blame Libya-bombing Tripoli..(killing some of Kadaffi-family members). IF Ukraine did shoot down an Malaysia(NL-KLM mixed) flight it would be very "unwelcome"...
Conclusion; We are on our way to major global war-with limited mediation. DJ-The US politics is the problem.
( I am not anti-US. I think the Dutch played a major role in US history-being treated by the English as second class "yankees" after the fall of Nieuw Nederland (now New York, New Jersey more or less) and taking revenge starting the 1776 US "revolution". For that matter there is also a love-hate relationship between the UK and US...even a factor during World War Two, Vietnam War (UK not joining the US) and bojo trying to undo brexit-damage by increasing relations with the US...).
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
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