Russia
Includes Ukraine and Eastern/Central Europe
2015
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DECEMBER 2015

• Strike that killed Syrian rebel chief complicates peace talks push: U.S.
  Washington Reuters/Bassam Khabieh Russian air strikes like the one that killed a top Syrian rebel leader last week send the wrong message to groups engaged in a political dialogue to end the conflict and complicate efforts to begin negotiations, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush, the leader of Jaysh al Islam who commanded thousands of fighters in the Damascus suburbs, was killed on Friday in an air strike that rebel sources said was carried out by Russian warplanes. Jaysh al Islam was a participant in the Riyadh conference where Syrian opposition groups agreed on common aims for proposed political negotiations to end the country's civil war and chose a former Syrian prime minister to represent them in the dialogue. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States did not provide support to Alloush's group and had concerns about its "behavior on the battlefield," but noted that Jaysh al Islam had fought Islamic State rebels and was participating in the political dialogue to end Syria's civil war. [US Syria policy] [Outsourcing] [Jihadist] [Russia confrontation] [Russia Syria]
• US sanctions 34 individuals, entities over Ukraine crisis
  Xinhua, December 23, 2015 U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 34 individuals and entities in an effort to maintain pressure on Russia over its action related to the crisis in Ukraine. The move targets 14 individuals and entities that the United States believes are linked to those that have engaged in serious and sustained evasion of existing sanctions or are 50 percent or more owned by a designated entity, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Also blacklisted are six separatists designated for threatening the security or stability of Ukraine, two former Ukrainian government officials for being complicit in the misappropriation of public assets and/or threatening the security or stability of Ukraine, as well as 12 entities for operating in the Crimea region. [Sanctions] [Russia confrontation]
• Putin Blues
  Israel Shamir • December 23, 2015 Heavy darkness befalls the North; the sun rarely emerges from between the clouds. This year, Russia has noticeably less street illumination, and the spirits are anything but festive. Only the whiteness of the snow and Christmas trees break the gloom and remind us of the forthcoming low point of the cosmic wheel, Yuletide, when days starts to wax and nights to wane. As this stellar event foretells the Nativity of our Savior, this is a period of hope after a very difficult year, all over the world. Putin supporters are unhappy The Russians keep guessing what President Putin will tell them in his traditional televised address to the nation at the break of the New Year. He should say, this year is over, and we shall all cheer, people propose. Even the most optimistic ones are disappointed by lacklustre economic performance, and they blame the government of Prime Minister Medvedev and his liberal monetarist team. Meanwhile Putin rises above the blame game, but the government is less and less popular. •As the Rouble drops, even the rather pro-Kremlin mass-circulation newspaper KP (full disclosure: I write an occasional column for the KP) published a call for the economy and finance ministers to resign or to be fired. There is a very little chance that Mr Putin will take this advice and clean his government stables. •He could beef up his credit by dumping some (or all) of his ministers, but Putin is stubborn and unusually loyal to his colleagues. No accusation has ever convinced him to dismiss a man of his team. His former defence minister Mr Serdyukov has allegedly been involved in some shady dealing, while Serdyukov’s paramour and assistant amassed millions by selling prime MOD assets to her cronies. Still, Putin did not dump him, and saved him from jail. (He had to resign to become a CEO, while she served a few weeks in prison, at most). •Last week, the opposition leader Mr Navalny aired some heavy charges against Attorney General Chayka. For his defence, Chayka said that the man behind the campaign is the notorious Mr Browder. Browder is an American crook who managed to appropriate many high-quality Russian assets for pennies during Yeltsin’s privatisation. Eventually he was forced to part with his loot and he has been sentenced to many years of jail in absentia. Browder is slime, no doubt, but it is a weak defence for Chayka. Still, Putin refused to drop Chayka or even to initiate an independent investigation of his alleged crimes. •Putin stands by the most hated politician of Yeltsin’s era, Mr Anatoly Chubays. The Financial Times called him Father to the Oligarchs. After leaving the government, Chubays has been appointed to lead the RUSNANO, a state-owned corporation notorious for its embezzlement and waste. Putin saved him many times over from prosecution. •Putin went, hat in hand, to Yekaterinburg for the grand opening of Boris Yeltsin’s Memorial Centre (price tag – nine billion roubles) and referred kindly to the loathed late President who appointed him his successor. People were furious seeing their president enjoying himself among the carpetbaggers of Yeltsin’s regime. •Can you imagine Fox TV transmitting Russian propaganda? In Russia, a major chunk of Russian media, state-owned or subsidised by the taxpayer, transmits pro-Western and anti-Russian agenda, alleged the eminent film director Nikita Michalkov, a staunch supporter of Putin, in his video seen by over two million viewers in a few days. He called upon Putin to assert his line and banish the enemies within, but state TV refused to broadcast the video. •Putin’s recent press-conference provided a chance for more criticism. Beside the points mentioned above, the journalists asked why state enterprise CEOs are paid millions of dollars a year, while everybody else is called upon to tighten the belt. They asked why the Russian Central Bank keeps buying US bonds and supports the US Dollar at the expense of the Rouble. They asked why import substitution does not work etc. These are protests from the pro-Putin crowd, from people who supported his takeover of Crimea and his entry into Syrian war. They could bear some deprivation, but they are upset by Putin’s condoning thieves, by his apparent cronyism, by his oligarch friends. Until now, the critics avoided attacking Putin, but these are the early swallows. Dr Stepan Sulakshin, the head of a Moscow think tank, publicly accused Putin of knowingly leading Russia into further degradation. This bubbling dissatisfaction of Putin’s supporters may yet turn more dangerous for the president than the 2011 Fronde of his hipster enemies. Meanwhile, head-strong Mr Putin does not wish to yield ground, sacrifice some of more hated ministers and CEOs, or attune internal policies to public expectations. Perhaps he is right, and things are not what they appear, but justice must be seen, not only done. [Putin]
• Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership
  by Julie Ray December 23, 2015 Story Highlights •17% approve of Poroshenko's job performance •8% confident in their national government •5% say government doing enough to fight corruption WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs last year that Ukraine's then-new president was starting to rebuild Ukrainians' trust in their leadership, President Petro Poroshenko is now less popular than his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych was before he was ousted. After more than a year in office, 17% of Ukrainians approve of the job that Poroshenko is doing. This approval rating is down sharply from 47% a few months after his election in May 2014. Job Approval of Ukrainian Country Leaders Poroshenko's low approval rating largely reflects Ukrainians' disenchantment with their leadership, which many feel has failed to deliver on what protesters demanded when they took to the streets two years ago. Since the Maidan revolution, Ukraine's economy has been in shambles, the Crimea region joined Russia and fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the country's East has claimed more than 9,000 lives. Although fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists has decreased recently, Gallup's interviews in Ukraine this year took place in July and August, as renewed fighting threatened the shaky truce. Gallup's polls excluded the Donetsk and Luhansk territories, where security continues to be an issue. The excluded areas account for approximately 2% of Ukraine's adult population. Poroshenko is not popular in any region of Ukraine. He has the fewest fans in the country's Russian-leaning South and East, where one in 10 or fewer approve of the job he is doing. However, Poroshenko notably also has fewer admirers in the West and South and East than Yanukovych did before the revolution. In the Central and North regions (which include Kiev), roughly as many Ukrainians approve of Poroshenko now (21%) as approved of Yanukovych (20%) in 2013. [Ukraine] [Public opinion]
• Gallup: Ukrainians Loathe the Kiev Government Imposed by Obama
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, December 24, 2015 On December 23rd, Gallup headlines “Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership,” and reports that “nearly nine in 10 Ukrainians (88%) say corruption is widespread in their government, and about eight in 10 (81%) see the same widespread problem in their country’s businesses.” 8% of Ukrainians now say they “have confidence … about the national government.” 17% approve of the job-performance of their President, Petro Poroshenko. While the pre-coup President, Viktor Yanukovych, was in office, 2010-2014, that figure had been averaging about 23%, and was never as low as Poroshenko’s is now. Gallup reports, “fewer Ukrainians now say their leadership is taking them in the right direction than before the revolution,” but that statement calling this coup a ‘revolution’ embodies the propaganda-lie of one of Gallup’s main clients, the U.S. government itself, which calls the U.S. coup in Ukraine in February 2014 a “revolution,” when every honest and knowledgeable person now knows that this U.S. government claim — that it had helped install democracy instead of having ended it in Ukraine on 20 February 2014 — to have been a lie. Even the founder of the “private CIA” firm Stratfor has called the overthrow of Yanukovych “the most blatant coup in history.” It had been that because it was the first coup to be videoed by numerous people from many different angles with their cellphones and by TV cameras, uploaded to the Web by even anti-Yanukovych countries such as the UK’s BBC; and those videos, the best compilation of which is here, make clear that this was, indeed, a coup d’etat, no authentic revolution at all, such as the U.S. government claims. [Ukraine] [Public opinion] [Coup]
• The New Thorn In Russia's Side: Why Moscow Doesn't Want Montenegro Joining NATO
  By Robbie Gramer For the first time in six years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced that it would expand its membership, inviting Montenegro to join the alliance. Only 16 years ago, NATO was bombing the small western Balkan nation as part of its intervention in Kosovo. With a standing military of only 2,000, Montenegro’s membership will have little impact on the alliance’s military strength. But the move has profound political consequences. It illustrates the progress that the western Balkans, and Montenegro in particular, have made since the bloody and traumatizing wars of the 1990s. To receive the invitation, Montenegro had to undertake a series of political, legal, and military reforms under the auspices of NATO’s Membership Action Plan, a program that offers assistance and support for countries seeking to join the alliance. That a newly independent country could reach these standards in such a short time frame speaks to the enduring and powerful draw of the Euro-Atlantic community. In that sense, this remarkable success story comes at an opportune time—it is a bright spot in Europe’s otherwise dark political terrain of internal strain, the refugee crisis, and the war in Ukraine. [NATO enlargement] [Russia confrontation] [US Balkans strategy]
• Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference (full text)
  December 18, 2015 President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends and colleagues, We regularly meet at the end of the year. Only recently I made my Address [to the Federal Assembly]. Honestly speaking, I do not know what else to add to what I said then. I believe I covered all the key points. Nevertheless, there must be issues, which you want us to clarify. When I say ‘us’, I am referring to my colleagues in the Presidential Executive Office and the Government Cabinet and myself. Therefore, I suggest that we skip any lengthy monologues and get right down to your questions so as not to waste time. Mr Peskov, please. Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov: Last year we started a good tradition by beginning the press conference with a question from one of the most experienced members of the Kremlin’s press pool, Vyacheslav Terekhov. However, we have another press pool old-timer, Alexander Gamov from the Komsomolskaya Pravda. I would like to give him the opportunity to ask the first question. Alexander Gamov: Thank you very much Mr President, for your 11th press conference of this kind. Here is my question. Before coming here, I reread the transcript of your last year’s press conference, and there we also discussed the difficult situation developing in the Russian economy. When Vyacheslav Terekhov and our other colleagues asked you then how long it would take to get over this complicated situation, you said in the worst case scenario this would take a year or two. These were your words. I am sure you remember them. This means this would be roughly late 2016 – early 2017. Could you please tell us if your feelings regarding our economic recovery have changed? The country is going through very hard times, and you know this better than we do. What is your forecast for the future? Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself: Alexander Gamov, Komsomolskaya Pravda – radio station, website and newspaper. Thank you. Vladimir Putin: To begin with, I will tell you a very old joke. Two friends meet and one asks the other: ”How are you?“ The other says: ”My life is all stripes – black stripes followed by white ones.“ – ”So which one is it now?“ – ”Now I’m in the black one.“ Another six months pass, they meet again: ”How’s life? I know it’s all stripes, but which one is it now?“ – ”It’s black now.“ – ”But it was black last time!“ – ”Looks like it was white last time.“ We are having something very similar. When a year ago we spoke of our plans and how we would move ahead to recover from the crisis, about our prospects, we, knowing that unfortunately our economy is very dependent on foreign economic factors, mainly the prices for our traditional exports like oil and gas, petroleum products and chemicals, which are all calculated based on oil and gas prices, proceeded from the idea that the average price of Brent, our crude oil, would be around $100 a barrel. [Vladimir Putin]
• Week Eleven of the Russian Intervention in Syria: A Step Back from the Brink?
  The Saker • December 19, 2015 This has been an amazing week. While last week I concluded that “The only way to avoid a war is to finally give up, even if that is initially denied publicly, on the “Assad must go” policy”. Now it is true that various US officials, including Kerry, did make statements about the fact that Assad need not go right now, that a “transition” was important or that “the institutions of the state” had to be preserved, but of course what I, and many others really meant, was that the US needed to fundamentally change its policy towards the Syrian conflict. Furthermore, since Turkey committed an act of war against Russia under the “umbrella” of the US and NATO, this also created a fantastically dangerous situation in which a rogue state like Turkey could have the impression of impunity because of its membership in NATO. Here again, what was needed was not just a positive statement, but a fundamental change in US policy. There is a possibility that this fundamental change might have happened this week. Others have a very different interpretation of what took place and I am not categorically affirming that it did – only time will show – but at least it is possible that it has. Let’s look at what happened. [Russia confrontation] [Russian foreign policy] [Putin]
• NATO Enlargement, the Balkans and Russia
  The following text is the first in a series of articles which will present an analysis and evaluation of NATO enlargement in the Balkans, the interests that are driving this policy and the implications this has for Russia. Written by Viktor Milinkovic exclusively for SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence. Viktor Milinkovic is a criminal justice professional and specialist with over a decade of experience within the field of law enforcement, public protection, risk assessment and security analysis and strategy. The escalation of tensions between the NATO military alliance and Russian Federation has become the most critical issue within the domain of contemporary international relations. The potential for devastation on a global scale as a consequence of an eventual direct military confrontation has increased exponentially. The prospect of such a scenario occurring is no longer a remote possibility and as such demands an objective evaluation as to the origins of discord and sources of contention. The evolution of an antagonistic atmosphere between NATO and Russia emerged in tandem with events that immediately followed upon the culmination of the Cold War in 1991. The NATO military alliance interpreted the disintegration of the Soviet Union as its ‘victory,’ thus proceeding with a formal policy of enlargement into the domain of former Warsaw Pact and Soviet republics. In effect, NATO utilised the new circumstances advantageously, in abandoning its ostensibly defensive character as prescribed by its own charter. In so doing, the military alliance assumed an openly offensive position in preparation for aggressive Eastward expansion, which would be consolidated by a series of military interventions and an extension of its basing system. The security conditions in the world over a decade later had deteriorated to such an extent, that President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin was inspired to assert in his 2005 address to the Federal Assembly, that: “we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century” [1]. The instability that has engulfed much of the world since the end of the Cold War is a direct consequence of military operations initiated by NATO or by leading NATO member states in a variety of coalition arrangements, namely the US, UK, France and Germany. The principal objectives that have never been formally acknowledged by NATO, but are apparent from the resulting reality of an openly offensive strategy, are: 1.The prevention of the emergence of a rival to NATO in political as well as military terms 2.The incorporation the entire Eurasian landmass into a NATO allied military structure 3.The establishment of a NATO-led protectorate administrative authority in strategic locations [NATO enlargement] [US Balkans strategy]
• President Al-Assad Interview: “The West Is Not Serious in Fighting Terrorists”
  "Russia’s Policy towards Syria Is Based on Values and Interests" By Bashar al Assad Global Research, December 13, 2015 SANA 11 December 2015 Damascus, SANA – President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to the Spanish EFE news agency in which he stressed that the Russians’ values and interests in their policy towards Syria are not in contradiction, noting that as long as the US is not serious in fighting the terrorists, the West won’t be serious. The following is the full text of the interview: Question 1: Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your hospitality and for giving the Spanish News Agency EFE the opportunity to understand what is the situation in your country. Okay, on November 14th, the world powers, including Russia and Iran, agreed in Vienna on a timetable for a political solution for the Syria crisis. According to this timetable, the negotiations between your government and the moderate opposition should start on January 1st. Are you ready to start those negotiations? President Assad: You are most welcome in Syria. Since the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, we adopted the dialogue approach with every party that is involved in the Syrian conflict, and we dealt positively, responded positively, to every initiative that has been launched by different states around the world regardless of the real intention and the genuineness of the people or the officials who started those initiatives. So, we were ready, and we are ready today to start the negotiations with the opposition. But it depends on the definition of opposition. Opposition, for everyone in this world, doesn’t mean militant. There’s a big difference between militants, terrorists, and opposition. Opposition is a political term, not a military term. So, talking about the concept is different from the practice, because so far, we’ve been seeing that some countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, and some Western countries wanted the terrorist groups to join these negotiations. They want the Syrian government to negotiate with the terrorists, something I don’t think anyone would accept in any country. [Bashar Assad] [Russia Syria] [US Syrian policy]
• Why Did Turkey Shoot Down That Russian Plane?
  by Conn Hallinan December 11, 2015 Why did Turkey shoot down that Russian plane? It was certainly not because the SU-24 posed any threat. The plane is old and slow, and the Russians were careful not to arm it with anti-aircraft missiles. And it wasn’t because the Turks are quick on the trigger, either. Three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphatically declared that a “short-term violation of airspace can never be a pretext for an attack.” There are even some doubts about whether the Russian plane ever crossed into Turkey’s airspace at all. Indeed, the whole November 24 incident looks increasingly suspicious, and one doesn’t have to be a paranoid Russian to think the takedown might have been an ambush. As retired Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, former U.S. Air Force chief of staff, told Fox News, “This airplane was not making any maneuvers to attack the [Turkish] territory.” He called the Turkish action “overly aggressive” and concluded that the incident “had to be preplanned.” It certainly puzzled the Israeli military, not known for taking a casual approach to military intrusions. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told the press on November 29 that a Russian warplane had violated the Israeli border over the Golan Heights. “Russian planes do not intend to attack us, which is why we must not automatically react and shoot them down when an error occurs.” So why was the plane downed? Perhaps because, for the first time in four years, some major players are tentatively inching toward a settlement of the catastrophic Syrian civil war, and powerful forces are maneuvering to torpedo that process. If the Russians hadn’t kept their cool, several nuclear-armed powers could well have found themselves in a scary faceoff, and any thoughts of ending the war would have gone a-glimmering. [SU24_151124]
• Week Ten of the Russian Intervention in Syria
  The “Assad must go” policy implies war with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah
  The Saker • DECEMBER 12, 2015 The “news” that Israel and Turkey are systematically violating international law is hardly news at all. After all, we all know that Turkey has been regularly bombing the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, that Turkey still illegally occupies northern Cyprus just like the Israelis have been bombing Syria and Lebanon for decades and that they are still illegally occupying Palestine. The interesting development this week is that France, the UK and Germany have all officially decided to join these rogue states and act just like the Turks and Israelis by illegally intervening in Syria – in direct violation of international law – supposedly to fight Daesh. And even though Daesh is the official enemy, it “just so happens” that Syrian army positions were bombed by the USAF while the Israelis bombed Hezbollah missile depots. Apparently, the “Assad must go” policy is still the order of the day. In a way, one could argue that the West has now (re-)affirmed the principle that “might makes right” and that threats and violence are still the only “policy” of the Empire in lieu of a legal, negotiated, policy. The problem with that is that the “other side” strongly feels that surrendering to the Empire’s demands is simply not an option. [Russia Syria]
• Russian airstrikes force a halt to aid in Syria, triggering a new crisis
  By Liz Sly December 14 at 7:39 PM BEIRUT — Aid agencies are warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis in northern Syria as sharply intensified Russian airstrikes paralyze aid supply routes, knock out bakeries and hospitals and kill and maim civilians in growing numbers. Air attacks have escalated significantly since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane along the Turkey-Syria border on Nov. 24, the aid agencies say, with Russia responding to the incident by stepping up its effort to crush the anti-government rebellion in the insurgent-held provinces bordering Turkey. Among the targets that have been hit are the border crossings and highways used to deliver humanitarian supplies from Turkey, forcing many aid agencies to halt or curtail their aid operations and deepening the misery for millions of people living in the affected areas, according to a report this month by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Hospitals and health facilities also have been struck, reducing the availability of medical care for those injured in the bombings. According to the U.N. report, at least 20 medical facilities have been hit nationwide in Syria since Russia launched its air war on Sept. 30. “This is an emerging humanitarian crisis. There is extreme suffering, and people are not being protected,” said Rae McGrath, country director for Turkey and North Syria for the American aid agency Mercy Corps, one of the largest providers of food aid in northern Syria. Since the Russian strikes began, the agency has been able to deliver only a fifth of the amount it normally provides, he said. [Russia Syria] [Media] [Bombing] [Double standards]
• Putin warns of destroying forces threatening Russian military in Syria
  Xinhua, December 12, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned of immediate destruction to any forces threatening Russian military troops in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the annual expanded meeting of Russia's Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 11, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the annual expanded meeting of Russia's Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 11, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] "Any targets threatening Russian forces or our ground infrastructure should be destroyed immediately, and I order (them) to act as tough as possible," Putin, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, said at a meeting of senior Defense Ministry officials. Warning those attempting to organize any kind of "provocations against the Russian military," he said Russia has adopted additional measures to ensure security of its military and air bases, which have been reinforced by "aviation groups and anti-aircraft systems with all air operations covered by fighter jets." Since the downing of its Su-24 warplane by Turkey on Nov. 24, which has sparked a fierce war of words between the two sides, Russia has deployed a sophisticated S-400 missile defense system at its airbase in Syria. Putin added that Russian forces in Syria were interacting not only with the Syrian government troops but also the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army. "Currently, some of its (Free Syrian Army) units with a total strength exceeding 5,000 men are on the offensive against terrorists alongside the regular troops in provinces of Homs, Hama and Aleppo. Besides, we are providing them, as well as the Syrian army, with air support and are supplying armaments, ammunition and hardware," he specified. The president said Russia's operation in Syria was not directed by "geopolitical interests, or any desire to test new weapons," but out of direct threat from the IS. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Who Said It? "A Short-Term Border Violation Can Never Be A Pretext For An Attack"
  by Tyler Durden on 11/25/2015 14:10 -0400 Turkey has a right to defend itself and its airspace, President Obama said on Tuesday after Ankara’s F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 which Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims ventured into Turkish airspace for a grand total of 17 seconds. Similarly, Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was simply acting to defend its security. Of course you can take everything Erdogan says with a grain of salt because if we’re being honest, he’s an autocrat and largely thanks to his government, Turkey is a tyrannical frontier market masquerading as a largely developed democracy. When it comes to NATO and the West you can always find a contradiction or two (or five) when it comes to foreign policy rhetoric which is why we weren’t at all surprised (although we were amused) with what we found when we decided to take a look back at what Erdogan said in 2012 after Assad’s air force shot down a Turkish F-4 phantom jet when it crossed into Syrian airspace. Here's a map showing the flight path of the F-4 and where it disappeared (via BBC): And now, prepare yourself for some of the most epic hypocrisy ever to spew from the mouths of NATO and its allies. From BBC ca. 2012: Syria insists the F-4 Phantom jet was shot down inside Syrian airspace. The plane crashed into the eastern Mediterranean and its two pilots are missing. Mr Erdogan spoke of Turkey's "rage" at the decision to shoot down the F-4 Phantom on 22 June and described Syria as a "clear and present threat". "A short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack," he said. Well, apparently it can, because that's exactly what Turkey did on Tuesday - use a 17 second incursion as an excuse to shoot down a Russian warplane. But it doesn't stop there: In a statement, NATO's 28 members said the shooting down of the plane was "unacceptable" and they stood together with Turkey "in the spirit of strong solidarity". Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms." It's funny - NATO didn't say Turkey had "disregarded international norms" on Tuesday. And finally: Turkey has also accused its neighbour of firing on a search and rescue plane looking for the F-4 Phantom jet, although it was not brought down. Oh, you mean kind of like the Turkish-supported and US-armed FSA First Coastal Division did yesterday when they used an American-made TOW to destroy a Russian search and rescue helicopter killing one Russian Marine in the process? Enough said. [SU24_151124] [Turkey] [Double standards]
• Turkey PM Erdogan issues Syria border warning
  26 June 2012 PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells parliament Turkey will not tolerate Syrian threats to its borders Turkey says its military rules of engagement have changed after Syria shot down a Turkish plane that reportedly strayed into its territory. PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that if Syrian troops approached Turkey's borders, they would be seen as a military threat. Meanwhile Nato has expressed its condemnation of Syria's attack as well as strong support for Turkey. Syria insists the F-4 Phantom jet was shot down inside Syrian airspace. The plane crashed into the eastern Mediterranean and its two pilots are missing. Meanwhile, fierce fighting has been reported between the Syrian army and rebel forces in the suburbs of the capital Damascus. Witnesses say it is some of the most intense violence in the area since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began more than a year ago. In other developments on Tuesday: The head of UN peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous, said the monitoring mission in Syria would remain suspended because of mounting violence. Russia said its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov would attend an international conference on Syria in Geneva on 30 June Mr Erdogan spoke of Turkey's "rage" at the decision to shoot down the F-4 Phantom on 22 June and described Syria as a "clear and present threat". "A short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack," he said. The Turkish jet was on a training flight, testing Turkey's radars in the eastern Mediterranean, he said. [SU24_151124] [Turkey] [Double standards]
• Russians Are Joining ISIS in Droves
  Jihadists from Russia and Central Asia are pouring into the caliphate, four times more than a year ago. Across the globe, the number of foreign fighters traveling to Iraq and Syria continues to climb, but Russia and Central Asia have experienced the most dramatic change over the past year, with some estimates suggesting a 300 percent increase. Russia, with an estimated 2,400 fighters, is now believed to be the third biggest supplier of foreign fighters to radical Islamist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria, according to new analysis from the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. In June 2014, it was estimated that Russia had around 800 foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria. “Comparatively speaking, this increase is far more substantial proportionately than that seen in Western Europe over the same time span,” the Soufan Group says in a report it plans to release tomorrow. The Daily Beast obtained an early copy. The only two countries who currently supply more fighters are Tunisia, with an estimated 6,000, and Saudi Arabia, with 2,500. Jordan also continues to rank among the top nationalities fighting with the so-called Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda franchise, with somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 Jordanians leaving home to fight in Iraq or Syria. The majority of Russia’s foreign fighters is coming from the North Caucasus—Chechnya and Dagestan, areas with long histories of Islamic extremism. “Local grievances have long been drivers of radicalization in the Caucasus, and as the strong centralized security apparatus of the Russian government limits the scope for operations at home, the Islamic State has offered an attractive alternative,” the Soufan Group report says. But news investigations have also revealed that Russian authorities have encouraged local jihadists to travel to Syria. The logic being: better terrorists fight abroad than make trouble in Russia. According to a report in Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency—the Federal Security Service or FSB—facilitated the travel of Russian fighters headed to Syria. [Canard] [Jihadists] [Russia confrontation]
• Pentagon says Russian — not American — warplanes hit a Syrian army base
  Civilians and rescue workers search for victims amid the rubble of a building after a reported airstrike by government forces on the Sukkari neighborhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (Baraa Al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images) By Liz Sly and Dan Lamothe December 7 BEIRUT — The U.S. military alleged Monday that Russian warplanes were responsible for an attack on a Syrian army position in eastern Syria, an airstrike that Syria blamed on the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State militant group in the country. The Syrian government issued a statement earlier in the day accusing coalition aircraft of carrying out the overnight attack in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour. The government said three Syrian soldiers were killed and 13 injured in the strike. It was the first such allegation by Syria since the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State began in the country 14 months ago, and it sent tensions soaring in Syria’s crowded skies. A U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said later in the day that the Pentagon is “certain” that a Russian warplane carried out the attack. There was no response to that assertion from either Syria or Russia. The finger-pointing illustrated the danger that a misunderstanding, mistake or misinformation could trigger a wider conflict as Russia and the United States lead rival air campaigns to combat the Islamic State. U.S. warplanes did conduct overnight strikes in the province of Deir al-Zour on Sunday, but the targets were oil wells at least 34 miles from Ayyash, the location the Syrian government said was hit, according to Col. Steve Warren, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. [Russia Syria] [Canard]
• Ankara falls into Moscow's trap
  Author Kadri GurselPosted December 9, 2015 Translator Sibel Utku Bila What should be the key question to ask for an accurate understanding of why Ankara downed a Russian Su-24 warplane in the Turkish-Syrian border region on Nov. 24? If we had tried to formulate the question on the day of the incident, most of us would have probably asked, “What interest does Ankara have in downing a Russian plane?” But now, two weeks after the incident, we have the chance to compare the two countries’ attitudes and actions in the crisis, and then the most accurate and pertinent question emerges: “What interest does Moscow have in making Turkey shoot down a Russian plane?” Ankara is now being compelled to backtrack on its Syria policy in the face of Russian threats and sanctions, while the United States stands as one of the prime beneficiaries of the crisis. Indeed, Turkey downed the plane but Russia was the playmaker in this crisis. The speed and scope of the sanctions Moscow slapped on Turkey immediately after the incident in the realms of tourism, foreign trade, investment and joint projects suggest that the set of moves could have been planned in advance for a potential Syria-related crisis. The deployment of S-400 air defense missiles at the Hmeymim air base in Syria only two days after the incident indicates that the deployment was pre-planned. Another indication of pre-crisis preparation is the swift frontal attack by Russia’s propaganda machine on the issue of the Islamic State’s illicit oil trade with Turkey, directly targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family. The Russian propaganda seems directed at the Western public, to further worsen Erdogan’s already unfavorable image and thus make it harder for NATO allies to back Turkey up. In short, the Russians have been trying to isolate Turkey in the crisis. [Media] [Turkey] [SU24_151124] [Inversion] [Agency]
• Mountain Ambush
  December 4, 2015, 5:57 pm “Looking at the detailed Russian timeline of what happened,” says defense analyst Pierre Sprey, “I’d say the evidence looks pretty strong that the Turks were setting up an ambush.” By Andrew Cockburn On November 24, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber near the border of Turkey and Syria. In the immediate aftermath, officials from the two countries offered contradictory versions of what transpired: Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed that the plane was flying over Syrian territory when it was downed; Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan countered that it was inside Turkey’s border and had been warned ten times to alter its course. Hours later, President Obama threw his support behind Erdogan. “Turkey,” he said, “has a right to defend its territory and its airspace.” I asked Pierre Sprey, a longtime defense analyst and member of the team that developed the F-16, to examine what we know about the downing and determine what actually occurred that morning. The Russians have claimed the November 24 downing of their bomber was a deliberate pre-planned ambush by the Turks. Is there any merit in that argument? Looking at the detailed Russian timeline of what happened—as well as the much less detailed Turkish radar maps—I’d say the evidence looks pretty strong that the Turks were setting up an ambush. They certainly weren’t doing anything that would point to a routine air patrol along the border. Their actions in no way represented a routine, all day long type of patrol. How can we tell that? Well, let’s set up the situation and it’ll be a little easier to understand. The Russian pilots were assigned a target very close to the Turkish border, about ten miles in from the Mediterranean coast and about five miles south of an important border crossing at a little place called Yayladagi. That’s a border crossing that the Turks have used to slip jihadists into Syria, or to allow them to slip in. It’s also a place where there’s quite a bit of truck traffic, a fair amount of it probably oil tankers. It’s the only crossing for many, many miles around. This is a pretty sparsely populated, well forested and hilly area occupied by Turkmen—Turkish speaking Syrian tribesmen who are sympathetic to al-Nusra and the Islamic State, who harbor Chechen terrorists and who we know have been supported by the Turks. [SU24_151124] [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Ankara vs. Russia: Caucasus Turns into New Battlefront
  Dmitry Minin | 08.12.2015 The NATO allies have flatly refused to side with Turkey in its conflict with Russia. Now Ankara is urgently looking for new opportunities to boost its influence in the region and divert the Russia’s attention making it face other «fronts». Turkey has no time to lose as the relations with Moscow may deteriorate further. It makes Ankara hastily take steps to enhance its energy security, establish a coalition of Turkic states it has been fostering for a long time and complicate the situation in the Caucasus to make Moscow face more problems there. The rulers of re-emerged Ottoman Empire are trying to rekindle the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has escalated recently. The Paris Armenia-Azerbaijan summit slated for December 1 was indefinitely postponed. Great hopes were pinned on this top level meeting, as it was expected to become a step towards peaceful management of the conflict. As one can see, the first results of Turkish intrigues are already visible. Only Allah knows what else would the insane Erdogan do to startle the world! It’s not without reason that, according to news agencies reports, Russian heavy armor and weapons systems are being deployed along the Armenia-Turkey border. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Baku on December 3-4. It was a hallmark event. He has outlined his foreign policy doctrine in several writings, most important of which is his book «Strategic Depth» – an expansionist doctrine that the current Turkish government admires so much. Speaking at the ADA University in Baku on December 4, Davutoglu said, «It is necessary to completely liberate Azerbaijan’s occupied territories to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict». [Turkey]
• Week Nine of the Russian Intervention in Syria: The Empire Strikes Back
  The Saker • December 5, 2015 Chart of SU-24M Flight Path Released by Russian Ministry of Defense. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Considering the remarkable success of the Russian intervention in Syria, at least so far, it should not have come as a surprise that the AngloZionist Empire would strike back. The only question was how and when. We now know the answer to that question. On November 24th the Turkish Airforce did something absolutely unprecedented in recent history: it deliberately shot down another country’s military aircraft even though it was absolutely obvious that this aircraft presented no threat whatsoever to Turkey or the Turkish people. The Russian Internet is full of more or less official leaks about how this was done. According to these versions, the Turks maintained 12 F-16 on patrol along the border ready to attack, they were guided by AWACS aircraft and “covered” by USAF F-15s in case of an immediate Russian counter-attack. Maybe. Maybe not. But this hardly matters because what is absolutely undeniable is that the USA and NATO immediatley took “ownership” of this attack by giving their full support to Turkey. NATO went as far as to declare that it would send aircraft and ships to protect Turkey as if it had been Russia which had attacked Turkey. As for the USA, not only did it fully back Turkey, it now also categorically denies that there is any evidence that Turkey is purchasing Daesh oil. Finally, as was to be expected, the USA is now sending The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group into the eastern Mediterranean, officially to strike Daesh but, in reality, to back Turkey and threaten Russia. Even the Germans are now sending their own aircraft, but with the specific orders not to share any info with the Russians. So what is really going on here? [Russia Syria] [SU24_151124]
• Should Russia Really Be Involved in the Iraqi Conflict?
  Alexander Orlov The assault against Islamist forces in Syria that was launched by Russia’s warplanes and Syrian regular troops led to what can be easily described as a major victory – ISIL militants are now fleeing to Iraq. Yet the question over what should be done to put an end to the Islamic State in Iraq, where the Iraqi army, Shia militias, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the US Air Force have yet to achieve much progress. In this situation, on November 29 two US Senators – John McCain and Lindsey Graham put forward a proposition to send up to 10,000 US troops to Iraq and Syria. According to them, the ongoing air campaign in the region is not producing any positive results, so the only way to deal with the Islamist threat is to put boots on the ground, they argue. At the same time, Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that US units will not be taking part in ground operations in either of those states. We are 11 months away from the presidential election in the US, and in that period it’s unlikely that the situation is going to change. Such a decision can be taken by the next American president that will have to deal with the international situation that would be handed over to him by the sitting administration. The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq has been presented in the West as the greatest achievement of Obama’s foreign policy, to get them back there is to recognize one’s complete and utter failure. Obama’s attempts to stay away from ground operations in Iraq and Syria have been supported by the primary Democrat contender for the White House – Hillary Clinton. On November 30 in an interview with CBS she stated that she cannot imagine a situation under which she would make a different decision, since she’s convinced that the best way to fight ISIL is to keep bombing them. At the same time she was rather skeptical regarding the militaristic position that is being pushed forward by Republicans. As for Washington’s plans to deploy special forces in Iraq, recently announced by the Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi decided to stress the fact that a military operation in Iraq can not be conducted without the consent of the Iraqi government once again, just to be clear. Sources in the Iraqi government are denying claims that there’s been any kind of discussions about the deployment of American special forces in Iraq. In the meantime, the moment of complete and utter defeat of ISIL troops in Syria is approaching. Russian bombing raids have recently been supported by French aircraft that are in turn supported by the French Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. This week, the German Bundestag will be voting on sending German reconnaissance planes and more than one thousand soldiers to Syria. The United Kingdom may soon join the operation in Syria too, in an attempt not to miss the victory celebrations. It did pretty much the same in June 1944 with the opening of a “second front”, when Moscow was steps away from capturing Berlin on its own. [Russia Syria] [Russia Iraq]
• How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria
  by Pepe Escobar December 3, 2015 So why did Washington take virtually forever to not really acknowledge ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is selling stolen Syrian oil that will eventually find is way to Turkey? Because the priority all along was to allow the CIA – in the shadows – to run a “rat line” weaponizing a gaggle of invisible “moderate rebels”. As much as Daesh – at least up to now – the Barzani mob in Iraqi Kurdistan was never under Washington’s watch. The oil operation the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) runs to Turkey is virtually illegal; stolen state-owned oil as far as Baghdad is concerned. Daesh stolen oil can’t flow through Damascus-controlled territory. Can’t flow though Shi’ite-dominated Iraq. Can’t go east to Iran. It’s Turkey or nothing. Turkey is the easternmost arm of NATO. The US and NATO “support” Turkey. So a case can be made that the US and NATO ultimately support Daesh. What’s certain is that illegal Daesh oil and illegal KRG oil fit the same pattern; energy interests by the usual suspects playing a very long game. What these interests are focused on is to control every possible oil asset in Iraqi Kurdistan and then in “liberated” Syria. It’s crucial to know that Tony “Deepwater Horizon” Hayward is running Ug Genel, whose top priority is to control oil fields that were first stolen from Baghdad, and will eventually be stolen from Iraqi Kurds. And then, there’s the Turkmen powder keg. The key reason why Washington always solemnly ignored Ankara’s array of shady deals in Syria, through its fifth column Turkmen jihadis, is because a key CIA “rat line” runs exactly through the region known as Turkmen Mountain. These Turkmen supplied by Ankara’s “humanitarian” convoys got American TOW-2As for their role in preserving prime weaponizing/ smuggling routes. Their advisers, predictably, are Xe/Academi types, formerly Blackwater. Russia happened to identify the whole scam and started bombing the Turkmen. Thus the downing of the Su-24. [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Russia accuses Erdogan's family of profiteering
  Xinhua, December 3, 2015 The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of profiting from illegal shipments of oil by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria. "The main consumer of oil stolen from legitimate owners in Syria and Iraq is Turkey. Top political leadership of the country, President Erdogan and his family, are involved in this criminal business," Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told a press briefing. Ties between Moscow and Ankara worsened drastically after Turkey downed last week a Russian Su-24 jet for alleged violation of Turkish air space. Russia insisted that the jet stayed over the Syrian territory during the whole flight. [Erdogan] [ISIS] [OIL]
• Russian Retaliation Will Be Defeating NATO in Syria
  Tony Cartalucci Geopolitical analyst Christoph Germann posted a very subtle, almost unnoticed link in his Twitter feed in the immediate aftermath of the ambush of Russia’s Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border by an alleged Turkish F-16. It was a link to an article published just ahead of the incident titled, “US air force Gen Selva visits Ankara to discuss terror, Syria,” which stated specifically (emphasis added): Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul J. Selva starts his visit to Ankara reportedly to discuss the fight against DAESH and Turkey’s border security in the region, Selva, an air force general and the nation’s second-highest ranking military officer, is expected to commence his official talks with Turkish officials today and pay his first visit to Deputy Chief of Military General Staff Gen. Yasar Güler. During the meetings the officials are expected to discuss the Russian airstrikes on Turkmen-populated areas in Syria as well as other issues pertaining to the region. It would seem that the US general would be either on hand, or having just concluded his business with his Turkish counterparts just as Turkey carried out what surely was a long-planned ambush of a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border, and in particular, precisely over the “Turkmen-populated areas in Syria.” Not only did Turkey ambush the warplane – which at best flew a mere 17 seconds in Turkey’s airspace and at worst, never entered it in the first place – but NATO-backed terrorists operating inside Syria also participated, attempting to execute both pilots by firing at them as they parachuted to the ground killing one of them – a war crime under the Geneva Convention – and attacking rescue helicopters attempting to retrieve the pilots, killing one Russian Marine. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/03/russian-retaliation-will-be-defeating-nato-in-syria/ [SU24_151124] [Turkey] [US middle East Strategy]
• Putin threatens Turkey for shooting down Russian warplane
  By Andrew Roth December 3 at 11:02 AM MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the Turkish leadership Thursday over the downing of a Russian warplaneeven as he called for a unified coalition with the West to fight terrorism in the Middle East. “Only Allah knows why they did it,” Putin said about the downing in an hour-long address to Russian lawmakers and other public figures, Russia’s own state of the union address. “And I guess Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by stripping it of its sanity.” Putin has sought a central role in brokering a Syrian political settlement with hopes to increase Russian influence abroad and escape isolation. But when Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft over the Syrian border last week, the incident exposed the explosive potential of the differences among the foreign countries intervening in the nearly five-year-old Syrian civil war. Russia respondedwith sweeping economic sanctions targeting $30 billion in trade between Russia and Turkey. The two countries had enjoyed a reasonably close bilateral relationship, despite Turkey’s membership in the NATO alliance, in the years preceding the incident. “We are not planning to and will not engage in saber-rattling,” Putin said. “But if someone thinks that he can commit a foul war crime, the murder of our people, and just get away with some tomatoes or limits in construction and other spheres, then he is deeply mistaken.” [Turkey] [SU24_151124] [Russia Syria]
• Russian S-400 undermines Turkey's plan in Syria
  Xinhua, November 28, 2015 The deployment of Russia's S-400 missile air defense system and the intensified Russian airstrikes in northern Syria have undermined Ankara's plan to impose a safe zone on the Syrian side of the Syria-Turkey borders, analysts say. Less than 84 hours after Turkey shot down a Russian war jet on charges of violating the Turkish airspace, Moscow sent its powerful S-400 new anti-aircraft missile system to Syrian Latakia's airbase of Hmaimim, where the Russian air force is currently stationing. As Russia denied the Turkish version of events and insisted the Russian jet didn't infiltrate the Turkish airspace, Moscow earlier said it would have sent the S-400 if it had "entertained the possibility of a traitorous backstab" from Turkey, in a sign of the heightened tension between the two powers. [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Russia, Turkey need each other but have to choose sides
  By Cui Heng China.org.cn, November 30, 2015 The incident in which Turkey downed a Russian jet on Nov. 24 indicated the accumulated conflicts between Russia and Turkey over striking against the IS terrorists. This incident will have much impact on the relationship between Russia and the Western countries, and is a huge blow to future international counter-terrorist cooperation. At first, Russia denied a Turkish government claim that its jet violated its air space, insisted it had always stayed within the borders of Syria. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg then said there was proof the Russian jet flew into Turkish air space for 17 seconds, but not the five minutes claimed by Turkey. If NATO is right, then a claim by the Turks that they issued a number of warnings before shooting down the plane must be wrong. As the time was so short, it surely means Turkey had a longstanding plan; it also means the Turkish jets were flying by the side of Russian jet as soon as it entered the air space, and shot the plane down immediately without seeking permission from anyone. [Chinese IR] [SU23_151124]
• US Involvement in Turkey’s Shoot Down of the Russian Jet
  Maram Susli In the wake of Turkey’s shoot down of the Russian Su-24, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the attack a planned provocation. He went further on to suggest the US had given Turkey permission to shoot down the Jet. He explained that countries using US manufactured weapons must ask the US for permission before using them in operations. The aircraft used to shoot down the Su-24 was a US-made F-16. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that not only did the US give Turkey permission, but that it was moving the strings behind the entire operation. Two Russian aircrafts were attacked that day, but the second was a far less publicised incident. A Russian helicopter was destroyed by the CIA backed FSA using US provided Anti-Tank TOW missiles. The helicopter was on a rescue mission to find the missing Su-24 pilots and the attack resulted in the death of a Russian Marine. Since the US backs the FSA and provided the TOW missiles which were used in the attack, they are at least indirectly responsible, if not outrightly complicit in it. But instead of apologizing to Russia, US state department spokesman Mark Toner defended the actions of the FSA. He also defended the actions of the Turkmen insurgents who shot at the parachuting Russian pilots, a war crime under the first geneva convention. Such an antagonistic position reveals that the US was not displeased by the attacks on Russia. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/12/01/us-involvement-in-turkey-s-shoot-down-of-the-russian-jet/ [SU24_151124] [US Syria Policy] [Outsourcing] [Russia confrontation]
• On Ukraine’s front lines, U.S.-supplied equipment is falling apart
  By Thomas Gibbons-Neff November 30 at 11:58 AM ? An aging U.S. Humvee with worn out tires near Ukrainian front lines. on Nov. 6. (Thomas Gibbons-Neff/The Washington Post) The United States has delivered more than $260 million in non-lethal military equipment to help the government of Ukraine in its fight against a Russian-backed insurgency, but some of the U.S.-supplied gear meant to protect and transport Ukrainian military forces is little more than junk. On the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, for example, one Ukrainian special forces unit is using U.S.-supplied Humvees dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s, based on serial numbers on the vehicles. Three of the Humvees had plastic doors and windows — barely any protection at all. The tires on one of the trucks blew apart after driving only a few hundred kilometers, the result of sitting in a warehouse too long, said one mechanic. Another infantry unit of approximately 120 men received from the Pentagon a single bulletproof vest — a type that U.S. troops stopped using in combat during the mid-2000s. [Outsourcing] [Ukraine] [Incompetence]
• Russian jet hit inside Syria after incursion into Turkey: U.S. official
  Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:51pm EST WASHINGTON The United States believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said that assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Turkey’s F-16 that downed Russian bomber was in Syrian airspace for 40 seconds — commander
  Military & Defense November 27, 17:43 UTC+3 The Russian Aerospace Forces commander says the video footage of Russian bomber's crash was shot from the territory controlled by terrorists from North Caucasus and former Soviet republics MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Turkey’s F-16 fighter that shot down the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Sukhoi Su-24M bomber was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and went 2 kilometers inside its territory, while the Russian bomber did not violate the Turkish state border, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Viktor Bondarev, said Friday. "In line with air defense means objective control materials, the Turkish plane was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and flew two kilometers inside its territory, whereas the Russian bomber did not violate the state border of Turkey," Bondarev said. [Turkey] [Russia Syria] [Jihadist]
• From the Airliner to the Bomber
  Israel Shamir • November 27, 2015 Three important events influenced the course of the Syrian war in the course of last month: the Metrojet flight 9268 crash in Sinai October 31, the Paris attacks on Friday November 13 and the downing of a Sukhoi 24 on November 24, 2015. The Metrojet The Metrojet crash was not deemed an act of terror to start with. First accounts concentrated on the poor state of the charter plane, on the lack of proper maintenance, on its previously troubled record (a tail strike it had suffered some years earlier), on a possible engine failure. The reports were confusingly contradictory. The pilots had asked permission for emergency landing, – no, they hadn’t. The airliner violently steered off the course, rapidly changed its altitude a few times, – no, it did not. There were no traces of explosives – there were traces of explosives all over place. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]

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NOVEMBER 2015

• Belgian Physicists Calculate that Everyone Is Lying About the Downed Russian Jet
  By Alejandro Tauber Global Research, November 28, 2015 Motherboard 27 November 2015 It’s rare to see physics being used as an effective tool to comment on current events, but astrophysicists Tom van Doorsslaere and Giovanni Lapenta of the Belgian KU Leuven used some simple Newtonian mechanics to show that both the Russian and Turkish accounts of what happened with the downed jet can’t be right. Using video of the incident and the maps provided by Turkish and Russian officials, they show in a post on a blog run by KU Leuven that what went down couldn’t possibly have happened as both parties present it. First, the “facts.” The downed jet was shot down by the Turkish military Tuesday because the pilot reportedly ignored several warnings about entering Turkish airspace. Turkish officials say the military warned the jets ten times in a period of five minutes. When these warnings went unheeded, the Turkish prime minister himself gave the command to take the jets down, according to several reports. Both jet fighters were in Turkish airspace for just 17 seconds, Turkish officials say. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• NATO’s Terror Convoys Halted at Syrian Border
  Tony Cartalucci For years, NATO has granted impunity to convoys packed with supplies bound for ISIS and Al Qaeda. Russian airstrikes have stopped them dead in their tracks. If a legitimate, well-documented aid convoy carrying humanitarian supplies bound for civilians inside Syria was truly destroyed by Russian airstrikes, it is likely the world would never have heard the end of it. Instead, much of the world has heard little at all about a supposed “aid” convoy destroyed near Azaz, Syria, at the very edge of the Afrin-Jarabulus corridor through which the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda’s remaining supply lines pass, and in which NATO has long-sought to create a “buffer zone” more accurately described as a Syrian-based, NATO-occupied springboard from which to launch terrorism deeper into Syrian territory. The Turkish-based newspaper Daily Sabah reported in its article, “Russian airstrikes target aid convoy in northwestern Syrian town of Azaz, 7 killed,” claims: At least seven people died, 10 got injured after an apparent airstrike, reportedly by Russian jets, targeted an aid convoy in northwestern Syrian town of Azaz near a border crossing with Turkey on Wednesday. Daily Sabah also reported: Speaking to Daily Sabah, Serkan Nergis from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said that the targeted area is located some 5 kilometers southwest of the Öncüpinar Border Crossing. Nergis said that IHH has a civil defense unit in Azaz and they helped locals to extinguish the trucks. Trucks were probably carrying aid supplies or commercial materials, Nergis added. Daily Sabah’s report also reveals that the Turkish-Syrian border crossing of Oncupinar is held by what it calls “rebels.” The border crossing of Oncupinar should be familiar to many as it was the scene of Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s (DW) investigative report where DW camera crews videotaped hundreds of trucks waiting at the border, bound for ISIS territory, apparently with full approval of Ankara. The report was published in November of 2014, a full year ago, and revealed precisely how ISIS has been able to maintain its otherwise inexplicable and seemingly inexhaustible fighting capacity. The report titled, “‘IS’ supply channels through Turkey,” included a video and a description which read: Every day, trucks laden with food, clothing, and other supplies cross the border from Turkey to Syria. It is unclear who is picking up the goods. The haulers believe most of the cargo is going to the “Islamic State” militia. Oil, weapons, and soldiers are also being smuggled over the border, and Kurdish volunteers are now patrolling the area in a bid to stem the supplies. The report, and many others like it, left many around the world wondering why, if the US is willing to carry out risky military operations deep within Syrian territory to allegedly “fight ISIS,” the US and its allies don’t commit to a much less riskier strategy of securing the Turkish-Syrian border within Turkey’s territory itself – especially considering that the United States maintains an airbase, training camps, and intelligence outposts within Turkish territory and along the very border ISIS supply convoys are crossing over. [Russia Syria] [Outsourcing] [Turkey]
• Putin signs sweeping economic sanctions against Turkey
  By Andrew Roth November 28 at 4:16 PM MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law sweeping economic sanctions against Turkey as relations between the two countries plummet after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over the Syrian border this past week. Turkey said it shot the Russian Su-24 bomber, part of a deployment of Russian air power striking targets in Syria, because the plane briefly crossed into Turkish airspace, a charge that Russia denies. A Russian pilot and a marine sent to rescue the pilot were killed in Tuesday’s incident, Russia’s first confirmed combat deaths since it deployed air power to Syria more than two months ago. Putin, who called the attack a “stab in the back,” struck back with the sanctions, taking aim at more than $30 billion in trade ties between the two countries. The sanctions bill, posted on the Kremlin’s Web site, targets Turkey’s tourism industry, cancels visa-free travel between the two countries, bans many Russian companies from hiring Turkish citizens and blocks imports of some Turkish goods. Russian government agencies are expected to submit lists of banned goods and exclusions from the new sanctions on Monday. The fallout will be particularly painful for Turkish tourism. More than 3 million Russian tourists visit Turkey each year, many of them traveling on all-inclusive, week-long resort vacations starting at $1,000, for a couple, including airfare. Putin on Saturday banned charter flights to Turkey, and travel companies were ordered not to sell tours to the country. Last week, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said the sanctions would also freeze some prestige projects between the two countries, including a joint venture to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant and a Russian-Turkish gas pipeline called Turkstream. Putin signed the gas deal with Turkey in December after the European Union blocked the pipeline. [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Gwynne Dyer: Why Turkey wanted to shoot down a Russian plane
  2:21 PM Friday Nov 27, 2015 The key fact is that the Russian plane, by Turkey's own admission, was in Turkish airspace for precisely seventeen seconds. That's a little less time than it takes to read this paragraph aloud. The Turks shot it down anyway - and their allies publicly backed them, as loyal allies must. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared: "We stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey." President Barack Obama called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to assure him that the United States supported Turkey's right to defend its sovereignty. But privately, they must have been cursing Erdogan. They know what he's up to. This is the first time in more than fifty years that a NATO plane has shot down a Russian plane, and it happened in very suspicious circumstances. Even if Turkish radar data is to be believed, the two Russian SU-24s only crossed the bottom of a very narrow appendix of Turkish territory that dangles down into Syria. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "Our pilots, planes did not threaten Turkish territory in any way. " What harm could they have done in seventeen seconds? [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Moscow is ready to coordinate with the West over strikes on Syria, Putin says
  By Andrew Roth and Karla Adam November 26 at 5:26 PM ? MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday said he was ready to coordinate strikes against the Islamic State with the United States and its allies but warned that acts like the Turkish downing of a Russian jet could destroy any chance of collaboration. After talks with French President François Hollande at the Kremlin, Putin said, “We are ready to cooperate with the coalition which is led by the United States.” It was the most forthright commitment to a joint effort between Russia and the West since Moscow’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. [Russia Syria]
• An Invisible US Hand Leading to War? Turkey’s Downing of a Russian Jet was an Act of Madness
  By Dave Lindorff Global Research, November 26, 2015 CounterPunch 24 November 2015 In considering the terrifying but also sadly predictable news of a Russian fighter jet being downed by two Turkish fighters, let’s start with one almost certain assumption — an assumption that no doubt is also being made by the Russian government: Turkey’s action, using US-supplied F-16 planes, was taken with the full knowledge and advance support of the US. In fact, given Turkey’s vassal status as a member of US-dominated NATO, it could well be that Ankara was put up to this act of brinksmanship by the US. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Stumbling to War with Russia?
  Pat Buchanan • November 27, 2015 Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian warplane was a provocative and portentous act. That Sukhoi Su-24, which the Turks say intruded into their air space, crashed and burned — in Syria. One of the Russian pilots was executed while parachuting to safety. A Russian rescue helicopter was destroyed by rebels using a U.S. TOW missile. A Russian marine was killed. “A stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists,” said Vladimir Putin of the first downing of a Russian warplane by a NATO nation in half a century. Putin has a point, as the Russians are bombing rebels in northwest Syria, some of which are linked to al-Qaida. As it is impossible to believe Turkish F-16 pilots would fire missiles at a Russian plane without authorization from President Tayyip Recep Erdogan, we must ask: Why did the Turkish autocrat do it? Why is he risking a clash with Russia? Answer: Erdogan is probably less outraged by intrusions into his air space than by Putin’s success in securing the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, whom Erdogan detests, and by relentless Russian air strikes on Turkmen rebels seeking to overthrow Assad. Imperiled strategic goals and ethnicity may explain Erdogan. But what does the Turkish president see down at the end of this road? And what about us? Was the U.S. government aware Turkey might attack Russian planes? Did we give Erdogan a green light to shoot them down? These are not insignificant questions. For Turkey is a NATO ally. And if Russia strikes back, there is a possibility Ankara will invoke Article V of NATO and demand that we come in on their side in any fight with Russia. And Putin was not at all cowed. Twenty-four hours after that plane went down, his planes, ships and artillery were firing on those same Turkmen rebels and their jihadist allies. Politically, the Turkish attack on the Sukhoi Su-24 has probably aborted plans to have Russia join France and the U.S. in targeting ISIS, a diplomatic reversal of the first order. Indeed, it now seems clear that in Syria’s civil war, Turkey is on the rebel-jihadist side, with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah on the side of the Syrian regime. But whose side are we on? [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [US Syria policy] [Russia confrontation]
• Russia plays down idea of coalition with West to strike ISIS in Syria
  By Andrew Roth November 27 at 9:29 AM ? MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Friday played down the possibility of a grand coalition with the West to strike the Islamic State in Syria, despite personal visits by French President François Hollande to both Washington and Moscow following a spate of horrific terrorist attacks tied to the terrorist group. “At the moment, unfortunately, our partners are not ready to work as one coalition,” Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s personal spokesman, told reporters during a conference call on Friday. Peskov’s comments came less than 24 hours after Putin himself sounded hopeful notes at a meeting with Hollande in the Kremlin, where he said Russia “was ready to cooperate with the coalition which is led by the United States.” [Russia Syria] [Russia confrontation] [Inversion]
• Media Disinformation: Pentagon Indebted for “The Thanksgiving Turkey” The Washington Post Gave Its Readers
  By Jim Naureckas Global Research, November 27, 2015 FAIR 26 November 2015 Here’s something for the US government to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: propagandistic war coverage from the Washington Post. The Post‘s Karen DeYoung offered the Pentagon this Thanksgiving turkey: The United States has also claimed that Russia has caused numerous civilian casualties with unguided munitions: gravity bombs dropped from the sky. Warren said that tallies by unnamed human rights groups of “upwards of 1,000 civilian casualties .. including over 100 kids” are “probably fairly accurate.” “This is sloppy military work,” Warren said. “This is the reckless and irresponsible, imprecise and frankly uncaring approach to operations in Syria that the Russians have taken on.” In a report issued late last week, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented 403 civilians, including 166 women and children, killed in Russian airstrikes, more than the 381 fighters from both rebel and terrorist forces it said had been killed. The US military has acknowledged two instances where airstrikes against the Islamic State resulted in civilian deaths. So here we have US claims that Russian airstrikes are killing civilians backed up by statistics from a presumably independent human rights group. Meanwhile, when the US government claims to killed almost no civilians in its air attacks, the Post just takes the Pentagon’s word for it. [Media] [Disinformation] [Propaganda] [Syria] [Russia confrontation]
• Why Would Turkey Risk War Over a Russian Plane
  James ONeill The shooting down of a Russian fighter bomber by Turkish war planes this week throws into stark relief the complex multiple games being played by Turkey and its NATO allies. The incident further highlights the misuse and misquotation of international law by apologists for the US and its allies. It is also a further study on the highly selective nature of Australian mainstream media reporting and its invariable pro-US stance. It is not in dispute that two F16 fighter aircraft of the Turkish air force attacked a Russian fighter-bomber. As a result the Russian plane was destroyed. The wreckage landed well inside Syrian territory. The pilot and navigator aboard the Russian plane ejected safely. Whilst parachuting to the ground they were fired upon by Turkmen militia members, killing the pilot. The navigator was able to avoid capture and was subsequently rescued. [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [Legality] [Australia]
• Erdogan’s Russian Roulette–Was It Only About Oily Revenge?
  F. William Engdahl All publicly available intelligence surrounding the deliberate and illegal shoot-down of the Russian SU-34 fighter-bomber over Syrian airspace on November 24 by planes of the Turkish Air Force indicate the action was pre-meditated and carefully so. The relevant question is by whom and for what end or ends? The Russian Prime Minister has pointed to Turkey’s losses from the destruction by the Russian bombing campaign of the last days of the illegal oil ISIS terrorists were smuggling from seized oilfields in Mosul. That may be only the tip of a very big iceberg. First it’s important to look closely at Turkey’s role in facilitating the illegal oil smuggling that is reportedly the major funding source for IS terror gangs in Syria and Iraq. In August in an article I wrote for this website I documented the fact that the Harvard-educated 35-year-old son of Turkish President Erdogan, Bilal Erdogan, was up to his eyeballs in smuggling stolen Iraqi oil via Turkey to select markets. That illegal oil finances the major activities of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, a point of which Russia’s Putin gently reminded US President Obama and others at the recent Antalya, Turkey G-20 meeting. Fourteen months of alleged US bombings of ISIS targets never once went after the oil chain from Mosul and other ISIS occupied sites through Turkey onto tankers owned by Bilal Erdogan’s tanker companies. [Turkey] [ISIS] [Oil] [Russia Syria]
• Surviving Russian pilot says Turkey fired without warning as Putin hits back hard
  6:50 AM Thursday Nov 26, A Russian jet pilot who survived being shot down by the Turkish army has been rescued in a dramatic 12-hour military operation. Captain Konstantin Murahtin was saved by Russian military in an all-night joint operation with Syrian Government forces, and taken to a Russian air base. His co-pilot Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, 52, was confirmed dead, reportedly shot by Syrian Turkmen rebels as he parachuted out of the flaming wreckage of their Sukhoi SU-24. Speaking after his rescue, Captain Murahtin flatly denied there were any warnings from Turkish F16 pilots that his plane was about to be shot out of the sky. "There was no warning, by radio exchange nor visually. There was no contact at all," he said. "The Turks did not get in touch with us." [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Downing of Russian plane reveals potential for more conflict
  A Russian jet was shot down by Turkish warplanes on Nov. 24, 2015, the first time since 1952 that a NATO jet shot down a Russian jet. (The Washington Post) By Andrew Roth and Hugh Naylor November 25 at 4:40 PM MOSCOW —The downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish F-16s over the Syrian border has split two obstinate strongmen deeply involved in Syria’s increasingly crowded civil war: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officials from both countries on Wednesday discounted the possibility of direct conflict over the downing. “We are not going to wage a war on Turkey,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters, although he said Moscow viewed the attack as a “planned provocation.” The Turkish government offered its condolences for the deaths of a Russian pilot and a marine in the downing of the plane and an attempted rescue of its crew, Russia’s first combat fatalities in the country’s two-month-old airstrike campaign in Syria. But the incident has revealed the potential for conflict between foreign powers supporting and opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad despite a shared opposition to the Islamic State. In particular, Russian airstrikes against Turkish-backed rebel groups have fomented deep frustration in Ankara. “There is a clear message from the Turks with this downing of a Russian jet,” said Mustafa Alani, a Middle East expert at the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center. “It is a check on Russia’s policy in the region. Russia can’t do whatever it wants.” [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Russia FM points to gross violation of Syria flight safety memorandum
  Russian Politics & Diplomacy November 25, 21:06 UTC+3 The United States assumed responsibility for observance of relevant regulations by all participants of the coalition it leads, including Turkey "The situation around an unprovoked attack by Turkey’s Air Force on a Russian bomber, which was fulfilling the task to fight terrorists on Syrian territory, was discussed," the ministry said. "The minister pointed to a gross violation of the Russian-American memorandum on ensuring safety of combat aircraft flights in Syria, in which the United States assumed responsibility for observance of relevant regulations by all participants of the coalition it leads, including Turkey," it said. An F-16 fighter of the Turkish Air Force downed on Tuesday Russia’s Su-24M bomber (NATO reporting name Fencer) over the territory of Syria. The Su-24M crew managed to eject, but one of the two pilots was killed by fire from the ground, the search for the second continued. The second pilot has been rescued. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier on Wednesday noted that Moscow knows the US always demands from its coalition members in Syria to coordinate use of US combat planes. Thus, he pointed to the possibility of the Turkish authorities agreeing with the United States their decision to order its warplanes in the air to shoot down the Russian plane. "Some members of the coalition, including those providing their combat planes for strikes against Iraq and Syria have confided to us the planes involved were of US manufacture and the Americans normally request US permission for such operations," Lavrov said. "As far as I understand, our plane was downed by a US-made F-16. It remains to be seen whether the US requirement is applicable to Turkey, and if it is, I would like to know if Turkey had asked the United States for permission to send its planes on a combat mission and to shoot down a plane, albeit probably an identified one, over Syrian territory." [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [Subordinate]
• Trigger Happy: Will Turkey’s Downing of Russian Jet Backfire on NATO?
  by Patrick Cockburn November 25, 2015 Turkey must have been eager to shoot down a Russian aircraft. Even going by the Turkish account of what happened, as illustrated by a Turkish map of the route of the Russian plane, it would only briefly have been in Turkish airspace as it crossed a piece of Turkish territory that projects into Syria. Why would Turkey do this? Probably because Ankara has become increasingly furious, since Russian air strikes started in Syria on 30 September, that Russian jets were routinely invading its airspace. The Turkish government also knows that its policy since 2011 of getting rid of President Bashar al-Assad has failed and that it has a diminishing influence in events in Syria as Russia, the US, France and possibly, in the near future, Britain increase their military involvement in Syria. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Russia deploys advanced S-400 air-defence missile system in Syria after Turkey downs one of its jets
  With a range of up to 250 miles, the S-400 could easily strike Turkish targets Laura Pitel, Nadia Beard | A Russian S-400 air defence missile system makes its way through Red Square during a military parade in Moscow. File photo AP The surviving pilot from the Russian jet shot down by Turkey while conducting a mission in northern Syria has insisted his aircraft had received no warnings and had not violated Turkish airspace. Konstantin Murakhtin, who parachuted from the plane and was rescued by Syrian special forces working with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, said he knew exactly the plane’s location when it came under fire. “Our entire flight, to the moment we were attacked, was under my command,” he told Russian state television. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• State of Emergency in Crimea
  by Roger Annis November 25, 2015 Late on November, 21, right-wing extremists in Ukraine severed the four electricity lines which transmit electricity from Ukraine to Crimea. The terrorist attacks, using explosives, cut domestic electricity service to much of Crimea’s population of 2.3 million. Two of the transmission lines were damaged during the night of November 20-21. The coup de grace cutting all service to Crimea was delivered to the other two lines the following night. Photos of downed pylons with Ukrainian or Crimean-Tatar flags hanging on them have been posted online. “Crimea has been completely cut off,” Viktor Plakida director of Crimea’s state energy company, Krymenergo, told TASS Russian news service. A state of emergency has been declared in Crimea. Reserve electricity production using portable gas turbines and diesel generators is assuring electricity service to public institutions, including the national airport at Simferopol, bus and train service and television and radio broadcasting. But most Crimean citizens were left without power at home. Extremists supporting the blasts blocked crews from conducting repairs in the days following. In Kyiv, hundreds of right-wing protesters gathered at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (police) on the evening of the 21st, demanding that a full electricity blockade be instituted against the people of Crimea (video report here). The Ukrainian National Guard did secure at least one of the damaged lines, during the day on Nov 20. Guardsmen confronted violent protesters; a five-minute video on the right-wing, ATR YouTube channel shows some of the confrontation that took place. But the government soon bowed to the extremists and backed off. [Ukraine] [Crimea]
• Obama on fight against Islamic State: ‘Russia is the outlier’
  Highlights Presidents of U.S., France meet to plan greater push against Islamic State The meeting comes on the day Turkey shoots down Russian fighter plane Hollande will visit Moscow this week to speak with Russia’s president By Anita Kumar and Hannah Allam McClatchy Washington Bureau Washington A united U.S.-French vow to expand the fight against the Islamic State in the wake of the Paris attacks was greatly complicated Tuesday by the shootdown of a Russian warplane. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande emerged from meetings at the White House with a pledge to increase air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, bolster intelligence sharing, and push commercial airlines to exchange passenger information to better block air travel by terrorists. The French president’s brief visit to Washington, along with meetings this week with the leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy and Russia, is part of an aggressive push to get world leaders to escalate their campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daash, which took responsibility for the attacks in Paris that killed 130. Hollande had wanted the United State and Russia to work more closely together. Already unlikely, that goal was made all the more challenging when Turkey shot down a Russian military aircraft near the Syrian border after it ignored multiple warnings and entered Turkish airspace. Turkey is a NATO ally of both France and the U.S. Obama and Hollande said Russia would be welcome in their global anti-extremist coalition – but only as long as it concentrates efforts on striking the Islamic State rather than on protecting the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad [Chutzpah] [US Middle East policy]
• Why Would Turkey Shoot Down Russian Su-24
  Alexander Orlov On November 24 the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian SU-24, which was carrying out sorties against terrorists in the Syrian province of Latakia, near the Syrian-Turkish border. It’s reported that both pilots managed to eject, but one of them was shot dead in the air as he parachuted down, while the other is reported to have been successfully rescued by the Syrian army. The bomber was brought down by two Turkish F-16 fighters. Turkey claims that Russia’s SU-24 was warned over 10 times that it is violating Turkish airspace, but refused to cooperate and was shot down. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the aircraft did not invade Turkish airspace, which is clear considering the fact that it fell within Syrian territory. In the evening, after a meeting with the Jordanian monarch, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin publicly confirmed that the plane was shot down half a mile away from the border and crashed 2 miles away from it. Russian leader called this attack a “stab in the back” carried out by the supporters of terrorism, stressing that this tragedy would have “very serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.” Hours before that statement, Ankara declared that Turkey was going to hold a meeting with NATO and the UN. Putin underlined that it was not Moscow that brought down a Turkish aircraft, in fact, the situation was quite the opposite. Well, Moscow can and should demand the UN Security Council condemn the downing of the plane, which was engaged in an anti-terrorist operation. So far, the members of the Russian government have shown a lot of restraint while commenting on the situation. A spokesman for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, at a press-conference refused to comment whether and when Russia would be discussing this situation with Turkish officials, since Turkey, he believes, should have contacted Russian authorities immediately after the attack. He also stressed that there’s no way that Turkish media sources, that published reports that Russia’ Security Council had an urgent meeting, know when Putin summons the members of the Council better than he does. Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has made a number of statements in which he tried to push full responsibility for the incident onto Russia. Of course, it is too early to draw conclusions, but even if one is to assume that Russia’s airplane violated Turkish airspace, despite the fact there’s no evidence to support this version whatsoever, the Turkish Air Force would still have no reason to shoot down it. For more than a month Russian warplanes have been engaging terrorist groups in Syria, while posing no threat to its neighbors. In the meantime, Ankara has been busy helping Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United States instigate ‘revolution’ in Syria, by assisting extremists and giving them shelter, along with arming and training militants. [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [Outsourcing]
• American and Russian militaries don’t agree about much in Syria
  By Karen DeYoung November 25 at 6:55 PM ? During a two-day period early this week, the United States reported that coalition aircraft had conducted 23 strikes in Syria, destroying about three dozen Islamic State vehicles, buildings and tactical units. During the same two days, Russia said its aircraft had hit 472 “terrorist objectives” in Syria, including an Islamic State oil depot, an “oil production plant” and 80 tanker trucks. The numbers were fairly typical of descriptions separately released nearly every day by the U.S.-led coalition and the Russian Defense Ministry. In the eight weeks since Russia began air operations in Syria, its military claims to have flown many more missions than the United States, and destroyed thousands of targets. Russia’s efforts, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in Moscow Wednesday, have been “100 times greater than what is being done by the United States of America and their allies against terrorism.” Beneath public presidential statements and diplomatic exchanges, the U.S. and Russian militaries have lobbed a steady stream of verbal brickbats at each other since Russian operations in Syria began on Sept. 30. They have repeatedly criticized each other’s tactics, munitions and goals. More important, charges of outright lying about what each side is doing illustrate the difficulties of Russia and the United States ever cooperating in operations against the Islamic State. That objective seems even further away this week after the shootdown of a Russian aircraft by coalition-member Turkey. The U.S. military says that Russia has consistently exaggerated both its activities and successes in Syria, and that the vast majority of its attacks have not even been aimed at the Islamic State but have targeted coalition-backed opponents of its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In response, Russia has charged the United States with sour grapes, and said the Americans are lying about what Russian planes are hitting. “These statements are .. made without presenting any proofs, with no specific facts, and citing unspecified sources,” the Defense Ministry said this week, and Russia can back up all its reported operations with “objective control data.” Most recently, the U.S.-led coalition command ridiculed a Russian claim to have destroyed 500 Islamic State oil tankers in one operation, just after the Americans said U.S. planes had wiped out 116 tanker trucks. “We didn’t go through the effort .?.?. to do a detailed battle damage assessment” of the Russian strikes, Col. Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based coalition spokesman, said Wednesday. After looking at a Russian-released video, he said, “unless the Russians are counting, you know, flattened tires and chipped paint, it’s simply impossible that they were able to destroy 500 trucks, particularly using the imprecise and, you know, dumb bombs, dumb munitions that they used.” “My guess is it’s probably on an order of magnitude of an exaggeration,” Warren said. “Under 100, I would posit.” [Russia Syria] [Spin] [Media] [Russia confrontation]
• SU-24 Shot Down: Accomplices of Terrorists Stab in the Back
  Dmitriy Sedov | 25.11.2015 | 00:05 A SU-24 front-line bomber on a mission to strike the Islamic State terrorist group was brought down by Turkish air defense. It poses a lot of questions to be mulled over by politicians and military. Why does Ankara give priority to the so-called inviolability of its borders over the fight against the common enemy that is supposed to a joint endeavor? What is behind this stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists, as President Putin called them? The answer is clear enough: the Russian Aerospace Forces operated in the vicinity of Jarabulus, the Syrian city highly populated by Turkmen. They control the supply routes used by the Islamic State to receive arms and new recruits. The Russian aircraft hit the positions held by Turkmen formations. Ankara viewed it as an attack against Turkmen populated areas. Most important, the Syrian army supported by Russia’s Aerospace Forces advanced to the area of crucial importance for the Islamic State. This prompted the Turkish military to stage a provocation. The supply route must be kept intact even if it requires shooting down Russian aircraft. As someone who has no whatsoever relation to military matters, I’d like to offer an option for consideration – it’s easy to do. I suggest that Russian fighter-bombers abandon the area where the Su-24 was shot down. The positions of the Islamic State and the Turkmen who support it, should be leveled to the ground by cruise missiles strikes. I don’t know what the military will say, but that’s the Islamic State supply route must be blocked, come what may. [Russia Syria]
• Putin’s Syrian Gambit
  by Alexey Malashenko November 23, 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers and Kalbir cruise missiles fired from the Caspian Sea have changed the balance of power on the Syrian battlefield, at least in the short term. The intensity of the bombing has allowed the Syrian government forces to take the offensive again. It’s unsurprising that Putin is giving Bashar al-Assad this tactical support: Syria is the last vestige of Russia’s Middle East presence, a symbol of past glory. Russia’s steadfast support of the Assad regime led it to play a decisive role, in 2013, in dismantling Syria’s chemical arsenal, to avoid western intervention (1). It has proved wrong those who claimed Russia was now only a regional power, with no interests outside the post-Soviet space. From the first armaments contracts in 1956, Syria maintained very close relations with the Soviet Union, strengthened by Syria’s short-lived political union with Egypt (United Arab Republic, 1958-61) and the rise to power in 1963 of the Baath Party, inspired by Arab socialism. President Hafez al-Assad, before his death in 2000, urged his son Bashar to maintain the relationship as vital to keeping his clan at the head of the country. After the breakdown of Russia’s alliance with Egypt and the loss of support facilities at Alexandria and Mersa Matruh in 1977, the Syrian port of Tartus was the only base for Russian warships in the Mediterranean. Over the past few months, these have become a noticeable presence off the Syrian coast; in September the huge Typhoon-class nuclear submarine Dmitry Donskoy was in the area. [Russia Syria]
• The Success of Russia’s Political Front in the Middle East
  There’s no denying that the Russian military campaign against ISIS in Syria has really off-set the organization’s militant stranglehold and that this campaign has practically led to re-orientation of the Middle East’s strategic landscape that had previously become intensely disturbed due to the rise of umpteen Western supported proxy groups. Notwithstanding the rapidity of Russian air strikes’ success in Syria, military campaign is however not the only way Russia has adopted to play its role in ridding the Middle East of its worst nightmare. Apart from bombing ISIS hideouts, the Russians have also been busy, especially during the last few days, in opening a ‘political front’ to maintain a balance between its strategic as well as political objectives. It is quite obvious that Russia does not want to just bomb the ISIS out of the Middle East; it has to counter the West’s larger strategic objectives that greatly aim at controlling the region’s energy flows and thereby undercut Russian economy. To counter-balance the Western agenda, Russia does need to solidify its political relations across the region. Since the beginning of Russian campaign, two most visible countries that Russia has been actively engaged with are Turkey and Saudi Arabia. It is not to suggest that it is Russia only that needs to engage with these countries. In fact, both Turkey and Saudi Arabia do realize that without engaging with Russia, they might not be able to come out the crisis they, directly and indirectly, themselves have created in the first place. One such example of Russia’s political manoeuvering in the Middle East appeared a few days ago when the Kremlin chief of staff Sergey Ivanov spoke about Russia-Turkey relations from the angel of maintaining balanced relations with Turkey in the wake of the recent diplomatic spat over the incident of a Russian aircraft accidently trespassing into Turkish air space. He said, “Sometimes we have certain contradictions in international relations but we discuss them publicly and privately and publicly with account for mutual interests.” Although he was speaking against the context of that air-space incident, he was however mainly underscoring Russia-Turkey relations in the wake of an ever increasing pressure from NATO countries on Turkey, urging her to use her prerogative to seek their help to counter-balance Russian strategic manoeuvering in the Mediterranean region. However, the fact that Turkey has not made any such formal request to the alliance is an indication of just how carefully and subtly Turkey is constructing its position vis-à-vis both the West and Russia amid fast changing geo-political scenario of the Middle East. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/11/24/the-success-of-russia-s-political-front-in-the-middle-east/ [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• Do We Really Want a New World War With Russia?
  F. William Engdahl Washington continues making an international fool of herself by her inability to effectively counter the impression around the world that Russia, spending less than 10% of the Pentagon annually on defense, has managed to do more against ISIS in Syria in six weeks than the mighty US Air Force bombing campaign has done in almost a year and half. One aspect that bears attention is the demonstration by the Russian military of new technologies that belie the widely-held Western notion that Russia is little more than a backward oil and raw material commodity exporter. Recent reorganization of the Russian state military industrial complex as well as reorganization of the Soviet-era armed forces under Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu’s term are visible in the success so far of Russia’s ISIS and other terror strikes across Syria. Clearly Russian military capabilities have undergone a sea-change since the Soviet Cold War era. In war there are never winners. Yet Russia has been in an unwanted war with Washington de facto since the George W. Bush Administration announced its lunatic plan to place what they euphemistically term “Ballistic Missile Defense” missiles and advanced radar in Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Turkey after 2007. Without going into detail, BMD technologies are the opposite of defensive. They instead make a pre-emptive war highly likely. Of course the radioactive ash heap in such an exchange would be first and foremost the EU countries foolish enough to invite US BMD to their soil. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/11/16/do-we-really-want-a-new-world-war-with-russia/ [Military balance] [Russia Syria]
• Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syria border, Putin warns of 'serious consequences'
  Ankara/Moscow | By Tulay Karadeniz and Maria Kiselyova Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday, saying the jet had repeatedly violated its air space, in one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane had been attacked when it was 1 km (0.62 mile) inside Syria and warned of "serious consequences" for what he termed a stab in the back administered by "the accomplices of terrorists". "We will never tolerate such crimes like the one committed today," Putin said, as Russian and Turkish shares fell on fears of an escalation between the former Cold War enemies. Each country summoned a diplomatic representative of the other and NATO called a meeting of its ambassadors for Tuesday afternoon. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov canceled a visit to Turkey due on Wednesday and the defense ministry said it was preparing measures to respond to such incidents. Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the warplane going down in flames, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it as it crashed in a wooded part of an area the TV said was known by Turks as "Turkmen Mountain". Separate footage from Turkey's Anadolu Agency showed two pilots parachuting out of the jet before it crashed. A deputy commander of rebel Turkmen forces in Syria said his men shot both pilots dead as they came down. [ISIS] [Turkey] [Russia Syria] [Outsourcing]
• Syria insurgents destroy Russian helicopter with missile
  Beirut Syrian fighters destroyed a Russian helicopter with a missile, shortly after they forced it to make an emergency landing in a nearby government-held area in Syria's Latakia province on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
  A Syrian insurgent group, recipient of U.S. Tow missiles, said its fighters hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile while it was in the air and put out a video showing the helicopter being blown up after one of its fighters struck it with another missile. [ISIS] [Outsourcing] [Russia Syria]
• Putin: Downing of Russian warplane by Turkey was a ‘stab in the back’
  A Russian fighter jet's been shot down near the Syria border, apparently after coming under fire from the ground. The Turkish military said it shot down a plane after it was repeatedly warned about violating Turkish airspace. (Reuters) By Hugh Naylor, Andrew Roth and Daniela Deane November 24 at 1:36 PM ? BEIRUT — Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian jet Tuesday that Turkey said violated its airspace on the border with Syria, a major escalation in the Syrian conflict that could further strain relations between Russia and the West. Russian officials confirmed that a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft was shot down but insisted it had not violated the airspace of Turkey, a member of the NATO alliance. Later, a Russian rescue helicopter was damaged by a rebel missile in Syria after picking up one of the two pilots who apparently ejected from the fire-engulfed plane, a Syrian activist group reported. A separate video purportedly posted by rebels appeared to show the body of the second pilot. In Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday evening that one of the pilots was apparently killed by ground fire and that a Russian marine stationed in Syria also died during a search-and-rescue operation to find the pilots. The marine was aboard an Mi-8 helicopter that was forced to land after coming under gunfire, Sergei Rudskoi, an officer on the Russian army’s General Staff, told Russian journalists. The fate of the second pilot was not addressed. “During the operation, one of the helicopters due to gunfire was damaged and forced to make an emergency landing on neutral territory,” Rudskoi said. “One marine was killed.” The two fatalities were Russia’s first confirmed combat deaths since the beginning of the intervention in Syria almost two months ago. [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [Outsourcing] [ISIS] [Media]
• Iran leader hosts Putin, says U.S. policies threaten Tehran, Moscow
  Dubai | By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) receives a gift from Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) in Tehran November 23, 2015. Reuters/leader.ir/Handout via Reuters Iran's supreme leader, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran, said on Monday U.S. policies in the Middle East region were a threat to both countries and called for closer ties between Tehran and Moscow. The civil war in Syria has evolved into a wider proxy struggle between global powers, with Russia and Iran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Western powers, Turkey and Gulf Arab states want him out. "The Americans have a long-term plot and are trying to dominate Syria and then the whole region ... This is a threat to all countries, especially Russia and Iran," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to his website, at the meeting on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Tehran. "The United States is now trying to achieve its failed military objectives in Syria by political means," he added, referring to proposed peace talks to end the civil war in Syria. [US Middle East strategy] [Outsourcing]
• Building Air Defense for ISIS: A Qatar – Ukraine Link
  Sun, Nov 22, 2015 The fact that the ISIS infrastructure in Syria and Iraq is absolutely vulnerable to the airstrikes of the international coalition is undoubtful. During the last week only the Russian Air Force and Navy hit around 826 ISIS targets (training camps, munition and explosives plants, depots, oil refinery and transport objects) causing critical damage to the terrorist groups and its revenue sources. The sponsors of the ISIS are certainly committed to acquire and supply to the jihadist brigades the air defense systems efficient enough to at least hamper the activities of the coalition in the Syrian sky. Back in September 2015, being aware of the Russian plans to launch anti-terrorist air campaign, a Qatari delegation from the Ministry of Defense came to Kiev to take part in the Arms and Security Expo, September 22-27, 2015: [ISIS] [Qatar] [Ukraine]
• Week Seven of the Russian Intervention in Syria: Dramatic Surge in Intensity
  The Saker • November 20, 2015 This week was clearly dominated by two major events: the terrorist attacks in Paris and the Russian official declaration that Kogalymavia Flight 9268 was, indeed, destroyed by a bomb. First, I would notice that contrary to so many prediction that the Russians, Egyptians and other nations involved would lie and cover up this attack, this did not happen. Both the Russians and the Egyptians were open and honest about this attack from day 1. There is something to be learned here: while some politicians clearly have lost the ability to speak the truth even if they tried to, others did not. While lying is the standard operating procedure for most (all?) of “western” (Empire-run) states, this is still not the case everywhere else. It is simply wrong to assume that Russia is some kind of “anti-USA” and that the Kremlin has a policy of systematic deception like the White House. To the extend that Russia could be considered an “anti-USA” this ought to include categorically different methods and motives. [Russia Syria]
• Putin Outed ISIS’s G20 Financiers — But Not a Single Western Media Outlet Has Reported It
  A revealing silence from the “free” western press By Rudy Panko Global Research, November 19, 2015 Russia Insider 17 November 2015 We’ve been very patient. For the last 12 hours we’ve been constantly refreshing Google News for just one — one — western article about Putin’s bombshell comments at the G20 summit in Antalya. You would think that the Russian President stating publicly that ISIS is receiving money from 40 different countries, including G20 members, would be “newsworthy”. Right? But the western media has defied even our worst expectations: Not a single mainstream western outlet reported on Putin’s comments. Typically, at least the Daily Beast has the common courtesy to distort or misrepresent the most recent Putin press conference. But in this instance, there is literally no written western record of Putin saying anything about who finances ISIS during the G20 summit in Turkey. This is insane. Only cricket chirps from the west We tried various keywords. Alas, to no avail: Nothing. (By the way, that Reuters article has no mention of what Putin said. But at least it mentions Putin: “Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin in an informal meeting lasting around 30 minutes at the summit on Sunday, a discussion which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said had been constructive but not groundbreaking. Obama made no mention of their meeting at his news conference.”) This is beyond shameful. If the west is so concerned about fighting ISIS, surely it would be eager to discuss who is financing these scumbags? [ISIS] [Outsourcing] [Media] [Censor] [Russia confrontation]
• As France seeks a grand coalition, Obama is wary of allying with Russia
  By Karen DeYoung and Carol Morello November 18 at 7:11 PM ? French President François Hollande called on world powers Wednesday to overcome their “sometimes diverging interests” to unite in the fight against the Islamic State. On Tuesday, he will make his case in Washington to President Obama and then travel to Moscow with the same message for President Vladi­mir Putin. Both say they share Hollande’s sense of urgency after last week’s attacks in Paris, and in light of the threat of similar attacks in the United States and the downing of a Russian commercial jet by a presumed Islamic State bomb three weeks ago. In recent days, Russia and the United States have seemed almost to be competing with each other to strike militant targets in Syria. This week, the U.S. Central Command said it hit 116 tank trucks used to transport smuggled Islamic State oil in Syria, and various targets in and around Raqqa, the de facto militant capital. [Russia confrontation] [US Syria policy] [France]
• Russia calls Washington's actions in Syria a “dangerous game”
  Moscow, Nov 18, IRNA - The Russian foreign minister called Washington’s actions in Syria a “dangerous game,” making it hard to determine America’s true aims in Syria. The US and its allies are playing a dangerous game in Syria as they count on ISIL to weaken President Bashar Assad, but at the same time don’t want the terror group to seize power in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Despite announcing ambitious plans for its coalition against ISIL, “the analysis of US-led airstrikes during over a year lead to conclusion that they were hitting selectively, I would say, sparingly and on most occasions didn’t touch those ISIL units, which were capable of seriously challenging the Syrian army,” Lavrov told the Rossiya 1 channel. The Russian FM called Washington’s actions in Syria a “dangerous game,” making it hard to determine America’s true aims in Syria. “Apparently, it’s a kind of a ‘honey is sweet, but the bee stings’ situation: they want ISIL to weaken Assad as soon as possible to make him leave somehow, but at the same time they don’t want to overly strengthen ISIL, which may then seize power,” he explained. The US stance “seriously weakens the prospects of Syria to remain a secular state, where the rights of all ethnic and religious groups will be provided and guaranteed,” Lavrov added. [US Syria policy] [Russia Syria]
• Islamic State says 'Schweppes bomb' used to bring down Russian plane
  CAIRO | By Ahmed Aboulenein and Lin Noueihed Islamic State's official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of a Schweppes drink it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board. The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background, three simple components that if genuine are likely to cause concern for airline safety officials worldwide. "The divided Crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the Caliphate," the English language Dabiq magazine said in reference to Russia and the West. "And so revenge was exacted upon those who felt safe in the cockpits." Read more at Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/18/us-egypt-crash-islamicstate-photo-idUSKCN0T725Q20151118#gbZPcf0OUHWIkWr0.99 [ISIS] [Bombing]
• “Foreign Made Bomb” Destroyed Russian Plane over Sinai, Moscow Says
  By Thomas Gaist Global Research, November 18, 2015 World Socialist Web Site The Russian commercial jetliner brought down over the Sinai in late October was destroyed by a homemade-style, “foreign made” TNT bomb, according to results of a Russian government investigation announced on Monday. The plane exploded over the Sinai desert after departing from Sharm el-Sheikh, a vacation destination on the Red Sea that is popular with Russian tourists. At 224 dead, the incident represents the most deadly terror attack against Russia since the seizure of a primary school in Beslan by an Islamist terrorist faction in 2004. Russia’s FSB security agency announced the finding on Tuesday and offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrators. “According to our experts, a homemade explosive device equivalent to 1 kilogram of TNT went off onboard, which caused the plane to break up in the air, which explains why the fuselage was scattered over such a large territory. I can certainly say that this was a terrorist act,” said FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov. The Russian government had initially rejected Western claims of a terror attack on Flight 9268 as premature. US and British officials made accusations of terrorism within days of the explosion. Already last week, however, Russia moved to ban all Egyptian flights to Moscow and arranged for special flights for more than 70,000 Russian tourists stranded in Egypt, on which passengers were forbidden to check any luggage. Russia is now seeking to harness the incident to justify an escalation of its military intervention in Syria. President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s military commanders to prepare options for new forms of Russian involvement in response to the announcement. “We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them,” Putin said Tuesday. Russian long range bombers took off from Russian soil to launch dozens of cruise missiles against suspected ISIS targets following the announcement, Russian military officers told Putin in a hearing Tuesday. Russian ships stationed in the Mediterranean fired salvos of cruise missiles as part of a bombardment hitting more than 200 targets, according to defense minister Sergei Shoigu. [Russia Syria]
• Someone Wants War with Russia
  Victoria Nuland is not alone
  Philip Giraldi • November 17, 2015 Something very odd is going on in Washington. I recently attended and spoke at a conference in Washington on “realism and restraint” as a broad formula to reform U.S. foreign policy. Most presentations reflected that agenda more-or-less but oddly one of the speakers said that it was necessary for the United States to mark its place in the world while “carrying a big stick” while another panelist asserted that it was a core mission of the American people to “help other countries striving to be free.” Both were referring to how the U.S. should comport itself vis-à-vis Russia and one had to suspect that they had wandered into the auditorium by mistake, intending instead to visit the nearby American Enterprise Institute. That such views should be forthcoming at a conference featuring “restraint” might not in fact be regarded as particularly surprising if one bothers to listen to either the Republican or Democratic so-called debates. Nationalism and American “exceptionalism” are easy products to sell at any time, but recently there has been a strain of bellicosity that is quite astonishing to behold, particularly as only one candidate has ever served in the military, and he was a lawyer. One might call it “Chickenhawks on Parade.” [Russia confrontation]
• Week Six of the Russian Intervention in Syria: a First Major Success for the Syrian Armed Forces
  The Saker • November 15, 2015 Finally. After weeks of grueling combat the Syrian armed forces have liberated the Kuweyres air base in northern Syria. This is a huge victory for the Syrians because during the 2.5 year long siege of the airbase it had become an important symbol of the Syrian determination to resist the Takfiris in general and, especially, because Daesh which had deployed its best fighters to maintain the siege of the base and prevents its liberation. In fact, the Takfiris did resist with everything they had up to the last moment. For those of you interested in video and photos of the combats and liberation of Kuweyres I would recommend the site of Colonel Cassad and specifically these posts: (in Russian) [Russia Syria]
• Vladimir Putin Quoting Russian Intelligence: The Islamic State (ISIS) is Financed from 40 Countries, including G20 Members
  By RT Global Research, November 16, 2015 President Vladimir Putin says he’s shared Russian intelligence data on Islamic State financing with his G20 colleagues: the terrorists appear to be financed from 40 countries, including some G20 member states. During the summit, “I provided examples based on our data on the financing of different Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) units by private individuals. This money, as we have established, comes from 40 countries and, there are some of the G20 members among them,” Putin told the journalists. Putin also spoke of the urgent need to curb the illegal oil trade by IS. “I’ve shown our colleagues photos taken from space and from aircraft which clearly demonstrate the scale of the illegal trade in oil and petroleum products,” he said. “The motorcade of refueling vehicles stretched for dozens of kilometers, so that from a height of 4,000 to 5,000 meters they stretch beyond the horizon,” Putin added, comparing the convoy to gas and oil pipeline systems. It’s not the right time to try and figure out which country is more and which is less effective in the battle with Islamic State, as now a united international effort is needed against the terrorist group, Putin said. Putin reiterated Russia’s readiness to support armed opposition in Syria in its efforts to fight Islamic State. “Some armed opposition groups consider it possible to begin active operations against IS with Russia’s support. And we are ready to provide such support from the air. If it happens it could become a good basis for the subsequent work on a political settlement,” he said. [ISIS] [Outsourcing] [Diplomacy]
• World track body suspends Russian athletes from competition following doping revelations
  By Dave Sheinin November 13 IAAF President Sebastian Coe gives a statement to journalists outside his office in London, Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) Russia’s national track and field federation was slapped with a provisional suspension by the sport’s international governing body Friday, leaving open the possibility its athletes will be barred from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. The move came five days after the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a scathing report alleging a “systemic,” “deep-rooted” and “state-sponsored” doping program among Russian athletes, coaches and officials. Among the report’s recommendations was a suspension of the country’s track program for the Rio Olympics unless it demonstrated a significant improvement to its anti-doping program. [Read the full WADA report] The IAAF’s decision to issue the suspension Friday came after a 22-1 vote of its executive council. The suspension was deemed provisional, as no end point was specified, but it began immediately, with Russian athletes now banned from sanctioned international competition. This is the first time the IAAF has suspended a nation because of doping concerns. “This has been a shameful wake up call and we are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated,” IAAF President Sebastian Coe said in a statement on the organization’s Web site. [Russia confrontation] [Softwar] [UNUS] [Doping]
• Putin: U.S. focus on N. Korea is ‘camouflage’
  Russian president claims missile defense against Russia behind U.S. interest in DPRK nuclear program Leo Byrne November 11th, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S. focus on Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs is a smoke screen for building up missile defenses around nuclear powers like Russia. Speaking at a meeting on the development of Russia’s defense sector, Putin claimed the U.S. is still bolstering missile defense systems, despite initiatives like the Iran nuclear deal. “Hence, the references to the Iranian and also the North Korean nuclear missile threats only camouflage the true plans, and their true goal is to neutralize the strategic nuclear potential of other nuclear states … Apart from the U.S. and its allies, (this concerns) primarily our country, Russia,” Putin said in comments carried by Interfax News Agency. [Pretext] Missile defense] [THAAD] [Russia confrontation]
• Russia’s Intervention in Syria – a Reality-based Evaluation
  The Saker • November 9, 2015 It has been over one month since the Russians launched their military and political operation in Syria and the time for hyperbole and flag waving has clearly passed. Gone are the “most anticipated showdown in recent history” along with rumors of MiG-31s, Russian paratroopers, “thousands” of military personnel, ballistic submarines and other such nonsense. And, contrary to what some wrote, none of what happened was “coordinated with the White House”. What I propose to do today is to evaluate what has really has happened and to look at the Russian options for the future. But first, a short restatement of what really took place. A very daring operation by a small military force I will never repeat this enough: the Russian military forces is a small one. Yes, they are flying an impressive amount of sorties every day (anywhere between 50 to 80). But let’s compare that to the Israeli air force effort during the war against Hezbollah in 2006 when the Israelis flew 400 (four hundred) sorties every day. Add to this the massive Israeli artillery barrage and even attacks from the Israeli Navy. Finally, let’s remember that Israel was not fighting all of Hezbollah at all, but only 2nd tier Hezbollah forces south of the Litani River totaling less than 1000 fighters (Hezbollah kept all the best trained forces north of the Litani River). So let’s compare the two operations: [Russia Syria]
• Communist nostalgia in Eastern Europe: longing for the past
  Kurt Biray 10 November 2015 Why is communist nostalgia on the rise in Eastern Europe, and is it more than just a passing fad? A Saint Petersburg bus with Stalin's portrait. Viktor Loginov/Wikipedia. Free to use and share There is absolutely no doubt that the transition from state socialism to liberal democracy in many Eastern European states has been a long and bumpy ride. Political liberalisation and the shift from a Soviet command economy to a free market economy have caused various socio-economic ramifications for the peoples of this vast region through failed promises and expectations. While the problems of transition vary from country to country, the most common concerns range from severe unemployment to a lack of job security and, inevitably, economic instability. Stagnating economic growth in many post-communist states has, however, also produced a new and unforeseen phenomenon: communist nostalgia. The term nostalgia originates from the Greek root words nostos (returning home) and algia (longing) and thus the word’s meaning is synonymous with the term homesickness. Nostalgia has consistently been attributed to romanticising the past in the present to make it look better. Within the present-day Eastern European context, nostalgia refers to an increasingly positive outlook on the pre-1989 communist past. Reasons for this include the safety and security ensured under state socialism and the major social and economic developments propelled by the command economy. Other factors contributing to this nostalgia are the failures and uncertainties of the existing system of capitalist liberal democracy that now engulf Eastern Europe. Communist nostalgia, therefore, is a growing phenomenon in the post-communist states of Eastern Europe due to the successful progress and advances made before 1989 and the failed transition and unmet expectations of so-called ‘freedom’ and capitalism. [Socialism] [Capitalism] [Eastern Europe] [Nostalgia]
• Plane Bombing Proves Russian Airstrikes are Hurting ISIS
  by Patrick Cockburn November 9, 2015 Once again the world has underestimated the strength and viciousness of Isis. The group has always retaliated against any attack by targeting civilians and killing them in a way that ensures maximum publicity. This happened most recently in Turkey on 10 October when Isis suicide bombers killed 102 people attending a pro-Kurdish peace demonstration. In Kobani in Syria at the end of June, Isis suicide squads avenged recent military defeats by the Syrian Kurds by murdering at least 220 men, women and children. In Iraq, the leader of the Albu Nimr tribe told this newspaper how 864 of his tribesmen had been killed over the previous year for resisting Isis advances. It was always likely that Isis would retaliate against the Russian air campaign in Syria that is targeting its forces and al-Qaeda clones such as the al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham. But the carefully planned destruction of a Russian plane with 224 people on board by a bomb on 31 October has presented Western governments and media with a publicity problem. They had been relentlessly pursuing a propaganda line that the Russian air strikes in Syria have avoided hitting Isis and are almost entirely directed against “moderate” or “Western-backed” Syrian opposition forces seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. The fact that Syrian armed opposition in north-west Syria is dominated by al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham is seldom mentioned. [Russia Syria] [ISIS] [Spin]
• Week Five of the Russian Intervention in Syria: The Russians Are Digging in
  The Saker • November 8, 2015 Whether this tragedy was directly linked to the war in Syria or not, there is no doubt that the downing of Kogalymavia Flight 9268 was the main event of the past week. Since I have covered this issue elsewhere, I shall not return to it in detail again here. I will just repeat here my personal conclusion that this tragedy will not impact the Russian operation in Syria or affect the political situation inside Russia. As for the cause of the tragedy, there are increasing indications that both western and Russian security services have come to a tentative conclusion that it was, indeed, a bomb. On Friday, the head of the Federal Security Service has recommended canceling all flights to Egypt and the evacuation of all the Russian citizens in Egypt (roughly 70,000 people). Several EU countries have also taken similar measures. There has, however, been another interesting but less noticed development this week in the Russian operation in Syria: the Russians are quietly but very effectively “digging in”. [Russia Syria]
• Top Russian athletes participated in systemic, state-sanctioned doping, report says
  By Will Hobson November 9 at 12:04 PM ? Top Russian athletes have for years participated in a systemic doping regime involving bribery, extortion and destruction of evidence, according to an international anti-doping agency report released Monday in Geneva. The report released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which investigated allegations made in a German documentary, recommended Russia’s suspension from international athletics competitions such as the Olympics. The report found a “deeply rooted culture of cheating” in Russia’s track and field program and “documented cases where athletes who did not want to participate in ‘the program’ were informed they would not be considered as part of the federation’s national team for competition.” [Russia confrontation] [Softwar] [UNUS] [Doping]
• World Anti-Doping Agency calls for Russia to be suspended from athletics over alleged doping fraud
  Published time: 9 Nov, 2015 14:35 Richard W. Pound, (C)World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA)Founding President and former IOC Vice President speaks during a news conference on the WADA Independent Commission report on findings of investigation into allegations of widespread doping in sport in Geneva, Switzerland November 9, 2015. © Reuters Russia’s track and field athletes could miss the 2016 Olympics in Rio after a World Anti-Doping Agency report accused officials, including the country’s sports minister, of systematic doping cover-ups, and said the Russian team should be suspended. Former WADA chief Dick Pound led the 11-month investigation, which has produced a 325-page report. It alleges doping violations over a period of years, directly encouraged by top officials, with complicity from testing labs, and assistance from Russia’s security services. It has also enlisted Interpol to help it pursue those it identified. WADA claims that tests from athletes were routinely pre-screened at an unaccredited laboratory on the outskirts of Moscow, before being sent on to the WADA-approved lab. The head of the accredited testing center, Grigory Rodchenkov, would then allegedly receive bribes from athletes to suppress the positive tests. WADA says that other athletes would be cleared at the behest of officials, with Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko making direct orders to "manipulate particular samples.” Rodchenkov is also accused of destroying 1,417 samples requested by the investigation. [Russia confrontation] [Softwar] [UNUS] [Doping]
• Russian Assistance to Syria Arrived in Nick of Time
  Vadim Sokolov | 06.11.2015 | 00:00 It was precisely one month after the Russian airplanes stationed at Syria’s Bassel al-Assad airport, also known as Hmeymim, near Latakia, began to drop bombs on the terrorists in Syria, when representatives of 19 countries gathered in Vienna and agreed on the fundamental provisions for a political settlement in that country, which has spent five years plagued by a war foisted upon it by outside forces. The operations by Russia’s Aerospace Forces have not only been successful militarily – they have precipitated a major political triumph. Russian assistance to Syria arrived in the nick of time. By the fifth year of the war, the Syrian army had been significantly weakened by heavy fighting against the «moderate opposition» – which had been armed by the Americans and their allies – and Islamic State (IS) militia groups. According to some estimates, by the summer of 2015 Bashar al-Assad possessed no more than 80,000 armed troops still loyal to his government. The war had also depleted the Syrian army’s stockpiles of military equipment. T-72 tanks were a common sight in photos of the fighting taken between 2011 and 2013, but now the footage from Syria shows T-55 and T-54 tanks, most of which were in storage before the war. Only a quarter of the airplanes and even fewer helicopters remain of the army’s pre-war fleet. [Russia Syria]
• A Case of Putin Envy: Behind the Obsession With Russia's Leader
  By Valerie Sperling As Russian President Vladimir Putin once said, “A bear doesn’t ask permission from anybody.” Indeed, over the past two years, he has shown the world that he is a political bear—from land grabbing and perpetuating conflict in Ukraine to the recent military intervention in Syria. And yet, even as Western leaders have been angered and unnerved by Putin’s actions, conservative political figures in the United States have experienced a bit of Putin envy. While bemoaning U.S. President Barack Obama’s supposed weakness, for example, Sarah Palin seemed to pine for a president who, like Putin, “wrestles bears and drills for oil.” Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has also hinted at his admiration for Putin, saying, “He makes a decision and he executes it…That’s what you call a leader.” [Putin] [Russia confrontation]
• What is Russia Doing in Syria?
  by Patrick Cockburn The military balance of power in Syria and Iraq is changing. The Russian air strikes that have been taking place since the end of September are strengthening and raising the morale of the Syrian army, which earlier in the year looked fought out and was on the retreat. With the support of Russian airpower, the army is now on the offensive in and around Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, and is seeking to regain lost territory in Idlib province. Syrian commanders on the ground are reportedly relaying the co-ordinates of between 400 and 800 targets to the Russian air force every day, though only a small proportion of them come under immediate attack. The chances of Bashar al-Assad’s government falling – though always more remote than many suggested – are disappearing. Not that this means he is going to win. The drama of Russian military action, while provoking a wave of Cold War rhetoric from Western leaders and the media, has taken attention away from an equally significant development in the war in Syria and Iraq. This has been the failure over the last year of the US air campaign – which began in Iraq in August 2014 before being extended to Syria – to weaken Islamic State and other al-Qaida-type groups. By October the US-led coalition had carried out 7323 air strikes, the great majority of them by the US air force, which made 3231 strikes in Iraq and 2487 in Syria. But the campaign has demonstrably failed to contain IS, which in May captured Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria. There have been far fewer attacks against the Syrian branch of al-Qaida, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the extreme Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, which between them dominate the insurgency in northern Syria. The US failure is political as much as military: it needs partners on the ground who are fighting IS, but its choice is limited because those actually engaged in combat with the Sunni jihadis are largely Shia – Iran itself, the Syrian army, Hizbullah, the Shia militias in Iraq – and the US can’t offer them full military co-operation because that would alienate the Sunni states, the bedrock of America’s power in the region. As a result the US can only use its air force in support of the Kurds. [Russia Syria] [US Syria policy]

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OCTOBER 2015

• Russia Syria Gambit
  Articles from the Carnegie Foundation [Russia Syria]
• Syria's 'holy war'
  An Oct. 16 statement by the Russian Orthodox Church declaring Russia's intervention in Syria a “holy war” has sparked considerable debate and concern in Lebanon and other parts of the Arab Mashreq given the possible repercussions for the existence and role of Christians in the area. The church's position was quickly countered by a Muslim campaign calling for Islamic jihad. Jabhat al-Nusra Sheikh Abu Hassan al-Kuwaiti offered 1 million Syrian pounds (approximately $5,300) to anyone who abducts a Russian soldier, while Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of International Union for Muslim Scholars, complained, “If we defend our homelands and our homes in the name of Islam, which we believe in, we are accused of terrorism, yet Russia is bombing Syria and the opposition under the auspices of holy war.” The buzz in Lebanon about the statement comes as no surprise. After all, Lebanon is a Middle Eastern country with a prominent Christian community in terms of its political representation and historical role. [Russia Syria] [Orthodox]
• Why Peace Activists Should Stop Cheering for Russian Bombs in Syria
  No one who predicted disaster from Washington's intervention in Syria should expect anything different from Russia's. By David Swanson, October 22, 2015. Originally published in Telesur. There’s a view of Syria, common even among some peace activists in the United States, that because the United States has been making everything worse in Syria and the entire Middle East for years, Russian bombs will make things better. While the actions of the United States and its allies will lead to victory for the Islamic State, horror for millions of people, and chronic chaos in Syria along the lines of post-liberation Iraq and Libya, Russian bombs — this view maintains — will destroy ISIS, restore order, uphold the rule of law, and establish peace. I’ve been informed repeatedly that because I’m opposed to Russian bombing, I’m opposed to peace, I’m in favor of war, I want ISIS to win, I lack any concern for the suffering Syrian people, and my mind is either overly simplistic or somehow diseased. [Russia Syria] [Liberal]
• Russia’s “Bombing” of Syrian Hospitals: The Incredible Expanding Lie
  Tony Cartalucci In any war, collateral damage is inevitable. And no matter how careful Russia attempts to be, one cannot avoid eventually killing innocent civilians. That is why it is so important to make sure any war fought is justified to begin with – so that when a tragic mistake is made it is not compounded by the fact that the war within which it took place shouldn’t have been fought in the first place. Russia’s intervention in Syria, however, is justified. The sovereign nation of Syria is openly being dismembered by foreign states, led by the US, joined by Syria’s neighbors, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan, as well as regional state-sponsors of terrorism including the despotic regimes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The potential loss of human life in confronting the proxy army of terrorists this coalition of multinational military aggression has arrayed against Syria pales in comparison to the outcome should Syria fall entirely to these forces. The perpetual chaos that has unfolded after America’s successful dismemberment of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya are but warnings of the fate that could befall Syria should order not be restored, and Syria’s sovereignty not protected. What’s more is that for each and every nation the US destroys, the terrorist organizations and all accompanying infrastructure that fill the void left behind by toppled governments has an accumulative effect. The strength of this threat and its ability to project violence further increases exponentially. In that light, Russia’s alleged bombing of a “field hospital” in terrorist-held territory in Syria would be a tragic mistake at best… if such an allegation had credible evidence underpinning it. However, it does not. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/27/russias-bombing-of-syrian-hospitals-the-incredible-expanding-lie/ [Russia Syria] [NGO] [Front]
• Refugees in Europe: Russia is Managing What EU Cannot
  Andrey Fedyashin | 27.10.2015 | 00:00 Even statistics, dull as they are, can actually contain a lot of intriguing information, and sometimes a comparative analysis and juxtaposition of data from different statistical agencies can offer startling discoveries. And it just so happened that in October, only a week apart, the EU’s Frontex border service and Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) released data about the number of refugees – Syrian (in Europe) and Ukrainian (in Russia) – who are seeking temporary-residence or work permits or permanent asylum. Both calculations were made on October 1st. The European report includes data only from the beginning of the year, while the Russian one offers statistics since April 2014. If one accepts the European statistics at their face value, without considering any geopolitical or domestic political factors, it seems quite difficult to understand exactly why the Old World fell into such a panic. According to Frontex, it turns out that 710,000 people arrived in the EU between January and the end of September. However, these latest data were provided with an added «clarification», stating that the statistics might be not entirely accurate, because the office had likely counted «a large number of people» twice. It seems that some individuals were tallied once at the EU’s external border in Greece and then counted again when they crawled across the boundary fences and cordons from Serbia, on the Hungarian and Croatian borders.
  According to statistics from Russia’s Federal Migration Service, 1,089,618 citizens of southeastern Ukraine have entered (and still remain in) the Russian Federation just since April 1, 2014. In total, there are 2.6 million Ukrainian citizens living in Russia. Unofficially, they may number as many as four million. [Refugee]
• Week Three of the Russian Intervention in Syria
  The return of diplomacy The Saker • October 25, 2015 The end of international law and diplomacy The end of the Cold War was welcomed as a new era of peace and security in which swords would be transformed into plows, former enemies into friends, and the world would witness a new dawn of universal love, peace and happiness. Of course, none of that happened. What happened is that the AngloZionist Empire convinced itself that it had “won the Cold War” and that it now was in charge. Of the entire planet, no less. And why not? It had built anywhere between 700 to 1000 military bases (depending on your definition of “base”) worldwide and it had split up the entire globe into several areas of exclusive responsibility named “commands”. The last time any power had mustered the megalomania needed to distribute various parts of the planet to to different commands was the Papacy in 1494 with its (in)famous “Treaty of Tordesillas”. [Russia Syria] [US global strategy]
• New Russian military might on full display in Syria
  By Vladimir Isachenkov?|?AP October 24 at 10:52 AM HEMEIMEEM AIRBASE, Syria — Sleek combat jets loaded with precision bunker-buster bombs roar into the skies as soldiers in desert-style uniforms march past rows of neat housing at this Russian military base at one of Syria’s largest airports. The air campaign in Syria, Russia’s first military action outside the former Soviet Union since the war in Afghanistan, shows a revamped Russian military, which sharply differs in both capability and mindset from the old, Soviet-style force. It is capable of quickly projecting power far from Russian borders, widely uses drones and precision weapons, and cares about soldiers’ comfort. The thunder of Syria’s civil war couldn’t be heard at Hemeimeem, located in the coastal province of Latakia, which has largely been spared the chaos and destruction of more than 4 1/2 years of fighting in Syria. A small group of journalists visiting the base this week could see a dozen Su-24 bombers taking off into the night with a deafening roar, piercing the darkness with scarlet flames from their engines. [Russia Syria] [Media] [Public opinion]
• [Vladimir Putin at] Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club
  Vladimir Putin took part in the final plenary session of the 12th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. October 22, 2015 This topic of this year’s Valdai conference is Societies Between War and Peace: Overcoming the Logic of Conflict in Tomorrow’s World. In the period between October 19 and 22, experts from 30 countries have been considering various aspects of the perception of war and peace both in the public consciousness and in international relations, religion and economic interaction between states. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, Allow me to greet you here at this regular meeting of the Valdai International Club. It is true that for over 10 years now this has been a platform to discuss the most pressing issues and consider the directions and prospects for the development of Russia and the whole world. The participants change, of course, but overall, this discussion platform retains its core, so to speak – we have turned into a kind of mutually understanding environment. We have an open discussion here; this is an open intellectual platform for an exchange of views, assessments and forecasts that are very important for us here in Russia. I would like to thank all the Russian and foreign politicians, experts, public figures and journalists taking part in the work of this club. This year the discussion focusses on issues of war and peace. This topic has clearly been the concern of humanity throughout its history. Back in ancient times, in antiquity people argued about the nature, the causes of conflicts, about the fair and unfair use of force, of whether wars would always accompany the development of civilisation, broken only by ceasefires, or would the time come when arguments and conflicts are resolved without war. [Russian foreign policy]
• Why Assad Visited Moscow
  Author: Viktor Titov Moscow has struck a devastating political blow against the West yet again, especially against its Middle Eastern policy, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visit to Moscow on October 20 to meet his Russian counterpart – Vladimir Putin. Spokesman for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov said talks were held in both narrow and expanded format with the participation of key figures of Russia’s government. “The talks were held for a long while, and their subject is quite clear,” – said Peskov. Assad relayed to Putin about the situation in Syria and upcoming operations Syrian government troops. The two leaders have also discussed topics related to the participation of Russian Air Force warplanes in those operation. “The most pressing topics were the fight against terrorist groups and the extension of Russian operations to support the offensive of the Syrian armed forces, “- said Peskov. Peskov did not specify whether the political future of Bashar al-Assad himself was discussed or not. Moreover, Russia is willing to assist Syria in the search for a political solution to the crisis in the country. “On the basis of positive dynamics in combat, in the end, a long-term settlement will be achieved with the participation of all political forces, as well as ethnic and religious groups. The Syrian people certainly must have the final say. – Vladimir Putin said after the meeting was over. It is clear that such an unexpected visit does not pursue the goal of detailed discussion of specific aspects of bilateral cooperation. Those are usually carried out by experts and heads of government bodies, in this case they were held by Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and the Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. The main goal of the Russian-Syrian talks was a demonstration of the determination that both Moscow and Damascus both have to put an end to ISIL or any other illegal armed group, created at the expense of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with an extensive amount of support from the US, Turkey and Jordan. For the last three weeks, while Russian warplanes have been obliterating extremist groups in Syria, Russia has been repeatedly offering the White House broad cooperation at the highest level in the fight against ISIL, starting from the coordination of air strikes and ending with intelligence data sharing. Washington and Barack Obama personally have continuously turned down these calls. Moreover, last week the US president, after consulting the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, refused to receive a high-level Russian delegation led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that sought to discuss a wide range of topics related to the situation in Syria. At the same time Moscow has openly stated that it’s critical at this stage to preserve the government of Bashar Al-Assad, while the Syrian Arab Republic is caught in a middle of a brutal war with hordes of foreign mercenaries. Once this war is over, an internal political settlement can be pursued, but only on the condition that Syrians themselves decide the fate of their country, leaving foreign and regional forces with no say in this matter. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/22/why-assad-visited-moscow/ [Russia Syria]
• Secrets of the Syrian War: October 2015
  Israel Shamir • October 22, 2015 The greatest secrets: the West has no people on the ground in Syria to take over the liberated territories; the Russians still seek partnership, Erdogan has bitten more than he can chew, and ISIS is a phantom, after all. Russians are enjoying their Syrian adventure. Twenty days after its start, their entry into the Syrian war has paid off and brought some dividends. They displayed their military toys and duly impressed other boys in the sandbox. After a long period of despondency the Russians have now been cheered up, thank you, they feel much better, as a man convalescing after a grave disease. They like the pictures of their pilots in American-style top-military-chic overalls, of their exquisite ultra-modern jets, of the sheer audacity of this campaign so far from home. They like the new publicity of their military operations, unprecedented for this country. Their MoD posts videos and allows them to follow the attacks and the hits in real time. Putin has been very popular before the war, with 86% support in the ratings, and now his public support has gone through the roof. The best of it, from the Russian point of view, was the daring launch of their 26 brand new Kalibr cruise missiles from a frigate in the Caspian Sea all the way to Syria over the hills and deserts of Iraq and Iran. Though Iraq and Iran had been warned, they did not leak the news to their US partners. The missiles made perfect hits, and military experts say this new class of cruise missiles would allow Russia, if necessary, to take care of the US missile shield installations in neighbouring East European countries. The Russians were pleased as on the day they launched their first Sputnik. [Russia Syria]
• Embattled Syrian president flies to Moscow to meet with Putin
  Assad all smiles with Putin in Moscow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow on Oct. 21. Russia has supported the Syrian government throughout that nation's civil war. (Kremlin) By Andrew Roth and Erin Cunningham October 21 at 10:03 AM ? MOSCOW — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ventured outside his beleaguered nation for the first time in more than four years Wednesday to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin in a surprise visit to Kremlin patrons now backing Syria’s government with military might. The landmark trip is a powerful signal of Russia’s growing support for the embattled Syrian government as it fights an armed rebellion that includes factions backed by the West and many Middle East partners. [Russia Syria]
• The Return of the Syrian Army
  by Robert Fisk While the world still rages on at Russia’s presumption in the Middle East – to intervene in Syria instead of letting the Americans decide which dictators should survive or die – we’ve all been forgetting the one institution in that Arab land which continues to function and protect the state which Moscow has decided to preserve: the Syrian army. While Russia has been propagandising its missiles, the Syrian military, undermanned and undergunned a few months ago, has suddenly moved on to the offensive. Earlier this year, we may remember, this same army was being written off, the Bashar al-Assad government said to be reaching its final days. We employed our own army of clichés to make the case for regime change. The Syrian army was losing ground – at Jisr al-Shugour and at Palmyra – and so we predicted that the whole Assad state had reached a “tipping point”. Then along came Vladimir Putin with his air and missile fleets and suddenly the whole place is transformed. While we huffed and puffed that the Russians were bombing the “moderate” rebels – moderates who had earlier ceased to exist according to America’s top generals – we’ve been paying no attention to the military offensive which the Syrians themselves are now staging against the Nusra Front fighters around Aleppo and in the valley of the Orontes. [Russia Syria]
• Faking the Terrorist Threat: And demonizing Russia at the same time
  Philip Giraldi • October 20, 2015 A short-lived story appeared in the mainstream media two weeks ago describing how the United States government is working hard to keep everyone safe. The Associated Press (AP) original coverage was headlined “Smugglers busted trying to sell nuclear material to ISIS.” The Boston Herald’s version of the AP story reported it as “Nuclear Material Sellers Target U.S.: Nuclear Material Shopped to ISIS.” The article was also picked up worldwide including by the CNN and the BBC and was replayed in Israel as “ISIS Looking to Build Nuclear Weapons, Turning to Moldovan Gangs for Materials.” The story is focused on Moldova, a relatively impoverished former Soviet republic, where the mainstream western media is unlikely to have a regular correspondent. The original AP version includes interviews with some of the participants in the police operation while also reviewing the documents and photos relating to the case. Nevertheless, one has to suspect that AP did not just happen to come across the story. The news agency might have been tipped off to pursue it through a leak arranged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or White House, intended to inform the public that there is a major threat coming from terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction but U.S. law enforcement is aware of the danger and is working effectively against it. The media account of what took place goes something like this: Eastern European smugglers have somehow obtained access to nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union weapons arsenals and labs and have been trying to sell them to terrorists, most particularly to ISIS, for use against the United States. There have been multiple attempts in the past five years, all of which were thwarted though the key players were not arrested and the presumed stolen material was not recovered by the authorities. The FBI worked closely with the Moldovan authorities throughout, providing technical services and other support for an undercover sting operation that was instrumental in producing a relatively successful outcome. As I read the story it occurred to me that something was not quite right. The various security and police organs of the United States government have long faced a public relations dilemma. On one hand, they have sought to exaggerate the threat coming from international terrorism because it is good for the morale of their employees to be seen fighting a formidable enemy while it also induces Congress and the public to support substantial increases in budgets and other funding. But, at the same time, too much cheerleading emphasizing the ability of the bad guys to innovate rather suggests that national security is being undermined or, worse still, that the police and intelligence agencies are not doing their jobs very well to “keep us safe.” This has meant in practice that a fine balance has to be obtained in reporting the threat while at the same time making clear that everyone in government is working hard and very effectively to counter it. [Media] [PR] [MISCOM] [Nuclear terrorism] [Russia confrontation]
• Putin Takes Center Stage in the Middle East
  David Barno and Nora Bensahel October 20, 2015 In the Middle East, there’s a new game — and possibly a new sheriff — in town. Three weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned observers around the world by ordering his military directly into battle in Syria’s long-running civil war. This unexpected move is Putin’s first “out of area” power projection gambit — the first time that Russian troops and firepower have been deployed beyond the territory of the former Soviet Union since the end of the Cold War. Putin first shocked the West and its regional allies by quickly, efficiently, and unexpectedly deploying strike aircraft, tanks, and Russian military “volunteers” into bases in Syria. Within days, he was launching lethal airstrikes on rebels battling the Assad regime. And just a week later, he fired dozens of cruise missiles from Russian ships in the Caspian Sea against other Syrian rebel positions — with apparently a few falling short into Iran. As of last week, Russian aircraft were flying scores of sorties a day over Syria — in contrast to the U.S.-led coalition’s far smaller daily tally. Political leaders and Kremlin-watchers across the globe were surprised and astonished. Putin’s actions may not have reestablished Russia as a preeminent global power as Putin may have wished, but his bold moves have captured the attention of NATO and a wide range of actors all across the Middle East and beyond. Without a doubt, Putin has re-established Russia’s position as a Middle Eastern power broker. Rapidly deploying troops and aircraft, launching them within days directly into combat, and firing cruise missiles from distant warships in support are indisputably the marks of a serious and capable military actor. But Russia’s move in Syria is more than simply one further extension of its military power. Putin’s now-direct military involvement in the Syrian civil war is a potential deadly addition to an already volatile mix in the region. The risk that the U.S. and Russian military efforts —and their airplanes — collide is high. In many ways, Russia and the United States are fighting two separate and almost completely parallel wars in the Middle East today. In each, the two nations’ military and diplomatic maneuvers overlap, but their interests do not. They each have widely disparate goals. Russia seeks to keep Assad in power, bolster its regional position, and keep Islamist terrorism far from its borders. The United States seeks to defeat the Islamic State, preserve the Iraqi state, and find a political solution to the Syrian civil war without Assad. The Russian war in Syria is a full-scale effort to preserve the rump of the Syrian state and the Assad regime. Any adversaries who threaten that end state may now face direct Russian military attack. Whichever opponents of Assad’s regime pose the greatest threat to his survival will feel the brunt of Russian military force — and that presently seems to be rebel groups aligned with the United States, as well as the jihadist coalition known as the Army of Conquest, which includes Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. Putin, however, seems interested in the Islamic State only insofar as the radical Islamist group threatens Assad’s hold on power or can attack him at home — and because it gives his military operations the veneer of international legitimacy. The U.S. war in Syria and Iraq, by contrast, is focused primarily against the Islamic State in order to save the fraught Iraqi republic. The United States has been more ambivalent about its goals in Syria, particularly regarding the removal of Assad. Had the Islamic State confined its aggressive behavior to Syria, it is hard to imagine that approximately 3,500 U.S. trainers and advisers would be back in Iraq today after having withdrawn entirely in late 2011. The Obama administration only deployed those forces after the Islamic State overwhelmed Iraqi defenders and seized nearly a third of Iraq’s territory, even threatening Baghdad itself. Yet the U.S.-led coalition of nearly 60 nations has accomplished little militarily beyond achieving a stalemate. The Islamic State remains potent and seemingly little-affected by either coalition airpower or the coalition’s intensified training of Iraqi forces [Russia Syria] [Russia confrontation]
• Testing Putin in Syria
  Richard N Haass Oct 15, 2015 29 NEW YORK – There has been no shortage of scrutiny of what Russian President Vladimir Putin is up to in Syria and why. Much of the analysis, though, has been narrowly focused on the short term and may be too negative in assessing his actions’ likely long-term consequences. What we know is that Putin has decided to come to the aid of Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime. Russian bombs and missiles are now raining down on an array of armed groups that have been fighting Syrian government forces, which has given the regime the breathing space that Russia’s intervention was intended to provide. As bad as the Assad government is, and as much as it has to answer for, this outcome is arguably preferable in the short run to the regime’s collapse. The painful truth in Syria today is that a government implosion would most likely lead to genocide, millions more displaced people, and the establishment of the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate in Damascus. Putin’s motives are a matter of speculation, but it would appear that he did not want to see Russia’s long-term ally in the Middle East fall. Moreover, he never misses an opportunity to remind the world that Russia remains a major power, able and willing to act on behalf of its perceived interests. It is also possible that he sought to distract domestic attention from a shrinking economy and the rising cost of intervention in Ukraine. Putin’s high approval ratings suggest he may well be succeeding. Many fear that Russia’s latest activism will not only prolong Syria’s brutal civil war, but also strengthen the Islamic State. This could well turn out to be the case, as hatred of the Assad regime is a major recruiting tool. And, thus far at least, the Islamic State seems to be a low priority for the Russian military, which appears to be attacking mainly other anti-Assad groups. [Russia Syria] [Russia confrontation]
• US Says No to Russia’s Initiative to Launch Broad Political Dialogue on Syria
  Andrei Akulov | 18.10.2015 | 00:00 Washington has refused to receive a Russian military delegation, headed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, to discuss coordinated action on the fight against terrorism in Syria. «We have proposed to Americans what President Vladimir Putin informed the public about yesterday, namely, to send a delegation of military experts to Moscow to agree on a whole number of joint steps, afterwards we would be ready to send a high delegation led by Prime Minister Medvedev to Washington» Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Russian Parliament on October 14. «Today we were told that they will not be able to send a delegation to Moscow. At the same time, they are unable to receive our delegation in Washington», he added. «I believe this position is unconstructive. The weakness of this stance is based on the apparent lack of any agenda. It seems that there is nothing to talk about», Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his visit Kazakhstan. Putin also said http://tass.ru/en/politics/829084 he could not understand why Washington criticizes Russia’s operation in Syria as it refuses to hold a direct dialogue itself. The Russian leader stressed that Russia «leaves the door open for» the discussion on Syria with all the parties concerned. [Russia confrontation] [Russia Syria] [US Middle East policy]
• Week Two of the Russian Military Intervention in Syria
  Options for Daesh, the Empire and Russia The Saker • October 18, 2015 • 2,100 Words • 20 Comments • Reply The Russian offensive in Syria is still very much in full swing and it is hard to make sense of what is really happening or how effective it has been. According to the Syrians, 40% of all the infrastructure of “Daesh” (meaning ISIS+al-Qaeda+all the hundreds of smaller groups fighting together against the Syrian government) has been destroyed. Russian sources are less enthusiastic and speak of a rather slow and hesitant Syrian offensive. So far, no major victory has been reported, but since all sides agree that the Russian air campaign is devastatingly effective and highly disruptive for Daesh, I think that there is a good probability that the Syrians will soon achieve a major success. If not, then the Iranians most definitely have the capability to truly tip the balance. So this might be a good time to look at what options Daesh will have. [Russia Syria]
• [Vladimir Putin] Interview to Vladimir Solovyov
  Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Rossiya-1 television channel host Vladimir Solovyov. The interview was recorded on October 10. October 12, 2015 Rossiya-1 host Vladimir Solovyov: Mr President, we are living in troubled times, as can be seen by the terrorist attack in Turkey that has left many dead and wounded. What conclusions can we draw and what can we do to stop this wave of terror? President of Russia Vladimir Putin: We need to make a joint effort to combat this scourge. Let me take this opportunity to express my condolences to the Turkish people and the Turkish President. What happened there of course is an insolent terrorist attack, a crime that has caused many victims. This is an attempt to destabilise the situation in Turkey, our neighbour and Russia’s friend. The fact that this has happened during an election campaign is a sign of a clearly provocative act. But we will be effective in combating terrorism only if we fight this evil together. Vladimir Solovyov: We did try to fight it together with the international community, but the international community does not wish to listen to us. Now everyone is busy raising a storm about the fact that we are in Syria. What are our real goals in Syria, and what are the criteria for success there? Vladimir Putin: First, let me confirm what is already known, namely, that we informed our partners of our plans beforehand. We informed our American partners and many others, especially the countries in the region concerned, of our plans and intentions. Some say that we made this too late, but let me point out that others, when planning and commencing their operations, never inform us, but we informed them. Vladimir Solovyev: As a sign of good will? Vladimir Putin: Yes, as a sign of our good will, and because we think this was the best course and we wanted to show that we are open to cooperation. Let me say again that we are acting in full compliance with international law – at the request of the Syrian Arab Republic’s official government. All other countries that have so far taken part in operations in Syria are acting unlawfully, because there is no UN Security Council resolution on these operations, and no official request from the Syrian authorities.
  I do not understand some of our colleagues in Europe and the United States though, when they say they are fighting terrorism, but we see no real results. What’s more, it’s a well-known fact that the Americans have shut down the programme to train the Free Syrian Army. They started out with plans to train 12,000 people, then said they would train 6,000, and then they trained only 60 people, and it turned out in the end that only 4–5 people are actually out there fighting ISIS. They spent $500 million on this. They would have done better to give $500 million to us, and we would have put it to better use in terms of fighting international terrorism, that’s for sure. In any case, we need to try to get our work together to the level of full-fledged intelligence information sharing, as I said. [Russia Syria] [Putin] [US Middle East strategy]
• Russia Takes Steps to Resolve Syrian Crisis
  Nikolai Bobkin | 16.10.2015 | 00:00 President Putin has made it clear that in Syria «we cannot take on and have never taken on unnecessary commitments». During an interview on the Voskresny Vecher («Sunday Night») program on the Rossiya 1 channel, Vladimir Putin reiterated that «our job is to stabilize the legitimate government and to create an environment conducive to pursuing political compromise». Russia is obliged to do this militarily, by providing air assistance to the Syrian government forces fighting on the ground. US President Barack Obama acknowledges that events in Syria are creating huge problems for America’s partners and allies in the region and in Europe. Military intervention is not a silver bullet, claims Obama, who has been wagering on Assad’s forcible ouster throughout the many years of the Syrian civil war. He himself is not seeking political compromise at present. In the US they joke that «in Syria, Putin’s eating Obama’s lunch...» While the Obama administration is arguing about how to help their partners who have been hit by Russian air strikes, Moscow has moved to revive a «contact group» on Syria, consisting of influential outside players. With UN approval, that group, which includes Russia, the US, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, might meet in October. That announcement was made by Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa. Moscow has taken the first step in this direction. Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Sochi with Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which put Washington on edge – after all, no one has shown any interest in meeting with the American leader since the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces operation began in Syria. And that is certainly not because either Turkey or Saudi Arabia have moved closer to Russia on the Syrian issue. Both countries have condemned Moscow’s actions and have not budged from their earlier positions. The Saudi kingdom’s minister of foreign affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, has stated that Riyadh is ready for a dialog with the Kremlin, but that in the Saudis’ opinion, the Assad regime in Syria has no future. But that’s not the view in Moscow, where they have proposed that any decisions about the future of the country be left to the Syrian people. [Russia Syria]
• Russia rising
  There is perhaps no issue more important, yet less understood, in current international affairs than Russia’s military campaign in Syria. In recent weeks, Moscow’s swift intervention into the region’s messiest conflict has raised all sorts of concerns and speculation. The issues range from possible motives for Putin’s decision and the implications of Russia’s posturing, to what it all might mean for regional security and crippled US-Russia relations. From its new international stage in Syria, Russia is examining its options to determine which could bring it closest to securing a place as a political powerhouse. Author Maxim A. Suchkov Posted October 15, 2015 Indeed, Moscow has moved so quickly, so decisively and so — again — clandestinely that even long-time observers of Russian policy toward Syria were left puzzled. Within a couple of days, Putin went from his UN speech and proposal for cooperation with the United States in tackling the Islamic State (IS) to airstrikes. To make matters even worse for Western leaders, Iraqi Shiite lawmakers and militia leaders recently urged the government there to allow the Russian air force to carry out airstrikes on IS positions in Iraq. Such a request, as traumatizing as it may be for Washington, reflects two larger issues. First, many regional governments, Sunni and Shiite alike, appear uncertain that America can provide adequate security. Some observers are skeptical that the US-led campaign will achieve any real success. The second issue is a call for a strong power broker that can, if needed, use targeted yet decisive force. Russia discerned this desire and has been setting the stage to take advantage of it by building up its military presence and launching a diplomatic offensive. A mixture of both legitimate national interests and tactical motives has driven the Russian campaign in Syria. [Russia Syria]
• NYT Plays Games with MH-17 Tragedy
  October 15, 2015 Exclusive: There was a time when The New York Times showed some skepticism toward the words of the U.S. government but those days are long gone, as the Times sinks even deeper into the propaganda swamp with an editorial playing games with the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 tragedy, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry In its single-minded propaganda campaign against Russia, The New York Times has no interest in irony, but if it had, it might note that some of the most important advances made by the Dutch Safety Board’s report on the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came because the Russian government declassified sensitive details about its anti-aircraft weaponry. The irony is that the Obama administration has steadfastly refused to declassify its intelligence information on the tragedy, which presumably could answer some of the key remaining mysteries, such as where the missile was fired and who might have fired it. While merrily bashing the Russians, the Times has failed to join in demands for the U.S. government to make public what it knows about the tragedy that killed 298 people on July 17, 2014. In other words, through its hypocritical approach to this atrocity, the Times has been aiding and abetting a cover-up of crucial evidence, all the better to score some propaganda points against the Russ-kies, the antithesis of what an honest news organization would do. In its editorial on Thursday, The Times also continues to play on the assumed ignorance of its readers by hyping the fact that the likely weapon, a Buk surface-to-air missile, was “Russian-made,” which while true, is not probative of which side fired it. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, is armed with Russian-made weapons, too. But that obvious fact is skirted by the Times highlighting in its lead paragraph that the plane was shot down “by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile,” adding: “Even Russia, which has spent much of those [past] 15 months generating all kinds of implausible theories that put the blame … on Ukraine, and doing its best to thwart investigations, has had to acknowledge that this is what happened.” Though some misinformed Times’ readers might be duped into finding that sentence persuasive, the reality is that Russia has long considered it likely that a Buk or other anti-aircraft missile was involved in downing MH-17. That’s why Russia declassified so many details about its Buk systems for the Dutch investigation – something governments are loath to do – and the Russian manufacturer issued a report on the likely Buk role last June. [MH17] [Media]
• IS, Jabhat al-Nusra trace Afghan battle lines in face-off against Russia
  Much like the mujahedeen in Afghanistan decades ago, jihadi in Syria today see potential for victory over Russia in a war of mujahedeen attrition. In Syria today, terrorist groups are applying lessons from the Afghanistan experience to their plans to counter Russia. Author Ali Hashem Posted October 14, 2015 The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan has become a popular topic of conversation among jihadis in Syria. Many of them either have memories to share or questions to ask, for it was a turning point in the path of modern jihad. It was there that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden took the spotlight, along with so many other jihadi “stars” who later found their own ways and started dozens of new “brands.” They founded what could be called a line of jihadi entrepreneurship. In Syria today, the main jihadi groups are applying these recollections to their discussions of how to counter the current Russian attack. The issue is no longer a sectarian war with the Syrian regime and its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. It has become a global war — which sells better with young Islamists who might be reluctant to fight against fellow Muslims. It’s a war against the legacy of Soviet communists, the “genuine unbelievers.” Both the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, the two main jihadi groups in Syria, have declared a holy war on the Russians. "The war in [Syria] will make the Russians forget the horrors they faced in Afghanistan,” said Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani. In a YouTube audio message posted Oct. 12, he added, “The new Russian invasion is the last arrow in the quiver of the enemies of Muslims and the enemies of Syria.” IS also issued an audio message, read by IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani. He called on Muslim youth everywhere to join the jihad against the Russians and Americans, who are waging “a crusader war against the Muslims, the war of the atheists and idolaters against the believers.” He reassured them, “America is so weak that it’s seeking help from Australia, begging Turkey and Russia and appeasing Iran.” Will Syria be Russia’s new Afghanistan? Al-Monitor posed the question to Abdullah bin Mohammed, an al-Qaeda theorist and author of several papers that have been cited widely by such jihad analysts as Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, Abu Qatada al-Falastini and Abu Maria al-Qahtani. “I think the Russians decided to intervene after the major losses by the Syrian army in Idlib and Hamah,” he explained. “The Russians and the Americans kept a distance at the beginning, as they felt there was a kind of equilibrium in the equation. Now the situation is different.” Bin Mohammed, who has 276,000 followers on Twitter, said the likelihood of defeating the Russians in Syria depends on foreign support for the rebels and the mujahedeen, adding, “and here I mean quality support.” “In my opinion, this won’t happen until the West is sure that Russia has reached the point of no return militarily. Russia should be brought to the ground and be forced to drop its guard. Only then will it be possible to get quality weaponry that could help launch a proper war of attrition.” The Russians will be then forced to withdraw from Syria the way they did from Afghanistan, he said. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/10/russia-syria-intervention-compare-jihadists-afghanistan.html#ixzz3oexEmZYR [Russia Syria]
• Is Putin Really as Foolish as We Are?
  Putin’s attempt at "shock and awe" in Syria has all the hallmarks of failed U.S. interventions of the past By John Feffer, October 14, 2015. Surely this is not a shocker. But what’s interesting about the latest revelation concerning Nixon and Vietnam is that the most duplicitous president in U.S. history actually knew that the U.S. air war in Southeast Asia was a dismal failure. Even as Nixon was telling the media that the saturation bombings of Vietnam and Laos were “very effective,” he was privately acknowledging the opposite. “We have had 10 years of total control of the air in Laos and V.Nam,” Nixon wrote to his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, on January 3, 1972. “The result = Zilch. There is something wrong with the strategy or the Air Force.” The Obama administration has unleashed a similar air war in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State. The results have been comparable to Nixon’s “zilch.” The Islamic State has not replaced its black flag with a white one, nor has it shrunk appreciably in size. Obama’s attempt to unseat Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has not produced much either, other than increased violence and chaos in the poor, benighted country. The Pentagon’s effort to train and re-insert “moderate” rebels into the country has proven so disastrous that the Obama administration recently suspended the project. Meanwhile, the CIA’s rival plan to simply ship armaments to existing forces fighting against the government in Damascus has yielded more than “zilch,” at least according to recent reports. Indeed, the success anti-Assad forces have had with anti-tank missiles helped persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene on the side of the Syrian government to forestall checkmate and prolong stalemate. [Russia Syria] [False balance] [Liberal]
• Criminal probe urged for MH17 crash
  By Chen Boyuan China.org.cn, October 15, 2015 The Malaysian Government is calling for thorough criminal investigation into the MH17 disaster, following the latest Dutch Safety Board final report that confirmed the passenger plane was shot down by a Russian Buk missile (sic). Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia's Minister of Transport, attends an international conference in Beijing on Oct. 14, 2015. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn] Malaysia's Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai said on Wednesday that, upon the completion of the "technical investigation," the Joint International Team (JIT), which is led by the Dutch national police and prosecutor, would launch a criminal probe to find the "culprits" responsible for the air disaster. "We deem it is a criminal case and therefore international criminal organizations must take the necessary steps so that we can bring them [people responsible] to court," said Liow, who was attending an international conference in Beijing. The final report on MH17 purposefully avoided suggesting whether the Buk missile was fired from the Russian side or from Ukraine, and Liow also said that the Malaysian government does not want to speculate because the criminal investigation will have the final say. On the other hand, the International Civil Aviation Organization is currently gathering more data to establish the flight path of the crashed MH17 and the flight zone where it was brought down, according to the transport minister. At the same time, he confirmed there was no further progress regarding the search of the missing MH370, but promised that Malaysia is "committed to continuing with the search." [MH17] [Chinese IR]
• Korean Totem Poles Removed After Vandalism in St. Petersburg
  Nine Korean totem poles that were severely damaged by religious fanatics in St. Petersburg have been removed from the site. They were donated by Korea as a symbol of friendship to Russia's second largest city on its 300th anniversary in 2003. But the Jangseung totem poles, which are traditionally placed outside Korean villages to frighten away demons, attracted the ire of religious fanatics who insisted that Russia is a Christian Orthodox country and attacked them with chainsaws on April 15 this year. Korean totem poles are abandoned at a park in St. Petersburg, Russia. /Fontanka Korean totem poles are abandoned at a park in St. Petersburg, Russia. /Fontanka They were irreparably damaged. According to local media, city officials removed the three remaining totem poles, which had stood in a park, on Sept. 22 while officials from the Korean Consulate General looked on. City authorities apologized to the Korean Consulate General and began an investigation but failed to catch the vandals. Kim Jong-heung, a famous Jangseung sculptor, made the totem poles from Russian pine trees. They will be replaced by Harubang, a stone folklore symbol of Jeju Island believed to bring protection and fertility and ward off evil spirits, the consulate said. [Orthodox]
• Jabha Shamiya commander blames ‘complete lack of coordination’ for Aleppo losses
  Oct. 13, 2015 AMMAN: A rebel commander is blaming a lack of unity and “not nearly enough support from the Americans” for a series of losses in northeast Aleppo in recent days as Russian airstrikes buttress a regime ground assault, alongside an opportunistic advance by the Islamic State. Russian airstrikes, regime artillery bombardments and Islamic State infantry assaults late last week have left rebels on Aleppo’s northeast front in retreat and disarray, Col. Abu Rami al-Kurdi,a commander with al-Jabha a-Shamiya that was holding the frontline, told Syria Direct on Monday. Al-Jabha a-Shamiya and allied rebel factions (green), caught between the regime (red) to the south, and the Islamic State (black) to the north, withdrew in the face of Russian airstrikes, regime artillery bombardments and Islamic State infantry assaults late last week.The regime, clenched like a closing fist around the city of Aleppo, covets the northeastern Aleppo countryside to protect and supply its drive northwest to besieged Nubl and Zahraa, and to simultaneously cut rebel supply lines from Turkey into Aleppo city. The Islamic State wants these once-rebel held lands too–victory here would put it in striking distance of Aleppo city, only 13km to the south. Map courtesy of Agathocle de Syracuse. Last Thursday, Russian warplanes began bombing four rebel-held villages northeast of Aleppo. The next day, at 4:30 AM, regime artillery forces in the Sheikh Najjar Industrial Zone in northeast Aleppo city launched their own strike against the same four villages, as well as shelling Ahdath Prison and the Syria-Turkey Free Trade Zone. These points, approximately 12km northeast of the city’s center, are all coveted by the regime, rebels and the Islamic State. Northeast Aleppo’s towns, villages and commercial facilities, including al-Ahdath Prison, the Syria-Turkey Free Trade Zone and a sprawling cement plant, make for hard-to-capture military positions, and supply half-way points to frontline units. The rebels found their forces suddenly trapped. Caught between a Russian-backed regime offensive, moving north on Friday, and an Islamic State infantry assault, moving south hours later, the rebels “had no choice but to abandon what seemed like an impossible defense,” said al-Jabha a-Shamiya commander Col. al-Kurdi. [Syria] [Russia Syria]
• Did Russia’s Intervention Derail Turkey’s Plan to Invade Syria?
  by Mike Whitney Thousands of Iranian soldiers have arrived in Syria to join a major offensive against Sunni militants located in the northwest section of the country. The Iranian ground forces will be part of a joint operation that will include the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Russia and fighters from Lebanese militia, Hezbollah. The assault comes on the heels of a withering two week aerial bombardment of enemy positions by the Russian Air Force which has wreaked havoc on US-backed jihadis along the western corridor. The mobilization of Iranian troops indicates that the 4 year-long conflict is entering its final phase where the Russian-led coalition will attempt to crush the predominantly-Sunni militias and restore security across the country. [Russia Syria] [Turkey]
• The MH17 Report That Should Have Been
  The Dutch cover up report on MH17 comes out on Monday. Of course, I have not read the final draft yet, because the contents are secret, but I know bullshit when I smell it, and I can smell it all the way from Amsterdam. I do not have to read it to know it is a lie. But I will, and it will be. How can I be so sure? Because I know what happened, I have been told by an eyewitness. But even before that, all the circumstantial evidence really puts the answer beyond any reasonable doubt. And when the Dutch publish their lies on Monday, I expect the Russians will reply with the truth, and with their proof. In the meantime, let’s consider what we already know… There are already far too many discrepancies for any serious person to give the Dutch “report” any credence, regardless of what it says. If this report was not a cover up, if it actually was concerned with the truth, instead of just being a cover up of an obvious false flag, it would have come out at least a year ago, rather than 16 months after the fact. Why do you think it took so long? [MH17]
• MH-17: Dutch Safety Board Report Does Not Mention Supposed US Intelligence Data
  The Dog Still Not Barking
  By Robert Parry Global Research, October 14, 2015 Consortium News 13 October 2015 The Dutch Safety Board report concludes that an older model Buk missile apparently shot down Malaysia Airline Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, but doesn’t say who possessed the missile and who fired it. Yet, what is perhaps most striking about the report is what’s not there – nothing from the U.S. intelligence data on the tragedy. The dog still not barking is the absence of evidence from U.S. spy satellites and other intelligence sources that Secretary of State John Kerry insisted just three days after the shoot-down pinpointed where the missile was fired, an obviously important point in determining who fired it. On July 20, 2014, Kerry declared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we picked up the imagery of this launch. We know the trajectory. We know where it came from. We know the timing. And it was exactly at the time that this aircraft disappeared from the radar.” Russian-made Buk anti-missile battery. But such U.S. government information is not mentioned in the 279-page Dutch report, which focused on the failure to close off the eastern Ukrainian war zone to commercial flights and the cause of the crash rather than who fired on MH-17. A Dutch criminal investigation is still underway with the goal of determining who was responsible but without any sign of an imminent conclusion. [MH17] [Intelligence] [Russia confrontation]
• Dutch report: Buk missile downed MH17 in Ukraine
  By Andrew Roth, Brian Murphy and Thomas Gibbons-Neff October 13 at 12:32 PM MOSCOW -- A Russian-developed Buk missile detonated less than a yard away from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17's cockpit, causing the plane to break up over eastern Ukraine so quickly that it is likely the nearly 300 people aboard "were barely able to comprehend the situation" before they perished, Dutch investigators said Tuesday. The long-awaited findings by the Dutch Safety Board offered a chilling account of the devastation aboard the Kuala Lumpur-bound airliner whose flight path crossed directly over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 before being blown out of the sky. The report marks the latest stage of evidence-gathering as investigators try to sort out what happened to the plane. But the findings left unresolved the central question of responsibility, which became even murkier this week with conflicting reports from the missile's manufacturer. The report also did not specify what generation of missile brought down the plane. The Buk surface-to-air missile system, first developed in early 1970s by the Soviet Union, is part of the Russian arsenal and is a complicated air defense weapon designed to locate and engage targets by radar. While older versions are no longer in use by the Russians, various types of Buk systems are used by Ukraine and some other former Soviet republics. "A 9n314m warhead detonated outside the airplane to the left side of the cockpit. This fits the kind of warhead installed in the Buk surface-to-air missile system,” said Safety Board head Tjibbe Joustra. An animated reconstruction of the impact released by the board detailed how the missile can travel at three times the speed of sound and detonate via proximity fuse; about 800 "pre-formed fragments" struck the jet. [MH17]
• Say hello to my cruise missiles
  By Pepe Escobar on October 12, 2015 in The New Great Game in Eurasia advanced in leaps and bounds last week after Russia fired 26 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea against 11 ISIS/ISIL/Daesh targets across Syria, destroying all of them. These naval strikes were the first known operational use of state-of-the-art SSN-30A Kalibr cruise missiles. All it took for the Pentagon was a backward look over the shoulder at the flight path of those Kalibr missiles – capable of striking targets 1,500 km away. Talk about a crisp, clear, succinct message from Moscow to the Pentagon and NATO. Wanna mess with us, boy? With your big, bulging aircraft carriers, maybe? [Russia Syria] [Military balance] [Cruise missile]
• Russia's Orthodox church backs 'holy war' against ISIS
  By Kesavan Unnikrishnan Oct 4, 2015 in World . Russia's Orthodox Church voiced support for Putin's decision to carry out air strikes in Syria against ISIS, calling it a "holy battle" for protecting the Christians in the region. The statements from Russia's powerful orthodox Church came as Russia continued its air strikes in Syria. Head of the Church’s Public Affairs Department, Vsevolod Chaplin, told Interfax news agency. [Orthodox] [ISIS]
• ISIL is Now Plagued by Massive Desertion
  Valery Kulikov There’s an increasing number of reports stating that after just a week of Russian airstrikes against ISIL (Islamic State) positions, there’s panic and desertion everywhere. About a thousand extremists have already abandoned their positions in Syria and are now heading in the direction of Iraq, Turkey and a number of European states. Successful operations carried out in cooperation with the regular Syrian army has not only managed to interrupt a series of relatively easy victories that ISIL had been scoring on the field of battle, but also stopped the flow of militants from abroad. According to the Arabic television channel Al-Mayadeen, ISIL members are urgently evacuating their families, fearing new air raids. In a situation where command centers are getting obliterated, there’s desertion to be found everywhere. According to numerous experts, just the first few days of Russia’s campaign have caused the Islamic State more damage than a year of the so-called “war on terrorism” in Syria, launched by the United States, and then supported by the UK, France, Germany Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The successful counterattack of the Syrian army, with Russian warplanes flying close air support, aggravated the already complicated relations between militants of this Islamist organization, causing morale to sink lower. It went as far as forcing ISIL to create a special “military police”, that is now entrusted with the duty of checking special papers that testify that a militant is carrying out his duties in a designated location. [Russia Syria] [ISIS] [Airpower]
• Week One of the Russian Military Intervention in Syria
  The Saker • October 10, 2015 The speed at which the Russian military operation in Syria was conducted what a big surprise for the US intelligence community (which I can hardly blame as I was just as surprised myself). Make no mistake here, the Russian force in Syria is a small one, at least for the time being, and it does not even remotely resemble what the rumors had predicted, but it is especially the manner in which it is being used which is very original: as a type of “force multiplier” for the Syrian military and a likely cover for the Iranian one. This is a very elegant solution in which a small force achieves a disproportionately big result. This is also a rather dangerous strategy, because it leaves the force very vulnerable, but one which, at least so far, Putin very successfully explained to the Russian people. According to the most recent poll, 66% of Russian support the airstrikes in Syria while 19% oppose them. Considering the risks involved, these are extremely good numbers. Putin’s personal popularity, by the way, is still at a phenomenal 85% (all these figures have an margin of error of 3.4%). Still, these figures indicate to me that the potential for concern and, possibly, disappointment is present. The big advantage that Putin has over any US President is that Russians understand that wars, all wars, have a cost, and they are therefore nowhere as casualty-averse as the people in the USA or Europe. Still, while combat footage taken from UAV is a good start, Putin will have to be able to show something more tangible soon. Hence, probably, the current Syrian army counter-offensive. Still, the current way of triumphalism in Russia makes me nervous. [Russia Syria]
• Putin Says Russia's Campaign in Syria More Effective Than U.S.
  Jake Rudnitsky Rudnit Stepan Kravchenko October 12, 2015 — 2:22 AM NZDT Updated on October 12, 2015 — 6:55 AM NZDT • Russian attacks on terror targets won't include ground troops • Obama has shelved plan to train some groups of Syrian rebels lRussian President Vladimir Putin defended his air and cruise-missile strikes on terror targets in Syria as two Saudi Arabian officials softened their government’s position on the fate of Bashar al-Assad. Putin discussed his Syria campaign on Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Mohammed Bin Salman, who signaled a willingness to let al-Assad remain in power longer, while the foreign ministers of both nations also met to consider the situation in Syria. [Saudi Arabia] [Russia Syria]
• Russia’s Syrian Gambit
  By khakis5_wp 10/10/2015 For the spectators in Rome’s Colosseum, the most thrilling gladiatorial contests were between opponents asymmetrically armed. The heavily armoured warrior with sword and shield v. an unprotected, but much more agile, opponent armed with trident and net. Click: Gladiators In a far larger global arena, we are currently witness to an equally deadly struggle between asymmetrically equipped opponents. Russia, with its chess-playing tradition is now faced off most publically against the USA with its poker-playing tradition. Chess players plan several moves ahead: poker players deal cunningly with whatever cards come to hand – and rely on reserves of cash to see them through the game until their opponent is forced to capitulate. Western commentators have advanced multiple reasons for the Russian intervention in Syria, and there is probably an element of truth in most of them. It is only the most obvious reason that seems largely ignored. Russia’s deployment of air-power should be viewed as a pre-emptive strike made in self-defence. After the recent coups and attempted coups in Georgia and the Ukraine, Russians are only too well aware of the USA’s on-going endeavours to destroy their economy and destabilise their government. Russia has long supported the Assad regime as a secular bulwark against Saudi Arabia’s highly contagious Islamic fundamentalism in the south. Russia now has a genuine fear that should they prove victorious in Syria, the armies of Islamic terrorists being nurtured by the NATO powers and their UAE and Saudi allies in Syria, Turkey and Northern Iraq, could then be used to destabilise Russia’s Moslem citizens and allied states within the Eurasian Economic Community. [Russia Syria]
• Nato should hold nuclear war games, says the UK: Ministers examining proposals that could see Trident deterrent deployed for first time since the Cold War
  • Calls for Nato to hold nuclear war games as threat from Russia intensifies • Trident could be deployed alongside other nations for first time since Cold War • Forces would play into scenario which ramps up into world war resulting in nuclear disaster By Larisa Brown Defence Correspondent For The Daily Mail Published: 22:23 GMT, 8 October 2015 Britain has urged Nato to hold nuclear war games as the threat from Russia intensifies, it can be revealed. Ministers are examining proposals which could see the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent deployed alongside other nations for the first time since the Cold War. Forces from across the Alliance would exercise thousands of troops, aircraft and ships which would then play into a scenario which ramps up into a world war resulting in nuclear disaster. [Nuclear weapons] [Hawks] [Russia confrontation]
• Meanwhile, Putin Is Also Arming Iran
  The sale of the S-300 advanced surface-to-air missile system is a sign of things to come. Daniel Z. Katz Oct. 11, 2015 6:03 p.m. ET While all eyes are on Vladimir Putin’s machinations in Syria, deploying Russian fighters and troops, a potentially more dangerous Moscow effort in Iran is picking up steam. Media outlets are reporting that Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems may be delivered before the end of the year. The S-300 is considered “defensive” and as such is not subject to United Nations sanctions. Each system fielded creates a formidable shield against air attacks over a large area. It operates as a battalion, at the center of which is a search radar that scans out to 180 miles and tracks up to 100 aircraft. All components of the S-300 are mounted on trucks and mobile in minutes. Surrounding it are six “batteries,” each composed of a guidance radar and up to eight launchers holding four missiles with a range of 90 miles. Each battery can fire on six targets at the same time, allowing a full battalion to engage 36 aircraft simultaneously. According to Russian reports, Iran will receive at least four battalions.
  What does this mean if Iran violates its nuclear agreement and the U.S. or its allies are forced to strike its nuclear facilities? [Russia Iran] [Agency]
• Russia outflanks Turkey in Syria
  By M.K. Bhadrakumar Turkey has voiced strong opposition to the Russian military intervention in Syria. How far will Turkey take this campaign? Turkish President Recep Erdogan must do some profound rethink on Syria President Recep Erdogan has criticized the Russian move on successive days before leaving on a visit to Brussels and Paris Monday. He carried with him a 3-point agenda to rev up the ‘train-equip’ program for Syrian rebels, declaration of ‘terror-free zones’ in Syria and the establishment of a ‘no-fly zone’ in Syrian airspace. Erdogan is upset that during his recent visit to Moscow, he was not taken into confidence regarding the imminent launch of Russian air strikes in Syria. Clearly, Russia outflanked Turkey. This puts Turkey in a fix. There are three key vectors involved here. One, Moscow is frontally cornering Ankara on the latter’s clandestine support to the Islamic State [IS] and other extremist Syrian opposition groups operating inside Syria. Two, Turkey’s plans of creating a ‘no-fly zone’ in northern Syria have gone for a six. The Russian pilots will fly in the Syrian air space wherever they need to undertake missions in coordination with the US. Three, the US and Russia are on the same page in regarding the Syrian Kurds as allies in the fight against the IS, while Ankara brands the People’s Protection Units (armed militia of Syrian Kurds) as ‘terrorists’. [Russia Turkey]
• Russia’s Syria intervention may force choice on Obama: Act or yield
  By Karen DeYoung October 7 Russia’s military moves in Syria are fundamentally changing the face of the country’s civil war, putting President Bashar al-Assad back on his feet, and may complicate the Obama administration’s plans to expand its air operations against the Islamic State. So far, the administration has not budged in its twofold strategy — direct airstrikes against the Islamic State and significant aid for those fighting against it, and a push for negotiations to end what has been the largely separate Syrian civil war. Senior administration officials acknowledge that Russia has already made some tactical gains in the civil war, even as they insist President Vladi­mir Putin will ultimately pay for what they describe as a strategic blunder that will undercut his already tenuous reputation in the world and encourage the spread of the militants. [Russia Syria] [Russia confrontation]
• Did U.S. weapons supplied to Syrian rebels draw Russia into the conflict?
  By Liz Sly October 11 at 8:20 PM ? BEIRUT — American antitank missiles supplied to Syrian rebels are playing an unexpectedly prominent role in shaping the Syrian battlefield, giving the conflict the semblance of a proxy war between the United States and Russia, despite President Obama’s express desire to avoid one. The U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW missiles were delivered under a two-year-old covert program coordinated between the United States and its allies to help vetted Free Syrian Army groups in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad. Now that Russia has entered the war in support of Assad, they are taking on a greater significance than was originally intended. So successful have they been in driving rebel gains in northwestern Syria that rebels call the missile the “Assad Tamer,” a play on the word Assad, which means lion. And in recent days they have been used with great success to slow the Russian-backed offensive aimed at recapturing ground from the rebels. [Syrian forces begin ground offensive backed by Russian air and sea power] Since Wednesday, when Syrian troops launched their first offensive backed by the might of Russia’s military, dozens of videos have been posted on YouTube showing rebels firing the U.S.-made missiles at Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Syrian army. Appearing as twirling balls of light, they zigzag across the Syrian countryside until they find and blast their target in a ball of flame. The rebels claim they took out 24 tanks and armored vehicles on the first day, and the toll has risen daily since then. “It was a tank massacre,” said Capt. Mustafa Moarati, whose Tajamu al-Izza group says it destroyed seven tanks and armored vehicles Wednesday. More missiles are on the way, he said. New supplies arrived after the Russian deployments began, he said, and the rebels’ allies have promised further deliveries soon, bringing echoes of the role played by U.S.-supplied Stinger antiaircraft missiles in forcing the Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan in the 1980s. [US Syria policy] [Outsourcing]
• Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich wins Nobel Prize for Literature
  China Daily, October 8, 2015 Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for her portrayal of life in the former Soviet Union which the Swedish Academy said was "a monument to suffering and courage in our time." Alexievich's work includes a series of books called the "Voices of Utopia" about individuals in the former Soviet Union as well as works on the consequences of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl and the Russian war in Afghanistan. "By means of her extraordinary method - a carefully composed collage of human voices - Alexievich deepens our comprehension of an entire era," the Swedish Academy said on Thursday in awarding the 8 million crown (US$972,000) prize. Alexievich, born in 1948 in Ukraine, worked as a teacher and a journalist after finishing school. [Softwar] [Russia confronation]
• The NATO-Russia Face Off in Syria
  by Pepe Escobar So a Su-30 enters a few hundred meters into Turkish airspace for only two minutes over Hatay province, and returns to Syrian airspace after being warned by a couple of Turkish F-16s. Then all hell breaks loose as if this was the ultimate pretext for a NATO-Russia war. NATO, predictably, went out all rhetorical guns blazing. Russia is causing“extreme danger” and should immediately stop bombing those cute “moderate rebels” the coalition of the dodgy opportunists refuses to bomb. But wait; NATO is actually too busy to go to war. The priority, until at least November, is the epic Trident Juncture 2015; 36,000 troops from 30 states, more than 60 warships, around 200 aircraft, all are seriously practicing how to defend from the proverbial “The Russians are Coming!” Still, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu – he of the former “zero problems with our neighbors” doctrine – actually “warned” Moscow that next time Ankara would respond “militarily”. Until, of course, he backed down; “What we have received from Russia …is that this was a mistake and that they respect Turkey’s borders and this will not happen again.” [NATO] [Turkey] [Russia Syria]
• Why We Should Welcome Russia’s Entry Into Syrian War
  by Patrick Cockburn Russia’s military intervention in Syria, although further internationalising the conflict, does however present opportunities, as well as complications. There are no simple solutions to this terrible war which has destroyed Syria. Out of a population of 22 million, four million Syrians are refugees abroad and seven million have been displaced inside the country. I was recently in Kurdish-controlled north-east Syria, where the bomb-shattered ruins of Kobani look like pictures of Stalingrad after the battle. But equally significant is the fact that even in towns and villages from which Islamic State (Isis) has been driven, and where houses are largely undamaged, people are too terrified to return. Syrians are right to be afraid. They know that what happens on the battlefield today may be reversed tomorrow. At this stage, the war is a toxic mix of half a dozen different confrontations and crises, involving players inside and outside the country. Intertwined struggles for power pit Assad against a popular uprising, Shia against Sunni, Kurd against Arab and Turk, Isis against everybody, Iran against Saudi Arabia and Russia against the US. One of the many problems in ending, or even de-escalating these crises, is that these self-interested players are strong enough to fight their own corners, but too weak to ever checkmate their opponents. This is why the involvement of Moscow could have a positive impact: Russia is at least a heavy hitter, capable of shaping events by its own actions and strongly influencing the behaviour of its allies and proxies. Barack Obama said at a news conference after the Russian airstrikes that “we’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia”. But the US-Soviet Cold War, and the global competition that went with it, had benefits for much of the world. Both superpowers sought to support their own allies and prevent political vacuums from developing which its opposite number might exploit. Crises did not fester in the way they do today, and Russians and Americans could see the dangers of them slipping wholly out of control and provoking an international crisis. [Russia Syria]
• Russia and America prep forces for Arctic war
  By David Axe October 5, 2015 President Barack Obama’s recent trip to Alaska helped draw attention to global climate change — and to the national-security tensions that could result from a warming Arctic region. Surveyors believe that the seabed under Arctic waters could contain hundreds of billions of barrels of untapped oil. As the North Pole becomes more accessible, and so more valuable, Arctic countries — each with its own and in some cases overlapping territorial claims — are getting ready for some serious competition. The United States and Russia are geopolitical rivals and uneasy Arctic neighbors. More and more Russian and U.S. military forces are deploying on and under the Arctic Ocean. But Washington and Moscow are approaching their Arctic build-ups quite differently. The Kremlin holds the advantage on the ocean’s surface; the Pentagon dominates beneath the waves. Though Russia and the United States both train Arctic ground troops, Washington is also building a northern strike force of high-tech stealth warplanes. [Russia confrontation]
• Svetlana Alexievich wins Nobel Prize in literature
  Belarusan journalist Svetlana Alexievich is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature By Ron Charles October 8 at 9:35 PM ? Belarusan journalist Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature Thursday for work that the Swedish Academy described as “a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” The Nobel committee rarely chooses nonfiction writers for the literature prize. Alexievich, 67, is the author of, among other books, “Voices From Chernobyl,” about survivors of the nuclear plant disaster in Ukraine in 1986. She has also been a forceful critic of Russian military action and of President Vladimir Putin. Reacting to the news, Alexievich told the CBT channel, “To become a winner is a huge event. Such an unexpected, almost unsettling feeling. I am thinking now about great Russian writers such as Pasternak.” Alexievich is the sixth winner who writes in Russian. [Russia confrontation] [Softwar]
• Obama avoids a showdown in Syria
  Administration officials game out options to respond to Putin's provocations, but Obama exercises "strategic patience." By Michael Crowley | 10/06/15 07:20 PM EDT | Updated 10/06/15 10:06 PM EDT As Vladimir Putin takes increasingly provocative actions against U.S. interests in Syria, President Barack Obama is tuning out calls from Republicans and foreign policy heavyweights to punish the Russian president through military or economic measures. They include a call from Jimmy Carter's former national security adviser to "disarm" Russian assets in Syria if Putin doesn't change his behavior, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio's insistence that conflict with Russia is a risk worth taking in the name of asserting America's goals in Syria, and talk of new sanctions on Moscow. Obama's team has been gaming out options for responding to Russia, but so far there's no plan to use any of them, even as Putin keeps upping the ante. [Russia confrontation] [Russia Syria] [Strategic patience]
• Syria and the Drumbeat of World War
  By Bill Van Auken Global Research, October 08, 2015 World Socialist Web Site With Russia having completed its first week of airstrikes in Syria, firing some 26 cruise missiles from warships deployed over 900 miles away in the Caspian Sea, an escalating drumbeat of warnings and threats of a far more dangerous conflict and even world war has come to dominate discussions within ruling circles in both the US and Europe. French President François Hollande, who has ordered French warplanes to bomb Syria, warned European lawmakers Wednesday that the events in that country could spiral into a “total war” from which Europe itself would not be “sheltered.” Seizing on alleged incidents involving Russian warplanes straying into Turkish airspace, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, “An attack on Turkey means an attack on NATO,” implicitly invoking Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty, which commits members of the US-led military alliance to an armed response against an attack on Turkey or any other member state. The Turkish government, which has been one of the primary sources of support for Islamist militias such as ISIS and the al-Nusra Front that have ravaged Syria, routinely violates the airspace of its own neighbors, carrying out bombing raids against Kurdish camps in Iraq and shooting down Syrian planes over Syrian territory. Top NATO officials have also weighed in with bellicose denunciations of Moscow. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg charged that the alleged Russian incursion into Turkish airspace “does not look like an accident.” He continued, warning, “Incidents, accidents, may create dangerous situations. And therefore it is also important to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” [Russia confrontation] [Russia Syria] [Turkey] [EU]
• Saudi religious scholars enraged over Moscow's recent Syria strikes
  Russia’s recent military strikes in Syria have inflamed the anger and imagination of Saudi religious scholars. Summary? Print Saudi ulama would rather see action against Assad than against the Islamic State, but could their stance be seen as a call to jihad? Author Madawi Al-Rasheed Posted October 7, 2015 A consortium of 55 prominent Salafi scholars recently signed a letter titled “Petition of Saudi Ulama With Regard to Russian Aggression on Syria” and posted it on hard-line Salafi scholar Nasir al-Omar’s Web page, al-Moslim. This is not the first time Saudi scholars have addressed the wider regional turmoil and called for solidarity in support of rebels they deem virtuous, Islamic and worthy of transnational Muslim encouragement. Saudi ulama are notorious for inflaming the imaginations of the young when it comes to hot spots they believe are in need of jihad, from Afghanistan in the 1980s to Iraq in 2003 and now in Syria. However, despite their image as dogmatic Wahhabi scholars, they have proven themselves to be as pragmatic as any political entrepreneur. There is no doubt that in the mind of the 55 signatories of the petition, both the United States and Russia are equally infidel nations and governments. The United States, in the scholars' opinion, has denied Syrian rebels free no-fly zones and refused to bomb the Syrian regime. Yet, when NATO bombed Libya to depose Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, the majority of the Saudi ulama were cheerful. Their objective was to see an Islamist government replace Gadhafi, even if it involved inviting NATO to bomb a Muslim nation. Their logic centers on a simple formula. Both Gadhafi and NATO were infidel powers, and if NATO could depose the Libyan dictator, thus paving the way for the righteous Muslim government, there was no problem from their theological perspective. In fact, they can justify their positions by twisting a couple of religious texts and calling upon God to bring war between two unjust and infidel parties so that a Muslim nation emerges triumphant. In other words, let the infidels — a category that also includes many Arabs — fight it out among themselves so that a window of opportunity presents itself to the pious Sunni nation. [Saudi Arabia] [Jihad] [Sectarianism]
• The airstrike harvest
  Paul Rogers 9 October 2015 From Afghanistan to Syria and Iraq, western assaults take lives and fuel enmity. Now Russia has joined in, the chances of blowback grow yet higher. The United States air-force's assault on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan on 4 August 2015 is reported to have killed twenty-two people and injured thirty-seven, with twelve staff of the aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders / MSF) among the dead. Whatever investigators discover about the exact details, the implications of the "tragic incident" (as President Obama described it) go wider than can be explained away by any technical or military error. They relate not just to recent developments in Afghanistan, but also to the evolving war in Iraq and Syria. [Air strikes] [US Middle East policy] [Russia Syria] [False balance]
• Syrian forces begin ground offensive backed by Russia air and sea power
  By Erin Cunningham and Andrew Roth October 7 at 12:19 PM ? BEIRUT — Russian missiles fired from Caspian Sea warships traveled more than 900 miles to strike targets in Syria on Wednesday as Syrian government forces opened a ground offensive into areas that include Western-backed rebel factions, officials said. The bombardment marked the first naval salvos in Russia’s week-old military intervention, and another sharp escalation of Moscow’s firepower in Syria’s multi-faction civil war. It also adds another layer of complexity to efforts at restarting talks between the Pentagon and Russian commanders on their separate military operations in Syria. A map from Russia’s Defense Ministry showed the path of the cruise missiles crossing Iran and Iraq — which would apparently require coordination from both nations and draw them indirectly into the Russian military intervention as gateways for attacks. [Russia Syria] [ISIS] [Decline]
• Russia gets back in the game
  As Russia claims its lead in the Syrian conflict, even foraying into Turkish airspace, Western diplomats have been forced back to the drawing board, knocked off balance by Moscow’s whirlwind performance at the United Nations' 70th General Assembly. Moscow's stated plans for the Syrian crisis at the recent UN General Assembly have elicited controversial responses from the international community. Author Sophie Pilgrim Posted October 5, 2015 As the greatest geopolitical show on earth, Russian President Vladimir Putin did well to choose the General Assembly to officially launch his Syria offensive. In a cleverly timed and expertly executed performance at the annual summit, Russia both humiliated and courted its Western rivals, as Putin’s first address to the assembly in 10 years inaugurated what some diplomats have called Russia’s “hijacking” of the Syrian conflict. Western officials, while expecting Syria to dominate the summit, were thrown off balance as the Russians rolled out their simultaneously diplomatic and military offensive, not only taking the reins on Syria but also claiming the moral high ground in both fighting Islamist terrorists and dealing with the Arab world. Russia has stressed its role as a legitimate party in Syria, while lambasting the West for intervening “uninvited.” In an almost paternalistic moment during Putin’s speech, the Russian leader jabbed foreign powers over their actions in Libya and Iraq. "I cannot help asking those who have forced that situation: Do you realize what you have done?" he said. “We should all remember what our past has taught us.” Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/10/russia-syria-game-plan-diplomatic-push.html#ixzz3nxr426nz [Putin] [Russia Syria] [UNUS]
• Vlad and Yuri: How Putin is applying the lessons of Afghanistan to Syria
  Vladimir Putin is following in the footsteps of his old KGB boss Yuri Andropov, who took the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979 to shore up a failing client in Kabul. To succeed where Andropov failed, Putin will need to devote considerable resources and manpower to save Bashar al-Assad. But there are also significant differences in the challenges the two faced that favor Putin. Saudi Arabia will be his constant enemy, just as it was Andropov's. Russian President Vladimir Putin is using his regional allies to create "Alawistan," an enclave isolated from the rest of Syria. Author Bruce Riedel Posted October 5, 2015 In the fall of 1979, Andropov was the principal advocate in the Kremlin of a Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan to keep the communist Afghan government in power. The Marxist Afghan party was rapidly losing control of the country to the mujahedeen, and KGB chief Andropov warned defeat in Afghanistan would destabilize all of Soviet Central Asia. Andropov convinced an ailing Leonid Brezhnev that it would be an easy and cheap victory. In 1956, Andropov had been the Soviet ambassador in Hungary who called for Soviet intervention there, which had kept Budapest in the Warsaw Pact. But the Islamic world is not Eastern Europe. The Soviets faced a firestorm of Islamic opposition in Afghanistan. Days after elite Soviet airborne forces secured Kabul (replacing one communist protege with another after a shootout in the presidential palace), Saudi King Fahd promised Pakistan he would fund the mujahedeen resistance to Soviet aggression. Fahd put then-Prince Salman, governor of Riyadh, in charge of raising private funds for the Afghans. Salman raised tens of millions of dollars, initially exceeding the money the CIA and Saudi intelligence provided the mujahedeen and their Pakistani allies. The entire Islamic world was mobilized by Fahd against Moscow. [Russia confrontation] [Afghanistan] [Agency]
• With Russia’s Dep. Army Chief due in Israel, Moscow posts 64 S-300 ship-to-air missiles off Syria, N. Israel
  DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 5, 2015, 2:18 PM (IDT) Russia’s deputy chief of staff, Gen. Nikolay Bogdanovsky, accompanied by a large military delegation, arrives in Israel for a two-day visit on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to discuss increased coordination between the two militaries. However, Moscow seems to be sending Jerusalem an altogether different message: Friday, Oct. 2, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the surprise deployment of Navy cruiser, the Moskva, armed with 64 advanced anti-aircraft missiles S-300 ship-to-air missiles opposite the Syrian coastal town of Latakia. Debkafile’s military sources point out that Russia, without saying so publicly, has thus created an effective no-fly zone over most of Syria, most of northern Israel, including the Golan, as well as southern Turkey, for US aircraft based there for air strikes in Syria; Cyprus, the site of British air force bases; and Jordan. Since 2012, The Obama administration has been discussing the possibility of establishing no-fly zones in northern and southern Syria on a number of occasions, but has shelved the plan whenever a decision was imminent. Now, with one move, Moscow has imposed a no-fly zone over Syria. The presence of the wide-ranging S-300s means that the Turkish, British, Israeli and Jordanian air forces will need to coordinate their aerial operations in Syrian or Lebanese airspace with Russia, or face the risk of their planes being shot down. In the view of debkafile’s military sources, the only aircraft capable of evading those advanced missiles are stealth planes. Neither the Israeli, British, Jordanian or Turkish air forces, nor the US squadron in Turkey consisting of F-16 fighters, have such aircraft at their disposal. The S-300 has a range of 150 kilometers and can shoot down any type of missile, including cruise missiles, as well as planes. [Russia Syria] [Israel]
• Russia and the Two Koreas in the Context of Moscow’s Asian Policy
  . . KEI is proud to release newest work in its Academic Paper Series, Russia and the Two Koreas in the Context of Moscow’s Asian Policy by Dr. Stephen Blank. Russia’s desired ascent to a great independent power is contingent upon its rise in Asia, wherein conflict on the Korean Peninsula could undermine its global strategy of catalyzing multipolarity. The tenuous security situation stemming from North Korea is of great concern to Moscow, which it attempts to manage through offering economic incentives and balancing against other powers. Maintaining influence in Pyongyang to secure stability in the region is vital for Russian interests, yet is a complex challenge which Dr. Blank delineates in this paper. [Russia Koreas]
• What’s displacing Air Sea Battle in US military planning?
  1 October 2015 Author: Greg Raymond, ANU In a slow moving transition underway since late 2014, there are strong signs that the often-criticised US Air Sea Battle operational concept is being quietly — albeit not officially — sidelined as a focus of US military strategy. The likelihood is that a new program, the so-called Third Offset Strategy, is displacing it. This suggests that since the unsettling return of 19th century-style territorial annexation to 21st century Europe, Russia is looming as a serious threat in the minds of US defence planners — possibly even more than China. Russian President Valdimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talk to each other after negotiations of Russian and US leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, USA, 28 September 2015. Russia is changing the security landscape and US defence planners are adapting. (Photo: AAP) First articulated by then-outgoing US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in September 2014, the Third US Offset Strategy is aimed at addressing a perceived erosion of US conventional deterrence and technological dominance, caused by budget constraints, unceasing operations in the Middle East and the rapid proliferation of US defence technology to competitors. [AirSea Battle] [Russia confrontation] [China confrontation] [Inversion] [US global strategy]
• In Putin’s Syria Intervention, Fear of a Weak Government Hand
  By Steven Lee Myers Oct. 4, 2015 On the night of Dec. 5, 1989, Vladimir V. Putin, then a lieutenant colonel in the K.G.B., watched with alarm as thousands of East Germans in Dresden swarmed the riverside compound of the dreaded secret police, the Stasi. The Berlin Wall had been breached the month before, and the Communist government that had ruled East Germany since the end of World War II gasped its last breaths as protesters took to the streets across the country. The young officer and future Russian president, just 37 at the time, could only stand by helplessly at the K.G.B.’s Dresden outpost a few hundred feet away. The takeover of the Stasi headquarters was relatively peaceful, but in Mr. Putin’s mind the crowd was frenzied, deranged and dangerous, and the experience that night haunted him like nothing else in his mostly undistinguished career as an intelligence officer. “I felt it like a fault of my own,” he told one of his oldest friends, Sergei Roldugin. East Germany soon ceased to exist, as did the Soviet Union following the abortive putsch in August 1991, suffering from an affliction that Mr. Putin described as “a paralysis of power.” Photo That diagnosis has been a driving force in his consolidation of political power, and it does much to explain Russia’s forceful intervention last week to bolster the besieged government of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. The specter of mass protest — of mob rule — is one that has haunted Mr. Putin throughout his political life, and that fear lies at the heart of his belief in the primacy of state authority above all else, both at home and abroad. [Russia Syria] [Occam] Russia confrontation]
• Russia’s military is unlikely to turn the tide in Syria’s war
  By Andrew Roth and Thomas Gibbons-Neff October 3 ? MOSCOW — Russia has triumphantly plunged into Syria’s four-year-old civil war with an expanding campaign of airstrikes. But the official euphoria here masks a nagging question: What can a limited deployment of Russian air power actually accomplish? In the short term, Russia’s military will provide desperately needed air support and boost the morale of Syria’s battered army. The Syrian military will likely go on the offensive against moderate and Islamist rebel groups, including the Islamic State. But unless it is significantly strengthened, Moscow’s contribution is unlikely to be decisive in the war, analysts said. While Russia boasts its military is stronger than it has been in 25 years, its forces still grapple with aging equipment and have a weak partner in the poorly trained Syrian army. There is also tepid support among the Russian public for a lengthy conflict. [Russia Syria] [Wishful thinking]
• Can Russia Make a Difference in Syria?
  As soon as Russian air forces started bombing terrorists in Syria, a perfectly timed and thoroughly planned anti-Russian media campaign was launched in the Western media. In those loud and defiant cries to stop bombing “valuable US assets in the region” one can clearly trace the true goals and objectives of Washington and its associates. It is clear that the ultimate goal is to represent Russia as a monster, the ultimate aggressor, for it to replace the American enemy ?1 – terrorism in the foreseeable future. Corrupt experts are already sensing the imminent Russian defeat, predicting that Syria will become “a new Afghanistan” for Russia, but for some reason they keep forgetting about the “American Vietnam.” Russian experts at “Voice of America”, for instance, are saying that Russian air strikes can serve as a catalyst for global jihad, since extremists can take advantage of Moscow’s actions in Syria to recruit new fighters. One can only note that the same jihadists, despite the fact that they are supposedly being bombed by the international coalition led by the United States, for some reason, are not starting a jihad against the latter. Apparently, the answer lies in the fact all these terrorists are being paid with American money. Western tabloids got off the leash to hound Russia with false claims that its aircraft has been bombing residential neighborhoods and civilian population. Out of the blue they’ve managed to locate “witnesses” capable of telling distinct features of Russian planes and Russian pilots flying at an altitude of five thousand meters. All these false claims have been accompanied by unseen photos of destroyed houses and killed Syrian civilians. However, nobody can prove that these photographs were taken in Syria, or in a particular part of it. It is curious that all these fabricated stories were launched long before first Russian jet took off to bomb ISIL positions. “Regarding information in the media that the civilians were affected, we are ready for such information attacks and I would like to direct your attention to the fact that first information that there were casualties among civilians were published before our planes took off.” – said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/05/can-russia-make-a-difference-in-syria/ [Russia Syria] [Media] [IO]
• What If Russia Is Asked to Fly Air Cover for Iraqi Forces?
  The Iraqi military has taken a brutal beating in its battles against ISIL. Even with the support of American and coalition airpower, the Iraqis have lost untold material and territory since ISIL overran much of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland these last months. News now that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi welcomes Russian airstrikes may not be what the Obama administration foresaw, but it may well spell the end of ISIL in the region. Here’s a look at the situation on the ground. In an interview on France 24 television, the Iraqi PM went so far as to accuse the U.S.-led coalition of a lack of resolve in defeating ISIL. After over a year of massive bombing by the US led coalition, ISIL still has a stranglehold on much of Iraq’s territory. According to Abadi, the Iraqi leader seems frustrated at the ineffectiveness of the air cover provided his country’s forces, as well as at the widespread suffering the Islamic State has exacted. Now that Russia air forces have begun a campaign to support the ground forces of Syria’s Assad, the spotlight has spread to include the Iraqi front of the war on ISIL. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/05/what-if-russia-is-asked-to-fly-air-cover-for-iraqi-forces/ [Russia Iraq]
• If They Are Bombed - They Are Daesh
  Israel Shamir • October 4, 2015 President Putin is a pirate, no less. In his declaration at the UN, he stole President Bush Jr’s copyrighted 2001 call to fight Terror. That’s why the Americans were taken aback: the Russian President played back at them the best tropes of their own presidents. This was a clever subterfuge: instead of pointing out the disagreement between the Russians and the US, Putin took the whole American discourse and appropriated it. People conditioned to this talk swallowed it, hook, line, and and sinker, and even liked it: readers of the popular NY Daily News preferred Putin’s speech to that of their own president 95% to 5 %. So did Donald Trump. Putin probably would take the Republican nomination if he were to run for it, so Trump wants to take these Putin votes. And now, the Russians began their war on Terror. George W Bush’s War on Terror was a sham; would the Russian one be any better? The Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, by Arabic acronym), the declared object of the campaign, is an elusive entity, like al Qaeda, – or like the Snark of Lewis Carroll’s poem. It is a franchise, a network, rather than a state. It can’t be undone by airstrikes anymore than al Qaeda was. [Russia Syria]
• Russians see their Syria foray as lonely stand for future of civilization
  Highlights Russian media: With ‘our Christian culture’ at stake, Russia steps up Europe ‘smells of a wave of unwashed human bodies’ U.S. policy is the source of problem Russia is forced to resolve A Russian bomb explodes in Syria in a photo take from video posted on the Russian Defense Ministry website. A Russian bomb explodes in Syria in a photo take from video posted on the Russian Defense Ministry website. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service - AP By Matthew Schofield BERLIN — While in U.S. press reports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Syria strategy is a troubling mix of helpful and counterproductive, Russian news media are following a very different narrative. In their version of the story, Putin’s Russia is the lone warrior willing to stand up against evil, protecting those who are incapable or unwilling to protect themselves. Russia is, essentially, Batman, or an old West movie sheriff who fights alone, while the town he protects cowers in the background. Europe is lost in a maze of “foul-smelling humanity.” The United States is the cause of the current problems in Syria, especially: “The main antagonist of the Russian leader, Barack Obama.” A commentary piece by Russian political scientist Svetlana Lourie on the pro-government Izvestia website perhaps puts it most succinctly. Under the headline, “The coalition against the black force” runs a second one: “The historical moment when chaos becomes ungovernable, and only one force remains to stop it.” “We live in a new reality,” she writes. “We are fighting a new evil called Islamic State, an evil the West decided not to confront. The West is lost. Our step forward is an expression of great courage and responsibility. We have to accept this responsibility. There will be consequences, maybe severe ones, but we took this decision.” She goes on to note that Europe, the sadly loyal American lapdog, today “smells of unwashed human bodies.” She is talking about the Syrian refugees, and notes that their arrival is the result of a weak and failed U.S. foreign policy that has been accepted by its allies. Russia, she writes, warned of this potential as soon as the danger became apparent during the Arab Spring. Yet, even now the West retains an irrational fear of Russia. “Russia called for a coordination of anti-Islamic State activities,” she writes. “America hesitated.” This, she notes, is no great surprise. “It is no coincidence that the U.S. has no coherent plan for dealing with the Islamic State, as the chaos weakens a unified Europe and makes it more reliant and obedient,” she writes. “Russia is trying to defeat the black force, an evil born out of American politics, that is calling into question the future of our culture, the Christian world. Lord be with us.” Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article37316148.html#storylink=cpy [Christianity] [Russia Syria] [ISIS]
• No Doubts: Poland Responsible for Beginning WWII
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 02.10.2015 | 00:00 On Monday 28 September, Russian ambassador Sergei Andreev was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Grzegorz Schetyna, stated that it was because of an interview Andreev had given the day before to the TVN 24 television channel, in which he declared that Poland «is partially responsible» for the disaster of the Second World War. The minister described the words as «offensive», arising «from a misunderstanding of history», «unjust and untrue». The special statement by the Polish Foreign Ministry on the Russian ambassador’s comments also stated that they undermine «historical truth» and damage relations between Poland and Russia. The view of Poland exclusively as a victim of Nazi aggression that has become firmly established in historiography and the public consciousness has, for many decades, only ever provoked a natural sympathy for the country. But this view is only partly true, and empathy for a victim of aggression cannot overshadow the entire picture of what happened. Both international and criminal law knows of many examples where random subjects (countries or people) as well as accomplices to the crime have become an object of aggression on the part of the perpetrator. There is a good reason why Mr Schetyna and his subordinates did not go beyond emotion and complaints about a «misunderstanding of history» in their reaction to the Russian diplomat’s words. Russian ambassador Andreev could have said far more than just recalling Poland’s repeated attempts to block the formation of a coalition to oppose Nazi Germany during the 1930s. In truth, Poland did not just put a spoke in the wheel for forces, primarily the Soviet Union, trying to establish a system of collective security in Europe, but also openly joined Hitler’s expansionist plans. On 30 September 1939, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier placed their signatures next to Adolf Hitler’s and Benito Mussolini’s on an agreement handing Czechoslovakia over to the aggressors for slaughter, Warsaw was rubbing its hands expecting an easy meat. In May, French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet had reported to the Polish ambassador that the plan «to divide Czechoslovakia between Germany and Hungary with the transfer of Cieszyn Silesia to Poland is not a secret». The very next day after the Munich Agreement was signed, Warsaw asked for Cieszyn Silesia to be handed over to Poland and, without waiting for an official response, occupied its territory. With this, the country surpassed even Hitler, who gave Czechoslovakia ten days to cede Sudetenland, which was inhabited by ethnic Germans. [WWII] [Poland] [Territorial disputes]
• Finally Some Clarity About the Russian Plans in Syria
  The Saker • September 30, 2015 A lot has happened in the last few hours. Putin spoke at the UN, the Russian Parliament has approved the use of Russian military forces in Syria and Sergei Ivanov has given the Russian media a detailed explanation for the reasons which made the Kremlin request such an authorization. The picture has finally become much clearer. What will not happen: There will be no “Most Anticipated Showdown in Recent History”: no Russian ground operation, no Russian imposition of a no-fly zone (especially not against the US or its allies!), no MiG-31s, no Russian Airborne Forces, no Russian tanks on the frontlines, no Russian SSBN (nuclear weapons carrying) submarines and probably no significant Russians military presence around Damascus. In fact, there will be no Russian unilateral military operation of any kind. All that nonsense can now finally be put to rest. What will happen: The Russian military operation will be legal on all levels: the Russians have received a formal request for military assistance from the Syrian government, the Russian Parliament has given its authorization, and Russia will seek a UN Security Council authorization. The Russian military operation will be officially limited to air operations including bombings and close air support. The main hub of the Russian operation will be in Latakia. Crucially, Russia will act as a part of a broad coalition. It would be a mistake to focus primarily on what will happen next. I would argue that what has already happened is far more significant. [Russia Syria]
• The Background to Putin’s Actions in Syria and the UN: Russia’s New View of the US and Western Strategy: The Color Revolution
  By Anthony H. Cordesman Oct 2, 2015 Far too much of the commentary on Russian military intervention in Syria, Vladimir Putin’s speech at the United Nations, and Putin’s relations with Barack Obama reverts to the mindreading era of Kremlinology. It takes Putin’s actions out of context and often says more about the author’s prejudices than it does about Putin. It is important to note that Russia formally introduced many of the views of the U.S. and Western “destabilizing” impact on the Middle East and the developing world well over a year ago at a formal military conference in Moscow. Russian high-level officers and diplomats reacted strongly to the criticisms and sanctions resulting from Russia’s actions in Ukraine. They shifted radically away from a past focus on improving military relations with Europe—and to a lesser degree the United States. They instead focused on what they called the “color revolutions” and portrayed the instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the rise of Islamist terrorism as a mix of ill-judged U.S.-led interference that was destabilizing many developing states and part of something approaching a U.S.-led plot to dominate the states involved. [Russia confrontation] [Response]
• Headstrong: Putin's Involvement in Syria—And How Obama Can Leverage It
  By David F. Gordon It is hard to know what to make of U.S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Of course, the two leaders do not like each other, and there was obviously no meeting of the minds on how to handle the Syria crisis. Soon after the parley, Moscow launched strikes on Syria. Russia will continue its military buildup there, and the European refugee crisis will continue to deepen. But will Syria become a new focal point for U.S.-Russian tensions, or is there a chance for reluctant cooperation? Putin and Obama have been at loggerheads over Ukraine ever since early 2014, when, in reaction to the fall of the pro-Moscow Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin annexed Crimea and unleashed a campaign to destabilize southeastern Ukraine. Soon thereafter, the United States imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Earlier this summer, it looked as if a thaw might be in the works when Obama praised Russia’s role in the Iran nuclear negotiations and Moscow eased off its anti-American rhetoric. But relations again chilled as Moscow significantly built up its military footprint in Syria, which the United States interpreted as preparation for a military intervention to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russian officials say that Putin’s rhetoric about Russia’s presence in Syria should be taken at face value. He claims that thousands of jihadists from the Russian Caucasus and the former Soviet states of Central Asia are now in Syria to fight with the self-proclaimed Islamic State (also known as ISIS). For Putin, it is better to battle them in Syria than to do so much closer to home. [Russia Syria]
• Obama administration scrambles as Russia attempts to seize initiative in Syria
  Kerry: U.S. welcomes genuine effort to target Islamic State Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced that the United States is prepared to welcome Russia's actions in Syria if they are directed at the Islamic State group and affiliated groups. (AP) By Karen DeYoung September 30 at 7:39 PM ? UNITED NATIONS — Blindsided by the unexpected swiftness of Russia’s air attacks in Syria, the Obama administration scrambled Wednesday to retake the diplomatic and military initiatives, saying that it would not be bullied into supporting President Bashar al-Assad and that it was about to significantly expand its own Syrian air operations. After spending much of the day together here behind closed doors, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said in terse evening statements that U.S. and Russian military officials would meet, perhaps as soon as Thursday, to “deconflict” their operations in Syria. Standing side by side outside the U.N. Security Council chamber, they said they had reached some preliminary agreements on a way forward toward a negotiated political solution to Syria’s civil war but indicated they were far from agreed on its outcome. They took no questions. [Russia confrontation] [Incompetence] [Russia Syria]
• Russia begins airstrikes in Syria; U.S. warns of new concerns in conflict
  Russian airstrikes in Syria underway Russia says it launched airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin secured his parliament's unanimous backing. Amateur video purportedly shot in the city of Homs shows military jets lying overhead and buildings reduced to rubble. (Reuters) By Andrew Roth, Brian Murphy and Missy Ryan September 30 at 6:40 PM ? MOSCOW — Russian warplanes began airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday, adding an unpredictable new element to a four-year-old war that has already drawn in the United States and allies, fueled a refu­gee crisis and expanded the reach of the Islamic State. In Washington, the dramatic escalation of Russia’s military involvement was viewed as an affront just two days after President Obama and Russian President Vladi­mir Putin sat down to discuss means for negotiating the deep differences in their countries’ approaches to the conflict in Syria. The strikes sharply increase tensions with Russia as U.S. officials dispute Moscow’s claim that its aircraft targeted the Islamic State, the brutal extremist group that controls much of Syria and Iraq. Instead, U.S. officials said the strikes appeared to target opponents of Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian ally. Those hit include U.S.-backed units that were trained and armed by the CIA, officials said. Accusing Russia of “pouring gasoline on the fire,” Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter vowed that U.S. pilots would continue their year-long bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, despite Moscow’s warning to keep American planes away from its operations. “I think what they’re doing is going to backfire and is counterproductive,” Carter said. Graphic Did the Russians really strike the Islamic State? View Graphic ? The introduction of Russian air power — which took place with scant notice to the U.S. government — threatens to upend U.S. strategy in Syria at a time when U.S. military officials say they are beginning to discern hints of progress against the Islamic State, a heavily armed al-Qaeda offshoot that is also known as ISIS and ISIL. It also raises the stakes over competing visions for Syria outlined this week at the United Nations, where Putin insisted that Syria’s embattled government is the key to stability after four years of bloodshed and Obama warned that the “status quo” cannot stand. [Russia confrontation] [Russia Syria]
• Russian airstrikes hit eight IS targets in Syria: Defense Ministry
  Xinhua, October 1, 2015 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speak to the media regarding the current situation in Syria, at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York September 30, 2015. Russian air forces carried out 20 sorties during the first round of air strikes against the Islamic State(IS) in Syria, hitting eight targets, including a command center, Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. Eight facilities held by the extremist group had been struck, with a command post and militant control centers in the mountainous areas of Syria being completely destroyed, according to the ministry. The minister also released a 46-second video footage, which appeared to show dozens of ground targets in different locations being struck. The strikes, stationed at a Syria's airbase, were conducted after aerial reconnaissance and data clarification with the Syrian government forces, said Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. No armament was used to target civilian facilities or within their vicinity, he added. [Russia Syria]
• Obama, Putin: Checkmate
  by Pepe Escobar Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message at the UN General Assembly was stark; either sovereign states get together in a broad coalition against all forms of terror, and the principle of statehood is respected as enshrined in the UN charter – or there will be chaos. This UN General Assembly revealed that the Obama administration’s perpetual newspeak does not cut it anymore. A review of UN speeches by both Putin and Obama is almost painful to watch. Putin acted like a serious global statesman. Obama acted like a poseur flunking a screen test. Putin’s key talking points could not but be easily accessible to the Global South – his prime audience, much more than the industrialized West. 1) The export of color – or monochromatic – revolutions is doomed. 2) The alternative to the primacy of statehood is chaos. This implies that the Assad system in Syria may be immensely problematic, but it’s the only game in town. The alternative is ISIS/ISIL/Daesh barbarism. There’s no credible “moderate opposition” – as there was not in NATO-“liberated” Libya. 3) Only the UN – as flawed as it may be – is a guarantor of peace and security in our imperfect, realpolitik geopolitical environment. [Russian foreign policy] [Russia confrontation]
• Russia in Syria, and a flawed strategy
  Paul Rogers 1 October 2015
  Moscow's entry into Syria's war is a challenge to the United States. But it also conjoins the two powers in military-political blunderland. The rapid expansion of Russia's military presence in Syria, and the start of its bombing campaign on 30 September 2015, add hugely to the complications of the war against Islamic State (ISIS). Moscow states that its motives are to defend Bashar al-Assad's state and, by attacking ISIS at source, to prevent the movement from recruiting more supporters in Russia itself, especially the Caucasus region. In reality, matters are much more nuanced. Vladimir Putin is intent on restoring Russian status in the Middle East, which has much diminished over the last two decades. A great concern here is the potential threat of a United States-Iran rapprochement to Moscow's own relations with Iran, a long-term ally. In this light, increased involvement in Syria – possibly including direct air-support for Assad’s beleaguered ground-forces – is a means to a political end, which Russia's president can cleverly portray as support for the west in its air-war against ISIS. [Russia Syria] [US Syria policy] [Airpower] [Blowback] [False balance]
• Russia to Use Air Force in Syria at President Assad’s Request to Destroy ISIS
  By Pravda.ru Pravda.ru 30 September 2015 Russia’s Federation Council gave its consent to President Putin for the use of the Russian Armed Forces outside the territory of the Russian Federation – in Syria, chairwoman of the Upper House of the Russian Parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, told TASS, Pravda.Ru reports. Sergei Ivanov, the head of the presidential administration, said that the Federation Council has unanimously endorsed the President’s appeal. “All social and financial issues related to the maintenance of Russia’s Air Force servicemen, who will be involved in this operation, will be observed and all adequate decisions regarding the matter have been made,” said Ivanov. According to the official, Russia will use only aviation in Syria. “As our President has already said, the use of the armed forces on the ground theater of operations is excluded. The military purpose of the operation is the aviation support of Syrian government forces in their counteraction to ISIS,” Ivanov said. [Russia Syria]
• Russian strikes in Syria likely hit U.S.- backed rebels, not Islamic State
  Highlights Defense Secretary Ash Carter says ‘probably no’ Islamic State in struck areas Assad opposition group says strikes hit civilians, U.S.-allied rebels Russia gave U.S. one hour’s notice of plans Russian President Vladimir Putin met with senior government officials Wednesday as Russian military jets carried out airstrikes in Syria. Putin received parliamentary approval for the move. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with senior government officials Wednesday as Russian military jets carried out airstrikes in Syria. Putin received parliamentary approval for the move. Alexei Nikolsky - AP By Mitchell Prothero and Jonathan S. Landay Russian warplanes bombed targets in Syria on Wednesday after the Russian Parliament approved a plan by President Vladimir Putin to enter the Syrian civil war to support its key ally in Damascus. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, said the strikes appeared to have been aimed primarily at U.S.-backed moderate rebels, and not the Islamic State, as Russian officials claimed. “It does appear that they were in areas where there probably no ISIL forces, and that’s precisely the problem with Russia’s approach,” Carter said, using the U.S. government’s preferred acronym for the Islamic State. Asked whether Russian bombs had struck any U.S.-trained Syrians or other ground troops fighting to topple the government of President Bashar Assad, Carter declined to elaborate. But Khaled Khoja, the head of the main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian Opposition Coalition, named on his Twitter account five areas that have long had a moderate rebel presence. He said at least 36 civilians had been killed. “All the targets in today’s Russian air raid over northern Homs were civilians,” Khoja, who’s in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, posted on Twitter. In another tweet, Khoja wrote that the targets were in “areas which fought ISIL and defeated it a year ago.” State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Russia had notified the United States through a diplomat in Baghdad about an hour before the strikes that the bombing would begin. It was uncertain how detailed the information passed to the Americans was. At the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, assuming Russia’s term as president of the U.N. Security Council, said that Russia had launched the strikes at Assad’s request and that they were aimed “exclusively” against the Islamic State. He called on the United States and other counties to cooperate in fighting the extremist group, and said that Russia was ready to establish “standing channels of coordination” with Washington, which has been leading a coalition of some 60 nations in striking the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq for more than a year. [Syria] [Jihadist] [Russian military] [Media] [Propaganda]
• US accuses Russia of 'throwing gasoline on fire' of Syrian civil war
  Washington rejects Moscow’s claims about targeting of its airstrikes – Russia’s first major military action outside borders of former Soviet Union since cold war Shaun Walker in Moscow, Kareem Shaheen and Martin Chulov in Beirut, Spencer Ackerman and Julian Borger in New York Thursday 1 October 2015 00.49 BST Last modified on Thursday 1 October 2015 07.35 BST Washington has accused Moscow of throwing “gasoline on the fire” of the Syrian civil war, rejecting Russia’s claims that its first airstrikes in the war-torn country had targeted Islamic State terrorists. In a dramatic escalation of the conflict in Syria, Russia launched a series of airstrikes on Wednesday that it said were aimed at Isis terrorists but which mainly appeared to hit less extreme groups fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The Russian gambit – the first time the country has launched major military action outside the borders of the former Soviet Union since the end of the cold war – came two days after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, spoke to the UN and called for an international coalition against terrorism to fight Isis. Multiple reports from the ground, however, suggested the Russian airstrikes on Wednesday had targeted groups linked to the Free Syrian Army, the main opposition to Assad. A resident of Talbiseh in Homs said two airstrikes primarily hit residential areas of the town, killing about 20 people. [Russia confrontation] [Media] [Syria]
• Syria – A New Russian Asymmetric Challenge
  By Paul N. Schwartz Sep 30, 2015 Monday, at the United Nations, we all got to witness a rare spectacle: a set of dueling speeches delivered by Presidents Putin and Obama, leaders of Russia and the United States respectively, each blaming the other for a chorus of world problems, and each describing the geopolitical situation in starkly different terms. Those of us who remember the Cold War came away with a distinct sense of déjà vu, of a world in which Russia and the United States were once again the two dominant powers, co-equal in status, each vying to shape the fate of entire regions. Of course, today’s Russia is a far cry from the former Soviet Union, and it is unlikely to become a peer competitor to the United States anytime soon. On nearly every accepted measure of national power, economic, military and otherwise, the United States remains far and away the pre-eminent world power. Nevertheless, despite this disparity Russia has recently managed to challenge U.S. power in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago. And it has done so by employing a variety of asymmetric measures that have surprised U.S. policymakers and kept them off balance. In Ukraine, Russia used its now familiar hybrid warfare tactics to rapidly seize control of Crimea, and to engage in a low-intensity stealth campaign of rebellion in Eastern Ukraine, supported at times by direct intervention. All the while, Russia has denied any direct involvement, while keeping the conflict at a level of intensity below that which would trigger a more vigorous U.S. response. Meanwhile, Russia’s actions have severely undermined Ukraine’s efforts to integrate with the West. Now in Syria, Russia has pulled off another coup. By the simple expedient of inserting Russia military forces into Syria, President Putin has managed to turn U.S. policy on its head, effectively shoring up Assad, complicating U.S. efforts to fight ISIS, while simultaneously ensuring that Russia’s interests are taken into account in any future settlement. Moreover, the mere presence of Russian combat aircraft in Syria makes it less likely that the United States and Turkey will move forward with plans to impose a no-fly zone, out of fear that Russian planes could be inadvertently targeted. Furthermore, Russia’s actions in Syria have forced the United States to re-engage with Russia to avoid direct air encounters in Syria. All of this was achieved without firing a single shot, although Russia has now reportedly begun to launch air strikes in Syria. [Russia confrontation]

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SEPTEMBER 2015

• Vladimir Putin wants Russia to have more influence in the Middle East. Good luck with that.
  There's no need to get worked up about Russia's Syria policy By Daniel W. Drezner September 29 at 9:07 AM Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a regular contributor to PostEverything. Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Obama join a luncheon for world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday. (European Pressphoto Agency/Justin Lane) Let’s just stipulate the following at the outset: 1.The only accomplishments of the Obama administration’s Syria policy are that (a) Syria gave up some chemical weapons and (b) U.S. ground troops are not in Syria. Besides that, it’s been an unmitigated disaster on every dimension. 2.It’s really not in U.S. interests for Russia to expand its military presence in Syria. 3.Russian President Vladimir Putin excels at flummoxing President Obama. 4.At this point Russian-American diplomacy mostly consists of trolling each other, and Putin is better than anyone at trolling. 5.It’s not a good sign for U.S. interests in the Middle East when Washington is surprised by Iraqi agreements with Russia. So, yes, the administration gets an “F” for its handling of Syria and a “D” for its handling of Vladimir Putin. [US Middle East policy] [Incompetence]
• Vladimir Putin steals Barack Obama's thunder on the world stage
  By Stephen Collinson, CNN The Russian president showed up at the United Nations on Monday for the first time in a decade, proposing a coup against U.S. global leadership and seeking to wrest control of a coalition battling ISIS away from America's grip. And he wasn't the only leader of a country challenging the United States to effectively upstage Obama at the annual global meeting, which a U.S. president traditionally uses to command the spotlight. Speeches by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the 70th anniversary of the creation of the world body also left Obama defending not only his personal foreign policy legacy, which is already under assault at home from Republican presidential candidates, but the entire concept of a world order based on seven decades of U.S. global leadership. The day of speech-making, which also included an address by Cuban leader Raul Castro and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, underscored the multipolar challenges to U.S. power, as slumbering empires seek a resurgence and America faces military challenges from Eastern Europe across the Middle East to Asia. [Obama] [Rhetoric] [Decline] [UNUS]
• Putin calls U.S. support for rebels in Syria illegal
  By Carol Morello September 27 at 10:56 PM ? NEW YORK — In advance of a meeting with President Obama on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled U.S. support for rebels in Syria as illegal, and mocked as ineffective a U.S. program that has been unable to train and arm rebels. In an interview with CBS and PBS that was released by the Kremlin, Putin said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad commanded the only legitimate army fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and deserves support from countries combating terrorist groups. “In my view, providing military aid to illegitimate organizations contravenes the principles of international law and the U.N. Charter,” he said, according to an excerpt. “We back only legal government entities.” In contrast to Putin’s confidence the day before he and Obama are scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly, State Department officials said they still do not have a clear understanding of Russia’s motives behind a military buildup in Syria. [US Syria policy] [Putin] [Legality]
• Obama sets up confrontation with Russia at U.N.
  Highlights In call for diplomacy, not force, he cites Russian actions in Ukraine, Syria Decries idea of supporting Assad simply because ‘the alternative is worse’ Acknowledges U.S. intervention in Iraq did not bring stability By Jonathan S. Landay UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama called on the world Monday to give priority to diplomacy and international law over the use of force to resolve conflicts and disputes, and he lambasted Russia for its “aggression” against Ukraine and its help in keeping embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad in power. Obama’s address to the opening of the U.N. General Assembly augured badly for his first meeting in nearly a year, scheduled for Monday evening, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke later in the morning to the annual gathering of kings, presidents and prime ministers. The meeting was expected to focus on the four-year conflict in Syria, where Putin has been building up a military force to bolster Assad, and on Ukraine, where Russia seized the Crimea and is providing support to secessionist rebels in the eastern reaches of the country. Throughout his speech, Obama sounded a theme that using diplomacy and adhering to international law have been more successful in bringing lasting settlements to disputes and conflicts, while repression and the use of military force fuel violence and produce only short-term results. [Obama] [Inversion]
• Obama, Putin clash over Syria crisis at the United Nations
  By Juliet Eilperin September 28 at 2:36 PM ? At U.N., Obama describes threats to international order Speaking at the opening of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama includes Russia, China, Iran and Syria in a group of nations contributing to the destabilization of international order. (Reuters) UNITED NATIONS — President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin clashed publicly Monday over their divergent positions on some of the world great crises, with Obama suggesting that Putin's involvement in Syria and Ukraine was harmful to international order and risks greater global instability. "... We see some major powers assert themselves in ways that contravene international law," Obama said at the annual meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations."We see an erosion of the democratic principles and human rights that are fundamental to this institution's mission." In speeches on the same day, Obama and Putin chastised each other for their handling of the Syrian crisis. "Nowhere is our commitment to international order more tested than in Syria. When a dictator slaughters tens of thousands of his own people, that is not just a matter of one nation's internal affairs," Obama said. [Chutzpah] [Obama] [Hypocrisy]
• Obama and Putin outline competing visions on Syria
  By Juliet Eilperin and Karen DeYoung September 28 at 8:51 PM ? UNITED NATIONS — President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out sharply competing visions Monday about how to tackle the ongoing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, with each blaming the other for the region’s turmoil even as they signaled a willingness to address it together. In speeches to the U.N. General Assembly less than two hours apart, each leader said he embraced a foreign policy approach that respects international norms that are essential to global stability. Later in the day, the two met privately to hash out their differences and to see whether there was room for cooperation. The closed-door session lasted more than an hour and a half, ending just before Obama was scheduled to host a reception for delegates. After the session, Putin left for Moscow. In brief remarks to Russian reporters, he described relations between the two countries as “regretfully at a rather low level” due to U.S. resistance but said that “we now have an understanding that our work needs to be strengthened, at least on the bilateral basis. We are now thinking together on the creation of appropriate mechanisms.” [Russia confrontation] [Obama Putin]
• Obama seeks clarity on Syria strategy as Russia enters the battle space
  In this July, 2015 file photo, a fighter from the Free Syrian Army' walks towards his position on the front line against the forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in a suburb of Damascus. (Bassam Khabieh/Reuters) By Karen DeYoung September 26 at 9:57 PM ? Administration decisions on a series of proposed adjustments to its strategy against the Islamic State have been put on hold pending more information about Russia’s intentions in Syria and President Obama’s desire for clarification of the proposals themselves, according to senior administration officials. Even as Russian President Vladi­mir Putin started sending tanks, aircraft and additional personnel to Syria’s Mediterranean coast early this month, Obama told his top national security advisers to step back and assemble a sharper picture of how various proposed initiatives would fit together into a coherent whole and improve what is a largely stagnant conflict. Putin’s moves have further delayed and complicated decision-making on plans that include sending U.S. arms directly to Kurdish and Arab rebels in northeastern Syria, and scaling back and revamping a failed U.S. military training program for other Syrian opposition fighters. The Russian leader’s objectives remain a mystery to the White House, leading Obama to conclude that the best way to find out is to ask him directly. The two are scheduled to hold a formal meeting for the first time in two years on Monday, after they both deliver morning speeches at the U.N. General Assembly. For now, officials said, Obama’s goal is to hear Putin out, to stress U.S. policy goals and warn against interference, and to determine whether there is room for cooperation. [US Syria policy] [Russia]
• Iraq announces ISIS deal with Russia, Syria and Iran
  CBS/AP/ September 27, 2015, 8:40 AM Last Updated Sep 27, 2015 11:02 AM EDT BAGHDAD - Iraq will begin sharing "security and intelligence" information with Russia, Syria and Iran to help combat the advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS,) the Iraqi military announced Sunday. A statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said the countries will "help and cooperate in collecting information about the terrorist Daesh group," using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. Iraq has long had close ties with neighboring Iran and has coordinated with Tehran in fighting the advance of ISIS - which controls about a third of Iraq and Syria in a self-declared caliphate. Iranian commanders have helped lead Iraqi Shiite militiamen in combat. A U.S.-led coalition has been conducting aerial bombing campaigns against ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria, but U.S. officials insist they have no coordination with Tehran on the matter. In response to the deal's announcement, a Pentagon spokesperson told CBS News the U.S. remains committed to working with Iraq to defeat ISIS. "As a sovereign nation, Iraq has relations with many nations and the agreements the Iraqis take that work to our common objective are up to them," said Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Steve Warren in Baghdad. "We recognize that Iraq has an interest in sharing information on ISIL with other governments in the region who are also fighting ISIL. We do not support the presence of Syrian government officials who are part of a regime that has brutalized its own citizens." The agreement with Russia comes at a time when Moscow is ramping up its involvement in Syria in defense of its ally Bashar Assad, with Russian soldiers on the ground in Syria, according to activists. The Iraqi military statement said that Moscow is increasingly concerned about "the presence of thousands of terrorists from Russia who are carrying out criminal acts with Daesh." [Iraq] [ISIS] [Decline] [Resurgence]
• [Vladimir Putin]Interview to American TV channel CBS and PBS
  Vladimir Putin gave an interview to American journalist Charlie Rose in the run-up to his address at the UN General Assembly’s 70th session. September 28, 2015
  Full text of the interview will be published on September 29.
  CHARLIE ROSE: You will speak to the United Nations in a much-anticipated address on Monday. It will be the first time you have been there in a number of years. What will you say to the UN, to America, to the world? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Since this interview will be aired prior to my speech, I do not think it reasonable to go into much detail about everything I am going to speak about, but, broadly, I will certainly mention some facts from the history of the United Nations. Now I can already tell you that the decision to establish the United Nations was taken in our country at the Yalta Conference. It was in the Soviet Union that this decision was made. The Soviet Union, and Russia as the successor state to the Soviet Union, is a founding member state of the United Nations and a permanent member of its Security Council. Of course, I will have to say a few words about the present day, about the evolving international situation, about the fact that the United Nations remains the sole universal international organisation designed to maintain global peace. And in this sense it has no alternative today. It is also apparent that it should adapt to the ever-changing world, which we discuss all the time: how it should evolve and at what rate, which components should undergo qualitative changes. Of course, I will have to or rather should use this international platform to explain Russia's vision of today's international relations, as well as the future of this organisation and the global community. [Putin] [Russian foreign policy]
• Warped mirror: how Russian media covers Europe’s refugee crisis
  Ivan Zhilin 25 September 2015 Russian citizens get their news from the television. In Russia, the ‘box’ is no longer a source of mass information, but a means of mass defeat. The TV is used to demonise entire states (the US, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia), and now the TV is deployed to demonise the situation with refugees from the Middle East arriving in Europe. ‘Croatia’s tolerance lasted for all of two days’ To understand what the average Russian citizen thinks about refugees, you just have to switch on the evening news. For instance, take a news bulletin from federal TV channel Rossiya-1, which has viewing figures of up to 50m people. The first block is titled: ‘The European Union is closed: Croatia blocks its roads.’ ‘The Croatian army is now at a state of increased military alert,’ reels off the presenter. ‘All border crossings with Serbia are closed. There is no open route to Germany for refugees. Hungary detains them at the border, and Slovenia turns them back. The railway stations, overflowing with passengers, are now the sites of riots.’ Zafer Salikh, a refugee, tells the camera in Syrian how he’s sleeping on the rails for a second night running. A correspondent from the Tovarnik station tells us that refugees imagined Europe differently—a place that would be happy to see them. Instead, women and children are forced to sleep at the station. More than 2,000 people, according to the journalist, are waiting for a train, and when it comes, there’s not enough space for everyone. But the most terrifying thing is the police: boarding passengers onto the train, they can separate parents and children. Everything is up to them. [Media] [Refugee] [Russia confrontation]
• A no-show for a decade, Russia’s Putin is heading to the U.N.
  Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the U.N. General Assembly in September 2005. (Ed Betz/AP) By Andrew Roth September 25 at 3:51 PM ? MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin will storm into New York on Monday seeking to prove that he will not be isolated at his first appearance at the U.N. General Assembly in a decade. With a jackknife military and diplomatic pivot toward Syria, Putin has tried to mitigate the damage of a year’s adventurism in Ukraine in a defiant gambit he hopes will appeal to the West’s cold logic and need. The sudden deployment to Syria of Russian warplanes and battle tanks has upended the West’s calculus of freezing out Russia and helped prompt a head-to-head meeting between Putin and President Obama on Monday in New York that was unthinkable just weeks ago. [Russia confrontation]
• Russia Returns to the Middle East
  By Israel Shamir Unz Review 25 September 2015 These autumn days are the most important in the Middle East calendar. The Muslims celebrate Eid al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice; the Jews fast at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; and the Eastern Orthodox Christians rejoice at Nativity of Our Lady Mary. It appears, surprisingly, the best place to be at this time is Moscow, where Putin received in quick succession the Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Turkish ruler Recep Erdogan. They did not come for the lovely Indian summer that blessed Moscow this week, not for the yellow and red leaves covering the maple and birch trees, though this sumptuous new Xanadu is quite fetching this time of the year; its streets refashioned at enormous expense, parks tended by best gardeners; bicycle paths and sidewalks repaved and even its feared traffic jams abated somewhat. Ostensibly, Abbas and Erdogan came to unveil, together with Putin, the grand new Cathedral Mosque of Moscow, a vast and opulent structure where ten thousand worshippers can pray at once. This city has more Muslims than many a Muslim city has; about two millions of its 14 million dwellers are nominal Muslims. [Resurgence] [Russ Middle East Policy] [Islam] [Turkey] [Refugee]
• Syrian Government Forces Start Crushing ISIS, Military and Intelligence Assistance from Russia
  By Pravda.ru Global Research, September 26, 2015 Pravda.ru 23 September 2015 The army of Bashar al-Assad has reportedly started crushing Islamic State militants that had previously seized the cities of Palmyra and Homs. Western experts and journalists believe that the Syrian troops receive substantial military assistance from Russian military men at the base in Latakia. In addition, Russia has deployed modern weapons, including air defense, missile systems and aviation, having turned the area of the Russian base into a strong fortress. To crown it all, Russia still ships weapons to the government of Bashar Assad under previously concluded contracts. Russia’s TV channel “Zvezda” (“Star”) reports that the Syrian army forced ISIS militants to retreat from Palmyra, although they hide in residential areas and use ancient monuments as a cover. [Syria] [Russia]
• Russians, Syrians and Iranians setting up military coordination cell in Baghdad
  By Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin Published September 24, 2015 EXCLUSIVE: Russian, Syrian and Iranian military commanders have set up a coordination cell in Baghdad in recent days to try to begin working with Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the Islamic State, Fox News has learned. Western intelligence sources say the coordination cell includes low-level Russian generals. U.S. officials say it is not clear whether the Iraqi government is involved at the moment. Describing the arrival of Russian military personnel in Baghdad, one senior U.S. official said, "They are popping up everywhere." The Russians already have been building up their military presence in Syria, a subject expected to factor prominently in a planned meeting between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New York Monday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. [Resurgence] [ISIS] [Decline]
• Saudi-Russia alliance in the offing?
  By Salman Rafi on September 23, 2015 While it seems a bit easier to contend that Saudi Arabia is playing the ‘Russia card’ to keep the US under pressure, a closer look would suggest that Saudi Arabia and Russia, too, have a lot to gain from Riyadh making such a move. However, it cannot be said that Saudi Arabia, forced by its own tactical mistakes in the Middle East, has been forced to change its course of action at global level. Regardless of Saudi Arabia’s central involvement in crushing oil prices in 2014 partly to put unbearable pressure on Russian economy, Moscow has shown its partial willingness to reverse the trend. While Saudi Arabia and the US have certainly failed to materialize their objectives via-a-vis Russia, it is quite evident that Saudi Arabia’s oil war was not just directed against Russia or Iran; it was equally directed against the US shale oil companies too. With Saudi Arabia increasingly walking into its trap by not being able to force shale oil companies into bankruptcy, the best option left for them is, perhaps, to turn towards Russia and reverse the oil market’s current trend to achieve its objectives against shale oil producers. In one of the previous articles on Saudi-Russia alliance, I had argued that countries that want to develop an “alliance” have to have mutual interests. With oil prices continuously falling and hurting Saudi Arabia’s economy a lot and with Russian economy, too, depending heavily on stable oil prices, both countries seem to be developing the kind of “interest” necessary for converting their relationship into an alliance. [Russia Saudi Arabia] [Oil]
• Another day, another conflict: Russia, Ukraine and the Syrian Civil War
  Greg Forbes 21 September 2015 As the conflict in Ukraine takes its toll on Russia, Moscow looks to Syria for a chance to regain its footing. In the first week of September, the latest ceasefire agreement between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists was implemented. In stark contrast to the abortive Minsk Protocols, immediately marred by sporadic and often flagrant violations on both sides (and soon pronounced stillborn), this most recent effort seems to have initiated a lull in the fighting. President Putin welcomed the de-escalation in Ukraine, commending Kyiv for observing the ceasefire and preventing the nationalist volunteer battalions fighting for Poroshenko’s government from disrupting the truce. Given that the preceding month of August saw a significant uptick in military activity with observed increases in troop movements, artillery exchanges and skirmishes, peace has broken out suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly. Meanwhile, Moscow has played host to a series of high-ranking emissaries from several of the Middle East’s leading stakeholders with official visits from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Moscow’s top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, sat down with key members of the Syrian National Coalition to discuss the parameters of a potential political settlement, driven by the apparent need to build an anti-ISIS coalition within Syria. Concurrent with Moscow’s aerobic doses of shuttle diplomacy, in recent days and weeks the Russian state has ramped up its efforts to shore up Assad’s regime. [Russia confrontation] [Occam] [Ukraine] [Syria]
• Russia And The Separatists Aren't On The Same Page
  Paul Roderick Gregory , Contributor I cover domestic and world economics from a free-market perspective
  Vladimir Putin’s military operations have stretched Moscow’s military to its limits. Russia has mobilized forces from all parts of the Russian Federation for its southeast Ukraine operations. As Putin shifts his attention to shoring up the Assad regime in Syria and ensuring Russia a front seat in any political settlement, he must cut back on military operations in Ukraine. His plans for a greater Russia have been thwarted, and his desire to reinsert the Donbass back into Ukraine as a spoiler requires that he turn from hot war to diplomacy, no matter what his proxies on the ground in Ukraine want. Putin’s turn to Syria could simply mean that he wants to preserve a client state in the turbulent Middle East. Or he may have dreams of a grand alliance with America and Europe to rid the world of Islamic extremism in return for recognition of his Ukraine conquests. If President Obama agrees to a one-on-one meeting at the UN, we might get a better sense for the game he is playing. As the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine wound up their Berlin negotiations to prepare for the October 2 meeting of the four heads of state on the Minsk 2 peace agreement, a peculiar spat erupted between the Kremlin and its Donbass proxies. Specifically, Russia and the People’s Republic of Donetsk (DNR) offered up different interpretations of a survey concerning the DNR’s “special status” in the amended Ukrainian constitution called for by the Minsk 2 framework. The DNR survey, conducted by DNR sociologists, asked respondents in occupied territory, “Why Do You Support the DNR?” This question goes to the core of the Ukrainian issue: Are the two breakaway republics (DNR and the People’s Republic of Luhansk, or LNR) so hostile to Ukraine that they must either join Russia or stand as independent countries, perhaps as a single People’s Republic of Donbass? Or can the rift be healed so that the Ukraine flag can fly again over these territories? Surprising to some, Moscow wishes the DNR and LNR to be a part of a unitary Ukraine but with veto power over key decisions, such as economic and political alliances. Many in the DNR and LNR leadership favor either independence or annexation into Russia. The Kremlin must get rid of such contrary voices to have its way at the Minsk 2 peace table. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Logic] [Occam]
• “Counterproductive” Russia and the Conflict in Syria
  by Gary Leupp The Pentagon and State Department, echoed as usual by the mainstream press, have expressed “concern” about Russian deliveries of the most modern tanks, fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and other military equipment to Syria. They call them “counterproductive,” although it’s not clear what sort of productive cause they counter. They say these shipments—which they’ve tried to thwart by instructing NATO allies to deny delivery flights through their airspace—are likely “to prolong the war” in that tragically suffering country. Cable news anchors, with furrowed brows and glaring eyes, warn their viewers that Moscow’s stepped-up support for the Assad regime is a “worrisome development.” [US Syria policy] [Liberal]
• Putin’s consistency on Syria has Washington fuming
  Published time: 19 Sep, 2015 15:58 It is increasingly difficult to watch the most recent coverage of the Syrian war and not be struck by how utterly illogical and convoluted it has become. But look through the media spin and it’s clear: the Russian leader's steady moves in Syria is perplexing the US. Whether it's the latest neocon claim that the way to ‘help’ refugees is to drop more bombs and train more Al-Qaeda-linked rebels, or the conveniently-timed mass hysteria over Russia's (never secret) support for Bashar Assad — or even the strange (and completely false) notion floating around that the West has 'done nothing' in Syria, all of this nonsense is becoming very difficult to take seriously. It’s fairly easy to tell when Washington is scrambling to keep control of a story, because two things usually happen: firstly, the media coverage becomes muddled and frazzled, and secondly, the White House quickly looks for somewhere to offload the blame. These days the scapegoat is usually Russia, and hey, why fix what ain’t broken? Obama’s fumbling vs. Putin’s consistency On September 11, Barack Obama warned that Russia’s strategy of continued support for Assad was “doomed to fail” and a “big mistake.” In a patronizing little addendum, Obama said Putin was “going to have to start getting a little smarter.” There’s more than a little irony in such statements, given that Obama’s own Syria strategy thus far has been an abject failure. However, the vaguely personal nature of his comments betrays a deeper frustration. While Obama continues to scratch his head over the mess that has unfolded in Syria, Putin has not wavered. Right or wrong, Russia’s Syria strategy has been consistent and clearly articulated, in stark contrast to Washington’s fumbling and bumbling. [US Syria policy] [Russia] [Putin] [Obama]
• U.S. Air Force cites 'alarming' Russian strides in air power
  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. | By Andrea Shalal A U.S. Air Force general on Monday cited what he called "alarming" moves by the Russian military to beef up its air forces in the years since the invasion of Georgia in 2008 and to establish firm defenses around areas like Crimea. General Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, told reporters he was concerned about Russia's moves to increase the quantity and quality of its aircraft and field unmanned aircraft. "The advantage that we had from the air, I can honestly say, is shrinking," Gorenc said at the annual Air Force Association conference. Gorenc called "alarming" both Russia's investments in modernizing its air force and in building formidable surface-to-air missile defenses. Two examples of the latter are defenses set up around the Crimea region of Ukraine, which Russia annexed in 2014, and Kaliningrad, a Russia enclave between Poland and Lithuania. U.S. officials often warn of strides by China in developing defenses against U.S. stealth fighters and bombers and more capable surface-to-air missiles, but Gorenc said Russia was making similar moves. [Russia confrontation] [Military balance] [Threat] [MISCOM]
• Anti-Russian Propaganda. Corporate Media are Accomplices of Imperial Politics
  By Margaret Kimberley Global Research, September 16, 2015 Everywhere the U.S. “pivots” to in the world, it spreads dehumanizing propaganda. President Obama has methodically demonized Russia, stoked fears of the “peril” from China, and fanned the flames of Islamophobia. The corporate media are eager accomplices in the imperial politics of mass death. “If a nation and its people are disparaged and dehumanized enough its enemies can attack in any number of ways without fear of debate or popular opposition.”While the United States has repeated and very publicly stated its intention to bring down the Assad government in Syria, the Russian Federation has declared its intention to protect it. Russia uses air space over Iran and Iraq as a route to send equipment and advisers [3] to Syria. Both nations have given permission for these flights to take place and that should be the end of any questions. But the American press hysterically follow Obama administration talking points and claim that none of these nations has rights that the United States need respect. Facts are omitted from so-called journalism if they call official narratives into question.The United States government and its partners in corporate media are engaged in a sustained propaganda attack against the government and people of Russia. The tactic is an old one and is used precisely because it is so effective. If a nation and its people are disparaged and dehumanized enough its enemies can attack in any number of ways without fear of debate or popular opposition. The more effectively evil Obama administration knows this full well and instigates media scribes at opportune moments to make the case for American imperialism. The idea that this country has a free press, that is to say free of governmental influence, is accepted as an indisputable truth. Yet every day, the corporate media demonstrate just the opposite. They show their allegiance to whomever occupies the White House or to the conglomerate of corporate owners who allow them to print or to stay on the air.Some of the stories appear to be laughable on the surface, but there is nothing amusing about their intent. In just one week, a New York Times columnist opined that Russia has “lost its soul [4]” and a reporter says that Russians hate [5] Americans without ever presenting reasons why that may be true. If Russians hate Americans, it could be because they broke a promise not to increase the number of NATO member states in eastern Europe. Perhaps they hate Americans because Washington reserves the right to intervene anywhere in the world, while Russia is attacked for aiding its allies. Then again, economic sanctions and the hardships they have caused may be the reason for dislike. A reader is given none of this information and is forced to conclude that Russians are unworthy of any serious consideration or are perhaps less human and therefore less deserving to live. [Russia confrontation] [Media]
• Russia Confirms Syria Military Presence, Denies Combat Role
  Related Articles • Moscow Confirms Russian 'Military Experts' Are in Syria • Al-Qaida-Led Rebels Seize Airport From Syrian Military Jonas Bernstein Last updated on: September 10, 2015 1:19 PM The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian military advisers are in Syria to help that country's armed forces maintain equipment sent from Russia, but are not involved in combat. Asked during a Moscow press conference why the Kremlin has refused to confirm or deny reports that Russian military personnel are fighting on the side of Syrian government troops, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian Foreign Ministry had already denied those reports. The Russian military experts in Syria are involved in "the maintenance of equipment supplied to Syria absolutely within the framework of international law," Peskov said. The Syrian military is "the only force capable" of countering the advances made by the Islamic State (IS) group, he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Russian military personnel have long been present in Syria and are currently helping its armed forces learn how to use Russian military equipment in "the anti-terrorist fight." He said Russia is sending Syria both military aid in line with existing contracts and humanitarian aid. [Syria] [Resurgence]
• Former Russian rebels trade war in Ukraine for posh life in Moscow
  Alexander Borodai, center, prime minister of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” walks accompanied by pro-Russian fighters in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 20, 2014. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP) By Andrew Roth September 13 at 10:32 PM ? MOSCOW — There was a time when the arrival of Alexander Borodai and his posse of camouflaged gunmen could clear out a restaurant in just minutes. But that was in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2014, where Borodai was prime minister of a ­pro-Russian separatist government. Now, he is back in his native Moscow and, as he tells it, back to his old day job as a public relations consultant. “When you are not on television, people start to forget what you look like,” he said, sinking into a cream-colored sofa in a tony Moscow restaurant for an interview. “And thank God for that. It was hard to go out on the street at first.” It is an unlikely, perhaps unbelievable, transformation for the most prominent Russian citizen in the war in Ukraine and the possible target of a Dutch investigation into the missile attack on a Malaysian airliner in July last year that killed 298 people. Borodai is not the only one of Russia’s self-proclaimed volunteer fighters to reappear here. As the conflict in east Ukraine has reached a stalemate, hundreds of volunteers have returned to Russia, and the early rebel leaders, many of them native Russians, have resumed comfortable, increasingly public lives in Moscow. [Russia confrontation] [MH17]
• Russian Flights Over Iraq and Iran Escalate Tension With U.S.
  By Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon Sept. 14, 2015 WASHINGTON — Russia is using an air corridor over Iraq and Iran to fly military equipment and personnel to a new air hub in Syria, openly defying American efforts to block the shipments and significantly increasing tensions with Washington. American officials disclosed Sunday that at least seven giant Russian Condor transport planes had taken off from a base in southern Russia during the past week to ferry equipment to Syria, all passing through Iranian and Iraqi airspace. Their destination was an airfield south of Latakia, Syria, which could become the most significant new Russian military foothold in the Middle East in decades, American officials said. The Obama administration initially hoped it had hampered the Russian effort to move military equipment and personnel into Syria when Bulgaria, a NATO member, announced it would close its airspace to the flights. But Russia quickly began channeling its flights over Iraq and Iran, which Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said on Sunday would continue despite American objections. “There were military supplies, they are ongoing, and they will continue,” Mr. Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “They are inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use this weaponry.” Moscow’s military buildup in Syria, where the Kremlin has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a four-and-a-half-year civil war, adds a new friction point in its relations with the United States. The actions also lay bare another major policy challenge for the United States: how to encourage Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, who came to power with the blessing of the United States but is still trying to establish his authority, to block the Russian flights. American diplomats raised the issue with the Iraqi government on Sept. 5, hoping that the Iraqis would follow Bulgaria’s example and declare their airspace off limits to the Russian transport planes. [Russia confrontation] [ISIS] [Extraterritoriality]

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AUGUST 2015

• Egypt turns to Russia to combat terrorism
  MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi Wednesday called for a coalition to combat terrorism in the Middle East. Opening a meeting with Putin in Moscow, Sisi said “the Egyptian people” are hoping for broader ties with Russia in all areas, particularly in fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Sisi’s visit, his second in the past three months, highlights Moscow’s attempts to expand its influence in Egypt at a time when Egyptian-U.S. relations have soured in the aftermath of the ouster of Islamist President Mohammad Morsi. Putin told reporters after the talks that regional powers should join their efforts to combat ISIS. “[We] have underscored the vital importance of setting a counterterrorism front to include key international players of the region including Syria,” he said. Putin and Sisi were also expected to hammer out the details of a joint project to build Egypt’s first nuclear power station but Putin told reporters Wednesday that experts from both countries are still working on it. [Resurgence] [Terrorism] [Islamism]
• How Russian TV propaganda is made
  Dmitry Sidorov 25 August 2015 Federal television in Russia has long been suspected of propaganda. Four Russian TV producers share their stories of life behind the lens. This month COLTA.RU published three articles about what it’s like to work for federal television networks in Russia. These organisations have long been controlled by the authorities: they work as a single propaganda machine. The first two included an account by Liza Lerer, a former editorial manager of Russia 1's marketing board, and a profile of Yulia Chumakova, Channel One's South bureau chief, and the author of the infamous ‘crucified boy’ story. The third article, published here in a translation by Anna Aslanyan, comprises four accounts: two former employees of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) and a former producer at the private channel REN TV share their experiences anonymously, while Stanislav Feofanov, a TV Center (TVC) producer, speaks under his real name. The conversations with the ex-VGTRK staffers were first recorded by Aleksandr Orlov, former deputy editor of Russia 24 and Russia 2. Orlov lost his job in July 2013 for supporting Alexei Navalny on social media, and is now working on a forthcoming book on Russian TV. Orlov has collected oral testimonies from several federal TV employees, former and present, and here he shares two of them with us and COLTA.RU. The other two stories have been told to Dmitry Sidorov, who prepared the article for publication. [Media] [Propaganda] [Russia confrontation]
• MH17 crash: Western governments knew risks of Ukraine overflights: report
  Date August 23, 2015 Possible Buk missile parts found at MH17 site Dutch prosecutors say they have found parts that may belong to a Buk missile system among the recovered wreckage of MH17 that was shot down over eastern Ukraine last year. Western governments knew the dangers of flying over eastern Ukraine before Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed but did nothing about it, German investigative journalists say. Correctiv, which describes itself as the first non-profit German-language investigative newsroom, has won a partial court victory in its quest to find out what governments knew before the tragedy. The Administrative Court in Berlin this week partly upheld Correctiv's right to know and ordered the German foreign office to disclose facts the office had withheld. An armed pro-Russian separatist stands at the crash site last year. An armed pro-Russian separatist stands at the crash site last year. Photo: Reuters Writing on Correctiv's website, David Schraven said its investigation showed the office had detailed information of the dangers of flying over eastern Ukraine several days before MH17 took off. Ukrainian officials told ambassadors of Western countries at a July 14 briefing last year that Russian tank units had intervened in the conflict. As a result, the Ukrainians said, there had been a dramatic escalation in air combat, according to Schraven's report. A few hours before the briefing a Ukrainian military plane flying at 6200 meters had been shot down over eastern Ukraine. Only Russian missiles or the Russian air force could be responsible, his report cites the Ukrainians as saying. The separatists would not have had appropriate military equipment [MH17]
• Is the United States Sliding Into War in Ukraine—as It Did in Vietnam?
  And a tribute to Robert Conquest.
  By Stephen F. Cohen August 12, 2015 The John Batchelor Show, August 11. Nation contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussion of the Ukrainian crisis and New Cold War. This installment begins with signs that Washington and Kiev may be planning to force the rebel Donbass regions of Donetsk and Luhansk out of Ukraine because they cannot be defeated militarily and because their continued instability disqualifies Ukraine for NATO membership. Cohen reports that the alternative—an all-out US-Kiev-NATO assault on the Donbass, with the real prospect of war with Russia—is also being considered. Another subject discussed is the growing US “colonial” presence in Ukraine, now in the historic (and substantially Russian) province of Odessa. More generally, Cohen asks if the United States is sliding incrementally into war in Ukraine, as it did many years ago in Vietnam. The installment ends with a brief tribute to Robert Conquest, the great Anglo-American man-of-letters and historian of Soviet Russia, who died last week at age 98, and whom Cohen knew well for 50 years. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• Iran’s S-300: A Russian deal or a Sino-Russian deal?
  By M.K. Bhadrakumar on August 19, 2015 From all accounts, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had a highly successful visit to Moscow on Monday. The single biggest outcome of his talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov should be the signing of the contract for the delivery of upgraded S-300 missiles by Russia to Iran. The official Russian media reported that the delivery of the missile systems will take place 30-40 days after the signing of the agreement in Moscow (which is expected to be on Aug. 25.) There is much political symbolism here insofar as Moscow is plainly mocking at the timeline of the US Congress’s approval/disapproval of the Iran nuclear deal will be mid-September. Clearly, as far as Moscow is concerned, Iran’s integration with the world community is deemed to have happened already. Of course, the S-300 is not covered by any sanctions, since it is categorized as a “defensive” weapon. Nonetheless, the White House has protested. And, to be sure, this time around Moscow will ignore the protest. [Iran deal] [Resurgence] [Arms sales]
• U.S. Navy on alert: China, Russia to launch largest-ever joint navy exercise
  Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 18, 2015 The Chinese and Russian navies are gearing up for their largest-ever joint exercises, slated to begin Thursday in the Pacific with more than 20 ships and featuring anti-submarine operations as well as a joint-beach landing. The “Joint Sea 2015 II” exercises will run through Aug. 28 in the Sea of Japan and off the coast of Vladivostok. [China Russia] [Military exercises] [Response]
• 2 Koreas Invited to Russian Economic Forum
  Russia has invited the South Korean unification minister and the North Korean economics minister to the first Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 3-5, a Unification Ministry official here said on Tuesday. Russia invited the two ministers to a separate session aimed at discussing trilateral cooperation on a cross-border economic zone. The North Korean minister is either Vice Premier Ro Tu-chol, who is in charge of attracting foreign investment, or Foreign Trade Minister Ri Ryong-nam, but Pyongyang has not told Moscow of its decision. "It has not been decided yet whether Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo will attend the forum or not," according to the ministry official, but the ministry wants to send Hong if a North Korean minister comes. The forum aims to promote Russian President Vladimir Putin's hopes to develop Siberia and expand his influence in Northeast Asia. Moscow has also invited senior officials from China and Japan.
• Russians Feel Ruble’s Fall, but Putin Remains Mostly Unscathed
  By Sabrina Tavernise Aug. 18, 2015 RAMENSKOYE, Russia — A basic barometer of economic activity in this tidy town south of Moscow is the pirozhok, a small pie filled with cabbage and meat that is a staple of the Russian diet. In good times they sell briskly, snapped up by hungry commuters at Arina’s Hangout, a tiny shop near the train station. But sales are down by almost half, a gloomy reflection of Russia’s economic slump. “There were just physically fewer people,” said Irina A. Safonova, the owner of the shop, which on a recent weekday was serving pies to a slow trickle of customers. “We used to have lines. Now look at it.” Russians are experiencing the first sustained decline in living standards in the 15 years since President Vladimir V. Putin came to power. The ruble has fallen by half against the dollar, driven by the plunging price of oil, the lifeblood of Russia’s economy. As a result, prices of imported goods have shot up, making tea, instant coffee, children’s clothes and back-to-school backpacks suddenly, jarringly expensive. Making matters worse are the retaliatory bans that Russia placed on food imports after the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions for its actions in Ukraine, a policy that took a turn for the weird this month when the government destroyed thousands of tons of what it said were illegally imported foodstuffs including cheese and peaches. The reduced supply means that what remains costs more, even if it is locally produced. Russians are paying a third more for sunflower oil, a fifth more for yogurt and three-quarters more for carrots compared with a year ago, according to government statistics. (The Western sanctions, for their part, have driven up the cost of borrowing for Russian companies, but they have not had a direct role in the inflation that is raiding Russian pocketbooks.) Inflation has reduced the purchasing power of Russian wages by more than 8 percent in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year, according to figures published by Russia’s Central Bank at the end of July. And in a sign that the worst is far from over, the economy contracted by a steep 4.6 percent in the second quarter, compared with last year, and officially entered its first recession since 2009. “It’s horrible,” said Elena Shcherbakova, a 47-year-old shoe saleswoman whose income, based in part on commissions, has fallen nearly a third since last year. She says she now shops at discount supermarkets, buys the cheapest kind of sausage and carefully counts containers of yogurt instead of throwing them into her cart by the handful the way she used to. It is not clear what, if anything, this means for Mr. Putin. The trouble pales in comparison with the turbulent 1990s, when people’s wages went down by nearly half. Russians have an immense capacity for stoicism, and ubiquitous home gardens make budgets more flexible. Mr. Putin’s popularity ratings have remained high since last year’s annexation of Crimea, which was wildly popular among Russians. Still, the math is proving tricky. In a new draft budget released in July, the Ministry of Finance proposed halting the practice of raising pensions to keep up with inflation, a politically controversial move that would deliver a blow to Mr. Putin’s most loyal base. Investment, food for a hungry economy, has collapsed since the Western sanctions, which also blocked Russia’s ability to borrow on global markets. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [Putin] [Public opinion]
• Who is the West’s Lead MH17 Investigator?
  Ulson Gunnar First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/08/17/who-is-the-wests-lead-mh17-investigator/ 453534454As tensions once again build in eastern Ukraine where a fragile ceasefire appears to be on the brink of collapsing and the deadly contest of wills between East and West begins anew, the West’s prize propaganda story, downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 has again taken center stage. As part of a much wider campaign to demonize Russia and justify further encroachment east, attempts to cement the narrative that Russia was responsible for the incident before long-awaited investigations present their findings is well underway. While Russia has provided all documented evidence it possesses since the incident first occurred, data including recordings and radar readouts from NATO and Ukraine have been suspiciously withheld. Instead of presenting documented evidence, the United States and its partners in NATO have worked tirelessly to stand up innuendo and baseless accusations in its place. Perhaps understanding that appealing to the emotions of the general public rather than their intelligence and reasoning seemed a better strategy to achieve the swaying of global opinion against Russia. And perhaps a lack of actual evidence, or perhaps the existence of self-incriminating evidence has forced the United States and its collaborators to op for this alternate tack. While Russia drew upon its intelligence community and military assets to acquire and analyze information regarding the MH17 tragedy, the United States and NATO, despite their immense resources have turned instead to literally the most unqualified individual within their borders to lead its own unofficial “investigation.” Since the US and NATO have clearly decided to try Russia in the court of public opinion, it is only suitable that the investigation unfolds there as well. Meet Detective Couch Potato Leading American and NATO efforts to manage public perception regarding MH17 is professional couch-potato Eliot Higgins. Previously a laid-off government worker living in the United Kingdom, Higgins began blogging from home under the pen name “Brown Moses.” First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/08/17/who-is-the-wests-lead-mh17-investigator/ [MH17] [Social media] [Shill]
• Is Putin Planning to Sell-Out Assad?
  by Mike Whitney Moscow’s geostrategic objectives in Syria are the polar opposite of Washington’s. Grasping this simple fact is the easiest way to get a fix on what’s really going on in the war-torn country. What Washington wants is explained in great detail in a piece by Michael E. O’Hanlon at the Brookings Institute titled “Deconstructing Syria: A new strategy for America’s most hopeless war”. Here’s an excerpt: [US Syria Policy] [Putin] [Personalisation]
• Time to tap Russia and China on North Korean denuclearisation
  15 August 2015 Author: Akanksha Sharma, RSIS Diplomatic engagements between North Korea and Russia have raised the prospect that denuclearisation talks between the Pyongyang regime and the international community will resume. Russian envoy Grigory Logvinov pronounced in June 2015 that Moscow would not support any ‘behind the back’ agreement regarding North Korea’s nuclear program, but it could still play a significant role in getting Pyongyang to address the issue on a bilateral basis. Two developments encourage this prospect. First, North Korea’s economic ties with Russia have witnessed significant growth. Both countries declared 2015 as the ‘Year of Friendship’. In April 2015 they organised a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Proposals are underway for cooperation in a variety of areas such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure and tourism. [Russia NK] [Agency] [Academic] [Context]
• Russia Ready To Send S-300 Missile Systems To Iran
  August 15, 2015 Russia is ready to send S-300 long-range, surface-to-air missile systems to Iran and is working to have the sanctions against Tehran removed as soon as possible, a Russian deputy foreign minister said August 14. The decision to supply the systems has been approved by Russia's president and upper house of parliament, and the technical aspects of a delivery are being worked out, Sergei Ryabkov said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency. Russia did some work to modernize the missile system at Iran's behest. Russia is "completely satisfied" with the Iran nuclear deal, Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow, adding that the deal will be enforced with or without U.S. support. Ryabkov's comments confirm statements from U.S. officials that even if Congress disapproves the deal and does not allow the United States to join in providing Iran with sanctions relief, Russia will go ahead with the plan and resume trade at all levels with Iran, including weapons sales. [Iran deal] [Sanctions] [Resurgence] [Arms sales]
• Rumour Mongering Surrounds MH17 Investigation as NATO War Games Barrel Ahead in Eastern Europe
  by Roger Annis August 14, 2015 ‘Could be.’ ‘Might be.’ ‘Can’t show or prove anything, but maybe.’ Is there any wonder that with such language coming lately from the “official” but secretive investigation of the July 17, 2014 crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, there is little reason for confidence in a final report? And lots of reason for concern of what a flawed or reckless final report could spark? On August 11, the Dutch Safety Board and the ‘Joint Investigation Team’ investigating the MH17 crash issued a speculative statement saying they have discovered pieces among the debris they collected from the fields in eastern Ukraine where the plane came down that “possibly originate” from a spent Buk missile. [MH17]
• Are Condoms Next on Putin’s Import Hit List?
  The nation makes few of the things its citizens need, including some that could save their lives
  by Carol Matlack August 7, 2015 — 5:19 PM CEST Updated on August 7, 2015 — 6:36 PM CEST Russians are learning to live without imported cheese and other luxuries barred by Kremlin sanctions. But when reports surfaced this week that the government might ban condom imports, there was genuine alarm, including dire predictions of a spike in HIV/AIDS infections and unwanted pregnancies. Nearly all condoms sold in Russia are foreign-made, a legacy of the Soviet era, when locally produced models were notoriously unreliable. “We don’t recommend using” Russian brands, the owner of a Moscow condom boutique told the magazine Sekret Firmy. “We sell them as balloons.” Turns out the reports were misleading. The import ban, proposed by Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry, would apply only to condoms and other medical devices purchased by state agencies, not to those sold to consumers by retailers. President Vladimir Putin hasn’t said whether he backs the idea. Questioned by local news media yesterday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was unaware of the proposal. [Russia confrontation] [Media] [Bizarre] [Sanctions]
• Russia: Coming Back to Middle East as Major Actor
  Andrei Akulov | 06.08.2015 | 00:00 The world attention has been focused on the Middle East recently. The ebb and flow of the war against the Islamic State, the stalemated Syrian civil war, the framework agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in Iraq, the war in Yemen, the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia in open rift over Iran – all these events have been hitting the radar screen in recent months. Another aspect worth of mentioning is the emergence of Russia as a relevant player that could have a major impact on the situation in the volatile region. Moscow’s recent decision to deliver S300 air defense systems to Iran is just another example of its return. Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi visited Moscow in late July. The parties signed a bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation. The details of the new agreement are not known yet. Last year Russia concluded a major arms deal with Iraq; an indication of the Baghdad-based government's frustration at its dealings with the USA. As the Islamic State seized big chunks of Iraqi territory Russia rushed to supply Iraq with SU-25 attack aircraft, Mi-28NE and Mi-35 combat helicopters, TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers, Pantsir-S1 medium range surface-to-air and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems, Jigit man-portable SAMs, artillery pieces and BRM-3M reconnaissancevehicles. Khaled al-Obeidi said that the Americans are not very good when there is «a war of attrition» going on where Iraq needs large amounts of military supplies. He expressed gratitude for Russia’s readiness to provide all-round assistance to his country. «The war we are waging is not a traditional one. We are building our armed forces in peacetime… Our enemy is changing its tactic every month, every day and we need adequate weapons to respond to this», al-Obeidi stressed. Despite the billions of dollars spent on training and equipment by the United States during its eight-year occupation, Iraq's million-strong army completely folded when insurgents attacked last year. Islamic State militants overran the Iraqi city of Ramadi some time ago in the most significant setback for the Baghdad government in a year, exposing the weakness of Iraq’s army and the limitations of U.S. air strikes. Last month the group seized full control of Palmyra in neighboring Syria.
• Rationale Behind MH17 Tribunal
  Alexander Mezyaev | 05.08.2015 | 00:00 The United Nations Security Council voted on July 29 whether to set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of bringing down Malaysia Airlines MH17 over Ukraine last year (1). 11 Council members supported the resolution with three of them abstaining (China, Venezuela and Angola) and one (the Russian Federation) voting against. (2) The Russia’s refusal to support the proposal had been known in advance. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has discussed the issue on a number of occasions with the Russian President on the phone and each time Vladimir Putin called this proposal «premature and counterproductive» or described it as «inexpedient». (3) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian UN Ambassador Vitaliy Churkin had said the same thing. As far as I can remember, this was the first time the decision of Russia to veto a UN Security Council’s resolution had been announced and repeatedly confirmed at such a high level before the document was submitted for consideration. Then what was the rationale behind putting the draft resolution on MH17 special tribunal to vote despite Russia’s objections? There are two aspects to be taken into account here. Actually, it cannot be said that the idea of setting up a tribunal was unacceptable from the start. The UN Security Council members representing the West conducted the investigation behind a veil of secrecy to make the idea of setting up an open tribunal appealing. They did their best to make believe that holding hearings would be a logical decision to benefit Russia. Direct transmission of court proceedings would enable Moscow to make sure that it was a fair trial and expose any attempts at falsifications against the background of investigation being underreported. It seemed to be a great idea! [MH17]
• The MH17 Pilot’s Corpse: More on the Cover-Up
  Even His Family Was Blocked from It. Here’s Why. By Eric Zuesse Global Research, August 05, 2015 It might be the decisive piece of evidence proving who and what and how and why the MH17 Malaysian airliner over the conflict zone in Ukraine on 17 July 2014 was shot down, but the pilot’s corpse has been hidden even from the people who have the most right to see it. The corpse of the pilot of the MH17 Malaysian airliner might contain in it bullets, or bullet-residues, that can prove a Ukrainian military jet intentionally fired into the pilot; or else it might contain only missile-shrapnel, which would be consistent only with the plane’s having been erroneously shot down by a ground-based missile such as the Ukrainian government says it was; but the Malaysian government has prohibited anyone to see it — not even his relatives, who are still trying to find out how and who murdered their loved-one and the 297 other people who were aboard that tragic plane on July 17th of 2014. Until recently, the Malaysian government itself had had no access to the coroner’s report on the corpse: it was done by a Dutch coroner, in Holland. The corpse has been hidden from everyone, and the Malaysian Government isn’t even being permitted, by the other four nations on the official investigatory commission, to say anything to anyone outside the commission — not even to the pilot’s family. [MH17]
• Russian Brokered High Level Syria-Saudi Arabia Discussions: Al Assad’s Security Adviser meets Saudi Deputy Crown Prince
  By Ghassan Kadi Global Research, August 01, 2015 Intibah Wakeup 31 July 2015 “The miracle meeting” has happened. The Syrian chief of the office of home security general Ali Mamlouk has visited Riyadh and met with the Saudi deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman [son of current king] as a result of a Russian-brokered initiative. Differences were discussed. On the 19th of June, President Putin received the Saudi Minister of Defence the deputy Crown Prince. The meeting with the “uncrowned king” dealt with many files: Yemen, weapon deals, nuclear reactors, price of crude, and most importantly Syria and terrorism. Clearly, Putin prepared for this meeting very well, as by then: - The Russian prediction was that the nuclear deal with Iran was ready, constituting “bad news” for Riyadh. - It was clear that ISIS has declared mutiny on its original supporters and turned into an international danger, especially for Saudi Arabia taking into account its status as the home of Islam. It is also a danger for Russia considering that many of its fighters come from central Asia. - It became obvious that the war on Yemen was not going to be a walk in the park and may end up as a long protracted war. Saudi Arabia had already been giving signs of dissatisfaction from the inadequate American support and became convinced that any settlement will require a Russian role, especially that Russia has vetoed the Arab-initiated UNSC resolution seeking placing Yemen under Chapter Seven and which would prohibit any army shipments to the Houthis and enforces sanctions against their leaders. It must be remembered that the previous Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal was one of the staunchest advocates of this failed resolution, together with Prince Bandar Bin Sultan who was sacked earlier on the 29th of April. Moscow seized the moment and Putin laid out his vision of the situation in Syria to Mohamad Bin Salman: After four years of fighting, there is a tangible change of in the international mood. Geneva 3 is no longer on the table neither is Moscow 3 or Moscow 4. In the meanwhile, terrorism is creeping towards your homeland. In the meantime also, the position of the Syrian Army is improving on the ground and there are no other parties left who are convinced that the Syrian “regime” should fall other than Saudi Arabia and Turkey. There is no option but to cooperate with him [ Assad] in order to fight terrorism that is threatening everyone. [Saudi Arabia] [Syria] [Resurgence]
• National Endowment for Democracy is Now Officially “Undesirable” in Russia
  Vladimir Putin! Now you’ve really done it. You have had the temerity to declare our National Endowment for Democracy (NED), America’s most important Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to be “undesirable.” Where will this end? Don’t you respect our right, as a US Government-financed NGO, to meddle in internal Russian affairs? After all, we are the most important NGO of the world’s Sole Superpower. We can go wherever we want and do whatever we like. We are truly upset! This is the clear reaction of Washington to the decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on July 28 to declare the activities of the US National Endowment for Democracy as “undesirable in the territory of Russia.” The official statement stated that, “the National Endowment for Democracy used Russian commercial and non-commercial organizations under its control to take part in campaigns aimed at denying the legitimacy of results of Russian elections; organize political actions designed to influence the authorities’ decisions and discredit the service in the Russian Armed Forces.” It further elaborated, “In pursuit of these goals, the fund allocated about 2.5 million US dollars to Russian commercial and non-commercial organizations in 2013-2015.” Under Russia’s law on Undesirable NGOs, adopted by the Duma or parliament and signed into law by President Putin this May, any foreign or international non-governmental organization could become “undesirable” if it threatened the foundations of Russia’s constitutional order, the country’s defense capability and the security of the Russian state. Significantly, in a statement regarding the decision, Russia’s Foreign Ministry named Carl Gershman, the neo-conservative who has been president since NED was founded in 1983. They noted that Gershman said – absolutely openly – that the NED organization was intended to be a beautiful facade for distributing funds among opposition circles in foreign countries. That suggests they have done their homework very well before banning the NED. [NED] [Destabilisation] [Russia confrontation]
• Russia includes US National Endowment for Democracy in list of undesirable NGOs
  July 29, 19:24 UTC+3 The Fund has become the first undesirable international organization in Russia © ITAR-TASS/Yuri Mashkov MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Russia’s Justice Ministry has included the US National Endowment for Democracy into the list of foreign and international non-governmental organizations whose activity is undesirable in Russia, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website on Wednesday. The National Endowment for Democracy was included into this list pursuant to a decision by Deputy Prosecutor-General Vladimir Malinovsky, which was announced on Tuesday. The Fund has become the first undesirable international organization in Russia. "Everything complies with our laws," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said commenting the decision to include the National Endowment for Democracy into the Russian Justice Ministry list of undesirable organizations. On July 28, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office qualified the activities of the US National Endowment for Democracy as undesirable in the territory of Russia. After a detailed analysis, Russian prosecutors concluded that the activities of the National Endowment for Democracy undermined the foundations of Russia’s constitutional order; the country’s defense capability and the security of the Russian state. [NED] [Destabilisation] [Russia confrontation]

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JULY 2015

• Non-Western Financial Markets and Russia: New Opportunities
  Alexei Baliev | 29.07.2015 | 00:00 The shift in Russia’s economic policy toward the nations of the East is creating brand new opportunities in terms of access to direct investment, investment loans, and other sources of financing. This approach is entirely in keeping with the recommendations from the recent summit of the heads of states and governments of the BRICS countries (held in Ufa July 8-10), including the suggestion that multilateral cooperation be expanded by providing access to sources of funding from the countries that are part of this group. The first investment credits from the BRICS Development Bank will be disbursed to the countries of that group as early as 2016, and one of those loans is intended to help implement a Russian-South African project to explore, mine, and process ore and metallurgical raw materials. According to the working groups within the BRICS Business Council, the interest rates of these loans will be at least 25% lower, with payment periods that are 33-50% longer, than the credit terms offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other Western financial institutions. One crucial detail is that the BRICS Development Bank will be able to offer its loans in various national currencies, thus avoiding the need for settlements in dollars or euros. This is an advantage, because due to fluctuations of the dollar and the euro against most of the world’s currencies, the credits and loans granted in these “global” currencies end up at least 10% more expensive for the borrowers. And when Russia looks for markets for new foreign lending, those are not limited to the BRICS nations. It is important to note that unlike the principles that guide operations in the West, the financial markets of the Middle East, China, India, Thailand, Turkey, and the newly industrialized countries of East Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore) use various forms of credit that are favorable to borrowers who are industry leaders in the real economy. The practice of offering credit and investment resources to specific industry and/or socio-economic programs and projects is particularly attractive. It is also significant that, according to estimations by UNCTAD and UNIDO for 2014-2015, no more than 45% of financial institutions in the Third World have direct ties with Western financial institutions through subsidiary partners. The fewest links are found in Southeast, East, and South Asia (generally no more than 40%). That means that the West not only has a “global” presence in the world’s credit and investment system, but it also wields a critically large stake in it ... [BRICS] [FDI]
• Russia signs nuclear deals with traditional U.S. allies in Middle East
  By Jack Caravelli Published July 30, 2015 Washington Free Beacon / The Russian government has signed major nuclear cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan since the start of this year, increasing its influence among traditional U.S. allies in the region. In June, Russia closed a major deal on nuclear cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Since the end of the last decade the Saudis have been implementing plans to construct as many as 16 commercial nuclear power plants. The Saudis have signed agreements with other nuclear nations, including the United States, France, China and Argentina, to help construct the reactors. Russia is now expected to play a sizable role in operating the nuclear plants, which are still to be built. The Saudis have indicated that a nuclear program will free up oil reserves to be used almost exclusively for foreign sales that generate hard currency earnings. In February, Russia and Egypt secured a preliminary deal in which Russia signaled its willingness to assist Egypt in building its first nuclear power plant. The agreement was announced during President Vladimir Putin’s February visit to Cairo, during which he also solidified Russia’s overall political and trade relationships with his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. [Nuclear energy] [Resurgence]
• China, Russia To Hold Joint Naval, Air Drill
  By Agence France-Presse 1:57 p.m. EDT July 30, 2015 BEIJING — China and Russia will hold joint military drills in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan, Beijing said Thursday, the latest defenSe cooperation between the countries. The exercises will take place Aug. 20-28 in the Peter the Great Gulf and other areas off the Russian coast, Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters. A key purpose of the drills was to "further enhance their capabilities of jointly coping with maritime security threats," Yang said, adding they will include training in air defense, anti-submarine and surface warfare, and landings. China will send seven naval ships including a destroyer and a frigate, along with fighter jets and other aircraft, Yang said. Russia's contingent will include surface vessels, submarines and fixed wing aircraft, he said, adding that both sides will dispatch ship-borne helicopters and marines. The drills come as Beijing and Moscow intensify cooperation in military, political and economic spheres. In May they conducted their first joint naval exercises in European waters in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. It was China's farthest ever naval exercise from its home waters. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin hold frequent summits and their countries, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, often take similar stances there on divisive issues such as the conflict in Syria. [NCW] [China Russia]
• Russia Shoots Down “US Stealth Coup”: Tough Times for America’s “Color Revolution” industry.
  By Tony Cartalucci Global Research, July 31, 2015 New Eastern Outlook 31 July 2015 Times are tough for America’s “color revolution” industry. Perfected in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union, and honed during the so-called “Arab Spring,” the process of backing subversion in a targeted country and overthrowing a sitting government under the cover of staged mass protests appears to be finally at the end of running its course. That is because the United States can no longer hide the fact that it is behind these protests and often, even hide their role in the armed elements that are brought in covertly to give targeted governments their final push out the door. Nations have learned to identify, expose, and resist this tactic, and like Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime’s tactic of Blitzkrieg or “lighting war,” once appropriate countermeasures are found, the effectiveness of lighting fast, overwhelming force be it military or political, is rendered impotent. This was most recently observed in Armenia during the so-called “Electric Yerevan” protests – Yerevan being the capital of Armenia, and “electric” in reference to the alleged motivation of protesters – rising electric prices. American-backed “color revolutions” always start out with a seemingly legitimate motivation, but soon quickly become political in nature, sidestepping many of the legitimate, practical demands first made, and focusing almost entirely on “regime change.” For the Armenian agitators leading the “Electric Yerevan,” they didn’t even make it that far and spent most of their initial momentum attempting to convince the world they were not just another US-backed mob. [Subversion] [Colour] [Russia confrontation]
• Swiss media interview with Putin: FIFA 2018 and American imperialism
  Vladimir Putin President of Russia Mon, 27 Jul 2015 17:04 UTC © Presidential Press and Information Office Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Swiss media. The interview was recorded on July 25 in St Petersburg, during the President’s visit to the preliminary round draw for the 2018 Football World Cup. Question: Good evening, Mr President. Thank you very much for making the time for this interview. Vladimir Putin (In French): Bon Soir. Question: We are currently in the city of St Petersburg, where the draw ceremony is underwayfor the 2018 Football World Cup, which will be held in the Russian Federation, and to which you are devoting so much energy. Vladimir Putin: Yes, this is true. Congratulations to all of us. I can honestly tell you, and there is nothing new: we do not have any special ambitions in this upcoming championship, although we certainly expect a good performance from our team. Our goal in holding this competition fell in line with FIFA's goals - namely, broadening football's geography. I won't even mention that Russia is a very large nation - the biggest in the world in terms of territory, and the largest in Europe in terms of population. In addition to everything else, we have a visa-free regime - free movement - with most of the former Soviet republics, which are now independent states. And naturally, this event will be important not only for Russia but our closest neighbours as well. Question: You are friends with Mr Blatter; you supported him. Vladimir Putin: You know, we barely knew one another before we began the process of our bid, our fight for the 2018 World Cup. During this joint work, we had many meetings with representatives of the FIFA executive committee, with the commissions that came to our nation, and we met with Mr Blatter himself. We developed very good business relations and good personal relations. Question: As for these criminal proceedings, which are currently underway in Switzerland, do you feel that the United States is involved in any way? Vladimir Putin: As far as I know, the United States was bidding to hold the 2022 World Cup in their nation. Question: You think they took revenge? Vladimir Putin: I have not finished my sentence... And their closest ally in Europe, the United Kingdom, was bidding to host it in 2018. And the way the fight against corruption is playing out causes me to wonder whether this is a continuation of the battle for 2018 and 2022. After all, nobody is against fighting corruption; everyone is for it. And I feel that we should fight even harder. But there are certain international legal norms stating that if somebody suspects a crime committed by anybody, certain data are collected and given to the prosecutor general's office in the state of which the suspect is a citizen. But this is not related in any way to the fact that one nation - big or small - travels throughout the world, grabs anyone it wants and takes them to their prison. In my view, that is unacceptable. [Putin] [FIFA] [Extraterritoriality]
• European Missile Defense after Ukraine and the Iran Deal
  By: Thomas Karako With the conclusion of a joint plan of action for Iran’s nuclear program, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia has returned to his favorite talking point: that NATO should scale back missile defenses. NATO should do nothing of the sort. Not only does the Iran deal not roll back the most numerous and diverse missile program in the region, it stipulates the removal of missile sanctions after eight years. U.S. administration officials have rightly opposed suggestions of curtailing missile defenses. After years of declaring NATO missile defense plans to be ironclad, such a rollback would undermine both U.S. credibility and NATO solidarity, by extending the pattern of cancellations begun in 2009 and 2013. Indeed, Europe’s missile defense needs have arguably increased, thanks to Russia. [Missile defense] [Russia confrontation] [Iran deal]
• Russian nuclear bombers intercepted flying close to U.S. coast on Independence Day: military
  Xinhua, July 24, 2015 "Good morning, American pilots. We are here to greet you on your Fourth of July Independence Day" - - this was the awe-inspiring message delivered by Russian nuclear bomber pilots to U.S. fighter pilots sent to intercept them off the U.S. Pacific coast earlier the month, the U.S. military was quoted as saying Thursday. Two Russian Tu-95 "Bear" bombers were intercepted flying roughly 40 miles (64 kms) off the coast of the Western U.S. state of California on July 4, the U.S. Independence Day, a spokesman for the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was quoted as telling the U.S. cable news network the CNN. The message was delivered by Russian pilots using an emergency aircraft communication channel, said the spokesman. The Russian bombers did not enter the U.S. airspace and the U.S. F-15 fighters tracked them until they turned around. Two other Russian Tu-95 bombers were also intercepted off the southern coast of Alaska on the same day, according to the U.S. military. [Resurgence]
• ISIS-Aligned Fighters in Ukraine Battle alongside Neo-Nazis
  Wednesday, 22 July 2015 06:50 By: Elliot Friedland Omar al-Shishani, the highest ranking Chechen in the Islamic State. (Photo from an ISIS propaganda video.) There are reported to be some 500 fighters in the Dudayev Battalion, but other Islamists are fighting in other armed factions such as the Sheikh Mansour Battalion, a breakaway faction, and a Crimean Tartar militia. Chechens fighting Russia in Ukraine maintain links with Chechens fighting in the Islamic State proper - while the U.S. considers how far to aid Ukraine. The U.S. is considering funding and training the Ukrainian army in its fight against Russia. Currently America has some 300 soldiers advising and training Ukrainian forces, but is only providing non-lethal support. Yet there are Islamist paramilitary battalions fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, which are aligned with the Islamic State and Chechen Islamist factions. If the U.S. steps up military aid to Ukraine, whose army is notoriously corrupt it may fall into the hands of Islamist battalions currently funded by a mixture of Ukrainian oligarchs, Gulf patrons, violent crime and extortion. The Ruskayya Blatina website said that a few militias belonging to the terrorist group ISIS began to fight against the Russian soldiers in Ukraine with support from the American authorities who gave recommendations to the Ukrainian government regarding the Islamic State. These men fight in the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion, among others, named for the late first president of Chechenya. There are many Chechens and Georgians fighting in the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The most eminent of these is Omar al-Shishani, a senior leader in the Islamic State who has featured in a number of their propaganda videos [Ukraine] [Jihadist] [Neo-Nazi] [Outsourcing]
• Obama Should Release MH-17 Intel
  by Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
  A year ago, the U.S. government issued a sketchy report on the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shoot-down citing “social media” and other flimsy data implicating eastern Ukrainian rebels and Russia, but then – as hard intelligence became available – went silent. Now, U.S. intelligence veterans are demanding release of that intel. MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Releasing an Intelligence Report on Shoot-Down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 It has been a year since the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, resulting in the death of 298 passengers and crew. The initial response by the U.S. government supported the contention that the likely perpetrators were anti-government forces in southeastern Ukraine (the customary media misnomer for them is “separatists”), and that they were possibly aided directly by Moscow. On July 29, 2014, we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) suggested that the United States Government report publicly what intelligence it actually had relating to the shoot-down lest the incident turn into another paroxysm of blaming Russia without cause. We are still waiting for that report. [MH17]
• Is the Iran Nukes Deal Aimed at Crushing Putin?
  by Mike Whitney July 17, 2015 “The European Union is quietly increasing the urgency of a plan to import natural gas from Iran as relations with Tehran thaw (and) those with top gas supplier Russia grow colder.” “EU turns to Iran as alternative to Russian gas,” EA. The Iran nuclear agreement has less to do with proliferation than it does with geopolitics. The reason Obama wants to ease sanctions on Iran is because he wants to push down oil prices while creating an alternate source of natural gas for Europe. In other words, the real objective here is to hurt Russia which is currently at the top of Washington’s Enemies List. Keith Jones at the World Socialist Web Site explains what’s going on in an article titled “Obama promotes historic nuclear deal with Iran”. [Iran deal] [Russia confrontation]
• Senators: Why didn’t U.S. Soccer expose FIFA corruption?
  Highlights Willful ignorance or woeful incompetence? Head of soccer’s U.S. governing body appears before Senate panel Admits he felt ‘discomfort’ over way meetings were handled Dan Flynn, CEO and secretary general of U.S. Soccer at a subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Dan Flynn, CEO and secretary general of U.S. Soccer at a subcommittee hearing Wednesday. | Lauren Victoria Burke - AP By Daniel Desrochers WASHINGTON — The U.S. Soccer Federation got kicked around Wednesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing that looked into the corruption of FIFA, soccer’s international governing organization. Members of the Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, public safety, insurance and data security took turns condemning FIFA, its president, Sepp Blatter, and volleying questions at Dan Flynn, the CEO and secretary general of the U.S. Soccer Federation about why the organization, which governs soccer in the United States, didn’t try to call out corruption in FIFA. Several top FIFA officials were indicted on a variety of corruption-related charges by the United States in May. “What has been revealed is a mafia-style crime scheme in charge of this sport,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the subcommittee. “My only hesitation in using that term is that it’s almost insulting to the mafia, because the mafia would never be so blatant, overt and arrogant in its corruption.” Blumenthal criticized U.S. Soccer for not exposing FIFA’s corruption long before the U.S. Department of Justice indicted nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives for racketeering, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering this May. “ They either knew about it or they didn’t know about it, and I don’t know which is worse. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “The facts show that there had to be either willful ignorance or blatant incompetence among many of the members of this organization and that’s true of U.S. Soccer as well,” Blumenthal said. “They either knew about it or they didn’t know about it, and I don’t know which is worse.” [FIFA] [Corruption]
• Poland – Ukraine: Will Territorial Demands Follow Restitution Claims?
  Vladimir Nesterov | 14.07.2015 | 00:00 Poland will hold parliamentary election in October. No matter who comes to power, the issue of Eastern Kresy will probably continue to be in focus. The interest will be fueled by ongoing Ukrainian crisis. Kresy Wschodnie or Kresy («Eastern Borderlands», or «Borderlands») is a term that refers to the eastern lands that formerly belonged to Poland. These territories today lie in western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania. In the interbellum, the term Kresy roughly equated with the lands beyond the Curson line, suggested in December 1919 by the British Foreign Office as the eastern border for Poland. After the 1919-1921 war between Poland and the Soviet Russia Kresy became Polish. In September 1939, these territories were incorporated into the Soviet Union. Even though Kresy, or the Eastern Borderlands, are no longer Polish territories, the area is still inhabited by a significant Polish minority, and the memory of a Polish Kresy is still cultivated. [Territorial disputes] [Poland] [Ukraine]
• Putin Calls U.S. Debt ‘Serious Problem’ as He Defends Greece
  by Andrey Biryukov and Anna Andrianova July 11, 2015 — 1:36 AM NZST Updated on July 11, 2015 — 2:49 AM NZST Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of dangers to the global economy from U.S. borrowing while saying Greece isn’t solely to blame for its debt crisis. “It’s a serious problem not just for the United States but for the whole world economy,” Putin told reporters Friday in the Russian city of Ufa in response to a question on the prospects of the biggest developing nations. “Debt exceeds gross domestic product there.” Putin said he’s concerned about Greece and hopes its crisis will be resolved soon, reiterating that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hasn’t asked him for financial aid. Even so, he said Russia has the resources to help its partners. Putin is battling his own economic woes after sanctions over Ukraine and a drop in oil prices triggered Russia’s first recession in six years. This isn’t the first time the Russian leader has attacked U.S. economic policy: he’s previously derided the “dollar monopoly” that allows the U.S. to act like a “parasite” on the global economy. The ruble is the second-worst performer against the dollar in the past year among more than 150 global currencies tracked by Bloomberg, with a 40 percent dive. Russia’s central bank resumed purchases of foreign-currency assets in May, planning purchases of $100 million to $200 million a day to replenish reserves. The U.S. ratio of government debt to GDP will fall to 104 percent in 2018 from 105 percent in 2014, the International Monetary Fund predicts. ‘Big’ Numbers Russia drained its foreign-currency stockpiles as fighting raged in Ukraine and global energy prices plunged. That hasn’t left the government in a position where it can’t assist its allies, according to Putin. Russian reserves were $359.6 billion as of July 3. “Russia, of course, is able to offer help to its partners regardless of today’s difficulties with the economy,” he said after a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. “We’re helping some countries.”
  Putin said Russia and Greece, both of which are majority Orthodox Christian, have a special relationship. Being a euro member, the government in Athens is unable to take measures such as devaluation to help revive its economy, according to Putin. [Orthodox]
• Putin Leads BRICS Uprising
  July 10, 2015 by Mike Whitney There’s been a virtual blackout of news from this year’s seventh annual BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia. None of the mainstream media organizations are covering the meetings or making any attempt to explain what’s going on. As a result, the American people remain largely in the dark about a powerful coalition of nations that are putting in place an alternate system that will greatly reduce US influence in the world and end the current era of superpower rule. Let’s cut to the chase: Leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) realize that global security cannot be entrusted to a country that sees war as a acceptable means for achieving its geopolitical objectives. They also realize that they won’t be able to achieve financial stability as long as Washington dictates the rules, issues the de facto “international” currency, and controls the main levers of global financial power. This is why the BRICS have decided to chart a different course, to gradually break free from the existing Bretton Woods system, and to create parallel system that better serves their own interests. Logically, they have focused on the foundation blocks which support the current US-led system, that is, the institutions from which the United States derives its extraordinary power; the dollar, the US Treasury market, and the IMF. Replace these, the thinking goes, and the indispensable nation becomes just another country struggling to get by. [BRICs] [Reserve] [Decline] [SCO]
• Classification Mistakes Made in Draft Resolution on MH17 Int'l Tribunal
  06:10 10.07.2015Get short URL The draft UN Security Council resolution on establishing an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 fails to correctly classify the crash, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations said. UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – According to Vitaly Churkin, the draft resolution, prepared by the Malaysian delegation, classifies the crash as a threat to international peace and stability, despite the fact that a single incident cannot be classified that way. "Personally, I do not see any perspectives for these documents. They need to be put aside, we need to wait for the results of the investigation and then think on how to effectively organize criminal proceedings." The Russian envoy pointed out that international tribunals have never been created following civilian aircraft crashes, some of which were not criminally investigated at all. On July 17, 2014, flight MH17 was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it crashed in southeastern Ukraine (Donbass). All 298 people on board the aircraft died in the crash. MH17 flight recovery team members erect a No Trespassing sign in an area of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane crash in the village of Hrabove, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine Independence supporters and Kiev forces, which launched a military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, have accused each other of causing the tragedy. The Dutch Safety Board, investigating the circumstances surrounding the plane crash, has completed a draft report on the incident. The countries taking part in the investigation received the document on June 2, and have two months to provide comments on it before the final report is published in October. According to a September 2014 preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board, MH17 broke up in the air after being hit by multiple objects from outside the airframe. In June, Russian arms manufacturer Almaz-Antey unveiled the results of its own inquiry, showing that flight MH17 was downed by a guided missile launched by a Buk-M1 system. The particular missile has not been produced in Russia since 1999, but remains in service in the Ukrainian army, according to Almaz-Antey. [MH17]
• MH17 crash one year on: blame game continues over who shot down plane
  Truth no closer for families of the 298 people killed in Malaysia Airlines disaster as pro-Russia separatists, Moscow and Ukrainian forces all deny involvement Shaun Walker in Petropavlovka Thursday 9 July 2015 05.00 BST Last modified on Thursday 9 July 2015 07.56 BST A year later, there has been no conclusive proof of who was responsible, though most evidence points to separatist forces shooting down the plane by accident with a Buk missile system, possibly brought across the border from Russia. Messages appeared on social media from an account linked to the rebels saying they had shot down a Ukrainian plane, but were swiftly deleted. [MH17] [False balance]
• Russia is biggest threat to American national security, says US air force chief
  Air force secretary Deborah James says recent actions by Russia are ‘worrisome’ Reuters Thursday 9 July 2015 01.24 BST Last modified on Thursday 9 July 2015 01.58 BST Russia is the biggest threat to US national security and America must boost its military presence throughout Europe even as Nato allies face budget challenges and scale back spending, the US air force secretary, Deborah James, said on Wednesday. “I do consider Russia to be the biggest threat,” James said in an interview after a series of visits and meetings with US allies across Europe, including Poland. James said Washington was responding to Russia’s recent “worrisome” actions by boosting its presence across Europe, and would continue rotational assignments of F-16 fighter squadrons. “This is no time to in any way signal a lack of resolve in the face of these Russian actions,” she said. James said she was disappointed that only four of Nato’s 28 members had thus far met the Nato target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. “This is not something that came up out of thin air. This is something that we as NATO members agreed to do. All of us need to be advocates,” she said. The top air force civilian leader acknowledged that Europe was facing difficult immigration and economic challenges at the moment, but said the Nato military alliance and associated commitments should be a clear priority. Britain on Wednesday said it would commit to the 2% spending pledge for the next five years, which will raise the number of Nato allies meeting the spending goal to five in 2015. Given the tensions, the air force is continuing its effort to reduce US reliance on Russian RD-180 rocket engines for military and intelligence satellite launches, James said. [Russia confrontation]
• France and Germany intervened over World Cup votes, says Sepp Blatter
  The German football body was told to vote for Qatar for ‘economic reasons’, Fifa president tells a newspaper, adding that he is ‘tired of taking the blame’ Associated Press Sunday 5 July 2015 02.25 BST Fifa president Sepp Blatter has said that France and Germany applied political pressure before the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were awarded to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Blatter told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that “there were two political interventions” from former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his German counterpart Christian Wulff before the hosts were announced on 2 December 2010. “Messrs Sarkozy and Wulff tried to influence their voting representatives. That’s why we now have a World Cup in Qatar. Those who decided it should take responsibility for it,” said Blatter, who said he was tired of taking the blame for something he had no control over. “I act on the leadership principal. If a majority of the executive committee wants a World Cup in Qatar then I have to accept that,” Blatter said. He suggested that the German football federation (DFB) received a recommendation from Wulff “to vote for Qatar out of economic interests”. [FIFA] [Softwar] [Russia confrontation]
• Saudi Arabia – Russia: a New Alliance?
  Viktor Mikhin “Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys’ house“. Such is the beginning of “Anna Karenina” – a novel by the great Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy that comes to mind of everyone who follows the latest world news. Indeed, all was mixed up on the global arena, where former friends become bitter enemies, and those who actively and persistently fought against each other, suddenly tied together. Precisely such thoughts come to mind after the analysis of an unexpected and, at first glance, strange visit of a prominent visitor from Saudi Arabia, the King’s son, Defense Minister Muhammad bin Salman to Russia. The Saudi delegation also included those officials who, along with the King determine the foreign policy of the kingdom – Foreign Minister Adel Al-Dzhubeyr, a former ambassador to the US, who has close ties to key figures of the political and social world in Washington and Oil Minister Al al-Naimi, who actually determines OPEC’s policy.
  . Why is there such activity on the part of the Saudis? Most likely for our benefit – a typical affair, which has been a co-spin by Riyadh and Washington. Allegations that Saudi Arabia may have some independent foreign policy strategy, contrary to American interests are profoundly erroneous.
  Yet, apparently, bridges should be slowly built with Riyadh, and where it is possible, a common policy should be developed and conflicts smoothed. Moscow, especially in this time of sanctions by the Western world, should have, if not allies, then at least supporters who want to establish a new relationship with our country. But at the same time we should not forget that the House of Saudis, basically, is still focused on America, and on Saudi territory there are military bases with US weapons and several thousand American “trainers”. And in the event of any negative developments for the US, this “fifth column” can come into play. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/07/04/saudi-arabia-russia-a-new-alliance/ [Russia Saudi Arabia] [US Middle East policy]
• A Participant in the 2014 'Russian Spring' Movement in Donetsk Speaks: ‘Donbas is Returning to its Russian Roots’
  by Sergei Baryshnikov The following is the transcript of a talk by Sergei Baryshnikov, professor of political science and former rector of the National University of Donetsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The talk was delivered on April 16, 2015 to a group of foreign writers and journalists visiting Donetsk at the invitation of the Russian/German media NGO ‘Europa Objektiv’. The transcript includes answers to questions from the audience. Translation and editing by NewColdWar.org. *** During the events of spring 2014 [in eastern and southern Ukraine] known as the ‘Russian Spring’ (a metaphorical name first used by a Russian journalist), intellectuals in Donetsk, especially those in humanities studies, did not participate actively. Active participants could be counted on the fingers on one hand. From the vantage point of classical theory, it is still difficult to explain the class or social character of these events. None of the classical theories proved with a suitable explanation. As we look back today, one year later, there were two social forces driving events forward. One was young people with different professional backgrounds, including high school students, university students and unemployed youth. These were the most active participants due to their unstable social situations. The second was people of the so called third age–the elderly. These two polar groups were the most active, driving forces of the Russian Spring in Donbas. Initial responses to the rise of the Euromaidan movement in Kyiv The first timid and not well organized attempts to offer an alternative to the Maidan movement that was already a fact in Kyiv took place in November/December of 2013. At the time, we did not yet fully understand the degree of the threat emanating from Kyiv. We hoped that President Yanukovich would be a more firm and adequate leader. But after the beginning of the new year, during the first weeks of January, the picture became clearer. Authorities in Kyiv were reacting less and less adequately to events. [Ukraine] [Donbas]

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JUNE 2015

• Russian defectors living the dead end of the American dream in distant Oregon
  For Janosh and Victorya, who in Russia lived as a former bag man for a Moscow bank and an FSB agent, the dream of a life as defectors has been plagued by spats with the FBI, and an unexpected life in a city they’d never heard of Chris McGreal in Portland, Oregon Friday 26 June 2015 14.08 BST Last modified on Saturday 27 June 2015 00.13 BST The Russian who now goes by the name of Janosh Neumann had a clear plan for how things would unfold once he crossed the threshold of the US embassy on the Caribbean island he chose as his hideout. Neumann would offer the CIA chapter and verse about his years as a Russian intelligence officer and his work after that as a bag man for a Moscow bank specialising in money laundering. He would lay bare the intricate web of ties between Russia’s security service, the FSB, organised crime and Moscow banks. He would name names. Neumann also knew he would have to frankly admit he too was on the take, accepting bribes and his cut of illegal deals. In return, the Russian wanted the CIA to provide a foreign passport to somewhere quiet, he had in mind Denmark or Switzerland, and a fat chunk of money: something in the region of the $2.5m he calculated he made from money laundering over the previous three years, most of which was spent or left behind when he fled Moscow. Neumann, who was born in the then Soviet Union 36 years ago and came of age during its collapse, needed a new paymaster and a new life with his wife, a former FSB agent now called Victorya. That was the plan, and for a while – as the CIA smuggled Janosh and Victorya through the Caribbean by yacht, and the FBI installed the couple in a luxury hotel for months and showered them with cash – it looked as if it might work out. But seven years and several identities later, the Neumanns find themselves trapped in a nightmare after what he describes as a virtual abduction to the one place they did not want to go: the United States. [Defector] [CIA]
• Turkey and Crimea: the politicised results of a single mission
  Alexander Grigoriev | 26.06.2015 | 00:00 Zafer Üskül, the head of the unofficial Turkish delegation that visited the Republic of Crimea at the end of April, has shared some of his thoughts with the Anadolu Agency. The Turkish professor’s report contained a number of harsh accusations against the Russian authorities, which he believes are systematically violating the rights of those living on the peninsula. This refers to an alleged violation of citizens’ language, property and personal rights. The findings have apparently been made on the basis of discussions with a wide range of people, and the text produced as a result of the visit was handed to Vladimir Putin by Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a recent meeting between the Russian and Turkish presidents in Baku. The contents of this document will most likely be widely publicised and creatively developed during the II World Congress of Crimean Tatars set to take place in Ankara between 31 July and 2 August. The decision to hold the congress was made at the beginning of April following a meeting of Crimean Tatar organisations in Turkey unable to ignore the views of their host country’s authorities. As you know, attempts by Kiev, as well as the US and the European Union, to play the Crimean Tatar card has a fairly long history, but has not yet produced the desired result. All the same, during his visit to Ukraine in March, President Erdogan stated the need for the Crimean Tatar’s situation to be constantly monitored and the willingness of Ankara to continue including the issue on their agenda not just within the framework of bilateral contacts, but in any international format. In the same month, a Turkish delegation visited Crimea that included the deputy mayors of a number of cities, as well as business and community leaders: the first guests representing the official authorities of a foreign state to visit Russian Crimea. Recently, however, statements by Turkish leaders have been sailing close to the wind. Commenting on Vladimir Putin’s visit to Yerevan on 24 April 2015, for example, Mr. Erdogan sharply criticised Russia’s policy in Ukraine and Crimea, going so far as to compare it with the actions of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Kuwait. [Turkey] [Crimea] [Tatars] [Islam]
• Sanctions and the Birth of the New Russia
  F. William Engdahl I want to share my impressions from a recent visit to St. Petersburg where I was invited to speak on a panel titled “Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste.” The title is another version of the old Chinese proverb, “A crisis also presents new opportunities.” This is what is emerging today in the Russian Federation and radiating outwards across the broad expanse of Eurasia and into all Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. For want of a better term, I will call what is developing a New World Ordering. This is to differentiate it from George H.W. Bush’s US-dominated New World Order, proclaimed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in a speech on September 11, 1990 to the US Congress, where he declared, “Out of these troubled times, our…objective – a New World Order – can emerge…” Today it is clear that the New World Order of Bush was intended to take unscrupulous advantage of the disorder following the end of the Soviet Union to forge a unipolar world where one tiny group would dictate to the entire world its terms of existence. Pursuit of that has been the sole aim of the US foreign policy and their wars, fear campaigns, under three US presidents over the past quarter century since the end of the Soviet Union. It motivates the US-instigated civil war in Ukraine, in Syria, against China in the East China Sea, US covert backing for ISIS. It drives the US economic sanctions against Russia, sanctions which Washington has arm-twisted the EU into supporting, much to the detriment of the EU and their economies. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/06/25/sanctions-and-the-birth-of-the-new-russia/ [Resurgence]
• Anti-Russian Sanctions Can Cost EU Up to $114 Billion - Austrian Study
  04:53 19.06.2015(updated 08:42 19.06.2015) Get short URL A study by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research reveals that EU could lose up to €100 billion due to the anti-Russian sanctions if things remain unchanged. MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Union could lose up to €100 billion ($114 billion) due to the anti-Russian sanctions if things remain unchanged, a study by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research revealed Friday. Die Welt newspaper reported that the research, conducted exclusively for the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA), considered the worst-case scenario, if the sanctions remain in place. “If the situation does not change fundamentally, our most pessimistic scenario will come true,” one of the research authors Oliver Fritz was quoted as saying by Die Welt. According to the calculations, current political situation can also affect over 2 million EU jobs because of the declining exports. US Prepared to 'Increase Costs' on Russia With Further Sanctions In contrast to the analysts’ forecast, the European Commission said that the losses incurred by the European Union were “relatively small and manageable,” the newspaper points out. Since March 2014, the United States, European Union, and other western countries have sanctioned Russia’s banking, defense and energy sectors over its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow has repeatedly denied those allegations. In August, Moscow imposed a year-long food embargo on the countries that had sanctioned it. The decision on the extension of anti-Russian sanctions is due to be made next week at the meeting of EU foreign ministers. Moscow vows new countermeasures if the EU sanctions are kept. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [EU]
• Inside the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
  by Pepe Escobar The dogs of western fear and sanctions bark, while the Eurasian caravan passes. And no caravanserai could possibly compete with the 19th edition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Thousands of global business leaders – including Europeans, but not Americans; after all, President Putin is “the new Hitler” – representing over 1,000 international companies/corporations, including the CEOs of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total, hit town in style. Fascinating panels all around – including discussions on the BRICs; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); the New Silk Road(s); the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU); and of course the theme of all themes, “The Making of the Asia-Pacific Century: Rebalancing East,” with former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Predictably, there’s been plenty of anticipation regarding the BRICs New Development Bank, with big news coming next month at the BRICs summit in Ufa. Brazilian Paulo Nogueira Batista, the new vice-president of the bank, looks forward to the first meeting of the governors. And on another key theme — bypassing the US dollar — it was up to Anatoliy Aksakov, chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship, to cut to the chase; “We need to transition to conducting mutual settlements in national currencies, and we believe that all the conditions are already in place for this.” The action was not only rhetorical. Here’s just a fraction of the deals clinched at SPIEF. Predictably, it’s been a Pipelineistan show all around. [Resurgence]
• Dutch propose international tribunal to prosecute suspects in MH17 atrocity
  Netherlands discusses UN-backed court in order to encourage cooperation from Russia over shooting down of airliner over Ukraine Reuters Wednesday 24 June 2015 03.26 BST Last modified on Wednesday 24 June 2015 04.00 BST The Netherlands is discussing with its allies an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held eastern Ukraine last year, sources familiar with the discussions have told Reuters. The chance of a successful prosecution is considered slim at best but the Dutch still hope that, by pushing for a UN-style court with the backing of Western allies, they could pressure Russia, whose role in the process is critical, into cooperating. Of the 298 dead passengers and crew on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, two-thirds were Dutch. With the anniversary of the disaster looming on July 17, the government is under intense pressure to act from a public who mostly believe Russia either shot down the plane or supplied the rocket to those who did. Two sources in the Netherlands, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the legal and political complexities of the case had persuaded it to focus on creating an international court backed by the UN Security Council, once a multinational investigation finishes and suspects are named. [MH17] [Lockerbie]
• Russia, Saudi Arabia: New Turn in Relationship
  Boris Dolgov | 24.06.2015 | 00:00 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (born 31 December 1935), the King of Saudi Arabia, has accepted President Vladimir Putin's invitation to visit Russia, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman said on Thursday, June 18. The event may become a turning point in the relationship. The Prince said that his country considered Russia an important partner and recalled that the Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the Kingdom in 1926. Karim Khakimov, a well-known Soviet diplomat, an orientalist and expert on the Middle East, became the first ambassador to Saudi Arabia to greatly contribute into development of relations, reaching mutual understanding and learning each other’s history and traditions. [Russia Saudi Arabia]
• Leaked cables: Saudi Arabia & Russia traded votes for UNHRC seats
  Published on June 21, 2015 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by unwatch. Closed Saudi Putin By Hillel Neuer Now in its 29th session, we are asked by many to believe that the UN Human Rights Council is a serious, effective and credible body. Leaked Saudi cables, however, document what we knew all along: that despite the UNHRC’s official membership criteria — “the candidates’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto” — dictatorships strike backroom deals to elect each other onto the 47-nation body, in Kofi Annan’s words, “not to strengthen human rights but to protect themselves against criticism or to criticize others.” Amid the trove of Saudi diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks are at least a dozen that explain how the Saudis bought their seat with money, and by bartering their UN votes. [Saudi Arabia] [WikiLeaks] [Israel] [UNUS] [Russia confrontation] [Shill]
• Ukraine’s President Poroshenko Says Overthrow of Yanukovych Was a Coup
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, June 23, 2015 Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko requests the supreme court of Ukraine to declare that his predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown by an illegal operation; in other words, that the post-Yanukovych government, including Poroshenko’s own Presidency, came into power from a coup, not from something democratic, not from any authentic constitutional process at all. In a remarkable document, which is not posted at the English version of the website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, but which is widely reported outside the United States, including Russia, Poroshenko, in Ukrainian (not in English), has petitioned the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (as it is being widely quoted in English): “I ask the court to acknowledge that the law ‘on the removal of the presidential title from Viktor Yanukovych’ as unconstitutional.” [Ukraine] [Coup]
• Disparities limit the scope for a Sino–Russian strategic accord
  16 June 2015 Authors: Tom Lairson, Rollins College and Ilan Alon, University of Agder Does the geopolitical relationship between China and Russia portend a major shift in global relations? Many observers focus on the similarities in these nations as the basis for expectations of a deepening relationship. But, despite some commonalities, Russia and China are unlikely to develop more than a tactical and limited relationship. Vladimir Putin has spent much of the past 15 years reshaping Russia’s relationship to a global system dominated by liberal Western capitalist states. The domestic system of kleptocracy in Russia permits only a shallow integration with this system, limited to trade and oil-related investment. By contrast, China is now deeply integrated into the global capitalist system, based on a globally competitive economy and effective political system. The Russian system of government under Putin is predatory and organised to generate large gains to a tiny elite. Approximately 35 per cent of Russia’s national wealth is controlled by 110 extremely rich Russian oligarchs, with very close connections to the state. The system has been held together through an ideology of rabid nationalism, intense xenophobia, the appearance of democracy and economic growth fuelled by high oil prices. [China Russia] [Russia confrontation]
• US hopes Russia may change direction when Vladimir Putin is gone
  US defence secretary Ash Carter speculates that Russia may be more ‘forward-looking’ after its current president has moved on Associated Press Monday 22 June 2015 02.52 BST Last modified on Monday 22 June 2015 03.00 BST US defence secretary Ash Carter said the US and Nato needed a “strong but balanced” approach to Russia, and he questioned whether Moscow’s “backward-looking” aggressive behaviour would change while President Vladimir Putin remains at the helm. Speaking to reporters traveling with him to Europe on Sunday, Carter said he couldn’t be certain Putin would change direction, so allies must use a two-pronged approach that works with Russia on some issues while also girding to deter and respond to Moscow’s aggression. “The United States at least continues to hold out the prospect that Russia, maybe not under Vladimir Putin, but maybe sometime in the future, will return to a forward-moving course, rather than a backward-looking course,” said Carter, just before arriving in Berlin. [Russia confrontation] [Putin] [Wishful thinking]
• Has Washington Gone Looney Tunes?
  F. William Engdahl P434234234Given a series of recent speeches by leading US officials and actions, the question must be frankly posed: Has Washington gone collectively looney tunes? Even as the governments of the EU are moving to buck US pressures and ease the sanctions, the Obama Administration seems intent on marching in the direction of a nuclear confrontation with Russia. As the ancient Greek expression puts it, “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad…” The following recent developments fit that pattern quite nicely, thank you. On June 5, Ashton Carter, the neo-conservative Obama Defense Secretary gave clear indications he is prepared to be far more provocative against Russia than his fired predecessor, Chuck Hagel. Carter convened a special meeting in Stuttgart, Germany of two dozen US military leaders and US Ambassadors in Europe at the headquarters of US European Command. He told them, “We have something that has taken a sad turn recently, which is Russia.” That in itself was not so notable as were the reports that the neo-con US Defense Secretary, “Ash”—that is his nickname, appropriately enough—Carter discussed at the Stuttgart meeting returning US short-range nuclear missiles to European NATO countries to target Russia. [Russia confrontation] [[Tactical nuclear weapons]
• The “Denial” of US Military Aid to Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Battalions. The Conyers-Soho Amendment
  By George Eliason Global Research, June 19, 2015 Last week Congressmen John Conyers and Soho’s stance against providing weapons to Ukrainian nazi battalions should have been lauded by Americans because they stood up for our American values. The Ukrainian reaction to the amendment they attached on the support bill denying money to neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine provides the most telling look into Ukrainian nationalist politics the west has seen so far. Kiev is “cleaning up” a few of the neo-nazi punisher groups many journalists including myself have been writing about over the 1 ½ years. This small admission that the torture, rape, sodomy, and murder of innocent civilians is geared to show their “democratic values.” In true Ukrainian nationalist fashion, they still give medals to the most egregious perpetrators and make examples that give photo ops for the press service. [Ukraine] [Nazism] [Congress]
• U.S. House Passes 3 Amendments By Rep. Conyers To Defense Spending Bill To Protect Civilians From Dangers Of Arming and Training Foreign Forces
  WASHINGTON— Late yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives considered H.R. 2685, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2015.” During consideration of the legislation, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congressman Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) offered bipartisan amendments to block the training of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary militia “Azov Battalion,” and to prevent the transfer of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles—otherwise known as Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS)—to Iraq or Ukraine. “If there’s one simple lesson we can take away from US involvement in conflicts overseas, it’s this: Beware of unintended consequences. [Ukraine] [Nazism] [Congress]
• Putin Takes Credit for Dodging ‘Deep Crisis’ as Slump Deepens
  by Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer June 19, 2015 — 11:45 PM NZST Updated on June 20, 2015 — 12:12 AM NZST President Vladimir Putin gave himself credit for avoiding the “deep crisis” that faced Russia last year as tumbling oil prices combined with sanctions over Ukraine to push the economy into decline. “It hasn’t happened,” Putin said Friday in his annual address to investors at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, his premiere business event of the year. “We stabilized the situation.” Putin, 62, is facing the biggest challenge of his rule as he juggles the fallout of a pro-Russian rebellion in Ukraine with the country’s first recession in six years. The Kremlin said yesterday experts will study a proposal by a close ally to move up presidential elections now slated for March 2018, a move that could extend Putin’s 15-year rule while his approval rating continues to hover above 80 percent. The economic woes are being exacerbated by the continued conflict in Ukraine, which has provoked the worst confrontation between Russia and the U.S. and its allies since the Cold War. European Union governments have struck a preliminary agreement to extend economic sanctions against Russia by six months until the end of the year, two officials from the 28-member bloc said. Gross domestic product contracted 2.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the first drop since 2009 and down from a previous estimate of 1.9 percent. The economy of the world’s largest energy exporter may shrink for two years in a row for the first time under Putin if oil stays at $60 through 2016, according to the central bank. U.S. Boycott Top U.S. oil and banking executives avoided the showcase event in Putin’s hometown for the second year in a row under pressure from the Obama administration, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [Economic warfare] [Public opinion]
• West Changes Policy Towards Russia
  Dmitry Minin | 17.06.2015 | 00:00 The West has taken practical steps to punish Russia for its independent foreign policy with corresponding changes to be inserted into its strategy. The research works of London-based Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, normally reflect the general trends in evolution of thinking in Anglo-Saxon world and beyond. Two former ambassadors to Russia - Sir Roderic Lyne and Sir Andrew Wood - cooperate with the Institute as associate fellows. The think tank has recently made public its Russian Challenge report which states that Ukraine is one of many reasons to reappraise the policy towards Russia as the gap between it and the rest of the world continues to get wider. The authors believe that until 2003, it was widely believed that a modernizing Russia might be accommodated into the international system as a constructive and benign actor. Variations on this view have given way to the realization that Russia, on its present course, cannot be a partner or ally, and that differences outweigh any common interests. What exactly happened in 2003 to make British strategists view Russia in a different light? Back then Moscow did not support the invasion of Iraq by US-UK forces. It is widely believed nowadays, including the public opinion in America and Britain, that the operation was undertaken as a result of false evidence and led to negative results. But to be recognized by the West as «benign and constructive», one should be ready to support its actions, no matter how reckless, or even criminal, they could be. The steps undertaken by Moscow to reach armistice in Ukraine are considered as the beginning of «improvement» process. But it’s not enough. The report emphasizes the need for power change in Russia according to the scenario tried in Ukraine. Those in Russia who advocate mending fences with the West should not expect that life in the country would become a bed of roses in case the relationship improves. Nobody in the West wants the country to achieve progress. To the contrary, Western states strive to weaken Russia as much as possible. The authors note that to pursue its goals and achieve its objectives the West should be better prepared for any further deterioration in relations with Russia. Vladimir Putin must not be accommodated for fear that any successor would be even worse. This accommodation has already failed. Whether the present leadership endures or is prematurely replaced, the way ahead will be complex and potentially turbulent. [Russia confrontation] [Iraq]
• Why Is Washington Still Pushing for War With Russia?
  Despite today’s vote in the House to bar US funding to a neo-Nazi Ukrainian militia, the “war party” continues to rattle its sabers over Ukraine. James Carden June 11, 2015 On Wednesday the US House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act which prohibits the United States from providing arms, training, and other assistance to the neo-Nazi Ukrainian militia, the Azov Battalion. This development was a welcome respite from the relentless push by the war party, a bipartisan group of legislators, government officials and their allies in the media, which seek conflict with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, to undermine Secretary of State John Kerry’s diplomatic outreach to Russia in May. Only a month ago, May 12, Kerry, after having met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over four hours, stood with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference in Sochi where he expressed “President Obama’s gratitude for Russia’s willingness to engage in this discussion.” Reacting to reports that Ukrainian President Poroshenko had pledged to retake rebel held territory by force, Kerry warned that Washington “would strongly urge him to think twice not to engage in that kind of activity.” [Russia confrontation] [Hardliners]
• Could This New Group Stop the Rush to Cold War?
  The Committee for East-West Accord is back—here’s why. James Carden June 8, 2015 Last week’s launching of the American Committee for East-West Accord was an important step in the nascent movement against what many are now calling a new Cold War between the United States and Russia and their increasingly dangerous confrontation over Ukraine. The committee’s launch is of particular moment since the fragile Minsk II Accords, perhaps the best hope for a negotiated settlement of the crisis, have come under renewed assault. Indeed, many observers think that the Ukrainian crisis is on the verge of entering a new and more protracted phase with the potential to further inflame East-West relations. The American Committee for East-West Accord is a nonpartisan, tax-exempt educational organization of American citizens who are deeply concerned about the possibility of a new and prolonged cold war between the United States/Europe and Russia, including a renewed nuclear arms race. [Russia confrontation] [NCW] [Peace effort] [Doves]
• China and Russia step up cooperation in Central Asia
  9 June 2015 Author: Uma Purushothaman, Observer Research Foundation The growing Sino–Russian partnership is evidence that the Western policy of isolating Russia has failed. The policy has only served to push Russia deeper into Chinese arms. Russia and China are planning to increase their engagement in Central Asia and will coordinate their policies in the former Soviet territories in Eurasia. As Russian President Vladimir Putin took the salute at the 70th Victory Day celebrations commemorating Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on 9 May 2015, at his right stood Chinese President Xi Jinping. While the celebrations were boycotted by most Western countries, 102 Chinese soldiers participated in the Russian Victory Day parade. In his speech after the parade, Putin noted that China was the main battlefield in the Asian resistance against militarism in World War II. Sino–Russian ties have grown much closer since the Ukraine crisis. China, unlike the West, did not openly criticise Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis. In 2014, Russia and China signed ambitious oil and gas deals worth billions of US dollars. Military cooperation between the two countries has increased. Trade has grown to around US$88 billion. And their cooperation in multilateral forums and on global issues is strengthening. During the Victory Day celebrations, Xi and Putin signed two joint statements. These statements reflect their growing commonality of views on the situation in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Iran and North Korea. They have ‘agreed to coordinate more closely our joint efforts to help resolve the most serious global and regional problems. These include the Syrian crisis, the Iranian nuclear program, achieving non-nuclear status on the Korean Peninsula, and strengthening stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region’. While this statement was expected, the second joint statement was surprising. China has expressed support for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) being pushed by Russia. The two countries have decided to create a dialogue mechanism for integrating China’s One Belt, One Road initiative and the EAEU. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been designated as the body to coordinate between the two initiatives. [China Russia]
• Why the Bear is Back: Russian Military Presence in Vietnam
  By Rakesh Krishnan Simha Global Research, June 15, 2015 Russia-Vietnam ties that seemed to be cooling after the end of the Cold War are warming up all over again. More than 20 years after Moscow abandoned its largest foreign base, Russian military aircraft are once again welcome visitors at Cam Ranh Bay. The renewed Russian presence in Vietnam has predictably set the alarm bells ringing in the Pentagon, with the Commander of the US Army in the Pacific confirming that Russian strategic bombers circling the massive American military base in Guam are being refuelled at Cam Ranh Bay. On March 11 Washington wrote to Hanoi, requesting that the Vietnamese authorities not assist Russian bomber flights in the Asia-Pacific. The Vietnamese reaction was to remain publicly silent. According to Phuong Nguyen of the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies, “From the perspective of many Vietnamese officials who fought against the United States during the war, Moscow helped train generations of Vietnamese leaders and supported Hanoi during its decades of international isolation.” Nguyen adds: “Few things are more vital to Vietnam than an independent foreign policy. Given Vietnam’s complex history, its leaders do not want their country to be caught between major powers again. Anything that resembles U.S. interference in Vietnam’s dealings with Russia could unnecessarily aggravate this fear.” Although the Vietnamese consider the US an increasingly important partner in Southeast Asia, it’s Russia that tops the pecking order. [Russia Vietnam]
• 'Things have started to improve': Moscow residents share thoughts on the city's changes
  From cycling infrastructure to public spaces, how do Moscow’s residents feel about the city’s urban renewal projects? Here they share their stories Saturday 13 June 2015 11.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 13 June 2015 16.42 BST The ‘Moscow experiment’ has seen the city undergo renewal efforts over the last five years to improve liveability. But what do Moscow’s residents really think about the changes? We asked you to share your stories of life in the Russian capital, and reflect on whether Moscow is changing for better or worse. The city centre may be seeing improvements in infrastructure and public space, but what about the suburbs? How involved have local citizens been in the changes? And what does the future hold for Moscow? We’ve rounded up a selection of your GuardianWitness contributions, comments and emails, which reveal the everyday experiences of Moscow’s transformations:
• U.S. Is Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe
  By Eric Schmitt and Steven Lee Myers June 13, 2015 Stryker vehicles from the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment took part in a military exercise in Riga, Latvia. Credit Oksana Dzadan/Associated Press RIGA, Latvia — In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say. The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine have caused alarm and prompted new military planning in NATO capitals. [Russia confrontation] [Escalation] [Inversion]
• Noam Chomsky: After Dangerous Proxy War, Keeping Ukraine Neutral Offers Path to Peace with Russia
  Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author. He is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught for more than 50 years. His forthcoming book, co-authored with Ilan Pappé, is titled On Palestine. The recent ceasefire in Ukraine continues to hold after a shaky start, days after Secretary of State John Kerry publicly accused Russian officials of lying to his face about their military support for separatist rebels. The United Nations says the death toll from the nearly year-old conflict has topped 6,000. This comes as tens of thousands rallied in Moscow to honor the slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of authoritarian rule. "It’s fashionable in the United States and Britain to condemn Putin as some sort of distorted mind," says Noam Chomsky, but he notes no Russian leader can accept the current Ukrainian move to join NATO. He argues a strong declaration that Ukraine will be neutralized offers the path to a peaceful settlement. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Chomsky] [Swaddling]
• Russian Groups Crowdfund the War in Ukraine
  By Jo Becker and Steven Lee Myers JUNE 11, 2015 WASHINGTON — The Novorossiya Humanitarian Battalion boasts on its website that it provided funds to buy a pair of binoculars used by rebels in eastern Ukraine to spot and destroy an armored vehicle. Another group, Save the Donbass, solicits donations using a photograph of a mortar shell inscribed with its web address and the names of donors. Yet another, Veche, states that its mission is to “create modern, combat-ready” military units fighting Ukraine’s central government. These organizations are part of an online campaign that is brazenly raising money for the war in eastern Ukraine, using common tactics that have at least tacit support from the government of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Although they often portray their mission as humanitarian, most of the groups explicitly endorse the armed insurgency and vow to help equip forces in the two regions at the center of the fighting, Donetsk and Luhansk. An examination by The New York Times of the groups’ websites, social media postings and other records found more than a dozen groups in Russia that are raising money for the separatists, aiding a conflict that has killed more than 6,400 people and plunged Russia’s relations with the West to depths not seen since the Cold War. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation] [Public opinion] [Democracy] [Civil society]
• WPost Plays Ukraine’s Lapdog
  June 11, 2015 Exclusive: Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and Finance Minister Jaresko are on a U.S. trip to drum up weapons and money to crush the ethnic Russian resistance in the east – and they are finding a lapdog U.S. press that won’t ask them tough questions, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry There once was a time when the U.S. news media investigated U.S. imperial adventures overseas, such as Washington-sponsored coups. Journalists also asked tough questions to officials implicated in corruption even if those queries were inconvenient to the desired propaganda themes. But those days are long gone, as the Washington Post demonstrated again this week. On Wednesday, the Post’s editorial board had a chance to press Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk about the U.S. government’s role in the Feb. 22, 2014 coup that elevated him to his current post – after he was handpicked by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, who declared “Yats is the guy” in a pre-coup intercepted phone call. [Russia Confrontation] [Ukraine] [Media]
• NATO Publics Blame Russia for Ukrainian Crisis, but Reluctant to Provide Military Aid
  In Russia, Anti-Western Views and Support for Putin Surge
  By Katie Simmons, Bruce Stokes and Jacob Poushter June 10, 2015 Publics of key member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) blame Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Many also see Russia as a military threat to other neighboring states. But few support sending arms to Ukraine. Moreover, at least half of Germans, French and Italians say their country should not use military force to defend a NATO ally if attacked by Russia. A median of 39% among NATO publics say Russia is the main culprit in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. The pro-Russian separatists in Luhans’k and Donets’k (18%) are a distant second. Half say Russia is a major military threat to other neighboring nations. In response to the crisis, 70% among allied countries say Western countries should send economic aid to Ukraine. A majority (57%) also supports Ukraine becoming a member of NATO. [Russia confrontation] [Propaganda] [Public opinion] [Unintended consequences]
• FBI Versus FIFA: Playing Hard Ball With Soft Power
  by Diana Johnstone The FBI agents who broke the International Football Federation scandal in late May by getting a bunch of foreigners arrested in Switzerland are naturally convinced that their sole purpose is to combat corruption. American ideologues who advocate “R2P” – the “right and responsibility to protect” – have no doubt that U.S. armed intervention is a suitable way to protect human rights. Air Force officers who bomb people in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Yemen take it for granted that they are eliminating terrorism. After all, bad things like corruption, violations of human rights, terrorism, exist in the world. Wasn’t the United States of America created by the Founding Fathers, if not by God, to rid the world of bad things? FBI agents, mainstream editorialists, Air Force pilots, all enshrouded like space-walkers in the isolating cocoon of American self-righteousness, are not equipped to doubt their own good intentions. Trouble is, a growing majority of people in the world outside that cocoon definitely have their doubts. [FIFA] [Softwar] [Extraterritoriality] [Reserve]
• Swiss corruption investigators have pronounced their verdict on Ukraine (I)
  Alexander Donetsky | 11.06.2015 | 00:00 In May 2015, the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva published a major study on the state of corruption in Ukraine. They worked on this 180-page document from September 2013 until January 2014, based on material from previous years, and it is in many respects already outdated because of the drastically altered political situation in the country after the overthrow of the government. However, the study’s authors worked hard to identify the reasons why Ukraine has become the utterly corrupt state that it is today, and the investigators also looked into the history of how corrupt ties have developed in Ukrainian society. As to whether what they have described in their report has any relevance to the situation in today’s Ukraine, the authors are open about their doubts: «We had a long reflection about the pertinence to continue this report among the OCO staff and given the chaotic situation in the country, the large amounts of money, technical and human assistance, that are delivered by western countries to Ukraine, and the current level of corruption, violence and administrative chaos, we reached the conclusion that this report can bring some information that can be useful during this standpoint in time which policy makers, from any country, can rely on for organizing further judicial, political and anticriminal policies and administration».
• War and Peace in Donbass: The Reversal of Kerry’s Ukraine Statement Came from Obama, Not Nuland
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, June 10, 2015 When Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on May 15th contradicted her boss John Kerry’s statement of three days earlier, in which Kerry had warned Ukraine’s President Petro Petroshenko not to violate the Minsk II agreement, and not to invade Crimea, and not to re-invade Donbass, the source of this reversal was actually U.S. President Barack Obama, and not Victoria Nuland (as the State Department had reported). When I first noticed the contradiction as I reported on May 21st, Nuland’s statement on May 15th was being quoted by Ukraine’s Interfax News Agency, without any link to its U.S. source. I looked but didn’t right away find its U.S. source, but the official Ukrainian news agency would not quote a U.S. Government official falsely, and so I went with the story on that basis. Now that I have found the U.S. source in the full May 15th U.S. State Department press briefing in Washington, there can be little doubt that Nuland had actually been instructed by the White House to be quoted there as issuing this reversal of Kerry’s statement. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Nuland]
• Survey Points to Challenges NATO Faces Over Russia
  By Michael R. Gordon June 10, 2015 WASHINGTON — As NATO faces a resurgent Russian military, a substantial number of Europeans do not believe that their own countries should rush to defend an ally against attack, according to a comprehensive survey to be made public on Wednesday. NATO’s charter states that an attack against one member should be considered an attack against all, but the survey points to the challenges the alliance faces in trying to maintain its cohesion in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia. “At least half of Germans, French and Italians say their country should not use military force to defend a NATO ally if attacked by Russia,” the Pew Research Center said it found in its survey, which is based on interviews in 10 nations. Ivo H. Daalder, a former American ambassador to NATO and the president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said that after a quarter-century in which NATO worried little about defending its territory against Russia, “it will take a serious effort by the alliance to convince its public of the need to prepare for, deter and, if necessary, respond to a Russian attack.” [Russia confrontation] [Friction] [Public opinion]
• Russia Wields Aid and Ideology Against West to Fight Sanctions
  By Peter Baker and Steven Erlanger June 7, 2015 WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine that has pitted Russia against the West is being waged not just with tanks, artillery and troops. Increasingly, Moscow has brought to bear different kinds of weapons, according to American and European officials: money, ideology and disinformation. Even as the Obama administration and its European allies try to counter Russia’s military intervention across its border, they have found themselves struggling at home against what they see as a concerted drive by Moscow to leverage its economic power, finance European political parties and movements, and spread alternative accounts of the conflict. The Kremlin’s goal seems to be to sow division, destabilize the European Union and possibly fracture what until now has been a relatively unified, if sometimes fragile, consensus against Russian aggression. At the very least, if Russia can peel off even a single member of the European Union, it could in theory prevent the renewal later this month of economic sanctions that are scheduled to expire absent the unanimous agreement of all member states. President Obama arrived in Germany on Sunday for a Group of 7 summit meeting at which he plans to rally European allies to stand firm against Russia, especially as violence flares again in eastern Ukraine despite a shaky cease-fire. In the days leading up to his trip, both American and European officials publicly voiced concerns about President Vladimir V. Putin’s subterranean — and sometimes more overt — efforts to win allies in the West. [Russia confrontation] [Friction] [Destabilisation] [Double standards] [Response] [Sanctions]
• Russian officials say Fifa scandal will not affect 2018 World Cup preparations
  Privately, however, officials are concerned, with many in the country suggesting the US investigation into Fifa is part of an anti-Russia plot Shaun Walker, Alec Luhn and Mark Rice-Oxley in Moscow Wednesday 3 June 2015 17.24 BST Last modified on Wednesday 3 June 2015 19.22 BST Russian officials said the resignation of Fifa president Sepp Blatter would have no impact on their preparations to host the World Cup in 2018 and insisted there could be no question of revisiting the decision to hand Russia the tournament. “It’s not about Russia or Qatar, it’s about respect to football players,” deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich told the Guardian on Wednesday. “Any political interference into football affairs is illegal. Our preparations are going very well, much better than in some other World Cup countries. We have learned from them.” Also on Wednesday, a planned meeting of the 2018 organising committee was held in Rostov, the southern city from which Russia is accused of conducting its covert invasion of Ukraine in recent months, and which is also a 2018 host city. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation]
• Let's Take Away the 2018 World Cup from Putin's Russia
  Soccer sanctions can bite—just look at all the sponsors set to flee over Qatar’s corruption scandal—which makes the next World Cup in Moscow a perfect opportunity to apply real economic pressure over the annexation of Crimea. In the next few weeks, as the 2014 soccer World Cup is in full flow in Brazil, we should have proof of whether Qatar won its bid to host the 2022 soccer World Cup by means of good, old-fashioned bribery. If the answer is yes, there is every chance that the news will throw a malign shadow over the tournament in Brazil. Gaudy, dodgy FIFA, the governing body of world soccer whose operating methods are a permanent invitation to corruption, will have no dignified option but to strip host-nation status from Qatar and begin proceedings to confer it on another nation. This would be unprecedented, and enormously ugly, but the cup’s sponsors—Visa, Adidas, Sony, Coca-Cola, and others—are indicating that nothing else would satisfy them: A cup in Qatar would sully their brands. And yet, even as we grapple with the question of whether suitcases full of cash did the hosting trick for the Emirate, we ignore the equally pressing question of another controversial World Cup-in-waiting: that of 2018, in Russia. Compared with Qatar’s alleged transgressions—the grubby purchase of votes and favors—Russia is in full-scale breach of international law, having invaded and annexed the territory of a neighboring, sovereign state. If Russia is still in possession of Ukrainian territory in 2018, why should that country be entitled to host the World Cup? (With Vladimir Putin certain to be in power that year so long as he’s capable of drawing breath, it is almost certain that the expansionist nature of the Russian state will remain essentially unchanged.) [FIFA] [Russia confrontation] [Chutzpah] [Personalisation]
• Make No Mistake, the FIFA War is Not About Football or Corruption
  By Shobhan Saxena on 31/05/2015 The FBI’s move against seven FIFA officials on charges of corruption is seen by most countries as a desperate Western effort to isolate Russia and re-open the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. From Brazil to Russia: symbolic hand-over at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2014. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, stands between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in this grab from the official FIFA video of the event. Russia will host the 2018 Fifa World Cup. From Brazil to Russia: symbolic hand-over at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2014. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, stands between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in this grab from the official FIFA video of the event. Russia will host the 2018 Fifa World Cup. Rio de Janeiro: Forget the analogies about football being more important than life and religion. The Beautiful Game has always been all about politics among nations – on and off the pitch. And now, it’s reaching Cold War levels. On Friday, as soon as Sepp Blatter was elected president of the international football federation (FIFA) for another term, he was surrounded by African delegates, who shook his hands, hugged and kissed him. Then came the Asians followed by Latin Americans. Earlier, when Blatter delivered his victory speech – a breathless jumble of platitudes — delegates from Africa, Asia and Latin America, Russia and Oceania gave him a standing ovation. For a man who had been declared dead by the Western media just 24 hours ago, it was an incredible resurrection.
  While the Americans have their geopolitical games to play, the Europeans are concerned about power. Dependent on South America and Africa for football talent, and, increasingly Asia for TV audiences, the Europeans know they are losing control. “Europe wants to import all the labour from us because that gives them a global TV audience and lots of money. But they do not want to give us World Cups or share any power with us,” says an African delegate who voted for Blatter. Demonised in Europe and the US, Blatter remains popular outside the West because he took football where no other FIFA boss dared to. “The game is for the poor, not for the elite. And Blatter brought it to them in Africa, in Asia, and that’s why most of Africa and Asia voted for him,” Talal Badr, President of Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, told journalists on Saturday. “We don’t like governments to interfere with sports or federations. We don’t want these governments to control the results or impose on us where the game goes,” Badr added. [FIFA] [Blatter] [Russia confrontation] [Europe]
• Russia Gets Very Serious on De-dollarizing
  F. William Engdahl Russia is about to take another major step towards liberating the Ruble from the Dollar System. Its Finance Ministry just revealed it is considering issuing Russian state debt in Chinese Yuan. That would be an elegant way to decouple from the dependence and blackmail pressures from the US Treasury financial terrorism operations while at the same time strengthening the bonds between China and Russia–Washington’s worst geopolitical nightmare. Russian Deputy Minister of Finance, Sergei Storchak, announced that his ministry is making a careful study of what would be required to issue Russian bonds denominated in Chinese Yuan. The latest news is part of a long-term strategy between Russia and China that goes at the heart of American hegemony—the role of the dollar as the leading world central bank reserve currency. The dollar is used in some 60% of central bank reserves today. The second largest is the Euro. Now clearly China is carefully moving, as the world’s largest trading nation, to create its Renminbi or Chinese Yuan as another major reserve currency. That has huge geopolitical implications. So long as the US dollar is leading reserve currency, the world must de facto buy US dollar Treasury bonds for its reserves. That has allowed Washington to have budget deficits since 1971 when the dollar left the gold exchange standard. In effect, China, Japan, Russia, Germany—all trade surplus countries, finance Washington’s deficits that allow her to make wars around the world. It is a paradox that Russia and China at least, are determined to end as soon as possible. [Reserve] [Russia confrontation]
• Forget Sports: Geopolitics is Behind the FIFA Scandal As the War Against Russia Enters a New Front
  Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya | 05.06.2015 | 00:00 There is no question that there is a lot of corruption inside Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Bribes and behind the scene deals have been going on for decades. The sport federation is responsible for the most watch and popular sport in the world and is part of a lucrative business venture that has a lot of soft power and prestige attached to it. The scandal and arrests that have taken place in 2015, however, have nothing to do with corruption and everything to do with geopolitics. Welcome to the soccer/football front! FIFA has become another arena for the multi-spectrum war being fought by the US and its allies against countries like Russia. The energy and currency wars are now being augmented by a behind the scenes war at FIFA. Joseph Blatter or Sepp is a casualty of this war. As far back as 2005, Blatter has refused to get embroiled in Washington’s geopolitical chess game(s). Under him FIFA refused to surrender to the US Department of State’s demands that Iran’s team be blocked from participating World Cup 2006 or demands that Palestine not be admitted into FIFA. FIFA’s geopolitical offenses, however, may have reached a tipping point. [FIFA] [Softwar] [Russia confrontation] [Blatter]
• Make No Mistake, the FIFA War is Not About Football or Corruption
  By Shobhan Saxena on 31/05/2015 The FBI’s move against seven FIFA officials on charges of corruption is seen by most countries as a desperate Western effort to isolate Russia and re-open the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. From Brazil to Russia: symbolic hand-over at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2014. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, stands between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in this grab from the official FIFA video of the event. Russia will host the 2018 Fifa World Cup. From Brazil to Russia: symbolic hand-over at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2014. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, stands between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in this grab from the official FIFA video of the event. Russia will host the 2018 Fifa World Cup. Rio de Janeiro: Forget the analogies about football being more important than life and religion. The Beautiful Game has always been all about politics among nations – on and off the pitch. And now, it’s reaching Cold War levels. On Friday, as soon as Sepp Blatter was elected president of the international football federation (FIFA) for another term, he was surrounded by African delegates, who shook his hands, hugged and kissed him. Then came the Asians followed by Latin Americans. Earlier, when Blatter delivered his victory speech – a breathless jumble of platitudes — delegates from Africa, Asia and Latin America, Russia and Oceania gave him a standing ovation. For a man who had been declared dead by the Western media just 24 hours ago, it was an incredible resurrection. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation] [Softwar] [Blatter]
• Russian officials say Fifa scandal will not affect 2018 World Cup preparations
  Privately, however, officials are concerned, with many in the country suggesting the US investigation into Fifa is part of an anti-Russia plot Shaun Walker, Alec Luhn and Mark Rice-Oxley in Moscow Wednesday 3 June 2015 17.24 BST Last modified on Wednesday 3 June 2015 19.22 BST Russian officials said the resignation of Fifa president Sepp Blatter would have no impact on their preparations to host the World Cup in 2018 and insisted there could be no question of revisiting the decision to hand Russia the tournament. “It’s not about Russia or Qatar, it’s about respect to football players,” deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich told the Guardian on Wednesday. “Any political interference into football affairs is illegal. Our preparations are going very well, much better than in some other World Cup countries. We have learned from them.” Also on Wednesday, a planned meeting of the 2018 organising committee was held in Rostov, the southern city from which Russia is accused of conducting its covert invasion of Ukraine in recent months, and which is also a 2018 host city. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation]
• Let's Take Away the 2018 World Cup from Putin's Russia
  Tunku Varadarajan Soccer sanctions can bite—just look at all the sponsors set to flee over Qatar’s corruption scandal—which makes the next World Cup in Moscow a perfect opportunity to apply real economic pressure over the annexation of Crimea. In the next few weeks, as the 2014 soccer World Cup is in full flow in Brazil, we should have proof of whether Qatar won its bid to host the 2022 soccer World Cup by means of good, old-fashioned bribery. If the answer is yes, there is every chance that the news will throw a malign shadow over the tournament in Brazil. Gaudy, dodgy FIFA, the governing body of world soccer whose operating methods are a permanent invitation to corruption, will have no dignified option but to strip host-nation status from Qatar and begin proceedings to confer it on another nation. This would be unprecedented, and enormously ugly, but the cup’s sponsors—Visa, Adidas, Sony, Coca-Cola, and others—are indicating that nothing else would satisfy them: A cup in Qatar would sully their brands. And yet, even as we grapple with the question of whether suitcases full of cash did the hosting trick for the Emirate, we ignore the equally pressing question of another controversial World Cup-in-waiting: that of 2018, in Russia. Compared with Qatar’s alleged transgressions—the grubby purchase of votes and favors—Russia is in full-scale breach of international law, having invaded and annexed the territory of a neighboring, sovereign state. If Russia is still in possession of Ukrainian territory in 2018, why should that country be entitled to host the World Cup? (With Vladimir Putin certain to be in power that year so long as he’s capable of drawing breath, it is almost certain that the expansionist nature of the Russian state will remain essentially unchanged.) [FIFA] [Russia confrontation] [Chutzpah] [Softwar]
• What does Blatter's resignation mean?
  By Sumantra Maitra China.org.cn, June 4, 2015 Joseph Blatter, the Swiss septuagenarian, head of FIFA, recently invited a dozen journalists in a hurriedly convened press conference in his US$150-million headquarters, and resigned. The resignation came two days after he won an almost unopposed "election" process in FIFA, where his challenger, a Jordanian Prince, conceded in matter of hours. With this, the reign of Blatter came into an end, after 17 tumultuous and rollercoaster years, during which FIFA saw extreme expansion to over 190 countries, mostly in developing world. It also saw women's football being develop and spread at a glorious rate. FIFA became the largest sports federation in history. Unfortunately it also saw rampant corruption, nepotism and bribery under his watch. Scandals rocked FIFA like waves lashing into the beach. In fact, Blatter's untimely resignation, just immediately after his election win, comes on the heels of a U.S-led investigation into FIFA corruption, which saw seven of the highest ranking officials being swooped and arrested by Swiss police, from a posh hotel, at the behest of the Americans. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation]
• Fifa whistleblower Chuck Blazer: I took bribes over 1998 and 2010 World Cups
  • Blazer’s plea bargain revealed by United States Department of Justice • Blazer says he and others racketeered, took kickbacks and he avoided tax Owen Gibson in London and Paul Lewis in Washington Wednesday 3 June 2015 23.25 BST Last modified on Thursday 4 June 2015 08.02 BST An American former Fifa executive cooperating with the FBI on a major corruption inquiry has admitted that he and other members of the all-powerful executive committee were bribed in return for voting for South Africa’s bid for the 2010 World Cup. Chuck Blazer, a 70-year-old soccer chief, also admitted in the court facilitating the payment of a bribe relating to the 1998 World Cup in France. Blazer, an eccentric power broker for American soccer for decades, and a member of the Fifa executive committee for six years until 2013, made the admissions in testimony to a New York judge in 2013 which was made public on Wednesday. “I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup,” Blazer told the judge in a secret court session in November 2013. Blazer, whose decision to assist the FBI appears to have been a critical breakthrough for the investigation now engulfing world football’s governing body, has been assisting federal agents since. Formally entering a guilty plea during the hearing at New York’s eastern district court, Blazer told the judge his involvement in the acceptance bribes in connection with the South Africa bid began “in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011”. In a nod to a wider top-level conspiracy at Fifa, Blazer added: “My actions described above had common participants and results.” [FIFA] [Corruption] [Softwar]
• As FIFA allegations swirled, Clintons gave Qatar a stage — and legitimacy
  Clinton Global Initiative hosts Qatar officials in 2013(5:08) The Clinton Global Initiative welcomed Hassan Abdulla Al Thawadi of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee and Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiya of the Qatar National Food Security Program to discuss the 2022 World Cup at their 2013 annual meeting. (YouTube/Clinton Global Initiative) By Rosalind S. Helderman June 3 at 5:58 PM ? During the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2013 annual meeting, Bill Clinton called to the stage a former rival named Hassan Abdullah Al-Thawadi. Three years earlier, Al-Thawadi, a young Qatari businessman, had led his country’s successful effort to host the 2022 soccer World Cup, beating out, among others, a U.S. bid led by Clinton. Al-Thawadi and his countrymen had rejoiced after they were awarded the tournament in an auditorium in Zurich, while elsewhere in the room Clinton and his team stewed. Allegations that Qatar had bribed its way to the victory soon emerged, prompting an internal investigation by soccer’s governing body that had been going on for more than a year by the time of the CGI event. At the gathering, Clinton stood on stage as Al-Thawadi talked with pride about plans to use technology developed for Qatari soccer stadiums to cool greenhouses and feed the hungry. “We bid on the belief that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will act as a catalyst for positive change in Qatar, in the Middle East as well as beyond,” Al-Thawadi said in New York that September day, before posing for a picture with Clinton and another Qatari official, according to a video of the event posted online. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter, second from left, attend the 2010 World Cup for a soccer match between the United States and Algeria in Pretoria, South Africa. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters) For the Qataris, the moment offered a touch of Clinton-blessed legitimacy amid a brewing controversy. For the Clinton Foundation, it came with a major donation. A foundation official said the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee headed by Al-Thawadi “sponsored” the 2013 CGI event, a status that generally requires a donation of at least $250,000. [FIFA] [Corruption] [Unintended consequences]
• Misha Reinvented in Ukraine: Not Safe, But Stupid
  Retired tennis champion John McEnroe became famous for throwing tantrums and saying “You can NOT be SERIOUS!” in an anguished voice. What, therefore, should we say when we hear that former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, a fugitive from justice who is wanted on a multitude of charges in his homeland, has been recently appointed Governor of the Ukrainian region of Odessa? Politicians and law enforcement bodies in Georgia are fuming. This person pretended to be a “reformer” and then looted the country and murdered and tortured its citizens. The present Georgian government was elected on the simple platform of bringing him and his United National Movement (UNM) cronies to justice, and is coming under increasing public pressure because a number of them, Saakashvili included, are still at large. [Ukraine] [Georgia] [Saakashvili]
• Blatter Quits as FIFA President With Graft Probe Spreading
  by Tariq Panja and Alex Duff June 3, 2015 — 5:09 AM NZST Updated on June 3, 2015 — 8:11 AM NZST Sepp Blatter, the overlord of the world’s most popular sport, unexpectedly announced his intention to resign, bowing to a spreading corruption probe just four days after winning re-election. The 79-year-old said he will call a special congress sometime between December and March to elect his successor as president of FIFA, a position he has held since 1998. Blatter’s $1 billion-a-year empire started crumbling as soon as Swiss police acting on U.S. extradition requests roused senior officials from their beds in a luxury hotel last week. As his organization became the subject of a criminal investigation, support drained away. “Although the members of FIFA have given me a new mandate and re-elected me president, this mandate doesn’t seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football,” Blatter said Tuesday in Zurich. “I appreciate and love FIFA more than anything else and I only want to do the best for football and for FIFA, our institution.” FIFA called a surprise press conference. Blatter wore a dark suit and blue diagonal-striped tie with a FIFA pin in his lapel. He stood behind a podium after nametags for him and Domenico Scala, chairman of the FIFA audit and compliance committee, were removed, perhaps a precursor of what was to come. Controversial Tenure As president of FIFA, the French acronym for Federation Internationale de Football Association, Blatter’s tenure was marked by controversy, most recently surrounding the selection of Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Ultimately it was his undoing. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation] [Softwar]
• Russia and the CIS in 2014: A Rather Bad Year
  Andrew C. Kuchins After a fine start to 2014 for Russia with the Sochi Olympics, things quickly went rather bad. A collapsing oil price and Western sanctions after the annexation of Crimea crippled the ruble; a crisis in December left the currency’s value almost halved. Amid growing anxiety about Moscow’s intentions among its Central Asian neighbors, Russia is facing possibly its deepest economic crisis since 1998. Relations with Europe and the U.S. are worse than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. KEYWORDS: Russia, sanctions, Central Asia, security, China [Russia confrontation] [Inversion] [Agency]
• Sepp Blatter to resign FIFA presidency
  By Matt Bonesteel June 2 at 3:05 PM ? FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced he will resign after the organization elects a new leader at an “extraordinary congress.” His surprise resignation comes days after his reelection. (YouTube/FIFATV) In a stunning announcement made at a hastily called news conference Tuesday in Zurich, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he will resign after FIFA elects a new leader at an “extraordinary congress” that will be called by the organization’s executive committee. The election will be at least four months away, a FIFA official announced. FIFA’s next congress, at which such decisions usually are made, is not until next May in Mexico, but FIFA announced its desire to speed up the process in order to put the scandal in the past. [Who will succeed Blatter at FIFA?] “It is my deep care for FIFA and its interests, which I hold very dear, that has led me to take this decision,” Blatter said. Blatter was elected to a fifth term as FIFA president on Friday, two days after U.S. prosecutors indicted a number of FIFA officials on corruption charges and promised more indictments were likely, though Blatter’s name was not specifically mentioned. However, after Blatter’s announcement, news broke that he is being targeted by the FBI. [FIFA] [Softwar]
• ‘Human Rights’ and Soft Power in Russia
  Eric Draitser The news that Lyudmila Alekseyeva, head of the Russian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) the Moscow-Helsinki Group, will be returning to the Presidential Council for Human Rights, has been heralded by many in the liberal establishment in Russia as a victory for their cause. Indeed, as an adversary of President Putin on numerous occasions, Alekseyeva has been held as a symbol of the pro-Western, pro-US orientation of Russian liberals who see in Russia not a power seeking independence and sovereignty from the global hegemon in Washington, but rather a repressive and reactionary country bent on aggression and imperial revanchism. While this view is not one shared by the vast majority of Russians – Putin’s approval rating continues to hover somewhere in the mid 80s – it is most certainly in line with the political and foreign policy establishment of the US, and the West generally. And this is precisely the reason that Alekseyeva and her fellow liberal colleagues are so close to key figures in Washington whose overriding goal is the return of Western hegemony in Russia, and throughout the Eurasian space broadly. For them, the return of Alekseyeva is the return of a champion of Western interests into the halls of power in Moscow. Washington and Moscow: Competing Agendas, Divergent Interests Perhaps one should not overstate the significance of Alekseyeva as an individual. This Russian ‘babushka’ approaching 90 years old is certainly still relevant, though clearly not as active as she once was. Nevertheless, one cannot help but admire her spirit and desire to engage in political issues at the highest levels. However, taking the pragmatic perspective, Alekseyeva is likely more a figurehead, a symbol for the pro-Western liberal class, rather than truly a militant leader of it. Instead, she represents the matriarchal public face of a cohesive, well-constructed, though relatively marginal, liberal intelligentsia in Russia that is both anti-Putin, and pro-Western. There could be no better illustration of this point than Alekseyeva’s recent meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland while Ms. Nuland was in Moscow for talks with her Russian counterparts. Alekseyeva noted that much of the meeting was focused on anti-US perception and public relations in Russia, as well as the reining in of foreign-sponsored NGOs, explaining that, “[US officials] are also very concerned about the anti-American propaganda. I said we are very concerned about the law on foreign agents, which sharply reduced the effectiveness of the human rights community.” There are two distinctly different, yet intimately linked issues being addressed here. On the one hand is the fact that Russia has taken a decidedly more aggressive stance to US-NATO machinations throughout its traditional sphere of influence, which has led to demonization of Russia in the West, and the entirely predictable backlash against that in Russia. According to the Levada Center, nearly 60 percent of Russians believe that Russia has reasons to fear the US, with nearly 50 percent saying that the US represents an obstacle to Russia’s development. While US officials and corporate media mouthpieces like to chalk this up to “Russian propaganda,” the reality is that these public opinion numbers reflect Washington and NATO’s actions, not their image, especially since the US-backed coup in Ukraine; Victoria Nuland herself having played the pivotal role in instigating the coup and setting the stage for the current conflict. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/06/01/human-rights-and-soft-power-in-russia/ [Russia confrontation] [Softpower]
• Sovereignty, Sedition and Russia’s Undesirable NGOs
  F. William Engdahl
  On May 23, 2015 Russian President Vlaldimir Putin signed into law a new bill from the Duma that now gives prosecutors power to declare foreign and international organizations “undesirable” in Russia and shut them down. Predictably US State Department spokesperson, Marie Harf, said the United States is “deeply troubled” by the new law, calling it “a further example of the Russian government’s growing crackdown on independent voices and intentional steps to isolate the Russian people from the world.” Under the new law Russian authorities can ban foreign NGOs and prosecute their employees, who risk up to six years in prison or being barred from the country. The EU joined the US State Department in calling the law a “”worrying step in a series of restrictions on civil society, independent media and political opposition.” The George Soros-funded NGO, Human Rights Watch, condemned the law as did Amnesty International. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/05/31/sovereignty-sedition-and-russia-s-undesirable-ngos-2/ [NGO] [Subversion] [Softwar]
• Ukrainian Migrants Fleeing Conflict Get a Cool Reception in Europe
  By Rick Lyman May 30, 2015 Volodymyr Zelenyuk, 28, works at Ukrainian World. He and his wife fled their country, seeking asylum in Poland, where there are now an estimated 400,000 Ukrainians. Credit Maciek Nabrdalik for The New York Times WARSAW — Volodymyr Zelenyuk knew it was time to bolt when the pro-Russian separatists came to the carwash he owned in the eastern Ukrainian coal town of Antratsyt and demanded his help making and repairing weapons. “Either you help them, or you die,” Mr. Zelenyuk, 28, said. So he grabbed his wife, their passports, two backpacks and a credit card and fled across the nearby border into Russia, beginning a long trek to Crimea, Kiev and, finally, four months ago, to the Polish border where they begged for asylum. “I don’t know what I am going to do if I am refused,” he said. “But I can’t be too optimistic.” Since the conflict that erupted early last year in Ukraine, the flow of immigrants and asylum seekers from there into Poland and other European nations has steadily increased. But the countries have been wary about welcoming them too warmly. Poland, Germany, Italy and other favored destinations for Ukrainian asylum-seekers have overwhelmingly rejected their applications or delayed processing them. The nations, which are loath to open their borders to what could be yet another torrent of job-hungry immigrants, point to vast stretches of western Ukraine that the separatist conflict has not yet touched. [Ukraine] [Refugees]

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MAY 2015

• Fifa corruption: Sepp Blatter blasts US authorities over investigation
  Re-elected president of world football’s governing body suggests arrests were timed to interfere with Zurich congress, while IRS official warns of more charges Tom Lutz in New York, Owen Gibson in Zurich, Warren Murray and agencies Saturday 30 May 2015 06.02 BST Last modified on Saturday 30 May 2015 09.53 BST The re-elected Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has said he was “shocked” at the way US authorities targeted football’s world body and slammed what he called a “hate” campaign by Europe’s football leaders. In an interview with Swiss television, Blatter said he suspected the arrest of seven Fifa officials on Wednesday under a US anti-corruption warrant was an attempt to “interfere with the congress” on Friday at which he retained his post. Commenting on the fact that the arrests came only two days before his election, he told RTS: “I am not certain but it doesn’t smell good.” Blatter’s attack on corruption investigators came as authorities in the US warned of further charges in the Fifa bribery investigation and investigators in Argentina raided the offices of sports media companies. The Fifa president condemned comments made by US officials including the attorney general, Loretta Lynch, who said corruption in football was “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted, both abroad and here in the United States”. Blatter said of the remarks: “Of course I am shocked. I would never as Fifa president make comments about another organisation without being certain of what has happened.” Richard Weber – the chief of the US Internal Revenue Service unit in charge of criminal investigations and the man who accused Fifa officials of running a “world cup of fraud” when the arrests were announced – said late on Friday that he was “fairly confident” of another round of indictments in the criminal investigation. In Britain the Serious Fraud Office has said it is “actively assessing material in its possession” regarding the Fifa allegations. “We strongly believe there are other people and entities involved in criminal acts,” Weber was quoted as saying in the New York Times, which added that Weber would not identify the remaining targets of the US investigation or say whether Blatter was among them. Blatter, in the Swiss interview, noted that the US had lost the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and England, another major critic, lost the 2018 World Cup to Russia. He said the US was the “number one sponsor” of Jordan, home of his unsuccessful challenger for the the Fifa presidency, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation]
• Will Moscow and Riyadh Get Closer?
  Nikolai Bobkin | 30.05.2015 | 10:50 The Islamic State has made public the plans to divide Saudi Arabia into five parts. For years the Kingdom has been calmly watching the terrorist group wreak havoc and commit acts of mass murder in Syria and Iraq. Now it looks like the situation is going through changes. 250 Islamic State militants have been arrested in the country during the recent two months. The majority of them come from Saudi Arabia. It means the Islamic States has crossed the Saudi border. Soon the radicals will fill the group’s ranks to strengthen its presence in the Kingdom. Under the circumstances Russia has come up with an initiative to join efforts countering the contemporary threats and challenges, especially those that come from international terrorists such as the Islamic State and other radical groups. Russia wants Saudi Arabia, a leading Arab state, to be its partner. It’s ready for a dialogue. Will Riyadh meet Moscow half way? This April new Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Russia Abdulrahman al-Rassi presented his credentials. “Even brothers may disagree,” he said at the ceremony. His appointment gives hope for improvement of bilateral relations. In an interview (1) he avoided the issue of Syria which is an apple of discord. Russia has no questions to ask concerning this problem, it’s all clear - Saudi Arabia has applied great efforts to support the armed opposition, it has recognized the coalition as a legitimate government and inspired military intervention against Damascus. The Ambassador expressed concern over Iran which promotes instability in many states. Saudi Arabia sides with Israel on the issue of Iranian nuclear program, the both states refuse to discuss peace with Tehran. Tel Aviv and Riyadh don’t trust US President Obama; they do their best to prevent the Geneva talks from succeeding. Saudi Arabia does not approve the Moscow’ decision to sell S-300 air defense systems to Iran. According to Russia’s view, the delivery of S-300 is the best way to protect the Iranian air space and thus prevent a new conflict in the region. Saudi Arabia believes the deal will tip the balance in favor of Iran. [Saudi Arabia]
• US Cries FIFA Foul to Penalise Russia
  Finian Cunningham | 28.05.2015 | 20:08 The saying goes: don’t mix politics and sport. That is exactly what the United States’ authorities seem to be doing over this week’s dramatic arrests of World Cup officials and allegations of rampant fraud amounting to $150 million. The ostensible American concern is to clean up the tarnished image of the «beautiful game» in a global sting operation, which saw the arrest of seven senior members belonging to FIFA – the international federation that organises the quadrennial soccer World Cup finals. But the real goal of the full-frontal assault on FIFA, which involved dawn raids at a five-star hotel in Swiss city Zurich, seems more to do with American political purpose to damage Russia’s World Cup plans. That objective has to be seen in the context of Washington’s aim to isolate and destabilise Moscow in an ongoing geopolitical battle that is currently centred on Ukraine. Russia is to host the world’s biggest sporting tournament in 2018. The event carries huge prestige for the host country giving an enviable spotlight for millions of television viewers around the world to showcase modern infrastructure and national prowess. There is also the inestimable «soft power» that comes with consolidating friendly international relations by welcoming football teams and fans from over 30 nations. Russia already availed of such benefits in its successful hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which Western leaders sought then to spoil by boycotting that event over unconvincing human rights concerns. [FIFA] [Russia confrontation]
• U.S. Pressures Nobel Committee to Declare Ukraine’s President a Peace Prize Nominee, Leaked Letter
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, May 29, 2015 A leaked letter dated May 19th and sent by the Chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Vladimir Groysman, to the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Oslo Norway, thanks her for “the efforts you have made to have Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize,” but continues: “Still we consider your assurances of support by the two members of the Nobel Committee as insufficient,” because there are five members of the Committee, and the support of 3 of them is necessary. Thus, “We expect further efforts aimed at shifting the position of Berit Reiss-Andersen, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn and especially that of the Chair of the Nobel Committee Kaci Kullman Five. Regarding the latter, we recommend that you take advantage of the information you are going to receive from Germany. Your colleagues in Berlin have assured us that the dossier will soon be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Oslo. It is of utmost importance for Mr. Poroshenko to have firm guarantees that he will be awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, since it could highlight the unanimous support of Ukrainian integrity by the democratic community of the world. Assistant Secretary of State Viktoria Nuland has highly estimated your job during her visit to Kyiv.” The three mentioned Nobel Peace Prize Committee members are a politically varied group. Ms. Reiss-Andersen is from the social democratic or “Labour” party; Ms. Ytterhorn is from the libertarian or “Progress” party; and Ms. Five is from the Conservative Party. The two unidentified members are Thorbjørn Jagland from the Labour Party, and Henrik Syse from the Conservative Party. If this letter is correct, those are the two who are referred to by the letter’s phrase, “your assurances of support by the two members.” The letter also makes a vague reference to the poor reputation that the Committee has engendered on account of the Committee’s having granted the Prize to Barack Obama in 2009 (a decision that the Committee’s Chairperson, Ms. Five, concurred with and has been criticized for): “We understand the difficulties you face when promoting the candidacy of the President of Ukraine, therefore we ask you to exert additional leverages by engaging those U.S. Senators who effectively cooperated with the Committee in 2009.” Presumably, this means that whomever “those U.S. Senators” were, the Chairman of Ukraine’s parliament thinks that they were “effective.” President Poroshenko entered office on 25 May 2014 after a U.S.-sponsored coup in Kiev that installed Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Ukraine’s Prime Minister on 26 February 2014, after the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Asian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, had instructed the U.S. Ambassador in Kiev on 4 February 2014 to get “Yats” appointed as the junta’s leader; she issued that instruction to him by phone on February 4th and the coup occurred on February 22nd; Yatsenyuk was then appointed on February 26th, and he remains in power today. [Nobel] [Ukraine] [Softwar]
• Afghan Insurgency Spreading North
  Afghanistan comes to the fore of Central Asian agenda. The situation has greatly exacerbated in the northern Afghan provinces. General John F. Campbell, the commander of the Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces - Afghanistan and the last commander of the International Security Assistance Force, spoke during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 23, 2015. According to him, the Islamic State group is actively recruiting in the country but is not yet operational there. General Campbell said the group’s sophisticated social media campaign was attracting Taliban fighters based in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a result, many were pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group. «We don’t want it to continue to grow», he said, adding that efforts were being made to ensure its presence did not reach levels similar to Syria and Iraq. «In fact, Taliban and Daesh are reportedly fighting each other», the General said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. «It is absolutely a concern». This statement will hardly smooth worries away especially in view that nothing is done to rectify the situation as events unfold unfavorably for those who oppose the Islamic State. Until recently it had been widely believed that the central authorities in Kabul were fighting the Taliban. Now a third belligerent emerged. Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, has said that the presence of Daesh, or the Islamic State, is growing. According to him, the group plans to seize control of Central Asia and then move to Russia. The efforts to fight the Islamic State in Afghanistan are not enough to counter the threat. True, the Taliban and the Islamic State don’t join forces; to the contrary they fight each other. But it should not give rise to illusions. Many Taliban fighters join the ranks of the Islamic State. It’s hard to say how many of them have already changed sides but it’s evident that the Islamic State recruiting efforts have been a success so far. This January the Islamic State anointed a former Taliban leader, known as Hafiz Saeed Khan, as their new overload in southern Asia and the sub-continent. Saeed, who is also known as Mulla Saeed Orakzai, was appointed the leader of a new group called IS Khorasan, an offshoot of Abu Bakhr al-Baghdadi's militant group which spans Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh, as well as some parts of Central Asia. The installation of Saeed, a former Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), automatically makes him one of the most powerful warlords in the Middle East. Other groups have also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, for instance: The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). [Afghanistan] [ISIS]
• Russia and the Two Koreas: Old Friends, New Partners?
  . . Date & Time: Thu, 06/11/2015 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm Russia and the Two Koreas: Old Friends, New Partners? Location: KEI Conference Facility 1800 K Street NW Suite 1010 Washington, DC 20006 Speakers: Dr. Georgy Toloraya | Director of the Center for Asian Strategy, Russian Academy of Science Moderated by: Nicholas Hamisevicz | Director of Research and Academic Affairs, Korea Economic Institute of America Description: Greater focus has been placed on the North Korea-Russia relationship as both countries find themselves isolated from their neighbors. The attention would have been even greater if Kim Jong-un would have attended Russia’s World War II celebration as initially rumored. Regardless, Russia is continuing to reach out to both Koreas. Potential projects for greater engagement, especially with railways and pipelines, are ways Russia hopes to improve its position internationally while also fostering better inter-Korean relations in order to prevent a potential crisis that could negatively affect Russian interests on the Korean Peninsula. Join KEI as it hosts Dr. Georgy Toloraya, Director of the Center for Asian Strategy at the Russian Academy of Sciences as he discusses his thoughts on Russia’s foreign policy toward the two Koreas and its priorities for a peaceful Korean peninsula in the future.
• Operation Unthinkable – Allies Were Bearing Secret Malice
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 25.05.2015 | 00:00 In late May 1945 Josef Stalin ordered Marshall Georgy Zhukov to leave Germany and come to Moscow. He was concerned over the actions of British allies. Stalin said the Soviet forces disarmed Germans and sent them to prisoners’ camps while British did not. Instead they cooperated with Germans troops and let them maintain combat capability. Stalin believed that there were plans to use them later. He emphasized that it was an outright violation of inter-government agreement that said the forces surrendered were to be immediately disbanded. The Soviet intelligence got the text of secret telegram sent by Winston Churchill to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, the commander of British forces. It instructed to collect the weapons and keep them in readiness to give back to Germans in case the Soviet offensive continued. According to the instructions received from Stalin, Zhukov harshly condemned these activities speaking at the Allied Control Council (the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France). He said the world history knew few examples of such treachery and refusal to observe the commitments on the part of nations that had an allied status. Montgomery denied the accusation. A few years later he admitted that he received such an instruction and carried it out. He had to comply with the order as a soldier. A fierce battle was raging in the vicinity of Berlin. At his time Winston Churchill said that the Soviet Russia became a deadly threat to the free world. The British Prime Minister wanted a new front created in the east to stop the Soviet offensive as soon as possible. Churchill was overwhelmed by the feeling that with Nazi Germany defeated a new threat emerged posed by the Soviet Union. [Cold War] [Russia confrontation] [1945]
• US has Launched a New Assault Against Russia
  If someone had the impression that the visit of Secretary of State John Kerry to the town of Sochi, followed by negotiations with Victoria Nuland, his deputy in Moscow, could be regarded as first steps in the direction of normalization of US-Russian relations, they would be deeply mistaken. In short, Washington, particularly the Obama administration, is trying to solve its problems at the expense or rather with the help of Russia, to ensure the victory of Hillary Clinton in the upcoming elections. However, the United States continues to apply pressure on Russia, using a variety of different strategies. Special attention is now paid to Syria and the weakened regime of Bashar al-Assad in the face of a new armed assault against Damascus. The attempts to trade the support of Syria for a number of concessions on Ukraine and Crimea allegedly made by John Kerry failed. Then Americans attempted blackmail, which is the strategy of choice for Washington in the countries that resist its dictate. On May 19 the Russian embassy in Syria was shelled by militants, presumably Jaysh al-Islam, which resulted in one of the shells exploding in the main building of the diplomatic mission. Fortunately, there was nobody there in the room destroyed by the explosion. Immediately after the attack the State Department swiftly condemned this act of terrorism. But we all are well aware of the fact that the “southern front” operating in the suburbs of the Syrian capital is controlled by Jordan with a certain amount of US assistance, unlike the “northern front” guided by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The shelling of the Russian embassy – is clearly a signal to Russia that it should abandon its support of the Syrian regime. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/05/22/us-has-launched-a-new-assault-against-russia-2/
  So the latest maneuvers of American diplomacy – is nothing but a smokescreen designed to hide the true intentions of the Obama administration. Washington’s strategic goal remains the same – to weaken Russia by all means necessary and break it apart from those countries which are engaged in cooperation with Moscow. Therefore there’s no trusting US promises or even reaching deals with them. All this smooth-talking is a mere trap in the hope that Russian pro-Western liberals might convince President Putin that the White House is sincere. But US think tanks have missed one thing – “Ukrainian lessons” have not been lost on the Kremlin. [Russia confrontation]
• Wars and Displaced Persons Camps in Ukraine and in Haiti
  by Roger Annis While in Moscow three weeks ago, following a media tour to Donetsk, eastern Ukraine in which I participated, I had the pleasure of meeting Jon Hellevig, a regular writer at Russia Insider. Jon was in Donetsk a few weeks before our group, thanks to the efforts of the same Russian/German citizen group, Europa Objektiv, which organized our tour. The second of Jon’s articles about his trip was published on April 21 and is titled, ‘Donbas endures’. The article describes one of the settlements in Russia of war refugees from eastern Ukraine. It is located across the border from southeastern Ukraine, on the road to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. It’s also on the shoreline of Sea of Azov, prompting an evocative sub-title in Jon’s article: ‘Fleeing the bombs in eastern Ukraine to a room with a sea view’. Our group visited the same settlement several weeks later. [Ukraine] [Refugees]
• Author: F. William Engdahl Russia Turkey and the New Greek Sirtaki
  The European Union has an uncanny knack for shooting itself in the foot these days. Under strong pressure from a Russo-phobic Washington administration and various Russo-phobic EU governments, Brussels last year decided to take steps to block the bilateral agreements between Russia’s state Gazprom and EU countries such as Greece and Bulgaria to buy gas from a new Russian pipeline that was to have been called South Stream, the southern counterpart to the Gazprom-Germany North Stream line. For the neoconservatives in the Obama State Department and Pentagon, that would have forged far too strong EU-Russia economic ties that would significantly weaken America’s ability to blackmail the EU. The EU Commission is brazenly violating all legal precepts by trying to enforce, retroactively, new laws that they claim Gazprom has violated. Further they forced the weak government of Bulgaria last year to back out of their Gazprom contract. Washington’s Russo-phobes were gloating as they fantasized about getting a nuclear deal with Russia’s ally Iran that could woo Teheran to double-cross Moscow and sell Iranian gas from South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, via another pipeline through to Iran’s city of Bazargan at the border with Turkey where it would transit Turkey on to Greece and Italy. Unlike the failed US Nabucco gas project which lacked gas, the Persian Pipeline, were Iran to be foolish enough to let Washington control it, would have gas, lots of it to weaken Russia’s hold on EU gas markets that were previously supplied via Gazprom via older Ukraine pipelines. [Russia Confrontation] [Pipeline]
• Skipping Victory Day in Moscow West Unwillingly Made Russia and China Get Much Closer
  Dmitry Minin | 20.05.2015 | 10:46 The news that Western leaders skipped the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9 hit the radar screen. Chinese leader Xi Jinping was at the top of the guest list. Did they pull a boner? It has become the most frequently asked question in the United States and Europe. Claire de Morsier of French Le Temps wrote that ignoring the Moscow festivities was tactless and even dangerous. According to her, the attempts to humiliate Russia only strengthen anti-Western and nationalist feelings in the country. In its comments on the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the military parade Newsweek wrote that it was the event «some analysts have described as a "Nixon Goes to China" moment in reverse». Benny Avni of the New York Post wrote, «…our Western European allies, who stayed away from the parade. Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, did not. He was seated quite comfortably right next to Putin. Xi waxed poetically about the historical Russian-Chinese alliance since fighting together in WWII.» To sum things up he added, «Politicians periodically talk of a «new American century.» Let’s hope the 21st won’t turn into the Sino-Russian century instead». There is ground for coming to this kind of conclusions. The West does its best to confirm the fact. Educated people in the West have heard at least something about the role of the Soviet Union. But they know nothing about the China’s contribution into the Second World War. Americans and Europeans are dead sure that the United States fully shouldered the burden of war against Japan. In reality the Soviet Union was the country that bore the brunt of war effort against the countries of «axis» in Europe. The contribution of China and the USSR was decisive in the effort to achieve victory in Asia. The striving for historic veracity is one of the things that unite Russia and China. There is no doubt Russian President Vladimir Putin will be the main guest at the Victory Day celebrations to be staged in Beijing on September 3. Western leaders are expected to be there too. Putin will pay tribute to great contribution of Chinese people into the victory. [China Russia] [WWII] [Victory Day Parade]
• Back to old tactics: US envoy tweets ‘Russian BUKs in Ukraine’ with pic of Moscow show
  | 24.04.2015 | 22:42 US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has claimed that Russia’s military is continuing to expand its presence in eastern Ukraine. As for proof, Pyatt posted a two-year-old picture of an air defense system from an air show near Moscow. “This is the highest concentration of Russia air defense systems in eastern Ukraine since August,” the ambassador tweeted, attaching a picture of BUK-M2 missile defense system apparently taken at the International Aviation and Space Show MAKS-2013, which actually took place just outside Moscow. Twitter users lashed out at Pyatt’s post – which he wrote in Ukrainian – implying that the diplomat deliberately used a fake image. This is not the first time Pyatt was caught posting seemingly deceptive images on his Twitter account. Last September, he was showing off the ongoing US-Kiev military exercises in Ukraine. The pictures he provided turned out to be outdated. In a more recent incident, Pyatt posted on Twitter what he said were satellite photos proving there are Russian artillery systems stationed near the town of Lomuvatka, Ukraine, about 20 kilometers northeast of Debaltsevo. In response, the Russian Ministry of Defense said the claims by the ambassador were“crystal ball gazing.” “We have failed to understand how those grainy dark patches in the photos published by US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt on his Twitter feed could prove anything,” Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry stated. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation] [Disinformation]
• Poland: Presidential Election Goes to Second Round. Why Pawel Kukiz Angers Adam Michnik?
  Valéry Vrublevsky | 18.05.2015 | 00:00 A second round of Polish presidential election is scheduled on May 24. An IBRiS poll on May 14 showed Andrzej Duda ahead with the backing of 48% and his challenger incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski supported by 43,2% with 6,9% undecided. The gap is growing as Andrzej Duda got 34, 76% of the vote in the first round of election while Komorowski won 33, 77%. One of the key stories from the first round vote was the success of Pawel Kukiz, 52, a former rock singer and political novice, who finished a surprising third with more than 20, 8%. Looks like his electorate will decide who wins the run-off election. According to Polish media, just two months before the first vote there were only two men working on his staff to organize the election campaign. They worked in a three-room apartment in the provincial town of Lubin. There was nothing there but a telephone. The candidate joined the race penniless. A week passed and he could count on the help of thousands of volunteers. In two and a half months Kukiz had over a million zloty in his bank account. Rzeczpospolita quotes one of team members «Before the race started they had thought we were nothing more than freaks fighting the established system». [Poland]
• US Blinks in Face-Off with Russia
  Finian Cunningham | 18.05.2015 | 00:00 Last week started with US Secretary of State John Kerry coming to Russia to lay a wreath for the millions of Soviet soldiers who gave their lives in the historic defeat of Nazi Germany. Then the week ended with Kerry’s deputy at the State Department, Victoria Nuland, flying to Moscow to meet Russian officials to discuss implementation of the Minsk ceasefire in Ukraine. Nuland’s was the second high-level political delegation from Washington to Russia in less than seven days. Before Kerry’s attendance at the war memorial in Sochi, it was reportedly two years since a senior American official had set foot on Russian territory. That’s what you might call «America blinking first» in its high-stakes and reckless face-off with Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Recall that only a short while ago Russia was being painted as a global security threat on par with the ISIS terror network, according to US President Barack Obama. [Russia confrontation] [Dialback]
• Putin says Ukraine being overrun by fascists - and he may be right
  Kiev has now handed the Kremlin "evidence" for Putin’s claim that Russia is facing off against fascists. Ukrainians greeted the Nazis as liberators during the Second World War. (photo credit:Courtesy) As Ukraine continues its battle against separatists, corruption and a collapsing economy, it has taken a dangerous step that could further tear the country apart: Ukraine’s parliament, the Supreme Rada, passed a draft law last month honoring organizations involved in mass ethnic cleansing during World War Two. The draft law - which is now on President Petro Poroshenko’s desk awaiting his signature - recognizes a series of Ukrainian political and military organizations as “fighters for Ukrainian independence in the 20th century” and bans the criticism of these groups and their members. (The bill doesn’t state the penalty for doing so.) Two of the groups honored - the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) - helped the Nazis carry out the Holocaust while also killing close to 100,000 Polish civilians during World War Two. [Nazism] [Ukraine]
• Kerry in Sochi: Ukraine’s 15 minutes of fame is probably over
  Bryan MacDonald is an Irish writer and commentator focusing on Russia and its hinterlands and international geo-politics. Follow him on Facebook Published time: May 13, 2015 01:32 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft (L) watches at the presidential residence of Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Russia May 12, 2015 (Reuters / Joshua Roberts) John Kerry’s Sochi meetings with Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov hardly dissolved years of mistrust between Washington and the Kremlin. However, they probably signaled the end of Ukraine’s period as a global cause célèbre. In 1968, at an art exhibition in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, the celebrated artist Andy Warhol was the star attraction. In the programme notes he wrote that “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” What was probably a throwaway comment for the painter has become an internationally renowned catchphrase. While the modern art icon was being grandiloquent, it’s amazing how many non-entities manage to attain his prophesied quarter-hour, or even much more than that. Read morePotatoes for Kerry: Russian FM keeps up gift exchange traditions Warhol, born Warhola, had ancestral ties to both Slovakia and Ukraine. It’s fair to say that the latter has proven his theory repeatedly over the past 18 months. It’s actually incredible how a country that is relatively economically and culturally insignificant has managed to hijack the news agenda for so long. Nevertheless, it’s finally clear that Ukraine’s 15 minutes are over. John Kerry didn't travel to Sochi because he fancied an early summer jaunt to Russia’s tourist showpiece. He flew to the Black Sea pearl to do business. Serious business. By doing so, he signaled that Washington is finally prepared to leave the Ukraine crisis behind and re-engage with Russia on other matters more pressing to humanity. There are deeper headaches than the future of a corrupt, critically divided, failed state on Europe’s edge. Minsk, Minsk and more Minsk? Kerry’s joint press conference with Sergey Lavrov was more notable for what he didn’t say than what he did mention. The Secretary of State spoke about the Middle East and the Minsk agreement. He didn’t refer to Crimea, nor did he bluster about “Russian troops” in Donbas. Indeed, Kerry made it clear that the only solution to Ukraine crisis is Minsk, Minsk and more Minsk. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• What if Putin is Telling the Truth?
  On April 26 Russia’s main national TV station, Rossiya 1, featured President Vladimir Putin in a documentary to the Russian people on the events of the recent period including the annexation of Crimea, the US coup d’etat in Ukraine, and the general state of relations with the United States and the EU. His words were frank. And in the middle of his remarks the Russian former KGB chief dropped a political bombshell that was known by Russian intelligence two decades ago. Putin stated bluntly that in his view the West would only be content in having a Russia weak, suffering and begging from the West, something clearly the Russian character is not disposed to. Then a short way into his remarks, the Russian President stated for the first time publicly something that Russian intelligence has known for almost two decades but kept silent until now, most probably in hopes of an era of better normalized Russia-US relations. Putin stated that the terror in Chechnya and in the Russian Caucasus in the early 1990’s was actively backed by the CIA and western Intelligence services to deliberately weaken Russia. He noted that the Russian FSB foreign intelligence had documentation of the US covert role without giving details. What Putin, an intelligence professional of the highest order, only hinted at in his remarks, I have documented in detail from non-Russian sources. The report has enormous implications to reveal to the world the long-standing hidden agenda of influential circles in Washington to destroy Russia as a functioning sovereign state, an agenda which includes the neo-nazi coup d’etat in Ukraine and severe financial sanction warfare against Moscow. The following is drawn on my book, Amerikas’ Heilige Krieg. [Russia confrontation] [Destabilisation] [Chenchnya] [Outsourcing] [CIA]
• From Cooperation to Competition - The Future of U.S.-Russian Relations
  Monday, May 18, 2015 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Russian aggression in 2014 caught U.S. policy and strategy off guard, forcing reactive measures and reevaluation of U.S. policies towards Russia. Russia used nonlinear approaches and operated just beneath traditional thresholds of conflict to take full advantage of U.S. and NATO policy limitations. In light of this strategic problem, members of the Carlisle Scholars Program at the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) conducted a wargame which revealed four key considerations for future policy and strategy . This panel presentation will present the findings from that wargame. The views presented by the panelist are their own and should not be implied to be those of their sponsoring service, the U.S. Army or the U.S. Army War College.
  Panel discussion by: COL Gert-Jan Kooij Royal Netherlands Army LTC Karen L.T. Briggman U.S. Army LTC Joseph E. Hilbert, Jr U.S. Army Lt Col Christopher T. Lay U.S. Air Force Dr. James C. McNaughton Department of the Army Civilian Moderated by: Andrew Kuchins Director and Senior Fellow CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program [Russia confrontation] [Conflict]
• Why I Wept at the Russian Parade
  F. William Engdahl
  Something extraordinary just took place in Russia and it may have moved our disturbed world one major step nearer to peace and away from a looming new world war. Of all unlikely things, what took place was a nationwide remembrance by Russians of the estimated 27 to perhaps 30 million Soviet citizens who never returned alive from World War II. Yet in what can only be described in a spiritual manner, the events of May 9, Victory Day over Nazism, that took place across all Russia, transcended the specific day of memory on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945. It was possible to see a spirit emerge from the moving events unlike anything this author has ever witnessed in his life. The event was extraordinary in every respect. There was a sense in all participants that they were shaping history in some ineffable way. It was no usual May 9 annual show of Russia’s military force. Yes, it featured a parade of Russia’s most advanced military hardware, including the awesome new T-14 Armata tanks, S-400 anti-missile systems and advanced Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets. It was indeed impressive to watch. The military part of the events also featured for the first time ever elite soldiers from China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army marching in formation along with Russian soldiers. That in itself should shivers down the spines of the neoconservative warhawks in the EU and Washington, had they any spines to shiver. The alliance between the two great Eurasian powers—Russia and China—is evolving with stunning speed into a new that will change the economic dynamic of our world from one of debt, depression, and wars to one of rising general prosperity and development if we are good enough to help make it happen. During his visit, China’s President XI, in addition to his quite visible honoring of the Russian Victory event and its significance for China, met separately with Vladimir Putin and agreed that China’s emerging New Silk Road high-speed railway infrastructure great project will be integrated in planning and other respects with Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union which now consists of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia with several prospective candidates waiting to join. While it may seem an obvious step, it was not at all certain until now. The two great Eurasian countries have now cemented the huge oil and gas deals between them, the trade deals and the military cooperation agreements with a commitment to fully integrate their economic infrastructure. Following his meeting with Xi, Putin told the press, “The integration of the Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road projects means reaching a new level of partnership and actually implies a common economic space on the continent.” It’s Zbigniew Brzezinski’s worst geopolitical nightmare come to fruition. And that, thanks to the stupid, short-sighted geopolitical strategy of Brzezinski and the Washington war faction that made it clear to Beijing and to Moscow their only hope for sovereign development and to be free of the dictates of a Washington-Wall Street Sole Superpower was to build an entire monetary and economic space independent of the dollar world. [Victory Day Parade]
• Kim Yong Nam Meets Russian President
  Moscow, May 9 (KCNA Correspondent) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, met President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the Grand Kremlin Palace on Friday. He visited Russia to take part in the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War. Kim Yong Nam conveyed warm greetings from supreme leader Kim Jong Un to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Putin expressed deep thanks for this and asked Kim Yong Nam to convey his sincere greetings to Kim Jong Un. Kim Yong Nam courteously handed over a personal letter from Kim Jong Un to Putin. Putin expressed deep thanks for the personal letter. Kim Yong Nam and Putin exchanged views on boosting the friendly relations between the DPRK and Russia, which are entering into a new higher stage, in various fields including politics, economy and culture. [Russia NK]
• In Talks With Merkel, Putin Calls for Improving Relations With Europe
  By Neil MacFarquhar MAY 10, 2015 Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Vladimir V. Putin on Sunday, a day after Western leaders boycotted a Victory Day event. Credit Pool photo by Maxim Shipenkov MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin used a visit on Sunday by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to call for a return to normal relations with Europe, brushing aside the widespread boycott by Western leaders of the huge Victory Day parade on Red Square a day earlier. “We do face some problems today, but the sooner we can end their negative impact on our relations, the better it will be,” Mr. Putin told Ms. Merkel at the start of their talks, after both leaders laid large bouquets of red flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier along the Kremlin wall.
  The mood among ordinary Russians was either perplexed that Western leaders stayed away or defiance that Russia could go it alone. Russians have long felt that despite the differences between the Soviet Union and the West, marking the victory over Germany was the one time that they could set aside any differences. One veteran, Stanislav Prokofievich, 86, leaning heavily on a cane, said he was part of the parade a decade ago when President George W. Bush attended. “Bush was sitting in the front row with the president. Why isn’t Obama here today?” Mr. Prokofievich said. “What happened? What is his problem?” [Victory Day Parade] [Germany] [Russia confrontation] [Blowback]
• Stephen Cohen: How America Misremembers Russia’s Central Role in World War II
  Nation in the News on May 6, 2015 - 1:00 PM ET Stephen Cohen, contributing editor at The Nation, joined The John Batchelor Show on Tuesday to revisit the popular narrative of American exceptionalism in World War II. As Moscow prepares to celebrate Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Cohen urged listeners to reject Washington’s attempt to “spoil” the 70th anniversary. “We have the Saving Private Ryan American narrative of World War II,” said Cohen. “I read often…that the liberation of Europe was Eisenhower’s achievement. This is historically untrue…America won the war in the Pacific and Soviet Russia won the war in Europe.” The conversation raised important questions about historical memory and how the 27 million USSR dead are remembered in both Russia and the United States. Emphasizing the magnitude of the loss, Cohen remarked, “At least 60 percent of every Soviet family lost a member of the nuclear family—mom, dad, daughter, son—in the war. It meant that millions of children grew up without ever knowing their fathers.”
  International participation in the holiday has been under intense scrutiny amidst the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Last week, the White House said that President Obama will not be in attendance. According to Cohen, “The decision not to go by Washington and EU leaders is a grave mistake, because it won’t be forgotten or forgiven in Russia for a very long time.” [Victory Day Parade] [Russia confrontation] [Blowback]
• So, what was Kim Jong Un doing over the weekend if he was too busy to go to Moscow?
  By Anna Fifield May 11 at 4:44 AM ? An undated picture released May 11 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a recently remodeled trout farm in the North Korean Kangwon Province. (EPA/Rodong Sinmun) Defying predictions he would make his first foreign trip since becoming leader of North Korea more than three years ago, Kim Jong Un stayed home this past weekend instead of going to the “Victory day” celebrations in Moscow. He couldn’t attend, the Kremlin said, because he had “internal matters” to deal with. So, what were those pressing internal matters? Well, the tightly-controlled North Korean state press reports that Kim was indeed busy at home. Visiting fish and cattle farms are important, after all. [Kim Jong Un] [Media] [Victory Day Parade]
• No More Regurgitation from the Moscow Times
  by John Helmer Moscow. The Moscow Times, a small English-language daily outlet for a string of foreign causes since 1992, has been sold by its Finnish owner, Sanoma. The new Russian owner, Demyan Kudryavtsev, told the newspaper on Tuesday he won’t be closing it down, but will be changing what it does. He told a Moscow Times interviewer the publication has “huge potential”, but that it is behind the times technologically, and failing to meet the needs of consumers. The asset value of the paper has not been disclosed by Sanoma, which announced that “ it will book at the closing a non-recurring capital gain of around EUR 8 million before currency translation adjustment.” If Sanoma swapped title for debt, this may mean that no cash changed hands. Positive value in the deal on the buyer’s side was limited to Sanoma’s 33.3% stake in Delovoi Standard, the Cyprus publisher of business daily Vedomosti, plus what Sanoma calls “its United Press portfolio of titles”. These include Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and National Geographic. Sanoma doesn’t identify the value of the assets counted separately. In its analysis of the deal, the Moscow media have omitted to mention of the Moscow Times. Vedomosti remains part-owned by Rupert Murdoch and by Pearson, owner of the Financial Times. The Moscow Times claims a circulation of 35,000 and a million monthly internet hits. Neither number has been verified; neither produces audited revenue. In its transaction announcement Sanoma included the Moscow Times among “more than 50 publications and projects with a cumulative readership about 12 million and about 25 percent share of the glossy advertising market.” That suggests the Moscow Times was of negligible value in readers; less in money. Jon HellevigJon Hellevig (right), a Finnish national and Moscow-based lawyer and financial advisor, has commented that it’s good riddance to Sanoma. “Finland’s rabidly anti-Russian propaganda media group – calling for sanctions and war against Russia – is losing readers and advertisers, and making heavier and heavier losses. Many [Finns] say that they have stopped subscribing because they cannot stand to open the paper to a fresh load of hate propaganda every day. “ [Media] [Russia confrontation]
• Obama’s Petulant WWII Snub of Russia
  Russia will celebrate the Allied victory over Nazism on Saturday without U.S. President Obama and other Western leaders present, as they demean the extraordinary sacrifice of the Russian people in winning World War II – a gesture intended to humiliate President Putin. by Ray McGovern President Barack Obama’s decision to join other Western leaders in snubbing Russia’s weekend celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe looks more like pouting than statesmanship, especially in the context of the U.S. mainstream media’s recent anti-historical effort to downplay Russia’s crucial role in defeating Nazism. Though designed to isolate Russia because it had the audacity to object to the Western-engineered coup d’état in Ukraine on Feb. 22, 2014, this snub of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – like the economic sanctions against Russia – is likely to backfire on the U.S. and its European allies by strengthening ties between Russia and the emerging Asian giants of China and India. Notably, the dignitaries who will show up at this important commemoration include the presidents of China and India, representing a huge chunk of humanity, who came to show respect for the time seven decades ago when the inhumanity of the Nazi regime was defeated – largely by Russia’s stanching the advance of Hitler’s armies, at a cost of 20 to 30 million lives. Obama’s boycott is part of a crass attempt to belittle Russia and to cram history itself into an anti-Putin, anti-Russian alternative narrative. It is difficult to see how Obama and his friends could have come up with a pettier and more gratuitous insult to the Russian people. German Chancellor Angela Merkel – caught between Washington’s demand to “isolate” Russia over the Ukraine crisis and her country’s historic guilt in the slaughter of so many Russians – plans to show up a day late to place a wreath at a memorial for the war dead.
  The irony is that as the cameras pan the various world leaders in the Red Square reviewing stand on Saturday, Obama’s absence will send a message that the United States has little appreciation for the sacrifice of the Russian people in bearing the brunt – and breaking the back – of Hitler’s conquering armies. It is as if Obama is saying that the “exceptional” United States didn’t need anyone’s help to win World War II. President Franklin Roosevelt was much wiser, understanding that it took extraordinary teamwork to defeat Nazism in the 1940s, which is why he considered the Soviet Union a most important military ally. President Obama is sending a very different message, a haughty disdain for the kind of global cooperation which succeeded in ridding the world of Adolf Hitler. Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. During his career as a CIA analyst, he prepared and briefed the President's Daily Brief and chaired National Intelligence Estimates. He is a member of the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). [Russia confrontation] [Victory Day Parade]
• Russia and China Sign Cooperation Pacts
  By Andrew Rothmay 8, 2015 MOSCOW — On the eve of a celebration commemorating to the defeat of Nazi Germany, the presidents of Russia and China on Friday signed 32 bilateral agreements designed to highlight the warming of relations between the countries even as Russia’s have soured with the West. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China presided over a signing ceremony that included a road map to balancing their regional interests in Central Asia, secured more than $6 billion in Chinese investment in a Russian intercity rail line and established an information security agreement heralded as a “nonaggression pact” between the countries in cyberspace. Related Coverage [China Russia]
• A warning from the generals of the former GDR: "Haven’t the recent US/NATO wars brought enough grief ?"
  Die Junge Welt May 6, 2015 May 7, 2015 Translated from German by Tom Winter Translator's note: News of this warning from the generals of the former DDR has been all over the European press. Here is the actual document. Documented: The leadership of the former East German Forces warns of war and calls for cooperation rather than confrontation with Russia As military personnel who held responsible positions in the DDR armed forces, we have turned to the German public in great concern over the maintenance of peace and the survival of civilization in Europe. In the years of the Cold War, in which we lived through long stretches of confrontation and militarization right up to the edge of open conflict, we employed our military expertise for the maintenance of peace and the protection of our socialist German Democratic Republic. The National People’s Army was not involved for a single day in armed conflict, and in the events of 1989-90 it played a leading role in seeing to it that no arms came into use. Peace was always the number one maxim of our dealings. And that is why we firmly oppose using the military factor as an instrument of policy. Experience makes clear that the burning questions of our time are not to be solved by military means. It is worth remembering that the Soviet Army bore the brunt of the demolition of fascism in the Second World War. Alone 27 million Soviet citizens gave their lives for this historic victory. We owe them, and the allies, our gratitude here on this 70th anniversary of the liberation. Now we note that war has again become mankind’s constant companion. The new world order run by the US and her allies has in recent times led to wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Sudan, in Libya and Somalia. About two million people are victims of these wars, and millions have become refugees. Now the vents of war have reached Europe. It is plain to see that the US strategy is to eliminate Russia as a competitor and to weaken the EU. In recent years NATO has crept ever closer to Russia’s borders. With the attempt to put Ukraine into NATO, the cordon sanitaire would be locked in from the Baltic States to the Black Sea, in order to isolate Russia from the rest of Europe. By the American planning, any German-Russian alliance would be difficult or impossible. [Russia confrontation]
• European War Games: Responses to Russian Military Drills
  Analysis May 5, 2015 | 20:03 GMT Several events have coincided to demonstrate the dynamic, if not guarded, relationship between Russia and the Nordic and Baltic states. Ten NATO countries and Sweden launched a two-week planned exercise in the North Sea on May 4 to improve their anti-submarine warfare capabilities. On the same day, Finland — not a NATO member — began mailing letters to about 900,000 reservists informing them of their roles in a potential crisis situation. Meanwhile, Sweden's Foreign Ministry formally complained to Russian authorities that Russian navy ships were disrupting cable-laying work in waters between Sweden and Lithuania, the latest in a series of formal complaints over Russia's activity in the area. Concurrently, the Swedish and Lithuanian foreign ministers met with Moldova's pro-West leaders in Chisinau. All of these events confirm that the Nordic and Baltic states are working to boost security cooperation in response to Russia's military activity in the region. Consequently, the security buildup will continue — on both sides. [Russia confrontation] [Military exercises] [Inversion]
• The Economic Price of the Soviet Victory in the Great Patriotic War
  Valentin Katasonov | 06.05.2015 | 00:01 The West continues to disavow the USSR’s momentous contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany and her satellites. But there is documentary proof that can refute any speculation on this subject. Suffice it to point to the economic price of the victory won by the people of the Soviet Union. The war caused an astronomical level of financial damages to the USSR. On Nov. 2, 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree establishing the Extraordinary State Commission for Identifying and Investigating Crimes Perpetrated by the German–Fascist Invaders and Their Accomplices, and the Damage Inflicted by Them on the Citizens, Collective Farms, Social Organizations, State Enterprises, and Institutions of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. After the war, that commission published the following statistics: the German-Fascist invaders and their accomplices razed 1,710 towns and more than 70,000 villages and hamlets, depriving approximately 25 million people of shelter. They destroyed about 32,000 factories, 84,000 schools and other educational institutions, and demolished and looted 98,000 collective farms.1In addition, they destroyed 4,100 railway stations, 36,000 communications facilities, 6,000 hospitals, 33,000 outpatient clinics, treatment centers, and infirmaries, 82,000 primary and secondary schools, 1,520 specialized high schools, 334 institutions of higher education, 43,000 libraries, 427 museums, and 167 theaters. In the agricultural sector, seven million horses, 17 million head of cattle, and tens of millions of pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry were appropriated or killed. The country’s transportation infrastructure endured the wreckage of 65,000 kilometers of rail lines and 13,000 railway bridges, and in addition 15,800 steam- and gasoline-powered locomotives, 428,000 rail cars, and 1,400 ships were destroyed, severely damaged, or stolen. German firms such as Friedrich Krupp AG, Reichswerke Hermann Göring, Siemens-Schuckert, and IG Farbenindustrie pillaged the occupied territories of the Soviet Union. The material damages inflicted on the Soviet Union by the Nazi invaders were equal to approximately 30% of the country’s national wealth, and that number rose to 67% in the areas under occupation. [WWII]
• Forget Tanks. Russia’s Ruble Is Conquering Eastern Ukraine
  Yulia Surkova and Daryna Krasnolutska 9:00 AM NZST May 5, 2015 As a wobbly cease-fire keeps eastern Ukraine’s warring factions apart, Russia’s ruble is conquering new territory across the breakaway republics. In Donetsk, the conflict zone’s biggest city, supermarkets have opened ruble-only checkout counters to serve the fighters in camouflage lining up along pensioners. Bus and tram tickets come with a conversion from Ukraine’s hryvnia to the Russian currency. Gas-station workers are paid in rubles because that’s what their rebel customers use to fuel their armored jeeps. “There are no problems in shops, they all accept rubles,” said Natalya, 36, a hairdresser buying groceries for her parents, who declined to give her surname for fear of reprisals. “They don’t always have small change, but they can give you chewing gum or a cigarette lighter instead.” The ruble’s creeping advance shows how the troubled regions are slipping further from the government’s grasp, even as a peace accord brokered by Germany, France and Russia calls for the nation of more than 40 million to remain whole. Separatist officials haven’t yet made their currency plans clear. The precedent in ex-Soviet countries from Georgia to Moldova shows that similar shifts can help entrench pro-Russian insurgents. [Ukraine] [Ruble]
• Putin ratifies Russia-China gas deal
  Xinhua, May 3, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday ratified a gas supply agreement with China via the so-called Eastern route. "The agreement is aimed at strengthening the Russian-Chinese energy cooperation, and defines the main terms of the natural gas supply from Russia to China through the East-Route, including the cross-border section of the gas pipeline across the Amur River (the Heilongjiang River in China) near Blagoveshchensk (capital of the Amur region in the Russian Far East) and China's border city of Heihe," an online official statement said. The agreement was passed on April 24 by parliament's lower house, or the State Duma, and approved by the upper chamber namely the Federation Council five days later. During Putin's official visit to China last May, the two sides signed a 30-year gas supply contract that will see the East-Route Pipeline start providing China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018. Putin also signed on Saturday another agreement into law, approving the establishment of the BRICS currency reserves pool. The consensus of the five BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to build such a joint pool was announced in 2013. Last July, Putin hailed the proposal of the currency reserves pool as one of the practical steps "intended to strengthen international financial architecture and to make it more balanced and just." [Gas]
• Modern Nazism as the Driving Force of Euro-Atlantic Integration
  Pyotr Iskenderov | 01.05.2015 | 00:00 The growth of Nazism that has taken place in Europe over the last few years, the increased activities of fascist groups, the cultivation of fascist ideology at the level of individual state leaders, and the repeated attempts to revise the outcome of the Second World War all have deep-rooted causes. At the heart of this phenomenon is the desire of the Western architects of a ‘new world order’ to use modern Nazism as an instrument of European integration, which has already more or less merged with Euro-Atlantic integration. In practice, this takes the form of mobilising public opinion in individual countries and entire regions under the slogans of Euro-Atlantism and Russophobia, and attempting to provoke opponents into a response in order to shift the blame for destabilising the situation onto them. These methods were first tried out in the 1990s on a collapsed Yugoslavia. At that time, the gamble was on nationalist and openly fascist parties and organisations in Croatia to begin with, then in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, finally, among Kosovo Albanians. They were assigned the role of a catalyst for anti-Serb sentiment. This was the first level of using Nazism in the geopolitical interests of the West. The transition to the second level took place following the logical reaction of Belgrade, which was declared to be the manifestation of a Serbian ‘empire’. This allowed the West to move to the third level of intervention in the Balkans – creating the basis for military action under the auspices of UN resolutions (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and without such resolutions (Yugoslavia in 1999). [Russia confrontation] [Nazism]
• Kim Jong-un Won't Attend Moscow Victory Celebrations
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not attend the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Soviet Union's victory in World War II on May 9, the Kremlin said Thursday. There had been a flurry of speculation surrounding the North's unofficial acceptance of the invitation, which would have been Kim's first overseas trip since taking power three years ago. "He has decided to stay in Pyongyang," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. [Victory Day Parade]
• Reply to a Reader’s Complaint about Anti-American Pro-Russian Bias
  I recently received a sharp complaint from a reader about an assumed anti-American pro-Russian bias in my writings. The complaint gives a very good opportunity to address questions on the minds of many in the West confused by an extremely biased pro-Washington, anti-Russian bias in mainstream media coverage of Ukraine and Russia as the new demon to be fought. Here is my translation from the German of the gist of the complaint: “I am increasingly angry about the anti-American bias in the articles I read regularly from you. Now supposedly the USA are the evil ones and the eternal Cold Warrior Putin is the golden hero? You have not the slightest idea how it is today in Russia or Ukraine. My wife comes from there are she says the Russians are the aggressors…Did you ever ask yourself the question when Putin annexed Crimea why he didn’t do that in 1999 when he first became President? Oh yes, he didn’t then because he had to march into Chechnya to blow up shops of extremists… Or possibly in 2000-2004 during his first term why he didn’t annex Crimea? Oh, sure, then he had to put (Yukos oil oligarch) Khodorkovsky in prison. That’s all crap! …I admit that the Americans are not without their own dirty laundry, whether Operation Condor in the past or the war in Iraq or the backing of rebels in Syria, which is a failure of the entire West, which just strengthened the extremists. No argument. Even so, I find the Americans a thousand times more preferable to the Russians…” Signed: Mr Schneider First, Mr. Schneider, let me say I am an American and I am definitely not anti-American. I love my country and my fellow Americans. What I do not love is the clique of very rich who—especially over the past three decades since the time of Reagan and Bush Senior—have step-by-step subverted the American Constitution and its guarantees of citizen rights, have destroyed prudent regulation of the health and safety of American citizens by easing safety rules of the Environmental Protection Agency to benefit companies like DuPont or Monsanto at the expense of the public. What I do not love is how those very rich circles around David Rockefeller, George Soros, Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Warren Buffett, George Bush Sr and son and now Jeb Bush, have used their fortunes to buy Congressmen who pass their laws against the general welfare. What I do not love is the Wall Street banks who financed Congressmen who agreed to vote to remove banking laws enacted after the 1929 stock market crash to control banking abuses. What I do not like is when the US Government—George W. Bush as well as Barack Obama—use hundreds of billions of US taxpayer dollars to bailout criminal corrupt big banks—Too Big To Fail we are told. At the same time they let ordinary Americans rot in unemployment, homelessness, send the jobs to China or Romania or Mexico for cheap labor. I’ve spent more than three decades as an economist, economic historian, as a journalist researching what went “wrong” with my country, the United States. If you are an honest person genuinely in search of the truth I can recommend reading several of my books available from my website on www.williamengdahl.com. It’s difficult, therefore, for me to respond to your very broad and black-white rhetorical method of formulation that I write that America is “the evil one and the eternal Cold Warrior Putin is the golden hero.” For me I find it important and essential to any serious analysis to be very concrete and as precise as possible. So I will take your examples about Russia. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/04/30/reply-to-a-reader-s-complaint-about-anti-american-pro-russian-bias/ [US global strategy] [Russia confrontation] [Corruption]
• Bern Incident or End of Anti-Hitler Coalition
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 29.04.2015 | 00:00 The USSR achieved victory over Nazi Germany together with coalition allies which held a stone inside their shirt. This fact is irrefutable. By the end of 1942, when the Stalingrad battle was in full swing, the London station of Soviet Foreign Intelligence reported about the conversation that took place between British Ambassador to the United States Edward Wood, Lord Halifax, and Under Secretary of State Benjamin Sumner Welles. The latter one said that if Germany fell in 1943 or 1944, then the Red Army would make it roll far to the west…It would negatively influence American public opinion and change the plans for European reconstruction. To slow down the Red Army’s advance to Europe, Anglo-American allies were constantly involved in unseemly actions like trying to hold separate talks with Nazis. Allen Dulles was recruited to work at the Office of Strategic Services. He held secret negotiations in Bern, Switzerland, with SS General Karl Wolff to have all German and fascist armies surrender in northern Italy, or, even in the West in general. The talks were codenamed Operation Sunrise. The General did not act on his own, as many believed, he represented the Reich leadership. On February 6, he was told by Hitler personally to establish contacts with Western nations to talk the prospects for armistice on the Western front. The operation was conducted under the control of Heinrich Himmler. Actually, by holding those talks Germany was to kill three birds with one stone. It wanted to split the anti-Hitler’s coalition, and even join the West in would-be war against the USSR, if unleashed. It set the goal of putting an end to the advance of allied nations at the Western Front and thus get an opportunity to relocate the forces from the West to the East to strengthen defenses against the USSR. Holding separate talks was forbidden by accords concluded between the USSR, the United States and Great Britain. For instance, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union signed the Twenty-Year Mutual Assistance Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: May 26, 1942 on May 26, 1942. Article II said, «The high contracting parties undertake not to enter into any negotiations with the Hitlerite Government or any other government in Germany that does not clearly renounce all aggression intentions, and not to negotiate or conclude, except by mutual consent, any armistice or peace treaty with Germany or any other State associated with her in acts of aggression in Europe». It’s not about tearing up agreements only. The Anglo-American allies did not exclude (as the recent days of the war showed) the possibility of using German prisoners of war against the Soviet Union. In this case the military potential of forces opposing the USSR would have substantially increased. [WWII] [Renege] [1945] [Cold War]
• Kim Jong Un will not visit Moscow: Kremlin
  Anticipated first foreign visit for North Korean leader will not take place in Moscow on May 9 April 30th, 2015 Hamish Macdonald Kim Jong Un will not be traveling to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations set to take place on May 9, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday. Kim was expected to attend the events after Russian authorities received positive responses from Pyongyang following Kim’s invitation to visit the Russian capital. “Kim Jong Un made the decision to remain in Pyongyang, he can’t attend the Victory Day parade,” Peskov told reporters. “We were told through diplomatic channels that this has to do with domestic affairs, and that’s his decision.” No other information as to what domestic affairs pertains to was issued. [Kim Jong Un] [Victory Day]

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APRIL 2015

• MH17: How the Media Failed the Victims and the Families
  In examining the evidence relating to the shooting down of Flight MH17 over the eastern Ukraine in July 2014 it is appropriate to approach the task as one would a prosecution of those responsible. First, one has to establish the facts as they can be established to the requisite standard of proof. Secondly, discard the highly improbable, impossible, or just plain speculation. One may then reach a logical conclusion based on the established facts, or at least a working hypothesis that further facts will either confirm or reject. In doing so it is necessary to maintain a healthy skepticism about claims made by obviously interested parties. Apart from an agenda that may have little to do with establishing the truth, the experience thus far suggests that such parties rely upon assertions rather than evidence. In reporting those assertions and disregarding important evidential developments it is clear that the western mainstream media have failed in several important respects. Ever since the plane was destroyed on 17 July 2014 with the loss of all on board, the media have subjected their readers to a barrage of allegations, half-truths, innuendo and speculation, almost none of which has a proper evidential basis. Instead of asking what should be the obvious questions and seeking answers, the media have in effect reached a conclusion at the outset and then sought to cherry pick evidence as it emerged, almost universally ignoring that which did not fit their original allegations which have been treated as a conclusion not to be questioned. This is of course the antithesis of the procedure for a proper inquiry. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/04/27/mh17-how-the-media-failed-the-victims-and-the-families/ [MH17]
• Changes in Social Attitudes in Russia and their Political Implications
  Tuesday, Apr 28, 2015 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm The CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program is pleased to invite you to a lecture with Dr. Mikhail Dmitriev. Dr. Dmitriev played a major role in designing Russia’s public sector reforms: pension, health, education and administrative reforms. He has extensive policymaking experience: he was the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade from 2000-2004, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development from 1997-98, member of the Commission on Economic Reforms of the Government of Russian Federation from 1994-95, and People’s Deputy of Russia. Dr. Dmitriev worked in some of the leading Russian think tanks: Carnegie Moscow Center, Institute for Economic Analysis, and the Center for Strategic Research, where he served as the president. Speaker Bio: Dr. Dmitriev will discuss how changing consumption patterns, demand for human development, and the growing perception of existential threats facing Russia have all contributed to recent changes in Russian social and political behavior. Such societal-level shifts may help explain some highly visible phenomena like the shifting balance between domestic and foreign policy, changes in Putin’s political ratings, responses to the Russian economic crisis, evolving protest behavior, and the revived influence of the official media. Analyzing these patterns can also help us understand likely medium-term socio-political trends in Russia. [Russia confrontation]
• Ukraine’s military mobilization undermined by draft dodgers
  By Karoun Demirjian April 25 at 9:51 PM ? KIEV, Ukraine — As the country’s eastern conflict drags into a second year, Ukraine’s military leaders are trying to learn from past mistakes. They are trying to be better trained and prepared, because no one knows when the warm weather might push this frozen conflict with pro-Russian separatists into all-out war again. And they are calling up the able-bodied men of Ukraine in droves to turn the military that had only 6,000 battle-ready troops before the start of this conflict into a standing force a quarter-million strong. But not everyone is heeding the call to arms. “I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t respond to the order,” said Igor, a 25-year-old worker with a nongovernmental organization within Kiev, who received a draft summons in February. “I am not at all interested in participating in such a conflict. They should have been acting much more effectively to have fewer victims — I don’t want to end up on the victim list myself.” [Ukraine] [Public opinion]
• The Case of Andrej Babis, the Potentate of Prague
  How the War Party in Washington is Losing Eastern Europe, Hillary Clinton Too by John Helmer Moscow. Andrej Babis is the one of the wealthiest men in eastern Europe — if you bite bread, read a newspaper, fill your car with fuel, or put fertilizer on your window box in Prague, chances are you owe Babis money. He is also Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Finance Minister, and candidate to become the next Czech President. When Babis announced on Friday in Washington that he is planning to sue the US foreign policy establishment for libel, he wasn’t bluffing. His aim is to stop the US State Department, American officers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, and the war party in Kiev from attacking him as a Kremlin stooge. The rise of Babis is also the takeoff of another albatross which is about to hang itself around the neck of candidate to become President of the US, Hillary Clinton. For it’s her campaign booster and pollster, Douglas Schoen and his old firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), which claim credit for inventing Babis’s political party, Akce Nespokojených Obcanu (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) – the acronym ANO also means “yes” in Czech – and putting Babis in power. From non-existence in 2011, ANO took 19% of the votes in the Czech lower house election of 2013, a close second behind the ruling Social-Democratic Party; 17% in the Czech senate election of last October. According to the American pollster, PSB’s Czech-educated executive, Alexander Braun is the winner of several US awards for his Czech political campaigns. He also claims credit, along with Schoen, for advising “notable clients…includ[ing] Tony Blair and Hillary Clinton, as well as presidents in Mexico, Ukraine, and Philippines.” [Russia confrontation] [Oligarch] [Czech] [Think tanks]
• Vladimir Putin’s ‘misinformation’ offensive prompts US to deploy its cold war propaganda tools
  Pressure grows from Congress to counter slick Russian media that erodes support for Nato
  Chris McGreal Saturday 25 April 2015 13.15 BST Last modified on Saturday 25 April 2015 22.15 BST Russia’s sprawling propaganda network may have failed to persuade much of the world that Ukraine is run by Nazis, that Crimea was annexed in a popular uprising and/or that Germany is a failed state. But the barrage of misinformation has convinced some American politicians that the propaganda network is the greatest threat to US security in Europe since the Soviet Union evaporated. Leading members of Congress are pushing for the US to revive its own propaganda machine, largely dormant in eastern Europe since the end of the cold war, to counter the rapidly multiplying Russian media barrage, from TV channels and news websites to internet trolls and thinktanks pushing the Kremlin line. “Russia has deployed an information army inside television, radio and newspapers throughout Europe,” congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, told a hearing on Kremlin propaganda. “Russia’s propaganda machine is in overdrive, working to subvert democratic stability and foment violence.” [Russia confrontation] [Media] [Softwar] [Propaganda] [Inversion]
• Russia Keen on Projects at Kaesong Complex
  Russia is interested in participating in the joint Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex, said Russian ambassador to Seoul Alexander Timonin on Thursday. He said "many possible projects in Kaesong are under discussion, one of which is a food production project proposed by ethnic Koreans living in Russia." This was the first time a Russian official has officially expressed interest in the Kaesong industrial park, home to 124 South Korean businesses. Since the Park Geun-hye administration's inauguration, the Unification Ministry has been focusing on luring foreign investors to the Kaesong industrial park, believing it would prevent North Korea from taking unilateral actions thus creating some stability there. For Russia to participate in the Kaesong complex, South Korea needs to partially lift sanctions it placed on the North after it sank the Navy corvette Cheonan in 2010. It is still unclear whether Seoul will do so or not. Meanwhile, Timonin said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely have a summit with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the World War II victory celebrations in Moscow on May 9. [Kaesong]
• Dutch expert fired after showing MH17 victim photos in public lecture
  George Maat, who has been helping identify victims, is fired after showing photographs of the dead , the government says Agence France-Presse Friday 24 April 2015 03.27 BST Last modified on Friday 24 April 2015 08.22 BST A Dutch expert helping to identify victims from last year’s MH17 airliner crash in Ukraine has been fired after showing photographs of the dead at a public lecture, the government said Thursday. “The collaboration with George Maat has been terminated,” the justice minister, Ard van der Steur, told lawmakers in parliament. The minister had earlier described the lecture given by Maat, an anthropologist at Leiden University, in the southern city of Maastricht as “completely inappropriate and in bad taste”. Journalists from private television channel RTL Nieuws attended and first reported on the lecture, which was organised by a medical students association, during which Maat showed photos of victims’ body parts and explained elements of the identification process. Thomas Aling, a spokesman for the Dutch national forensics investigation team LTFO, said earlier on Thursday that Maat had been suspended from his work while further action against him was being considered. “Apparently he showed photos that cannot be shown at a public meeting,” Aling said.
  Maat is also accused of making comments outside his realm of expertise, notably about the causes of the crash, which were “incorrect”, Aling said. [MH17]
• Russian ambassador to Seoul confirms Kim Jong-un will visit Moscow next month
  Posted on : Apr.24,2015 15:38 KST Modified on : Apr.24,2015 15:38 KST Russian Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin confirms North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s upcoming visit to Moscow on May 9 to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, with reporters at the Russian Embassy in central Seoul, Apr. 23. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, which will be taking place in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, a Russian diplomat officially confirmed. During a meeting with South Korean reporters at the Russian Embassy in central Seoul on Apr. 23, Russian Ambassador Alexander Timonin said, “We are expecting the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to visit Moscow. Along with attending the memorial event, Kim Jong-un may also meet with President Vladimir Putin.” The previous day, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s aide in charge of foreign affairs, had said he received confirmation in a meeting with several North Korean officials that Kim Jong-un would be coming to Moscow, a report that Timonin’s remarks confirm. If Kim meets Putin in Moscow, it would be his first trip overseas as well as his first summit with a foreign leader since succeeding his father. With the leaders of 25 countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, planning to attend the event, there is growing interest in the possibility of a summit between Kim and Xi.
• Russian firms to join Gaeseong complex
  By Yi Whan-woo Alexander Timonin Russian ambassador Russian companies are interested in setting up shop at the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong, North Korea, according to Moscow's Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Timonin, Thursday. During a media interview at the Russian Embassy, he said Russia is ready to take an active part at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC). The GIC is a joint industrial park that has served as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliatory efforts since it opened in 2004. He also cited that the country is discussing a number of projects in relation to running businesses there. [Kaesong]
• Western Propaganda and Doctor Goebbels
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 23.04.2015 | 00:00 Czech historian Eve Hahnová wrote an article About Anti-Russian Stereotype of Goebbels propaganda. It says that the contemporary Western media looks very much like Nazi propaganda in fascist Germany. Offering her comments on Goebbels diaries, Eve Hahnová says the West uses an artificially created image created by Nazi propaganda by the end of WWII. The «threat coming from the East» and «Russian menace» revive Hitler’s propaganda stereotypes. The conclusion is obvious. At the start of the war Nazi propaganda affirmed that Hitler had to unleash an offensive to the east preventing a possible Soviet attack. The Nazi propaganda machine ended up spreading a whopping big lie. Goebbels was the first to spread rumors about many thousands of German women raped by Soviet soldiers. On March 1945, he wrote in his diary that «Soviet soldiers behaved like scum… Horrible stories came from Upper Silesia. They raped all women from 10 to 70». He said Germany would launch a broad propaganda campaign home and abroad to make it public domain. It did. Werner Naumann, the replacement Propaganda Minister for Goebbels, acknowledged that the propaganda efforts were fruitful. According to him, «Berliners were scared to death. The breath taking horror stories started to go around the city. Russians were painted to be narrow-eyed Mongols killing children and women without hesitation. They said flamethrowers were used to burn monks alive. Nuns were raped and then made run the streets without clothes. Nazi propaganda said women were made work as prostitutes accompanying military units». Paranoid fear before the arrival of «eastern hordes» became an obsession. As the Soviet forces approached the capital outskirts, a wave of suicides hit the city. Osmar White an Australian journalist, war correspondent and writer, was attached to General George Patton’s Third Army. He followed it into Germany during the final days of the war in Europe. According to him, up to 40 thousand Berliners committed suicide. The population knew Hitlerites committed horrible crimes in occupied territories. Many Germans lost any hope for mercy on the part of winners. Elena Sinyavskaya, a Russian historian, quotes a German soldier, «If we lose… and Russians, Poles, French, Czechs will do to us at least one percent of what we did to them during six years, then no German will remain alive in a few weeks. I was there for six years; I know what I’m talking about». Soviet soldiers witnessed the mass atrocities committed by fascist occupants against their compatriots. Millions of Red Army servicemen lost their next of kin and comrades-in-arms. Many were embittered. But it’s a certain fact that the hatred towards Nazism did not made Soviet soldiers blind, it did not spread on civilians in Germany and the allied states. On January 19, 1945 Stalin, the Supreme Commander, issued and signed the order which said, «Officers and men of the Red Army! We are entering the country of the enemy... the remaining population in the liberated areas, regardless of whether they're German, Czech, or Polish, should not be subjected to violence. The perpetrators will be punished according to the laws of war. In the liberated territories, sexual relations with females are not allowed. Perpetrators of violence and rape will be shot». It did not mean everything was peace and love in the relations between Soviet soldiers and German civilians [Propaganda] [Russia confrontation] [Goebbels]
• Russia and North Korea Space Program: Amid Growing Relations, Countries Agree To Work Together In Outer Space
  By Aaron Morrison on April 17 2015 9:02 AM EDT Members of the Russian delegation attend a meeting with members of the North Korean delegation in Moscow, Nov. 20, 2014. This week, officials from both countries confirmed plans to cooperate on a peaceful use of outer space for research. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov North Korea and Russia have cozied up to the idea of cooperating on a program for outer space exploration, along with other transportation and trade-related projects, according to multiple news reports. Pak Hyon Su, deputy head of the North Korean Committee of Space Technology, told a Russian news agency that the two countries hoped to begin the bilateral space research program this year. The move could put Western powers on watch for attempts by either country to bring defense-related infrastructure to the final frontier. "The DPRK will develop proactive cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of outer space with foreign organizations and countries, including Russia, on equal and mutually beneficial basis," Pak told TASS on Friday. "The DPRK space program has peaceful purposes, and this country, like Russia, is against militarization of space." The U.S. last week signaled its interest in cooperating with Russia and China in the field of security in outer space, TASS reported. Frank A. Rose, the U.S. assistant secretary for arms control, verification and compliance, expressed confidence that Russia and North Korea would not use space exploration as a front for weapons testing. [Satellite]
• North Korea and Russia Sign Road Connection Deal
  Deals between Moscow and Pyongyang keep coming as the ‘Year of Friendship’ continues Christopher Rivituso (NK News) Sat, Apr 18 | 1,931 20 North Korea and Russia have signed an agreement to develop a new road connection between the two countries. Nikolai Asaul and Kwok Il Ryong – the Russian and North Korean deputy transport ministers – signed an agreement on developing a road connection in Moscow, a statement released Tuesday by the Transport Ministry stated. “The signing of this agreement will create a legal basis between Russia and North Korea in the field of road transport, which was previously lacking, and create conditions for mutual trade and tourism between the two countries,” the statement read. [Infrastructure]
• The Kremlin's unexpected decisions
  Author Vitaly Naumkin Posted April 23, 2015 April has been a month of vibrant Russian foreign policy activity in the Middle East. A number of Middle Eastern leaders visited Moscow; Russian diplomats held the second consultative meeting between representatives of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition; Russian planes evacuated all Russian citizens from Yemen, as well as citizens other countries, including the United States and Europe; Russia took an active part in reaching an interim solution in the Iranian nuclear talks; and Russian diplomats have been working on draft resolutions at the UN Security Council. Moscow’s current Middle East policy is characterized by, among other things, maintaining a strong focus on bilateral relations, striving to diversify or to develop relations with states that are at conflict and wishing to play a mediating role in conflict situations without claiming a monopoly or opposing other players, in particular the United Nations. Some of the Russian leadership's decisions turned out to be rather unexpected. These included President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that a ban on deliveries of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran be lifted, causing a negative reaction from some influential global and regional players, especially Israel, with which Russia has recently been successfully developing multilateral cooperation. Significantly, when explaining this decision, Russian officials put forward both commercial and reputational arguments related to the suspension of the contract with Iran between 2007 and 2010, as well as political ones. In particular, during his four-hour televised conversation with Russia’s citizens April 17, Putin declared, "In no way is this a threat to Israel. This is only a defensive weapon. Moreover, we believe that given the conditions that are unfolding in the region, especially in connection with the events in Yemen, the supply of such weapons functions as a deterrent." Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was even clearer: "For Iran to have a modern air defense system is very urgent today, especially considering the rising tensions in the region, including around Yemen." It's wrong to suggest — as some Western analysts did — that behind this decision stands Moscow’s desire to torpedo the deal between six world powers and Iran: The systems won’t be delivered any time soon, and Iran won’t be in a position to put serious pressure on Russia in the oil and gas market for some time. It's significant, however, that in this case the concerns of Israeli leaders were not taken into account. I recall that in the recent past, Moscow canceled the delivery of analogous weapon systems to Syria because of Israeli objections, as Putin mentioned in his TV appearance. [Russian foreign policy]
• Russia 'Ready' for Summit with Kim Jong-un
  Russia is preparing to host a summit between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month on the sidelines of World War II victory celebrations in Moscow. The ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday quoted Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying, "We're ready for that, including individual bilateral talks with the [North] Korean leader." But Ushakov said the two sides are still fine-tuning details. If the visit does take place, it would be Kim's first official trip abroad since he came to power in 2011. Russia invited 60 countries, but the U.S. and most European nations declined due to Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. Korea will send Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, a key aide of President Park Geun-hye. Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly going to attend. Russia said representatives from around 25 countries have accepted the invite. Even if Kim does visit Moscow, it is uncertain whether he will sit together with other world leaders. Some may opt to delay their trips to Russia to avoid him. [Russia NK]
• Putin Undercuts Obama Iran Ploy
  Once more Vladimir Putin and his team have managed to undercut Washington’s geopolitical strategy, this time regarding the secret bilateral US negotiations with Iran outside the G5+1 talks that included Russia. What Russia has done, with dazzling speed, is to defuse what could have been a devastating US move to turn Iran from an ally of Russia into a bitter adversary. Were that to happen it would deal a devastating blow to Russia’s resistance to the Washington dictates. On April 13, just days after the US State department began backtracking on lifting Iran economic sanctions this June when a final agreement on the Iranian nuclear program is finalized, Russian President Putin signed a decree to lift a ban on the sales of S-300 air defense systems to Iran, the Kremlin press service said. “The decree lifts the ban on the transfer of the S-300 air defense systems to the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the boundaries of the Russian Federation with the use of Russian-flagged vessels and aircraft,” the statement elaborated. The Russian S300 mobile missile defense system is far superior to outmoded US Patriot systems This is a huge boost for Iran who had initially bought the advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile defense system in an $800-million contract signed at the end of 2007. Moscow was to supply five S-300 PMU-1 battalions to Tehran. But Washington began to put major pressure on Moscow as soon as Dmitry Medvedev became President and in September, 2010, Medvedev signed a decree cancelling the contract, allegedly in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1929, which bans supply to Iran of conventional weapons including missiles and missile systems, tanks, attack helicopters, warplanes and ships. In fact he buckled under to pressure from the US and Israel, who oppose providing Iran with advanced air defense systems that could counter Israeli or US air and ballistic missiles strikes. In short Iran is not allowed to defend itself from attack but NATO is with its Ballistic Missile Defense ring around Russia? Don’t look for clarity of reason, there isn’t any. Just might makes right. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/04/23/putin-undercuts-obama-iran-ploy/ [Russian foreign policy] [Iran]
• Ukraine’s spate of suspicious deaths must be followed by credible investigations
  Amnesty International
  17 April 2015, 19:00 UTC Photo: The shooting of journalist Oles Buzyna was the latest in a string of suspicious deaths in Ukraine in recent months. © EPA By John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International The killing of journalist Oles Buzyna on a Kyiv street this week was shocking enough in and of itself. According to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, the 45-year-old journalist – who was widely known for his pro-Russian views – was gunned down by masked assailants in a drive-by shooting. But what makes his murder especially chilling is the fact that it is just the latest among a string of suspicious deaths of former allies of Ukraine’s deposed former President Viktor Yanukovych. It came only a day after a member of Ukraine’s political opposition, Oleg Kalashnikov, was also found shot dead in the capital. This week’s deaths are not alone. Since the end of January, several allies of Ukraine’s deposed former President Viktor Yanukovych have been found dead – many of them in suspicious circumstances. [Ukraine] [NGO] [False balance]
• This Is What European Investors Get For Investing $268M In Ukraine
  Kenneth Rapoza Ukraine is becoming a case of throwing money down a rabbit hole. Every few months there is an announcement of more money from the U.S. , E.U. or International Monetary Fund flowing into what has become one of the saddest economic stories in the world. This latest funding round for Ukraine is a case of European investors no longer knowing what to do with their money. On Tuesday, the European Commission disbursed a loan of 250 million euros ($268 million) to beleaguered Ukraine. This is not a new loan. It is the last disbursement under the first Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) operation for Ukraine, which amounts to a total of 610 million euros. It got the money from a private placement. It is unclear who lent the facility the cash. Whoever they are, they are not interested in making money off their loans. As of March, the National Bank of Ukraine has only $9 billion in reserves. The IMF alone is lending the country around $17.5 billion. The country is barely solvent. Standard & Poor’s said the country is in a virtual default. The objective of the MFA program is to address Ukraine’s urgent financing needs, while supporting Ukraine’s economic stabilization and reform agenda under prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Yats, as he is known in circle U.S. State Department circles, has seen his popularity slide over the past year. Just 40% of Ukrainians support him, according to a state poll. [Ukraine]
• In the War Zone of Eastern Ukraine
  by Roger Annis I have just returned from participating in a four-day reporting tour to the city of Donetsk and the countryside that lies between Donetsk and the Russian city of Rostov to the south and east. I was part of a media tour group organized by Europa Objektiv, an initiative of citizens in Russia and Germany working to provide information about the war in eastern Ukraine to writers and journalists. Our tour group consisted of writers and filmmakers from Canada, the United States, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. We learned a great deal about the political, economic and social situation in the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. For me, perhaps the most important part of the tour was the insight gained into the political aspirations of the leading social and political forces of the movement for political autonomy of these regions. The most difficult part was seeing the very harsh conditions which people living close to the ceasefire demarcation line with Ukrainian armed forces are suffering. [Ukraine]
• Ukrainian Regime Persecutes and Kills Opposition Politicians and Journalists
  Alexander Donetsky | 18.04.2015 | 00:02 According to 2014 Reporters Without Borders report, Syria, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq and Libya have been named the deadliest countries for reporters. (1) Conflict-torn Ukraine has become the worst country for journalists’ abductions, murders and attacks. Since May to August 2014 6 journalists died in Ukraine, dozens of reporters were attacked or physically threatened. Many journalists had to leave Ukraine being afraid for their lives. It all started after the advocates of Ukrainian integral nationalism came to power as a result of coup in February 2014. The new ideology was formed by Ukrainian fascists in 1920-1940s. It’s a mixture of Italian fascism and German Nazism adapted to Ukrainian realities. The new regime in Kiev pursues the goal of eliminating all dissent in the country. In late January Lviv-based journalist Gleb Gonchar disclosed the information about the decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council to establish total control over Ukraine’s segment of Internet, cable TV, press and even crackdowns against those who disseminated anti-Ukrainian views, including the use of force against “the enemies of the state”. This information is still partly classified. Some nationalist neo-Nazi websites started to make public personal data on opposition and public activists opposed to the government. Anton Gerashchenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry,announced the creation of joint database to be used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service and other intelligence agencies and border guards to launch lawsuits against those who have fallen out of favor with the regime. [Ukraine]
• Russian dissidents seek asylum in Kyiv
  Anna Yalovkina 17 April 2015 As oppression heats up in Russia, post-revolutionary Ukraine is attracting political émigrés from the Russian opposition. From the moment the Maidan started in Ukraine, Russian authorities rushed to pass judgement on the emergent revolution, supporting President Viktor Yanukovych in any way they could. Russia’s leadership feared that the revolution could spread to Russia. Accordingly, Russian state media responded with a massive information campaign against the Maidan, convincing citizens that Ukraine had suffered an illegitimate coup and that all members of the opposition are 'fifth columnists' and 'agents of the West.' The Russian government’s apprehensions were, in a certain sense, justified. Despite mass propaganda, some citizens in Russia began calling for a Maidan in their own country. After the change of leadership in Kyiv and the outbreak of conflict, the majority of the Russian opposition came out in favour of Ukraine in its war against separatist forces in the country’s Donbas region. [Russia confrontation] [Propaganda]
• Ukraine’s spate of suspicious deaths must be followed by credible investigations
  17 April 2015, 19:00 UTC Photo: The shooting of journalist Oles Buzyna was the latest in a string of suspicious deaths in Ukraine in recent months. © EPA By John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International The killing of journalist Oles Buzyna on a Kyiv street this week was shocking enough in and of itself. According to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, the 45-year-old journalist – who was widely known for his pro-Russian views – was gunned down by masked assailants in a drive-by shooting. But what makes his murder especially chilling is the fact that it is just the latest among a string of suspicious deaths of former allies of Ukraine’s deposed former President Viktor Yanukovych. It came only a day after a member of Ukraine’s political opposition, Oleg Kalashnikov, was also found shot dead in the capital. This week’s deaths are not alone. Since the end of January, several allies of Ukraine’s deposed former President Viktor Yanukovych have been found dead – many of them in suspicious circumstances. [Ukraine] [NGO] [False balance]
• Ruble on the Rebound
  Russia’s currency has strengthened more than any other this year. What does that mean for the West’s plan to pressure Moscow out of Ukraine?
  • By Jamila Trindle • April 15, 2015 • The Russian ruble is rebounding, outpacing all other world currencies against the dollar this year. The 20 percent recovery this month alone stands in stark contrast to last year, when U.S. officials smugly pointed to Russia’s plummeting currency as proof that Western sanctions against Moscow for meddling in Ukraine were working. That doesn’t mean the sanctions no longer have teeth. But it does add another complication to Western leaders’ already difficult task of trying to forge a lasting peace in Ukraine. Some analysts have ascribed the ruble’s upward march — it took almost 70 rubles to buy a dollar at the end of January, compared to 52 now — to the tenuous cease-fire agreement reached between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in February. Others see the recovery hinging on events outside of Ukraine: Rising oil prices could be giving the ruble a boost, since the Russian government is dependent on money coming in from the country’s state energy giants. And yet another theory is that the ruble is not really strengthening, but just recovering to a reasonable level after plummeting too far last year. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [Currency]
• Russia honors Chinese veterans from WWII
  China Daily, April 16, 2015 Fifty-three Chinese who lived and worked near Moscow during World War II were honored on Wednesday at a medal ceremony at the Russian embassy in Beijing. The event was the latest of 60 high-profile activities planned by China and Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and highlight the close ties between the two nations. "Russia and all Russian people thank you for your contribution to the victory of the Great Patriotic War," Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov told the 32 veterans in attendance to whom he presented Jubilee Medals. "Our country will remember the heroes who protected and liberated the Soviet Union and contributed to the anti-fascist war, no matter which country they come from." Twenty-one of the people honored were unable to attend the ceremony due to age and ill health. The embassy will present them their medals either at their home or in the hospital. Chen Zutao, a representative of the recipients, went to the Soviet Union in 1940 to study. "I stayed in Russia for 13 years and graduated from a Russian college," said Chen. "In 1940, I came to the Soviet Union. One year later, the Germans attacked the Soviet Union. I went through the events that followed with the Russian people. We were tested together by the war." Most of the recipients are descendants of the first generation of top officials of the People's Republic of China. Among them was Mao Zedong's daughter Li Min. From 1941 to 1945, many of them stayed at an international school in Moscow named Ivanovo International Orphanage, where the children of Josip Broz Tito and other Communist leaders received part of their education. [WWII]
• Putin’s red line for US policies
  Author: M.K. Bhadrakumar April 14, 2015 5 Comments Why did Moscow take such a momentous decision on Monday to scatter to the winds the sanctions regime, which was choreographed so tenaciously by the United States over many years and painstakingly assembled under the direct supervision of the White House, to drive Iran into a corner? The answer to this question will have a lot of bearing on the course of world politics in the coming several decades. (See my blog Putin liberates Iran from sanctions.) Indeed, it won’t do to demonize President Vladimir Putin anymore. This is a historic decision taken by the Russian leadership after much careful deliberation and planning, knowing fully well that it implies a strategic defiance of the United States and that in the downstream the international system is going to enter unchartered waters. The fact of the matter is that the Russian decision on Monday is both ‘reactive’ as well as ‘proactive’. First, the ‘reactive part’. Some background is needed here, which is not widely known, hence the following brief explanation [Russian global strategy] [Missile defense] [Pretext] [Russia confrontation]
• Comment by the Information and Press Department on the issue of missile defence in Europe in the context of Iran’s nuclear programme
  683-10-04-2015 We have noted the remarks by US and NATO officials indicating that the political framework deal agreed to recently in Lausanne on the final settlement of the situation regarding Iran’s nuclear programme provides no grounds for adjusting missile defence plans in Europe. As such, a State Department representative recently recalled that Washington is also “concerned” about Iran’s missile programme. An official NATO representative voiced a similar opinion, pointing to the “growing threat” that the proliferation of ballistic missiles posed to the alliance. Such interpretations are clearly at odds with US President Barack Obama’s assurances in Prague in April 2009 about how the elimination of the “Iranian threat” would also eliminate the main reason for the deployment of a missile defence system in Europe. In reality, what we see is that, as definitive progress is emerging on Iran’s nuclear programme, Washington and Brussels are seeking to create new “grounds” for their missile defence programme. This only goes to show that references to the “Iranian threat” in this case are only a cover while the real goal of creating a missile defence system lies elsewhere. Against this backdrop, the statements that “the missile defence programme is not directed against Russia” look even less convincing. The obvious reluctance of the US and NATO to take into account the positive trends in the settlement of Iran’s nuclear issue reaffirms our conclusion about the anti-Russian character of the missile defence system being deployed in Europe. [Missile defense] [Pretext] [Russia confrontation]
• The Russian-Iranian axis in the making
  Author: M.K. Bhadrakumar April 14, 2015 3 Comments The Kremlin thoughtfully picked Monday for President Vladimir Putin to formally sign the decree ordering the transfer of S-300 missiles to Iran. On the same day, Ali Shamkhani, formerly Iran’s Defence Minister and presently the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council [SNSC] was on a visit to Moscow to attend, interestingly, a meeting of the national security councils of the countries belonging to Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO]. The SNSC works directly under the supervision of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which makes Shamkhani a powerful figure in Iran’s security and foreign policy establishment. In sheer optics, the announcement of the momentous Russian decision on Monday afternoon just four hours before Putin received at his official residence at Novo-Ogaryovo the top SCO officials carried much symbolism. Putin’s decision will be understood as an assertion of Russian power all over the SCO territories. Two, Iran’s admission as a full SCO member is now merely a matter of time. [Iran] [Russian global strategy] [SCO]
• Moscow Withdrew Self-imposed Embargo on the Delivery of AA Systems to Iran
  On April 13 Russia withdrew a self-imposed embargo on the shipment of S-300 air defense systems to Iran. This fact, much to most everyone’s surprise, was immediately followed by a wave of sharp criticisms coming from the US and Israel. Firstly, Russia wasn’t compelled to impose this embargo in the first place, since air defense systems are purely defensive in nature, therefore they were not regulated by the UN Security Council’s sanctions leveled against Iran. In 2010, Russia made a number of concessions to the West, including the embargo on S-300s. Secondly, the withdrawal of all sanctions was a part of the agreement that was signed by all the parties involved in negotiations in Lausanne two weeks ago. It should also be mentioned that there are large-scale supplies of American weapons to extremist and terrorist groups in Syria that are fighting the legitimate government. [Iran] [Sanctions] [Airpower]
• War and poverty bring doubt to heartland of Ukraine's pro-Europe revolt
  LVIV, Ukraine | By Alessandra Prentice Reuters) - When Ukrainians toppled a pro-Russian president last year, nowhere was the euphoria greater than in Lviv, a short drive from the EU border, where people have dreamt for generations of escaping Moscow's orbit to join the West. More than a year of war and economic collapse later, nowhere else has the disillusionment been felt more harshly. "Everyone thought Ukraine would suddenly turn into Poland," said mechanic Taras Yakubovsky, sitting by a cast-iron woodburner in his small garage, where work has dried up because customers can no longer afford car repairs. "But we've become more like Europe's Somalia." [Ukraine]
• Ukraine: Which way to Europe and for Europe?
  Dr Alexander Yakovenko, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Deputy foreign minister (2005-2011).
  Published time: April 14, 2015 17:33 People attend a rally organized by supporters of EU integration at Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square in central Kiev, December 8, 2013. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) The Ukraine crisis served as a trigger for a broader crisis in the West-Russia relationship. Today, a year and a half after it started, what are the stakes and the bets? Firstly, the declared objective of the EU’s Ukraine policy is to have it firmly integrated in a Greater Europe, represented by the EU. Thus, it would influence Russia’s development in the right direction. We have no problem with that, all the more so that Ukraine’s transformation is long overdue and in everybody’s interest. But why acting secretly and unilaterally, rather than openly and multilaterally? We had always been told by the EU, that a routine Association Agreement with Ukraine was in the works. We never minded. But then, all of a sudden, it turned out that a Deep and Comprehensive FTA was going to be part of that. When we enquired, we were told that it was none of our business. Though it was obvious, and recognized later on, that such an FTA was not compatible with Ukraine’s membership in the CIS FTA. [Ukraine]
• Park Finally Decides to Snub Putin's WWII Party
  President Park Geun-hye has decided to stay away from Russia's World War II victory celebrations in Moscow next month, ending months of weighing the pros and cons. Government sources on Friday said Park's decision comes after a recent meeting of Cheong Wa Dae officials on the matter. Most western leaders including key South Korean allies are staying away due to Russia's annexation of the Crime, which seems to have outweighed hopes that Park might be able to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the sidelines. A government source said, "It's not even certain whether Kim Jong-un will really attend, even though he's accepted the invitation." Several leaders who also accepted the invite have said they would not shake the North Korean dictator’s hand if he turns up. But Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, a key confidante of Park's, will attend on Seoul's behalf. His dispatch has raised speculation that he could meet senior North Korean officials in Moscow. Yoon is on record as saying secret meetings between the two Koreas are necessary for any "breakthrough" in relations, and recently told the Chosun Ilbo that "forward-looking" measures are necessary in dealing with North Korea and vowed to do everything in his power to facilitate some kind of dialogue. Officially the Park administration does not favor behind-the-scenes dealings with Pyongyang and has mostly discontinued them. [US dominance] [Tribute]
• Political tricks let Ukraine's officials divert attention from falling ratings — expert
  World April 06, 18:55 UTC+3 A collapse of Yatsenyuk’s ratings from 22% to 4% make him resort to political tricks, like spiraling up anti-communist hysteria in a bid to divert attention from destructive actions of the authorities ? © Maxim Nikitin/TASS Ukrainian PM party’s electoral rating going down — poll KIEV, April 6. /TASS/. Ukraine’s top officials are indulging in political gimmicks to divert public attention from their destructive actions sending their ratings all the way down, a Ukrainian expert said on Monday. "A catastrophic collapse of (Prime Minister Arseniy) Yatsenyuk’s ratings from 22 to four percent and the falling ratings of other top officials makes him resort to political tricks, such as spiraling up anti-communist hysteria in a bid to divert public attentions from destructive actions of the authorities," Andrey Zolotarev, the head of the Third Sector Center, told a news conference. [Ukraine] [Public opinion]
• Park won't attend Russia event
  By Kim Hyo-jin President Park Geun-hye will not attend Russia's war victory anniversary next month. Instead, Korea will send a presidential envoy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday. "Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, Park's special adviser on political affairs, will attend the May 9 ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II," the ministry said in a press release. The ministry said the presidential envoy's attendance would contribute to improving Seoul-Moscow relations in the year marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties. The announcement came after the months of speculation about whether Park would attend the celebrations, where she could possibly meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the sidelines. The Russian government invited Park and Kim to its May 9 anniversary. Following the invitation, the North Korean leader confirmed his attendance, the Kremlin said last month. However, Seoul had been cautious about whether Park would attend. Political analysts said the South Korean decision was made because of continuing tension between the West and Russia over the Ukraine crisis [US dominance] [Russia confrontation]
• April 12 – Black Day in History of US Aviation
  Nikolai Malishevski | 12.04.2015 | 01:28 There are two reasons why April 12 is considered to be a black day in the history of US aviation. It is the day when Vostok aircraft led by astronaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into outer space, completed an orbit flight around the Earth in 1961. The other event was not that much in spotlight. Exactly ten years before Gagarin made his flight, Russian aces under the command of Ivan Kozhedub, a Hero of the Soviet Union on three occasions who commanded the 324th Fighter Air Division, dissipated the myth of invulnerability of B-29 Superfortress, a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber. The B-29 dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was part of the plans to carry out the mission of delivering strikes against dozens of Soviet cities (according to nuclear operational plans «Totality», «Pincher», «Dropshot», «Broiler/Frolic», «Charioteer», «Halfmoon/Fleetwood», «Trojan», «Off-tackle» and others that were regularly prepared to succeed each other starting from 1945 with missions changing as the US nuclear potential increased). In one day the plans were frustrated to give birth to the expression «Mig Alley» or «Black Thursday». The engagement took place on April 12, 1951 during the war in Korea. On that day three squadrons of B-29 Superfortresses (36 planes) protected by about a hundred F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet fighters were attacked by Soviet Migs. Americans were sure of their invulnerability and final victory. [Korean War] [Airpower]
• Putin liberates Iran from sanctions
  Author: M.K. Bhadrakumar April 13, 2015 The Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision today to sign the presidential decree to forthwith supply S-300 missiles to Iran and the reported commencement of the $20 billion oil-for-goods swap deal between Russia and Iran effectively signifies the end of the sanctions regime against Iran. Putin has “liberated” Iran from the curse of sanctions. The Kremlin de facto opened the floodgates for Iran’s integration as a full-fledged member of the international community. Moscow has signaled that it won’t even wait till end-June for an Iran deal to be negotiated by the Obama administration for restoring the strategic partnership with Iran as a ‘normal country’. Hmm. The Kremlin beckons the world community to the birth of a a new world order. Any whichever way one looks at the Kremlin’s move, it is a slap on the face of the United States [Iran] [Sanctions]
• Russia lifts block on missile system shipment to Iran
  By Karoun Demirjian April 13 at 1:48 PM ? MOSCOW — Russia lifted its ban on sending an advanced air-defense system to Iran on Monday after pressure from Tehran to follow through with a deal holding the potential to alter the strategic balance in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to remove restrictions on shipping the S-300 surface-to-air missiles also appears to reflect policy shifts after a framework reached earlier this month to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing international sanctions. In military terms, it offers a potential major security boost for Iran — which in turn could elevate concerns among foes such as Israel and the Persian Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia. [Iran]
• Russia dismisses US claim about fighter interception
  Xinhua, April 12, 2015 Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday dismissed the U.S. claim that a Russian fighter flew dangerously close to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea when intercepting it. According to the ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, the incident took place on Tuesday when a Russian Suhhoi Su-27 fighter on duty spotted an unknown target over the Baltic Sea that was moving toward the Russian border. The fighter jet was dispatched to intercept the target and identified it as a U.S. Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance plane. The U.S. plane changed its course and moved away from the Russian border after the Russian jet flew around it several times. "No incidents occurred during the interception," said Konashenkov. "As to the judgement about the professionalism of Russian pilots, this is up to the Russian side, and the U.S. reconnaissance aircraft can only perform routine fights near the U.S. borders," the spokesman said in response to the Pentagon claim that the U.S. reconnaissance plane "was flying a routine route in international airspace," and was intercepted by a Russian fighter jet "in an unsafe and unprofessional manner." [Russia confrontation]
• French Intelligence: Russian Intervention in Ukraine is a Myth
  Russian military intervention in Ukraine is a myth, General Christophe Gomart, France’s Military Intelligence Head has said. As reported by RT, General Gomart made his explosive comments in a parliamentary hearing on the Ukrainian crisis. He questioned NATO’s claims of Russia preparing to attack Ukraine as French agents failed to spot any activities signaling this – either before or after the crisis began. A statement by the chief of France’s military intelligence, General Christophe Gomart, was published on the National Assembly’s website: “NATO announced that the Russians were about to invade Ukraine. But, according to French intelligence, there is nothing to corroborate this hypothesis – we determined that the Russians were deploying neither command posts nor logistical facilities, including field hospitals, needed for a military incursion,” General Gomart told a parliamentary hearing. [Russia confrontation] [Intelligence] [Friction]
• UK Gov pays big money to ‘Demonize Russian politicians’
  This extract from a form describing a project to be funded by the United Kingdom’s inter-agency “Conflict Pool” indicates one of the ways HMG is spending British tax money. In the wake of the latest of the endless outcries about “Russian trolls” in Western media, this should be of interest to all who may be interested in the truth of the matter — or as close as we can come to that, at least. [Russia confrontation] [Softwar] [IO]
• Coups and “Color Revolutions”: US Wages “Geopolitical Warfare” against Russia in Central Asia and Caucasus
  By Steven MacMillan Global Research, April 09, 2015 The US is waging geopolitical warfare against the Russian Federation in Eurasia through preparing colour revolutions, coups, destabilisation operations and strategically-motivated alliances in an attempt to weaken Moscow’s position and isolate the nation. This complex strategy involves destabilising countries in Russia’s sphere of influence which creates numerous security problems for Moscow simultaneously, stretching the Kremlin’s ability to stabilise the chaos that has been deliberately contrived. Coupled with the attempt to build strategic partnerships with states close to Russia’s borders, this geopolitical strategy is a potent one that threatens the survival of the current Russian regime and is the logical next step in the West’s war against Moscow. After staging a colour revolution on Russia’s Western frontier in Ukraine which severely weakened relations between Moscow and Kiev, the West is aiming at replicating this model in numerous Eurasian countries including in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. [Russia confrontation] [Destabilisation]
• Eurasian Emporium or Nuclear War?
  by Pepe Escobar A high-level European diplomatic source has confirmed to Asia Times that German chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has vigorously approached Beijing in an effort to disrupt its multi-front strategic partnership with Russia. Beijing won’t necessarily listen to this political gesture from Berlin, as China is tuning the strings on its pan-Eurasian New Silk Road project, which implies close trade/commerce/business ties with both Germany and Russia. The German gambit reveals yet more pressure by hawkish sectors of the U.S. government who are intent on targeting and encircling Russia. For all the talk about Merkel’s outrage over the U.S. National Security Agency’s tapping shenanigans, the chancellor walks Washington’s walk. Real “outrage” means nothing unless she unilaterally ends sanctions on Russia. In the absence of such a response by Merkel, we’re in the realm of good guy-bad guy negotiating tactics. [Eurasia] [Neocon] [Russia confrontation]
• Czech President 'Won't Shake Kim Jong-il's Hand' (sic)
  Milos Zeman /Newsis Milos Zeman /Newsis Czech President Milos Zeman has declared that he will not shake hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if he encounters him at celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow. The president has accepted an invitation to attend an official ceremony in Moscow on May 9. Zeman did not elaborate, but his remark was seen as an effort to placate mounting criticism he faces both at home and abroad for accepting the invitation. Many Western countries are boycotting the celebrations because of Russia's invasion of the Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin had hoped to put on a massive show for world leaders, but U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other have already said they are staying home. Zeman, who has also criticized economic sanctions against Russia by the West and is seen as pro-Russian, is the only head of state in the EU to attend. His decision stirred up protests in and outside his country. Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky has criticized it, and U.S. Ambassador to Prague Andrew Schapiro said Zeman's decision was "short-sighted," prompting Zeman to retort that Schapiro would no longer be welcome at his official residence. [Russia confrontation] [Friction]
• Czech president bans U.S ambassador from Prague Castle: media
  Reuters/David W Cerny (Reuters) - President Milos Zeman has "closed the door" of Prague Castle to the U.S. ambassador following comments perceived as critical of the Czech's decision to attend a World War Two commemoration in Moscow, according to local media reports on Sunday. European Union leaders are boycotting the ceremony in May over Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict but Zeman -- who has frequently departed from the EU line -- has said he would attend. "I can’t imagine the Czech ambassador in Washington would give advice to the American president where to travel," Zeman told news portal Parlamentni Listy. "I won’t let any ambassador have a say about my foreign travels." "Ambassador (Andrew) Schapiro has the door to the castle closed." A presidential spokesman told local media that Schapiro could still attend social events at Prague Castle, the official residence of the Czech president. Schapiro told Czech television earlier this week it would be "awkward" should Zeman attend the ceremony as the only statesmen from an EU country. Zeman, a former prime minister, has frequently departed from the common EU line on Ukraine and criticized sanctions against Moscow. The government, which is responsible for foreign policy, however, has held the EU line fully. The Czech presidency is largely a ceremonial role but Zeman - who was the first president directly elected when he took office in 2013 - is outspoken on his views on both domestic and foreign policy. [Russia confrontation] [Friction] [Czech]
• Putin May Have Last Laugh Over Western Sanctions
  By Scott Belinksi Posted on Thu, 02 April 2015 In what can only be seen as another “symbol of sanctions defiance”, on March 27 China announced it would be providing French oil giant Total with $15 billion to invest into the Yamal LNG project in northern Siberia. Despite some of the harshest Western sanctions placed upon Yamal’s majority stakeholder, private Russian gas company Novatek, the project has hardly been derailed. What’s more, Yamal offers a glimpse into a world where Russia is no longer dependent on the West for financing. The $27 billion investment project in the Yamal Peninsula, owned by Novatek (60%), Total (20%) and China’s CNPC (20%), aims to tap into northwest Siberia’s vast natural gas reserves, which contain 84% of Russia’s total natural gas, and double Russia’s share in the fast growing liquefied natural gas market. The Arctic region is said to contain 22% of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas, with the majority of untapped natural gas predicted to be located within Russia’s territory. Currently, Russia’s LNG capacity stands at 10mtpa, but the Yamal LNG project will increase this number by more than twofold. Set to start exports in 2017, the Yamal LNG project will export 16.5 million tons of LNG a year; or in other words, 6 months’ worth of French gas consumption. Indeed, prior to his death, Total’s former CEO Christophe de Margerie had taken a “business as usual” approach with Russia in spite of sanctions, insisting that “we have to do this project”. Related: Why Putin Doesn’t Need To Pander To The West However, the announcement of Total’s turn to China for further funding for the Yamal plan shows that the “business as usual” approach has hit quite a snag. Indeed, after years of Western-Russian interdependence on energy projects, the sanctions regime seems to have nudged Moscow decisively towards Asia in search of support, financing, and technological knowhow. Coming on the heels of more than 20 years of haggling, China and Russia have signed a 20-year $700 billion agreement for gas deliveries to China worth some 17% of Beijing’s annual consumption. But that was just the first step. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [Unintended consequences] [Friction] [Gas] [China Russia]
• Forget Congress! The Deep State is America’s real bad guy in Ukraine
  Sun, Apr 5, 2015 'The Others' Alliances, Strategic Deterrence, Ukraine, United States By Andrew KORYBKO (USA) Forget Congress! The Deep State is America’s real bad guy in Ukraine Editorial Note: What follows is the kind contribution by our permanent author Andrew Korybko to the US-Russia Expert Panel on whether the US Congress can be lobbied away from arming Ukraine. We are sorry for erroneously publishing another text yesterday. In his introduction to the US-Russia Expert Panel prompt about whether Congress can be lobbied away from arming Ukraine, Mr. Doctorow mentions previous American interventions abroad that were “well-intentioned and even noble” but ultimately “resulted in catastrophe”, such as “Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya”. The strong issue taken with this statement is that the US’ interventions there and everywhere else were and always will be anything but well-intentioned and noble, being driven by pure geopolitical power plays in each and every instance. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation] [Congress] [Deep State]
• Russian envoy raises concerns over US missile interceptors
  ‘Timonin's remark seen as Moscow's bid to expand presence in the Far East' By Yi Whan-woo Russia is seeking to expand its presence in North East Asia amid a growing confrontation between the United States and China over the advanced U.S. missile defense system. Russian Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin expressed concerns, Wednesday, over possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on Korean soil. "Washington's move to deploy THAAD on the Korean Peninsula poses security threats not only to Russia but also to the region as a whole," Timonin said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. "We see the deployment itself as a threat to security in the region." [Dilemma] [THAAD] [Russia confrontation] [Media] [MISCOM]
• Kiev Commits Energy Hari Kiri
  What the insane Washington-orchestrated civil war in Ukraine has not yet destroyed in Ukraine over the past year, now the conditions demanded by the US Treasury-controlled International Monetary Fund will. Kiev on March 13 received the first $5 billion tranche of a $17.5 billion three year IMF loan. It desperately needs the cash to avoid insolvency. However, in typical IMF policy, the aim of the money is to act as a poisoned “carrot” to force the victim country to undertake draconian “reforms” whose only effect will be to open the doors to foreign banks and multinationals to further rape and plunder what’s left of their economy. Now Kiev is about to commit energy Hari-Kiri to please the IMF and the US-imposed American-born Finance Minister, Natalie Ann Jaresko. Before the US coup d’etat on February 22, 2014 in Kiev ousting a democratically-elected Prsident Viktor Yanukovich with aid of CIA snipers, self-styled neo-nazi Pravy Sektor gangsters and George Soros’ Ukrainian NGO, Ukraine’s president had opted to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union in return for generous financial loans from Moscow and a huge cut over 30% in the price the country must pay to Russia’s Gazprom to import natural gas. Yanukovich stressed at the time he wanted to continue a dialogue on closer association with the EU as well. For the neo-conservative war faction in the Obama Administration that was a no! no! Washington wanted to destroy Russia and Putin and the way to do that, the ridiculous neo-conservatives such as John Brennan at CIA or Victoria ‘Fuck the EU’ Nuland at the State Department or Joe Biden or Senator John McCain saw it, was creating a pro-NATO coup in Kiev after a similar US Color Revolution in 2004 failed to achieve the goal. Since Washington placed its hand-picked marionettes into power in Kiev, including as Prime Minister alleged senior Scientologist Arseniy Yatsenyuk, “Yats” as Nuland affectionately calls him, and a billionaire Poroschenko as President and three US-picked foreign nationals as top ministers including Natalie Jaresko an American ex-State Department senior official, as Finance Minister, the economy has been in a free-fall. The Washington Post reported a current hyperinflation of 272%. The decision by Nuland’s Washington gang to push Kiev to go to war over protests in eastern Ukraine’s energy-rich Donbass in March 2014 rather than creative diplomacy succeeded in severing the heart of Ukraine’s industrial economy from Kiev. The war cost untold billions the government doesn’t have. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation]
• 70-th Anniversary of Victory. Fundamental Treatise on the History of Russia's 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War Came Out in Russia
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 03.04.2015 | 00:00 In not so distant 2008 Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Ministry of Defence to prepare for publication the twelve volumes of the treatise titled The 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. The mission is accomplished – the 12th volume has come out recently. It is a really overarching project and this time the authors have tried to come up with something new. Unlike the fundamental works that had been issued in the Soviet Union, the authors carefully avoided the risk of pertinent descriptions of dispositions and military activities overshadowing the political, economic, diplomatic, social, spiritual and everyday life aspects of such a complex phenomenon as the Great Patriotic War. [WWII]
• How Russia’s opposition learned to stop worrying and love Crimea
  Daniel Kennedy 31 March 2015 A recent statement by a prominent Russian opposition figure is testament to an unpalatable truth: Crimea’s annexation is popular with Russia’s ‘liberal elite.’ Even by Russian standards, Ksenia Sobchak is a rather contradictory public figure. Having launched her television career as an announcer on Russia’s remake of ‘Big Brother’ (‘Dom-2’), Sobchak became a political talk show host on TV Rain, one of Russia’s few independent news channels. The daughter of the late Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St Petersburg and a close friend of Vladimir Putin, Ksenia Sobchak was also a prominent opposition figure in Moscow’s 2011-2012 protest movement, despite persistent rumours that the Russian president is secretly her godfather. Herself a scion of privilege, in 2011 Sobchak appeared in a viral video chastising Vasily Yakimenko, leader of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, for lunching at a fashionable and expensive Moscow restaurant. Recently, following the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, Sobchak was reported to have permanently left Russia after she was named on a ‘hit-list’ of anti-government activists. Sobchak, who regularly travels abroad, denies she has gone into exile. The liberals This week, Sobchak commented positively on Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014. In an interview with the Polish edition of Newsweek, Sobchak stated that ‘for me, just like most teenagers in Soviet times, Crimea brings up positive emotions: holidays, first love and so on. If I had been president then, quite possibly I myself would have dared to reunite Crimea [with Russia].’ Sobchak went on to declare that there is ‘no sense’ in discussing the return of Crimea to Ukraine and that ‘the only thing we can do right now is carry out a new, honest referendum for its inhabitants.’ [Russia confrontation] [Crimea] [Public opinion]
• Canada’s Political Mainstream Backs War in Ukraine
  by Roger Annis Canadians will go to the polls next October in the first national election since the Conservative Party won a majority government in 2011. There is intense concern among progressive people in the country about the prospects of the Conservatives winning another term in office. The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is moving further and further to the right. It has aligned itself tightly with U.S. foreign policy, including being ‘holier than thou’ in its unconditional support of Israel. It joined the U.S.-led air war in Iraq six months ago and now it is joining the U.S. in expanding that to Syria. It has cemented Canada’s role as a leading climate vandal in the world. It has attacked civil and social rights across the board and is now deepening that attack with the proposed, ‘police-state Canada’ Bill C-51. This leaves many Canadians favorable to the idea of an electoral and governing alliance between the two, large opposition parties in Parliament—the Liberal and New Democratic parties—in order to defeat the Conservatives. NDP leader Tom Mulcair says he is open to a governing coalition with the Liberals if neither party wins an electoral majority. But on the increasingly dangerous issue in world politics—the war in eastern Ukraine and accompanying military threats and expansion of NATO in eastern Europe—there is an astonishing unanimity in the Canadian political and media establishment. NATO is embarked on a drive to weaken Russia, with all the risk and folly that entails—including a nuclear danger. The people and territory of Ukraine are being used as war proxies to get at Russia. Yet, there is nary a peep of disagreement in the Parliament in Ottawa. [Russia confrontation] [Canada]
• Pepe Escobar in eastern Ukraine: Howling in Donetsk
  Author: Pepe Escobar March 30, 2015 8 Comments Asia Times’ roving correspondent Pepe Escobar just returned from a reporting trip to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the pro-Russian enclave in the Donetsk Oblast province of eastern Ukraine. The area’s been the scene of heavy fighting between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military. Escobar traveled to Donetsk at the invitation of Europa Objektiv, a German-based non-governmental media project. He traveled at his own expense. I’ve just been to the struggling Donetsk People’s Republic. Now I’m back in the splendid arrogance and insolence of NATOstan. Quite a few people – in Donbass, in Moscow, and now in Europe – have asked me what struck me most about this visit. I could start by paraphrasing Allen Ginsberg in Howl – “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness.” But these were the Cold War mid-1950s. Now we’re in early 21st century Cold War 2.0 . Thus what I saw were the ghastly side effects of the worst minds of my – and a subsequent – generation corroded by (war) madness. I saw refugees on the Russian side of the border, mostly your average middle-class European family whose kids, when they first came to the shelter, would duck under tables when they heard a plane in the sky. [Ukraine]
• Operation Dragoon Ride: The US Rides Again
  Guest post by Jonathan Barrett As operation Dragoon Ride crosses Eastern Europe already the Russians are tracking them on their provocative jaunt. Not surprising really, but it seems to come as a shock for the US troops and their commanding officers. I cannot believe they do not realise the provocation caused by this. Why at a time of heightened tension does the US think it is necessary to organise this excursion? Of course unless it is to promote the opportunity for more anti Russian news feeds. The Guardian has been slow on the up take for this meaty little piece of agitprop, but in their absence News Week stepped up to the plate. Nolan Peterson reports that, two Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers and two Su-27 Flanker fighter jets have been buzzing the convoy. The piece headlines, “Why Putin’s Warplanes Are Penetrating European Airspace”, a statement which is then refuted in the body of the article, where it appears that the Russian planes were in international air space. Not only that, but they were not acting illegally at all, being over the Baltic Sea. This piece run in News Week, appeared originally in The Daily Signal, which is the Heritage Foundation news site. The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington. The item was also reported in the Kyiv Post. So this is how the news demonising Putin and Russia is created. [Media] [Heading] [Russia confrontation] [NATO]
• ‘Reuters lied’: MH17 witness says reporter falsified testimony — RT News
  A Lugansk Region resident, whom Reuters cites as saying he saw evidence of a surface-to-air missile launched from rebel-held territory on the day MH17 was downed, told RT the news agency gave a false report of his interview. As a part of a March report on the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 tragedy Reuters talked to Pyotr Fedotov, a 58-year-old resident of the village Chervonniy Zhovten in the Lugansk Region of eastern Ukraine. “When interviewed by Reuters, Fedotov, the witness who described the ‘wiggling’ rocket, at first said on camera that it was fired from territory held by the Ukrainian army. Later, off camera, he said it was launched from a nearby rebel area. Asked why he had originally said the opposite, he said it was because he was afraid of the rebels,” the news agency said. RT contacted Fedotov who, after some persuasion, agreed to be filmed. He told RT that Reuters correspondent Anton Zverev was “less than accurate” with Fedotov’s testimony. “When we talked about the Boeing on camera, I explained everything as it was. The things that I allegedly said off-camera were just made up by the journalist. It’s all lies. Off-camera, we never discussed the Boeing,” Fedotov told RT. [MH17] [Media]
• Liberation of Europe: Siege of Budapest
  Nikolai Malishevski | 30.03.2015 | 00:00 The Battle of Budapest (October 29, 1944 till February 13, 1945) was a great battle of WWII. The victory paved the way for liberation of Hungary, destruction of the Hitler’s coalition in Europe and blockade of German forces in the Balkans. For Germany the withdrawal from Budapest was tantamount to the loss of access to the Lake Balaton (Nagykanizsa) oil reserves that accounted for 4/5 of the oil consumed by Germany to support its war effort. Having won the battle of Budapest, the Soviet troops could advance to Vienna and southern regions of Germany while the Hitler’s forces in Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania faced the risk of being cut off from the avenues to retreat. The Soviet 2d and 3d Ukrainian Fronts were confronted by German Army Group South, part of Group Center and the army of Hungary, the last ally of Nazis in Europe. [WWII]

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MARCH 2015

• A year into a conflict with Russia, are sanctions working?
  By Michael Birnbaum March 27 ? MOSCOW — When it comes to inflicting economic pain on Russia, the Kremlin may be doing a better job than Western sanctions. Just don’t tell that to the Russian people, who overwhelmingly blame the West for a deepening recession that has parts of central Moscow starting to look like a ghost town. Prices are soaring. The ruble is dropping. And Russian living standards are falling a year after the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Many economists say that problems would have erupted even if there were no sanctions. But the wave of Western penalties against the Russian economy has inadvertently given the Kremlin political cover with its own people, analysts say. [Russia confrontation] [Media] [Sanctions] [Victim] [Agency]
• Prof Stephen Cohen: “This is the worst International crisis since the Cuban Missile crisis…”
  For the past several months Stephen Cohen has been warning the world about a potential catastrophe looming in the standoff between NATO and Russia. The political and military tension is immediately focused on Ukraine, but has roots deep in the fall of the Soviet Union, and threatens to spread to several other flash points along the Russian border and the Middle East. Russian media seems well aware of these dangers, and so, to some extent, does the media in continental Europe, particularly eastern Europe. But in the UK and US a happy oblivion seems to be prevailing. Our journos either don’t want or are not permitted to discuss the growing dangers of war in Europe. The huge build-up of NATO military hardware in Poland and neighbouring Baltic states has gone virtually unreported in Britain. As has the embarrassingly ludicrous and utterly foolhardy US “WW3 Roadshow”, currently touring across much of eastern Europe as a “show of strength and solidarity to US and NATO allies in Eastern Europe”. The almost daily encounters between NATO and Russian aircraft are also rarely reported, unless there’s a chance to frighten the gullible into thinking Putin is invading Cornwall. Such absurd, non-existent comic-book “threats” are permissible for discussion. The real and growing dangers of real war igniting somewhere on Russia’s border, as a direct result of massive NATO presence there is simply never discussed. And therefore it’s a non-subject. A scotoma in the popular consciousness. As Cohen puts it – “There’s no discourse, no debate and this is failure of American democracy.” [Russia confrontation]
• The Moor Has Done His Duty
  Russian Opposition Journalist Andrey Babitsky Discovers Western Freedom of Speech By Anatoly Karlin, The Russian Reaction Blog Andrey Babitsky was the quintessential Russian democratic journalist. A correspondent for the US government funded Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe (RFERL) since 1989, his star began to shine at the start of the Second Chechen War in 1999, when he was embedded amongst the rebel fighters in Grozny. He took a harshly anti-Russian line, writing the following about a summarily executed Russian POW:
  Which makes recent revelations that he was fired from RFERL in 2014 rather… interesting. Why? His troubles with the editors began with an article on his Russian language blog from March 2014. Just its first sentence, really. It has since been deleted, but the Internet remembers: This is not about Crimea – on this question, I’m fully agreed with Vladimir Putin’s main thesis, that Russia has the absolute right to take the peninsula’s population under its protection. I am aware that a significant number of my colleagues don’t share this viewpoint. After the President’s speech, I am now a supposedly correct, officially approved citizen, while those who are disagree with Russia’s actions in Ukraine have become national traitors. That’s it. The rest of the essay is his standard spiel about Russia’s never ending descent into authoritarianism and the persecution and denigration of dissidents. He affirms the absolute right to free speech, and expresses great concern for the fate of the 10% of people who disagree with Crimea’s incorporation into Russia when the other 90% so passionately supports it in an atmosphere of fear, suspicion, and demonizing rhetoric. As it soon turned out, he might as well have been talking about himself. A week later, Babitsky was removed from his position as chief editor of Echo of the Caucasus, and suspended from work for one month without reimbursement [Media] [Russia confrontation]
• Ukraine’s stability under threat after president fires pro-Kiev tycoon
  Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky was dismissed Wednesday by President Petro Poroshenko. (Vladyslav Musienko/AFP/Getty Images) By Karoun Demirjian March 25 at 10:00 PM ? KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dismissed one of the country’s most powerful oligarchs from a regional governorship Wednesday, after confrontations over interests in the energy sector sparked a public uproar, threatening the country’s fragile political peace. Ihor Kolomoisky’s resignation as governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region, a position he held since shortly after the ouster of former president Viktor Yanukovych last year, seemed to quell fears that tensions would explode over the oligarch’s recent moves to protect his interests in two government- controlled energy companies by bringing in armed guards to their headquarters. The events served as a reminder to Ukraine’s Western allies of the formidable challenges facing the shaky nation, especially as Kiev turns its attention from fighting a war along the front to tackling corruption at home. [Oligarch] [Ukraine]
• Fragile truce brings limited respite to war-weary people of eastern Ukraine
  The population of eastern Ukraine faces a humanitarian crisis with an acute lack of basic amenities and mental health problems taking a heavy toll Clár Ní Chonghaile Wednesday 25 March 2015 07.00 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 25 March 2015 07.03 GMT Just over a month after a fragile ceasefire came into effect in eastern Ukraine, a traumatised population is struggling with a lack of basic services, critical shortages in medical supplies and power outages, and the mental scars caused by the conflict. At least 1.1 million people are displaced in the region, while a further 743,000 have left Ukraine because of the conflict between pro-Russia rebels and government forces. The UN estimates that more than 6,000 people have been killed. “In non-government controlled areas, the greatest need now is food because people have no income, especially when the government has seized welfare payments. This has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable,” said Vanno Noupech, interim representative for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. [Ukraine]
• Dispute Between Poroshenko and Billionaire Governor Threaten Ukraine Alliance
  By Andrew E. Kramer and David M. Herszenhorn MARCH 23, 2015 MOSCOW — A dispute between President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine and the billionaire governor of one of the country’s regions over control of two state-owned energy companies widened Monday, confronting the new Ukrainian government with its most serious internal crisis since coming to power last year. Until the dispute burst into the open last week, the governor, Igor V. Kolomoisky, had been among the Kiev government’s staunchest allies. Militias financed privately by him have played a crucial role in stopping pro-Russian separatists waging war in the east from advancing into the heart of Ukraine. [Ukraine] [Oligarchs]
• US Congress Demands War In Ukraine – OpEd
  March 23, 2015 Eurasia Review By Eurasia Review By Daniel McAdams Just weeks after a European-brokered ceasefire greatly reduced the violence in Ukraine, the US House of Representatives today takes a big step toward re-igniting — and expanding — the bloody civil war. A Resolution, “Calling on the President to provide Ukraine with military assistance to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” stealthily made its way to the House Floor today without having been debated in the relevant House Committees and without even being given a bill number before appearing on the Floor! Now titled H. Res. 162, the bill demands that President Obama send lethal military equipment to the US-backed government in Kiev and makes it clear that the weapons are to be used to take military action to return Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine to Kiev’s rule. Congress wants a war in Ukraine and will not settle for a ceasefire! The real world effect of this Resolution must be made clear: The US Congress is giving Kiev the green light to begin a war with Russia, with the implicit guarantee of US backing. This is moral hazard on steroids and could well spark World War III. The Resolution conveniently ignores that the current crisis in Ukraine was ignited by the US-backed coup which overthrew the elected government of Viktor Yanukovych. The secession of Crimea and eastern Ukraine were a reaction to the illegal coup engineered by US officials such as Victoria Nuland and Geoff Pyatt. Congress instead acts as if one morning the Russians woke up and decided to invade Crimea and eastern Ukraine. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Congress]
• The West's Shame
  There is something so bizarre, so inhumane about Western countries boycotting the parade for the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II that I just had to write on it. Recently, the prime minister of the United Kingdom announced he will not be attending the parade. Previous to that, countries like Germany and the United States had announced the same. It's only a parade you say? No it's more than that. The Soviet Union sacrificed 25 million people to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II. A sacrifice beyond imagination, and far, far greater than all the countries fighting Nazi Germany combined. In comparison, the Holocaust, which is rightly remembered annually, claimed the lives of six million people of the Jewish faith. These are really the two true tragedy's of World War II unleashed on the world by Nazi Germany. The stories of Soviet soldiers advancing without weapons to pickup the rifle of the next dead soldier are well known. The bloodbath of Stalingrad, the siege of Leningrad, the millions of Soviet soldiers killed and captured (only to then die in POW camps) during the early days of the German invasion, and so on, all markers of the brutality of man against his own, stand large in the history of the world. In fact, the German invasion of the Soviet Union stands as the largest military battle in the history of man. Yet, western leaders have decided to not attend the parade that is meant to honour that sacrifice. When Britain announced it would not attend, well, that's the straw that broke the camel's back frankly. Of all the countries in the world, Britain was saved by the massive waves of young Soviet men and woman that bled the German army white. Hitler would have crushed Britain in short order if he had not diverted millions of German men to the invasion of the Soviet Union. Crucially, the diversion of aircraft, fighters and bombers, to the Soviet front saved Britain from the entire annihilation of a full blown, continuous air campaign, and the subsequent naval invasion that would certainly have occurred. In reality, the western allies left Stalin almost alone in Europe to battle the Nazi's, and take the majority of the casualties in doing so. By the time D-Day finally arrived, the German army and air force was only a shadow of it's former self as it existed in 1941. As bad and hard as it was for the allies to march east through Europe to Berlin, without the Soviet people's sacrifice, it would have never happened. [WWII] [Russia confrontation]
• Ukraine oligarchs ‘top cash contributors’ to Clinton Foundation
  The more we learn, the more interesting the relationships between Ukraine’s oligarchs and certain representatives of the US political elite appear. Of course, we can hardly be surprised at new evidence of the Clintons’ preference for rich friends. From 2009 up to 2013, the year the Ukrainian crisis erupted, the Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which is headquartered in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, a new report claims. In 2008, Viktor Pinchuk, who made a fortune in the pipe-building business, pledged a five-year, $29-million commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, a program that works to train future Ukrainian leaders “to modernize Ukraine.” The Wall Street Journal revealed the donations the fund received from foreigners abroad between 2009-2014 in their report published earlier this week . Several alumni of the program have already graduated into the ranks of Ukraine’s parliament, while a former Clinton pollster went to work as a lobbyist for Pinchuk at the same time Clinton was working in government. Between 2009 and 2013, the very period when Hillary Clinton was serving as US secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation appears to have received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. That places Ukraine as the leading contributor among foreign donators to the Clinton Foundation. [Hillary Clinton] [Oligarch] [Ukraine]
• One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev
  The U.S and European Union may want to save Crimeans from themselves. But the Crimeans are happy right where they are. One year after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea, poll after poll shows that the locals there — be they Ukrainians, ethnic Russians or Tartars are all in agreement: life with Russia is better than life with Ukraine. [Crimea] [Public opinion]
• Russia Rebounds, Despite Sanctions
  Matthew A. Winkler Mar 20, 2015 11:39 AM EDT Sanctions meant to punish Russia for snatching Crimea from Ukraine one year ago were supposed to hurt Russian business. And they did. Russian stocks, bonds and commodities had the worst performance in 2014 of those in any emerging market. That was then. Now the picture is changing, with investors starting to favor Russia in 2015. The ruble, which became the world's most volatile currency last year after President Vladimir Putin's land grab, is stabilizing. The swings in its value narrowed this year more than any of the other 30 most-traded currencies. MW Terminal Grab 2.2 cropped Source: Bloomberg Investors in Russian government securities denominated in rubles have earned the equivalent of 7 cents on the dollar so far this year, as measured by the Bloomberg Russia Local Sovereign Bond Index. In contrast, anyone holding similar government debt in emerging markets across-the-board has lost 1.1 percent in 2015. The picture is even rosier for Russia's corporate bondholders; they've had a 7.3 percent total return in 2015, leading the gains in the index for emerging market corporate bonds compiled by Bloomberg. And while shareholders in the global emerging market stocks measured by the MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.7 percent this year, the 50 Russian stocks in the Micex index are up 11.9 percent -- better than the Standard & Poor's 500 or any other North American market. The ruble's relative value helps explain why there are some signs of confidence in Russia. Although the ruble remains the most volatile of the 31 most-traded currencies this year, its swings are narrowing. This is visible in implied volatility, a measure of traders' bets on how much the currency's value will change day-to-day. After surging in late 2014 amid the widening Ukraine crisis, the ruble now is fluctuating the way it did in 2009. Business also appears to be on the rebound. Some 78 percent of the Russian companies in the Micex index showed greater annual sales growth than their global peers, even though the shares of these Russian companies lagged behind their international competitors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's consistent with a two-year improvement in the relative value of Russian companies. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions]
• Can Sanctions Stop Putin?
  By: Clifford G. Gaddy and Barry W. Ickes May 22, 2014 Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller (C) and President of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Chairman and President of PetroChina Zhou Jiping (R) shake hands as Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a ceremony in Shanghai (REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin). As the Ukraine crisis continues, further rounds of sanctions on Russia are being discussed. But the question that still hasn’t been answered is, do sanctions work? For some, the question seems unnecessary. Clearly, sanctions work. Capital is flowing out of Russia, the ruble is losing value, Russian companies have less access to foreign credits, and the country’s GDP is falling. The problem is that such facts — even if they could all be attributed to the sanctions — still don’t tell us whether sanctions are working. We need to distinguish between effectiveness and impact. Figures about economic negatives such as reduced trade, foreign investment, credit flows, technology transfer, GDP growth, incomes, and so on — these measure impact. They do not, however, tell us how likely the sanctions are to cause Russia to change its behavior — that is, how effective they will be. To put it another way, impact tells us how much pain we can cause. Effectiveness depends also on how able and willing Russians are to endure the pain. To answer that question, we need to understand, first, the peculiarities of the Russian economy and past Russian experience with economic hardship, and second, Russians’ motivations for the behavior we want to change. The last point is crucial. It is a fallacy to assume that Russia will respond to sanctions the same way that we would. We cannot simply project our own preferences onto Russians. (After all, if Russians had our preference structure, they would not have annexed Crimea in the first place.) Whether it is the idea that Vladimir Putin cares more about his personal wealth than Russia’s national security, or that ordinary Russians who see their living standards decline as a result of sanctions will mechanistically direct their anger against Putin rather than the West — many of the assumptions underlying the West’s sanctions policy are flawed, to say the least. Our sanctions will be costly to Russia; there is no disputing that. If the primary goal of Putin and Russian decision makers were to maximize Russian economic welfare, then the costs would, at some point, become unacceptable. But if the motivation is defense of vital national interests and survival, Russia — like any state — will resort to import substitution and even more radical sorts of interventions to defend itself, no matter what the cost. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions]
• Intriguing Moments of EU Russian Policy
  Arkady Dziuba | 22.03.2015 | 00:00 As a result of the EU Brussels summit held on March 19-20, the anti-Russia sanctions will be neither extended, nor cancelled. Instead the decision on sanctions against Russia will depend on how the European leaders evaluate its compliance with the recent Minsk II agreement. Most of the European Union's economic sanctions against Moscow are set to expire in late July, and extending or expanding them will require a unanimous vote. The summit’s final document says the decision is delayed till later this year. You’re free to construe it anyway you want. To my mind, it means only one thing. The anti-Russian consensus in Europe formed after the Malaysian Boeing tragedy, when the plane was hit by someone who was pursuing a very definite goal, is waning and the European Union uses murky wording to cover it up. No matter all the declarations made by officials about European and transatlantic unity, media openly discusses the split on the issue of anti-Russia sanctions. According to Bloomberg there are seven EU members ready to oppose the US-imposed policy of confrontation with Russia, including Italy, Austria, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia. Every fourth European Union member thinks the sanctions policy goes against common sense. They are on the verge of formally opposing the sanctions. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [US global strategy]
• Washington’s War on Russia
  by Mike Whitney “In order to survive and preserve its leading role on the international stage, the US desperately needs to plunge Eurasia into chaos, (and) to cut economic ties between Europe and Asia-Pacific Region … Russia is the only (country) within this potential zone of instability that is capable of resistance. It is the only state that is ready to confront the Americans. Undermining Russia’s political will for resistance… is a vitally important task for America.” -Nikolai Starikov, Western Financial System Is Driving It to War, Russia Insider “Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power.” -The Wolfowitz Doctrine, the original version of the Defense Planning Guidance, authored by Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, leaked to the New York Times on March 7, 1992 The United States does not want a war with Russia, it simply feels that it has no choice. ……..
  And what are Washington’s objectives? Interestingly, even political analysts on the far right seem to agree about that point. For example, check out this quote from STRATFOR CEO George Friedman who summed it up in a recent presentation he delivered at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs. He said: “The primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars–the First, the Second and Cold Wars–has been the relationship between Germany and Russia, because united there, they’re the only force that could threaten us. And to make sure that that doesn’t happen.” … George Friedman at The Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs, Time 1:40 to 1:57) Bingo. Ukraine has nothing to do with sovereignty, democracy or (alleged) Russian aggression. That’s all propaganda. It’s about power. It’s about imperial expansion. It’s about spheres of influence. It’s about staving off irreversible economic decline. It’s all part of the smash-mouth, scorched earth, take-no-prisoners geopolitical world in which we live, not the fake Disneyworld created by the western media. [Russia confrontation]
• Liberation of Poland: the Man who Saved Krakow
  Nikolai Malishevski | 18.03.2015 | 10:37 Krakow, the ancient capital of Poland, has recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of the city's liberation from fascist Germany. The festivities devoted to the date included city excursions and seminars organized by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Experts on local history and museum staff tried to shy away from comments. Soviet infantry men marching in Krakow on the liberation day, January 1945 The city museum of history adopted a derisive attitude naming an exhibition «Liberation or Subjugation?» The organizers of the exhibition preferred to avoid discussing the losses suffered by the 1st Ukrainian Front and everything related to the fierce fighting that took place to liberate Krakow. Instead they told an invented story that the city, which was made a regional capital by Nazis, did not suffer great damage because it was a military target of little importance. This is a brazen lie. The ancient Polish city avoided the devastation thanks to two people. Ivan Konev, the Marshal of the Soviet Union, gave an order not to use heavy artillery to avoid damage during the battle to liberate Krakow. The liars resort to a dirty trick rejecting his contribution into saving the city from destruction. The successors of those who survived those days as the city was spared expressed their «gratitude» to him in the most peculiar way. The street named after Konev has been re-named to become the street of Armia Krajowa (the Polish Home Army). His memorial sculpture in Krakow has been dismantled. [WWII]
• Who’s Won the “Sanctions War” So Far? Washington, Brussels or Moscow?
  By Andrew Korybko Global Research, March 19, 2015 Oriental Review It’s been one year since European sanctions were first enacted against Russia on 17 March, 2014, and it’s worthy to briefly highlight their consequences on Moscow. Likewise, the counter-sanctions that Russia imposed on the EU last summer must also be critically looked at in order to assess the economic and political impact of the ‘sanctions war’ on both parties. The results are certainly not at all what the West had anticipated. Russia Economic: Although there have been mild price increases, no significant consumer shortages of any kind have occurred. In fact, most contemporary economic issues (or speculation thereof) in the country are related more to the oil price slump than to the sanctions. The greatest unintended economic effect of the sanction war on Russia has been that the country has begun to diversify its agricultural suppliers, seeing the counter-sanctions as an impetus to look for more non-Western economic partners such as Egypt. This correlates to its larger multipolar-oriented policy that it’s been practicing with vigor ever since the New Cold War started. Political: Russian patriotism has been solidified and the people have united in support of their country and government. The sanctions redirected Russia’s political and economic trajectory towards non-Western countries, which fulfills its stated multipolar objective. While not abandoning the West, Russia now recognizes the vulnerability of depending mostly on a singular bloc of economic partners, since this makes it susceptible to forms of economic blackmail like sanctions. In retrospect, the sanctions war can be seen as the watershed event that placed Russian firmly on the path of multipolarity, with the full support of its citizenry. [Russia confrontation] [Sanctions] [Friction] [Dilemma]
• Top U.S. General in Europe: Arming Ukraine ‘Isn’t a Strategy’
  • By Yochi Dreazen • March 17, 2015 - 12:50 pm The top U.S. Army commander in Europe questioned whether Washington should provide weaponry to Ukraine to help in its fight against Russian-backed separatists, a proposal gaining increasing support among American officials alarmed by the rebels’ ongoing gains in eastern Ukraine. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges conceded to reporters Tuesday that arming Ukraine could help its fragile pro-Western government on the battlefield, at least in the short term. But he said that wouldn’t be enough to fundamentally ensure that Ukraine doesn’t lose more territory to Russia in the wake of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea last year. Instead, the general said Washington and its allies should use diplomatic means to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty, and ensure that the NATO alliance doesn’t splinter, while at the same time leaving Russia a path to eventually rejoining the international community. “Providing weapons is not a strategy,” Hodges said. “There are great arguments for giving weapons to them to help raise the cost for the Russians. I think that is a valid argument. But saying that’s a valid argument is different from saying that this ought to be the policy.” Hodges’s comments highlight the difficult policy choices facing the White House, where a growing number of senior military and civilian officials have publicly said in recent weeks that the United States should arm Ukraine. [Strategic incoherence] [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• Russia's Putin reappears after 10 day absence, laughs off "gossip"
  By Denis Dyomkin STRELNA, Russia Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:42pm IST (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin reappeared on Monday after 10 unexplained days out of public view, laughing off the "gossip" over his health that had erupted during his absence. The 62-year-old leader met the president of Kyrgyzstan at a lavish Tsarist-era palace outside St Petersburg in his first appearance since Feb. 5. His absence had fuelled rumours he was ill, had been overthrown by the army or had even flown abroad to attend the birth of a love child. "It would be boring without gossip," Putin said, smiling easily before television cameras. He looked relaxed, if pale. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, mocked the press for its interest, referring sarcastically to the various rumours: "So you've seen the broken, paralysed president, who has been captured by generals? He's only just flown in from Switzerland, where he attended a birth as you know." [Putin] [Media]
• Funny How Russian Propaganda, US Free Press Produce Exact Same Mood Swings
  By Jim Naureckas "Thought the Soviet Union was anti-American?" asks the Washington Post's Michael Birnbaum (3/8/15). "Try today’s Russia." Birnbaum, the Post's Moscow bureau chief, reports on a new "torrent of anti-Western fury" there: After a year in which furious rhetoric has been pumped across Russian airwaves, anger toward the United States is at its worst since opinion polls began tracking it. From ordinary street vendors all the way up to the Kremlin, a wave of anti-US bile has swept the country, surpassing any time since the Stalin era, observers say…. More than 80 percent of Russians now hold negative views of the United States, according to the independent Levada Center, a number that has more than doubled over the past year and that is by far the highest negative rating since the center started tracking those views in 1988. The "anti-Western anger" has been "fed by the powerful antagonism on Russian federal television channels" since "Putin cranked up the volume after protest movements in late 2011 and 2012, which he blamed on the State Department." A political analyst is quoted: What the government knew was that it was very easy to cultivate anti-Western sentiments, and it was easy to consolidate Russian society around this propaganda. Wow, must be tough living in a totalitarian society like that, where people respond like puppets to government manipulation of the media, huh? Funny thing, though–the anti-American sentiment in Russia is pretty much a mirror image of anti-Russian sentiment in the United States, which has likewise risen to record heights since polling began roughly 25 years ago. Here's the polling of Russians about the US: [Media] [Russia Confrontation]
• Can Putin Survive?
  Geopolitical Weekly March 17, 2015 | 07:59 GMT By George Friedman Editor's Note: This week, we revisit a Geopolitical Weekly first published in July 2014 that explored whether Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold on to power despite his miscalculations in Ukraine, a topic that returned to prominence with his recent temporary absence from public view. While Putin has since reappeared, the issues highlighted by his disappearing act persist. There is a general view that Vladimir Putin governs the Russian Federation as a dictator, that he has defeated and intimidated his opponents and that he has marshaled a powerful threat to surrounding countries. This is a reasonable view, but perhaps it should be re-evaluated in the context of recent events. Ukraine and the Bid to Reverse Russia's Decline Ukraine is, of course, the place to start. The country is vital to Russia as a buffer against the West and as a route for delivering energy to Europe, which is the foundation of the Russian economy. On Jan. 1, Ukraine's president was Viktor Yanukovich, generally regarded as favorably inclined to Russia. Given the complexity of Ukrainian society and politics, it would be unreasonable to say Ukraine under him was merely a Russian puppet. But it is fair to say that under Yanukovich and his supporters, fundamental Russian interests in Ukraine were secure. This was extremely important to Putin. Part of the reason Putin had replaced Boris Yeltsin in 2000 was Yeltsin's performance during the Kosovo war. Russia was allied with the Serbs and had not wanted NATO to launch a war against Serbia. Russian wishes were disregarded. The Russian views simply didn't matter to the West. Still, when the air war failed to force Belgrade's capitulation, the Russians negotiated a settlement that allowed U.S. and other NATO troops to enter and administer Kosovo. As part of that settlement, Russian troops were promised a significant part in peacekeeping in Kosovo. But the Russians were never allowed to take up that role, and Yeltsin proved unable to respond to the insult. Putin also replaced Yeltsin because of the disastrous state of the Russian economy. Though Russia had always been poor, there was a pervasive sense that it been a force to be reckoned with in international affairs. Under Yeltsin, however, Russia had become even poorer and was now held in contempt in international affairs. Putin had to deal with both issues. He took a long time before moving to recreate Russian power, though he said early on that the fall of the Soviet Union had been the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. This did not mean he wanted to resurrect the Soviet Union in its failed form, but rather that he wanted Russian power to be taken seriously again, and he wanted to protect and enhance Russian national interests. [Putin] [Russia confrontation] [Wishful thinking] [Agency] [Myopia]
• Ukraine is worst of Obama’s many foreign policy disasters
  by William Pfaff Mar 13, 2015 The most devastating reproach historians are likely to make to Barack Obama’s record in the White House is his devastating failure in foreign policy — a failure that stems from his willingness to leave the warrior ideologues of the State and Defense Departments in place after he became president. To them he added ideologues of a new and equally interventionist persuasion, which he found congenial: that of humanitarian action, scarcely relevant in resisting the Islamic caliphate that emerged as a major force in the concluding half of his second term. By then he also faced a Republican congressional majority distinguished by its ignorance — worse than his own in foreign policy matters — and its vindictiveness. [Obama] [Russia confrontation] [Neocon]
• NK, Russia discuss security issues
  By Yi Whan-woo North Korea and Russia discussed security issues over the Korean Peninsula and East Asia during their foreign ministerial meeting in Moscow, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry, Friday (local time). The meeting between Pyongyang's top diplomat Ri Su-yong and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavprov came amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may visit Moscow in May. The two countries have been gearing up efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation. [Russia NK]
• Putin was surprised at how easily Russia took control of Crimea
  A Russian woman drinks tea while watching the premiere of documentary “Crimea: A way home” (also known as “Crimea: Homeward bound”) by Andrei Kondrashov aired on Russian state television in Moscow on March 15, 2015. (Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA) By Michael Birnbaum March 15 at 6:09 PM ? MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed his nation’s capture of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, he said in a documentary aired Sunday, in which he offered details of his deep involvement in last year’s quick and effective takeover. Putin said that Russia had flooded the Black Sea peninsula with special forces officers in the days after President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev in February 2014, and Putin said that the success of the precision operation surprised even him. With Kiev in chaos, Putin said, he was ready at the time to put Russia’s nuclear forces on alert. The more than two-hour-long documentary, called “Crimea: Path to the Homeland,” offered new details about Putin’s actions between Yanukovych’s late-night escape from Ukraine’s capital on Feb. 21, 2014, and Russia’s annexation of Crimea less than four weeks later. [Crimea] [Ukraine] [Putin]
• Years of Western meddling pushed Ukraine over the edge
  Tara McCormack Author and academic It is beyond wrong to hold Russia responsible for the Ukrainian instability. 12 March 2015 The current mainstream argument in the West about Ukraine is seriously misguided and dishonest. According to Western media and politicians, Russia has become an aggressive, reckless and expansionist power. Yearning for the glory days of the Soviet Union, Russia has ramped up tensions with the West with a series of bold and cunning moves directed by that inscrutable master strategist, Vladimir Putin. Post-Cold War, so the story continues, the West had dreamed that a new and better world order was dawning, one in which the European Union and America could act as forces for good in the world, bringing order and human rights to all. But Russia squandered that opportunity. And now it is dragging Western nations back into the old world, forcing them to respond to Putin’s aggressive and reckless policies. Virtually everything about this argument is false. The only thing that is true is that military and political tensions between Russia and the West have escalated to a level unprecedented since the end of the Cold War. But blame here lies, largely, with the West, not Russia. [Russia confrontation] [Humanitarian intervention]
• The Raiding of Ukraine’s Gold
  Valentin Katasonov | 14.03.2015 | 00:00 At present, Ukraine is teetering on the brink of a default. Its rapidly dwindling gold and foreign exchange reserves are an indication of the country’s catastrophic financial situation. According to official data, on 1 February 2015 Ukraine’s international reserves amounted to $6,419.7 million. This is a triflingly small amount for a country like Ukraine. Given that the country’s average monthly imports last year were at the $5 billion level, Ukraine only has enough gold and foreign exchange reserves to cover imports for a little more than a month (in line with IMF recommendations, a country should have a minimum reserve equivalent to three months of imports). The core of any country’s international reserves is monetary gold. It is the most qualitative part of reserves, is independent of the political climate and is an emergency world currency. The issue of Ukraine’s gold, however, is shrouded in a mist of uncertainty and disinformation. [Gold] [Ukraine]
• Nuland’s Mastery of Ukraine Propaganda
  March 11, 2015 Exclusive: In House testimony, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland blamed Russia and ethnic-Russian rebels for last summer’s shoot-down of MH-17 over Ukraine, but the U.S. government has not substantiated that charge. So, did Nuland mislead Congress or just play a propaganda game, asks Robert Parry. By Robert Parry An early skill learned by Official Washington’s neoconservatives, when they were cutting their teeth inside the U.S. government in the 1980s, was how to frame their arguments in the most propagandistic way, so anyone who dared to disagree with any aspect of the presentation seemed unpatriotic or crazy. During my years at The Associated Press and Newsweek, I dealt with a number of now prominent neocons who were just starting out and mastering these techniques at the knee of top CIA psychological warfare specialist Walter Raymond Jr., who had been transferred to President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council staff where Raymond oversaw inter-agency task forces that pushed Reagan’s hard-line agenda in Central America and elsewhere. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “The Victory of ‘Perception Management.’”] [Nuland] [Russia confrontation] [Spin] [MH17]
• North Korea and Russia designate 2015 a “year of goodwill”
  Posted on : Mar.12,2015 16:52 KST Modified on : Mar.12,2015 16:57 KST Kim Jong-un could travel to Russia in May, which could then lead to a visit to the North by Russian President Putin North Korea and Russia are stressing the need for closer relations in 2015, which they are designating a “year of goodwill.” There could therefore be a stronger chance that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be attending a May event in Russia to celebrate the anniversary of victory in World War II, as well as a possible visit to North Korea by Russian president Vladimir Putin. A May 11 report by the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated, “The year 2015, which marks the 70th anniversary of Korea‘s liberation and the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the war of the fatherland, has been designated a year of goodwill between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.” “The goal is to develop bilateral relations to a new plateau by mutual agreement in several areas, including politics, economy, and culture,” the report continued. [Russia NK]
• How the Malaysian Airlines MH17 Boeing Was Shot Down. Examination of the Wreckage
  By Global Research News Global Research, March 06, 2015 cassad-eng.livejournal.com by Colonel Cassad Translated from Russian. The following text is in some regards technical. It requires careful reading. This report should be examined in relation to previous technical reports pertaining to an examination of the fuselage and cockpit (GR Ed. M.Ch.) * * * Because since the first day after the moment of the crash of the Malaysian “Boeing” I adhere to the version where the airplane was shot down by the Ukrainian SU-25 attack jet, I simply cannot refrain from publishing a new investigation, which summarizes the arguments on this topic. A rod from the “air-to-air” missile R-60M was found among the wreckage of MH17 (below)A model was assembled in Holland using of the fragments of the “Boeing” that was shot down in Donetsk. Using the photos of the fragments from the crash site, it is possible to approximately reconstruct the airframe.Among the photos there were at least two that refute the version of the attack against the plane using the “BUK” complex. On one of the photos we can see the object, which looks like a rod from the AAM missile R-60M. On the other photo — a round hole in the air intake of the right engine. There are at least nine holes in the skin that are characteristic of the effect of an “air-to-air” missile. [MH17]
• Putin's grab of Crimea still rankles West. How about Crimeans?
  A new documentary to be aired on Russian state TV confirms a Kremlin plot to occupy Crimea, which has a Russian naval port. The annexation fueled a still-unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine. By Fred Weir, Correspondent March 12, 2015 Moscow — Russia's quick and dirty annexation of Crimea, carried out under the watchful gaze of barely disguised Russian special forces, remains a bitter bone of contention a year on. By the West it is regarded as an act of unilateral Russian aggression that triggered a wider Ukrainian crisis. The Russian narrative remains that it was a justified reaction to the illegal overthrow of Ukraine's president by pro-Western mobs in Kiev, and the perceived threat that a new Ukrainian government could nationalize its historic naval base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Moscow has paid a heavy price for its actions, with its economy sagging under the weight of Western sanctions, while Russia's image around the world has suffered a black eye over its actions in Ukraine.
  But at least one group appears to be relatively pleased about the outcome: Crimeans. [Media] [Russia confrontation] [Crimea] [Public opinion]
• The Kremlin’s Kool-Aid
  Washington is responsible for a plethora of global calamities. But Putin's Russia isn't offering an appealing alternative at all. By John Feffer, March 11, 2015. We were nearing the end of dinner when the eminent personage leaned in my direction and began yelling at me. Up to that point, the argument among the five of us at the end of the long table at the restaurant had been heated but at a conversational volume. The fact that we were arguing at all was at least partly my fault. After all, I’d brought up the subject of Russia. Just before the entrees arrived, I confessed that I found the political situation in Moscow troubling. I made it clear that I thought the Russian leadership in no way progressive and that I sympathized with the isolated dissidents concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The argument escalated. Just before the desserts arrived, the eminent personage told me in no uncertain terms that I’d gotten my priorities all mixed up. My concerns over human rights in Russia were nonsense. The number one issue was to avoid nuclear war, which required close cooperation with the Kremlin. These sentences were delivered with all the finesse of an exasperated parent disciplining a misbehaving child. [Russia confrontation] [Putin] [Liberal]
• Boris Nemtsov Assassination: Confession of Former Russian Officer could Prompt “Mole-Hunt”
  By Dr. Christof Lehmann Global Research, March 11, 2015 NSNBC International The Moscow Basmanny Court, on Sunday, sanctioned the detention of three additional suspects in the case of the murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov. Meanwhile, Daur Dadayev , a former Chechen officer pleaded guilty for his involvement. The developments prompt the President of the Russian Federation’s Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, to launch a probe into the republics security services and a probe to identify what may have motivated Dadayev, whom he knew as a loyal officer, to get involved in the crime. [Nemtsov]
• MH17 might have been shot down from air – chief Dutch investigator
  Published time: October 27, 2014 21:31 The chief Dutch prosecutor investigating the MH17 downing in eastern Ukraine does not exclude the possibility that the aircraft might have been shot down from air, Der Spiegel reported. Intelligence to support this was presented by Moscow in July. The chief investigator with the Dutch National Prosecutors' Office Fred Westerbeke said in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published on Monday that his team is open to the theory that another plane shot down the Malaysian airliner. Following the downing of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight in July that killed almost 300 people, Russia’s Defense Ministry released military monitoring data, which showed a Kiev military jet tracking the MH17 plane shortly before the crash. No explanation was given by Kiev as to why the military plane was flying so close to a passenger aircraft. Neither Ukraine, nor Western states have officially accepted such a possibility. Westerbeke said that the Dutch investigators are preparing an official request for Moscow’s assistance since Russia is not part of the international investigation team. Westerbeke added that the investigators will specifically ask for the radar data suggesting that a Kiev military jet was flying near the passenger plane right before the catastrophe. "Going by the intelligence available, it is my opinion that a shooting down by a surface to air missile remains the most likely scenario. But we are not closing our eyes to the possibility that things might have happened differently,” he elaborated. [MH17]
• Ukraine is Chockablock with Fascist Formations; Better Deal With It
  The Guardian published an adulatory feature on “The Women Fighting on the Frontline in Ukraine”. One of the women profiled was “Anaconda”, fighting in the Aidar Battalion bankrolled by Igor Kolomoisky: Anaconda was given her nickname by a unit commander, in a joking reference to her stature and power. The baby-faced 19-year-old says that her mother is very worried about her and phones several times a day, sometimes even during combat. She says it is better to always answer, as her mother will not stop calling until she picks up. “In the very beginning my mother kept saying that the war is not for girls,” Anaconda says. “But now she has to put up with my choice. My dad would have come to the front himself, but his health does not allow him to move. He is proud of me now.” … Anaconda was photographed in combat dress resolutely holding an assault rifle in front of a rather decrepit van. The caption read: “Anaconda says she is being treated well by the men in her battalion, but is hoping that the war will end soon.” As reported by the gadfly site OffGuardian, several readers posted critical observations on the van’s insignia in the comments section of the piece. One, “bananasandsocks”, wrote: “We learn from Wikipedia that the image on the door is the “semi-official” insignia of the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS…” and also pointed out the neo-Nazi significance of the number “1488”. [Media] [Russia confrontation] [Nazism]
• The Guardian’s Latest Attempts at PR for the Ukraine Nazis
  written by BlackCatte This profile of the females in the infamous Aidar Battalion appeared on the Graun front page today: The women fighting on the frontline in Ukraine Though it didn’t stay there long, being swiftly removed and hidden away in the Ukraine section. It would be nice to think the reason for this was some sort of residual shame on the part of a one-time great liberal newspaper, being suddenly less than comfortable doing PR photo features on Neo-Nazi chic. It would be great to think that they were not happy showing sympathetic pix of white-supremacists Hitler-fans, even if they did have bewbs. But no. The one and only reason the Guardian moved this shameful “Hello” magazine parody from their main page was the hurricane of condemnation it received in the comments. [Media] [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Nazism]
• Guardian-watch: The referendum that never was
  written by BlackCatte The Guardian’s slide from liberal, informed media outlet, to crass, Ministry of Truth propaganda-sheet, gathers pace every day. Yesterday, for example, came this offering: Vladimir Putin describes secret meeting when Russia decided to seize Crimea Brief, yet crammed with splendid examples of honest, objective reporting, and paradigm-neutral language. For example… “In a trailer shown Sunday for an upcoming documentary on state-run Rossiya-1 television called “Homeward bound”, Putin openly discusses Moscow’s controversial grabbing of Crimea a year ago.” See that? Crimea was “grabbed”. It’s official. Not “liberated” like Iraq or Libya, or Kosovo. Grabbed. “Putin recounts an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss how to extricate deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, who had fled a pro-Western street revolt in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.” Who knew that multi-million dollar-funded, nazi-infiltrated, CIA-handled Maidan Experience was just a big old spontaneous street revolt? Who knew those carefully-placed snipers murdering people on both sides were just ordinary everyday folks up there in their perches on a whim, like latter-day sans-culottes at the Bastille? But it gets better. [Media] [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• Extolling Ukraine’s Extreme-Right
  by Roger Annis Writers at the largest national daily newspaper in Canada, the Globe and Mail, have lately joined writers at the Toronto Star in publishing articles extolling the fundraising efforts in Canada of Ukraine’s extreme-right. This comes in the form of two recent news articles in the Globe, including one by its long-standing correspondent in Europe, Mark MacKinnon. MacKinnon reported on Feb. 27 in the Globe and Mail from the warehouse in Kyiv where ‘Army SOS’ gathers the military supplies that it purchases or receives and then provides to the extreme-right battalions fighting Ukraine’s war against its citizens in the east of the country. As an article by me on Feb. 20 reported, writers at the Toronto Star have also been promoting ‘Army SOS’. The military equipment provided by financial or direct donations has included technology for improving the accuracy of Ukrainian rocket and artillery attacks against the towns and cities of eastern Ukraine. MacKinnon describes ‘Army SOS’ as “a volunteer organization that aids Ukraine’s warriors in the field”. He writes, “Ukraine’s myriad volunteer battalions are famed for their bravery, as well as for their sometimes-extreme nationalism. Along the front line, they are often the ones engaged in the toughest fighting against the rebel army that Kiev and NATO say is armed by Moscow.” Actually, MacKinnon’s “warriors” are mostly “famed” for their extreme-right or neo-Nazi views. The most well-known among them, including the ‘Donbass’, ‘Aidar’, Azov and Dniper battalions, have been cited by journalists and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, for kidnappings, torture and executions. They have been condemned for blockading humanitarian shipments into eastern Ukraine. [Ukraine] [Media]
• The Boris Nemtsov Assassination: Russia’s “Non-system” Opposition Refuses to Blame the Kremlin
  By The Saker Global Research, March 01, 2015 Honestly, I never thought the day would come where I would have anything good to say about the Russian “liberal” or “democratic” “non-system” opposition but apparently this day has come today. To my surprise, all the leaders of this opposition have so far made very moderate and reasonable statement and all those which I have heard have apparently dismissed the notion that the Kremlin was behind the murder. Now this might be self-evident for most of us, but for the Russian “liberal” or “democratic” “non-system” opposition this is quite a change of tone. Many have even said that this murder was a “provocation” (which in this context means “false flag”!) to destabilize Russia and create a crisis. Even Irina Khakamada, normally a real crackpot, has said that this was either a “provocation” or the action of a small group of extremists. Maybe they are aware that the Russian public will not “buy” it, maybe MH17 was too clearly a false flag, or maybe they simply had a momentary moment of decency, but as far as I know nobody pointed the finger at Putin (okay, somebody somewhere probably did, I am just not aware of it). Again, this is quite remarkable. Everybody, pro and anti Kremlin, agree that it is absolutely essential that this crime be solved. Since I personally believe that this was a US/UK organized false flag, I fully expect that somebody will be found and, as we say in Russian, that the “(trail) end will end in the water” meaning that there will be no proof of western involvement. If fact, even if the FSB *does* come across such proof, the Russians will most likely not make it public but use it behind the scenes. As for those who organized it, they also need somebody to get caught because if nobody ever gets caught, then this looks way too professional, but if a small cell of, say, rabid anti-Semitic nationalists, does get caught, then that exculpates all other possible suspects. Considering that the crime happened 200m away from the Kremlin, and that the city center is laced with cameras, I fully expect an arrest in the next 48 hours, a week max. The bottom line is that in Russia this false flag is already a clear failure, not even the notorious Russian “liberal” or “democratic” “non-system” opposition wants to touch this thing. This is very good news indeed. In the West, of course, this is a different story, the AngloZionist will use that to a max, no doubt here at all. [Nemtsov]
• The American Woman Who Stands Between Putin and Ukraine
  Why Natalie Jaresko is as important as the country’s generals March 6, 2015 by Brett Forrest Ukraine is a nation at war, which is why Natalie Jaresko, the minister of finance, has traveled 20 miles from Kiev to the town of Irpin, a settlement of 40,000 on the edge of a pine forest. She’s here to visit a rearguard army hospital and to console convalescing veterans of recent battles against Russian forces and their proxies in the Ukrainian east. “Where did you serve?” she asks, moving slowly from room to room. “How were you wounded?” She may be from Chicago’s West Side, but she speaks Ukrainian fluently, and if anyone notices her American accent, no one seems to care. Jaresko tells the soldiers they’re heroes, the country’s national accountant handling a job for generals. The crisis has thrust people into unlikely roles. Three months ago, Jaresko, 49, left the private equity firm that she co-founded in Ukraine in 2006 to join the government of Petro Poroshenko. A billionaire chocolate and confectionery magnate, he was elected president after the uprising known as the Euromaidan Revolution. At the time, Jaresko didn’t even have Ukrainian citizenship. Now, as the country’s top economic official, she’s Ukraine’s liaison to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Tax reform is hers. So is the treasury. She must construct a national budget out of lint. “I can’t wait for the situation to be perfect,” Jaresko says. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Diaspora]
• Boris Nemtsov murder: Chechen chief Kadyrov confirms link to prime suspect
  Kremlin’s ties to Caucasus leader Ramzan Kadyrov in spotlight as five suspects appear in court over Russian opposition politician’s killing Suspects held over murder of Boris Nemtsov. Source: Reuters Shaun Walker in Moscow Sunday 8 March 2015 20.18 GMT Last modified on Monday 9 March 2015 00.58 GMT An associate of Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov was involved in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a Russian court has heard, in a twist to the investigation that raises as many questions as it answers. Zaur Dadayev, a Chechen, was one of five men to appear in a Moscow courtroom on Sunday, all from Russia’s north Caucasus region. “Dadayev’s involvement in committing this crime is confirmed by, apart from his own confession, the totality of evidence gathered as part of this criminal case,” said Judge Natalia Mushnikova. Dadayev raised his index finger in the courtroom, a common Islamist sign, and said “I love the prophet Mohammed”, according to reporters present. “I knew Zaur as a genuine Russian patriot,” the Chechen leader wrote on his Instagram page on Sunday evening, confirming that Dadayev had served in one of his battalions. “He was the deputy commander of the battalion, and one of the most fearless and courageous soldiers of the regiment.” Kadyrov said Dadayev was “fully devoted to Russia” and suggested the murder may have been in response to anger over Nemtsov’s support for the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. [Nemtsov] [Charlie]
• Russia expert warns Western powers 'are in the logic of 1914' on Putin, Ukraine
  Date March 6, 2015 Nick Miller London: Hindsight is always 20/20 - but that's never an excuse for a bad mistake. And a British historian says one of the worst mistakes of the late 20th century was made on a ship in the Mediterranean, 25 years ago. In December 1989, US president George H. W. Bush met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on a cruise ship off Malta, weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The "Malta Summit" was supposed to mark the end of the Cold War and an epoch of tension and distrust. Speeches were made to that effect. Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cabinet meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, March 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cabinet meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, March 4. Photo: AP But, says the University of Kent's Professor Richard Sakwa, the path from that summit has led Europe inexorably to the brink of a new cold - or even hot - war with Russia. [Russia confrontation]
• Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands by Richard Sakwa review – an unrivalled account
  At last, a balanced assessment of the Ukrainian conflict – the problems go far beyond Vladimir Putin Jonathan Steele Thursday 19 February 2015 10.29 GMT Last modified on Saturday 21 February 2015 00.13 GMT When Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, told a German TV station recently that the Soviet Union invaded Germany, was this just blind ignorance? Or a kind of perverted wishful thinking? If the USSR really was the aggressor in 1941, it would suit Yatsenyuk’s narrative of current geopolitics in which Russia is once again the only side that merits blame. When Grzegorz Schetyna, Poland’s deputy foreign minister, said Ukrainians liberated Auschwitz, did he not know that the Red Army was a multinational force in which Ukrainians certainly played a role but the bulk of the troops were Russian? Or was he looking for a new way to provoke the Kremlin? Faced with these irresponsible distortions, and they are replicated in a hundred other prejudiced comments about Russian behaviour from western politicians as well as their eastern European colleagues, it is a relief to find a book on the Ukrainian conflict that is cool, balanced, and well sourced. Richard Sakwa makes repeated criticisms of Russian tactics and strategy, but he avoids lazy Putin-bashing and locates the origins of the Ukrainian conflict in a quarter-century of mistakes since the cold war ended. In his view, three long-simmering crises have boiled over to produce the violence that is engulfing eastern Ukraine. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Academic] [Context] [False balance]
• Russia detains two men in Boris Nemtsov murder inquiry
  Two men from North Caucasus region detained in connection with February killing of Russian opposition leader Chris Johnston Saturday 7 March 2015 16.31 GMT Last modified on Sunday 8 March 2015 Russian authorities have detained two men in connection with the murder of the opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. The pair were named as Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev, both from the North Caucasus, a volatile region of southern Russia plagued by insurgency. Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s federal security service, said the investigation was ongoing and Vladimir Putin had been informed of the detentions, the government television network Rossiya-24 reported. Nemtsov, 55, was shot four times in the back by a gunman in a passing car while walking close to the Kremlin on the evening of 27 February. It is not clear whether either of the detained men is suspected of firing the shots that killed Nemtsov. The prime witness to the killing returned to Kiev this week. She told the media she was unable to identify who shot Nemtsov. [Nemtsov]
• Breedlove's Bellicosity: Berlin Alarmed by Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine
  By SPIEGEL Staff Top NATO commander General Philip Breedlove has raised hackles in Germany with his public statements about the Ukraine crisis. US President Obama supports Chancellor Merkel's efforts at finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. But hawks in Washington seem determined to torpedo Berlin's approach. And NATO's top commander in Europe hasn't been helping either. It was quiet in eastern Ukraine last Wednesday. Indeed, it was another quiet day in an extended stretch of relative calm. The battles between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists had largely stopped and heavy weaponry was being withdrawn. The Minsk cease-fire wasn't holding perfectly, but it was holding. On that same day, General Philip Breedlove, the top NATO commander in Europe, stepped before the press in Washington. Putin, the 59-year-old said, had once again "upped the ante" in eastern Ukraine -- with "well over a thousand combat vehicles, Russian combat forces, some of their most sophisticated air defense, battalions of artillery" having been sent to the Donbass. "What is clear," Breedlove said, "is that right now, it is not getting better. It is getting worse every day." German leaders in Berlin were stunned. They didn't understand what Breedlove was talking about. And it wasn't the first time. Once again, the German government, supported by intelligence gathered by the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency, did not share the view of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). [Russia confrontation] [NATO] [Alliance] [Friction] [Disinformation]
• Ukraine - Country Ruled By Most Corrupt Regime in the World
  Dmitry Minin | 07.03.2015 | 00:00 If somebody asked those who joined the Maidan protests a year ago what were the reasons for doing so, they would probably say that the rampant corruption was the last straw. The protests have become a thing of the past, the government has changed, and corruption has spread to be become practically all-pervading. The corruption in Ukraine is a unique and unparalleled phenomenon. The old hierarchic corruption system had its own rules and restrictions. Now corruption has no boundaries going out of running control. It’s impossible to know who pockets what, in what quantities and why. It’s free for all. The modernization of corruption is the only thing the new regime has modernized. Nobody has rushed to shoot footages of new rulers’ luxury mansions that make pale the Mezhyhirya, the former President Yanukovych’s private residence - the symbol of Ukrainian corruption in high places that has been given too much attention for too long to make people sick of the whole shebang. Actually it was nothing special just another large, vulgar-style country house. [Corruption] [Ukraine]
• Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe
  Oliver Bullough Friday 6 February 2015 08.43 GMT Last modified on Friday 13 February 2015 13.23 GMT Ukraine’s National Cancer Institute occupies three smoke-grey, six-storey blocks in a residential district on the edge of Kiev. The external walls are tiled, with occasional scars where the bricks peep through. When Soviet workmen completed the facade, they built the date – “1968” – into it. Since then, maintenance appears to have been erratic. Nonetheless, business at the institute has always been brisk, and is getting brisker. Half of Ukraine’s men, and a fifth of its women, smoke; the national diet is heavy with animal fat; the national drink is vodka. Radiation from the Chernobyl disaster spread thyroid cancers throughout the 1980s generation, increasing the incidence among children tenfold. There are few family doctors, which means that breast, prostate and bowel tumours often go undetected for months. Survival rates for these cancers are among the worst in Europe. [Corruption] [Ukraine]
• How Putin Blocked the U.S. Pivot to Asia
  by Mike Whitney “The collapse of the Soviet Union removed the only constraint on Washington’s power to act unilaterally abroad…. Suddenly the United States found itself to be the Uni-power, the ‘world’s only superpower.’ Neoconservatives proclaimed ‘the end of history.'” — Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury “Don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked.” — Russian proverb On February 10, 2007, Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the 43rd Munich Security Conference that created a rift between Washington and Moscow that has only deepened over time. The Russian President’s blistering hour-long critique of US foreign policy provided a rational, point-by-point indictment of US interventions around the world and their devastating effect on global security. Putin probably didn’t realize the impact his candid observations would have on the assembly in Munich or the reaction of powerbrokers in the US who saw the presentation as a turning point in US-Russian relations. But, the fact is, Washington’s hostility towards Russia can be traced back to this particular incident, a speech in which Putin publicly committed himself to a multipolar global system, thus, repudiating the NWO pretensions of US elites. Here’s what he said: “I am convinced that we have reached that decisive moment when we must seriously think about the architecture of global security. And we must proceed by searching for a reasonable balance between the interests of all participants in the international dialogue.” With that one formulation, Putin rejected the United States assumed role as the world’s only superpower and steward of global security, a privileged position which Washington feels it earned by prevailing in the Cold War and which entitles the US to unilaterally intervene whenever it sees fit. [Russia confrontation]
• US PMCs Used for Arms Supplies to Ukraine
  Boris NOVOSELTSEV | 05.03.2015 | 00:00 CyberBerkut is a group of Ukrainian hackers set to fight neo-fascism, nationalism and power abuse in Ukraine. It has gained access to the files on the mobile device of the Green Group PMC (private military company) official who has recently visited Kiev as a member of American military delegation. It made the materials public on February 27 using its website (http://cyber-berkut.org/). Green Group is a US private military company founded in 2007 with headquarters in Edmond, Oklahoma. It has a European branch in Tbilisi. The number of employees differs from 50 to 200, though the exact number is not known as quite often the personnel hired for a concrete mission are not put on pay roll. The company is licensed with the US Department of State and the State Department. CyberBerkut posted the documents to open access along with the Green Group advertisement. Two letters of Gregg Holmes, the CEO of the PMC, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Chief of Staff Muzhenko became public domain. One of them written in Ukrainian and dated February 15, 2015 (the Minsk agreement was signed on February 12) is worth to be cited. It goes like this: «As you know, the United States is in contact with NATO partners on lethal arms supplies to Ukraine. There has been no mutual understanding reached so far. As I am informed by my friends in State Department and the Pentagon, the United States is going to increase the pressure on European allies. During recent consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France the US State Department team insisted on expediting the procedures for delivering anti-tank systems and heavy weapons to Ukrainian military. The United States believes that lethal arms will stop the advance of separatists inside Ukraine and prevent them from approaching the administrative border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. According to the US government estimates, the use of up-to-date weapons by Ukrainian military will inevitably inflict heavy losses upon Russian volunteers fighting in the terrorists ranks. It will be impossible to hide the fact of heavy casualties. In its turn, this information will cause tension in Russia and spur the emergence of anti-war movement to organize mass protests against the current Russian government. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Privatisation]
• Stratfor's Global Forecast Report Torn to Bits by International Analysts
  While a report from the US think tank Stratfor envisions Russia collapsing within the next 10 years, many experts find this idea laughable and note that it may even be a mask for the US's true intentions. Russian, Chinese and Venezuelan geopolitics experts commenting on Stratfor's predictions that Russia will fall apart over the next decade have told Sputnik that the report's conclusions are hasty and careless, and that they are based more on wishful thinking and daydreaming than any real analytical wherewithal. Vladimir Kozin, the head of the Advisory Group to the Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, notes that when it comes making predictions "about Russia's disintegration, this is nothing more than wishful thinking. Let the gentlemen from Stratfor preserve this report as a souvenir for memory." However, Kozin also warns that the predictions made by the intelligence firm do reveal something about US intentions toward Russia. Commenting that Stratfor "works closely with the CIA, which has always led a campaign against Russia," Kozin notes that the predictions about Russia "supposedly falling apart on our own" hide specific plans for actions aimed against the Russian government. As a result, Kozin believes that "in order to ensure that attacks against us remain fruitless, we must consider the [report's] conclusions carefully." [Russia confrontation] [Wishful thinking]
• War in Ukraine: Price Tag is Measured in Billions of Dollars
  Dmitriy Sedov | 04.03.2015 | 09:07 It has become clear that the United States and Europe are divided on Ukraine. Germany and France have chosen the policy of supporting «the victorious Ukrainian revolution» by non-military means to prevent the risk of conflict spillover. The peaceful stabilization of the regime led by Poroshenko meets their long-term interests as they seek to move Ukraine out of Russia's sphere of influence. They have applied time and effort to prevent Kiev from sliding down to military debacle. These countries will do their best to reduce the status of Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics as the efforts aimed at reaching peaceful settlement of crisis are underway. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation] [US global strategy]
• Death threats and a late night dinner before Russia's Nemtsov was shot dead
  By Thomas Grove MOSCOW Sat Feb 28, 2015 Feb 28 (Reuters) - It was near closing time on Friday at the upscale Bosco restaurant that looks out onto the illuminated red-brick walls of Moscow's Kremlin. Boris Nemtsov and his young, dark-haired girlfriend were finishing dinner. A political reformer who had fallen foul of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Nemtsov had been preoccupied for weeks with details of an opposition march planned for Sunday. Dinner at Bosco - dishes include beef with rocket salad and balsamic sauce or duck liver with wild berries - had been interrupted by telephone calls, a waiter told a Russian newspaper. Nemtsov also broke off for an interview with a Ukrainian radio station eager for the details of the rally. [Media] [Nemtsov]
• Russian Opposition: Putin Did NOT Assassinate Opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov
  By Global Research News Global Research, March 02, 2015 Washington's Blog U.S. media is quick to blame Putin for the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. But Itina Khakamada – a top ally of Nemtsov in the opposition – said the killing was “clearly not in Putin’s interest. It’s aimed at rocking the situation.” Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says the the killing is aimed at “destabilizing the situation in the country, at heightening confrontation” with the West. Gorbachev says: The assassination of Boris Nemtsov is an attempt to complicate the situation in the country, even to destabilize it by ratcheting up tensions between the government and the opposition. Even the U.S. government’s Voice of America states – in an article entitled “Could Nemtsov Threaten Putin in Death as in Life?” – that Putin loses much more than he gains by the assassination: With the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, gunned down on a Moscow street, the fiercest critic of President Vladimir Putin has been removed from the political stage. But it remains to be seen whether, in death as in life, Nemtsov will remain a threat to Putin’s rule. Already, city authorities have approved a mass march for up to 50,000 people in central Moscow on Sunday. The march, expected to be far larger than the scheduled protest rally it replaces, will provide a powerful platform for Kremlin critics who suspect a government hand in Nemtsov’s death. Even officials in Putin’s government seem to sense the danger that the former first deputy prime minister’s martyrdom might pose, hinting darkly that Friday night’s drive-by shooting may have been an deliberate “provocation” ahead of the planned weekend rally. [Nemtsov] [Destabilisation]
• Major Critic Of Vladimir Putin Shot Dead In Moscow
  Associated Press ByLAURA MILLS and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV PublishedFebruary 27, 2015, 5:40 PM EST Updated: February 27, 2015, 8:23 PM EST MOSCOW (AP) — Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader and sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down Saturday near the Kremlin, just a day before a planned protest against the government. The death of Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, ignited a fury among opposition figures who assailed the Kremlin for creating an atmosphere of intolerance of any dissent and called the killing an assassination. Putin quickly offered his condolences and called the murder a provocation. Nemtsov was working on a report presenting evidence that he believed proved Russia's direct involvement in the separatist rebellion that erupted in eastern Ukraine last year. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of backing the rebels with troops and sophisticated weapons. Moscow denies the accusations. [Nemtsov] [Destabilisation]
• Boris Nemtsov’s Killers Tried to Destabilize Russia – Gorbachev
  © Sputnik/ Grigoriy Sysoev Soviet ex-President Mikhail Gorbachev sees the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov as an attempt to destabilize Russia. He also warns against calls to give excessive powers to law enforcement and security agencies. On the site of the killing of leading opposition figure and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov © Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev Several Cars Checked After Drive-By Murder of Boris Nemtsov - Source "The assassination of Boris Nemtsov is an attempt to complicate the situation in the country, even to destabilize it by ratcheting up tensions between the government and the opposition,” Gorbachev said. “Just who did this is hard to say, let’s not jump to any conclusions right now and give the investigators time to sort this all out,” he added. Gorbachev did not rule out that the high-profile murder could encourage some people to urge the authorities to introduce a state of emergency, which he said would only exacerbate what is already a difficult situation. [Nemtsov] [Assassination] [Destabilisation]
• NATO Invents Russian Threats in the Baltic – but Putin’s Next Big Play is Greece
  By Oliver Tickell Global Research, February 22, 2015 The Ecologist While mainstream media promulgate a fictitious message of Russian threats in the Baltic, Vladimir Putin’s next big play lies far to the south, writes Oliver Tickell. The gross intransigence of the EU, the IMF, the European Central Bank and Germany are forcing Greece into a powerful new economic and energy alliance with Russia that will reshape Europe – and for the better. We could see Greece simply renouncing its manifestly unpayable and unjust €320 billion national debt, and quitting the Eurozone straitjacket – while receiving an emergency liquidity package from Russia to support the launch of the New Drachma. Russian President Vladimir Putin will“launch a campaign of undercover attacks to destabilise the Baltic states on Nato’s eastern flank”, the Telegraph reports today – along with all other mainstream news media. How do we know this? Because the UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said so. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia watch out – the Russian peril is fast coming your way. “There are lots of worries”, Fallon told the newspaper. “I’m worried about Putin. There’s no effective control of the border, I’m worried about his pressure on the Baltics, the way he is testing NATO, the submarines and aircraft … They are modernising their conventional forces, they are modernising their nuclear forces and they are testing NATO, so we need to respond.” Covert attack by Russia on the Baltic states is “a very real and present danger”, Fallon insisted. Now where did we hear that before? Ah yes. On 16th December 1998 President Bill Clinton said that that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein presented “a clear and present danger“ to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the safety of people everywhere. [Russia confrontation]
• Ukraine Signs Defense Deal With UAE
  By Joe Gould 1:39 a.m. EST February 25, 2015 Involves Unspecified Military and Technical Cooperation ABU DHABI — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a deal for unspecified military and technical cooperation with the UAE on Tuesday, and said negotiations are ongoing with the United States and unspecified European nations. The deal is a sign that Ukraine is not only seeking, but finding defense industry partners outside the region as it wages an uphill fight against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko told reporters at the IDEX show here that he hoped talks with the US would yield an agreement to help Ukraine defend itself. Poroshenko had reportedly planned to meet with chief Pentagon weapons buyer, Frank Kendall, at the show. "We are in a very practical dialogue, and we hope in the very near future, we have a decision to help us attain defensive weapons," he said of talks with the US. "I want to stress that the defensive capabilities for the Ukrainian Army are only to defend our territory, to keep our independence, to keep our sovereignty. We do not have any plans to attack anybody." Ukraine Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said the country will dedicate $3 billion to fund the fight against pro-Russian rebels, including $110 million for buying weapons abroad. [Ukraine] [Proxy] [Russia confrontation]
• US, Russian Troops Show off Hardware Just Miles Apart
  By Paul McLeary 9:44 p.m. EST February 26, 2015 WASHINGTON–The Russian takeover of Crimea has transformed the security situation in the Black Sea for NATO ships and aircraft, the head of the US European Command and allied commander of NATO said on Wednesday. "Crimea has been transformed in some fairly significant ways as far as weapon systems" Gen. Philip Breedlove told reporters in the Pentagon briefing room. "And these weapon systems, from air defense systems that reach nearly half of the Black Sea to surface attack systems that reach almost all the Black Sea area have made the platform of Crimea a great platform for power projection into this area." Breedlove made his comments on a day when US and Russian forces made force demonstrations just miles apart on opposite sides of the Estonian border. [Russia confrontation] [Media] [False balance] [Heading]
• The Metamorphosis of Vladimir Putin
  by Andrew Levine Suddenly last summer, Vladimir Putin, formerly once a decent enough Russian leader (with a few unsettling quirks), turned into a malevolent, almost demonic, force. Congratulations to the American propaganda system for putting over this remarkable metamorphosis. At the same time, the verdict on Barack Obama did not change – not last summer, not since he assumed office. From the moment that it became clear that his presidency would be rife with “disappointments” and sparing in achievements, Democrats have maintained that he means well and would be a force for good – were it not for pesky Republicans thwarting his every move. Republicans, meanwhile, have a different view. For them, Obama has always been evil incarnate – like Putin now is, maybe worse. Hell, he may not even be a Christian, and he doesn’t “love America.” Needless to say, the Republican take on Obama is preposterous. But then the liberal view is preposterous too. Disappointed Obamaphiles are not as in-your-face stupid as GOP Obamaphobes, but it is hard to say which is worse. [Obama] [Russia confrontation] [Demonisation] [Media]
• Russia: US-Backed Opposition Leader Gunned Down in Moscow
  Martyrdom on demand: if not of use alive, perhaps of use dead? US-backed opposition groups in Russia have so far failed utterly to produce results. Their transparent subservience to Washington coupled with their distasteful brand of politics has left a rather unpleasant taste in the mouth of most Russians. Each attempt to spread the “virus” of color revolution to Moscow, as US Senator John McCain called it, has failed – and each attempt has fallen progressively flatter. Russian President Vladimir Putin has never been more popular. His ability to weather serial provocations aimed at Russia by NATO has made him a champion against the perceived growing injustice exacted against the developing world by an increasingly militaristic and exploitative West. So when US-backed opposition groups in Russia decided to gather again this coming March 1, Sunday, many wondered just exactly what they expected to accomplish. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/02/28/russia-us-backed-opposition-leader-gunned-down-in-moscow/ [Assassination]

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FEBRUARY 2015

• Relooking Europe: The Role of Land Forces
  Monday, Mar 2, 2015 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am Please join us for a discussion with COL Foster about the future of land forces in Europe and the role of the 173rd Airborne Brigade going forward. The discussion will cover a range of issues and current events facing USAREUR, the 173rd Airborne Brigade's mission as part of OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE, joint exercises with European allies, and the brigade's upcoming training mission in Ukraine. A Discussion with Colonel Michael L. Foster Brigade Commander, 173rd Airborne Brigade Vicenza, Italy Moderated by Dr. Maren Leed Senior Adviser, CSIS Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies
  The Security Dialogues are generously supported by Bell Helicopter and Textron [MISCOM] [Russia confrontation]
• U.S. military vehicles paraded 300 yards from the Russian border
  By Michael Birnbaum February 24 at 5:44 PM ? U.S. military parades near Estonia-Russia border(1:01) U.S. military combat vehicles rolled through Narva, a city in eastern Estonia that borders Russia, on the eve of Estonia’s Independence Day. (QPERTY via YouTube) estonia-2300 MOSCOW — U.S. military combat vehicles paraded Wednesday through an Estonian city that juts into Russia, a symbolic act that highlighted the stakes for both sides amid the worst tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War. The armored personnel carriers and other U.S. Army vehicles that rolled through the streets of Narva, a border city separated by a narrow frontier from Russia, were a dramatic reminder of the new military confrontation in Eastern Europe. The soldiers from the U.S. Army’s Second Cavalry Regiment were taking part in a military parade to mark Estonia’s Independence Day. Narva is a vulnerable border city separated by a river from Russia. It has often been cited as a potential target for the Kremlin if it wanted to escalate its conflict with the West onto NATO territory. [Estonia’s president: Russia is threatening ‘the entire post-World War II order’] Russia has long complained bitterly about NATO expansion, saying that the Cold War defense alliance was a major security threat as it drew closer to Russia’s borders. The anger grew especially passionate after the Baltic states joined in 2004, and Russian President Vladimir Putin cited fears that Ukraine would join NATO when he annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March last year. [Russia confrontation] [Provocation]
• [Vladimir Putin] Interview with VGTRK
  February 23, 2015, 21:30 The Kremlin, Moscow Vladimir Putin answered questions from the National State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) journalist Vladimir Solovyov. VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV: Mr President, our nation just celebrated Defender of the Fatherland Day, but our brotherly nation of Ukraine now considers this the day that Crimea was conquered, and Petro Poroshenko states that he will do everything possible to get Crimea back. What is the current state of Russian-Ukrainian relations? Will we wake up one day to learn we are at war? PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: I think that this apocalyptic scenario is highly unlikely, and I hope it never comes to that. As for returning any territories, that is revanchist talk and it’s not about returning territories anywhere. In my opinion – and I do not want to give any advice, but still – the current leadership of a large European nation such as Ukraine should first return the country to normal life: fix the economy, the social sector, its relations with the southeast region of the country in a civilised manner, and ensure the lawful rights and interests of the people living in Donbass. If the Minsk agreements are implemented, I am certain that this will be done. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• German newspaper BILD gets inside US-NATO-Nuland planning session
  General Breedlove tells US diplomats and select members of Congress what Ukraine needs. Das Bild, published February 19, 2015 The Bild headline: “Cold Feet” “Bullshit,” “Angst” What US Politicians REALLY think about the Germans in the Ukraine-crisis February 19, 2015 Translated from German by Tom Winter Munich — While a bloody war rages in eastern Ukraine, the next dangerous conflict is breaking out in the Security Conference, a diplomatic battle of nerves centered on the question whether the West ought to supply armaments to the regime in Kiev. The opponents are actually allies: the USA against Europe, and Germany in particular. Behind the soundproof doors of the conference room in the Bayerischer Hof hotel, the Americans speak about Germans in rather derogatory terms. Friday evening a bit after 7 p.m. on the sixth floor of the luxury hotel, according to BILD’s sources, American four-star generals, diplomats, and high-ranking US politicians held a frank discussion in a “briefing room,” and held forth about the Germans. “Defeatist,” is what a US Senator called German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, because she no longer believes in a Kiev victory. The phrase “German defeatist,” according to our information, was often heard in the room. Defense minister Ursula von der Leyen, (here with NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg) counts as a defeatist among the US diplomats since she no longer believes in a victory of Ukraine against Russia. Obama’s top diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, called the Chancellor’s trip to Putin, “Merkel’s Moscow thing.” Another US Foreign office type spoke of the Europeans’ "Moscow bullshit.” And US Senator John McCain talked himself into a rage: “History shows us that dictators always take more, whenever you let them. They can’t be brought back from their brutal behavior when you fly to Moscow to them, just like someone once flew to this city.” [Russia confrontation] [Alliance] [Friction] [Germany]
• Washington Turns its Back on Poroshenko
  It seems that Poroshenko now has virtually no power over the course of events in Ukraine and he’s almost finished. According to what the leader of Novorossiya, Oleg Tsarov says – he will be overthrown soon; secondly, he does not represent any army because currently he is even unable to perform the successful mobilization since the majority of Ukrainians do not want to fight after all. Thirdly, the real power is the Right Sector, Yarosh, Kolomoisky. As Long as they have the money and weapons, there will be no ceasefire. Why is that? First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/02/19/washington-turns-its-back-on-poroshenko/ [Ukraine]
• Putin in Hungary: Western Anti-Russia Unity Shattered
  Arkady Dziuba | 19.02.2015 | 00:00 President Putin arrived on a working visit to Hungary on February 17. The importance of this event goes beyond the limits of bilateral relations. It was an outstanding event. Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban is an extraordinary personality standing out among European politicians. Many a time he has spoken against the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union. According to him, it was like shooting oneself in the foot. He has guts to oppose US pressure and call Senator McCain an extremist. The Prime Minister says he believes the Russia’s democracy to be a more attractive political model than the liberal democracies of the West. Foreign Affairs called him the Hungarian Putin. Orban is conservative in his views; he sticks to traditional Christian family values. The Hungarian leader has signed a 12 billion-euro ($16 billion) deal with Russia to expand Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant. Victor Orban is really popular at home – the right partner to make deals with. He is a real, not a theatrical, nationalist and he understands that it is easy to sacrifice the interests of Hungary, a small country, to the interests of leading EU states or European bureaucracy. Orban understands that there are forces that try to impose upon Hungary the role of US-loyal Trojan horse in the European Union taking into consideration the country’s geographic position. He believes such a role is hardly appropriate. In the days of the USSR Orban did not like the fact that the Soviet troops were deployed on the territory of his country. The Prime Minister started his political career from protests against their presence. [Hungary] [Alliance] [Friction] [Russia confrontation]
• Ukrainian battalion’s soldiers recall desperate run to safety
  By Karoun Demirijian February 18 at 7:13 PM ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — When the order to retreat came over the radio Wednesday, most of the Ukrainian troops under siege in Debaltseve abandoned their heavy weapons, blew up their ammunition, and then fled in convoys of trucks as pro-Russian forces shot at them along the way. But for Ilya Andrushko, one of about 30 members of Ukraine’s Lviv battalion, the only way to escape was on foot. “We didn’t have a chance to think about the order when it came,” said Andrushko, 33. “We ran through the fields and the forests on foot, for about five kilometers. Then we just hitchhiked in whatever military vehicles would pick us up.” After weeks under siege, nearly surrounded by rebels and calling for reinforcements that never came, they were already on the brink of collapse. They were almost out of food and water and were running out of ammunition. Charged since mid-January with protecting the outskirts of the strategic rail town of Debaltseve, the battalion was facing the worst fighting in the Ukraine war’s hottest zone — without a commander. He abandoned them about a week ago, they said, and was blown up by a roadside bomb while fleeing. [Ukraine]
• US: 'Proxy War' With Russia Over E. Ukraine Not in World's Interest
  Last updated on: February 17, 2015 2:43 PM The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was not in the interests of Ukraine or the world to get into a "proxy war" with Russia over eastern Ukraine, a comment suggesting Washington is now shifting away from arming Ukrainian forces. “Our belief here in the administration, and I would be surprised if others disagree, is that getting into a proxy war with Russia is not anything that's in the interest of Ukraine or in the interest of the international community,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. “And certainly, as we weigh options, we weigh that as one of the factors.” The Obama adminstratration has not made a final decision on providing Ukraine with lethal aid, and Psaki seemed to have left that option open. "We certainly believe that a diplomatic approach and a political approach is the right approach here, but the same options that were on the table a week ago or two weeks ago remain on the table," she said. "And so we'll continue to have internal discussions ... about the appropriate" assistance. The U.S. had voiced concerns earlier Tuesday, saying it is "gravely concerned" over the deteriorating situation in and around Debaltseve, where pro-Russian rebels and Ukraine's military are both refusing to pull back their weapons from the strategic eastern Ukrainian town. [Russia confrontation] [Dialback]
• Ukraine Denouement
  by Michael Hudson The fate of Ukraine is now shifting from the military battlefield back to the arena that counts most: that of international finance. Kiev is broke, having depleted its foreign reserves on waging war that has destroyed its industrial export and coal mining capacity in the Donbass (especially vis-à-vis Russia, which normally has bought 38 percent of Ukraine’s exports). Deeply in debt (with €3 billion falling due on December 20 to Russia), Ukraine faces insolvency if the IMF and Europe do not release new loans next month to pay for new imports as well as Russian and foreign bondholders. Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko announced on Friday that she hopes to see the money begin to flow in by early March.[1] But Ukraine must meet conditions that seem almost impossible: It must implement an honest budget and start reforming its corrupt oligarchs (who dominate in the Rada and control the bureaucracy), implement more austerity, abolish its environmental protection, and make its industry “attractive” to foreign investors to buy Ukraine’s land, natural resources, monopolies and other assets, presumably at distress prices in view of the country’s recent devastation. [Russia Confrontation] [Alliance] [Dilemma]
• Vietnam and the 'Maidan Massacre'
  By Sergei Blagov In his longish Facebook posts, film-maker Oliver Stone came up with an analysis of Ukraine that is clearly at variance with the mainstream media coverage in the West. This analysis, notably in a December 30 post, includes comparisons between the "Maidan Massacre" and the Chavez "regime change", as well as Iran ‘53, Chile ‘73, etcetera. Stone noted the coup of 2002 in Venezuela, when Chavez was temporarily ousted after pro- and anti-Chavez demonstrators were fired upon by mysterious shooters. Following a four-hour interview with Ukraine's deposed president Viktor Yanukovych in Moscow, Stone went on to argue that the so-called "shooters" who killed 14 policemen, wounded some 85, and killed 45 protesting civilians in the Ukrainian capital were outside third-party agitators. Many witnesses, including Yanukovych and police officials, believe these foreign elements were introduced by pro-Western factions - with CIA fingerprints on it, according to Stone. Surprisingly, Stone did not mention that the third-party shooters episodes of the "Maidan Massacre" were almost carbon copies of the fighting in Saigon in April 1955. Apparent parallels between Maidan 2014 and Saigon 1955 episodes may hopefully help to understand the bigger picture. On April 28, 1955, every time the fighting subsided in Saigon, elements belonging to neither side fired shots, which reanimated the battle. These "snipers", christened as "The Third Force", were rumored to be Vietnamese General Trinh Minh The’s men. However, neither these mysterious shooters nor their commanders were ever positively identified. Likewise, the identity of the "Maidan snipers" remains a mystery. Life Magazine said on May 13, 1957, "Just how Ngo Dinh Diem came to power has never been divulged." But later on, in A Bright Shining Lie, Neil Sheehan called the legendary covert operator Edward Lansdale the "father of South Vietnam". The identity of the "father of modern Ukraine" is yet to be revealed: it may take decades to get the right documents declassified, or it may happen earlier, courtesy of yet another Snowden. [Covert] [Ukraine] [Vietnam]
• Putin visit to Hungary shows he still has friends in Europe
  FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban walk during their meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Budapest on Tuesday Feb. 17, 2015 to meet Viktor Orban, the leader some Hungarians cast as his alter ego “Little Putin.” (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Sergei Guneyev, Presidential Press Service, File) (1) More Photos BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Budapest on Tuesday to meet the leader some Hungarians cast as his alter ego — "Little Putin." It's a striking moniker for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who rose to international prominence in the 1980s as an anti-Soviet student leader. His transformation into a populist who cozies up to the Kremlin and stifles dissent mirrors a broader eastern European narrative in which rebellion against Moscow has evolved into mixed feelings about the neighboring Russian giant. Leaders in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic all increasingly play a double game of courting EU riches while also flirting with Russian patronage. Some 2,000 people marched Monday evening in downtown Budapest to protest Putin's visit, calling on Orban to stop the "Putinization" of Hungary. "The pestering of civic groups, corruption and the fattening of oligarchs show that we are getting ever closer to the Russian model and farther from the European one," said protest organizer Gabor Vago. The rise in support for Russia despite its aggression in Ukraine is playing out among some eastern European governments and ordinary people who may identify more with the political certainties of Russia than the complicated, messy and sometimes painful ways of Western-style democracy. [Russia confrontation] [Media] [Hungary]
• Kim and Putin in constant close contact
  By Kim Hyo-jin Russia's top envoy to North Korea said in a media interview that Pyongyang and Moscow regularly exchange messages. "An active political dialogue is maintained at the highest and high level between Pyongyang and Moscow," Russia's Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora said during an interview with Itar Tass. "Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin exchange messages on a regular basis." Matsegora was appointed Russia's ambassador to North Korea in December, replacing Alexander Timonin, who came to Seoul last month as Moscow's new top envoy to South Korea. Itar Tass reported the ambassador also expressed hopes to further improve bilateral relations in 2015, the year of friendship between Russia and North Korea. "I believe a lot can be done to improve Russia-North Korea ties, considering unused potential," Matsegora said, adding that hopes are pinned especially on economic cooperation. He added that the priority is on the trade between Russian goods and investment and North Korea's mineral resources. His remarks came amid media reports that Pyongyang-Moscow relations have gotten closer since South Korean President Park Geun-hye took office. [Russia NK] [Russia SK] [Park Geun-hye]
• Busted: Kiev MPs try to fool US senator with ‘proof’ of Russian tanks in Ukraine (PHOTOS)
  Editor's Choice | 13.02.2015 | 23:01 MPs in Kiev hoodwinked a US senator, presenting his office with photos of columns of Russian military hardware allegedly roaming Ukrainian territory. The photos turned out to have been taken during the conflict in South Ossetia back in 2008. The photos were “presented to the Armed Services Committee from a delegation from Ukraine in December,” told The Washington Free Beacon Senator Jim Inhofe’s communications director Donelle Harder. The Americans planned to publish the photos with credits to the Ukrainian MPs, and “they were fine with that,” the spokesperson said. Yet, after thorough checking, images of the Russian convoys turned to be taken years ago, in 2008 during Georgia - South Ossetia war. “We are currently making calls to our sources,” Harder said. “The Ukrainian parliament members who gave us these photos in print form as if it came directly from a camera really did themselves a disservice,” Senator Inhofe said in a statement. “I was furious to learn one of the photos provided now appears to be falsified from an AP photo taken in 2008,” the lawmaker wrote. [Ukraine] [Disinformation]
• Putin Bolstered as Ukraine Accord Averts Escalation Threat
  Henry Meyer February 13, 2015 (Bloomberg) -- The peace agreement in the Ukrainian conflict may be tailor-made to satisfy Russian President Vladimir Putin: it keeps the authorities in Kiev under his thumb while avoiding an escalation of the confrontation that would tip his country’s economy deeper into crisis. Putin and the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine on Thursday unveiled an agreement in Minsk, Belarus, that foresees a cease-fire on Feb. 15 and other steps including a buffer zone and more powers for parts of the disputed Donbas region. Even if the accord succeeds in ending 10 months of fighting, analysts from Moscow to Berlin say the struggle over Ukraine’s strategic direction looks far from over. “Russia will not leave Ukraine alone as that would run counter to Putin’s main goals when he started this crisis,” Masha Lipman, a Moscow-based political analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said by phone. “This agreement does not get in the way of Russian policy aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s development.” [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• The Czech Republic: Doomed without Russia
  Pyotr Iskenderov | 13.02.2015 | 00:00 Czech President Miloš Zeman’s interview on Sunday with the national online newspaper Blesk was unusually tough and outspoken even for the Czech head of state, who is well-known as an independent thinker. Zeman virtually admitted that there was a group of countries within the European Union who were against the anti-Russian sanctions, and declared that with regard to relations between the West and Russia, priority should be given to trade and economic cooperation rather than political confrontation. «I am not a Kremlin propagandist. The German Chancellor, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have all been more critical of the sanctions than I. I am among respectable people», was the main leitmotif in Miloš Zeman’s interview. Asked about the reasons for his position and why the Czech leader has seemingly taken it upon himself to become Russian President Vladimir Putin’s «protector», the Czech President said: «Firstly, the last time I met with Putin was 15 years ago, and secondly, I am not helping Putin, I am helping ensure that normal trade and economic relations exist between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation, not relations burdened by sanctions». According to Miloš Zeman, the European Union has a year at most to lift the sanctions against Russia. Otherwise, EU members can expect not just huge, but irreparable losses. Among other things, Czech businesses will be unable to re-establish their positions on the Russian market and will be driven out by companies from other countries, and the first companies will be American. Zeman believes that this has happened before in the history of his country; when the Czech Republic was still part of Czechoslovakia, the country refused to cooperate with Russia in the field of military technology. As a result, the country lost its business reputation and its share of the market – both the Russian market and the global market. «Something similar once happened with the defence industry. Now, as the Czech president, I am trying to prevent it», said Miloš Zeman. In present conditions, the Czech Republic could once again find itself facing a similar situation, and the entire structure of Czech imports would be at risk. According to independent sources, the current volume of Czech imports from Russia amounts to USD 8 billion, which is comparable with the volume of Czech exports to Russia. The sustainable growth rate of corresponding figures observed since 2009, that is to say the beginning of the global economic crisis, is particularly important. According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, trade between Russia and the Czech Republic in 2009 amounted to USD 6.8 billion, in 2010 it was USD 8.4 billion, in 2011 – USD 9.9 billion, and in 2012 – USD 10.5 billion. Losses in trade with Russia could be irreparable for the Czech Republic, especially bearing in mind the country’s unenviable economic situation at present. In
• No Need for Moscow Trip Just to Meet Kim Jong-un
  The U.S. is leaning on President Park Geun-hye not to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of the Soviet Union's World War II victory in Moscow on May 9. Asked what the White House's response would be if Park attends the event, Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters Monday that although it is up to individual leaders to decide, it is important to deliver a "unified voice" against Russia, which is stoking a civil war in Ukraine. The U.S. is South Korea's staunchest ally. The two usually maintain a unified voice on major international issues, and Washington has been spearheading sanctions against Russia since last year. Still, it is diplomatically inappropriate for a U.S. official to comment publicly on whether the leader of a friendly nation should go somewhere or not. Russia is enticing Park to the event with the prospect of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the sidelines. Amid diplomatic isolation from the international community due to the Ukraine situation, Moscow invited Kim and he has apparently accepted. Lawmakers on Tuesday called on Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se not to be swayed by U.S. pressure and use the Russian celebration as an opportunity for a meeting between Park and Kim. They were wrong. [US dominance] [Russia confrontation] [Dilemma]
• Lawmakers urge Park to visit Moscow
  By Kang Seung-woo Members of the National Assembly have called on President Park Geun-hye to visit Moscow in May in the hope of meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Russia will celebrate its part in the victory over Germany in World War II that month, inviting leaders from around the world to join. The United States is staying away because of Russia's armed intervention in Ukraine, and has hinted that Park should not attend either. "Should Kim Jong-un go to Russia, President Park should go there, too," said Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling Saenuri Party, Wednesday. "In order to improve inter-Korean relations, we need to convince the U.S. to understand South Korea's situation."
• Obama Won't Attend Russian World War II Victory Party
  U.S. President Barack Obama is not going to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of the Soviet Union's World War II victory in Moscow on May 9. Washington apparently does not want President Park Geun-hye to go either. Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters Monday that Obama "does not plan to travel to Moscow." Asked what the White House's response would be if Park attends the event, Rhodes said that although it is up to individual leaders to decide, it is important to deliver a "unified voice" against Russia, which is stoking a civil war in Ukraine. He added that Russia's outdated attempts to "redraw the map" of the Ukraine cannot be condoned and urged all countries to rally behind international principles. The comments have deepened worries at Cheong Wa Dae. The presidential office has reportedly been divided over whether Park should go as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accepted the invitation. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told lawmakers Tuesday that Seoul needs to "take a wait-and-see approach," since the North has yet officially to announce Kim's travel plans and only a few countries have said they will attend. [Russia confrontation] [US dominance] [Subordinate]
• Ri Su Yong Greets Russian FM
  Pyongyang, February 9 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong Monday sent a message of greeting to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the conclusion of the treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation between the DPRK and the Russian Federation. The treaty has made an important contribution to more energetically developing the friendly and cooperative relations with a long history and tradition between the peoples of the two countries in the new century, the message said, adding: This year, the two countries will greet the 15th anniversary of the treaty, the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation and the 70th anniversary of the victory in the patriotic war of Russia, important events in protecting the freedom and independence of the countries and the peace and security of the world, and celebrate the year of the DPRK-Russia friendship, the first of its kind in the bilateral relations. In the belief that this year greeting the significant holidays, the DPRK-Russia relations will grow stronger comprehensively and epochally in the spirit of common understanding reached between the top leaders and the inter-state treaty, the message wished him greater success in his responsible work.
• Park Unsure Whether to Attend WWII Event in Russia
  President Park Geun-hye will decide whether to attend 70th anniversary celebrations of the Soviet Union's World War II victory in May by looking at her "packed" diplomatic calendar, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Sunday. The event presents a dilemma because Russia has invited the leaders of both Koreas to Moscow, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly accepted. Whether Kim will really turn up at an event where most other foreign leaders are likely to shun him remains to be seen. But Yun told reporters before meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that Park will decide depending on her circumstances without considering whether Kim attends or not.
• Ukraine: Military Coup Inevitable
  Dmitry Minin | 09.02.2015 | 00:00 The process aimed at finding peaceful settlement of Ukraine’s crisis is re-launched. Now the question pops up – who should sign a corresponding agreement on the part of Ukraine? A year has passed since the Ukraine’s government was forcibly removed. Experts strongly believe that a military coup is inevitable. It’s a matter of time, driving forces and scenarios. Ukrainian commentators see Putin behind everything that is happening there and call «Russian (Moskali) agents» those who take up arms to defend their rights and put forward their demands. Some more reasonable experts believe that the regime gave birth to its own undertakers by taking reckless and irresponsible steps. February 20 – the date of the coup could be the beginning of the «third Maidan revolution». Ukrainian media outlets write that serious mistakes take place as the war is being waged. The Poroshenko’s team is unprofessional. The banking system is destroyed by speculative currency rate games and skyrocketing inflation cannot be stopped because state bureaucrats see themselves as timeservers. The relationship between President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk is shadowed. The risk is great and the clock is ticking marking days left before it starts. The motley crew to include National Guard voluntary formations, territorial defense units or the All-Ukraine Battalion Brotherhood is going to play the role of the Praetorian Guard. They have shown no combat prowess but acquired the reputation of being merciless. They are called «punishers» or «national scumbags». With no victories achieved on the battlefield they always raise ballyhoo about being betrayed. And there is some justification for saying so. The regime purposely selected Maidan activists to men the battalions. Sent to frontline they happen to be right in the heat of fighting. The regime hardly wants them to come back alive. The battalion commanders are made members of parliament to recognize their merits. It’s an extraordinary case in history. Nobody before has made unit commanders members of parliament. How can they fight? The main thing is that as politicians they are doomed to put the blame for their own mistakes on the powers that be. It’s politics as usual. The temptation to use private armies to prove one’s point is also great. The «brothers-in-arms» always have the same reason for protests - «Kiev is permeated by treason». Besides, many «scumbags» have tycoons behind their backs. [Ukraine] [Coup]
• Pouring Gas on the Ukrainian Fire
  February 8th, 2015 by Greg Mello This is a guest post by Steven Starr. Steve is first-class activist, parent, medical scientist, and director of Clinical Laboratory Science at the University of Missouri. He teaches on nuclear weapons issues and maintains the highly-recommended nucleardarkness.org web site. We have been following the developing situation in Ukraine — a disaster that was made in the West, led by the U.S. — with great alarm. Steve’s letter is timely and completely accurate as far as I can tell. There appears to be almost no serious objections being raised against the loud voices now calling for the US to send large quantities of weapons to Ukraine. It is not just John McCain demanding that Obama OK massive arms shipments to Kiev. Consider the new report, “Preserving Ukraine’s Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do”, released by three prominent think tanks this last week (the Brookings Institution, the Atlantic Council, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs) [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• New Video Evidence of America’s Coup in Ukraine — and What it Means
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, February 09, 2015 New video evidence has been added to the already-conclusive video evidence which shows that the U.S. Government was the controlling power behind the extremely violent and illegal 18-27 February 2014 Ukrainian coup, which overthrew the democratically elected and never legally removed-from-power Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. This new evidence proves, even more than before (if that were even possible to do), that the current regime in Ukraine is definitely illegal — but that’s not all. Even after fake ‘democratic’ elections, it’s the same illegal regime in Ukraine that the U.S. imposed at its February 2014 coup, because no nationwide vote has occurred in Ukraine throughout that country’s expanse after the American coup; it’s still just a rump-Ukrainian Government, not one representing the residents either in Crimea or in Ukraine’s far east (neither of which regions participated in Ukrainian elections after the coup) — and yet this illegal violent coup-imposed Ukrainian regime (and the U.S. that imposed it, and even the EU that sheepishly backed it) nonetheless demand (against all legalities) that this blatantly illegal U.S.-imposed Ukrainian Government must control those areas, which reject this nazi imposed Government — that the residents in the regions that had voted overwhelmingly for Yanukovych don’t have the right to self-determination, but must instead accept a coup that goes exactly against, and even has gone so far as to overthrow, the Government for which the residents in those regions had overwhelmingly voted. [Ukraine]
• Putin, Merkel, Hollande end talks on Ukraine crisis
  Xinhua, February 7, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) meets with visiting French President Francois Hollande (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 6, 2015. The tripartite talks on Ukraine crisis, involving the Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, started here Friday evening in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the escalating armed conflict in Ukraine. [Xinhua] [Ukraine]
• Ukraine crisis: Hot topic provokes conflicting views at Munich Security Conference
  By Sarah Joanne Taylor | With REUTERS 06/02 17:21 "Providing them with defensive arms doesn't save Ukraine. And there's no one, there's not John McCain, there's not a hawk in the United States that is actively prepared to do enough to save Ukraine." The conflict in Ukraine dominated the agenda on the first day of the Munich Security Conference. Former US Senator Joe Lieberman told the press he advocated supplying Ukraine with weapons, ‘to defend themselves’. “The first thing we have to do is give them weapons. To defend themselves,” said Lieberman. “Otherwise, Russia will continue to move and take more territory. Just as they seized Crimea. This is setting a terrible precedent of allowing aggression to change borders in Europe, which hasn’t happened since the end of the Second World War.” However, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen warned against sending arms, saying this would act as a ‘fire accelerant’. “I am convinced that the supply of weapons alone will be a fire accelerant and brings us even further away from a desired solution,” she told the conference. “The people in eastern Ukraine suffer very badly. There are already too many weapons in the region. The potential supply for the separatists is without end. Are we sure that we can really improve the situation of the people in Ukraine by supplying weapons? Are we sure that Ukraine can even win against the military machinery of Russia? Are we aware of the dangerous potential for escalation? And isn’t that only a pretence for Russia to enter the conflict openly?” It’s an opinion Dr Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group, seems to share. “The only way you’re going to get the Russians to come up with, at the very best, a frozen conflict – never mind a comprehensive accord with the Ukrainians – would be a combination of both pressure and inducement. And I think that the diplomatic way is the only way,” he told euronews. “Providing them with defensive arms doesn’t save Ukraine. And there’s no one, there’s not John McCain, there’s not a hawk in the United States that is actively prepared to do enough to save Ukraine. If that is your reality then you have to prepare yourself to accept that and to admit that to your friends – but not allies – the Ukrainians.” [Russia confrontation] [Friction]
• On War Crimes and Double Standards in Ukraine
  The Western media has been abuzz in recent days with the claim that videos posted to youtube, which show Ukrainian prisoners being “mistreated” by anti-Kiev rebels, amount to war crimes. Naturally, such claims deserve attention as violations of international laws governing war and treatment of prisoners are of concern to all. However, it is equally true that those calling for prosecution of the anti-Kiev rebels are applying a farcical double standard as they have utterly ignored the exponentially more egregious war crimes committed by the Ukrainian military and its neo-Nazi auxiliaries. This complete whitewashing of countless war crimes committed by Kiev is not coincidental, nor is it a mystery. In fact, it is part of a coordinated campaign by the western media and western non-profit industrial complex to frame the narrative in such a way as to cast Kiev ‘s forces as righteous and just, while the anti-Kiev rebels are terrorist criminals. This complete inversion of reality is par for the course for the West, which, recognizing it cannot achieve its geopolitical ambitions in Ukraine by force, instead will seek to do it through propaganda. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/02/08/on-war-crimes-and-double-standards-in-ukraine/ [Ukraine] [Double standards]
• Leaders scramble to avert "dramatic spiral" in Ukraine
  By Noah Barkin and Lesley Wroughton MUNICH Sun Feb 8, 2015 (Reuters) - The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to meet in Belarus on Wednesday to try to broker a peace deal for Ukraine amid escalating violence there and signs of cracks in the transatlantic consensus on confronting Vladimir Putin. The four leaders held a call on Sunday, two days after Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande travelled to Moscow for talks with Putin that produced no breakthrough in the nearly year-long conflict that has claimed over 5,000 lives. After the call, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said progress had been made and that he was hopeful the meeting in Minsk would lead to a "swift and unconditional ceasefire" in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have stepped up a military offensive in recent weeks, seizing new territory. A Ukraine military spokesman said on Sunday that intense fighting was continuing around the rail junction town of Debaltseve, with rebel fighters making repeated attempts to storm lines defended by government troops. [Russia confrontation] [Friction] [Media]
• Putin Prefers a Bad Peace
  From Syria to Donbass, Russians Endorse Peace, Americans Push for War
  by Israel Shamir
  Moscow. In February, it is a long way to the spring, lamented Joseph Brodsky. Indeed, snow still falls heavily in Moscow and Kiev as well as in the rolling steppes that form Russian-Ukrainian borderlands, but there it is tinted with red. Soldiers are loth to fight in the winter, when life is difficult anyway in these latitudes, but fighting already flared up in war-torn Donbass, and the US prepares to escalate by supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev. Tired by the siege and by intermittent shelling, the rebels disregarded snow and took the strategic Donetsk airport. This airport with its Stalin-built tunnels, a symbol of solid Soviet defence work, presented a huge challenge for underequipped militia. Its many-leveled underground facilities were built to sustain a nuclear attack; still, the rebels, after months of fighting, flushed the enemy out and took it. [Russia Confrontation] [Putin] [Ukraine]
• Merkel and Hollande’s surprise Moscow visit raises hopes of Ukraine deal
  Summit announcement spawns suspicions that Putin is seeking to split Europe and America as US officials hint at military aid to Kiev François Hollande and Angela Merkel in Paris in 2013. The leaders are heading to Kiev then Moscow for talks on the Ukraine crisis. Photograph: Imago / Barcroft Media Shaun Walker in Kiev, Ian Traynor in Brussels, Dan Roberts in Washington and Alec Luhn in Moscow Thursday 5 February 2015 19.34 The leaders of Germany and France abruptly announced a summit with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on Friday in response to overtures from the Kremlin, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the year-old Ukraine conflict. The sudden and unusual decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President François Hollande to travel to Moscow, with the French leader talking of decisions of war and peace, increased the stakes in the crisis while also raising suspicions that the Kremlin was seeking to split Europe and America. Putin was said to have made “initiatives” to the European leaders in recent days. Merkel and Hollande met the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, in Kiev on Thursday evening. [Russia confrontation] [Alliance]
• Collapsing economy is second front in Ukraine's war
  Oren Dorell, USA TODAY 4:34 p.m. EST February 4, 2015 Ukraine's war with Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country is creating a disaster beyond the thousands of casualties it has claimed — an economy in shambles. As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lands in Kiev on Thursday to discuss Ukraine's economy and the ongoing conflict, the military and financial impact of the war is being felt deeply across the nation. The country's national government is reeling from a spike in defense spending and the loss of production and trade, particularly after separatists seized Ukraine's main industrial and coal-mining regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. The fighting is also creating a distraction for Ukrainian leaders under pressure by international investors to restructure a collapsing economy. Ukraine's economic output dropped by 6.5% in 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund, which has sent a team to the capital of Kiev to assess the nation's economic needs. In order to meet a large foreign debt due in the coming months, Ukraine needs $15 billion in assistance. IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said she would support an expanded funding plan for Ukraine in return for unspecified fiscal reforms. Ukraine's war effort costs $7 million a day, a $2.5 billion yearly expense that is cutting into a budget decimated by reduced revenues related to the fighting, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Prystaiko told USA TODAY during a recent visit to Washington. Defense spending, which includes items not directly associated with the day-to-day costs of the fighting, now eats up 5.2% of the national budget, compared with just 1% in 2013. [Ukraine] [Economy]
• Russian Parliament Set to Request €4 Trillion in WWII Reparations From Germany
  By Damien Sharkov 2/3/15 at 12:58 PM Members of the Russian parliament are creating a task force to estimate the damages inflicted on Russia by Germany during WWII, in a bid to demand financial compensation from the German state almost 70 years after the end of the conflict, Russian daily newspaper Izvestia reported on Tuesday. The initiative is a direct response to trade sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and EU, for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and continuous support of separatist fighters in Eastern Ukraine since, according to Mikhail Degyaterov, an MP from the Liberal Democrat Party of Russia, who has proposed the task force. “Practically, Germany paid nothing to the USSR for its wave of destruction and savagery during the Second World War,” said Degyaterov. Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week “After the Yalta convention the USSR took back some German assets - largely looted furniture, clothes and industrial equipment, as well as some spoils of war - but largely there was no compensation of the war’s economic blow to the USSR,” Degyaterov added. According to Degyaterov, Russian satellite East Germany was not liable for the reparations because it and the Soviet Union had a legally binding agreement not to demand reparations. Such an agreement was never made with West Germany, however, and after the USSR’s collapse and the reunification of East and West Germany, the bill for the war should now be footed to their modern successor - the German Federation. “Worse still, Germany continues to inflict economic damage to Russia, by extending EU-trade sanctions,” Degyaterov added, referring to the series of trade restrictions the EU has imposed on Russia following the latter’s backing of separatist militants in Ukraine which have caused a crisis in the Russian economy and run on the rouble. Russia is not the only country disputing WWII reparations with Germany. Calls for greater reparations have got louder in Greece in recent years, particularly in the face of German-imposed austerity. [WW2] [Reparations]
• Russia has announced plans for joint military drills with North Korea
  Jeremy Bender Feb 4 2015, 12:00 PM A top Russian military official has stated that Moscow plans on conducting joint military exercises with North Korea, a number of media outlets have reported. “We are planning an expansion of the communication lines of our military central command,” Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, said at a meeting attended by the heads of all of Russia’s armed forces branches, according to Newsweek. “We are entering preliminary negotiations with the armed forces of Brazil, Vietnam, Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” If negotiations are successful, the military drills will include naval and air force exercises as well as joint drills between ground troops from Russia and North Korea. Although military exercises involving both North Korea and Russia could increase tensions along the Korean peninsula — where the US routinely conducts joint military drills with South Korea — any military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang will likely be superficial. “Russia is well-aware of the detrimental influence North Korea could have if Russia lets it beef up its military capacities — nuclear and rocket technologies, a possible connection with al-Qaeda, etc.,” South Korean expert Yune Hyeong-jin told NK News. “Russia doesn’t seem to be interested in modernizing North Korean weaponry, which can make the North more dangerous.”
• Ukraine crisis - the view from Russia
  Former Russian spy chief Nikolai Patrushev challenges western perspectives on the standoff between Moscow and Kiev in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta
  Ivan Egorov and Nikolai Patrushev for Rossiyskaya Gazeta Friday 24 October 2014 10.25 BST The last few months have witnessed a coup d’état in Ukraine, military operations by the Ukrainian authorities against the people of Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts and rabidly anti-Russian policies on the part of Kiev. Was it possible to predict this turn of events just a year ago? Nikolai Patrushev: Our experts warned that a worsening of the situation in Ukraine was likely under conditions of political and economic instability, particularly in the case of outside influence. But I have to admit that the possibility of a sudden seizure of power in Kiev, relying on armed units of self-proclaimed Nazis, hadn’t then been considered. It’s worth remembering that until that coup, Moscow fulfilled all its obligations to Kiev in full. Without the material and financial help that we constantly supplied, Ukraine wouldn’t have been able to deal with its economic problems, which had become chronic. To help our neighbour, we marshalled material and financial resources worth tens of millions of dollars. For many people in Ukraine, this help came to seem so routine that they simply forgot how important it was for the survival of the country. But if you’re talking about longer-term predictions, the Ukraine crisis was a totally predictable outcome of the actions of the US and its closest allies. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine]
• Russia Says N. Korea Sent Positive Signal on Kim Visit in May
  January 22, 2015 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – Asahi Shimbun MOSCOW–Russia received a positive initial signal from North Korea after President Vladimir Putin invited its leader Kim Jong Un to attend anniversary celebrations of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Jan. 21. The trip would be Kim’s first foreign visit since taking the helm of the reclusive east Asian state in 2011. Moscow and Pyongyang are looking to boost ties and North Korea is seeking support from Russia against international criticism over accusations of human rights abuses. Asked at a news conference on Jan. 21 about Pyongyang’s response to the Russian invitation, Lavrov replied: “The first signal was positive.” He did not elaborate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in December that Kim had been invited to the World War II victory anniversary which Russia marks every year on May 9.
• Panic About Panic: Russia and the World-System Today
  by Immanuel Wallerstein Commentary No. 394, February 1, 2015 Visiting Russia, which I recently did, is a strange experience for someone coming from the Global North. As we know, most Russians have an entirely different reading of recent world history from most persons in the Global North. In addition, however, they are concerned about things other than what visitors expect them to be concerned about. The one common assumption that transcends these differences is the fact that the occurrence of a sharp drop in world oil and gas prices combined with the embargo imposed by some countries on Russia has created an economic squeeze on Russian state expenditures and individual consumption. In Russia today almost everyone across the political spectrum believes that the West, and the United States in particular, has conspired with some others - principally Saudi Arabia and Israel - to "punish" Russia for its actions and alleged misdeeds in pursuing what Russians regard as the legitimate defense of their national interests. The debate centers primarily on Ukraine, but includes as well to a lesser degree Syria and Iran. The conspiracy theory is probably a bit exaggerated, since the United States started developing its shale oil (a major factor in today’s world oversupply) already in 1973 as a response to the OPEC price rise. Yet, one doesn't hear much discussion of these foreign policy issues in Russia. This is probably because there is not too much dissent inside Russia concerning Russia's official foreign policy positions, not even from persons or groups very critical of President Putin on other matters. What one hears discussed instead is how best to handle the acute budgetary shortfall that the Russian state is facing. There are three basic positions. One is to reduce significantly state expenditures. We might call this the neoliberal option. It is espoused by the Minister of Finance. The second is to use the reserves still available to the Russian state, thus minimizing the need to reduce expenditures immediately. We might call this the social-democratic option. It is espoused by the Minister of the Economy. The third is to use up one of the two sets of reserves but not the other. We might call this the midway option. This would ensure stability for probably eighteen months and is based on the hope that somehow the world price of oil and gas will begin to rise again by then and/or that the sanctions will be annulled or largely circumvented. [Russia confrontation]
• Russia Plans Joint Military Drills with N.Korea
  Russia has announced plans for joint military drills with North Korea this year, VOA reported on Saturday. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said at a meeting with top brass at the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday that he would hold talks with defense ministry officials from Brazil, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam, adding Russia would stage joint drills with those countries mobilizing its Army, Navy, and Air Force. This is likely to create fresh tensions reminiscent of the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula since South Korea in turn conducts several massive military drills with the U.S. every year. Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification said, "Russia and the North have common interests in that Russia wants to resist U.S. pressure and the North opposes the joint South Korea-U.S. exercises." Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched a joint Navy-Air Force exercise to prepare for strikes on hypothetical U.S. military targets at sea on Saturday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. During the exercise, Kim reportedly said the North will not sit still while "the rabid dogs are openly barking." The drill comes after U.S. President Barack Obama predicted the eventual collapse of the North Korean regime. [NK Russia] [Military exercises] [NCW]
• Our dangerous new McCarthyism: Russia, Noam Chomsky and what the media’s not telling you about the new Cold War
  Perverse, diabolical obsession: Policy cliques in D.C. have no intention of desisting in this war until they win it Patrick L. Smith It is time to attempt that hardest of things—to see ourselves for who we are, to see what it is we are doing and what is being done to us. Two things prompt the thought. We have the latest news on Washington’s confrontation with Russia, and we have a newly precipitous decline in the national conversation on this crisis. In my estimation, we reach dangerous new lows in both respects. It is always difficult for the living to see themselves as suspended in history. Being up against the rock face of events, being the stuff of which events are made, allows no distance, and achieving perspective without any takes an arduous effort. But we have to make an attempt at this field of vision now. Every moment counts as history, but some passages are bigger than others. And this, ours, is very big as of the last 10 days, maybe two weeks. We are now invited to let this time take a place alongside the frenzied interval that preceded the American attack on the Spanish in 1898, the Red Scare of the post-1917 period and the second, very deadly (and deadening) McCarthyist scare of the late-1940s and 1950s. Join me, please, in insisting we are a better people than this. Konstantin Sonin, a professor at a much-celebrated research university in Moscow, gave the New York Times an interesting quotation over the weekend. “The country is on a holy mission. It’s at war with the United States,” Sonin said. “So why would you bother about the small battleground, the economy?” Think about this, and do so in two dimensions. There is the question of war, and then the question of “small battlegrounds.” What is this man talking about? What assumptions lie behind this remark? What are the implications? [Russia confrontation] [Hysteria]
• Scholars at Odds on Ukraine
  By Jennifer Schuessler Jan. 28, 2015 Since the crisis in Ukraine began, the Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen has cast himself in the role of the unbowed dissenter, whose sharp criticisms of America’s foreign policy in the region have earned him denunciations as “Putin’s American toady,” as The New Republic put it, and worse. But Mr. Cohen is also a man of means, whose wife’s charitable foundation has donated large amounts of money to support Russian studies, which have been hard hit by declining government funding. Now, his largess and his divisive reputation have collided, opening a rift in the main scholarly association covering the post-Soviet world and spurring charges that the polarizing politics of the Ukraine crisis are stifling free speech and compromising the group’s scholarly mission. [Russia confrontation]
• Distortions, lies and omissions: The New York Times won’t tell you the real story behind Ukraine, Russian economic collapse
  International papers will cover America's role in the world honestly. Only our best paper willingly blinds itself Patrick L. Smith Distortions, lies and omissions: The New York Times won't tell you the real story behind Ukraine, Russian economic collapse Vladimir Putin (Credit: AP/Mark Lennihan/Photo montage by Salon) A note arrived a few days ago from one of my best informants in Europe. He had just met across a hotel dining table with a senior German executive, and the topic quickly turned to the crisis in Ukraine and the sanctions regime Washington has imposed on Russia. [Russia confrontation]
• Obama’s words on power transition in Ukraine confirm US involvement in state coup - Lavrov
  02.02.2015 | 18:14 TASS - The statement of US President Barack Obama on the United States role in "brokering power transition" in Ukraine confirms that Washington was involved in the February state coup, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Speaking about Obama’s interview with CNN on Sunday, Lavrov said the US leader confirmed that the US has been "since the very beginning involved in an anti-governmental coup which Obama called neutrally a "power transition." "The rhetoric that sounded in the interview speaks about Washington’s intention to further do everything to implicitly support the actions of the current Kiev authorities which have apparently taken the course towards suppressing the conflict by force only," Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister said Europe also shares the assessment that there is a need to establish a direct dialogue between the Kiev authorities and the representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. However, Lavrov said this effort has encountered attempts to disrupt the negotiation process. [Ukraine] [Coup]
• Obama openly admits 'brokering power transition' in Ukraine
  22:21 GMT, Feb 2, 2015 Robert Bridge has worked as a journalist in Russia since 1998. Formerly the editor-in-chief of The Moscow News, Bridge is the author of the book, “Midnight in the American Empire.” Published time: February 01, 2015 18:32 In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Barack Obama acknowledged that the United States had "brokered a deal to transition power in Ukraine," thus admitting to a high level of democratic impropriety. Before we consider Obama’s revealing remarks, and how the Ukrainian people sold their country for a song, let’s rewind to November 2013, when then-President Viktor Yanukovich had shocked western capitals - and, more importantly, western markets - by suspending plans for an association agreement with the European Union. As if on command, thousands of Ukrainians suddenly poured into the streets of Kiev to protest the decision. Such a rapid reaction should not have come as a surprise. After all, a multitude of US government agencies – most notably, USAID - had been operating in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, investing billions on its latest "democratic" pet project. This is no conspiracy theory. On December 13, 2013, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, following her third trip to Ukraine in five weeks, told the National Press Club: "Since Ukraine's independence in 1991 the United States has…invested over $5 billion to assist Ukraine in needs and other goals." Exactly what those "other goals" may have been, and who helped underwrite them, seem rather obvious today. [Russia confrontation] [Ukraine] [Coup]
• 2014 In Review: Russia’s Foreign Policy – Analysis
  January 31, 2015 ?JTW ?1 Comment By JTW By Sergei Karaganov* The year of 2014 is likely to go down in the history of Russia as a time when the course of the country’s foreign policy was hardened and its internal and economic policy guidelines started to change. The main reason for Russia’s turn is the West’s refusal to recognize its place in European and global politics, which Moscow considers natural and legitimate. Some among the Russian elite needed the confrontation in order to consolidate their positions in the government; others, to make themselves and those around them “nationalize themselves”, that is, to return to their home turf and stop fooling around by taking their money, stolen or earned, out of the country and wasting it away abroad, but rather to focus on national development, or to get rid of those who did not want to or could not do so. That confrontation was unavoidable became obvious in 2012 and especially in 2013 when practically any Russian action was met with increasingly hostile and almost totally negative rhetoric. This left Russia virtually no incentive for constructive behavior. The last remaining doubts had dissipated before the Sochi Olympics which the West nearly unanimously wished to see fail. [Russia confrontation]
• Business Council Giving Practical Form to Russia-DPRK Ties?
  By Anthony Rinna | February 01, 2015 Kim Jong-il's August 2011 trip to Russia drew modest comment from the South Korean media. Now, almost four years later, are the two sides trying to give economic form to bilateral political relations? | Image: Destination Pyongyang >Kim Jong-il’s August 2011 trip to Russia drew modest comment in the South Korean media. Almost four years later, are the two sides trying to give greater form to their economic relations? | Image: Destination Pyongyang As part of its own “pivot” toward Asia, Russia has begun to build up ties with states on its southern and eastern flanks. China, India, and Mongolia are among those set to benefit from additional Russian energy sales and augmented defense cooperation. North Korea stands to gain as well, albeit in a more limited fashion. Even modest improvements to economic ties–like easing restrictions on Russian businesspersons conducting trade in North Korea–can have outsized effects on the North’s relatively weak economy. The two sides recently moved their bilateral economic cooperation forward another step by announcing the creation of a North Korea-Russia Business Council. Moscow already has a similar council dedicated to fostering trade relations with South Korean firms, among others. While the purpose of any transnational business council is to foster increased cooperation between enterprises, the North Korea-Russia variant has greater than average political implications, since North Korea has no de jure private enterprises, only state-owned and “Red Hat” companies, and the Russian business scene, while relatively privatized, is subject to considerable state involvement. Diplomatic and regional officials in Russia have already stated a broad commitment to fostering economic ties through the new business council, underscoring the link between politics and trade in the North Korea-Russia relationship. The following is a translation of an article published by RIA Novosti. [Russia NK] [FDI] [Trade]
• Ukrainian Government: “No Russian Troops Are Fighting Against Us”. Sanctions against Russia based on Falsehoods
  By Eric Zuesse Global Research, January 31, 2015 Ukraine’s top general is contradicting allegations by the Obama Administration and by his own Ukrainian Government, by saying that no Russian troops are fighting against the Ukrainian Government’s forces in the formerly Ukrainian, but now separatist, area, where the Ukrainian civil war is being waged. Here is a screen-print of a google-chrome auto-translation of that statement: [Ukraine]
• General Staff of Ukraine: In the Donbas not the Russian army Kiev
  Military facts have only about individuals in Russia, fighting on the side of the militia.
  Kiev admitted that he has no facts presence in the conflict zone in the south-eastern Ukraine, any regular units of the Russian army. The corresponding statement today on the air Channel Five TV Ukraine made ??Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko. - Now we have only the facts of participation of individual citizens of the Russian Federation and the Russian Army, who are members of illegal armed groups. I will also say that currently Ukrainian army is not fighting with the regular units of the Russian army - said Muzhenko . [Ukraine]
• NATO to Surround Russia with "Command Centers"
  http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/31/3003 Move is part of plan to respond to "aggressive Russian actions" BRUSSELS—NATO will establish command centers in six of its eastern countries in coming months, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, in part of a beefed-up response to Russian aggressiveness. The outposts will form a chain of potential command centers for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s already announced new rapid-response force, which will consist of roughly 5,000 troops. Details are to be finalized at a meeting next week of NATO defense ministers. The centers also will provide a link between NATO and the armed forces of the six countries where they will be located—Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Mr. Stoltenberg announced the new centers at a news conference in Brussels, where he also urged NATO allies to spend more on defense to counter Russia’s military budget. Mr. Stoltenberg also said he would meet with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in the sidelines of a security conference in Munich in two weeks. [NATO enlargement] [Military expenditure]
• The Meme of “Russian Aggression”
  by Oliver Tickell “Russian aggression” is the BBC’s meme of the day. I lost count of how many times the phrase popped up in the first 15 minutes of Radio 4’s World at One programme, devoted entirely to the ‘Russian problem – but the theme was drummed in relentlessly. The idea is that Russia presents a huge a growing threat to world peace and stability. Russian bombers are threatening the ‘English’ Channel (albeit strictly from international airspace). Russia is an expansionist power attacking sovereign nations, Ukraine in particular. And watch it – we’re next! Commentators wheeled into the studio were unanimous in their views. NATO must stand up to the threat. Presient Vladimir Putin is a dangerous monster who refuses to abide by the rules of the international order. NATO countries must increase their defence spending to counter the Russian menace. Not a single moderating voice was included in the discussion. No one to ask Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, if alliance aircraft ever fly close to Russia’s borders (they do). No one to point out that the real Ukrainian narrative in is not that of Russia’s ‘annexation’ of Crimea – but of NATO’s US-led annexation of Ukraine itself. No one to argue that Russia’s assimilation of Crimea was effected with hardly a shot being fired, backed by overwhelming support in a referendum which reflected the popular will – and if you’re in any doubt, just compare it to Israel’s ongoing and endlessly justified annexation of Palestine. The lies are in what the media don’t tell us [Russia confrontation] [Media]

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JANUARY 2015

• Mariupol: Who Pulled the Trigger?
  Arkady Dziuba | 28.01.2015 | 00:00 Mariupol is a Ukrainian city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the north coast of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Kalmius River. On January 24, civilians came under fire there. The death toll went up to 30, including 2 children. 95 people (9 children) were wounded. The tragedy of Mariupol was immediately used in the interests of anti-Russian information campaign. The monitoring team of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMMU) went to investigate the accident on spot. According to its report, the fire came from the areas under the control of the Donetsk People’s Republic. One by one Western officials started to launch accusations against Russia and the Novorossia’s armed formations. US State Secretary John Kerry said, «I join my European counterparts in condemning in the strongest terms today's horrific assault by Russia-backed separatists on civilian neighborhoods in Mariupol, a peaceful city 25 kilometers outside of the Minsk ceasefire line, using Grad rocket systems and other advanced weaponry». Kerry accused Russia of being behind the new attacks launched by the militiamen against Mariupol and Debaltsevo, the Donetsk region. According to him, «The separatists' new offensive, not just in Mariupol and Debaltsevo, but along the ceasefire line, has been aided and abetted by Russia's irresponsible and dangerous decision to resupply them in recent weeks with hundreds of new pieces of advanced weaponry, including rocket systems, heavy artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, in addition to continuing operational command and control». NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talked about «…the shelling of residential areas in the city of Mariupol from separatist-controlled territory». He added that there are «indications of a large-scale offensive by Russian-backed separatists at multiple locations in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts as well as against the city of Mariupol». British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was quick to condemn the shelling of Mariupol by separatists and called on Russia to «to stop its material support to the separatists immediately, and use its considerable influence over the separatist leadership to stop these indiscriminate attacks, and fully abide by the commitments they made at Minsk». The Saturday’s shelling brought to the fore the issue of introducing new sanctions against Russia. Canada will impose additional anti-Russian sanctions in connection with the deliberate shelling of the residential neighborhood of Mariupol, which led to numerous victims, Minister of International Trade of Canada Edward Fast told at the briefing in Kyiv on January 26. What really happened on January 24? [False flag]
• Liberation of Auschwitz – Heroic Deed of Red Army
  Yuriy Rubtsov | 27.01.2015 | 00:00 Soviet soldiers escorting two prisoners on the day of liberation, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. Photo: yadvashem.org If you ask the prisoners of Auschwitz or at least those who have ever visited the memorial and museum about what they felt – they will tell you that the place where hundreds of thousands died is under the effects of cursed seal. One gets the impression that the death silence of the cemetery is still broken by cries and moans of inmates pushed into gas chambers…piles of shoes of all sizes, tooth brushes, glasses… all these objects still appear to preserve the warmth of hands of the people they belonged to. Grzegorz Schetyna, the Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, suggested that Ukrainian troops should be celebrated for liberating the Hitler’s camp of death camp, and not the Soviet Red Army. («Since the Ukrainian soldiers were there on that January day, it was they who opened the camp’s gates», Schetyna said). It’s not the first and, probably, not the last attempt to distort the events related to Auschwitz liberation and the whole history of WWII. In April 2007 Poland closed the Russian exposition in Auschwitz which was located on the grounds of the former camp since 1961. The administration of the museum in the former Auschwitz concentration camp said it could be reopened only if Russia acknowledged occupation of Poland by the USSR. The Polish side insisted that Western Ukraine and Belarus were Polish territories till 1939 and the inmates from these territories were Polish not Soviet. [Russia confrontation] [History]
• Russia In The Cross Hairs. Washington’s Threats have moved Into the Realm of Insanity
  By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts Global Research, January 27, 2015 Washington’s attack on Russia has moved beyond the boundary of the absurd into the realm of insanity. The New Chief of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors, Andrew Lack, has declared the Russian news service, RT, which broadcasts in multiple languages, to be a terrorist organization equivalent to Boko Haram and the Islamic State, and Standard and Poor’s just downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk status. Today RT International interviewed me about these insane developments. In prior days when America was still a sane country, Lack’s charge would have led to him being laughed out of office. He would have had to resign and disappear from public life. Today in the make-believe world that Western propaganda has created, Lack’s statement is taken seriously. Yet another terrorist threat has been identified–RT. (Although both Boko Haram and the Islamic State employ terror, strictly speaking they are political organizations seeking to rule, not terror organizations, but this distinction would be over Lack’s head. Yes, I know. There is a good joke that could be made here about what Lack lacks. Appropriately named and all that.) Nevertheless, whatever Lack might lack, I doubt he believes his nonsensical statement that RT is a terrorist organization. So what is his game? The answer is that the Western presstitute media by becoming Ministries of Propaganda for Washington, have created large markets for RT, Press TV, and Al Jazeera. As more and more of the peoples of the world turn to these more honest news sources, Washington’s ability to fabricate self-serving explanations has declined. RT in particular has a large Western audience. The contrast between RT’s truthful reporting and the lies spewed by US media is undermining Washington’s control of the explanation. This is no longer acceptable. [Propaganda] [Softwar] [Russia confrontation]
• On the Possible Losses for Banks Should the West’s Economic War against Russia Continue
  Valentin Katasonov | 24.01.2015 | 00:00 At the end of 2014, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel published the most recent data outlining the position of foreign banks in Russia and Russian banks abroad, and shedding light on the possible losses for the parties involved (the banking systems) should the banks be drawn further into the war. The position of foreign banks in Russia With regard to the position of foreign banks in Russia and their possible risks, the BIS gives the following assessment. An obvious part of these risks are the credit and loan obligations of Russian banks and companies in all sectors of the economy to foreign banks. This is the main risk, measured as the full (100 per cent) non-payment of debts by Russian recipients of credits and loans, and for the banks of every country, this type of main risk was estimated to be USD 207.6 billion. There are also other risks. In mid-2014, all types of risks for foreign banks in Russia amounted to USD 363.3 billion (Table 1). It is interesting that as of 31 December 2013, the BIS estimated the main risk for foreign banks in Russia to be USD 225 billion, i.e. over a period of six months there was a fall of 7.7 per cent. This is not surprising, since economic sanctions against Russia began to be introduced in March. Old credits and loans were repaid, but the provision of new credits and loans to Russian banks and companies started to decline. Following the introduction of the third round sanctions, according to which Russian organisations were cut off from long-term and mid-term credits and loans, they stopped almost completely. [Sanctions] [Russia confrontation] [Response] [Unintended consequences]
• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address and annual news conference on Russia’s diplomatic performance in 2014, Moscow, 21 January 2015
  78-21-01-2015 Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to our annual meeting on Russia’s diplomatic performance. The situation last year was more complicated than previously, as new dangerous seats of tensions complemented several smouldering chronic conflicts. Especially alarming was the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, where extremist and terrorist threats were growing and spreading to other regions and to which Russia consistently tried to attract the attention of its partners. The risk that religious and societal divides will grow has not diminished. The global economic situation is far from clear. We believe that the developments of the past few years show convincingly that global security issues can only be resolved through concerted efforts. But cooperative actions by the international community are hindered by a number of negative trends. The most important of them are fundamental differences between the objective process of the decentralisation of power in the world and the development of a more democratic polycentric world order on the one hand, and persistent attempts by the “historical” West to preserve global leadership at all costs and to enforce its approaches and values, including through the use of force on the other participants of international relations, on the other hand. The situation in Ukraine is a perfect reflection of this policy.
• Russia to Help N.Korea with Power Grid
  North Korea and Russia are pushing ahead with a project to repair and improve the North’s notoriously paltry power grid and build a transmission network, a source said Thursday. Economic cooperation between the two countries is picking up as leader Kim Jong-un accepted an invitation to Moscow’s 70th anniversary celebrations of its World War II victory in May. "The North and Russia are discussing a plan whereby Russia will get rare earth metals from the North in exchange for assistance in improving the dilapidated power grid," the source in Beijing said. The project is estimated at US$20 to 30 billion. The two countries are also talking about ways to siphon off surplus electricity from Russia's Far East to the North. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong last October visited a hydroelectric power plant in Bureya, the largest in Asia, in October last year. The North then sent technicians to Russia early this month for training. Some 60 to 70 percent of electricity is lost in transmission and distribution in the North because of the outdated equipment. The two countries are huddling closer together as both become more isolated in the international community. Russian exports of steel and copper to Europe have taken a hit from sanctions in the West in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict. Russia apparently hopes to use the steel and copper stockpiles to modernize the North's railway lines and power grid. A Russian businessman who spearheaded a $25 billion project to modernize a railway between Pyongyang and Moscow in October was arrested on charges of delaying wage payments late last year, suggesting that Moscow is keen to get on. Trade volume between the North and China amounted to $6.54 billion in 2013, but with Russia it is a mere $100 million, making it doubtful whether the pivot to Russia can work. [Electricity] [Rare earths]
• Russia-Iran Military Cooperation Agreement – Step Ahead to Strategic Cooperation
  Nikolai Bobkin | 22.01.2015 | 11:29 Russia and Iran have signed a military agreement. This is the first time an inter-governmental military cooperation agreement has been concluded in the centuries-old history of bilateral relations. The military will intensify the exchange of delegations, conduct joint staff exercises and organize training courses, coordinate the fight against terrorism and cooperate in peacekeeping operations. All these plans are stated by the agreement. This time it’s not some memorandum of intentions – a kind of document Iran easily agrees to sign as it is legally non-binding. For instance, that’s what happened with some economic and trade accords Russia and Iran have signed during the two years of Hassan Rouhani’s tenure of office. On August 5, 2014 a five-year memorandum of understanding on wider economic cooperation, including the $20 billion oil-for-goods deal, was signed by Russia and Iran. A breakthrough in bilateral trade was expected. The US threats did not prevent Moscow from signing the deal. Dmitry Peskov, the press spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation, said then that possible US sanctions against Russia are not a constraint for Moscow to cooperate with other countries, including Iran. «The US threatens sanctions for practically anything Russia does; this is not a restraining factor», Peskov said back then. [Iran]
• In Ukraine, NATO has ceased to be an instrument of US foreign policy
  Bob Rigg 21 January 2015 In the renewed cold war over Ukraine, while Russia’s economy has been weakened by European sanctions, the US is no longer the hegemon it once was—and NATO is under strain. Europe's new dividing line. Demotix / Igor Golovniov. All rights reserved. A recent article on the crisis in Ukraine by Josh Rogin, a prominent member of the US foreign-policy establishment, proceeds from the premise of US exceptionalism which is at its heart. Rogin does not once mention the European Union, whose member states are neighbours and key trading partners of Russia—though the sanctions they have imposed are hindering their own sluggish economies, whereas US trade with Russia is relatively limited. It is almost as though, where American interests are at stake, the interests and views of other key players are of little or no consequence. [Russia confrontation] [NATO] [Alliance]
• Kim Jong-un Accepts Invite to Russia
  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accepted Russia's invitation to 70th anniversary celebrations of its World War II victory in Moscow in May, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Wednesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Moscow had received "a positive response" from Pyongyang. Russia invited both President Park Geun-hye and Kim in December last year, but many have doubted that they would both turn up. It would be the first time a North Korean leader has ever appeared at an event with a group of other leaders. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) with his sister Kim Yo-jong (back left) visits a shoe factory in Pyongyang in this picture released on Wednesday by the official Rodong Sinmun daily. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) with his sister Kim Yo-jong (back left) visits a shoe factory in Pyongyang in this picture released on Wednesday by the official Rodong Sinmun daily. Moscow invited the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the EU, as well as other countries in the anti-Hitler coalition and international and regional organizations. Leaders of about 20 countries including Chinese President Xi Jinping have so far confirmed their attendance, Lavrov said. He did not say whether Park will attend or not. A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "It's not clear yet whether Kim Jong-un will attend the event in Russia, and we aren't in a position to comment on his attendance. That's a matter between Pyongyang and Moscow. The question of Park's attendance at the Russian event is still under consideration." "It's still about four months until the Russian celebrations, and no one knows how inter-Korean relations will develop by then," another Cheong Wa Dae official said. "It's too early to talk about an encounter or a summit between Park and Kim there." In 2005, the leaders of China, France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. attended the event marking the 60th anniversary.
• Trolling Russia: Will the US Get More Than It Bargained for in Ukraine?
  by Israel Shamir
  Moscow. The edifice of world post-1991 order is collapsing right now before our eyes. President Putin’s decision to give a miss to the Auschwitz pilgrimage, right after his absence in Paris at the Charlie festival, gave it the last shove. It was good clean fun to troll Russia, as long as it stayed the course. Not anymore. Russia broke the rules. Until now, Russia, like a country bumpkin in Eton, tried to belong. It attended the gathering of the grandees where it was shunned, paid its dues to European bodies that condemned it, patiently suffered ceaseless hectoring of the great powers and irritating baiting of East European small-timers alike. But something broke down. The lad does not want to belong anymore; he picked up his stuff and went home – just when they needed him to knee in Auschwitz. Auschwitz gathering is an annual Canossa of Western leaders where they bewail their historic failure to protect the Jews and swear their perennial obedience to them. This is a more important religious rite of our times, the One Ring to rule them all, established in 2001, when the Judeo-American empire had reached the pinnacle of its power. The Russian leader had duly attended the events. This year, they will have to do without him. Israeli ministers already have expressed their deep dissatisfaction for this was Russia’s Red Army that saved the Jews in Auschwitz, after all. Russia’s absence will turn the Holocaust memorial day into a parochial, West-only, event. Worse, Russia’s place will be taken by Ukraine, ruled by unrepentant heirs to Hitler’s Bandera. [Russia confrontation] [Jews]
• Seoul: no decision yet on Park's visit to Russia in May
  South Korea's presidential office said Thursday no decision has been made yet about whether President Park Geun-hye will visit Moscow in May for a key Russian anniversary. Park's schedules for May have not been fixed and she has competing schedules, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters. His comments came a day after Russia's state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accepted an invitation to visit Moscow to attend a May 9 ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the former Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "A positive signal has been given," Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying in a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday. "We have sent several dozen invitations. About 20 guests have already confirmed their presence, and we continue to receive responses from other countries." Russian President Vladimir Putin has also invited Park for the annual celebration, a move that could set the stage for her possible meeting with Kim in case the North Korean leader visits Moscow. Kim has not visited a foreign country since he inherited power upon the death of his father and long-time leader Kim Jong-il in 2011
• US plays ‘instigator’s role’ in Ukraine crisis – Russian UN envoy
  Published time: January 22, 2015 05:53 Edited time: January 22, 2015 14:15 Get short URL Washington has played the role of instigator throughout the entire Ukrainian conflict, said Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin. He added that Kiev authorities have not taken any steps to start dialogue with the militia in eastern Ukraine. “Throughout the whole Ukrainian crisis, the US have been playing a destructive – or to call a spade a spade – instigative role,” Churkin said during the Wednesday meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine. According to Churkin, after every visit by senior US officials to Ukraine, Kiev authorities have been “stepping up the confrontational nature of their actions.” “The current military escalation has miraculously coincided with the visit of US Army Europe chief [Lt. General Frederick Ben Hodges] to Kiev,” he added. Hodges held a press conference in Kiev on Wednesday, during which he said that the US is planning to expand military cooperation with Ukraine. “Wherever Washington is turning its eyes – Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine – there is destabilization, crisis, blood,” the Churkin said. [Russia confrontation] [US global strategy] [Outsourcing]
• Long before “internationalization”: Human Rights Watch and local collaborations in Russia
  Tanya Lokshina 22 January 2015 Despite a hostile climate and many different challenges, the collaborations of Human Rights Watch with local Russian organizations continue to be the key for making real change. ??´????? Human Rights Watch was one of the first international organizations to open an office in Russia, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This was still many years before debates about “internationalization” even began, let alone became salient. It wasn’t that we had a grand vision about internationalization. Rather, there was simply no question that we needed to be closer to the human rights community, closer to rapidly changing events. The door was open, and we didn’t know how long it would be. So we leapt ahead. More than 22 years later, which is almost as long as the contemporary Russian state has been in existence, our office is still there. When we just started out, much of Russian civil society, which is now so diverse and vibrant, was just getting off the ground. Compared to today, local rights groups were few; former Soviet dissenters led some of them, and they welcomed Human Rights Watch as a friend and partner. Gradually throughout the years, they accepted us as essentially one of their own. [NGO] [Human rights] [Russia confrontation] [HRW]
• Kim Jong Un’s Diplomatic Debut: A View from Russia
  By Georgy Toloraya 20 January 2015 Putin and Kim Jong Un: is a summit on the horizon? Photo (left): ITAR-TASS; (right): KCNA.What could be expected from a first foreign voyage of Kim Jong Un, who during his likely maiden visit to Russia this coming May will meet a host of foreign leaders—some of them eager to “look him in his eyes,” some reluctant to even come near him? What hopes might Kim have for this “coming of age” ball as well as from negotiations with his host, President Vladimir Putin, whose unpopularity in the West is not so different than his own? Opinions in Russia on Kim’s potential visit are sharply divided. Communists and national patriots, traditionally friendly to North Korea, support attention to North Korea. “Patriotic” center experts are a bit shy to applaud this occasion since North Korea has become a household “horror story” for progressives, who accuse Putin’s government of “moving in the direction of North Korea” by promoting information closeness, self-imposed isolation, import substitution, intolerance to opposition and political and media control; the anti-Putin liberal camp mocks Kim’s visit and sees him in the context of the “The Interview” rather than based on fact or reality. North Koreans, I suspect, may consider this visit as official proof that Moscow is becoming a “natural ally” of their regime. [Russia NK]
• Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis
  56-18-01-2015 Russia has been working to ensure strict compliance with the Minsk accords on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. It is the main goal of our relations with the Ukrainian leadership, the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and representatives of the concerned foreign countries, including those within the Normandy format. Seeking to coordinate practical efforts towards the implementation of the Minsk agreements, representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics arrived in Minsk for a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine scheduled for January 16. However, the meeting was not held because the Ukrainian representatives failed to show up at the Belarusian capital. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the Contact Group will meet early next week. We are urging its members and everyone who can influence the situation to ensure that the meeting is held. We are deeply concerned that Kiev continues to build up its armed forces in southeast Ukraine in violation of the Minsk agreements. Evidence of this is accelerated mobilisation, the new “waves” of mobilisation announced in Ukraine and Kiev’s repeated calls to “avenge” the situation that developed “in the field” before the agreements were signed in Minsk in September 2014. [Ukraine]
• Peculiarities of Russian National Character
  By Dmitry Orlov January 13, 2015 "ICH" - Recent events, such as the overthrow of the government in Ukraine, the secession of Crimea and its decision to join the Russian Federation, the subsequent military campaign against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, western sanctions against Russia, and, most recently, the attack on the ruble, have caused a certain phase transition to occur within Russian society, which, I believe, is very poorly, if at all, understood in the west. This lack of understanding puts Europe at a significant disadvantage in being able to negotiate an end to this crisis. Whereas prior to these events the Russians were rather content to consider themselves “just another European country,” they have now remembered that they are a distinct civilization, with different civilizational roots (Byzantium rather than Rome)—one that has been subject to concerted western efforts to destroy it once or twice a century, be it by Sweden, Poland, France, Germany, or some combination of the above. This has conditioned the Russian character in a specific set of ways which, if not adequately understood, is likely to lead to disaster for Europe and the world. Lest you think that Byzantium is some minor cultural influence on Russia, it is, in fact, rather key. Byzantine cultural influences, which came along with Orthodox Christianity, first through Crimea (the birthplace of Christianity in Russia), then through the Russian capital Kiev (the same Kiev that is now the capital of Ukraine), allowed Russia to leapfrog across a millennium or so of cultural development. Such influences include the opaque and ponderously bureaucratic nature of Russian governance, which the westerners, who love transparency (if only in others) find so unnerving, along with many other things. Russians sometimes like to call Moscow the Third Rome—third after Rome itself and Constantinople—and this is not an entirely empty claim. But this is not to say that Russian civilization is derivative; yes, it has managed to absorb the entire classical heritage, viewed through a distinctly eastern lens, but its vast northern environment has transformed that heritage into something radically different. Since this subject is of overwhelming complexity, I will focus on just four factors, which I find essential for understanding the transformation we are currently witnessing. [Russia] [Russia confrontation]
• Poroshenko the “Civilized”
  by Halyna Mokrushyna President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine stated in Paris on January 11 that the Charlie Hebdo tragedy has united all civilized countries. He marched proudly at the front line of the huge crowd of “civilized people” who were expressing their solidarity with freedom of speech against terrorism. Poroshenko’s participation in the march presumably qualifies Ukraine as one of the “civilized countries”. He is outraged by the terrible attack on Western values, in whose name the Ukrainian army is bombing and shelling its own citizens in the Donbas region in the east of the country. Over 4,800 civilians have died since the Ukrainian government launched an “anti-terroristic operation” against Donbas in April 2014. Donbas did not want a nationalist parliament and nationalist ideology which refuse to Russian-speaking citizens the right to have their language recognized as the second official language of Ukraine. Donbas rejects the anti-Russian and anti-Soviet interpretation of history which the extremist parties making up the majority of the Parliament are imposing on Ukraine. Donbas takes pride in its Soviet past. Donbas is different from the rest of Ukraine first of all in these two features. [Ukraine]
• ‘People Starving’ in Eastern Ukraine as Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds
  By Lucy Draper 1/13/15 at 10:22 AM A woman stands next to graves at Savur-Mohyla, a hill east of the city of Donetsk, December 7, 2014. Maxim Shemetov/REUTER Vulnerable people living in east Ukraine are in serious danger of starving if normal government services aren’t restored by the government in Kiev. In November 2014 the decision was made to stop social benefits being sent to east meaning, among other things, that elderly Ukranians in the region are no longer receiving their pensions. Krasimir Yankov, Amnesty International’s Ukrainian researcher described the situation in the east as “dire”, saying: “[Kiev] have cut off these regions from the Ukrainian financial situation. People can’t get money from the bank, ATMs don’t work, they can’t make electronic transactions. We saw huge queues outside the post offices as now people have to go there to access their money.” Yankov, who made several visits to the eastern territories in December 2014, estimated that “Local authorities have told us that 60% in Luhansk are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid. Things might be OK in the bigger cities but in small villages and towns it’s not.” [Human rights] [Ukraine] [Sanctions]
• N. Korea gives 'positive response' to Russia invite for Kim
  North Korea has positively responded to an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin for its leader Kim Jong-un to attend a May ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, a South Korean diplomatic source said Tuesday. The North's positive stance over Russia's invitation of Kim, who has not made a visit to a foreign country since taking the helm of the reclusive country in late 2011, appears aimed at prompting China to try to move toward warmer relations with Pyongyang recently, the source in Beijing said on the condition of anonymity.
• West has forgotten MH17 Ukraine crash probe – Lavrov
  Published time: January 12, 2015 14:43 The West appears to have forgotten about investigating the tragedy of the Malaysian plane that was shot down in eastern Ukraine in July, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, adding that Moscow wants at least some preliminary results published. “The West imposed sanctions [on Russia] under the pretext of the catastrophe of the Malaysian Boeing,” said Lavrov, after a meeting with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics. And now our Western colleagues “have completely forgotten this problem,” the Russian foreign minister added. “Russia alone is saying that it would be good to release at least preliminary results of the investigation and explain why this probe was conducted with flagrant violations of the norms, which are applied specifically for such cases within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).” MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17. All 298 passengers and crewmembers on board the Boeing 777 were killed. The victims were from 10 nations, while most of the passengers – 193 in total – were from the Netherlands. The second-largest number of casualties, 43, was from Malaysia. MH17 broke up in mid-air due to external damage, according to the Dutch preliminary report The last official report on the downed plane was in September, when Dutch investigators said the MH17 crash was a result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that struck the Boeing from the outside. A full report will be published in summer 2015. [MH17]
• Flight MH17: Searching for the truth
  Release Date: 9.1.2015 I t’s one of the greatest war crimes of modern times – and the truth still hasn’t been told. On July 17th 2014 at about 16:20 local time, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers died, including many children. Who fired the missile? Over several months the Berlin-based investigative newsroom CORRECT!V has gathered facts, investigated in eastern Ukraine and Russia, and found witnesses to the missile launch. The investigation unveiled a clear chain of evidence. MH17 was downed by a ground-launched BUK missile – launched by a unit of the 53rd Russian Air Defense Brigade from Kursk. The brigade unit, tasked with protecting Russian tank units, was operating in mid July on Ukrainian territory without displaying national emblems. [MH17]
• A sober Snowden deems life in Russia ‘great’
  By Karoun Demirjian January 9 at 10:52 AM ? Former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden speaks in Moscow on Oct. 11. 2013. (AP) MOSCOW — Edward Snowden would like everyone – especially his critics – to know that he is happy with life in Russia. Happy, and also sober. “They talk about Russia like it’s the worst place on earth. Russia's great,” the former NSA contractor told journalist James Bamford during an interview in Moscow for the PBS program "NOVA," which released a transcript of the conversation Thursday. During the interview, Snowden focused on a speech that former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden had given in which he predicted that Snowden would be depressed and drunk. “It was funny because he was talking about how I was – everybody in Russia is miserable. Russia is a terrible place,” Snowden recalled, hat-tipping Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman’s coverage of the September 2013 speech. “And I’m going to end up miserable and I’m going to be a drunk and I’m never going to do anything.” Hayden’s exact prediction during that speech was that Snowden would “end up like most of the rest of the defectors who went to the old Soviet Union: isolated, bored, lonely, depressed – and most of them ended up alcoholics.” But even after two Russian winters, vodka’s siren song apparently has no sway over Snowden. “I don’t drink. I’ve never been drunk in my life,” Snowden said. Snowden has been living in Moscow for more than a year, ever since the Russian government gave him asylum after the U.S. government revoked his passport, leaving him stranded at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Snowden became the subject of an international manhunt after he revealed himself as the source of highly publicized leaks detailing previously unknown U.S. surveillance programs that led to articles in The Washington Post and the British newspaper the Guardian. He is wanted in the United States on theft and espionage charges. Snowden, who is about six months into his three-year asylum term, has apparently been settling into life in Russia rather well. His exact whereabouts haven’t been publicized, but his girlfriend moved to Russia to be with him in July, according to the recent documentary “Citizenfour." And Snowden clearly wanted to tell a U.S. audience how much he is enjoying life in Russia, because he was not specifically asked about it during the PBS interview. [Snowden] [Russia confrontation]
• Fracking Boom Collapsing, Threatening Economy
  By Ben Ptashnik, www.truth-out.org January 9th, 2015 As Congress removes restrictions on taxpayers bailing out the too-big-to-fail banks, the right is blaming environmentalists and Russia for the demise of the fracking boom. In reality, the banks’ junk bonds and derivatives have flooded Wall Street, and now the fracking bubble threatens another financial crisis. Collapsing crude oil prices due to oversupply are reaching tsunami proportions, threatening Wall Street banks, investors and a dozen countries, foremost Russia, Iran and Venezuela, where revenue losses have caused severe financial degradation, and economies are about to implode. While Americans are today enjoying $2 per gallon gasoline, Wall Street’s analysts predict that an imminent energy market collapse will bring financial institutions to their knees once again, and taxpayers are being set up for another mandatory bailout. At the heart of these tectonic shifts in the entire energy sector is the recent expansion of the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry, a boom cycle that began in earnest when Congress and the Bush administration passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted the new horizontal drilling technology from the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. By tapping considerable quantities of new oil and gas resources from shale deposits, the fracking boom promised US energy independence, upending the world’s prevailing paradigms around renewable energy and peak oil expectations. Environmentalists fought against the huge Keystone pipeline infrastructure that would deliver the fossil fuels to foreign markets, fearing that exploiting these resources would undermine the struggle for the curbing of carbon emissions. Wall Street’s analysts predict that an imminent energy market collapse will bring financial institutions to their knees once again, and taxpayers are being set up for another mandatory bailout. [Fracking] [Unintended consequences] [Russia confrontation]
• MH17 Disappears from Headlines as Anti-Russian Agenda Falters
  The loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 served as a cornerstone of Western propaganda targeting Moscow and its allies in eastern Ukraine. In the initial whirlwind of baseless rhetoric launched before any sort of investigation began, Russia was squarely accused of gunning the civilian airliner from the skies of Ukraine in a cold, callus display of inexplicable evil. Despite the otherwise illogical nature of this narrative, it was hoped that it would serve as the first of many strikes against Russia’s credibility and standing globally. MH17 would continue to serve as a point of contention for weeks and months to follow. A stacked investigative committee was formed comprising of NATO members, NATO allies, and potential culprits in MH17’s downing, the regime in Kiev itself. Excluded, bizarrely, was Malaysia, to whom the aircraft was registered to, and the nation which lost the second largest number of nationals in the disaster. After much protest, Malaysia was finally admitted to the investigation, and with its inclusion, MH17 has predictably dropped from the headlines, and piecemeal, biased “conclusions” based on tenuous or non-existent evidence have all but ceased. This is in part because of the finite nature of Western propaganda and its impact upon an increasingly well-informed global public. It is also in part because Malaysia is not a willing accomplice in skewing MH17’s investigation, obstructing NATO’s agenda to spin any investigation’s conclusion into implicating Russia as part of its greater agenda against Moscow. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/01/08/mh17-disappears-from-headlines-as-anti-russian-agenda-falters/ [MH17] [Russia confrontation]
• The Bolshevik Who Thinks ‘The Nation’ Is Too Left Wing
  Eli Lake Libertarian Communist? 10.26.14 Ilya Ponomarev voted against the Ukrainian territory’s annexation, slams The Nation, and considers himself a Bolshevik. Who is this guy? This is what it’s like to cast the only vote in the Russian Duma against the annexation of Crimea. In the first days and weeks after the vote, you start to feel alienated by your fellow lawmakers, according to Ilya Ponomarev, the only Russian lawmaker who did such a thing. He said some of his friends and allies in his own voting bloc didn’t return his calls, wouldn’t acknowledge him, or take his meetings. “It was very alienating,” he said. The next phase is when they prepare the charges against you. For Ponomarev this happened when he was on a business trip to California this summer. It was August. “Kremlin liaisons to the Duma started calling me,” he said. “They asked if I am returning. I said, ‘Of course I am returning.’ I had my tickets for Aug. 30.” But he also got the sense the something was in the offing. By Aug. 20, Ponomarev said he learned that all of his Russian assets were frozen. “All my credit cards were not working, I only had $21 in my pocket,” he said. “This was another message.” And then Ponomarev found himself facing charges for improperly taking money out of the Skolkovo Foundation, a fund for high tech start ups with which he works closely. “The charges are totally fabricated,” he said. “This is about my vote on Crimea.” Ponomarev says he intends to one day return to Russia, but he doesn’t know when that day will be. So he is stuck in America, making a little scratch doing some research for a high tech company he declined to name.
• Russia's Opposition in a Time of War and Crisis
  Thursday, Jan 15, 2015 | 10:00 am - 11:30 am Please join us for a discussion with leading Russian opposition figure and State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomarev on the situation in Russia and Eastern Europe, Russia’s pro-democracy opposition, and the development of U.S.-Russia relations. Ilya Ponomarev is a member of the Russian Social Democratic Party and a member of the State Duma representing the city of Novosibirsk. He was the only member of the Duma (out of 450) to vote against the Russian annexation of Crimea in February 2014. He is the chairman of the Duma’s Innovations and Venture Capital subcommittee, where he has introduced legislation to support Russia’s emerging innovation economy. Presentation by: Ilya Ponomarev, Member of the Russia State Duma, Russian Social Democratic Party Moderated by: Jeffrey Mankoff, Deputy Director and Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS [Russia confrontation]
• Wall Street’s Man in Moscow Charged with Fraud
  US-funded opposition leader and right-wing extremist Alexei Navalny, who regularly masquerades as an “anti-corruption activist,” was himself sentenced to a suspended jail term for fraud. His brother, implicated in the same case, was imprisoned. The Guardian would report in its article, “Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny gets suspended sentence but brother jailed,” that: A Russian court gave Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a suspended sentence on Tuesday for embezzling money but jailed his brother for three and a half years in a case seen as part of a campaign to stifle dissent. While the Guardian elects to report what is “seen” by supporters of the embattled opposition figure, it fails to mention what is documented fact – Navalny’s ties to Wall Street and Washington’s global network of political subversion, specifically his ties to the US State Department’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Alexey Navalny was a Yale World Fellow, and in his profile it states (emphasis added): Navalny spearheads legal challenges on behalf of minority shareholders in large Russian companies, including Gazprom, Bank VTB, Sberbank, Rosneft, Transneft, and Surgutneftegaz, through the Union of Minority Shareholders. He has successfully forced companies to disclose more information to their shareholders and has sued individual managers at several major corporations for allegedly corrupt practices. Navalny is also co-founder of the Democratic Alternative movement and was vice-chairman of the Moscow branch of the political party YABLOKO. In 2010, he launched RosPil, a public project funded by unprecedented fundraising in Russia. In 2011, Navalny started RosYama, which combats fraud in the road construction sector. The Democratic Alternative, also written DA!, is a US NED-fund recipient, implicating Navalny as an agent of US-funded sedition. The US State Department itself reveals this as they list DA! among many of the “youth movements” they support operating in Russia: DA!: Mariya Gaydar, daughter of former Prime Minister Yegor Gaydar, leads DA! (Democratic Alternative). She is ardent in her promotion of democracy, but realistic about the obstacles she faces. Gaydar said that DA! is focused on non-partisan activities designed to raise political awareness. She has received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, a fact she does not publicize for fear of appearing compromised by an American connection. First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/01/07/wall-street-s-man-in-moscow-charged-with-fraud/ [NED] [Subversion]
• MH17 probe asks if Dutch secret service warned of danger over Ukraine
  Date January 7, 2015 - 7:18 The Hague: The Netherlands wants to know whether its intelligence services warned airlines of danger when flying over war-torn Ukraine prior to the downing of flight MH17 in July, officials say. Dutch officials are leading the probe into what brought down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over Ukraine and killed 298 people aboard, most of them Dutch, as well as why the flight route had been given the all-clear. There were 38 Australian citizens and residents on the flight., The Dutch safety board in charge of both inquiries asked the Intelligence and Security Services Oversight Committee (CTIVD) to investigate what assessment the domestic intelligence agency (AIVD) and military intelligence service (MIVD) made of flight routes over Ukraine ahead of the July 17 disaster. "What information did the two services have prior to the MH17 crash about the security situation in eastern Ukraine, and how did they share this information with relevant aviation parties? What were the reasons for doing/not doing so?" the CTIVD said on its website. The MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, who have been fighting Kiev forces since April. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of supplying the rebels with a surface-to-air missile launcher, but Russia has said a Ukrainian military jet was responsible for the crash. Three other commercial planes were flying in the vicinity of the Malaysia Airlines flight - two Boeing 777s and an Airbus 330 - when it was shot down. [MH17]
• Russia and the Kurds
  The Kurds’ growing role in the evolving and turbulent situation prevailing in the Middle East and elsewhere affects the policies of regional and global powers alike. Russia is no exception. In recent years, Moscow has taken steps to develop contacts with Kurdish political movements and establish economic cooperation with Iraqi Kurdistan, where Russian oil and gas companies have set up shop. The February 2013 visit to Russia by Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, dubbed by the Kurdish people as the “first official visit,” served as a significant milestone in the development of political contacts. The visit refreshed the memories of developments dating back more than half a century when the Kurds’ historical leader (and Barzani’s father) Mullah Mustafa Barzani lived in the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1958, where he enjoyed support on a number of fronts. Russia balances its relationships with various Kurdish groups with its support for the states the Kurds live under. Vitaly Naumkin Posted January 5, 2015 Another recent visit by a Kurdish politician was also a first, as Selahattin Demirtas, chairman of Turkey’s People's Democracy Party (HDP), visited Moscow in December 2014. One would think there was nothing unusual about the visit, with Demirtas at the helm of a lawful Turkish party and, on top of that, having recently run for the Turkish Republic’s presidency in the latest election and having won a tenth of the votes cast. However, there was a certain sensitivity given that Demirtas is opposed to the current authorities while Moscow maintains an unprecedentedly close relationship with the Turkish government. As noted by Demirtas himself, his party seeks to overcome a lack of communications with Russia, as “Russia's policies vis-a-vis the Kurds suffer from Cold War reflexes and are somewhat at odds with reality.” [Russia] [Kurds] [Separatism]
• François Hollande Says Destabilizing Sanctions on Russia ‘Must Stop Now’
  By Andrew E. Kramer Jan. 5, 2015 MOSCOW — Western nations should stop threatening Russia with new sanctions and instead offer to ease off on existing restrictions in exchange for progress in the peace process in Ukraine, President François Hollande of France said in an interview on Monday. Backing President Vladimir V. Putin into a corner will not work, he said, giving a high-level voice to what is seen as mounting sanctions fatigue among European politicians, as the Ukraine crisis lurches into a second year. “I’m not for the policy of attaining goals by making things worse,” Mr. Hollande said in the interview on France Inter radio. “I think that sanctions must stop now.” Russia’s position is misunderstood, he suggested. “Mr. Putin does not want to annex eastern Ukraine, I am sure — he told me so,” Mr. Hollande said. “What he wants is to remain influential. What Mr. Putin wants is that Ukraine not become a member of NATO. The idea of Mr. Putin is to not have an army at Russia’s borders.” [Russia confrontation] [Alliance] [Subordinate]
• Ukraine Leader Was Defeated Even Before He Was Ousted
  By Andrew Higgins and Andrew E. Kramer Jan. 3, 2015 Riot police set up water cannons to shoot at protesters in Kiev last February. But shortly after, a mass defection of the president’s allies quickly led to his downfall. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times KIEV, Ukraine — Ashen-faced after a sleepless night of marathon negotiations, Viktor F. Yanukovych hesitated, shaking his pen above the text placed before him in the chandeliered hall. Then, under the unsmiling gaze of European diplomats and his political enemies, the beleaguered Ukrainian president scrawled his signature, sealing a deal that he believed would keep him in power, at least for a few more months. But even as Mr. Yanukovych sat down with his political foes at the presidential administration building on the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 21, his last authority was fast draining away. In a flurry of frantic calls to opposition lawmakers, police and security commanders were making clear that they were more worried about their own safety than protecting Mr. Yanukovych and his government. By that evening, he was gone, evacuated from the capital by helicopter, setting the stage for the most severe bout of East-West tensions since the Cold War. Russia has attributed Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster to what it portrays as a violent, “neo-fascist” coup supported and even choreographed by the West and dressed up as a popular uprising. The Kremlin has cited this assertion, along with historical ties, as the main justification for its annexation of Crimea in March and its subsequent support for an armed revolt by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the east. [Ukraine] [Coup]
• Inside Obama’s Secret Outreach to Russia
  Josh Rogin President Barack Obama's administration has been working behind the scenes for months to forge a new working relationship with Russia, despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in repairing relations with Washington or halting his aggression in neighboring Ukraine. This month, Obama's National Security Council finished an extensive and comprehensive review of U.S policy toward Russia that included dozens of meetings and input from the State Department, Defense Department and several other agencies, according to three senior administration officials. At the end of the sometimes-contentious process, Obama made a decision to continue to look for ways to work with Russia on a host of bilateral and international issues while also offering Putin a way out of the stalemate over the crisis in Ukraine. “I don’t think that anybody at this point is under the impression that a wholesale reset of our relationship is possible at this time, but we might as well test out what they are actually willing to do,” a senior administration official told me. “Our theory of this all along has been, let's see what’s there. Regardless of the likelihood of success.” Leading the charge has been Secretary of State John Kerry. This fall, Kerry even proposed going to Moscow and meeting with Putin directly. The negotiations over Kerry’s trip got to the point of scheduling, but ultimately were scuttled because there was little prospect of demonstrable progress. In a separate attempt at outreach, the White House turned to an old friend of Putin’s for help. The White House called on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to discuss having him call Putin directly, according to two officials. It’s unclear whether Kissinger actually made the call. The White House and Kissinger both refused to comment for this column. [Russia confrontation] [Overreach]
• Re Ukraine, Maybe There Are Useful Idiots Around...But They Aren’t Named Oliver Stone
  Oliver Stone’s opinion that the US engineered some skullduggery in Kyiv in February 2014 has attracted some outraged howling. As to the actual mechanics of what went down, there is room for disagreement. I myself am something of a Maidan truther (see my piece from February 24, 2014 attached to this post which, if I may say so, looks pretty darn prescient) but teasing what really happened in the square out of the hopeless evidentiary and procedural muddle created by New Ukraine ™ may be impossible. As to the broader question, Would the United States destabilize Ukraine? I have to admit I find it amazing that there are doubters on this issue. In US foreign policy, anti-communism/anti-terrorism/national interest/universal human rights can always trump respect for national sovereignty and expression of the popular democratic will. And since Ukraine, according to Brzezinskian grand mal strategic theorizing, is The Big Kahuna, the difference between an assertive Russian empire and a demoralized Europe-bereft Little Russia miserably snuggled between Italy and Spain in the GDP league tables, it would seem almost irresponsible for the United States not to intervene. [Ukraine] [Russia confrontation]
• It’s dangerous to poke the Russian bear too hard
  Sholto Byrnes December 30, 2014 Updated: December 30, 2014 Nato chief’s warning on Russia • • Russia and Nato square off over Ukraine If Ukraine’s leadership had set out to poke the Russian bear with a very sharp stick they could hardly have done a better job. Early last week, the Ukrainian parliament voted to renounce the country’s non-aligned status, putting the former Soviet republic on a path that heads towards membership of Nato. The move was immediately welcomed by a spokesman for the military alliance, who said: “Ukraine will become a member of Nato if it so requests and fulfils the standards and adheres to the necessary principles.” Within days Russian president Vladimir Putin announced he had signed a new military doctrine, which identifies Nato as his nation’s greatest threat. The escalation can hardly have pleased the leaders of the Baltic States, Poland and Romania, all Nato members, given that Mr Putin was quoted as having told Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko in September that, if he wanted, “Russian troops could not only be in Kiev in two days, but in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw or Bucharest, too”. [Russia confrontation] [Liberal]
• Who Is Alexey Navalny?
  By Natalie Kitroeff December 30, 2014 Supporters of Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexey Navalny gather holding red posters reading "Navalny" during unsanctioned protests in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow on Dec. 30. Ivan Sekretarev/AP Photo Supporters of Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexey Navalny gather holding red posters reading "Navalny" during unsanctioned protests in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow on Dec. 30. Thousands of Russians gathered near the Kremlin in below-freezing temperatures on Tuesday night, shouting anti-Putin slogans: “No Putin, no war," “Crimea is not ours,” and “Putin is a thief.” The man who rallied them, Alexey Navalny, may be Putin's greatest domestic nemesis; earlier in the day a court found him and his brother guilty of fraud, charges that many allege were politically motivated. Navalny defied house arrest to join the protests and was quickly detained. If this is your first introduction to Navalny, here’s what you need to know to understand Tuesday’s upheaval. Who is this guy? Navalny is a 38-year-old real estate lawyer-turned-political blogger, who started a website in 2010 to expose corruption at state-owned companies. His scathing criticism won him a loyal audience and the ire of the Putin regime. In 2011, Navalny called some 5,000 Russians to protest parliamentary elections widely panned as fraudulent. Two years later, Navalny came in second in his long-shot bid to become mayor of Moscow, earning a larger-than-predicted 27 percent of the vote. He was sentenced to house arrest in February, after authorities said he violated a travel ban imposed in connection with the criminal case against him for defrauding a cosmetics producer. He was found guilty of those charges Tuesday, but was not sentenced to jail time. [Russia confrontation]
• U.S. Citizens Continue to Infiltrate Eastern European Governments
  Wayne Madsen | 30.12.2014 | 10:52 The recent appointment of the austerity-loving U.S. citizen and investment firm chief Natalie Jaresko as Ukraine’s Finance Minister continues a trend that has seen one Eastern European country after another appointing or electing U.S. citizens as major government officials. Jaresko had Ukrainian citizenship conferred on her by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as she arrived in Kiev to take up her new post in the government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, himself a former legal U.S. resident who has been linked to the crypto-Satanic Church of Scientology. [Diaspora] [Softpower]
• US/Saudi Oil Play Is Economic Warfare
  Lawrence Wilkerson says the target of low oil prices is Russia and Iran, throwing their economies into turmoil and opening their doors to sovereign raiders - December 28, 2014 JAY: So, one more time, Larry was Colin Powell's chief of staff. He's a regular on The Real News and teaches at William & Mary College. Okay. So the Saudis are arguing, we have no big foul and negative intent here. We're just doing what the market--we think the market requires from us to our advantage. We're not trying to kill American shale, which seems to be sort of the predominant theory. We don't have any geopolitical objectives. We're not trying to screw the Iranians or the Russians. Except that is what's happening. WILKERSON: I think you're seeing some of the most fundamental precepts being developed and used throughout the globe right now of what I would call the new kind of economic warfare. I think if you go back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, you will find that the United States, OPEC (the Saudis, principally), in a loose arrangement, force the price of oil down to the point where it was below $15 a barrel for the benchmarks. And that had something to do, along with Afghanistan and the expenditure on that conflict, with the final collapse of the Soviet Union, because that was their principal source of their economy was their petroleum sales. [Russia confrontation] [Oil] [Subcritical] [Economic warfare]
• Paging Keri Russell: Russia, Cuba and the truth about Putin the U.S. media doesn’t want you to know
  We are making mayhem in Russia, and reality is almost the opposite of what is being described in the press Patrick L. Smith I cannot be the only one to note the remarkable sequence of events in the Obama White House last week. It tells us all we need to know—for now, anyway—about what Washington is up to as it puts Russia in an illegal police chokehold. This will end neither soon nor well. On Wednesday the president announced his out-of-nowhere move to lift sanctions against Cuba and reestablish diplomatic ties. I cannot be the only one to do this, either: I wept. Half a century of suffering pointlessly inflicted on a humane and very brave people will now come to an end. On Thursday Obama signed HR 5859, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, into law. One is always suspicious of bills with Boy Scouty names like this, and one is always justified: Obama just gave himself permission to inflict pointless suffering on the humane and very brave Russian people more or less arbitrarily and indefinitely. And in all our names, the Pentagon will now arm Ukraine with lethal weapons. Funny, the $350 million committed as an opener just about matches what Truman gave the Greek monarchists in 1947, so commencing the Cold War. Let us end the Cold War 90 miles off our coast and far too late. Let us prosecute it full bore against Russia and along its borders, far too irrationally and nostalgically. I find one key to Washington’s reasoning, if this is the word, on Russia in this contradiction, because it is apparent, not real. [Russia confrontation] [Cuba] [Media]

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