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Top EU diplomat admits West 'made mistakes' in relations with Russia


RT
Fri, 11 Mar 2022 19:25 UTC
Lavrov and Borrell
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy/Sputnik/AP/Brittany Newman/KJNRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov • EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell

Comment: Ya think?


Bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell described the promises of NATO membership made to Ukraine and Georgia as errors

Josep Borrell, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, has conceded that the West has made errors in its relations with Russia.

Speaking to France's TF1 channel on Thursday, Borrell said he was "ready to admit that we made a number of mistakes and missed the chance to get closer with Russia." The EU's most senior diplomat went on to acknowledge that there were things "we could have done better," as well as "things which we offered and then failed to realize, such as ... promises that Ukraine and Georgia would become part of NATO." He said he was of the view that "making promises that you can't make good on is a mistake."
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Vader

Best of the Web: The American Empire slides into self-destruction

Michael Hudson
michael-hudson.com
Sun, 06 Mar 2022 19:07 UTC
american empire US imperialism
But nobody thought that it would happen this fast.

Empires often follow the course of a Greek tragedy, bringing about precisely the fate that they sought to avoid. That certainly is the case with the American Empire as it dismantles itself in not-so-slow motion.

The basic assumption of economic and diplomatic forecasting is that every country will act in its own self-interest. Such reasoning is of no help in today's world. Observers across the political spectrum are using phrases like "shooting themselves in their own foot" to describe U.S. diplomatic confrontation with Russia and allies alike.

For more than a generation the most prominent U.S. diplomats have warned about what they thought would represent the ultimate external threat: an alliance of Russia and China dominating Eurasia. America's economic sanctions and military confrontation has driven them together, and is driving other countries into their emerging Eurasian orbit.

Comment: The signs are coming fast and thick now:

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Yoda

Flashback Best of the Web: Oliver Stone's 'The Putin Interviews' reveals a pro-America Putin spurned by the West

Justin Raimondo
Antiwar.com
Wed, 28 Jun 2017 17:09 UTC
Putin and Stone
Editorial note: This is the second of a multi-part series reviewing Oliver Stone's "The Putin Interviews." The first part is here. You can get the book version of Stone's work here.

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump kept repeating a line that stuck in the Establishment's craw like a cherry pit stuck under a denture: "Wouldn't it be nice if we could get along with Russia?" Russia and specifically Russian President Vladimir Putin are consistently portrayed in the US media as implacable enemies of the US and the West: it's simply taken as the given. And yet, the biggest revelation in Oliver Stone's recent four-part series of extensive interviews with Putin is how consistently and desperately Putin has tried to get along with us. In the second interview, Stone points out that, after the 9/11 attacks, Putin was "one of the first to call [George W. Bush] and offer condolences, and Putin elaborates that more than a phone call was involved:
"Yes, we had planned military exercises of our new strategic forces for the next day. And I canceled those exercises and I wanted the president of the United States to know that. Certainly I understood that heads of state and governments in such a situation need moral support.. And we wanted to demonstrate this to President Bush."
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Pistol

Flashback Best of the Web: Who Tried to Kill Putin - Five Times?

Justin Raimondo
AntiWar.com
Mon, 26 Jun 2017 18:42 UTC
Putin
© Sputnik/Alexei NikolskyPresident of Russia Vladimir Putin

Oliver Stone's 'The Putin Interviews' (Part I)

Oliver Stone's series of interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin - conducted between July 2015 and February 2017 - has garnered a lot of attention, albeit in most cases not for the right reasons. In a much-noted appearance of Stephen Colbert's comedy show, the liberal host attacked Stone for not confronting the Russian leader for his alleged crimes - which simply shows that Colbert didn't bother seeing the interviews, because Stone most certainly did question Putin about this and other related matters. A review in Salon follows a similar pattern: the reviewer apparently did view at least some parts of the interviews, but predictably focused on the most superficial material: Putin loves Judo, he's not a feminist, and won't be marching in any Gay Pride events. Shocking!

In the present atmosphere of Russophobic hysteria, no honest account of what is happening in Russia or what Putin is really all about is likely to be taken at face value. What's astonishing, however, is that this four-part documentary was even made at all — and shown on Showtime, where it is currently playing. Less surprising is the fact that the interviews contain several news-making revelations that the "mainstream" media has so far largely ignored.

Comment: Sadly, the events of the last eight years have thoroughly disabused Putin of his notion that the U.S. government, as presently constituted, can ever be a partner. He is likely still fond of America as a people, but cannot save them from themselves.

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Light Saber

Russia prepares to nationalize foreign companies as West wages full scale economic war & defaults on its financial obligations


RFE/RL
Thu, 10 Mar 2022 12:00 UTC
re:Store
A woman walks past a closed re:Store, an Apple reseller shop, at a mall in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Russia's Economic Development Ministry has drafted legislation aimed at preventing the mounting exit of international businesses from Russia over the war in Ukraine, and potentially laying the groundwork for nationalizing them.

The bill envisions that the state-owned Vnesheconombank and the state export-guarantee agency would have the right to seize the property of foreign companies that left Russian markets of their own accord.

The bill comes as a growing number of major international companies have announced they will suspend operations in the country, or pull out altogether, in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.


Comment: It's actually an incursion because, unlike the West, Russia has no intention of staying in Ukraine.


Comment: Indeed. And Russia's leadership has been preparing for this tumultuous, if entirely predictable, period, for nearly two decades:
A full-scale economic war has been launched against the country, Anton Siluanov says

Western countries have failed to honor their financial obligations to Russia by imposing economic restrictions, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday during a government meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

"The West has defaulted on its financial obligations to Russia, has frozen our gold and foreign exchange reserves," the official stated, adding that the measures sum up to a full-scale "financial and economic war" against Russia.

According to Siluanov, the US, EU and their allies are using everything within their powers to restrict foreign trade and imports, which not only damages Russia but impacts the entire global trade.

"Western countries are trying to create a shortage of everyday imported goods in our country, they are forcing the closure of successfully operating enterprises with foreign capital," Siluanov said.

A number of foreign companies have recently announced they would be suspending operations in Russia or quitting the country's market altogether. These include consumer goods and clothing manufacturers, financial, energy, mining and tech companies.

Given the situation Russia is in right now, Siluanov called the stabilization of the financial system a priority for the government. The minister outlined a number of steps which should be taken to do this. The measures he proposed include preventing the outflow of capital from the country and establishing a "special procedure for servicing external debts." According to the minister, some actions have already been implemented and given the first results.

"The situation with the outflow of funds is stabilizing, cash withdrawals have practically stopped, [...] the situation with the balance of payments is improving," Siluanov noted. He added that conditions in the public sector are under control, vowing that authorities would ensure the payment of pensions, benefits and salaries, and would also monitor the availability of medication.

"Non-oil and gas revenues are expected to decline, but this is offset by an increase in oil and gas revenues," he pointed out, noting that these revenues will be used "to reduce borrowing and public debt in the current environment, and finance priority spending."

Siluanov also said that it is important to prevent inflation from growing. The indicator has already reached 2.2% for the week, the highest since 1998, and over 10% year-on-year.
Whilst the West has much more nefarious plans for the world in the works, in many ways, these attacks on Russia are, ultimately, doing Russia a favor. On the subject of culture, China has had to legislate to hamper the West's corrupting influence on its people, whilst in this instance, the West is doing it for them:

russia facebook west mcdonalds
A humorous take on the West's withdrawal from Russian society
See also: And check out SOTT radio's:


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Magnify

Special Counsel's office is investigating the 2016 DNC server hack

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:01 UTC
DNC 2016
© JefParker / Wikimedia
There was previously no known connection between the special counsel and the government's investigation into the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack.

The U.S. Department of Defense tasked the same Georgia Tech researcher embroiled in the Alfa Bank hoax with investigating the "origins" of the Democratic National Committee hacker, according to an email first obtained by The Federalist on Wednesday. That email also indicates the special counsel's office is investigating the investigation into the DNC hack and that prosecutors harbor concerns about the DOD's decision to involve the Georgia Tech researcher in its probe.

The special counsel branded this person "Researcher-1" in court filings. His identity has since been confirmed by his attorney as Georgia Tech's Manos Antonakakis.
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Propaganda

WHO says it advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread

Jennifer Rigby and Jonathan Landay
Reuters
Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:30 UTC
WHO logo
The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters on Thursday.

Biosecurity experts say Russia's movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.

Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.

Comment: "Presented without evidence," except for those pesky uncovered documents the Russians got their hands on.

See also:

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Oil Well

Iran nuclear deal paused as Russia wants guarantee US sanctions won't impact trade with Tehran


RFE/RL
Wed, 09 Mar 2022 12:00 UTC
Enrique Mora
Enrique Mora is the coordinator of the Iran nuclear talks. (file photo)
Parties trying to revive the Iran nuclear deal scrambled on March 9 to resolve last-minute Russian demands that threaten to scupper negotiations, diplomats said, with the United States appearing unwilling to engage with Moscow on the matter.

Western powers on March 8 warned Russia against wrecking an almost completed deal on bringing the United States and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord. Iran's top negotiator returned to Vienna on March 9 from consultations in Tehran.

Eleven months of talks to restore the deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, have reached their final stages with several diplomats saying the nuclear deal was now broadly agreed.

Comment: When Iran talks about "foreign elements" it likely means the US and Israel. Unsurprisingly, after years of the US scuppering the deal, it's suddenly eager to make progress because it's about to sanction the desperately needed oil supply coming from Russia. However, as noted elsewhere, 'a return from Iran cannot replace the loss of Russian oil'. Also, it's unlikely Iran would go into any deal that would harm its strategic partner, Russia: Pepe Escobar: Iran-Russia hit maximum strategy

See also:

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Bad Guys

US lawmakers to vote on 2,741 page spending bill they haven't read with $13.6 BILLION for Ukraine in its proxy war against Russia


Al Jazeera
Fri, 11 Mar 2022 09:24 UTC
Mitch McConnell
© Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersSenate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell strongly supported the $13.6bn in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine, giving the measure bipartisan support
United States lawmakers in the House of Representatives are prepared to vote on Wednesday on a $13.6bn aid package for war-torn Ukraine as part of a giant blueprint to fund federal agencies and avoid a damaging government shutdown at home.

Following weeks of frantic negotiations, and with a looming deadline of temporary funding running out at the weekend, the House is expected to pass $1.5 trillion in spending for the US government's fiscal year ending September 30.

"This bipartisan agreement will help us address many of the major challenges we face at home and abroad: from COVID-19, to the vicious and immoral attack on Ukraine, to the need to lower costs for hardworking American families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Crossing the Rubicon



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Cut

Klaus Schwab's 'World Economic Forum' cuts off "all relations" with Russia, scrubs Putin from WEF website

Julian Conradson
The Gateway Pundit
Fri, 11 Mar 2022 08:56 UTC
world economic forum
Klaus Schwab's globalist cabal, the World Economic Forum (WEF), announced that it has severed "all relations" with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

"We are not engaging with any sanctioned individual and have frozen all relations with Russian entities," spokesperson Amanda Russo told Politico this week.

Putin was also completely purged from the WEF website earlier this week before Russo's announcement.

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