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Trump on Russia-Ukraine reconciliation: It would be a 'great thing'


RFE/RL
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 01:42 UTC
TrumpPutin
© AFPUS President Donald Trump • Russian President Vladimir Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would like to see Russia and Ukraine mend their relationship, which has been badly damaged by Moscow's seizure of Crimea and the ongoing war between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of eastern Ukraine.

"Well, I'd like to see them come together. I think if they came together in the sense that they got along with each other, that would be a great thing," he told reporters on February 23 before departing on Marine Force One for his maiden voyage to India.

A reporter had asked Trump to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent accusations that other countries are trying split neighbors Russia and Ukraine apart, saying the two predominantly Slavic and Orthodox Christian countries would be a world superpower if they came together.

In response, Trump added that "it would be a great thing for the world.... If Ukraine and Russia could work out some agreement where they get along, to me that would be very good."

Comment: Russia regained Crimea in an overwhelmingly supportive referendum vote. It was not a seizure.

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X

France won't be blackmailed by UK to sign a bad post-Brexit deal


RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 13:56 UTC
ABP port
© Reuters/Peter NichollsThe ABP port in Southampton, Britain
France will not rush to accept a trade agreement between the UK and EU at the cost of its economic future, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Amelie de Montchalin has warned. Speaking to France 2 TV, the minister said she will have a "clear Brexit message" when she heads to Brussels for talks.

"Just because [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson wants an agreement at all costs on 12/31 does not mean that we will sign a bad agreement for the French under the pressure of blackmail or timing," she wrote on Monday, posting the video of her interview on Twitter. She added that Paris is not going to "sacrifice" French businesses, fishermen, and farmers to secure a quick deal that should be signed before the deadline expires at the end of the year.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron hinted that the EU is prepared to take a hard line in the trade talks, while fishing rights remain a sticking point in the negotiations. Macron said he doubts that the two sides will manage to hammer out an agreement by December 31, as the British are "hard" to deal with and he anticipates the talks to be "tense."
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Pirates

Idlib: Turkey, US protect Al-Qaeda, worsening Syria's suffering

Aaron Maté
The Grayzone
Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00 UTC
turk flag
© Unknown
Why is Turkey, with US backing, protecting Al-Qaeda's largest affiliate in Idlib, Syria?

Idlib is facing a humanitarian disaster as hundreds of thousands flee a Syrian and Russian military campaign to retake the province from militant rule. Overlooked in Western coverage of the crisis is that Idlib is mostly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebranded affiliate of Al-Qaeda — and that Turkey, with U.S. backing, has intervened to keep the extremist group in place.

Guest: Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector and Marine Corps Intelligence Officer.

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Hiliter

Pompeo: If truce holds, Trump is ready to sign peace deal with Taliban


RFE/RL
Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:03 UTC
Trump
© Kevin Dietsch/EPA-EFEUS President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ready to sign a peace agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan if a temporary truce between the two sides holds. "We think they want to make a deal, we want to make a deal. I think it's gonna work out, we will see," Trump told reporters before departing for India on February 23.

Earlier this month, the two sides announced a weeklong "reduction in violence" that took effect from the start of February 22. If the truce holds, it will be followed by the signing of the peace accord that would end the United States' longest war.

"You know we have a certain period of nonviolence. It's been holding up, it's a day and a half so we'll see what happens," Trump said, adding that "after 19 years" of war, it was time for U.S. forces "to come home."

There are more than 12,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Afghan media, however, reported that the Taliban carried out several small-scale attacks on checkpoints manned by Afghan security forces in provinces in the past two days.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on February 21 that the United States and the Taliban have been engaged in talks to facilitate a political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan and reduce the U.S. presence in the region.

Pompeo said that if the truce holds, the "signing of the U.S.-Taliban agreement is expected to move forward. We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29," Pompeo said. He said that intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, with the final aim of delivering "a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire and the future political road map for Afghanistan."

Comment: See also:

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Binoculars

Lieberman under fire for revealing Mossad chief traveled to Qatar to beg them to keep funding Hamas


Sputnik
Sun, 23 Feb 2020 19:43 UTC
lieberman netanyahu
© AFP 2019 / Menanhem Kahana
On Saturday, Israeli media reported that Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, head of the Israel Defence Force's Southern Command, traveled to Doha to ask Qatar to continue funding Hamas, the Palestinian militant and political group which Tel Aviv formally classifies as a terrorist group.

Former defence minister and ex-Netanyahu ally Avigdor Lieberman has been criticized for his remarks revealing Cohen and Halevi's top secret trip to Doha during which they allegedly 'begged' the Qataris to "keep funnelling money into Hamas."

Lieberman, leader of the center-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, made the revelation in an interview with Channel 12 on Saturday, suggesting that Qatar was planning to cut ties with Hamas before Tel Aviv's intervention.

"Both the Egyptians and the Qataris are angry with Hamas, and they were going to cut all ties with them. All of a sudden Netanyahu shows up as a Hamas advocate, pressuring Egypt and the Qataris to continue [their support]," Lieberman said, referring to the trip.

Israeli news outlet Walla!, which had discovered details about the trip two weeks ago but was unable to publish its report due to the IDF censorship regime, confirmed Saturday that the trip had taken place, saying the Israeli officials traveled to Doha via Jordan on February 5, and were in the Qatari capital for less than 24 hours. They are said to have met with Mohammed al-Emadi, Qatar's envoy to Gaza, and Mohammed Bin Ahmed al-Misnad, national security advisor to the Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The outlet did not clarify what would prompt Israel to (allegedly) want Qatar to continue sponsoring Hamas.

Comment: This historical tidbit might be relevant here: Lieberman is claiming Netanyahu essentially paid off Hamas to keep things quiet until the election. But the relationship with Hamas goes back further in time, and deeper. They were initially supported by Israel as controlled opposition.

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2 + 2 = 4

Lavrov states the obvious: US proposals to start dialogue with terrorists in Idlib are unacceptable


RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:32 UTC
Militants in Syria’s Idlib Province
© Reuters / Ammar AbdullahMilitants in Syria’s Idlib Province.
Moscow will resist any attempts to whitewash the terrorists holed up in Idlib, Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that engaging in talks with them as the US is hinting is out of question.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda offshoot previously known as Al-Nusra, which controls Idlib, has been designated as a terrorist organization not only by the UN, but by the US itself, Lavrov said.

However, officials in Washington, including the special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, "allow themselves statements, from which a conclusion can be made that 'it's not such a terrorist organization anymore' and that dialogue with it can be established under some circumstances," he said.
It's not the first time we hear such hints and we consider them absolutely unacceptable.
The foreign minister also said that another round of consultations between Russia and Turkey is currently being prepared in ordered "to agree on ways of turning Idlib into a real de-escalation where the terrorists aren't in charge."

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

'Chaotic Demoralized Union' - Merkel's CDU produces worst ever election result in Hamburg as Germany splits Left and Right


RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 20:15 UTC
Germany
© Reuters / Michele TantussiGermany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) supporters look at first exit polls for the Hamburg state election.
The CDU has failed its first electoral test since Angela Merkel's protegee refused to run for chancellor in 2021. Hamburg is a center-left heaven and the conservatives weren't after a win, but they didn't expect to do so badly.

"For us at the CDU, this is a bitter election result," Daniel Guenther, the CDU premier of the state of Schleswig Holstein, said as he commented on the exit polls that showed his party scored just 11 percent in Sunday's vote to finish third and achieve the worst result in Hamburg in the party's history. In 2015, the CDU came second in the election in Germany's second largest city, claiming almost 22 percent of the vote.

But this time the people of Hamburg clearly told the conservatives that they weren't going to support a party that has no leader and no candidate for the top job in the country in the federal election next year.

Comment: AfD lost here, but they've made gains elsewhere: Rightwing populist party AfD makes big gains as Merkel and allies slip but hold power in German state elections

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Bizarro Earth

Israel attacks Syria from occupied Golan Heights, strikes intercepted


RT
Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:41 UTC
S-300 air
© Russian Defence Ministry via SputnikFILE PHOTO: Russian military personnel unload S-300 air defense systems delivered to Syria
Explosions were heard in the sky over Damascus as Syrian air defense systems responded to an attack coming from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian capital and surrounding areas often come under air attacks which the country blames on Israel. Tel Aviv rarely admits its military raids against the neighbor, but this time the IDF swiftly confirmed the strike.

The General Command of the Army warned on Saturday that any violation of its airspace will be met with a military response and any aircraft doing it will be regarded as "hostile target." The latest attack, however, came from outside the Syrian airspace with missiles coming from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Palestinian Islamic Jihad bombards South after IDF steals Palestinian bodies near Gaza border

Anna Ahronheim
The Jerusalem Post
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 23:15 UTC
rockets Gaza
© Joe Truzman/TwitterScreen capture of rockets over nothern Gaza with attempt to intercept with Iron Dome missiles
Group vowed to avenge death of terrorist whose corpse was filmed being carried away by bulldozer

The IDF began attacking terror targets in the Gaza Strip in response to over 21 rockets were fired towards southern Israel communities on Sunday in several rocket barrages after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) threatened to avenge the death of a terrorist by the IDF after he tried to plant explosives along the Gaza border fence.

The IDF said as of 11 p.m. that of 21 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, 13 were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The Israeli military said it has begun conducting airstrikes against PIJ sites in the Gaza Strip in response to multiple barrages of rockets they claimed responsibility for having fired at southern Israel throughout the evening.

Comment: Israeli bulldozer and tank invade Gaza to take bodies of two Palestinians killed by IDF

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Black Magic

MSNBC's Chris Matthews losing it: Compares Sanders' Nevada victory to NAZI invasion of France


RT
Sun, 23 Feb 2020 22:19 UTC
Chris Matthews MSNBC
© Andre Chung / Washington PostChris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball."
MSNBC's Chris Matthews has compared Bernie Sanders' win in the Nevada caucuses to Adolf Hitler's WWII takeover of France. As Sanders pulls ahead of the pack, the media has labeled him a nazi, a communist, and a Russian stooge.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders declared a resounding victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses, the third major showdown of the primary season. With some results still outstanding on Sunday morning, Sanders has won just over 46 percent of the vote, more than doubling the score of former Vice President Joe Biden, currently in second place with 19 percent.

After a strong showing in Iowa and victory in New Hampshire, the win in Nevada cements Sanders' status as frontrunner, widening his lead over centrist candidates like Biden and Pete Buttigieg.

Comment: Fox News adds:
But Larry O'Connor, a commentator with the Washington Examiner and KABC radio in Los Angeles, shared a different view.

"For the past four years," O'Connor wrote, "Donald Trump has been incessantly likened to Hitler and his supporters to Nazis, so to all the outraged Dems screaming about Chris Matthews making a clumsy, innocuous comparison between Bernie's win and 1940 France, may I just say..."

During his commentary, Matthews expressed doubts about Sanders' chances in November if he goes on to win the Democratic nomination and face President Trump.

"It looks like Bernie Sanders is hard to beat right now," Matthews said. "I'm with [James] Carville all the way in terms of the dangers of what lies ahead in November. They're sitting on so much oppo research on Bernie."


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