5 April 2014 — Strategic Culture Foundation
NATO, Russia: Arms or Diplomacy Choice (II)
05.04.2014 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
Following Tuesday’s NATO meeting, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose country led the effort to bring Kiev closer to the E.U., told reporters that «the rest of the Europe is sometimes half a phase behind us». Virtually no one in official E.U. circles, be they East or West, is calling for NATO boots on Ukrainian soil… NATO should think real hard before stepping on the path of open confrontation with Russia instead of using the diplomatic means to settle the differences and find common ground to tackle the issue of Ukraine in a positive way.
European Union Not Prepared to Help Kiev Financially
05.04.2014 | 00:00 | Pyotr ISKENDEROV
Ukraine is a key element of new Eurasian politics, and from this point of view Brussels’ maneuvers with regard to Kiev are rather telling. In particular, the West’s unwillingness to give Kiev any real financial assistance whatsoever is becoming in-creasingly noticeable. This was demonstrated once again at the ECOFIN meeting which took place in Athens April 1-2…
NATO, Russia: Arms or Diplomacy Choice (I)
04.04.2014 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
NATO must have a sustained presence in countries that feel «vulnerable» to Russia, US President Barack Obama said on March 26 at a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels… The NATO allies snapped to attention, clicked heels and said «Yes, sir». On April 1-2, 2014 foreign ministers met for the first time since Crimea joined Russia. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia’s actions meant there could be no «business as usual»… As the Guardian reported, a confidential seven-page paper leaked to the German news weekly Der Spiegel proposed joint exercises and training between the alliance and the three countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova) to enhance the «interoperability» of their militaries with NATO and expand their participation in NATO «smart defence» operations.
The US Hits the Red Line in its Confrontation with Russia
04.04.2014 | 00:00 | Nikolai BOBKIN
…Washington has used Ukraine as a pretext for US neocons to provoke a confrontation with Moscow. The coup in Kiev turned out to be perfect for this, but Russia’s ‘Crimean response’ defeated America’s plans for a US game on the ‘grand chessboard’. President Obama wanted to wound President Putin by calling Russia a «regional power». He pleased the Kiev putschists with his comment, but Ukraine will not become America’s consolation prize for its lost international standing. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of the people on Earth believes that the biggest threat to peace is the United States of America, which considers itself to be «the only global power».
Ukraine Presidential Candidate Poroshenko Tamps down NATO Membership Hopes
03.04.2014 | 09:27 | Wayne MADSEN
To hear the rhetoric of certain Western political leaders, NATO must extend its collective security umbrella over Ukraine, as well as Georgia, as quickly as possible. However, Ukrainian presidential candidate and chocolate manufacturing tycoon Petro Poroshenko has opined that Ukraine may not be ready for NATO membership… It is clear that Poroshenko is a political chameleon who is willing to change his color from “red” to “blue” and vice versa, in addition to cooperating with fascist “browns” and even the “greens” when it is convenient for him to do so. Today, Poroshenko has thrown cold water on the idea of early NATO membership for Ukraine. But what about tomorrow?
Saudi Arabia: The US President’s Futile Trip
03.04.2014 | 06:00 | Nikolai BOBKIN
…The story of Riyadh’s nuclear cooperation with Islamabad, including the acquisition of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long ranges, goes back decades. This has been discussed by Gary Samore in particular, who until March 2013 was the White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction. He wanted to understand (since it is still unclear) why the US is not objecting to Saudi Arabia’s nuclear plans, seeing as there is a risk of the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia turning into a global conflict…
Latin America Chooses Russia-Made Weapons
03.04.2014 | 00:00 | Nil NIKANDROV
Latin American experts know it well – Russia-made weapons are known for quality. Rosoboronexport (the state intermediary agency for Russia’s exports/imports of defense-related products, technologies and services) has rich experience of doing deals in the Western Hemisphere – from Mexico to Chile… FIDAE-2014, the International Air and Space Fair, took place on March 25 – 28, 2014, in Santiago de Chile. It became another step on the way of expanding Russia’s presence on Latin American arms market…
Obama Launches Reset of Saudi Ties
02.04.2014 | 16:58 | Melkulangara BHADRAKUMAR
What emerges from Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia is that Washington’s strongest relationship in the Arab world, which has been with Riyadh, is in historic shift. Arguably, the US’ path to energy independence dilutes the dense economic interdependence between the two partners but that is not the whole story and is probably not even the main story… The heart of the matter is that Saudi Arabia fears that Obama is pursuing a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, which may eventually end the US economic sanctions against Iran and, in turn, “empower” Tehran to play an optimal role in regional affairs…
Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia: Behind the Scenes of the Visit
02.04.2014 | 00:00 | Igor PANKRATENKO
…Official sources report that during the negotiations with King Abdullah, President Obama only rejected the idea of direct U.S. military strikes against Syria. Obama considered everything else, including the delivery of MANPADs to the rebels, to be possible. White House representatives do not speak plainly about this; they begin to prevaricate, but the question can essentially be considered resolved. After the negotiations, it is clear that this summer Riyadh and Washington, in partnership with other «friends of Syria», will once again try to use weapons to «close the issue» of al-Asad and of the Syrian Arab Republic in its current form…
Total Lustration in Ukraine: From the President to the Plumber
01.04.2014 | 00:00 | Alexander GOROKHOV
…After the Nazi coup d’état of 2014, the topic of political revenge has come to the forefront in Ukraine. On March 26, five members of parliament from the Freedom Party submitted bill No. 4570, «On conducting lustration in Ukraine»… Junta member and head of the «lustration commission» Yegor Sobolev has already expressed his displeasure with the «too lenient» suggestions of the Freedom Party. And he promised to conduct the lustration more harshly, apparently on the basis of the bill submitted by Nazi Bogdan Benyuk «On belonging to the Ukrainian nationality and the protection of the state-forming nation», paragraph 6 of which reads: «Office holders in government agencies who are of Russian nationality and are unable to prove otherwise with documentation must be dismissed by December 31, 2014».
The Charge of the Scientology Brigade
01.04.2014 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN
The almost simultaneous rise to power of Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the acting prime minister of Ukraine and Andrej Kiska as president of Slovakia has prompted fears that the secretive U.S.-based Church of Scientology is making a power grab in Central and Eastern Europe… After the Western-financed coup against President Viktor Yanukovych’s government in Ukraine, information began to emerge that Yatsenyuk, the clear favorite of Washington neo-conservatives like Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, either dabbled in Scientology or was a full-fledge senior member of the cult, a position known as «Operating Thetan Level 6» or «OT-6»…
US Uses Ukraine as Pretext for Launching Energy War against Russia
31.03.2014 | 00:00 | Nikolai BOBKIN
As it became clear that the economic sanctions against Russia are going to backlash against the United States and the European Union, the West started to study other ways to «punish» Russia, including bringing down market energy rates. Obama promised to start gas deliveries from the US straight to Europe. Many saw it as the start of energy war against Russia. On March 26, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee held hearing on «The Geopolitical Potential of the U.S. Energy Boom» to study the ways how the energy production growth in the United States could be used against Russia… Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs, said Europe’s dependence on Russia’s energy supplies paralyzed the US Ukraine’s policy. The US influence and the authority of US President have diminished globally. According to Royce, the way to rectify the situation is to weaken Russia by pushing it away from traditional markets and bringing energy prices down…
UN and Issue of Ukraine: General Assembly vs. UN Security Council
30.03.2014 | 00:00 | Alexander MEZYAEV
On March 27 the United Nations General Assembly resolution entitled «Territorial integrity of Ukraine» (A/RES/68/262) was adopted with 100 votes in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions (24 member states were either absent or present and not voting)… It can be said the result is an evident testimony to the fact that the Western diplomacy failed. 100 states supported the Ukrainian territorial integrity while 93 did not. 100 states voted against the Crimea’s new status, but 93 did not. This is the major total of the Western demarche in the United Nations.
Suleiman Shah and Turkey’s Election Invasion of Syria: Wag the Dog Turkish-Style?
30.03.2014 | 00:00 | Mahdi Darius NAZEMROAYA
The Turkish opponents of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his beleaguered government have claimed that a distressed Erdogan may try to start a conflict with Syria and even invade Syrian territory. According to Erdogan’s opponents, the aim of a Turkish invasion of Syria by Erdogan is to invoke patriotic sentiments domestically. The aim of this is to manipulate the Turkish population into supporting Prime Minister Erdogan’s declining Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the Turkish municipal elections that are slated for March 30, 2014…
EU: ?olossus with Feet of Clay
29.03.2014 | 19:11 | Pyotr ISKENDEROV
Ten years ago, on March 29, 2004, the EU took a hasty decision on enlargement adding simultaneously ten more new members: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta. As a result, the European Union became an all-European organization instead of being an economic community. It gave rise to new problems and contradictions… The Ukraine’s becoming a failed state is a result of the EU’s policy of expansion further into Eurasia with the help of Eastern Partnership program…
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