#but so far Germany was like 'but..but... Nordstream 2'

[beardedmrbean]

Danish and Swedish officials on Tuesday said two leaks had been identified on the Nord Stream 1 Russia-Europe gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

The news came only hours after a similar development on its twin pipeline, Nord Stream 2. Both conduits have become flash points in the escalating energy war that has sent gas prices rocketing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

What do we know so far?

Officials said a pressure drop was detected in the Nord Stream 1 undersea gas channel soon after a similar fall was detected in its sister pipeline, Nord Stream 2. 

Both of Nord Stream 1's two lines are affected, while one of Nord Stream 2's pipelines showed a drop in pressure.

Marine authorities identified a gas leak southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm as the likely cause of the issue affecting Nord Stream 2. Danish officials warned of a threat to shipping in the area and asked vessels to steer clear.

Swedish authorities on Tuesday said there were two leaks on Nord Stream 1 — one in the Danish maritime economic zone and the other in the Swedish one. The two leaks were reported to be very close to one another.

The German economy ministry said it was investigating the incident.

"We currently do not know the reason for the drop in pressure," it said.

Blasts registered by Swedish seismologists

Seismologists from Sweden's National Seismology Centre (SNSN) told public broadcaster SVT that powerful blasts had been registered in the areas of the gas leaks on Monday.

"There is no doubt that these were explosions," SNSN seismologist Bjorn Lund told SVT.

Denmark's armed forces meanwhile released footage showing bubbles on the surface of the Baltic Sea above the Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines and reported that the largest of the leaks had caused surface disturbance of around 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) in diameter. 

What's the significance?

Both of the pipelines were built to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe, although the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was never activated. 

German officials have not yet provided any information on the possible cause of the damage. However, Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper cited German security circles saying that sabotage was strongly suspected. "Our imagination no longer allows for a scenario in which this is not a targeted attack," the newspaper quoted its source as saying.

Swedish police launched a preliminary investigation into possible sabotage a national police spokesperson said.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it was "hard to imagine" that the leaks were "accidental."

Speaking to Danish media while on a visit to Poland, Frederiksen said: "It's an unusual situation, to have three leaks a distance from each other. That's why it's hard to imagine that it's accidental."

Ukraine blamed the leaks on Moscow.

"The large-scale 'gas leak' from Nord Stream 1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU," Kyiv's presidential advisor Mikhaylo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

He accused Russia of seeking to "destabilize the economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic."

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was "extremely concerned" by the reports of damage and that no option, including sabotage, can be excluded at the moment.

"Obviously, there is a destruction of the pipeline. And what the reason is, there is no option that can be ruled out until the results of the investigation emerge," Peskov was cited as saying by Interfax state news agency. "This is an absolutely unprecedented situation that needs to be resolved quickly."

While neither pipeline has been delivering supplies to Europe, both have still been filled with gas. 

Why is no gas flowing from Russia?

Nord Stream 1 was carrying gas to Germany until earlier this month, but Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off the supply, claiming there was a need for urgent maintenance work to repair key components.

German officials have rejected state-owned Gazprom's explanation of technical problems, saying the stoppage is merely a power play in response to Western sanctions.

Gazprom began to cut supplies through Nord Stream 1 in mid-June, blaming a delay in the delivery of a turbine that had been sent to Canada for repair. 

The newer Nord Stream 2 pipeline was fully complete when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended its certification, two days before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Germany has long been highly dependent on imports of fossil fuels from Russia to meet its energy needs but has been forced to look for new sources  since the war in Ukraine began.

#nunyas news #yikes

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck sends congratulations on Ukraine's Independence Day

Habeck posted a video in English, with German subtitles.

In the beginning, he calls Ukrainians "brave", highlighting Ukraine's Independence Day history and the importance this day has due to the "brutal and illegal" war of aggression by Russia. He also emphasized that there is no justification for this war and caused immense human suffering. He also pays respect to Ukraine's strong-willed fight against Russia. He says, everyday Germans are impressed by Ukraine's courage, determination and perseverance "in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your country". Habeck continues that Ukraine is fighting for European values and a peaceful and democratic future with freedom and prosperity. "This is why Germany and its partners around the world will continue to stand by your side. And we will continue to offer Ukraine financial, humanitarian, militarian and diplomatic support for as long as it is needed." Habeck ends his videos with wishes for everyone in Ukraine, saying he hopes that next years Independence Day will happen under different circumstances, peaceful "in a sovereign and free Ukraine".

Previously, Chancellor Scholz and Foreign Minister Baerbock had also published videos.

German Chancellor Scholz' government, of which he's part of, has been under constant critism since the start of the war. Scholz and main parts of his governments got critized for how they're dealing with the war, mainly because of an Pro-Russian approach, appeasing Putin, lacking support in the past and currently and not delivering or delaying weapon deliveries.

Lately, Habeck received critism for how he's handling the German energy crisis. He "inherited" an economy, that's dependent on Russian energy, gas, coal and oil. Despite this, Habeck was one of the first German politicans who advocated for a stop and was praised, in the beginning of the war, for dealing with the depency and finding new solutions for Germany. Within weeks and months, he managed to largely reduce the import of Russian oil, gas and coal. He lately received critism for ruling out the possibility to using Germany's nuclear reactors and to extand their duration. Habeck made it clear that Germany will completely stop buying Russian gas, oil and coal. His actions to find new solutions for Germany received mixed reviews, since he also changed his stance on several topics. So far, he and his party (Die Grünen / The Greens) advocated for safe and economical-friendly energy, like solar and wind energy. To deal with the energy depency, Habeck now started to find other solutions, like LNG, since the previous gouvernment under Angela Merkel was the issue for the depency. The last gouvernment not only missed the switch to renewable energies, but held it up and did not implement it. Habeck justified his changed stance with having to act due to the Russian War and in order to help Ukraine and no longer support Russia. During the six months of war, he was highly praised by many Germans for his open, honest and clear communication, admitting mistakes, explaining complicated facts and speaking openly about problems and struggles. This earned him support from large parts of Germany, making him to one of the most loved and popular politicans, along with his colleague, Foreign Minister Baerbock. Besides his communication, he was also praised for his position against Putin / Russia and his support for Ukraine. Habeck has a history of condeming Russia's actions and speaking out against Putin, as well as warning about the depency on Russia.

His party also has a history of supporting Ukraine. They condemned the annexation in 2014, warned about energy depency, critized Nordstream 2, spoke out against Putin several times and advocated in the past to support and help Ukraine more.

The Greens are currently part of the German government, next to SPD (Chancellor Scholz' party) and the FDP.

#president zelensky #volodymyr zelensky #volodymyr zelenskyy #wolodymyr selenskyj #president zelenskyy #selenskyj #volodomir zelensky #president volodymyr zelenskyy #vladimir zelensky #volodimir zelenski #zelensky #ukraine #russia #war #germany #scholz #habeck #independence day

[illgiveyouahint]

Hey czechs anyone else is getting increasingly more worried about where this whole Czech-Russia diplomatic crisis is going? 'cause I'm kinda worried

#czech #hana's random text posts #like I'd like to believe in our allies #but so far Germany was like 'but..but... Nordstream 2' #and the rest of them are just doing these like proclamations #as if that would do shit for Putin #and like we are definitely not as strong as we pretend to be #and with Putin preparing to invade Ukraine? #yeah idk folks I'm not feeling so good about it

[opedguy]

Russia Warns It Could Cut Ties with EU

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 12, 2021.--Entering into another dangerous phase in world geopolitics, 70-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned today that if the European Union sanctions the Russian Federation over the legal disposition of Russian dissident Alexi Navalny, his government is prepared to break off ties with the EU.  Threatening travel bans and asset freezes with members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, Lavrov issued the warning to EU politicians.  Mass hysteria in the U.S. and EU has consumed foreign policy over Navalny, much like it did when Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2, 2018 by Saudi agents at its embassy in Istanbul.  What makes the Navalny case so inexplicable is that Navalny was a well-known, unapologetic Trotskyite seeking to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin.  What doesn’t the U.S. and EU get about Navalny.     

        Yes, it’s true that a Russian hit squad most likely affiliated with Russia’s FSB [formerly KGB], poisoned Navalny in Tomsk, Siberia Aug. 20, prompting his emergency airlift to German for life-saving treatment.  No one knows for sure that the poisoning was ordered by Putin or some other faction in-or-out of the Kremlin.  Like the Khashoggi targeted assassination, there’s also no proof that the assassination order came from 45-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.  Whatever the reason behind the U.S. and EU attack on Putin, the EU, especially Germany, stands to lose 40% of its heating oil and 30% of its petroleum if Brussels moves ahead with punitive economic sanctions.  Navalny’s plight, whether he gets out of jail sooner-or-later, is of little consequence to the EU, whose strong business ties to Moscow have gone on for decades.     

        Putin reacted harshly to accusations by EU leaders that he ordered the Novichok, [a banned Soviet-era neurotoxin] poisoning of Navalny, violating the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention ban on using deadly substances.  EU officials recall the March 4, 2018 of Novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, U.K.  EU officials look at the use of Novichok and draw no other conclusion than it was ordered by Putin or some faction in the Kremlin.  Whatever the situation, it’s still not enough to destabilize world geopolitics with Moscow considering severing ties with the EU.  “We proceed from the fact that we’re ready [for that].  In the event that we again see sanctions imposed in some sectors that create risks for our economy, including in the most sensitive spheres,” Lavrov said.  Before the madness sweeping from Washington to Brussels continues, the brakes must be pumped.      

       Russian has done nothing with Navalny other than deal with an internal dispute with a known dissident calling for the overthrow of the Russian government.  However frustrated Russians are with Putin, it’s a Russian matter, not one for the U.S. and EU to resolve.  “We don’t want to isolate ourselves from global life, but we have to be ready for that.  If you want peace, prepare for war,” Lavrov said, serving notice to the U.S. and EU that Russia will not tolerate interference.  Germany has a lot to lose if Putin pulls the plug on the $11 billion Nordstream 2 pipeline.  But the world’s geopolitical balance depends on Russia to help the developing world in Africa and Asia and parts between.  Britain’s prestigious medical journal Lancet confirmed today that Russia Sputnik V Covi-19 vaccine is 92% effective and will go a long way to help eradicate the novel coronavirus global pandemic.      

       What kind of madness is going on in the U.S. and EU over an inconsequential Russian Trotskyite, calling for the end of the Putin government?  Does the U.S. and EU really wants to interfere with Russia’s internal politics?  Whatever happens with Navalny should not derail the fragile geopolitical world with many competing interests around the globe.  Putin has the reach and resources to improve global stability if he’s part of the international community.  Lavrov is right warning the West that they can only push so hard without repercussions.  “These statements are really disconcerting and incomprehensible,” said Germany’s Foreign Ministry.  What’s “disconcerting and incomprehensible” letting Navalny spoil all the good will established between the Russian Federation and West.  Lavrov wants the U.S. and EU to come to their senses before sending the world to the brink.   

          U.S. and EU diplomats must get a grip before it’s too late, stopping the madness of sanctions on the Russian Federation because of its prosecution and sentencing of dissident Alexi Navalny.  Whatever form of government you call Russia, it’s not the business of the U.S. and EU to undermine the Russian Federation, regardless of sympathies for Navalny or any other anti-Kremlin dissident.  “If the EU goes down that path then yes, we should be ready, because you have to be ready for the worst,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.  When the U.S and EU comes to its senses, they’ll realize they have far too much to loose to let the world spiral into a new Cold War where diplomacy, reason and common ground ends.  If the U.S. and EU want more global stability, they need to stop the madness of sanctioning Russia for an internal matter best left for the Russian Federation,

 About the Author

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.  

[alexsmitposts]

Gangster Economics Against Huawei & Nordstream 2 Many Americans base their entire view of the world, and their understanding of the relationship of the United States to other countries, on the contents of a college-level “Economics 101” course. They view the world market as a land of “free competition” in which different countries and international corporations “compete.” They then believe that consumers, communities and countries “vote with their dollars” rewarding the best products and services. In this delusional fantasy, championed by figures like as George Soros and Anne-Marie Slaughter as an ideal “Open International Market,” the United States and western countries occupy their dominant position, simply because they are the best. The products and services offered by western financial institutions and international corporations are simply superior to those found anywhere else. This delusional fantasy goes on to present the western financial elite as somehow mentoring and assisting the world, by helping it “develop” and perhaps someday be more like the superior west. The “Energy Dominance” Scheme Those who argue that this western narrative is false have no greater confirmation than the recent actions of the US government. The response to Nordstream 2 pipeline and the recent crackdown on Huawei technologies confirms that the US government has no interest in free competition among international corporations. Nordstream 2 is a natural gas pipeline that is currently under construction, scheduled to be completed later this year. It will enable Russia’s state-run energy corporations to sell natural gas to countries inside the European Union. The people in various EU countries favor the construction of Nordstream 2, because it will expand and ad greater convenience to their access of Russian natural gas. However, in the United States, the Trump administration is joined by Democratic Party “resistance” leaders in demanding that the people of Germany and other European nations not purchase gas from Russia. They foolishly demand that the European community purchase gas from the United States, and import it across the Atlantic Ocean. It is simple common sense to know that importing natural gas from across the planet will be far more expensive for central Europe than simply pumping it over the border from Russia. However, in a shrill atmosphere of hysteria, invoking all kinds of unrelated issues and allegations against the Russian government, the US political establishment is talking of sanctions and other means of coercing the European public into buying their gas. While US leaders invoke human rights-based criticism of the Russian government, the hypocrisy is obvious. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a brutal autocracy that beheads and tortures, remains a top business partner of the United States in both the energy and weapons markets. The brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has not changed this relationship, which Trump openly defended on a purely financial basis. The goal of making money for American energy corporations and weakening Russian energy corporations, their competitors, is not even carefully concealed. The White House openly speaks of “Energy Dominance” as the basis for its policy, and speaks of how protecting the profits US-based oil and gas firms is its blatant intention. The Anti-China Smartphone War Are the Germans, Belgians, and other European people’s not free to “vote with their dollars” and chose where to purchase their oil and gas? Apparently, the “open international system” is not so open when geopolitical rivals of Wall Street monopolists are involved. The same rhetoric and methods are being used to try and strong arm countries around the world, and demand that they do not purchase Huawei telecommunications technology from China. Huawei is the largest telecommunications manufacturer in the world. It is an integral part of the market-socialist model developed by Deng Xiaoping and now adjusted and advanced by Xi Jinping. Huawei phones have longer battery life, better cameras, and more durable, longer lasting hardware than American made phones. All across the world, in places like India, Latin America, and various African countries, the public has selected to buy these cheaper and higher quality phones. The profits of Apple have recently dropped as Huawei’s products have become the choice of more and more consumers around the globe and within China. However, US leaders once are demanding that people around the world do not “vote with their dollars” and pick the superior phone. If the free market logic were to apply, US leaders would simply urge American manufacturers to be more competitive. Instead, US leaders continue to demand that countries like Poland and Bulgaria stop doing business with Huawei technologies. Within the United States, Americans have been prevented from “voting with their dollars” and purchasing the P20, a cutting edge new phone released by the Chinese manufacturer. A whole list of Chinese smartphones are now banned as a supposed national security risk. US leaders allege that smartphones manufactured by Chinese corporations are a threat to national security because these entities have ties to the Chinese military and government. This claim is rather hypocritical as Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and other American telecommunications companies have not even bothered to conceal their relationship with the US intelligence agencies. US phones are no more a “military” or “intelligence” threat than Chinese phones are. To expect the Chinese Communist Party, which essentially created Huawei Technologies, to not maintain a relationship with this telecom giant is a ridicules demand. Not Gentlemanly Business but Gangsterism More than the “free competition” and “open international system” they advocate, American leaders, seem to be embracing the economic philosophy of Mafia gangsters. Much like criminals operating a protection racquet, US leaders claim that certain countries around the world are their “turf.” They demand that their competitors be locked out, and scramble to impose “consequences” on those who would get in their way. US leaders are themselves discrediting the very ideology they have spread across the world. They are revealing that in truth, “free competition” is a delusion and that governments tend to rig things in favor of their wealthy paymasters and do their bidding. The mantra of “free competition” has been utilized to restrain developing countries and potential competitors, but US leaders are happy to disregard it and protect the global “turf” of the Wall Street and Silicon Valley monopolies. The truth is that the richest of the rich in the United States did not acquire their wealth by mere personal sacrifice and brilliance, and the western world did not acquire its place in the world through gentlemanly business practices. In the 21st Century, countries across the world have rejected these free market delusions and utilized their own governments to construct state-controlled economies to eliminate poverty and raise living standards. Huawei, like Russia’s Gazprom and Rosneft, are the result of economic innovations, in which post-Cold War governments took action to control the economy on behalf of the population. Unlike so many of the working class people in western countries, the populations of Russia and China have not been left behind in the process of building up these super-corporations. As the two Eurasian superpowers emerged in the 20th century, not due to free markets, but due to socialist central planning, millions were lifted from poverty.

[usuallyleftnight]

Alex WongRudy Giuliani’s contacts with officials at the State Department as part of his controversial efforts to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine are more extensive than have been publicly reported. And they raise additional questions about the degree to which senior officials throughout the Trump administration were involved in—or privy to—attempts by the president to muddy a top potential political opponent. Over the course of the past year, Giuliani has participated in a far-flung campaign by Trump allies to unearth damaging information about Biden and his son Hunter. As part of that effort, Giuliani pressed the Ukrainian government to investigate so-far unfounded allegations of corruption in the country involving the Bidens. At the time, Hunter Biden was accused of using his father’s political standing to secure lucrative business opportunities abroad. Ukraine’s prosecutor general would subsequently say he had no evidence of any wrongdoing.This summer, Giuliani briefed U.S. diplomats, including special representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, on his work in Ukraine and his efforts to convince the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens. But Giuliani confirmed to The Daily Beast that he also briefed another diplomat: U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. President Trump’s lawyer said that he briefed both Volker (who he referred to as the “main one” in terms of his State contacts) and Sondland on multiple conference calls earlier this year about his progress in pursuing a Ukraine investigation.It wasn’t exactly an unknown topic for Sondland. The ambassador was also closely involved with the Trump phone call to Zelensky in which Trump repeatedly pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the Bidens. “I spoke with both of them before and after this conversation,” Sondland told Ukraine’s state-run news agency after the phone call. “The conversation was very successful. They found a common language immediately.” The two leaders discussed Ukraine’s civil war, energy security, and “the rule of law,” Sondland said in July. That same day, Zelensky met with both Sondland and Volker to discuss Ukraine’s war with pro-Russian rebels. It was a particularly poignant topic at the time; the U.S. was holding back on nearly $400 million worth of equipment promised to Kyiv to deter Moscow and her allies.Not Just Ukraine: Rudy and Bannon Try a Whole New Way to Slime BidenWhile Giuliani has said publicly that his overtures to the Ukrainians were brokered in part by the State Department, the specifics of his contacts with Foggy Bottom have remained opaque—including what, if anything, Secretary Mike Pompeo knew about the Ukraine work. According to two sources inside the department, U.S. diplomats, including Sondland and Volker, were aware of the details Giuliani’s work in Ukraine on Biden as early as this spring. Those sources said senior officials at the department were read in on Giuliani’s calls with Volker and Sondland.“I’ve spoken to Kurt Volker the most about this, but have been on conference calls with [Sondland],.” Giuliani said.  Giuliani also claimed that he had not been asked to be put in touch with Sondland, but one day unexpectedly found himself “on a conference call with him” to discuss the Ukraine efforts.They weren’t the only senior members of the Trump administration brought into the president’s efforts to use a foreign government to squeeze a political foe. According to the Washington Post, Trump ordered Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget, to hit pause on hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine—just days before a now-infamous July phone call between Trump and Zelensky. Mulvaney’s OMB deputies then directed officials Departments of Defense and State not to distribute the military aid. Giuliani’s work on Ukraine began months earlier. The Trump attorney’s work, done with the president’s explicit blessing, involved chasing leads on possible origins of the Mueller investigation. It eventually led to his attempts to dig up dirt on the Biden family. This was all happening as Trump was preparing to head into a presidential election year, with Trump and his advisers viewing Biden, the 2020 Democratic frontrunner, as a prominent political enemy.Giuliani was planning to travel to Ukraine in May to look into allegations of corruption involving the Bidens there. The trip was pulled. But the president’s lawyer met up with Andrei Yermak, a close adviser to Zelensky, in Spain last month. It was before that meeting that Giuliani said the department reached out to him and requested that he take a call with Yermak. And after the meeting, Giuliani told The Daily Beast he briefed Volker and Sondland.While Volker is known in diplomatic circles as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Sondland has—until recently—maintained a lower-profile. The founder and chairman of Provenance Hotels, Sondland appeared to be uncomfortable with his status as a Trump supporter during the 2016 campaign. Sondland appeared on a list of bundlers for Trump distributed by the RNC in July 2016 and was listed as a co-host of a Seattle fundraiser for the Trump campaign. When the Seattle Times reported Sondland’s participation in the fundaiser he and wife , said that Trump’s treatment of the family of a Muslim Gold Star family, they were backing out of the event. Trump’s ”constantly evolving positions diverge from their personal beliefs and values on so many levels” that the couple could no longer support him, according to a spokesperson.But as The Intercept subsequently reported, Sondland appeared to have a change of heart after Trump won the election. The hotel magnate donated a million dollars to the Trump inaugural committee using limited liability corporations which masked his name from the list of Trump contributors. The move prompted a Federal Election Commission complaint from campaign finance watchdog, the Campaign Legal Center, but Sondland’s relationship with the Trump administration wasn’t harmed by his apparent discomfort—Trump nominated him for U.S. ambassador to the European Union in May 2018. Sondland attended Zelenskiy’s presidential inauguration as part of the U.S. delegation in May 2019 shortly after Giuliani announced he was canceling plans to visit the country in pursuit of dirt on the Biden family. Sondland is known inside the State Department as key to helping the administration promote better U.S.-Ukraine trade relations. Together with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, Sondland has spoken out against the Nordstream 2 pipeline project, saying it undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty by bypassing the country and cutting off its ability to export natural gas to Europe. In an op-ed Grenell, Sondland and U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands said the pipeline would “bring more than just Russian gas.” “Russian leverage and influence will also flow under the Baltic Sea and into Europe, and the pipeline will enable Moscow to further undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and stability,” the op-ed said.Ukraine Likely to Reopen Probe of Hunter Biden Firm: SourcesThe State Department did not respond to a request for comment for this story and did not provide details about whether it had reached out to Giuliani to take a call with Yermak. But it appears the State Department and other Trump administration officials were well on their way to establishing a connection with the Zelensky team. By the time of Giuliani’s debriefings this August, leading Zelensky ally Ivan Bakanov had already visited Washington twice—once in April and once following Zelensky’s inauguration. Bakanov, who now heads the country’s security service, met with members of Congress, including Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), one of the leaders of the Ukraine caucus, and officials inside the administration, including Fiona Hill, then who at the time was served as the top White House advisor for Russia. Bakanov also met George Kent, the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at the State Department.Volker and Sondland had also visited Kyiv twice—once in May and the other time coming on the heels of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky. They went to Ukraine with Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Energy Secretary Rick Perry and briefed the White House on their visit just days later. Sondland and Volker met with Zelensky July 26 to express “unwavering support for Ukraine’s democracy”, according to a U.S. embassy tweet.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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[opedguy]

European Union to Sanction  Russian Federation

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 11, 2021.--France and Germany decided to press for European Union sanctions on Russia for jailing 44-year-old Russian dissident Alexi Navalny.  When EU foreign minister meet Feb. 22, the plan on discussing sanctions against key Kremlin officials, restricting passports and freezing assets in EU banks.  EU officials didn’t like when 68-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin expelled diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, essentially opening up a new Cold War with Russia.  When 78-year-old President Joe Biden took office Jan. 20,  his first order of business was chastising Putin for arresting Navalny Jan. 18, convicting him of violating probation and sentencing him Feb. 2 to two-years-eight months in prison.  Calling Navalny a “domestic critic,” the EU knows that Navalny runs a cryptic nationwide network seeking to overthrow Putin’s government, hardly a Kremlin critic.         

    Calling Navalny a “domestic critic” or, like the U.S. calls him, “pro-democracy” activist, is absurd, knowing he’s been working for years to overthrow Putin’s government.  U.S. and EU officials can’t figure out what to do with Putin with whom former President Donald Trump got along well.  U.S. officials from the deep state connected with the past Obama administration, including current members of Congress, did everything possible to sabotage Trump’s relationship with Putin. Deciding to crack down on Putin could be costly for the EU that buys 40% of its natural gas and 30% of its petroleum from Russia.  Germany has been partnering with Russia building the Nordstream 2 pipeline bringing natural gas from Russia to Germany.  Former President Donald Trump warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel about letting Germany grow too dependent on Russia for energy.        

     When it comes to Navalny, it makes zero sense for the U.S. and EU to suddenly start meddling in Russian internal affairs.  Navalny may be promoted as an anti-Putin activist in the U.S. and EU, but in Russia he’s a dangerous insurgent that seeks nothing short than toppling Putin’s 20-year reign in Russia.  Once Putin expelled diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, the EU decided that it must retaliate at its Feb. 22 foreign ministers’ meeting.  Calling Putin out raises fears in NATO countries either bordering or not that far away from Russia, including the Baltic States of Ltthuania, Latvia and Estonia.  After Putin’s March 1, 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, the Baltic State and Poland thought they’d be Putin’s next target.  Trump’s amicable relationship with Putin allayed concerns in Poland and the Baltics, worried about a possible Russian invasion.  

            Creating a hostile relationship with Putin doesn’t bode well for efforts in the so-called Minsk Protocol, to negotiate a return of Crimea to Ukraine, a country still at war with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region of Southeastern Ukraine.  Ukraine’s 43-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped to gain Putin’s cooperation on resolving any remaining Russian issues in the Donbass region.  Sanctioning Putin or members of the Kremlin will only make a bad situation worse for Ukraine and the Baltic States hoping to get more military help from NATO, in the event Putin decides to retake former Soviet satellites.  No one has benefited in Europe more than Germany for their long history of natural gas and petroleum sales from Russia.  Berlin told Brussels that any sanctions against Russia should not include the $11-billlion Nordstream 2 Pipeline, sponsored by Russia’s state-owned Gazprom.    

         EU officials walk a tightrope trying to add a new level of sanctions on top of ones already in place from Putin’s March 1, 2014 invasion of Crimea.  EU officials know that NATO cannot be counted on to defend EU countries, especially in the Baltics if Putin decides to deploy the Russian army.  “The latest developments, especially with regard to Alexi Navalny’s situation, will be fully taken into account.  The EU’s response must be unified, strong and comprehensive,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Ives Le Drian.  EU officials are talking tough now but they know the consequences of alienating Putin, who has strong ties to many Eastern European countries, reluctant to take a strong stand on Navalny.  EU officials know that Navalny is a Trotskyite revolutionary that seeks nothing short than toppling Putin.  What’s Putin supposed to do:  Let Navalny start a new Russian revolution?    

         U.S. and EU officials have condemned Russia for meddling with national elections, including hacking scandals that compromise national security.  Navalny’s alleged poisoning last August with banned Soviet-era poison Novichok raises the specter of new Cold War.  Sanctioning Putin is likely to drive Putin closer to Iran and North Korea, both pariah states, bound to make more trouble on the world stage.  Putin’s well aware of Navalny’s partners in revolution Vladimir Ashurkov and Leonid Volkov who joined a Zoom Conference call Monday with the U.S., Canada and Ukraine to discus how to best sanction Kremlin figures in business, political, judicial and security sectors.  When Putin sees the West gang up on the Russian Federation, he takes counter measures with his partners around the globe.  With Biden at the helm, U.S.-Russian relations have hit rock bottom, something that helps no one.

 About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.