The President held a briefing session with permanent members of the Security Council, via videoconference.
October 10, 2022 13:00
St Petersburg
"Taking part in the meeting were Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov. * * *
Russian President Vladimir Putin:
Colleagues, good afternoon,
You know that yesterday Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin reported to me on the first results of the investigation into the act of sabotage on the Crimean Bridge.
The forensic and other expert data, as well as operational information, show that the October 8 explosion was an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's civilian and critical infrastructure.
It is also clear that the Ukrainian special services were the organisers and perpetrators of the attack. The Kiev regime has long been using terrorist methods, including murders of public figures, journalists and scientists, both in Ukraine and in Russia. And terrorist attacks on towns in Donbass, which have been going on for more than eight years. And also acts of nuclear terrorism, by which I mean missile and artillery strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.
This is not the whole story: Ukraine's special services have also carried out three terrorist acts against Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, repeatedly blowing up the plant's high-voltage lines. The third such terrorist attack damaged three of those lines at once. The damage was repaired in the shortest possible time and there were no serious consequences.
However, there have been a number of other terrorist attacks and attempts to commit similar crimes against electricity generation and gas transportation infrastructure facilities in our country, including an attempt to blow up a section of the TurkStream gas pipeline system.
All this has been proven by objective data, including the testimony of the detained perpetrators.
It is well known that Russian representatives are not allowed to take part in the investigation into the causes of explosions at and the destruction of international gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea. But we all know who ultimately benefits from this crime.
Thus, the Kiev regime, by its actions, has actually put itself on the same level as international terrorist groups, and with the most odious of those. It is simply no longer possible to leave crimes of this kind without retaliation.
This morning, at the proposal of the Defence Ministry and in accordance with the plan of Russia’s General Staff, a massive strike was launched with long-range precision air, sea and land-based weapons against Ukrainian energy, military and communications facilities.
In the event of more attempts to stage terrorist attacks on our territory, Russia's response will be harsh and commensurate with the threats posed to the Russian Federation.
Nobody should have any doubts about that.
Defence Minister, please report on the results.
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69568
Unusual for anything to be published from these meetings.
A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
MOre ramblings by the mini-Hitler
Lavrov about negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
11 Oct 2022
Putin's sock puppet is rather irrelevant these days.
Yet another interview, questins and answer fully covered:
8 October 2022 12:14
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, Moscow, October 8, 2022
2087-08-10-2022
"Question:
The sabotage attack on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines has been among the hottest topics in recent days. Former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski openly thanked the United States for what happened. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the incident was “in no one’s interest.” Who could benefit from it, in your opinion?
Sergey Lavrov:
This is an unprecedented situation. A critical infrastructure facility has been affected, resulting in huge damage to Russia’s interests and the energy security of Europe. The important thing today is to carry out an objective, comprehensive investigation with Russia’s participation and reveal the true causes of the incident.
It is obvious that Russia and Germany are among the main victims. It is also a huge problem for Gazprom. Both strings of Nord Stream 2 were filled with gas and ready for service.
The answer to the question as to who benefits from these developments is obvious. The prime beneficiaries are the United States and its suppliers of expensive LNG from across the ocean, who have a vested interest in ousting rivals from the European gas market. I will refer to President Vladimir Putin, who exposed those to blame for this act of subversion in his speech on September 30. In effect, he directly pointed a finger at the Americans, saying: “It is clear to everyone who stands to gain. Those who benefit are responsible, of course.”
An indicative fact is also Sweden and Denmark’s refusal to allow Russia and the pipeline operator company to take part in the investigation, while there were no objections on their part to the Americans expressing readiness to “join the process.”
Question:
The matter is settled regarding DPR and LPR, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions becoming part of Russia. However, Kiev and the West are not about to recognise the results of the referenda and are going to continue to fight to take these territories back. Experts are increasingly often mentioning the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons against the Armed Forces of Ukraine if Ukrainian attacks cannot be stopped by conventional weapons. Is Russia really ready to take this unprecedented step? Also, what does Moscow think about Washington's warnings about “catastrophic consequences?”
Sergey Lavrov:
In the context of the Ukraine-related crisis, it is the Americans and their allies who are trying to introduce nuclear rhetoric into public circulation.
As a reminder, shortly before the special military operation, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Vladimir Zelensky was clear that Ukraine’s abdication of nuclear weapons that remained on its territory after the Soviet Union’s collapse was a mistake. After that, Western politicians picked up the nuclear rhetoric as well. Remember how easily the current Prime Minister of Great Britain promised to press the red button if needed during her election campaign?
Westerners turn everything upside down, alleging that Russia is vocalising nuclear threats and that it can use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, by using various manipulations and outright lies in the process. However, everyone has long become accustomed to this.
President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials have repeatedly made it clear that our nuclear deterrence policy is purely defensive in nature. The theoretical use of nuclear weapons is clearly limited to extraordinary circumstances within the scenarios outlined in the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Sphere of Nuclear Deterrence. These are open documents. Anyone can read them.
I would also like to emphasise that Russia remains committed to the statement made by the leaders of the five nuclear states of January 3, 2022, which reaffirmed the postulate of the unacceptability of a nuclear war. In accordance with this document, which was approved at the highest level, it is important to stave off any armed conflict between countries possessing nuclear weapons.
As for bold statements about consequences for Russia, this language of threats is absolutely unacceptable. We leave these statements entirely on the conscience of the respective Western politicians. We are not going to discuss this issue with them as doing so is clearly useless.
Question:
Some of our allies, such as Kazakhstan and Serbia, have declared that they do not recognise the results of the referenda. Is it of much importance for Russia that these plebiscites are recognised by other countries? Can this be a subject for diplomatic talks?
Sergey Lavrov:
The referenda took place and their results were announced just a short while ago. Our foreign partners will need time to realise these new geopolitical realities. We will not force anyone to make haste. Our priority is to implement the results of the free vote in the liberated territories in keeping with the fundamental norms of international law, primarily people’s right to self-determination.
It is important to understand the following: the issue concerning the relationship between the right to self-determination and the principle of territorial integrity was solved, after years of debate, by the United Nations in its 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law, which reaffirms the inviolability of territorial integrity and political unity of states, provided they are “possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.”
We know what harsh oppression the Russians and Russian speakers were subjected to by the Kiev regime after the 2014 coup. It is obvious that the authorities in Kiev do not represent the people of Donbass and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
The issue of whether the referenda are consistent with Ukraine’s Constitution and legislation does not influence their qualification under international law. Let us recall the 2010 decision on Kosovo approved by the International Court of Justice. Under this ruling, a territory has no duty to apply to the central authorities of its country for permission to proclaim its sovereignty when implementing its right to self-determination. This created a precedent.
We must also take into account the fact that the DPR and the LPR held their first independence referenda immediately after both the coup in Kiev and the ensuing reprisals against their residents. Just recall that Ukraine stepped up its onslaught on the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities and began squeezing Russian out from all spheres of life. They persecuted Russian activists, removed those who opposed authorities, and brought pressure to bear on the parishioners of the canonical Orthodox Church. After the Minsk Agreements were reached in 2015, international recognition of the republics’ independence was put on hold. Had Ukraine performed its obligations under the Package of Measures, it would have been possible to say that the conditions existed for the DPR and LPR to implement their right to self-determination within the state they were part of at that time.
But Kiev sabotaged the Minsk Agreements and set the course for the forcible suppression of Donbass. With the West’s connivance, the Kiev regime imposed a blockade on Donbass, stopped paying pensions and social allowances, made it impossible to conduct normal economic activities, and put obstacles in the path of humanitarian deliveries. All of this made people’s lives unbearable. And, of course, these conditions were incompatible with the DPR and LPR’s right to self-determination within Ukraine.
In the same way, the population in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions was deprived of any prospects for self-determination within Ukraine as a result of Kiev’s military campaign, including indiscriminate missile attacks on residential areas, destruction of civilian infrastructure, etc.
We are absolutely sure that our cause is righteous and our steps justified. Our assessments and arguments, which we will continue to communicate to our international partners, are quite obvious, and many of our interlocutors share them.
Question:
The EU and the US routinely pass anti-Russian sanctions packages. What is Moscow preparing to do in response? Do our Western “partners” have any sore spots left that we could apply pressure to?
Sergey Lavrov:
We have grown accustomed to the West constantly preparing some anti-Russia sanctions. When there is no pretext, Washington will surely think of one and the rest will follow Washington’s guidance.
The referenda on the liberated territories are being used as another pretext to step up pressure on our country. We expected nothing less.
Of course, we have all we need to defend our national interests. We will use it fully if needed. Those using the language of sanctions to talk to Russia should understand that thus far we have shown restraint in our response to these acts of economic aggression, but that our patience has its limits.
They failed to tear our economy to shreds as Barack Obama passionately wished some time ago. And they will not be able to do so. All that they intended to provoke in Russia has now started to hit home. A number of European countries are seeing price spikes, drops in revenues and the exhaustion of energy resources. Political experts have spoken of the growing dangers of a social explosion. The usual blessings of civilisation are turning into a privilege for Europeans. This is the price that ordinary citizens must pay for the Russophobic attitudes of their politicians.
But this is what’s happening in the West. In Russia, we will build up our economic and technological sovereignty and chart alternative financial and logistic networks to service our international trade. We will continue to strengthen our cooperation with our partners in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America who, just like us, are in favour of equal cooperation and against the politicisation of trade.
Question:
Recently Lithuania has decided to cut the Kaliningrad Region off from Russia by hindering the transit of goods. If there was such a concept as international rudeness in diplomacy, then would this instance be such a case? No bilateral documents provide for such restrictions on transit, but we tolerate it – why? Is there a way to put an end to this?
Sergey Lavrov:
It is true that Vilnius is showing considerable zeal to create more and more obstacles for transit to the Kaliningrad region and back. You can choose various epithets to characterise such illegal actions, of course.
The main thing is that there has been a clear violation by the European Union and Lithuania of their political obligations to Russia, as well as the Russia-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1994 and the Russia-EU joint statements of 2002 and 2004.
We are consistently trying to achieve the full normalisation of both freight and passenger transit. Some progress has been made in terms of resuming the delivery of goods by rail that are subject to EU anti-Russian sanctions. This has somewhat reduced the acuteness of the problem of sustaining life in the Kaliningrad Region, but nothing more. It is necessary to systematically address all emerging issues, such as bank payment for transport services on the territory of Lithuania, removal of obstacles for the transportation of perishable goods, and the restoration of the previous parameters of passenger transit by rail.
We do not support confrontation, we prefer dialogue. But we cannot ignore the restrictions they have imposed. Therefore, on September 29, a Presidential Executive Order was signed to ban international road transport across Russia by foreign operators from those countries that have imposed restrictions on our individuals and legal entities. Any new attacks will also not go unanswered. No one should have any illusions about this.
Question:
Washington and its allies are threatening companies dealing with Russia with secondary sanctions. How serious is this problem now? What do you think about the current efforts to reorient Russia’s trade and economic interests to the East? Can Western threats limit trade with our partners? Shouldn’t we build more pragmatic relations with the countries that we consider friendly today? For instance, can we demand reciprocity in exchange for preferential conditions?
Sergey Lavrov:
Naturally, we consider the threats of US secondary sanctions at all stages of dealing with constructive foreign partners. We are developing cooperation with them proceeding from reciprocal interests and mutual benefit. No restrictions will interfere with these objective processes that reflect modern realities.
For instance, our trade with China grew by almost a third in the first eight months of this year. It increased with India by 120 percent in the first six months of 2022. This growth is determined not only by the growing prices on our raw materials exports but also by the expansion of the range of our exports in general. This is only natural since many foreign economic operators from friendly countries are trying to fill the niches vacated after the departure of Western companies from the Russian market.
As for preferences in bilateral trade with friendly countries, each case is individual and requires thorough expert studies. We should analyse them not only with our related departments but also with our EAEU partners because such issues have been raised to the supranational Eurasian level. In addition, it is important to remember that economic cooperation with non-Western states follows WTO rules. They grant Russia a certain package of advantages in foreign trade.
Question:
Obviously, the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) is of tremendous importance to Russia today. Who are our real partners there? The APR is not only China but also such states as Indonesia (with the world’s biggest Muslim population), Malaysia, the Philippines, and, finally, our good, long-standing ally Vietnam. We don’t hear practically anything about cooperation with them as if they don’t exist in Russia’s foreign policy agenda. Or is this wrong?
Sergey Lavrov:
Today, the centre of global politics is shifting from the Euro-Atlantic to Eurasia and the APR. Relations with APR states, including Southeast Asian countries, have picked up markedly in many areas.
Vietnam is the best example in this respect. During my visit to Hanoi in early July, I personally saw how motivated the leaders of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are to promote our comprehensive bilateral strategic partnership.
Russia supplies many types of domestic products to the Vietnamese market, including fertiliser, fuel and lubricants, metal and food products. We continue implementing large oil-and-gas projects in both Vietnam and Russia. The plant assembling domestic GAZ automobile equipment is expected to reach its full capacity before the end of the year. We are gradually restoring people-to-people exchanges. We are also discussing the holding of the Days of Russian Culture in Vietnam. The number of Vietnamese studying in our universities has not decreased. We have reinvigorated inter-regional ties after the pandemic.
Or take Indonesia, for example. In June, its President Joko Widodo paid a working visit to Russia. Our leaders talked by telephone in April and August. We have discussed in practical terms prospects of cooperation in fuel and energy and food security. Now our agenda includes infrastructure construction, building of nuclear power plants, non-energy applications of nuclear technology and cooperation in peaceful space exploration. In the first six months of the year, our trade increased by more than 1.5 times.
Our cooperation with other states of the region is gaining momentum as well. In September, President Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing on the sidelines of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
During my working visits to Nay Pyi Taw and Phnom Penh in August, I had substantive conversations with the heads of governments and foreign ministers of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. In September, my counterpart from Thailand Don Pramudwinai visited Moscow.
Despite unprecedented Western pressure, Southeast Asian countries, with the exception of Singapore, did not start imposing any restrictions on cooperation with Russia after the start of the special military operation. I think this is convincing evidence our relationship is a partnership.
Journalists often ignore an important aspect of Russia’s cooperation with some Southeast Asian countries, such as dialogue between Muslim organisations, although many interesting events are taking place there. For example, the Malaysian Foundation of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIFE) supported the initiative to organise a visiting session of the Russia-Islam Strategic Vision Group in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 to be timed to the 20th anniversary of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Malaysia. In June, Jakarta warmly received a delegation of Russian Muslims headed by Albir Krganov, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and head of the Spiritual Assembly of the Muslims of Russia. We are optimistic about the prospects of supplying Russian halal products to the region’s countries.
Question:
Major Latin American countries like Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina support Russia in votes on Ukraine at the UN. Can this support be seen in practice? Are our ties with this region expanding? Can we offer things to them, and they to us?
Sergey Lavrov:
Latin America is a friendly and a very promising region. Russia has multifaceted relations with the Latin American states that date back more than a century and a half. A political dialogue has been established, which continues to date despite pressure from the United States and the EU. For example, I met with the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the ministers from Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. We talk, and I'm sure we hear each other.
Understandably, not a single Latin American country joined the anti-Russia sanctions, now or in 2014. Our trade with that region has increased by 27 percent compared to the same period last year to almost $11 billion in the first six months.
Our trade with Brazil, our leading partner in the region, increased 50.6 percent in January-May compared to the same period in 2021. The other countries you mentioned – Argentina and Mexico – are our largest partners in Latin America as well. We are ready to expand relations with them and our other friends in Latin America to the extent that they are willing to. Our approach is absolutely sincere, and we do not force them to make the choice of “who you are with.” We have never had a Monroe Doctrine and never will. We are in favour of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation based on pragmatism and the avoidance of ideology-driven approaches. We are for building bridges, not walls.
We continue to help the Latin Americans ensure their food and energy security. Our fertiliser shipments continue with Russian company fertiliser exports of about $3.7 billion in January through June alone.
Question:
Despite all its risks, the Cuban Missile Crisis ensured peace on the planet for a long time. The United States and the Soviet Union exacerbated tensions in bilateral relations to the limit and then went back to their “corners” and began to abide by certain rules. Can this scenario happen again?
Sergey Lavrov:
The main problem is that the Americans have basically torn up international law and tacit diplomatic taboos that existed for decades. Contrary to geopolitical realities, the United States is trying to subdue other members of the international community and to push everyone into living by rules of their own making.
The Russophobic US elite think irrationally and they are pushing the White House to an open confrontation with Russia. In fact, we are seeing a reckless policy of stoking international tensions.
Is it possible to break out of this vicious cycle? Of course it is. In order to move forward, Washington needs to do some serious work to correct its mistakes and give up its claims to global domination. It would also be nice if they could learn from their failed attempts to interfere in our domestic affairs.
We realise that figuring out the new alignment of forces in the world is challenging and painful for the United States, but the sooner they start reckoning with geopolitical reality, the less they will mess things up and the better the objective process of forming a more just and democratic polycentric world order will be."
https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1833089/
Mr. Putin is sure a popular guy around here. Rent free comes to mind
^ Around here where?
What is your fascination with Putin?
This guy's hot this week:
October 12, 2022 by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
Two potentates meet up at St. Petersburg
"There was something profoundly meaningful that the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan undertook a visit to Russia amidst the gathering storms in Ukraine. Conscious of the symbolism, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday in a grand setting befitting a monarch — at the gorgeous Konstantinovksy Palace in St. Petersburg whose heritage dates back to Peter the Great, a symbol of the revival of Russia and its cultural heritage.
The meeting of the two potentates couldn’t have been more timely. Sheikh Mohammed and his Saudi kinsperson, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud had just handed down a strategic defeat to a superpower in the geopolitics of oil, as the world community witnessed disbelievingly and understood that the sun has set on the American Century in international politics.
Putin too stands at the threshold of a historic victory over the combined might of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which is poised to redraw the contours of the new world order. Putin told Sheikh Mohammed that the relations between Russia and the UAE are “an important factor of regional and overall global stability.”
Putin said, “I know that you are concerned about the entire situation that is developing, and I know about your desire to make a contribution to resolving all contentious issues, including the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. I would like to note that, indeed, this substantial factor makes it possible to use your influence to help gradually resolve the situation.”
The words were carefully chosen. Putin noted the UAE’s desire “to help gradually resolve the situation” in Ukraine, underscoring that a denouement is not in the cards in a near term. [Emphasis added.] However, the centrepiece of Putin’s remarks was something else — OPEC Plus where Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia are virtually navigating the global energy markets.
Putin signalled that Moscow is not at al viewing the OPEC+ decision in zero sum terms. Rather, its aim is “to stabilise global energy markets, so that consumers of energy resources and those supplying them to global markets would feel calm, stable and confident, and so that supply and demand would be balanced.” Of course, embedded within this polite submission is a tough message to the G7 that any further attempt on their part to extend their weaponisation of sanctions to the global energy market is unacceptable and will be resisted and defeated.
These were Putin’s first remarks on the collective decision announced by the OPEC+ at its meeting in Vienna last Thursday to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. Putin concluded firmly that Russia will “respond to market requirements all the time, and we try to do this in line with current developments.”
Sheikh Mohammed unmistakably signalled that his visit focused on boosting its bilateral relations with Russia, especially in the economic sphere. As the western sanctions atrophy Russia’s flourishing economic ties with Europe, Moscow is turning to the non-Western world for partnerships, and reorienting its regional strategies. Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia will gladly engage with any country that stands up to western bullying.
The UAE has been quick to grasp that Russia prioritises the Emirates as a favoured destination to conduct business. The uniqueness of the UAE for Moscow lies in its dynamic environment for doing business as well as for opening a window for the Russian industry to the Western world. Moscow has been receiving strong feelers from European partners about resuming business ties albeit indirectly. After all, Russian market is synonymous with high business returns.
A crucial template here is Moscow’s appreciation of the growing emphasis by the UAE to preserve its strategic autonomy. The Russian elites admire Sheikh Mohammad for rapidly transforming the Emirates from an economy once reliant on fishing and pearls, to become a financial powerhouse and diverse economy, and providing a stable political system, strong capital flow, favourable taxation environment and liberal trade regimes.
Indeed, the UAE is now an attractive investment hub with a ‘2021 Vision’ of becoming the economic, touristic and commercial capital for over two billion people. As the Russians see it, these ambitious goals will continue to facilitate a hospitable, well-regulated and secure business ecosystem in the UAE. The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index ranks the UAE ranks among the top dozen out of 160 countries in terms of trade logistics.
Equally, Moscow does not envisage that it could be “business as usual” with the Europeans anytime soon — if not ever. The the resuscitation of the West’s Nazi heritage to spite Russia and the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines to punish Russia are only the culmination of an excessively obnoxious behaviour by the US and its allies to humiliate Russia over the decades — pouring scorn over its cultural heritages of language, literature, music, etc. out of sheer envy — in an appalling zest to “erase” Russia as a powerhouse. This has created deep wounds in the Russian psyche.
With 4000 Russian companies operating out of the UAE, there is a rapidly growing Russian community in the Gulf region and Sheikh Mohammed noted that the Emirates will provide a friendly ambience for the Russian expatriates by approving the opening of the first Russian school in the Emirates. Conceivably, this must be the first such Russian school in that part of the world.
The Russian business community visualises the UAE as a prime launch-pad to access markets around the world. Its geographical location and amicable time zone (GMT +4), give businesses wishing to access markets in Africa, Asia and Europe a regional and business-centric hub from which to operate. Russia has set its sights high for expanding its relations with African countries, where it enjoys tremendous “soft power” dating back to the Soviet era.
In geopolitical terms, Sheikh Mohammed’s decision to travel to Russia to meet with Putin comes in the backdrop of the temper tantrums of the American political elites threatening to “punish” Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Democrats have brashly called for the withdrawal of US troops in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and cutback on arms supplies.
These Neanderthal men ought to have become museum pieces by now. They do not comprehend that the West Asian elites have a cosmopolitan mindset and know these hollow men well enough, having interacted with them in their pristine years and watched stoically more recently as they began ageing, showing signs of exhaustion and senility.
By this visit to St. Petersburg, Sheikh Mohammed may have in his own astute way shown that such crude American threats will only be counter-productive. Earlier once, the Biden Administration had bullied him to severe UAE’s relations with China to qualify for F-35 jets, whereupon, in disgust, he turned to France’s Rafale.
Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the potential to form a troika where each of the members augments the political power of the other two members and at the same time collectively impact the actual distribution of power in a multipolar world.
The OPEC Plus has shown the way. Sheikh Mohammed’s meeting with Putin comes within the week of the OPEC Plus meeting in Vienna."
Two potentates meet up at St. Petersburg - Indian Punchline
What, is he busy churning out more bollocks for you to post?
With all of the world leaders he has been meeting recently, how popular is Vladimir Putin?
Let Saudi Arabia’s friendship with Putin be a wake-up call for the west | Simon Tisdall | The Guardian
UAE president to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday | Oil and Gas News | Al Jazeera
His dance card is full. How 'isolated' he must feel.
Last edited by sabang; 14-10-2022 at 01:07 AM.
Of course you omit those that abstained or just didn't vote at all. Nonetheless, I think it was a pretty solid result for the US/ 'international community'- which on the Diplomatic front, has had a lot of bad news of recent. Not only is Putin far from isolated, several World leaders have been quite conspicuously going out of their way to reinforce that. And OPEC- well, Ouch.
Russia has been obliged to diversify energy supplies, by moving towards deals with India, China and the UAE. That simply creates a third party course for western countries to avoid dealing directly with Russia.
Such a course may have unintended consequences in the future. The Saudi government simply wishes to reinforce influence over OPEC decisions. I’m sure Putin was a very well behaved little boy in this scenario.
Russia has been, and will continue to sell its products, around the world for centuries. For those wishing to buy them.
NaGastan a few decades.
Some published "facts".
When FJB met the Saudis to force them to increase their oil production, he was told to wait until the OPEC+ meeting. He announced to his citizens he had a deal to reduce local petrol and diesel prices.
Biden expects Saudi Arabia to take ‘further steps’ to boost oil supply
Saudi official downplays US president’s remarks saying production will be based on demand.
Samer Al-Atrush in Jeddah, Felicia Schwartz in Jerusalem and Derek Brower in New York
July 16 2022
"US president Joe Biden said he expected Saudi Arabia to take “further steps” to increase the supply of oil in the “coming weeks” following a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah.
Speaking after the meeting, Biden said he was doing “all I can” to increase crude supplies and that he expected to succeed.
“Saudi shares that urgency and based on our discussions today I expect we’ll see further steps in the coming weeks.
” US consumers might feel the effects of his visit to the oil-rich kingdom at the petrol station in “another couple of weeks”, he added.
However, a Saudi official restated the kingdom’s position on production after the meeting, saying it would be decided based on demand.
“Oil is not a political weapon, oil is not a tank,”
said state minister for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir. “You cannot point it at someone and fire. Oil is a commodity.”
https://www.ft.com/content/b85987c4-5e0a-4d96-a7ad-40167f837090
The OPEC+ participants, including THE LORD, decided to cut supplis, the outcome will increase oil prices.
More FJB promises to his "consumers", local and foreign, as usual he failed to deliver.
FJB has a problem now, he's sold off his "Strategic Reserves" to very low levels, to assist his upcoming elections prospects.
FJB future problem:
September 12, 20228:00 AM GMT+7Last Updated a month ago
Column: U.S. diesel stocks critically low after failing to recover over summer: Kemp
By John Kemp
Column: U.S. diesel stocks critically low after failing to recover over summer: Kemp | Reuters
October 14, 20223:50 AM GMT+7Last Updated 10 hours ago
Oil prices rise 2% on low diesel stocks ahead of winter
By Arathy Somasekhar
Column: U.S. diesel stocks critically low after failing to recover over summer: Kemp | Reuters
Oct 11, 2022
Europe Rushing to Secure Gas Sparks Record High LNG Ship Rates
Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg News
Liquefied natural gas vessel rates hit a record high, with Europe’s dash to lock-in winter energy supplies sparking a scramble for ships and raising fears some buyers may find themselves without means to transport the fuel.
The cost to charter an LNG ship in the Atlantic jumped to $397,500 per day on Tuesday, surpassing an all-time high set in the Pacific last year, according to Spark Commodities, which assesses prices from shipbrokers.
Those rates are poised to keep ballooning as traders and utilities move to hoard more gas. This presents a new risk to buyers this winter: those without ships will have to pay sky-high rates to ferry additional fuel, or worse, find they can’t book any ship at all.
There are few vessels available through the rest of the year, and free ones are being offered at astronomical rates, according to LNG traders. Energy majors, which typically lease their vessels to other buyers, are refusing to do so out of fear they could be caught without a ship as winter approaches, the traders said.
Europe’s gas storage sites are quickly filling up in preparation for a winter without Russian fuel. With inventories nearing max capacity, utilities and traders are increasingly storing LNG in vessels at sea, further tying up ships that would normally ferry the fuel between ports.
Ships are in such short supply that LNG exporters in Asia are selling gas directly from loading ports rather than offering to ship the fuel. Those that don’t have vessels are being forced to find buyers that have a way to transport the cargo, traders said."
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/europe-r...ates-1.1830811
FJB:
Empty tanks, no LNG tanker to deliver LNG, increasing energy prices, military arms shortages in NATO. Ripping off NATO countries ....
Time for a nap, MR "potus".
Last edited by OhOh; 14-10-2022 at 02:59 PM.
Vladimir Putin delivers speech at plenary session of Russian Energy Week forum
12/10/2022
"Russian Energy Week is an international event which provides a platform to discuss the main economic challenges in energy, as well as current issues concerning the development of the fuel and energy sector. In 2021, the event brought together 2,500 participants from more than 80 countries, while the business programme included 32 events featuring 204 speakers.
Russian Energy Week 2022 will include discussions of the development of the electric power, oil and gas, chemical, gas and coal industries, as well as topics related to import substitution, digital transformation, the energy transition and the situation around climate issues. As of today, the Forum business programme includes 37 events covering various topics on the agenda.
The main events of the programme are scheduled for 12 and 13 October, in particular, the plenary session of REW 2022 will be held on the first day of the Forum, while 14 October will be the Youth Day.
The Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation with support from the Government of Moscow."
Starts speaking at the 33:00 mark.
A standing ovation at the end.
Last edited by OhOh; 14-10-2022 at 11:01 PM.
Did he mention his conscripts getting battered?
Vaild question as Italy nudges towards Hunagrian ambiguity which will weaken Italy, its bonds and unity of Eu /Eurozone
Italy lower house elects pro-Putin right-winger as speaker | Reuters
Italy lower house elects pro-Putin right-winger as speaker
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Deputy Federal Secretary of the League party Lorenzo Fontana reacts after being elected as the new speaker of the lower House of Parliament, in Rome, Italy, October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
- New parliamentary speaker seen as pro-Putin
- Victorious right-wing bloc hit by internal feuding
- Berlusconi at loggerheads with Meloni over cabinet
ROME, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A pro-Russia, anti-gay politician was elected speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament on Friday, a day after a nationalist lawmaker who collects fascist memorabilia became speaker of the Senate.
The twin votes followed last month's parliamentary election which was won by a trio of conservative parties - Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's League and Forza Italia, which is led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Meloni is expected to be named prime minister before the end of the month but putting together a cabinet is proving much more difficult than expected, with Berlusconi in particular furious over her refusal to satisfy his requests for key cabinet posts.
His pungent opinions of her were revealed by a photographer who took a picture of a note in his handwriting that he briefly held while in parliament on Thursday. The photo has since gone viral on social media.
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"Giorgia Meloni, her behaviour 1) overbearing, 2) domineering, 3) arrogant, 4) offensive ... No willingness to change, she is someone you can't get along with," the note said.
Meloni had looked to moderate her image during the election campaign, playing down her previous euroscepticism and insisting that her party was a mainstream conservative group.
However, the election of speakers for the two chambers of parliament highlighted the strong, hard-right core that runs through her coalition.
The choice of Brothers of Italy veteran Ignazio La Russa, who in 2018 showed off his keepsakes of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, was expected.
The decision to put forward League lawmaker Lorenzo Fontana as speaker for the lower house was a surprise. He is known for his socially conservative, eurosceptic positions and he has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him in 2018 "a shining light even for us in the West".
"We need to get back a bit of pride in who we are," Fontana told the lower house on Friday.
RISKS
Francesco Galietti, founder of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar, said Fontana's elevation risked undermining Meloni's pledge that her government would be pro-Western and would back Ukraine in its war against Russia."For all her efforts to position herself as a staunch Atlanticist, Meloni now has a Moscow friend as speaker of the house on her watch. That's bad, and Meloni knows it," he said.
Fontana is a well-known and controversial figure in Italy. He once said gay marriage and mass immigration threatened to wipe out Italy's traditions and he is fervently anti-abortion."No to a homophobic, pro-Putin speaker," read a banner held up in the lower chamber by opposition lawmakers before parliamentary ushers pulled it down.
Fontana has also called for the repeal of a 1993 anti-fascist and anti-racist law that, among other things, makes it a crime to propagate "ideas based on racial or ethnic superiority or hatred".He repeatedly called for the lifting of EU sanctions imposed against Russia following its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014.In 2018 he said: "I have been favourably impressed by so many of Putin's statements and by the great Christian religious awakening seen in his country."
A historic presentation QA video.
Vladimir Pozner: How the United States Created Vladimir Putin
2 Oct 2018 On September 27, 2018,
"Yale's Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, and the Poynter Fellowship for Journalism hosted Vladimir Pozner, the acclaimed Russian-American journalist and broadcaster.
Pozner spoke on the impact of US foreign policy towards Russia after the Soviet Union has been disbanded, and shared his opinions on a range of issues raised by the audience, from the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections, to Skripal poisoning, to the state of independent media in Russia and the US"
Russia courts Muslim countries as strategic Eurasian partners
Thursday, 13 October 2022 7:10 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 14 October 2022 9:14 AM
By Pepe Escobar
Everything that matters in the complex process of Eurasia integration was once again at play in Astana, as the – renamed - Kazakh capital hosted the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
"The roll call was a Eurasian thing of beauty – featuring the leaders of Russia and Belarus (EAEU), West Asia (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Palestine) and Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan).
China and Vietnam (East and Southeast Asia) attended at the level of vice presidents.
CICA is a multinational forum focused on cooperation toward peace, security, and stability across Asia.,Kazakh President Tokayev revealed that CICA has just adopted a declaration to turn the forum into an international organization.
CICA has already established a partnership with the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). So in practice, it will soon be working together side-by-side with the SCO, the EAEU and certainly BRICS+.
The Russia-Iran strategic partnership was prominently featured at CICA, especially after Iran being welcomed to the SCO as a full member.
President Raeisi, addressing the forum, stressed the crucial notion of an emerging “new Asia”, where “convergence and security” are “not compatible with the interests of hegemonic countries and any attempt to destabilize independent nations has goals and consequences beyond national geographies, and in fact, aims to target the stability and prosperity of regional countries.”
For Tehran, being a partner in the integration of CICA, within a maze of pan-Asia institutions, is essential after all these decades of"maximum pressure” unleashed by the Hegemon.
Moreover, it opens an opportunity, as Raeisi noted, for Iran to profit from “Asia’s economic infrastructure."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, predictably, was the star of the show in Astana. It’s essential to note that Putin is supported by "all"nations represented at CICA.
High-level bilaterals with Putin included the Emir of Qatar: everyone that matters in West Asia wants to talk to “isolated” Russia.
Putin called for "compensation for the damage caused to the Afghans during the years of occupation” (we all know the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder will refuse it), and emphasized the key role of the SCO to develop Afghanistan.
He stated that Asia, "where new centers of power are growing stronger, plays a big role in the transition to a multipolar world order”.
He warned, "there is a real threat of famine and large-scale shocks against the backdrop of volatility in energy and food prices in the world.”
Hefurther called for the end of a financial system that benefits the “Golden billion” - who "live at the expense of others” (there’s nothing “golden” about this “billion”: at best such definition of wealth applies to 10 million.)
And he stressed that Russia is doing everything to “form a system of equal and indivisible security”. Exactly what drives the hegemonic imperial elites completely berserk.
“Offer you can’t refuse” bites the dust
The imminent juxtaposition between CICA and the SCO and EAEU is yet another instance of how the pieces of the complex Eurasia jigsaw puzzle are coming together.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia – in theory, staunch imperial military allies – are itching to join the SCO, which has recently welcomed Iran as a full member.
That spells out Ankara and Riyadh’s geopolitical choice of forcefully eschewing the imperial Russophobia cum Sinophobia offensive.
Erdogan, as an observer at the recent SCO summit in Samarkand, sent out exactly this message. The SCO is fast reaching the point where we may have, sitting at the same table, and taking important consensual decisions, not only the “RICs” (Russia, India, China) in BRICS (soon to be expanded to BRICS+) but arguably the top players inMuslim countries: Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.
This evolving process, not without its serious challenges, testifies to the concerted Russia-China drive to incorporate the lands of Islam as essential strategic partners in forging the post-Western multipolar world. Call it a soft Islamization of multipolarity.
No wonder the Anglo-American axis is absolutely petrified.
Now cut to a graphic illustration of all of the above – the way it’s being played in the energy markets: the already legendary Opec+ meeting in Vienna a week ago.
A tectonic geopolitical shift was inbuilt in the – collective - decision to slash oil production by 2 million barrels a day.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a very diplomatic note with a stunning piece of information for those equipped to read between the lines.
For all practical purposes, the combo behind the teleprompter reader in Washington had issued a trademark Mafia threat to stop “protection” to Riyadh if the decision on the oil cuts was taken before the US mid-term elections.
Only this time the “offer you can’t refuse” didn’t bite. OPEC+ made a collective decision, led by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Following Putin and MBS famously getting along, it was up to Putin to host UAE President Sheikh Zayed - or MBZ, MBS’s mentor – at the stunning Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg, which datesback to Peter the Great.
That was a sort of informal celebration of how OPEC+ had provoked, with a single move, a superpower strategic debacle when it comes to the geopolitics of oil, which the Empire had controlled for a century.
Everyone remembers, after the bombing, invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, how US neo-cons bragged, “we are the new OPEC”.
Well, not anymore. And the move had to come from the Russians and US Persian Gulf “allies” when everyone expected that would happen the day a Chinese delegation lands in Riyadh and asks for payment of all the energy they need in yuan.
OPEC+ called the American bluff and left the superpower high’n dry. So what are they going to do to “punish” Riyadh and Abu Dhabi? Call CENTCOM in Qatar and Bahrain to mobilize their aircraft carriers and unleash regime change?
What’s certain is that the Straussian/neocon psychos in charge in Washington will double down on hybrid war.
The art of “spreading instability”
In St. Petersburg, as he addressed MBZ, Putin made it clear that it’s OPEC+ - led by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - that is now setting the pace to “stabilize global energy markets” so consumers and suppliers would “feel calm, stable and confident” and supply and demand “would be balanced”.
On the gas front, at Russian Energy Week, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller made it clear that Russia may still “save” Europe from an energy black hole.
Nord Stream (NS) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2) may become operational: but all political roadblocks must be removed before any repairing work starts on the pipelines.
And on West Asia, Miller said additions to Turk Stream have already been planned, much to the delight of Ankara, keen to become a key energy hub.
In a parallel track, it’s absolutely clear that the G7’s desperate gambit of imposing an oil price cap – which translates as the weaponization of sanctions extended to the global energy market - is a losing proposition.
Slightly over a month before hosting the G20 in Bali, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati could not make it clearer:
“When the United States is imposing sanctions using economic instruments, that creates a precedent for everything”, spreading instability "not only for Indonesia but for all other countries.”
Meanwhile, all Muslim-majority countries are paying very close attention to Russia. The Russia-Iran strategic partnership is now advancing in parallel to the Russia-Saudi-UAE entente as crucial vectors of multipolarity.
In the near future, all these vectors are bound to unite in what ideally should be a supra-organization capable of managing the top story of the 21st century: Eurasia integration. "
Russia courts Muslim countries as strategic Eurasian partners
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