Critical January meeting with Putin, Merkel, Hollande, and Poroshenko

Miloš Zeman, the current President of the Czech Republic, recently gave a radio interview with Chinese state TV in which he described the conflict in eastern Ukraine as,

Miloš Zeman and Vladimir Putin in April 2002

"a 'civil war', and refuted claims of Russian involvement. He also said EU sanctions on Moscow were an 'obstacle for all countries'." (Ukraine Today : Jan. 5, 2015)

Miloš Zeman, in 1968, during the Prague Spring, became a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Wikipedia). His current  "Party of Civic Rights is backed financially by Russian energy firm Lukoil, according to the Czech media."  (ibid Ukraine Today) (my emphasis), and his popularity has recently plummeted to 34%. 

As reported by ČTK , 

"For Czechs, Zeman has become a puppet of Vladimir Putin and business groups with interests in China and Russia, Petr Honzejk writes, recalling that Zeman preferred to return from China aboard a private aircraft leased by the PPF and J&T firms instead of the government plane." (Ceskenoviny : 30.12.2014) (my emphasis)

Anton Shekhovtsov

Zeman represents but one of a growing band of pro-Putin politicians in the EU. If  Miloš Zeman is a Putin cheerleader in the EU, then Viktor Orbán, according to Anton Shekhovtsov,

"is a Putin at the heart of Europe."

Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin

Furthermore,

"Orbán’s Hungary is increasingly becoming a right-wing authoritarian kleptocracy bearing a growing resemblance to Vladimir Putin’s Russia." (ibid  Anton Shekhovtsov) (my emphasis)

Added to Zeman and Orban, we have approximately 1/3 of current EU MEP's made up of  far-right , Neo-Nazi, and outright fascistic political parties stretching from London to Athens, and encompasisng the whole of Europe.

Putin is well aware of this EU constituency of his, and we can expect him to maintain his current position over the war between Russia and Ukraine at the upcoming meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.

The meeting is scheduled for January 15 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande and will follow the 'Normandy Format'.

According to Poroshenko,

“The foreign ministers of the ‘Normandy format’ countries have been given instructions to prepare the agenda and draft resolutions for this summit,” said Poroshenko, referring to a similar quadripartite meeting earlier this year in France." (VoA : December 29, 2014)

            Poroshenko                                Merkel                              Hollande                              Putin

The venue of this meeting is rather interesting, given that,

             Nursultan Nazarbayev

"... Nursultan Nazarbayev, confirmed his support for Ukraine and said he hoped for a quick resolution of the conflict between government troops and pro-Russia separatists in the country’s east .." (ibid Voa) (my emphasis)

This stand of Nazarbayev is due primarily to his concerns that if Putin can use the argument that he is 'merely protecting' the interests of the Russian-speaking populations in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian Crimea,  he could likewise use the SAME argument to invade northern Kazakhstan, where a large population of Russians reside.

Ian Traynor

As reported by Ian Traynor, Europe editor of The Guardian, Monday 1 September 2014,

"In little-noticed remarks last week, [Putin] called into question the legitimacy of the post-Soviet state of Kazakhstan while ordering the Kazakhs to be on their best behaviour when it came to serving Russian interests.

The remarks, to an audience of young people in Russia on Friday, sent shock-waves through the central Asian republic, which also hosts a large ethnic Russian minority centred in the north on the Russian border." (my emphasis)

We should not forget that not only does Putin have his cheerleaders and a large number of MEP supporters in the EU, but he also has the Russian Orthodox Church on his side.

Patriarch Kirill

Just recently Patriarch Kirill mentioned 'historic Rus', which actually refers to,

".... the Medieval Kyivan Rus state, which incorporates parts of modern day Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The state existed from the 9th Century to the 13th Century, before Moscow was even founded." (Ukraine Today : Jan. 5, 2015) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, we should not forget that he once referred to,

"the 12 years of Vladimir Putin's rule a "miracle of God" and criticised his opponents, at a gathering where religious leaders heaped praise on the prime minister." (Gleb Bryanski : Reuters : Wed Feb 8, 2012) (my emphasis)

And, more recently, referring to Ukrainian Crimea, Putin said,

"It was in Crimea, in the ancient city of Chersonesus or Korsun, as ancient Russian chroniclers called it, that Grand Prince Vladimir was baptised before bringing Christianity to Rus." (The Economist : Dec 5th 2014) giving his annexation of Ukrainian Crimea a very specific 'religious' dimension.  (my emphasis)

It is with this MIND-SET that Putin will be attending the 15th January meeting in Astana, irrespective of the current cataclysmic collapse of the Russian economy. Nursultan Nazarbayev is indeed wise to be very very wary of what Putin will be bringing to the meeting in Astana.

(to be continued)