Putin and the G7 Summit in Germany

"Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) industrial nations meet on Sunday in the Bavarian Alps for a summit overshadowed by Greece's debt crisis and ongoing violence in Ukraine." (Reuters : Noah Barkin : Sun Jun 7, 2015) (my emphasis)

The Greek financial crisis has now become inextricably entwined with the war between Ukraine and Putin's Russia. 

Throughout this blog I have been warning that Putin has many sympathisers within the EU, the current prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, being only a recent one on a list that includes the 'fragrant' Federica Mogherini (EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy), Hungary's Victor Orban, the Czech Republic's Moscow-leaning President Milos Zeman, and the Putinversteher German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right), 

who "said Thursday that the Group of Seven industrialized nations should welcome back Russia in the longer term, striking a different tone from Chancellor Angela Merkel." (Moscow Times: Reuters : Jun. 04 2015) (my emphasis)

                                                                                                                       

Top:Tsipras and Putin, Mogherini and Putin - Bottom: Orban and Putin, Zeman and Putin

And now, Billy Ehrenberg informs us that,

"Greece last night played a new card in the tense stand-off with its creditors and turned to Russia for help, reigniting fears the country could break EU sanctions over Ukraine." (City A.M.: 6 June 2015)  (my emphasis)

It is therefore no wonder that,

"Germany, Britain and the United States want to reach an agreement to offer support to any EU member state tempted to withdraw backing for the sanctions on Moscow, which are hurting the Russian economy." (BBC News : Sun June 7, 2015)(my emphasis)

Recently, warnings have been issued from many different sources that Putin is deliberately building up further military pressure in eastern Ukraine. 

David Alexander (right) reports that,

"On Thursday (June 4, 2015), NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) accused Moscow of sending sophisticated new weapons to Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, including artillery and anti-aircraft systems."


whilst US Defense Secretary Ash Carter (right) said on Friday that,

"The United States needs to take new steps to respond to the Ukraine conflict because economic sanctions and other Western actions have failed to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to reverse course" (Reuters : June 5, 2015) (my emphasis)

Trying to further muddy the waters of the G7 summit, Putin has suddenly announced that,

"Russia was not a threat and had "other things to worry about".

He told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: "Only an insane person and only in a dream can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack Nato." (ibid BBC News) (my emphasis)

He further stated in his interview that,

"....the relationship between Russia and Italy has, indeed, always been privileged, both in politics and the economy." (ibid Corriere della Sera) (my emphasis)

Is this rather strange announcement of Putin that only an 'insane' Russian President would suddenly attack NATO to be taken seriously?

After all, as Ian Johnston reported 2 months ago, has he not already,

"...  threatened to use “nuclear force” to defend [Russia's] annexation of Crimea and warned that the “same conditions” that prompted it to take military action in Ukraine exist in the three Baltic states, all members of Nato."? (The Independent : Thursday 02 April 2015) (my emphasis) (cf. also: The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Express, Inquisitr, amongst other)

This announcement by Putin about the insanity of even imagining that Russia would suddenly attack Nato mirrors the explicit aims of the "internet trolls" that he employs to use all means to discredit opponents of the Kremlin.

Thus, just like his "internet trolls", he will use all means to discredit those not singing from the Putin 'hymn sheet'.

Russian Opposition leader, Aleksei Navalny, rather succinctly sums up Putin's 'internet troll' method.

 
We now await the outcome of the G7 Summit in Germany.

(to be continued)