In my blog entry of Thursday, 30 July 2015 I wrote that,
"Recall that on my June 24, 2015 blog entry I suggested that,
The recent clashes outside the Ukrainian Parliament by Svoboda, the far-right Ukrainian political party, that led to at least one fatality and more than 100 injured, are a direct result of Merkel and Hollande pressuring Poroshenko to speedily devolve power to ALL the regions in Ukraine, specifically to those controlled by Putin's Russian soldiers and rebel-proxies.
In consequence of these clashes in Kiev, Poroshenko said that,
""It was an anti-Ukrainian act for which all of its organisers without exception -- all representatives of political forces -- should be severely punished," he said in a televised address" (AFP : August 31, 2015)
Interestingly, instead of trying to make political capital out of this event,
"Of
course, we condemn these manifestations of violence, we absolutely do
not accept them," spokesman Dmitry Peskov (left) told reporters." (ibid AFP) (my emphasis)
Expect this 'soft' tone to change dramatically as ,
"The U.S. Department of Commerce added new entities from Russia and
other countries in its list of sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Russian news agency TASS reported that 39 persons under 33 entries had been included in the "Entity List," according to a rule notice in the Federal Register to be published Wednesday. The entries include entities from Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, Romania, Finland, Cyprus, Switzerland and the United Kingdom." ( International Business Times : September 02 2015) (my emphasis)
Added to which,
"The European Union has agreed to extended sanctions for another six
months against Russian firms and individuals, as well as Ukrainian
separatists, to maintain pressure on Moscow to carry out the Minsk
cease-fire agreement.
The decision was made at a meeting of EU ambassadors on September 2 and should be signed off by ministers in mid-September.
The asset freeze and travel bans were due to expire September 15." (RFERL : Thursday, September 03, 2015) (my emphasis)
This has led Putin to go into an apoplectic fit, and he responded by threatening that Russia will,
".... react in kind to United States' widening of sanctions imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, criticizing the move as straining relations and posing risks for international stability.
.....
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's response would be reciprocal." (Reuters :
And if this were not enough to get Putin spitting nails, Yuras Karmanau (right) informs us that,
"Ukraine's national security council on Wednesday approved a new military
doctrine that declares Russia to be a military opponent and calls for
the country to pursue NATO membership.
.......
At the security council meeting, Poroshenko said the doctrine "not only officially establishes the Russian Federation as Ukraine's military opponent, but states the task of relocating military units and creating the necessary military infrastructure in the eastern and southern regions."" (Associated Press : 2 September, 2015) (my emphasis)
Whether all of this will breathe life into the 'lifeless' Minsk2 proposals remains to be seen.
The window of opportunity to do so is rapidly closing.
And as this windows of opportunity for fulfilling ALL of the 13 Minsk2 proposals diminishes with each passing day, Putin himself must be becoming rather worried.
Recall that according to Andrey Piontkovsky,
“Strange tectonic shifts are taking place around the Kremlin,” Andrey Piontkovsky says.
And although evidence of them comes mostly in leaks, they are a clear indication of “the panic and confusion now ruling” there and the beginning in the Kremlin of “a showdown in the higher echelons of power.” (Paul Goble : Window on Eurasia : Aug. 25) (my emphasis)
This is happening against the backdrop of Putin's economy continuing its precipitous fall into an even deeper recession that previously imagined.
As reported by
Putin boasted last year that Russia's trade with China would exceed $100 billion in 2015, up from $95 billion in 2014. Longer term, the goal was for $200 billion.
But instead of the promised boost, the value of trade between the two countries has nosedived.
"China's exports to Russia have fallen because of the slump in domestic demand in Russia, which is now in a deep recession," said Liza Ermolenko at Capital Economics." (CNN Money : (London) September 2, 2015) (my emphasis)
What must be giving Putin some slight relief is the fact that EU governments are temporarily pre-occupied with the flood of Middle-Eastern and North African refugees attempting to enter into EU countries to claim asylum.
This is, however, rather temporary relief for him.
Neither the EU, nor the US, have taken their eyes off the Ukrainian ball. Nor is there even a glimmer of hope that the Russian economy will soon be clawing its way out of a deepening recession.
(to be continued)
"Recall that on my June 24, 2015 blog entry I suggested that,
"The question that now needs to be asked is whether Merkel, Putin, and
Hollande, who had a private Skype meeting about Ukraine without
Poroshenko,
"... also discussed over the phone on Monday (Associated Press:22/06/2015) whether Ukraine should be,
"[carrying] out the “last” points of the Minsk agreement and not
wait for Russia and the Russian-controlled militants to carry out their
portion of the agreement." ( EuroMaidan Press)
The recent clashes outside the Ukrainian Parliament by Svoboda, the far-right Ukrainian political party, that led to at least one fatality and more than 100 injured, are a direct result of Merkel and Hollande pressuring Poroshenko to speedily devolve power to ALL the regions in Ukraine, specifically to those controlled by Putin's Russian soldiers and rebel-proxies.
In consequence of these clashes in Kiev, Poroshenko said that,
""It was an anti-Ukrainian act for which all of its organisers without exception -- all representatives of political forces -- should be severely punished," he said in a televised address" (AFP : August 31, 2015)
Interestingly, instead of trying to make political capital out of this event,
"Russian President Vladimir
Putin's spokesman said Moscow was also concerned at the clashes but
quickly added this was Ukraine's domestic business.
"Of
course, we condemn these manifestations of violence, we absolutely do
not accept them," spokesman Dmitry Peskov (left) told reporters." (ibid AFP) (my emphasis)
Expect this 'soft' tone to change dramatically as ,Russian news agency TASS reported that 39 persons under 33 entries had been included in the "Entity List," according to a rule notice in the Federal Register to be published Wednesday. The entries include entities from Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, Romania, Finland, Cyprus, Switzerland and the United Kingdom." ( International Business Times : September 02 2015) (my emphasis)
Added to which,
"The European Union has agreed to extended sanctions for another six
months against Russian firms and individuals, as well as Ukrainian
separatists, to maintain pressure on Moscow to carry out the Minsk
cease-fire agreement.The decision was made at a meeting of EU ambassadors on September 2 and should be signed off by ministers in mid-September.
The asset freeze and travel bans were due to expire September 15." (RFERL : Thursday, September 03, 2015) (my emphasis)
This has led Putin to go into an apoplectic fit, and he responded by threatening that Russia will,".... react in kind to United States' widening of sanctions imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, criticizing the move as straining relations and posing risks for international stability.
.....
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's response would be reciprocal." (Reuters :
And if this were not enough to get Putin spitting nails, Yuras Karmanau (right) informs us that,.......
At the security council meeting, Poroshenko said the doctrine "not only officially establishes the Russian Federation as Ukraine's military opponent, but states the task of relocating military units and creating the necessary military infrastructure in the eastern and southern regions."" (Associated Press : 2 September, 2015) (my emphasis)
Whether all of this will breathe life into the 'lifeless' Minsk2 proposals remains to be seen.
The window of opportunity to do so is rapidly closing.
And as this windows of opportunity for fulfilling ALL of the 13 Minsk2 proposals diminishes with each passing day, Putin himself must be becoming rather worried.
Recall that according to Andrey Piontkovsky,
“Strange tectonic shifts are taking place around the Kremlin,” Andrey Piontkovsky says.
And although evidence of them comes mostly in leaks, they are a clear indication of “the panic and confusion now ruling” there and the beginning in the Kremlin of “a showdown in the higher echelons of power.” (Paul Goble : Window on Eurasia : Aug. 25) (my emphasis)
This is happening against the backdrop of Putin's economy continuing its precipitous fall into an even deeper recession that previously imagined.
As reported by
Putin boasted last year that Russia's trade with China would exceed $100 billion in 2015, up from $95 billion in 2014. Longer term, the goal was for $200 billion.
But instead of the promised boost, the value of trade between the two countries has nosedived.
"China's exports to Russia have fallen because of the slump in domestic demand in Russia, which is now in a deep recession," said Liza Ermolenko at Capital Economics." (CNN Money : (London) September 2, 2015) (my emphasis)
What must be giving Putin some slight relief is the fact that EU governments are temporarily pre-occupied with the flood of Middle-Eastern and North African refugees attempting to enter into EU countries to claim asylum.
This is, however, rather temporary relief for him.
Neither the EU, nor the US, have taken their eyes off the Ukrainian ball. Nor is there even a glimmer of hope that the Russian economy will soon be clawing its way out of a deepening recession.
(to be continued)
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