Suddenly there has been a 'flurry' of diplomatic phone calls and meetings since Putin floated the idea with Angela Merkel for UN 'peacekeepers' to patrol the front-line in the Donbas.
Angela Merkel welcomed this 'gesture' of Putin's and saw in it a new opportunity for detente.
Of course, Angela Merkel is coming up for re-election, whilst the powerful German business lobby is now using this political 'gesture' of Putin's to further strengthen their hand into calling for the lifting of the EU sanctions that were put in place when Putin decided to invade, and then annex, Ukrainian Crimea, whilst also sending his troops into the Donbas under the guise of 'protecting' Russian speakers.
Meanwhile, that 'dyed-in-the-wool' Soviet Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, had a bit of a chit-chat with US Secretary of State Tillerson, where they discussed, among other things,
" ..... the “necessity of increasing efforts on implementing the Minsk agreements on settling the crisis in the South-East of Ukraine” was also mentioned. (112UA : 17 September 2017) (my emphasis)
Now whilst Merkel and German businessmen are 'lauding' this gesture of Putin, Kurt Volker (left), US Special Representative to Ukraine, stated that,
"It was very interesting last week to see how Russia offers a peacekeeping mission, a UN mission, something that Russia had previously said it would not support, something that was proposed after consultations in the Normandy format with the US and others. I think, the details of what was proposed, in fact, will even more divide Ukraine, and not solve the problem, "[Volker] said. (112UA : 16 September 2017) (my emphasis)
This 'sudden' UN peacekeepers idea of Putin's signals his anxiety to get the Nord Stream2 pipeline up and running as soon as possible, without giving these UN peacekeepers carte blanche to extend their services along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Donbas.
Kurt Volker is correct in saying that,
"I think, the details of what was proposed, in fact, will even more divide Ukraine, and not solve the problem"
UN Peacekeepers in the Donbas will not help Putin with NordStream2.
Putin and his German "Putin Versteher" NordStream2 business cabal also have to contend with the US Senate passing of a bill to,
" .... impose sanctions on companies involved in funding Russian export pipeline projects – the latest in a series of steps designed to use Russian economic interests as leverage over Kremlin policy on Ukraine." (Nick Butler (right): Financial Times:
Even more disconcerting for Putin and his German business buddies is the fact that,
"Thirteen EU member states have protested against the Nord Stream project, saying it will divert trade and transit revenues away from them and increase European dependence on Russian gas for decades to come. The protesting states want the European Commission to take control of negotiations of the project away from Germany and to set gas trade in the context of the Energy Union – a concept agreed in 2014 but never implemented. (ibid Nick Butler)
And now the battle in the EU over NordStream2 is hotting up.
As
The big battle over Gazprom’s plan to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline begins this autumn — two years before it is slated to start pumping gas from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
Deep differences among EU countries on how to regulate the project are likely to emerge — testing the bloc’s unity on how to deal with Moscow and how to advance the EU’s energy diversification plans." (Politico : 4 September, 2017) (my emphasis)
These differences cannot be wished away by Angela Merkel,
"... who rarely speaks publicly about the proposed pipeline, told journalists in June there’s no need for a negotiating mandate because Nord Stream 2 is a commercial endeavor." (ibid Anca Gurzu) (my emphasis)
By simply calling NordStream2 a "commercial endeavor", Angela Merkel seems to be ignoring the fact that,
"The [EU] Commission is in the midst of a massive antitrust case against Gazprom, and the geopolitical situation is vastly different following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. There is concern that Nord Stream 2 would bypass existing pipelines running across Ukraine, a source of crucial cash for the country." (ibid Anca Gurzu) (my emphasis)
How far will Putin now go in the Donbas to get NordStream2 off the drawing board?
(to be continued)
Angela Merkel welcomed this 'gesture' of Putin's and saw in it a new opportunity for detente.Of course, Angela Merkel is coming up for re-election, whilst the powerful German business lobby is now using this political 'gesture' of Putin's to further strengthen their hand into calling for the lifting of the EU sanctions that were put in place when Putin decided to invade, and then annex, Ukrainian Crimea, whilst also sending his troops into the Donbas under the guise of 'protecting' Russian speakers.
Meanwhile, that 'dyed-in-the-wool' Soviet Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, had a bit of a chit-chat with US Secretary of State Tillerson, where they discussed, among other things," ..... the “necessity of increasing efforts on implementing the Minsk agreements on settling the crisis in the South-East of Ukraine” was also mentioned. (112UA : 17 September 2017) (my emphasis)
Now whilst Merkel and German businessmen are 'lauding' this gesture of Putin, Kurt Volker (left), US Special Representative to Ukraine, stated that, "It was very interesting last week to see how Russia offers a peacekeeping mission, a UN mission, something that Russia had previously said it would not support, something that was proposed after consultations in the Normandy format with the US and others. I think, the details of what was proposed, in fact, will even more divide Ukraine, and not solve the problem, "[Volker] said. (112UA : 16 September 2017) (my emphasis)
This 'sudden' UN peacekeepers idea of Putin's signals his anxiety to get the Nord Stream2 pipeline up and running as soon as possible, without giving these UN peacekeepers carte blanche to extend their services along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Donbas.
Kurt Volker is correct in saying that,
"I think, the details of what was proposed, in fact, will even more divide Ukraine, and not solve the problem"
UN Peacekeepers in the Donbas will not help Putin with NordStream2.
Putin and his German "Putin Versteher" NordStream2 business cabal also have to contend with the US Senate passing of a bill to,
" .... impose sanctions on companies involved in funding Russian export pipeline projects – the latest in a series of steps designed to use Russian economic interests as leverage over Kremlin policy on Ukraine." (Nick Butler (right): Financial Times:
Even more disconcerting for Putin and his German business buddies is the fact that,
"Thirteen EU member states have protested against the Nord Stream project, saying it will divert trade and transit revenues away from them and increase European dependence on Russian gas for decades to come. The protesting states want the European Commission to take control of negotiations of the project away from Germany and to set gas trade in the context of the Energy Union – a concept agreed in 2014 but never implemented. (ibid Nick Butler)
And now the battle in the EU over NordStream2 is hotting up.As
The big battle over Gazprom’s plan to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline begins this autumn — two years before it is slated to start pumping gas from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
Deep differences among EU countries on how to regulate the project are likely to emerge — testing the bloc’s unity on how to deal with Moscow and how to advance the EU’s energy diversification plans." (Politico : 4 September, 2017) (my emphasis)
These differences cannot be wished away by Angela Merkel, "... who rarely speaks publicly about the proposed pipeline, told journalists in June there’s no need for a negotiating mandate because Nord Stream 2 is a commercial endeavor." (ibid Anca Gurzu) (my emphasis)
By simply calling NordStream2 a "commercial endeavor", Angela Merkel seems to be ignoring the fact that,
"The [EU] Commission is in the midst of a massive antitrust case against Gazprom, and the geopolitical situation is vastly different following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. There is concern that Nord Stream 2 would bypass existing pipelines running across Ukraine, a source of crucial cash for the country." (ibid Anca Gurzu) (my emphasis)
How far will Putin now go in the Donbas to get NordStream2 off the drawing board?
No comments:
Post a Comment