Putin is presenting Trump with the 'rabbit that he can pull out of his crumbling political hat'

Andrew Osborn and Natalia Zinets report that,

"The pro-Russian rebel leader of a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine proposed on Tuesday replacing Ukraine with a new federal state, in comments that could further undermine a 2015 peace deal that is already faltering. (Reuters : July 18, 2017) (my emphasis)

To which, as reported by Henry Foy (left),

"Dmitry Peskov (right), Kremlin spokesman, said the suggestion was a “personal initiative” and that Moscow “remains committed to the Minsk agreements”. He had earlier said the proposal “should be subject to reflection and analysis” (Financial Times : July 18, 2017) (my emphasis)

 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko,

" ...  rejected the idea, describing Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), as part of "a puppet show", with Russia pulling his strings in order to relay a message."(ibid Andrew Osborn and Natalia Zinets) (my emphasis)

 What seems to underline Poroshenko's contention that, "Russia pulling his [Zakharchenko's] strings in order to relay a message " is the fact that,

"A senior official from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, also held by pro-Russia rebels, said it had not agreed to support the proposal." (ibid Henry Foy). (my emphasis)

Furthermore,

"Yevhen Marchuk (left), a former prime minister representing Ukraine in the Minsk talks, warned that the proclamation could block the negotiating process. “This announcement is done before tomorrow’s meeting in Minsk and it could turn out that we will have nothing to discuss,” he said." (ibid Henry Foy) (my emphasis)

Which rather puts into perspective the fanfare with which Tillerson announced that,

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tapped former U.S. ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker to be special representative to Ukraine, as the Trump administration grapples with how to end conflict in the war-shattered country more than three years after Russia’s invasion." (Robbie Gramer : Foreign Policy : July 7, 2017) (above: Tillerson and Volker)

Nothwithstanding Tillerson's 'special representative' to Ukraine, as Yevhen Marchuk contends, it could turn out that to-morrow's meeting in Minsk about an implementation strategy for the Minsk2 protocols will really have nothing to discuss in light of the pro-Russian rebel leader of the Donetsk breakaway region in eastern Ukraine proposing on Tuesday to replace Ukraine with a new federal state.

This raises the question about exactly what Trump and Putin discussed privately for an hour at that G20 dinner, a discussion that broke all protocol and, more significantly, only involved Putin, Trump, and Putin's translator. 

As reported by Karen DeYoung and Philip Rucker,

"The second meeting, undisclosed at the time, took place at a dinner for G-20 leaders, a senior administration official said. At some point during the meal, Trump left his own seat to occupy a chair next to Putin. Trump approached alone, and Putin was attended only by his official interpreter." (Washington Post : July 18, 2017) (my emphasis)

And as the Putin-Trump G20 dinner tête-à-tête has come to light, it now also transpires that Ike Kaveladze (right), a known Russian 'money launderer', also attended the Trump Jnr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Natalia Veselnitsyaya (amongst others) meeting in Trump Tower in June of last year.

 

 

As the collusion between Trump's inner circle and Putin during the 2016 US presidential elections continues to mount, and in light of  Trump's failure to have Obama Care "repealed and replaced" by a Republican Health Care Program, Trump now has to pull a huge rabbit out of the political hat.

 

What better than to be seen as the one brings to an end Putin's war with Ukraine.

 

It is therefore no co-incidence that, suddenly, Putin's Donetsk puppet, Zakharchenko, calls for what Putin initially called for when he went to war with Ukraine viz. the federalization of Ukraine! 

 

Poroshenko has correctly,

" ..rejected the idea, describing Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), as part of "a puppet show", with Russia pulling his strings in order to relay a message." (ibid Henry Foy)

And that message that Putin is relaying is to none other than Trump himself. 

Putin is presenting Trump with the 'rabbit that he can pull out of his crumbling political hat', and we now wait to see whether Tillerson and Volker will back Putin up at the Minsk meeting.

(to be continued)

The scarlet thread of Maidan is causing US Republicans to face the question, "To impeach or not to impeach ..."

As the immediate payback to Putin by Trump for getting Trump esconced in the White House begins to recede from actually happening; Putin, being Putin, simply cannot abide being thwarted in his attempts to get the US sanctions against himself and his 'kleptocratic siloviki' finally lifted.

As reported by UNIAN,

"Putin is stymied by Ukraine’s growing military capability and frustrated by signs of its economic recovery, both results of the ongoing reforms, WSJ reports. Mr. Putin’s response has been to step up the aggression. 
...
The first five months of 2017 saw a steep increase in attacks on hospitals, schools, factories and other civilian targets, resulting in 44 fatalities. Terrorist bombings and assassinations in Kyiv and elsewhere have become commonplace. On June 27 and 28 car bombs killed two colonels from Ukraine’s security service. Among other cases, in late March an assassin from Russian-annexed Crimea killed a former Russian parliamentarian and Putin critic who had received asylum in Ukraine." (UNIAN : 14 July 2017) (my emphasis)

Donald Trump is completely boxed in by both the US Senate and House of Congress where US sanctions against Putin and his 'kleptocratic siloviki' are concerned.

In Trump's own words,

"We have very heavy sanctions on Russia right now," Trump told reporters on Air Force One in what was originally an off-the-record conversation Wednesday night, according to excerpts released by the White House. "I would not and have never even thought about taking them off. Somebody said, Donald Trump wants to — I don’t want to take them off." (UNIAN : 14 July 2017) (my emphasis)

There is, however, a 'Trumpian' caveat.

True to form, Trump continues,

"I would never take the sanctions off until something is worked out to our satisfaction and everybody’s satisfaction in Syria and in Ukraine," Trump said, adding later: "I’ve made great deals. That’s what I do. Why would I take sanctions off without getting anything?" (ibid UNIAN ) (my emphasis)

But, unfortunately for Trump, as yet more revelations emerge about that meeting between Trump Jnr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a 'gaggle of Russians', many close to both Putin and  Putin's Prosecutor General, Yuri Chaika; yet again the issue of US sanctions was rearing its head even before Putin succeeded in getting Trump elected to the White House.

 

 Added to which,

"The US Senate has approved new sanctions against Russia, as punishment after it was found to have meddled in the 2016 presidential election. The legislation also restricts the White House from easing sanctions without congressional approval." ( Lauren Gambino and Julian Borger : The Guardian : Wednesday 14 June 2017) (my emphasis)

In the US Congress, however,

"As President Donald Trump's administration struggles with an escalating investigation over charges his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign, bipartisan sanctions legislation slapping new restrictions on Russia's government remains stalled on Capitol Hill.

Finger-pointing going back and forth between the parties and congressional chambers is holding up a final vote, even after the Senate passed it overwhelmingly last month." (Jeremy Herb and Deirdre Walsh : CNN : July 12, 2017) (my emphasis)

Putin's current fuming at the mouth, as the revelations about his direct connection between Trump's lieutenants and himself continues to unravel, is best illustrated by the recent outburst of Sergei Lavrov (left), that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister.

"The European Union and United States caused the Ukraine crisis, Vladimir Putin's foreign minister has claimed as he lashed out over Russia's alleged influence over foreign elections." 
...
Continuing to defend Russia, Mr Lavrov said Moscow was blameless when it came to the the annexation of Crimea.
(Simon Osborne and Monika Pallenberg : Express : July 14, 2017) (my emphasis)

This 'outburst' of Lavrov raises the critical question of just how far Putin is now willing to go in the face of his impending failure to reap the rewards he expected when he helped Donald Trump into the White House.

The continuous uptick in Putin's war with Ukraine should not go unnoticed.

That Republicans in the House of Congress are holding up a vote to increase sanctions against Putin for his meddling in the US presidential elections of 2016 is due, primarily, to the dilemma that they face.

•  If they support the Senate vote to increase sanctions against Putin, they will be admitting that Putin helped Trump gain the presidency.

• If they scupper the vote to increase sanctions against Putin, they will be supporting Putin's and Trump's argument that Putin did not orchestrate the Russian collussion with Trump's lieutenants during the 2016 US presidential elections.

In other words, Congressional Republicans are being faced with the question,

"To impeach or not to impeach ..."

 (to be continued)

Is Putin now having a sense of déjà vu as the Trump administration continues to implode?

It is reported by RFE/RL that,

"NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has affirmed the alliance's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's territorial integrity and has called on Russia to remove its "thousands of soldiers from Ukraine and stop supporting the militants with command-and-control and military equipment." (RFERL : July 10, 2017) (my emphasis)

And yesterday Andrew Rettman reported that,

"“Today it has been emphasised that we should start a discussion about establishing a membership action plan [MAP] and our proposals … were accepted with understanding”, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko told press after meeting Nato head Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev on Monday (10 July)." (EU Observer : 11 July,2017) (my emphasis)

 As to be expected, 

"Russia has warned if the Ukraine joins NATO any attempt at peace in the region could be threatened.
...
Russia [Putin], deeply opposed to enlargement of NATO toward its borders, weighed in quickly, saying the prospect of NATO membership for Ukraine would not promote stability and security in Europe" (Katie Mansfield (left): Express : Tue, Jul 11, 2017) (my emphasis) 

Further agitating Putin, Andrew Rettman and Eric Maurice report that,

"Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko will celebrate ever-closer Western ties with EU officials in Kiev on Wednesday (12 July) amid a backdrop of ongoing Russian aggression.

Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, representing the European Council and European Commission, will hand Poroshenko a letter notifying Ukraine that the EU has completed ratification of a political and trade pact." (EU Observer : 12 July, 2017) (my emphasis) (cf also: European Commission)

What Putin has dreaded since bribing former Ukrainian president Yanukovych, now living with his stolen billions from the Ukrainian people in Putin's Russia, not to sign a political and trade pact with the EU in 2013, has now finally being signed by Poroshenko.

As reported in 2013 by Ian Traynor and Oksana Grytsenko,

"Ukraine has abruptly ditched its plans to sign a historic pact with the European Union aimed at shifting the country out of the Kremlin's orbit.

The decision handed victory to President Vladimir Putin in the increasingly vicious tug of war between Russia and the west for Ukraine's future, and looked like turning a special EU summit next week focused on Ukraine into a debacle." (The Guardian : Thursday 21 November 2013) (my emphasis)

That action of Yanukovych, which ultimately led to his downfall as the Ukrainian people gathered in protest at Maidan, and which subsequently led to Yanukovych fleeing Ukraine into the protective arms of Putin, precipitated Putin's subsequent annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, and his ongoing war with Ukraine in the Donbas.

What Maidan also led to was the the instituting of sanctions by the US and the EU against Putin and his 'kleptocratic  siloviki'; sanctions that have become a millstone around the economic neck of Putin.

To try and rid himself of those sanctions, Putin embarked on an ambitious plan to surreptitiously help Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Unfortunately for Putin, just as his plan to prevent Ukraine from signing an economic and political pact with the EU has failed miserably, so too is his surreptitious aiding and abbeting of the Trump team during the 2016 US presidential elections, that ultimately led to Trump now occupying the White House, beginning to unravel at a speed that simply makes one's head spin.

The White House itself is now beginning to unravel.

 

Read the Emails on Donald Trump Jnr.’s Russia Meeting

 Is Putin now having a sense of déjà vu as the Trump administration continues to implode, just as the Yanukovich administration imploded?

(To be continued)

Has Tillerson hinted that Putin will again come to Trump's rescue by helping him over the impasse in Ukraine?

The news is currently filled with Tillerson and Volker's 3 hour stop-over in Ukraine immediately after the end of the G20 summit in Germany.

During his stop-over, Tillerson stated that,

"It is necessary for Russia to take the first steps to de-escalate the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine," Tillerson told reporters at a joint news conference in Kiev with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "This is necessary for us to make any movement."
...
"We do call on Russia to honor its commitments that were made under the Minsk accords and to exercise influence over the separatists in the region that they have complete control over," he said, adding later:

"The U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russia will remain in place until Moscow reverses the actions that triggered these particular sanctions." (Fox News (Associated Press): July 09, 2017) (my emphasis)

Now recall that just over 3 weeks ago,

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled the U.S. could ease off demands that Russia abide by the Minsk agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, telling lawmakers that the administration doesn’t want to be “handcuffed” if Moscow and Kiev can settle their dispute another way.

Tillerson made the comment Wednesday to House lawmakers who may soon be weighing tougher sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine conflict" (Nick Wadhams: Bloomberg : 14 June 2017) (my emphasis)

What has changed since Tillerson made these comments to US House lawmakers, besides the fact that Kurt Volker has been appointed the US special representative to Ukraine, an appointment made at the request of President (Vladimir) Putin himself? (Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu : Reuters : Fri Jul 7, 2017)

On the same day that Tillerson publicly announced  Putin has to take the first steps to de-escalate the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine, it is reported that,

"President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton before agreeing to meet with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign, according to three advisers to the White House briefed on the meeting and two others with knowledge of it.

The meeting was also attended by his campaign chairman at the time, Paul J. Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr. Manafort and Mr. Kushner recently disclosed the meeting, though not its content, in confidential government documents described to The New York Times." ( Jo Becker, Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman : New York Times : July 9, 2017) (my emphasis) (right: Trump Jnr., Manafort, & Kushner)

MSNBC

Furthermore, even US Senator Lindsey Graham is beginning to slightly waver in his 'unflinching' support of Donald Trump.

NBC News

Added to which, as Nicholas Fandos reports,

"Walter M. Shaub Jr. (left), the government’s top ethics watchdog, who has repeatedly gone head-to-head with the Trump administration over conflicts of interest, said on Thursday [5 days ago!] that he was calling it quits." (New York Times : 6th July, 2017) (my emphasis)

In 2014, Karen Dawisha's book, "Putin's Kleptocracy ... Who Owns Russia" was published.

It it she methodically outlines,

"Putin's rapid rise to power, the cabal he brought with him, the oligarchs they have created, the billions they have looted, and Putin's ambition to restore Russia to greatness"

Trump is not looting billions from the American public. Instead, he seems to be using the US Office of the Presidency as a powerful 'trademark' to enhance the 'money-making' of the labyrinthine companies that he owns.

Trump now desperately needs to avert the eyes of the American public from both the mounting evidence of collusion between himself and Putin during the 2016 US Presidential elections, as well as the bubbling to the surface of just how his accolytes are trying to conceal the use of the US Presidency as a 'trademark' for his many companies.

Has Tillerson hinted that, yet again, Putin will come to Trump's rescue, when he stated that,

""It is necessary for Russia to take the first steps to de-escalate the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine," Tillerson told reporters at a joint news conference in Kiev with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "This is necessary for us to make any movement." (ibid Fox News)

(to be continued)

Will Merkel and Macron fall into Tillerson's trap of counter proposals to Minsk2?

The dust is finally beginning to settle on the G20 meeting that was held in Germany, and at which many leaders of the world held many private conversations with selected members of their counterparts from different countries.

The Trump-Putin meeting, much anticipated by many in the world, has come and gone.

Tillerson's press meeting, at which he attempted a summary of what Putin and Trump spoke about, did not quite square with Lavrov's press statements about what transpired during the Putin-Trump meeting.

As reported by MSNBC ...

Somewhat eclipsed by the Putin-Trump meeting is the fact that,

"The leaders of Germany, France, and Russia have agreed that the Minsk agreements on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine "should be comprehensively implemented," a German official tells RFE/RL.

The characterization of the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, suggested no significant progress on efforts to bring peace to eastern Ukraine." (Rikard Jozwiak : RFERL : July 08, 2017) (my emphasis)

Now recall that just over three weeks ago,

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled the U.S. could ease off demands that Russia abide by the Minsk agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, telling lawmakers that the administration doesn’t want to be “handcuffed” if Moscow and Kiev can settle their dispute another way.

Tillerson made the comment Wednesday to House lawmakers who may soon be weighing tougher sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine conflict" (Nick Wadhams: Bloomberg : 14 June 2017) (my emphasis)

And then, lo and behold,

"At the request of President (Vladimir) Putin, the United States has appointed ... a special representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker," (right: Tillerson and Volker) Tillerson told reporters after a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany." (Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu : Reuters : Fri Jul 7, 2017) (my emphasis)

Today, as reported by Nike Ching (left),

"U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first official visit to Kyiv Sunday, where he will meet with President Petro Poroshenko to discuss ways to help end the conflict in eastern Ukraine and support its ongoing reform efforts.

“The United States remains fully committed to the objectives of the Minsk agreement,” Tillerson said in a statement Friday, referring to the cease-fire deal that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in 2015." (RFERL : July 09, 2017) (my emphasis)

As in the fact that Tillerson and Lavrov's statements about what transpired during that G20 meeting between Trump and Putin did not quite square with each other, we now have to ask ourselves,

"How does Tilleron's statement that,

• "the U.S. could ease off demands that Russia abide by the Minsk agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine" quite square with his yesterday's statement that, 
• "The United States remains fully committed to the objectives of the Minsk agreement"?

Perhaps, even more pertinent,

"How does one remain committed to the OBJECTIVES of the Minsk2 protocols without, in any way, remaining committed to the DEMANDS of the Minsk2 protocols unless, of course, you view the DEMANDS of Minsk2 as UNREASONABLE in bringing an end to Putin's war with Ukraine?

Is Kurt Volker being set up by Tillerson to present to Merkel and Macron counter proposals to the Minsk2 proposals?

Will Merkel and Macron fall into Tillerson's trap of counter proposals to Minsk2?

And lest we forget,

"At the request of President (Vladimir) Putin, the United States has appointed ... a special representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker," Tillerson told reporters after a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany." (ibid Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu)

(to be continued)

Neither Putin, Trump, nor Tillerson, can disentagle themselves from the scarlet thread of Maidan.

The much anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin at the G20 Summit in Germany has now come and gone.

Many are now poring over the possible discussions that took place between Putin and Trump, a two hour and sixteen minute meeting that is still shrouded in secrecy.

Putin, Lavrov, Trump, and Tillerson, the Group of Four that attended this meeting, did NOT have any persons in attendance who took contemporaneous notes of this meeting.

What we now have to rely on is Tillerson's press conference of what transpired during this meeting.

Now recall that in my last blog entry I stated that,

"Is Putin setting up Trump to be the knight in shining armour that will end the war between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbas and, in return, have the sanctions against Russia, himself, and his 'siloviki' clique, lifted?" (blog : 31 January,2017)"

And we have the answer from Tillerson himself.

"At the request of President (Vladimir) Putin, the United States has appointed ... a special representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker," (right: Tillerson and Volker) Tillerson told reporters after a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany." (Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu : Reuters : Fri Jul 7, 2017) (my emphasis)

Neither Putin, Trump, nor Tillerson, can disentagle themselves from the scarlet thread of Maidan.

In the words of US Congress Representative Maxine Waters, (MSNBC : 7th July,2017)

Which brings us to the $64 question.

"Is the appointment of Volker as the US special representative for Ukraine yet another 'wrong-footing' of Merkel's and Macron's political stance against Putin's war with Ukraine, and his illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea? (left: Merkel and Macron)


This follows on from the question I posed in my last blog entry.

 "Is Lavrov's admission that Putin IS at war with Ukraine a prelude to Putin now giving Trump the 'go-ahead' to ask him to 'end his war with Ukraine', thus wrong-footing both Angela Merkel and Macron? (blog : 31 January,2017)

(to be continued)

Donald Trump and Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley are the Republican triumvirate preparing to throw Ukraine under the bus.

On Tuesday 31 January, 2017, I wrote that,

"As reported by David Smith,

"Donald Trump attempted to put up a united front with key ally Theresa May on Friday [27th January 2017] but stopped short of endorsing her commitment to continued sanctions on Russia." (The Guardian : Friday 27 January 2017) (my emphasis)

....
The following day [28th January 2017] we had the most anticipated phone call between Trump and Putin take place, a call that lasted for 50 minutes.
...... 
Why would Putin have his soldiers and rebel proxies in eastern Ukraine (Donbas) suddenly unleash themselves against Ukrainian forces immediately after that Trump-Putin telephone tête-à-tête?

Is this why Trump deliberately stopped short of endorsing [Teresa May's] commitment to continued sanctions against Russia, irrespective of the threat of John McCaine to codify these sanctions into US law?

Is Putin setting up Trump to be the knight in shining armour that will end the war between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbas and, in return, have the sanctions against Russia, himself, and his 'siloviki' clique, lifted?" (blog : 31 January,2017)

Fast foreward to 2nd July 2017, 6 days before Trump and Putin will be meeting at the G20 summit in Germany.

As UNIAN now reports,

02 July 2017

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/2006424-lavrov-on-donbas-war-i-heard-criticism-of-our-decision-to-join-the-fight.html

02 July 2017

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/2006424-lavrov-on-donbas-war-i-heard-criticism-of-our-decision-to-join-the-fight.html

02 July 2017

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/2006424-lavrov-on-donbas-war-i-heard-criticism-of-our-decision-to-join-the-fight.html

"Russia's Lavrov [FINALLY!] admits that Russia is at war with Ukraine in the Donbas region," investigative journalist, reporter and Russian media monitor and analyst Julia Davis wrote on Twitter." (my emphasis)

And as in the case of of Putin unleashing his Russian soldiers against Ukrainian forces in the Donbas just prior to his 50 minute tête-à-tête call with Trump [28th January 2017] , UNIAN also reports that,

"Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 15 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters." (UNIAN : 5 July, 2017) (my emphasis)

These attacks follow a series of viscious attacks that started two weeks ago, as reported by LiveUAmap .

Is Lavrov's admission that Putin IS at war with Ukraine a prelude to Putin now giving Trump the 'go-ahead' to ask him to 'end his war with Ukraine', thus wrong-footing both Angela Merkel and Macron?

Is Putin setting up Trump to be the knight in shining armour that will end the war between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbas and, in return, have the sanctions against Russia, himself, and his 'siloviki' clique, lifted?"
  

(MSNBC 5th July, 2017)

 

Both Putin and Trump desperately need to stymie the US Senate and Congressional hearings into just how Putin helped him into the White House.

Already Republicans in both the US Senate and the Congress are ramping up their attacks against the Christopher Steele dossier, which they are now desperately trying to argue, set off the FBI investigation into Putin's gross interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

(MSNBC: 29th June, 2017)

It would now seem that the scarlet thread of Maidan has also ensnared Republicans in the US Senate and Congress, and this will add to Putin's 'charm offensive' against Donald Trump when they privately waltz together at to-morrow's G20 Summit in Germany.

Will Trump, and  US Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley (right: Grassley and Graham) now form the Republican triumvirate that will throw Ukraine under the bus as payback to Putin and his kleptocratic 'siloviki' in the Kremlin for getting Trump elected to the White House?

(to be continued)

What the world will not see is the scarlet thread of Maidan that is wrapped around Putin and Trump as they waltz together at the G20 summit.

The longs knives of Republicans in the Senate and Congress are being sharpened against the FBI investigation into Putin's collusion with Trump officials during the 2016 US presidential elections, which ultimately led to Trump now occupying the White House.

Republican Senators Grassley and Graham (left) have, on June 27, 2017, fired off a letter to Rod J. Rosenstein (right : McCabe and Rosenstein), Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, and Andrew McCabe, Acting Director, FBI, demanding that, 

(a) Copies of all proposed and all final signed FISA applications submitted to the FISC relating to: Russian interference in the 2016 election; allegations of collusion between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russia; and any known Trump associates regardless of context. 

(b) Copies of all FISC responses to the above-mentioned applications in which the Court notified the FBI or Justice Department that it would not grant the proposed applications or recommended changes.  If any such FISC responses were provided orally, rather than in writing, please provide copies of all FBI or Justice Department records memorializing or otherwise referencing the relevant FISC responses. 

 

(c) Copies of all FISC orders relating to the above-mentioned applications, whether denying the applications and certifications, denying the orders, modifying the orders, granting the orders, or other types of orders.

Essentially, the focus of Republican Senators Grassley and Lindsey is to discredit the Steele dossier, and to argue that it was this dossier that precipitated James Comey, then Director of the FBI, to set in motion the 'Russia Investigation'.

As Rachel Maddow of MSNBC explains,

"They're saying implicitly that that dossier of materials is unproven and suspect and that's what the FBI's whole investigation is based on"  (MSNBC : 28 June, 2017)

In other words, Grassley and Graham are, in effect, saying that ALL the EU secret agencies, that have substatianted much in this dossier, are not to be believed.  

 Even more significantly, Grassley and Graham are trying to divert the attention of the American public from the fact that, as reported by Robert Mendick and Robert Verkaik,

"An ex-KGB chief suspected of helping the former MI6 spy Christopher Steele to compile his dossier on Donald Trump may have been murdered by the Kremlin and his death covered up. it has been claimed.

...

Erovinkin (left)  has been described as a key liaison between Sechin and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Mr Steele writes in an intelligence report dated July 19, 2016, he has a source close to Sechin, who had disclosed alleged links between Mr Trump’s supporters and Moscow.
The death of Erovinkin has prompted speculation it is linked to Mr Steele’s explosive dossier .." (The Telegraph : 27 January 2017) (my emphasis)

Central to the Steele report is the fact that,

By trying to undermine the veracity of many details in, if not ALL of, the Steele report, Grassley and Graham are playing directly into the hands of Putin.

The EU-US sanctions against Putin and his 'siloviki' clique in the Kremlin, that resulted from the ongoing war between Putin and Ukraine, and Putin's illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea; that 'sanctions' scarlet thread of Maidan cannot so easily be wished away by either Grassley or Graham since it is the very raison d'être of Putin helping Trump get elected president of the US.

And next week the world waits with bated breath as,

"President Donald Trump will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week at the G20 summit in Germany.

Senior White House officials declined to say whether Mr Trump would address Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, said the agenda for the high stakes meeting had not been finalised. (Nick Allen and Harriet Alexander : The Telegraph : 29 June 2017) (my emphasis)

So the world will be watching as Trump and Putin waltz together at the G20 summit in Germany, straining to hear what these two will be whispering into each other's ear.

What the world will not see is the scarlet thread of Maidan that is wrapped around them as they waltz together at the G20 summit.

 (to be continued)