Why do Merkel and her ministers continue to "flog the dead horse of Minsk2"?

"Oh! what a tangled web we weave

  When first we practice to deceive"

The walls are closing very fast around Donald Trump as more of the truth about the intimate links between himself and his 'Siamese' twin, Vladimir Putin, emerges.

More disturbing for Trump, his eldest children are now also being inextricably ensnared by the tangled web of lies that he has woven around himself.

As reported by Rachel Maddow (full video) yesterday,

" ... whether scrutiny of this president brought on by the Russia investigation [ ] is going to end up turning business and financial dealings, including during the campaign, that could represent serious criminal liability for this president ... for his campaign ... even potentially for his family ..." (MSNBC : 22 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

And whilst Trump's elder children are now facing possible criminal charges, charges from which they cannot be exonerated with a presidential pardon from their father; in a recent interview with Reuters reporters on August 20, 2018 at the White House, Trump stated that,

“I mentioned Crimea [during the Helsinki meeting], sure. I always mention Crimea whenever I mention Ukraine. Putin and I had a very good discussion. It was a very — I think it was a very good discussion for both parties. I mentioned the gas pipeline going to Germany.”
....
“No. I haven’t thought about it [lifting US sanctions against Putin's Russia]. But no, I’m not considering it at all. No. I would consider it if they do something that would be good for us. But I wouldn’t consider it without that.” (Reuters : 21 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Interestingly, as reported by RFERL,

"Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov (right), said on August 21 the Kremlin welcomed Trump's comments indicating readiness to cooperate with Moscow, but that it would "welcome even more some kind of concrete actions."" (RFERL : 21 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Now recall that, as reported by Jim Sciutto and Jenna McLaughlin (left),

"The [western intelligence] assessments, based on a broad range of intelligence, indicate that the Kremlin believes the July 16 summit delivered a better outcome than it had expected, but that Moscow is perplexed that Trump is not delivering more Russia-friendly policies in its aftermath" (CNN : 13 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

This 'perplexity' on the part of Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki' regarding Trump's "lack of concrete action" no doubt refers to the fact that thus far, Trump has not yet lived up to his side of the bargain regarding the lifting of US sanctions against Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki' for them helping him gain the keys to the White House.

Which, yet again, brings us to the thorny question of the Nord Stream2 pipeline.

In their recent tête-à-tête in Berlin, Merkel and Putin,

" ...  both viewed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project as a purely commercial venture, despite persistent fire by the U.S. and Ukrainian governments, Peskov said." (CNBC : Sun, 19 Aug 2018) (my emphasis)

Furthermore,

"That's why it is necessary to take measures against possible non-competitive and illegal attacks from the third countries in order to complete this project eventually," [Dmitry Peskov] told reporters shortly before Putin flew back to Russia. It was not immediately clear what such "measures" could entail. (ibid CNBC) (my emphasis)

Even more interesting is the the statement by Ursula von der Leyen, German Defence Minister, that,

"If you look at the gas pipeline ...Germany is an independent country where energy supplies is concerned.." (ibid CNBC) (my emphasis)

And when confronted by the reporter asking,

"... And you don't think this pipeline would compromise security ..." (ibid CNBC),

Ursula von der Leyen  responded,

"No. In our own German interests we have to make sure that this is not the case ... But there are many other things to worry about" (ibid CNBC)

And whilst Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen are both hell bent on ensuring that Nord Stream 2 goes ahead, irrespective of the real security concerns of Ukraine, together with other EU member states, UNIAN reports that,

"Russia's recent actions in the Sea of Azov indicate possible preparations for possible landing operations along Ukraine's coastline in the Sea of Azov and Odesa coast in the Black Sea, according to Oleksandr Khara, deputy chair of the board of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies.
......
Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov with the blocking of Ukrainian vessels show that the war is now also being waged on the sea, Khara wrote in a blog for Obozrevatel." (UNIAN : 23 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, whilst Putin has opened up a new front in his war with Ukraine,

"German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (right) told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper Germany hoped to "create new momentum" in the Minsk peace process" (ibid CNBC) (my emphasis)

Why do Merkel and her ministers continue to "flog the dead horse of Minsk2"?

One need look no further than the ghosts of the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), and the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact (1939) 

As an article in the Economist (2014) also explains,

"WHEN Germans add the word Versteher (one who understands) to a term, they generally mix flattery with irony..... The label is now being attached to so-called Russlandversteher or Putinversteher: members of the elite or intelligentsia who gush with empathy for Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, on talk shows, in journals and at dinner parties." (The Economist : 8 May, 2014)

Maybe .... just maybe .... this unconditional German empathy for Russia and Putin has its roots in that minor German princess, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, Russia's longest-ruling female leader, otherwise known as Catherine the Great.

(to be continued)

Is Merkel now Putin's best hope of rescuing him from the impeding disaster facing the Russian economy?

The summer holidays are coming to and end, and the Trump-Putin Siamese twins find themselves nursing political headaches.

The noose of impeachment is tightening around the neck of Trump, and Putin is sinking even deeper into the morass that he created with his war with Ukraine in the Donbas, and by his illegal occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

 Trump's latest attack on one of his critics, former CIA head John Brennan, amplifies the degree to which Trump is now going to salvage his presidency.

As reported by the BBC,

"Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of ex-CIA chief John Brennan (right), denying the US president's critic any access to sensitive information.
...
In response, Mr Brennan tweeted that the move was part of President Trump's broader effort to "suppress freedom of speech and punish critics".(BBC News : 16 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Notwithstanding Trump trying to 'muzzle' his critics, we also learn that,

"Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert (left) has said Russia is orchestrating the conflict in Donbas and must pull its forces out of Ukraine." (UNIAN : 16 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, we also learn that,

"U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will visit Ukraine next week.
.....
"As part of the visit, John Bolton (right) will meet with the leaders of Ukraine and high-ranking Ukrainian representatives," the embassy added." UNIAN : 15 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

What Bolton is going to discuss with Ukrainian leaders remains somewhat of a mystery since, shortly thereafter, he will be jetting off to Geneva to meet with Russians. As reported by Steve Holland,

" ....White House national security adviser John Bolton will meet Russian officials in Geneva next week as a follow-up to the summit meeting that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had in Helsinki last month, the White House said." (Reuters : 14 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

The question that needs to be asked of John Bolton is,

"Since the Helsinki meeting no-one, except Trump and Putin, know what was discussed during their 'private' meeting in Helsinki. So what, exactly, is this 'follow-up summit' in Geneva all about?"

Could it be that, as reported by Jim Sciutto and Jenna McLaughlin (left),

"The [western intelligence] assessments, based on a broad range of intelligence, indicate that the Kremlin believes the July 16 summit delivered a better outcome than it had expected, but that Moscow is perplexed that Trump is not delivering more Russia-friendly policies in its aftermath" (CNN : 13 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

and that Bolton's follow-up summit is to assure Putin that Trump will deliver on his demands that were discussed 'privately' between them at the Helsinki meeting?

This 'follow-up summit' should also be seen in the light of,

"Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 43 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA).
....
Since Thursday midnight, Russian-led forces have mounted three attacks on the Ukrainian positions near Svitlodarsk, Pavlopil, and Vodiane. "It should be noted the enemy used Grad multiple rocket launchers last night for the first time in a few months." (UNIAN : 16 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Coming close on the heels of Bolton attending a so-called 'follow-up' summit in Geneva with his Russian counterparts, especially in light of Heather Nauert stating that, "Russia is orchestrating the conflict in Donbas and must pull its forces out of Ukraine.", we now learn that,

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin on August 18 for the second time in just over three months, her government says.
...
The agenda of the talks are set to include the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, as well as energy issues, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on August 13." (RFERL : 13 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

That 'energy issues' are also on their agenda seems to indicate that the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Germany and Putin's Russia has become a critical economic issue for Putin.

As reported by UNIAN,

"Oil prices fell on Wednesday, pulled down by a report of increased U.S. crude inventories and as a darkening economic outlook stoked by expectations of lower fuel demand." (UNIAN : 15 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

It is therefore an economic 'imperative' for Putin that Nord Stream 2 is completed, and starts earning hard cash for the strapped Russian economy. 

Paul Goble  has also reported that,

"Most Russians today are focusing on possible increases in pension ages, but they should be more worried about a larger and more immediate threat: an increase in inflation possibly to “explosive” levels as a result of international sanctions and government efforts to raise money, according to a group of Moscow financial analysts and financial experts.

            According to the group, which was assembled by the Rosbalt news agency, inflation will soon be accelerating because of increases in VAT and housing costs, higher prices for fuel, a decline in the price of oil, and a new wave of sanctions by the US, all of which will send prices up and the standard of living down (rosbalt.ru/russia/2018/08/08/1723017.html)." (Window on Eurasia : 8 August, 2018) (my emphasis)

Is Merkel now Putin's best hope of rescuing him from the impending disaster facing the Russian economy?

(to be continued)

The Putin-Manafort-Trump conspiracy cabal is beginning to disintegrate.

As the walls of justice continue to inexorably close in around Donald Trump, current President of the US, we should not loose sight of the fact that the thread of Maidan is an integral part, and possibly a central part, of the impeachment noose that is now rapidly descending around the neck of Donald Trump.
 
Let us recall that at the 2016 Republican Convention at which Donald Trump was hoisted into being the Republican presidential candidate for the 2016 US presidential election, behind the scenes at this convention was Paul Manafort, Trump's new campaign manager, the same Paul Manafort who gave Victor Yanukovich a political and style makeover that led to Yanukovich becoming president of Ukraine in 2010.

Trump sang the praises of Manafort as his campaign manager after securing the Republican presidential nomination, but soon after began to sing a different tune about Manafort as the criminality of Manafort began to emerge.

Let us also recall that at this 2016 Republican convention, it was Diana Denman (right), a platform committee member from Texas, who had proposed at the Republican National Security Committee platform meeting in Cleveland,

".... a platform amendment that would call for maintaining or increasing sanctions against Russia, increasing aid for Ukraine and “providing lethal defensive weapons” to the Ukrainian military.


As  Josh Rogin (left) then reported,

"The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week
to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington." (Washington Post : July 18, 2016) (my emphasis)

It is known that Manafort's fingerprints were all over this attempt to scupper the proposed amendment of Diana Denman  regarding 'increasing' sanctions against Russia, and providing Ukraine with 'lethal' weapons in their war with Putin's Russia.

Now prison for Manafort beckons as the ill-gotten gains that he received from Yanukovich is revealed in a US Court of Law.


As Nathan Layne and Karen Freifeld (left) now report,

"While prosecutors have said they will not present evidence in this trial about possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, they may dig deeper into Manafort’s connections with Russian and Ukranian oligarchs, legal experts have said.

Devine said in his testimony on Tuesday that Manafort used Western-style polling and advertising to help lift pro-Russian political figure Viktor Yanukovych to victory in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election.

Yanukovych was later swept from power and fled to Russia in 2014, triggering a big loss of business for Manafort." (Reuters : August 1, 2018) (my emphasis)


And it was precisely this fleeing of Yanukovich into the arms of Putin that so angered Putin against the revolutionaries of Maidan that he immediately set in motion his illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, and started his war with Ukraine in the Donbas.

Following Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, the EU and the US instituted their economic sanctions against Putin's Russia.

It is this millstone of sanctions around Putin's neck that led to his direct collusion with Trump during the 2016 US presidential elections, and that has now led to Manafort staring into the abyss of  a long prison sentence.

And now the Putin-Manafort-Trump conspiracy cabal is beginning to disintegrate.

(to be continued)

Will Merkel be swayed to agree to Putin's 'referendum' so that Nord Stream 2 can go ahead unhindered?

The fallout in the US of the recent Trump-Putin 'private' meeting in Helsinki continues to mount.

Each day brings new concerns about what Trump and Putin agreed to during their more that 2 hour 'private' meeting.

Not more so than by the recent pronouncement by the Kremlin that,

"The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is ready for the practical implementation of the agreements reached at the meeting of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Helsinki. This was stated by Major-General Igor Konashenkov. (left)

As noted, the Russian military are ready to "intensify contacts with their American counterparts in the General Staff and other channels of communication to discuss the extension of the START Treaty, the interaction in Syria, as well as other topical issues of ensuring military security." (RG-RU : 17/7/2018) (my emphasis) (google translate)

Surprisingly, and to their consternation, US generals were not informed about these 'agreements' between Trump and Putin.

MSNBC 25-7-2018

If Trump and Putin's 'private' Helsinki meeting is causing serious consternation amongst US army generals, then what are we now to make of the 'private' meeting between Angela Merkel, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, AND the head of Russia’s military general staff Valery Gerasimov?

Merkel              Haas              Lavrov             Gerasimov

As Madeline Chambers reports,

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday (23/7/2018) to discuss Syria, the situation in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine, Germany’s deputy government spokeswoman said.

The meeting, agreed last week by Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also attended by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and the head of Russia’s military general staff Valery Gerasimov, said the spokeswoman in a statement. No further details were given." (Reuters : July 24, 2018) (my emphasis)

As in the case of the Trump-Putin 'private' meeting, what was discussed between Merkel, Haas, Lavrov, and Gerasimov?

What agreements were reached between them in Berlin regarding Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, and his ongoing war with Ukraine?

Exactly the same question can be posed regarding the 'agreements' reached between Putin and Trump at Helsinki!

We now have yet another 'confirmation' from Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov (left), that,

" ... the issue of holding a local referendum [on the regional status of] eastern Ukraine's Donbas was being discussed at the Helsinki talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. "This proposal was discussed, while there has been no reaction yet," Ushakov told the Izvestia newspaper.
...
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, confirmed that Putin had raised the topic with Trump, saying Putin made “concrete proposals” on how to handle the ongoing conflict." (UNIAN : 25 July, 2018) (my emphasis)

Was this 'referendum' of Putin that he proposed to Trump at Helsinki also 'discussed' at the Berlin meeting between Merkel, Haas, Lavrov, and Gerasimov?

And if so, what agreements were reached?

Bear in mind that at the Putin-Merkel meeting in Sochi (18 May,2018), Merkel concluded that,


"We have strategic interests to maintain good relations with Russia ..."

To which Putin responded,

"Germany is one of our key trade partners ... We just started to buy German goods in higher volumes, which supports jobs in Germany"

Furthermore, bear in mind that at the recent NATO meeting in Brussels,

" U.S. President Donald Trump laced into Germany ahead of a high-stakes NATO leaders’ summit in Brussels, declaring at a breakfast meeting Wednesday morning that Germany is “totally controlled by Russia” and lashing out at the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project." (David M. Herszenhorn : Politico : 11 July, 2018) (my emphasis)

Added to which, as reported by UNIAN,

"Ukraine and the United States have a common understanding of how to counteract the implementation of the Russian Nord Stream 2 project, which appears a direct threat to the energy security of Europe and worsens the situation with the diversification of energy deliveries to European consumers," the press service of Ukraine's Cabinet said in a statement on Monday, July 23. (UNIAN : 23 July, 2018) (my emphasis)

So the question now is :-

"Will Merkel be swayed to agree to Putin's 'referendum' so that Nord Stream 2 can go ahead unhindred"?

(to be continued)

Putin should be alarmed that Trump's Helsinki behaviour has propelled him closer towards impeachment.

If Putin and his kleptocratic 'siloviki' cohorts in the Kremlin popped champagne corks when Trump won the 2016 US Presidential election, after the Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki they were more than effusive in praising the way that Putin exposed to the world just how much 'control' he has over Trump.

In the words of that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov,

"...Lavrov, asked how the summit went, responded: "Fabulous…better than super.".

Unfortunately for Donald Trump no such accolades as "fabulous" or "better than super" greeted him when he stepped back onto US soil after his Helsinki meeting with Putin.

Rather, he was met with a chorus of criticism of just how he not only threw all his intelligence agencies under the bus, with Putin smirking next to him, but also that throughout their joint press conference one could not really distinguish between their answers to the questions that were posed by the press.

Furthermore, what is now taxing the minds of many policy-makers in the US is ,"Just what did Trump and Putin discuss during their more than two and a half hours of private conversation?"

Only the respective translators were present during their discussion, and it is NOT known whether they were present THROUGHOUT the duration of this private meeting.

I can only point to, once again, what Putin said when confronted with a question about Ukraine's Crimea.

As reported by The New York Times,

"Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and continues to support Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, aggression that the West has condemned. Mr. Trump did not address the matter publicly, either before or after the meetings on Monday, but Mr. Putin was asked whether his American counterpart had made any concessions.

“The posture of President Trump on Crimea is well known and he stands firmly by it,” Mr. Putin said. “He continues to maintain that it was illegal to annex it. Our viewpoint is different.” (New York Times :July 16, 2018) (my emphasis)

Trump's posture on Ukraine's Crimea is:

• President Donald Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian, according to two diplomatic sources. ( Alberto Nardelli and Julia Ioffe)
• U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking two weeks before a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has declined to rule out recognizing Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
  
  Asked by reporters on Air Force One late on June 29 whether reports about him dropping Washington's longstanding opposition to the annexation were true, Trump said: "We're going to have to see." (RFE/RL)

This being the case, exactly how is Trump maintaining that Putin illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea, when he believes that Ukraine's Crimea is Russian?

Is it Trump or the US Congress and Senate that believes that Putin illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea?

The deafening silence of Trump to denounce Putin's war with Ukraine, and his illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, prompted a US bi-partisan statement of condemnation.

As reported by Myroslava Gongadze, 
 
"In a Tuesday evening statement signed by the co-chairs of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Sandy Levin of Michigan (left), and Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, said they were "deeply troubled by the president's subservient behavior towards President Putin."
....
The legislators also expressed concern that Trump didn't condemn Russia's "assault on Ukraine's sovereignty, including cyberattacks on its institutions, aggression in the Donbass [sic] region, and the illegal occupation of Crimea, the first forcible transnational seizure of territory in Europe since World War II." (VOA : July 19, 2018 ) (my emphasis)
 
And on the sanctions front, we now discover that,

"The U.S. Treasury is open to removing Russian aluminum producer Rusal from a U.S. sanctions list, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday, adding the objective was “not to put Rusal out of business.” (David Lawder : Reuters : July 21, 2018) (my emphasis)

Does this sudden about-turn on US sanctions give us a hint of what Putin and Trump privately discussed at Helsinki?

Lavrov, together with Putin's kleptocratic "siloviki" in the Kremlin, may still be cock-a-hoop at just how Putin controlled Trump at Helsinki.

But the fallout from that  private Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki is far from abating in the US.

Putin should now be alarmed that Trump's Helsinki behaviour has propelled him closer towards impeachment.

(to be continued)

"Is Trump Putin's 'Manchurian Candidate'?

A "Manchurian Candidate" is defined as,

"... a person, especially a politician, being used as a puppet by an enemy power. The term is commonly used to indicate disloyalty or corruption, whether intentional or unintentional." 

In more ways than one, yesterday (16 July, 2018) Trump exposed himself internationally as a possible Manchurian Candidate during the Putin-Trump press conference, after their slightly more than two hour PRIVATE tête-à-tête in Helsinki, that is also euphemistically being called a 'Summit Meeting'.

Perhaps the most stunning expose of Trump was in his response to a question about Putin's meddling in the 2016 US Presidential election. 

The US questioner asked,

"Just now President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every US intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did.

My first question for you, sir, is, "Who do you believe?"
My second question is, "Would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin ...  would you denounce what happened in 2016, and would you warn him to never do it again?"

Trump then went out of his way to agree with Putin, and in the process threw the whole of his US intelligence agencies under the bus! (video below)

Trump's response has, to say the least, alarmed many in the US.

Now recall that in my blog entry (28/6/2018) I wrote that,

"Also high on Putin's agenda will be a public recognition, by Trump, that Ukraine's Crimea really belongs to Russia." (blog entry :28/6/2018)

Towards the end of their press conference, a US reporter directed two questions towards Putin, which rather unnerved him.

• "Can you tell me what President Trump may have indicated to you about officially recognizing Crimea as part of Russia?"
• Secondly, "Do you ... does the Russian government have any compromising material on President Trump or his family .."

Putin's responses were rather interesting.

To the question about Ukraine's Crimea, Putin responded that,

" ... Posture of President Trump on Crimea is well known .... "

In other words, that Trump believes that Ukraine's Crimea is part of Russia because " ... they all speak Russian there"

(NBC News : 4 days ago)

To the question about Putin having 'kompromat' on Trump; Putin rather tried to fudge his answer, WITHOUT saying "No".

Which, indirectly, supports the details of 'some' of the 'kompromat' that Putin has on Trump, as outlined in the Steele Dossier.

Which raises the question,

"Is Trump Putin's 'Manchurian Candidate'?

(to be continued)

Has Trump laid the foundation at the NATO summit for lifting sanctions against Putin's Russia?

Trump's belligerent stand at his recent meeting with NATO members, when viewed together with the recent visit to Putin's Russia by a group of US Republican Senators, should give us pause for concern.

The visit to Putin's Russia, headed by Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), was said by accompanying Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to have,

" ...  sent a very strong message and a direct message to the Russian government,” he said, ticking off four items he said they pressed while there: Don’t interfere in U.S. elections, respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, work with us toward peace in Syria, and uphold obligations under nuclear arms treaties.

That message did not appear to have much impact, though." (Karoun Demirjian : Washington Post : 5 July, 2018) (my emphasis)

This is best exemplified by the fact that, as reported by Joel Gehrke (right),

"President Trump and U.S. lawmakers should consider revising sanctions targeting Russia so they focus more on Russian oligarchs, a senior Republican lawmaker [ Senator Johnson] suggested after participating in a congressional delegation visit to Moscow.
....
“You do something and nobody ever sits back and analyzes, 'Well, is it working?’” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told the Washington Examiner. “And I think you'd be hard-pressed to say that sanctions against Russia are really working all that well.” (Washington Examiner : July 7, 2018) (my emphasis)

Let us now remind ourselves that Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the Republican leader of this recent Republican delegation to Putin's Russia, also stated that,

"We have an upcoming meeting between President Putin and President Trump in Helsinki .... I think our meetings in St Petersberg ... especially here ... will lay the groundwork for some of that ..." (cf. first video)

The $64 question is this ...

"Have this Republican delegation to Putin's Russia laid the groundwork for the lifting of US sanctions against Russia since, in the words of one of those Republican delegates, "U.S. lawmakers should consider revising sanctions targeting Russia so they focus more on Russian oligarchs"?

In other words, should US sanctions against many important Russian industries, including Russian banking, now be excluded from US sanctions? 

This approach towards US sanctions against Russia, as now expounded by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis, dovetails with Trump's own views about US sanctions against Putin's Russia.

As reported by Brett Forrest and Peter Nicholas ,

"Any meeting between the two presidents would be expected to include discussions on Syria, Ukraine and nuclear-arms control. The summit’s purpose would be to resolve longstanding differences, people familiar with the matter said.
....
[Trump] added: “There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy.” He went on to suggest that a more collaborative relationship with Russia could curb the arms race." (Wall Street Journal : June 1, 2018) (my emphasis)" (blog : 9/6/2018) 

At the recent breakfast of NATO members, Trump lambasted Merkel by complaining that,

“I think it’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” Trump said in his opening remarks at the breakfast, which were broadcast live on television." (David M. Herszenhorn (left): Politico :July 11, 2018) (my emphasis)

Was this 'undiplomatic' rant of Trump a further laying of the foundation for his total revising of US sanctions against Putin's Russia, as outlined by Senator Ron Johnson, at the upcoming Trump-Putin Helsinki meeting?

Has Trump laid the foundation at the NATO summit for lifting sanctions against Putin's Russia, sanctions that were put is place because of Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, and his ongoing war with Ukraine in the Donbas?

(to be continued)

Trump is on the verge of recognizing Ukraine's Crimea as part of Putin's Russia.

In my last blog [28/6/2018] entry I wrote that,

"Also high on Putin's agenda will be a public recognition, by Trump, that Ukraine's Crimea really belongs to Russia.
...
Let us recall that even before the 2016 US presidential election, Trump legitimized Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, blaming it on former US president Obama!" (blog entry: 28/6/2018)

And now Trump's 3rd Security Advisor, John Bolton, has somewhat let slip that at the upcoming Putin-Trump meeting in Helsinki, Trump is, indeed, open to acknowledging Ukraine's Crimea as a legitimate part of Russia.

RT, Putin's propaganda mouthpiece, has not been slow in flooding the international airwaves with Trump's response to a reporter on Air Force One that he is open to recognizing Ukraine's Crimea as part of Russia.

We now also hear from Christian Lowe (left) that,

" Russia’s energy ministry said it had conducted the first test of a German-made electricity turbine that was installed in Crimea in contravention of European sanctions.
...
Without help from Siemens or engineers affiliated with Siemens, it would be hard to activate the turbines and the software used to run them, several power generation specialists told Reuters.
...
The testing indicated, though, that Russia is getting closer to being able to commission the turbines and to start using them to generate electricity for Crimea." (Reuters : June 29, 2018) (my emphasis)

But even more significantly, Victoria Bryan and Thomas Escritt (left) report that,


“The project [Nord Stream 2] will definitely be financed. It is important for Gazprom and Russia currently has a high liquidity in euros,” Paul Corcoran, the Nord Stream 2 CFO, told Welt am Sonntag in an interview.

His comments come after [Angela Merkel's] Germany said on Friday it had been assured by the United States that any sanctions imposed on Russia would not affect the building of a gas pipeline to bring Russian gas to Europe - even though the United States said there had been no change in its policy" (Reuters : June 30, 2018) (my emphasis) 


 In both of these instances viz.

• Germany's Siemens flouting EU sanctions by helping Putin to install and operate their electricity turbines in Ukraine's Crimea, and
• Merkel now being assured that the US will NOT impose any sanctions on EU companies helping Putin build Nord Stream 2,

we have echoes of the German jackboots that walked over Ukraine during WW2, except that these jackboots are now being worn by German business men!

These developments will further embolden those in the EU who support Putin's call for an end to EU sanctions, notwithstanding the fact that,

"European Union leaders agreed  ..

... to extend their economic sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea from Kiev and backing rebels fighting government troops in east Ukraine, an EU official said.

The decision, which will be formally confirmed in the coming days, will prolong EU's curbs on doing business with Russian banking, financial and energy sectors for six months until the end of January." (CNBC (Reuters): Thu, 28 June 2018) (my emphasis)

This decision now rings hollow in light of the fact that Nord Stream 2 is being heavily financed by EU companies, and that these companies have just been given a free pass by the EU and the US to continue with the building of Putin's weaponized gas pipeline against Ukraine.
 
So what, then, of the upcoming Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki?

The acknowledging by John Bolton that Trump is on the verge of recognizing Ukraine's Crimea as part of Putin's Russia. (cf. video above)

(to be continued)

Putin expecting unilateral concessions from Trump at their impending summit meeting

John Bolton, Trump's latest National Security Advisor, and a 'former' hawk on US-Russia relations, seems to have had a 'complete Trumpian conversion'.

As reported by Kathrin Hille,

" John Bolton, Donald Trump’s hawkish national security adviser, has hit out at criticism of the US president’s plans to meet Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin said the two sides had agreed a date and location for the summit." (FT : 27 June, 2018) (my emphasis)

Putin is 'over the moon' about this impending summit between himself and Trump.

"Your visit to Moscow raises hopes that we may make the first step of restoration of fully fledged relations between our government", Putin said to Bolton at their meeting in Moscow. (video above :

Denis Pinchuk and Polina Ivanova : Reuters : 27 June, 2018) (my emphasis)

Recall that in my blog entry of [9/6/2018] I wrote that,

""Like a bolt out of the blue, Trump announced yesterday that a summit meeting between himself and Putin is being set up.
.....
As Brett Forrest and Peter Nicholas report,

"Any meeting between the two presidents would be expected to include discussions on Syria, Ukraine and nuclear-arms control. The summit’s purpose would be to resolve longstanding differences, people familiar with the matter said.
....
[Trump] added: “There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy.” He went on to suggest that a more collaborative relationship with Russia could curb the arms race." (Wall Street Journal : June 1, 2018) (my emphasis)" (blog : 9/6/2018)

So like Kim Jong-UN,  is Putin expecting Trump to similarly announce that he is going to lift all those sanctions against Russia at their impending summit meeting? "

This will be high on Putin's summit agenda with Trump since Nord Stream 2, Putin's weaponized pipeline against Ukraine, depends on the decision of the Danish government whether or not to allow Nord Stream 2 to pass through their territorial waters.

Trump may pronounce at this impeding summit that 'no US sanctions will be taken against any EU companies helping Putin with building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.(cf. blog entry [18/6/2018])

Also high on Putin's agenda will be a public recognition, by Trump, that Ukraine's Crimea really belongs to Russia.

 
Let us recall that even before the 2016 US presidential election, Trump legitimised Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, blaming it on former US president Obama! 

And more recently Trump, once again, blamed former US President Obama for Putin illegally annexing Ukraine's Crimea.

As Alberto Nardelli and Julia Ioffe (left) reported,

"President Donald Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian, according to two diplomatic sources.
...
Trump also blamed former president Barack Obama for what happened in Ukraine. "Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to take Crimea," Trump said." (BuzzFeed News : June 14, 2018) (my emphasis)

All of which once again raises the central question of what possible hold Putin may have on Trump.

As Colonel Peters states in the above video,

"When I first learnt about the Steele dossier it just rang true to me because that's how the Russians do things. And before he became a candidate, Donald Trump was the perfect target for Russian intelligence.
....
In the future we are going to look back on the much maligned Christopher Steele who took that dossier to the FBI as something of a hero ...."

As in his summit with Kim Jong Un, where he unilaterally decided that the US will,

"..... end joint military exercises with South Korea [which] took South Korean and U.S. military officials by surprise..." (Josh Smith and Phil Stewart: Reuters : 12 June, 2018) (my emphasis),

are we in for surprise unilateral Trump concessions to Putin at their coming Helsinki summit meeting?

(to be continued)

Putin's pressure on Denmark grows greater by the day.

In my blog entry of 10/4/2018, I wrote that,

"Germany has approved the construction and operation of the Russia-built Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, its operator and the German maritime authority said on Tuesday.
...
The Nord Stream 2 operator said it expected that other four countries along the route of the undersea gas pipeline – Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark – will issue permits in the coming months." (Reuters : March 27, 2018) (my emphasis)

"Unfortunately, however, whilst Finland has recently given Putin permission "to use the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the construction of the pipeline", little Denmark finds itself in a real political quandary over whether it, too, should allow Putin's gas pipeline to cross through its territorial waters.

As reported by Stine Jacobsen and Alissa de Carbonnel (left),

"The Danish government is facing fierce lobbying by Russia, EU allies and the United States over the 9.5 billion euro ($11.7 billion) Nord Stream 2 project championed by President Vladimir Putin and financed by five Western firms.
 ...
A Danish veto, under new legislation allowing it to do so on security grounds, would force Russia, which supplies about one third of Europe’s gas needs, to find a new route for the pipeline.
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“This is not about gas, it is one of the most important foreign policy decisions in Denmark since the Cold War,” said senior foreign policy researcher Hans Mouritzen at the Danish Institute for International Studies." (Reuters : March 26, 2018) (my emphasis)" (blog)

And just recently,

"Denmark is the last hold out in Europe, yet to give permission for the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline after the Swedish government became the latest EU country to sign off on construction permissions for the pipeline that will carry Russian gas from the Yamal peninsula under the Baltic Sea to Germany." (bneIntelliNews : June 13, 2018) (my emphasis)

“This is an important milestone for the Nord Stream 2 project. We are pleased to have obtained the Swedish government’s approval to construct and operate the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline,” said Lars O Grönstedt, Senior Advisor at Nord Stream 2, quoted in an official press release." (Georgi Gotev (left):EuroActiv : June 11, 2018)

 One can now begin to imagine the increasing pressure that will be exerted on the Danish parliament to also give Putin permission for his Nord Steam 2 pipeline to pass through Danish waters.

 All those countries which have given Putin his Nord Stream 2 "Go Past Go and collect $100" Monopoly ticket cannot simply argue that their decisions are based purely on economic criteria.

What their decisions have done is to actively support Putin in weaponizing this pipeline against Ukraine.

As Hans Mouritzen correctly argues,

“This is not about gas, it is one of the most important foreign policy decisions in Denmark since the Cold War.” (ibid Stine Jacobsen and Alissa de Carbonnel)

This decision of Sweden has even further significance in view of Trump's determination to steam ahead with his summit with Putin.

 
As reported by Jeff Zeleny, Zachary Cohen and Michelle Kosinski,

"Moscow and Washington are "exploring" the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders, according to US officials and a Russian media report.
...

While nothing is imminent, the official acknowledged there are ongoing discussions of setting up a Putin-Trump face-to-face.

...

Another source with the National Security Council said a meeting "is being worked on" and a diplomatic source added that a meeting is likely to happen soon." (CNN : 15 June, 2018) (my emphasis)

Key for Putin at this impending summit between himself and Trump will be to ensure that no US sanctions will be imposed on EU companies helping in the construction of the Nord Sea 2 pipeline IF Denmark also gives permission for it to pass through Danish waters.

As William Wilkes  recently reported,

"The U.S. stepped up its opposition to the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany, saying the project raises security concerns and that it could draw U.S. sanctions.
...
U.S. threats to Nord Stream 2, which has split eastern and western EU states, could impact companies in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands. (Bloomberg : May 17, 2018) (my emphasis)


Let us now recall that at the Trump-Kim Jong Un summit, Trump suddenly announced that he was ending the joint military exercises between the US and South Korea. (Brad Lendon : CNN : June 12, 2018)

When the Trump-Putin summit takes places, will he also suddenly announce that Nord Stream 2 can go ahead, without the incurring of US sanctions on EU companies helping to build Nord Stream 2?

Everything now depends on the decision that the Danish parliament will take regarding Nord Stream 2 passing through their territorial waters. 

• If they say "No", then no matter what Trump says, Nord Stream 2 will be scuppered. 
• If they say "Yes", then Trump will go against the US government.

Putin's pressure on Denmark grows greater by the day.

(to be continued)