According to New York Times intel leakers, “informants close to” Putin have “gone silent.” What can it all mean?
Russia’s Outlook Raised to Stable by Fitch on Policy Action (Bloomberg)
Russia’s credit outlook was raised by Fitch Ratings, the last major assessor that ranks the country above junk. Fitch lifted the outlook to stable from negative, keeping the sovereign’s foreign-currency rating at BBB-, its lowest investment grade and on par with India and Turkey.
Asian Times: Russia’s fleet to counter US moves ahead of Syrian offensive
Moscow beefs up naval presence as Washington threatens to launch strikes against Assad’s forces if they use chemical weapons.
An Open Letter To The President (Russia-America Goodwill Association)
By Vladislav Krasnov on behalf of Russia & America Goodwill Association
Dear Mr. President:
As your presidential duties will soon expire, I want you make sure your Nobel Peace Prize is deserved: Please instruct your officials to return to the path of negotiations with Russia, be it the Syrian crisis, the lapse of the plutonium nuclear arms control deal or Ukraine….
WSJ Editorial: A Dossier Debunking
His lawyer says the Steele claims about Michael Cohen are false.
Ukraine and Syria: Linked Together by Russia (Robert Hunter)
ACEWA Board Member Sharon Tennison writes, “Robert E. Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO (1993 – 1998), paints a clear picture of how Washington missed one opportunity after another to pursue common-sense policies with Russia. Although the situation is near irretrievable at this late date, Hunter nonetheless remains somewhat hopeful that progress may be made after the November Presidential election.”
Diana Johnstone: The Real Russian Interference in US Politics
To understand the way Washington works, one can focus on the career of lawyer Jonathan M. Winer…
PODCAST: Warmongering in Washington, Preparation for War in Moscow (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Continuing the subject of last week’s discussion—the growing possibility of actual military conflict between the U.S. and Russia—Cohen and Batchelor agree that more recent developments have made this prospect even more dire.
James Walker: China—Not Russia—Elected Trump
While media and political attention are focused on Russian “meddling” in the 2016 election, attention should be sharply focused instead on the role of China in electing Trump. It is that concern that should inform American action today.
Russia Reads US Bluster as Sign of War (Ray McGovern)
During the Reagan administration, I was one of the CIA analysts assigned to present to White House officials the President’s Daily Brief, which summed up the CIA’s views on the pressing national security issues of the day. If I were still in that job – and assuming CIA analysts are still able to speak truth to power – I am afraid that I would be delivering alarming news about the potential of a U.S.-Russian military clash.
Fred Weir On The New York Times “Blockbuster”
“Kremlin Sources Go Quiet…” via Johnson’s Russia List. A must read.
Key Neocon Calls on US to Oust Putin (Robert Parry)
A prominent neocon paymaster, whose outfit dispenses $100 million in U.S. taxpayers’ money each year, has called on America to “summon the will” to remove Russian President Putin from office, reports Robert Parry.
Bloomberg View: The U.S. Can’t Bring Russia ‘to Its Knees’
At least not without setting off a global energy and financial crisis.
Why Russia Fears NATO (Ted Galen Carpenter)
Adam Twardowski takes umbrage at arguments that I and others have made that NATO’s behavior over the past two decades has exacerbated tensions with Russia. He begins his rebuttal with a drive-by smear that is increasingly in vogue among neoconservatives, dismissing such arguments as coming from “Russia’s apologists.” Elsewhere in the piece, he resorts to the even uglier smear of NATO critics as “Putin’s apologists.”
CNBC: US sanctions on Russia tied to UK spy attack to take effect Monday
U.S. sanctions against Russia tied to a nerve agent attack in Britain, which were announced earlier this month, will come into effect on Monday.
VIDEO: Pavlo Klimkin, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Talks To Deutsche Welle
DW’s Tim Sebastian interviews Ukraine FM Pavlo Klimkin on the government’s lack of popular support, its stalled reform efforts and the Minsk accords.
The Independent: Russia accuses RAF of ‘dangerous’ interceptions over Black Sea
Russia has accused Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) of conducting “dangerous” interceptions of its military aircraft over the Black Sea, which it said were designed to provoke Moscow.
The Snowball Effect of Continued U.S.-Russia Strategic Mistrust (Robert Shines)
One would think that any headline or topic involving the three words “U.S.”, “Russia”, and “nuclear” would immediately command worldwide attention and foster a policy of more restraint with respect to resolving conflict between the two powers. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case.
Paul Robinson: A Question of Attitude
A couple of Ukraine-related items caught my attention this week.
Syria may turn out to be Obama’s defining legacy (M.K. Bhadrakumar)
On Monday, the Barack Obama administration fulfilled its week-old threat to suspend bilateral talks with Russia over the Syrian crisis. Does this signal that the dogs of war are about to be unleashed?