There’s a reason most revolutions in Eastern Europe begin in the winter, from Russia in 1905 to Ukraine’s Maidan in 2013. Once the cold settles in, a government’s empty promises are laid bare. Over the next several days, forecasters are predicting, the temperature in Ukraine will plunge to freezing. When President Petro Poroshenko looks at the thermometer, he should be worried.
We Need to Stop Using Russia as a Political Football (Vadim Nikitin)
From Nixon to Trump, there have always been long-term risks in exploiting foreign policy for domestic political gain.
EU must improve Russia ties, says Commission chief Juncker
The EU must restore a “practical relationship” with Russia and not let the US “dictate” that policy, the European Commission chief has said.
Jean-Claude Juncker criticised US President Barack Obama’s description of Russia as merely “a regional power”.
Pentagon Plan to Arm Ukraine Means Escalation with Russia (The Real News, feat. Nicolai Petro)
As U.S. and Russian relations hit a new low, the Pentagon and State Department have drafted a plan to arm Ukraine’s fight against Russian-backed rebels, a move that would escalate the country’s three-year war.
Putin’s plan for Syria: Only Russia has a clear goal—we should join it or stay out
According Rachel Polonsky, a Fellow of Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge and author of Molotov’s Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History: “If we cannot support Russia in its mission now, or even define our own, we should stand aside. No good has come from our policy of regime change. The UK government’s position on Syria is neither logical nor honest
One thing that both IS and Russia understand is that control of territory is everything. Palmyra is territory, and territory has meaning, which it takes knowledge-—of geography, history, languages, religions, cultures and the nature of one’s enemies—to understand. John McCain calls Russia a “gas station masquerading as a country.” He should read War and Peace.”
A Blacklisted Film and the New Cold War (Robert Parry)
As Congress still swoons over the anti-Kremlin Magnitsky narrative, Western political and media leaders refuse to let their people view a documentary that debunks the fable, reports Robert Parry.
Prof. Stephen F. Cohen Talks With John Batchelor
Earlier in the week ACEWA Board Member Dr. Stephen F. Cohen continued his weekly conversation with radio host John Batchelor. The conversation helped to shed much need light on recent developments in the Donbas, and the discussants delved into the wide ranging implications of Russia’s recent intervention into the Syrian civil war.
The Russia Mess Sucks in Democrats, Too (John Batchelor)
Two modest Russiagate puzzles that do not fit easily into any case for or against President Trump, took new turns in recent days…
Ukraine leader says he hopes ‘fragile truce’ will hold
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko struck a conciliatory tone on Friday in his comments on Russia and Moscow-backed rebels during his visit to Kazakhstan, the Kremlin’s ally in Central Asia.
“Few had believed this (but) we did our best and, as a result of our efforts, guns have been silent for more than two weeks and this gives grounds for cautious optimism with regard to the implementation of other parts of the Minsk agreements,” Poroshenko said at a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, referring to a ceasefire in Ukraine’s east.
Sending ‘Defensive’ Arms to Ukraine Would Be Deadly (Leonid Bershidsky)
Both Russian and U.S. generals have an interest in testing their newer weapons against each other.
Syria air strikes: US and Russia expected to hold talks over risk of planes clashing
The Pentagon has said it expects to hold new talks with Russia’s military on pilot safety in Syria’s war as soon as this weekend as the US and the Kremlin seek to avoid accidental clashes as they carry out separate bombing campaigns.
Russia’s entry into Syria’s civil war has complicated America’s more than year-old campaign of air strikes against Islamic State. At least one US jet had to change course to avoid an incident.
Russia Signals Tough Pragmatism toward the United States (George Beebe)
Beyond foreshadowing what they might do in response to U.S. retaliation, the Russians are also signaling the depth of their resolve to oppose U.S. actions that they believe threaten Russian security.
How Russia outplayed America in the Middle East’s great game
The cliché of the Russian chessmaster strategist might be a cliché for a reason. The regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin might have feet of clay, but the man is smart.
By going all-in on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the war in Syria, he has put Russia at the center of the great game in the Middle East.
Washington’s Addictive Foreign-Policy Drug (Ted Galen Carpenter)
…sanctions will only inflame Moscow and intensify an already worrisome new cold war.
In Assad’s heartland, villagers see Russians as saviours
The village of Jebleh is a good place for plane-spotters. Last week dozens of Russian fighter-bombers – Sukhoi Su-24s, 25s and 35s – took off from the Bassel al-Assad airbase less than a mile away, roaring through the cloudy autumn skies towards their targets in Syria’s north and east.
Here, people see the Russians as loyal friends who have supported the Assad dynasty for 45 years and who have finally, after four years of civil war, come to their aid.
President George HW Bush: Remarks to the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of the Ukraine in Kiev, Soviet Union
26 years ago, on August 1, 1991 US President George HW Bush delivered a prescient warning on the dangers of Ukrainian ethno-nationalism in an address in Kiev. Bush told the assembled that “Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred.” Bush’s wise pragmatism and caution enraged American neocons like New York Times columnist William Safire who unfairly dubbed Bush’s remarks “the Chicken Kiev speech.”
Former economic adviser to Reagan and Thatcher hired by Ukrainian government
Ukraine’s Minister of Finance, Natalie Jaresko, has hired the prominent U.S. economist, Arthur Laffer, to advise her on tax policy. Laffer, widely considered the father of supply-side economics, was a member of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1981-89. He also advised former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on fiscal policy.
Lawmakers Need a Russia Sanctions Strategy with an Exit Plan (Nikolas Gvosdev)
History shows that the lack of flexibility or graduation mechanisms in congressional sanctions can create unnecessary complications for the United States.
Saudi Clerics Call for Jihad Against Iran and Russia in Syria
News out of our great “ally” Saudi Arabia from a joint Reuters, Vice report notes that “dozens of conservative Saudi Arabian clerics have called for Arab and Muslim countries to “give all moral, material, political and military” support to what they term a jihad, or holy war, against Syria’s government and its Iranian and Russian backers.
Although the clerics who signed the online statement are not affiliated with the government, their strong sectarian and anti-Christian language reflects a growing anger among many Saudis over Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria’s civil war.”
Kremlin frets U.S. sanctions may hurt European projects like Nord Stream 2 (Reuters)
The Kremlin said on Monday it was worried that proposed new U.S. sanctions against Moscow could hurt major investment projects with European partners, but said it was premature to say if and how it would retaliate.