Posted by seumasach on June 4, 2014
My, this sounds like a good deal for Ukraine: sign away your right to join the Eurasian Union in exchange a vague and unfulfillable notion that you might be able to join the EU!
EUObserver
4th June, 2014
BRUSSELS – Ukraine has asked to sign a landmark EU treaty next weekend, but large EU countries expect to do it at the end of the month.
The “deep and comprehensive free trade agreement” – a 5kg box of technical documents – is at the heart of the Ukraine crisis.
Its signature means Ukraine can have free trade with Russia but is legally bound to stay out of its Eurasian Union.
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Posted by seumasach on June 3, 2014
Jamaica Gleaner
3rd June, 2014
It has inspired little or no official attention in Kingston or otherCaribbean capitals, perhaps because policymakers are skittish over the stand-off between the West and Russia caused by the Ukraine affair.
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Posted in Multipolar world | Tagged: Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Eurasian Economic Community, Russian diplomacy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 2, 2014
Valdai Club
30th June, 2014
Petro Poroshenko, for all the elusiveness of his nature, is the choice of the Ukrainian people. The Americans didn’t grow him in their political incubator; they just put a bet on the most likely winner and did so rather late – approximately in March 2014. The earlier favorites were people like Arseny Yatsenyuk and Vitaly Klichko. Statements made by US politicians did not have much influence on Ukrainian voters. More likely, the electorate was swayed by technologies invented by a Ukrainian spin doctor, Igor Gryniv (who was behind the electoral success of Viktor Yushchenko and still earlier planned the establishment of the Reforms and Order and Our Ukraine parties). First of all, he cleaned out the minds of Ukrainian voters and made them accept Poroshenko as a “new politician.” Next he began publishing his growing ratings and convinced the public that his client took the lead in the race. All that remained was to give voters a motivation for support and urge a first-round vote.
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Posted in Ukraine War | Tagged: poroshenko | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 1, 2014
Right Sector Activists in Milan Attempt to Disrupt Rally against Violence in Ukraine
Fars News Agency
1st June, 2014
TEHRAN (FNA)- A group of Ukrainian nationalists and Right Sector supporters attempted to disrupt a protest Saturday evening organized by Italians, Russians and Ukrainians in Milan against the president-elect of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko’s policy regarding the country’s eastern regions.
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Posted by seumasach on June 1, 2014
Those of the frontiers of empire are the first to get wind of a faint-heartedness at the centre. We saw this with the loyalist response to the Anglo-Irish agreement in 1986. Obama, as head of US military, has no intention of confronting Russia: as head of the empire he must reassure his allies before retreat turns into rout. Already Turkey and Qatar are flipping towards the rising power of the East and the SCO. Obama’s best bet is a controlled disengagement from empire accompanied by a incremental engagement with Russia and China; a difficult manoeuver fraught with danger.
In Europe, Obama gets second chance to explain his Russia policy
Trust
1st June, 2014
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama heads to Warsaw, Brussels, Paris and Normandy this week where he is expected to elaborate on the U.S. commitment to counter Russian moves against Ukraine and reassure nervous allies the United States has their backs.
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Posted in Ukraine War | Tagged: BRICS(Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), End of empire, Obama's realist turn, retreat from empire | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on May 31, 2014
Christoph Germann
The New Great Game Roundup
Boiling Frogs Post
25th May, 2014
The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus region between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players.
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Posted by seumasach on May 31, 2014
Voltairenet
30th May, 2014
Syrian refugees in Lebanon had the opportunity to cast their ballots in the Syrian presidential elections as early as Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 May 2014 at their country’s Embassy in Beirut.
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Posted in Syria | Tagged: Assad must stay, pro-Assad demonstrations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on May 31, 2014
“Ukrainian soldiers” may of course be largely a reference to Right Sector and National Guard militia
RIANovosti
29th May, 2014
RIGA, May 29 (RIA Novosti) – About 1,200 Ukrainian army soldiers have been killed during a special operation in Slaviansk, and eight helicopters and 15 armored vehicles were destroyed, Slaviansk people’s mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov said Thursday.
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Posted by seumasach on May 31, 2014
Fars News Agency
31st May, 2014
TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday discussed the situation of Crimean Tatars and the crisis in Ukraine in a phone call.
Erdogan praised Russia’s actions to improve the living conditions and legitimate rights of Tatars residing on the Crimean Peninsula, RIA Novosti reported.
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Posted by seumasach on May 30, 2014
Voltairenet
28th May, 2014
A large Russian delegation arrived in Damascus last week. It was headed by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and comprised Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and Alexander Fomin, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
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Posted by seumasach on May 29, 2014
Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
29th May, 2014
The unipolar model of the world order has failed.
– Vladimir Putin, St Petersburg, May 22
In more ways than one, last week heralded the birth of aEurasian century. Of course, the US$400 billion Russia-China gas deal was clinched only at the last minute in Shanghai, on Wednesday (a complement to the June 2013, 25-year, $270 billion oil deal between Rosneft and China’s CNPC.)
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Posted in Multipolar world | Tagged: New Silk Road, Russia China co-operation, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 