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‘We are rebelling and we are inciting others to revolt’ – Hungarian PM Orbán says 2025 will be a ‘breakthrough year’

By Liz Heflin | Remix News | February 24, 2025

In a lengthy “annual review” this past Saturday, Hungary’s prime minister ran through what will make the coming year a “breakthrough” success for the country, touching on Trump, pro-family policy, and even a promise to guarantee the right to cash.

One major area of importance for Fidesz has been protecting an extra pension allocation for retirees. Brussels has been keen to attack the 13th-month pension, and Orbán assured Hungarians that this extra allowance will remain, as will the reduction in utility bills, which the EU has also sought to end.

Pensioners will also be refunded the VAT on vegetables, fruits, and dairy products up to a certain monthly amount, the prime minister promised, before taking aim at retailers and supermarket chains.

Orbán called inflation in stores, specifically higher prices for basic food items, “unacceptable.”

“Inflation makes people’s lives miserable, which is why we need an inflation prevention program. High wages can be used to protect against high prices, but this is not enough here,” he said, adding that he had instructed Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy to reach an agreement with retail chains to stop the price hikes.

“With nice words. But if nice words don’t work, then it will work with official price (caps),” he said.

“Nobody likes price regulation, but in such cases, there is no other choice. If there is no agreement, the official price will come. If that is not enough, then we will also limit the extent of commercial profit.”

The prime minister also announced “Europe’s largest tax reduction program,” focused on families with children.

A two-step program starting in July will allow parents to deduct HUF 20,000 for one child, HUF 80,000 for two children, and HUF 200,000 for three or more kids from their taxes and contributions.

Orbán also introduced a planned extension of the lifetime income tax exemption for mothers from those with four children to those with even two.

The prime minister assured listeners that despite this “huge expense,” they will be able to handle it while also lowering Hungary’s budget deficit and national debt.

“More children are born when mothers feel financially secure,” said Orbán, who then said that without Fidesz’s family subsidies, 200,000 fewer children would have been born since 2010.

Hungary is also countering the policy in other countries to ban the use of cash, calling it a constitutional right.

“The right to cash is guaranteed in the constitution. Using cash is not a custom, but a right,” he said, adding that despite the trend towards digital money, “we don’t want to be slaves to the banks.”

“The bank card belongs to the bank, the cash is yours,” he said.

Turning to the growth of AI and the use of automation in manufacturing, Orbán said that “in Germany, a lot of people will be laid off in the automotive industry. This will not happen in Hungary.”

He also introduced the “100 new factories program,” asserting that only a work-based economy will drive Hungary forward.

“Our goal is for industrial companies in Hungary to develop and hire new people,” he said.

On Ukraine, the Hungarian prime minister reiterated that Hungary will never support the country becoming a member of NATO.

“Ukraine, or what’s left of it, will once again become a buffer zone and will not be a NATO member,” he said, adding that as to EU membership, Hungary can only allow this if it does not harm Hungarian interests, namely, farmers and businesses in Hungary.

Reiterating Hungary’s pro-peace and anti-migration stance, he said his country “will never swalow the migration pact.” Orbán also told LGBT Pride organizers that they shouldn’t bother planning for this year’s parade, indicating that such an event will no longer be welcome in Hungary, prompting a long round of applause from the audience:

“We are rebelling and we are inciting others to revolt. The Poles and the Dutch have already stood up, the Italians are almost there, and the Germans are pretending to be. And of course we cannot give in, we cannot give up on protecting our children. They are dragging us to court in Luxembourg in vain. In fact, I suggest we go on the counterattack here. Let’s write it into the constitution that a person is either a man or a woman. And that’s it. In fact, I advise the Pride organizers not to bother with preparing this year’s parade. It’s a waste of money and time. No matter what District Commander Weber and his Hungarian agents say,” the prime minister stated.

On the civil society organizations that operated on the ground in Hungary, Orbán said they had used American taxpayer money to break down the barriers to freedom and national sovereignty.

“They were created so that the empire could survive. (…) They would squeeze the life out of us,” Orbán said, adding that U.S. President Trump is now putting an end to this.

“We will send a government representative to the USA and collect all the data related to Hungary. We will create the constitutional and legal conditions so that we no longer have to look for pseudo-civilian organizations here in Hungary,” he said.

Despite his admiration for Trump and enthusiasm for his return to office and what it portends for Hungary, Orbán told listeners that they cannot rely on outside parties to achieve success.

“After Hungary, the United States also rebelled. But let’s not believe that this will bring victory to Hungary. They can’t win for us, they can only improve our chances. Trump is not our savior, but our fellow warrior,” Viktor Orbán warned.

The prime minister confidently stated that Hungary has only 14 months to wait for the next Fidesz victory, but he warned against becoming complacent.

“Let us not fall in love with our successes of last year. Although our opponents have been seriously wounded, and for the first time I see fear in their eyes, and for the first time they have to retreat, it would be a mistake to underestimate them.”

February 24, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Economics | , , | Leave a comment

Wrong, Politico, Climate Change Does Not Threaten the EU’s Survival, But Climate Policy Does

By Linnea Lueken | Climate Realism | February 19, 2025

A recent Politico article, “Climate change threatens EU’s survival, German security report warns,” claims that “global warming will exacerbate conflicts, hunger, and migration worldwide, with growing risks for Europe.” Evidence undermines these claims. In reality, the world is not suffering destabilization due to climate change, but European populations are far more likely to suffer from climate policy, as Politico briefly mentions.

Politico reports on a “landmark” political report from the German federal intelligence service (BND) that attempts to assess “the dangers climate change poses to German and European security over the next 15 years.” The report concludes that “climate change’s destabilizing effects will drive up migration and food prices, threatening economic and political upheaval,” and “the unequal impact of rising temperatures in the EU — with southern countries hit worse than others — risks tearing the bloc apart.”

Politico goes on to claim that as global average temperature rises, “so do the frequency, severity and intensity of flood-triggering extreme rainfall, deadly heat waves, harvest-destroying droughts and the conditions that allow wildfires to spread easily.”

These claims are false, as available data proves.

While rainfall has modestly increased over northern latitudes that contain the European Union member states, extreme rainfall that causes flooding has not. Claims that recent flooding events were “supercharged” or worsened by climate change are pure speculation based on attribution modelling. Data and historical records of flood frequency and severity debunk claims of unprecedented flooding. Recent flooding in Spain, for instance, was blamed on climate change by attribution groups, but the storm that hit Spain was consistent with a long history of similar storms that are not becoming more severe or frequent. In the Climate Realism post, “Flooding Facts Drowned by Climate Hysteria: The BBC Ignores Spain’s Weather History,” meteorologist Anthony Watts and H. Sterling Burnett describe the history of the region struck by the floods:

Valencia, which sits along and at the mouth of the Turia River on the Mediterranean Sea, suffered similar flooding, for example, in 1897, 1957, and 1996, 127, 67, and 28 years of warming ago, respectively, when temperatures were cooler than at present.

…

As Caroline Angus’ account of the 1957 Valencia flood reveals, these conditions are neither new nor unprecedented. The BBC’s focus on “climate change” and a warmer atmosphere as the primary cause of the recent flooding ignores the atmospheric mechanics behind these storms and downplays the recurrent pattern of similar natural events.

Likewise, Climate Realism debunked other regional European flooding events, here.

Heatwaves and drought are likewise not getting worse, and contra Politico and the German report’s claims, crop production is not declining in Europe due to those conditions, as pointed out in numerous Climate Realism posts, here, here, and here, for example. Wildfires are also on the decline globally.

Interestingly, Politico and the German report do admit that government response to climate alarmism may also cause tension. Politico reports that policies meant to address climate change “will cause tensions, noting that carbon pricing — the backbone of EU climate efforts — disproportionately affects poorer households.” This fact should be obvious to anyone. Carbon pricing does not bother the elites, who can afford higher energy prices.

Politico and the report authors also warn “the cost of decarbonization and its (perceived) unfair distribution … provide space for populism, right-wing and left-wing extremism, and disinformation campaigns[.]”

That claim should be taken further, it already has caused tensions, and has contributed to a growing threat to European food supplies, resulting in frequent mass protests in multiple countries by farmers. Not only that, but its not a perception that the distribution of the costs is unfair, it is a fact. Looking beyond carbon taxes, the push for electric vehicles is a subsidy for a luxury product that most cannot afford. London’s “ultra low emission zones” (ULEZ) are basically a tax on the poor who cannot afford to purchase new electric or low emitting hybrids.

What is true for Europe with regards to crop production is also true for other major crop producing parts of the world, and so climate change is not driving or likely to drive mass migration that could destabilize Europe. Climate Realism has debunked claims that climate change was causing mass emigration in multiple posts, here, here, and here, for instance.

If Politico and German leaders are worried about “populism” and right leaning sympathies rising in their nations due to concerns about mass immigration from unstable parts of the world, then perhaps they could impose restrictions on immigration, no need to blame climate change.

It’s shameful that Politico and the German government are downplaying the harm that the unnecessary, unjustified, climate policies which they have supported have had on Europeans. Extreme weather is not getting worse, but the impacts of government overreach and taxation in the name of climate change are.

February 23, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Fake News, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | | Leave a comment

Bird Flu Is a Rerun of the Covid Playbook

By Clayton J. Baker, MD | Brownstone Institute | February 18, 2025

Bird flu can be very confusing. This is true because, as is so often the case with our government, those who claim to be trying to solve the problem – our so-called “public health” and “pandemic preparedness” “experts” – are actually the ones who created the problem. What is worse, they are actively seeking to perpetuate it.

In this brief article, my goal is to explain what is happening with H5N1 Bird flu in the clearest, most fundamental terms. I hope to make it so clear that all our elected officials can understand what is going on, and therefore can take action to stop it.

The key to understanding the current Bird flu panic is this: Bird flu is a complete rerun of the Covid script. There is just one twist:

Last time, with Covid, the pandemic-planning bioterrorists directly blackmailed us by taking away our civil rights, in order to coerce us to accept their unsafe and ineffective vaccines.

This time, with Bird flu, the pandemic planning bioterrorists are indirectly blackmailing us by targeting our food, in order to coerce us to accept more of their unsafe and ineffective vaccines into our food supply and those who supply it.

Here is their playbook. Learn it, and you can understand how to put an end to it.

Let’s review. What happened during Covid?

  1. Over many years, bioweapons scientists, under the guise of “pandemic preparedness,” genetically manipulated a bat coronavirus to be both transmissible and virulent in humans. In other words, they created a bioweapon.
  2. Meanwhile, they also developed and patented technologies for vaccines against that same virus. In other words, they created the countermeasure to their bioweapon.
  3. In late 2019, the lab-manipulated coronavirus bioweapon, SARS CoV-2, was leaked from a lab.
  4. While the countermeasure vaccines were rushed into production, “public health” authorities took advantage of the lab leak by denying its occurrence, while simultaneously coercing governments to impose lockdowns and other civil rights violations on the human population.
  5. To perpetuate the lockdowns, “public health” authorities performed indiscriminate PCR testing for the virus among the population, knowing full well this would generate countless false positives.
  6. The authorities used this excessive testing along with media-generated fear-mongering and governmental abuse of power, to prolong the lockdowns and the civil rights abuses.
  7. The lockdowns and civil rights abuses were used to blackmail the population into mass acceptance of the vaccines into their own bodies, in exchange for a return to normal life.

What is happening now, with H5N1 Bird flu?

  1. Over many years, bioweapons scientists, under the guise of “pandemic preparedness,” have genetically manipulated the H5N1 avian influenza virus to cross classes of animals and even become more transmissible to humans. In other words, they created a bioweapon.
  2. Meanwhile, they also developed and patented technologies for vaccines against that same virus. In other words, they created the countermeasure to their bioweapon.
  3. In early 2022, a lab-manipulated Bird flu bioweapon leaked from the USDA Southeast Poultry Lab in Athens, GA. Multiple Bird flu leaks have also occurred from other labs.
  4. While the countermeasure vaccines are being rushed into production, “public health” authorities take advantage of these lab leaks by denying their occurrence, while simultaneously coercing our government to impose mass slaughter of farm animals, creating food shortages for the human population.
  5. To perpetuate the mass slaughter and worsen food shortages, “public health” authorities are performing indiscriminate PCR testing for the virus among the animal population and farmers, knowing full well this will generate countless false positives.
  6. Authorities are using this excessive testing along with media-generated fear-mongering and governmental abuse of power, to prolong the mass slaughter of farm animals and the food shortages.
  7. The mass slaughter of farm animals and resulting food shortages are being used to blackmail the population into mass acceptance of the vaccines in their food supply, in exchange for a return to normal life.

This is not conspiracy theory. This is basic pattern recognition.

The “pandemic planners” are operating just like a moderately competent, if unimaginative, high school football coach. If you run a play, and it works, run it again. Keep running it until they stop it.

How do we stop it?

Here’s how:

  1. End the brutal mass slaughter of poultry flocks immediately. This disgusting, death-wish practice is directly analogous to the deadly and unconstitutional human lockdowns during  Covid. It is also an act of biological terrorism. It traumatizes farmers, wastes resources, creates food shortages, is inhumane in the extreme to animals, and does nothing to stop the virus. Let the flocks develop natural immunity. Slaughtered flocks cannot develop natural immunity to a virus, just as locked-down human populations cannot either. Sound familiar?
  2. End the indiscriminate PCR testing for Bird flu in animals and humans immediately. A positive PCR test is like the proverbial grand jury indictment – you can get one on a ham sandwich if you try hard enough. Willy-nilly PCR testing creates innumerable false positives, which fuels the fear porn and hysteria, paralyzes decision-makers, and promotes population-wide blackmail.
  3. The USDA appears to be acting as a rogue agency. The USDA’s leadership needs to be thoroughly reviewed and, well, culled. All those attached to the pandemic preparedness industry, and all those perpetuating the fear-mongering, irresponsible mass PCR testing, mass slaughter of animals, etc. must be immediately removed from the agency. They represent not only a threat to animals and the food supply but to President Trump’s entire second term.
  4. The personnel at the CDC need a similar prompt and thorough overhaul. The CDC, while somewhat chastened by President Trump’s executive order silencing HHS agencies, and benefitting from the departure of former Director Mandy Cohen, is still led by Biden-era appointments whose past resumes raise serious doubt about their willingness to abandon the  Covid-era “pandemic planning” model of public health. For example, acting director Susan Monarez, PhD’s bio shows multiple Deep State connections to the pandemic preparedness industry. Should she remain at the CDC?
  5. The USDA Southeast Poultry Research Lab in Athens, Ga. should be shut down and thoroughly investigated.
  6. The Kawaoka Bird flu lab at the University of Wisconsin, which has been doing reckless gain-of-function research for decades, and which has had multiple lab leaks, should be shut down and investigated as well.
  7. Brooke Rollins, the new USDA Secretary, needs to be fully briefed on H5N1 Bird flu by honest experts who are not embedded in the pandemic preparedness industry. Individuals such as Meryl Nass, MD, and Peter McCullough, MD and his team would both be excellent choices.
  8. President Trump should follow through on his 2024 promise to disband the redundant, Biden-created Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR). Mr. Trump’s instinct was correct then, and it remains correct now.
  9. The $590 Million dollar Bird flu vaccine development contract to Moderna that the Biden administration approved a couple of days before President Trump’s inauguration should be cancelled. 
  10. The USDA’s reported “conditional approval” of a Bird flu vaccine with Zoetis should be cancelled. Bird flu vaccination in poultry flocks has been demonstrated in other countries to select for more virulent strains. Furthermore, the CEO of Zoetis has close ties to Pfizer, BlackRock, and the Gates Foundation, all well-established bad actors during the Covid era. Beware, Mr. President.

The “pandemic preparedness” racket isn’t as complicated as it seems. Once one comes to terms with the fact that the arsonists are running the fire department – as they have been demonstrated by DOGE to be doing in so many other areas of government as well – we can recognize what is actually happening and apply the necessary solutions.

C.J. Baker, M.D. is an internal medicine physician with a quarter century in clinical practice. He has held numerous academic medical appointments, and his work has appeared in many journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. From 2012 to 2018 he was Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Rochester.

February 22, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Economics, Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular | , , , | Leave a comment

Petroleum demand will rise despite push for renewables: OPEC chief

Press TV – February 22, 2025

Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says that petroleum demand will continue to increase in the coming decades despite a global move toward renewable energies.

In an interview with the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news service Shana, published on Saturday, Haitham al-Ghais said that the OPEC believes that oil and gas will continue to be the key element in the global energy trends even after 2050, the year in which many countries have pledged to phase out the use of fossil fuels as part of the so-called net zero campaign.

Ghais said that demand for oil and gas will fall in Europe in the coming decades while it will remain almost flat in the United States.

However, he said that the rest of the world will see a rise in petroleum demand as many countries in Asia and Africa will need hydrocarbon resources to meet their economic growth targets.

“… the unrealistic sense that was given to people about oil demand dropping by 75 million barrels per day by 2050, which we believe is really unrealistic,” he said.

The OPEC chief said that some European governments that are seriously opposed to the increasing consumption of fossil fuels have resumed using oil, gas and even coal to respond to their energy needs.

“… we believe that the problem is the net zero scenario, and it is quite dangerous actually, because it has, unfortunately, caused many governments to be misled into putting into place policies that have become much more expensive for their consumers.

February 22, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , , | Leave a comment

Ukraine’s Zelensky Forgets the First Rule of Crisis Management — If You’re in a Hole, Stop Digging

By Larry C. Johnson | Sonar21 | February 19, 2025

Gotta confess, I did not see this coming. Yes, I believed that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was miffed at not getting an invite to Saudi Arabia or to be part of the negotiating team, but it never entered my mind that he would kill himself in public. Suicide ain’t a good look. Zelensky reacted to Trump’s post by going after the Donald. Not a smart move.

While Zelensky did not put a loaded gun to his head and press the trigger, that may have been a better option than what he did — i.e., verbally attack and insult Donald Trump. If Trump truly was the King of the Realm, Zelensky would have arrived hogtied before Trump and the Donald would have cut his tongue out. Such were the pleasantries of the Middle Ages.

Here are a couple of Zelensky’s verbal tirades today criticizing Trump for excluding the Z-man from the negotiations:

Zelensky said Ukraine “did not know anything about” the meeting between Putin and Trump, and said his country will not accept a peace deal brokered without Ukrainian participation.

Zelensky told reporters he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful” about the war and accused the president of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

If Zelensky thinks that public criticism of Trump is a winning strategy to win over the Donald, he has not paid attention to Trump’s method of handling critics and opponents during the past ten years. While Zelensky enjoys the full support of the Washington neocons and those politicians who have been paid under the table by Ukraine, picking a fight with Trump guarantees that further aid to Ukraine is DOA (i.e., dead on arrival).

Trump has the memory of an elephant. He has not forgotten the role that Zelensky played in Trump’s first impeachment drama. Zelensky could have spoken out in defense of Trump at the time, but he chose to remain silent. Zelensky did not buy himself any good karma with Trump.

Then there is the matter of missing billions of US taxpayer dollars. Elon Musk, as well as some folks outside of DOGE, are auditing the more than $300 billion sent to Ukraine. I know from a close friend that $50 billion already has been tracked to bank accounts in the Caribbean. Sometime within the next month or two, the world will learn some specifics of Zelensky’s theft of some of these funds. When that happens, Zelensky is burnt toast.

Don’t be surprised in a few months when Attorney General Pam Bondi announces criminal indictments against Zelensky for theft of US government property. Assuming that Zelensky is not assassinated or jailed by disgruntled Ukrainian military officers, his chances of finding a safe haven outside of Ukraine will dim dramatically. Zelensky fails to understand that he is nothing more than a pawn in a Western-led game of global chess. He ain’t essential, he’s expendable.

It appears that Trump’s goal in reviving relations with Russia has little to do with Ukraine and its future. As a result of Tuesday’s meeting in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russian delegations, there was agreement on forming six working groups that will address the following issues:

  1. Group on Strategic Security and Arms Control. Arms control is one of the topics where dialogue between Moscow and Washington continues even in the crisis. The New START Treaty expires in 2026, and the United States is interested in extending it, but will try to impose new restrictions on Russian hypersonic weapons and tactical nuclear forces. Russia, in turn, will seek a revision of the balance of power, taking into account NATO’s non-expansion, and demand restrictions on the deployment of new missile systems in Europe.
  2. Group on the Review of the Global Security Architecture.
    The issues of global security architecture, delimitation of spheres of influence, including possible mechanisms for monitoring developments in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and autonomous combat systems will be discussed separately. It is likely that this is the area where the contradictions will be most acute. Moreover, other significant powers, including China, will need to be involved in the process.
  3. Group on bilateral diplomatic interaction.
    Both sides are interested in the return of the embassies to full operation, within the framework of which mutual restrictions on the work of diplomatic missions will be lifted, and broad channels of communication will be established, including, in part, issues of economic ties.
  4. Energy and Sanctions Group.
    Russia is interested in lifting American sanctions, and the Americans will be offered some joint economic projects. However, the American side will try to link any concessions with demands concerning other areas, including Russian-Chinese relations, so a compromise will not be easy. Plus, Trump will be wary of accusations from hawks among the Republicans about the “excessive” easing of the sanctions regime.
  5. Group for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
    Within its framework, the parameters of a peace agreement on Ukraine will be agreed upon. There is already agreement on a number of issues. Ukraine is a non-aligned state, the EU will not be an actor influencing the negotiations, elections will be held in Ukraine and then a full-fledged agreement will be concluded, which will be adopted by the UN, there will be no NATO troops on the territory of Ukraine. Russia will also insist on retaining the liberated territories along the front line and guarantees for the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine. The full scope of the concessions that Washington is ready to make and their price are still unclear.
  6. International Affairs Group (Middle East, Arctic).
    The situation in the Middle East requires coordination of efforts by major players, including to prevent the Israeli-Palestinian truce from collapsing, to make a decision on the Syrian case, and others. Russia continues to actively interact with Turkey, Iran, and the Persian Gulf countries, which makes it an important participant in any negotiation processes in the region. Also on the agenda are issues of cooperation in the Arctic, where Russia maintains strategic superiority.

Ending the war in Ukraine is not necessarily a top priority. Trump’s team has made it clear that this is a problem for the Europeans and the Ukrainians to resolve if they are intent on continuing the war. Trump is looking at a bigger picture and keeping Zelensky happy is not part of that vision.

I discussed this today with Danny Davis:


Video Link

February 20, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Putin Praises Friendly Russian-US Negotiations in Riyadh

Sputnik – 19.02.2025

ST. PETERSBURG – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he had been briefed on the results of talks between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh and gave a positive assessment of the negotiations.

“The assessment is positive,” Putin told reporters when asked about the Russian-US talks, adding that the meeting was friendly.

The Russian delegation told that from the US side there were those who were open to cooperation, the Russian president added.

The purpose and agenda of the conversation at the meeting in Riyadh was to restore trust between Russia and the United States, Putin pointed out.

Russia and the United States are working on the issues of economy, energy, space and other areas, Putin said.

The Russian president, commenting on Tuesday’s meeting between Russia and the US in Riyadh, mentioned that the sides have taken the first step to resume work in various areas of mutual interest, including the Middle East.

“We have other issues, the economy, and our joint work in the global energy markets, space, of course… All of this was the subject of discussion, consideration at the meeting in Riyadh,” Putin told reporters.

Putin said that he had been briefed on the results of talks between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh and gave a positive assessment of the negotiations.

During the telephone conversation US President Donald Trump said that Washington assumes that negotiations will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said.

“As for the negotiation process, President Trump told me during a telephone conversation, and I can confirm this, that, of course, the United States assumes that the negotiation process will take place with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine. No one excludes Ukraine from this process,” Putin told reporters.

Putin said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump has begun to receive objective information.

“When he [Trump] started receiving information — objective information — he changed his position. This information has changed his approach,” Putin said.

Russia and the United States in Riyadh have agreed that the work of diplomatic missions will be resumed in normal mode, Putin.

“The first thing I would like to say is that we have agreed to resume the work of diplomatic missions in normal mode,” Putin told reporters.

The expulsions of diplomats from Washington and Moscow do not lead to anything good, if it continues, only cleaners will be left to work in the embassies, Putin added.

Putin said on Wednesday that it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without increasing the level of trust.

“The most important thing here in resolving all pressing issues, including the Ukrainian settlement, is that without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said.

Russia has never refused to negotiate on the conflict with Ukraine, Putin added.

Kiev’s hysteria about its absence in the negotiations between Russia and the United States is inappropriate, Putin said.

“Everyone has probably forgotten, but I remind you that exactly one year from now, in February 2026, the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty expires. Do they [representatives of Ukraine] want to sit here at the negotiating table and mediate between Russia and the United States? Well, probably not. Why get hysterical? Hysteria is inappropriate,” Putin told reporters.

Russia will inform all its BRICS friends about the results of the US-Russia talks, Russian President said.

“For our part, we shall undoubtedly inform all our BRICS friends. We know that they are interested in settlement of the Russia-Ukraine relations, termination of combat actions.
We treat their suggestions with respect. And any time soon we shall inform them about the results of the Russia-US talks,” Putin told reporters.

The recent attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) may result in high energy prices on global markets, Vladimir Putin said.

“Of course, the attack on such a facility will affect global energy markets, first of all, because, unfortunately, it is impossible to quickly restore this facility, because there was mainly Western equipment there, and it was damaged … This leads to consistently high energy prices on world markets,” Putin told reporters.

On Monday, the CPC said that its crude oil pumping station in Kropotkinskaya, Russia’s southern Krasnodar Territory, had been attacked by drones in the morning.

Kropotkinskaya is the company’s largest pumping station in Russia. The CPC said the attack was carried out by seven drones packed with metal striking elements in addition to explosives.

Soldiers of Russia’s 810th military brigade have crossed the Russian border and entered Ukrainian territory, Putin said, adding that Russian troops are advancing along the entire front line.

“The latest information, which was reported to me literally an hour ago, is that tonight the fighters of the 810th brigade crossed the border between Russia and Ukraine and entered the territory of the enemy. And our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” Putin told reporters.

The 810th brigade is fighting in Russia’s Kursk Region.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Russia and US will have to ‘clean up’ after Biden – Lavrov

RT | February 19, 2025

Moscow and Washington need to “clean up the legacy” left by the former US President Joe Biden’s administration that ruined the ties between the two states, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking at the Russian State Duma on Wednesday, having returned from talks with US diplomats in the Saudi capital on Tuesday, Lavrov described the meeting in Riyadh as a first step toward rebuilding relations between the countries. The bilateral negotiations were led by Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and aimed to lay the groundwork for ending the Ukraine conflict and normalizing ties between Russia and the US.

“We have started to move away from the brink of the abyss to which the Biden administration had led us, but these are only the first steps,” Lavrov told lawmakers, commenting on the talks.

“For now, we need to ‘clean up’ the legacy of the Biden administration, which did everything to destroy… the foundation of a long-term partnership between our countries,” he added. According to the diplomat, “the movement towards normalizing relations in all areas is beginning.”

“There is, at least, a declared readiness to start on this course. And to resolve not only the Ukraine crisis, but to create conditions for the restoration and expansion of partnership in trade, economic and geopolitical spheres,” Lavrov stated. He noted that Washington’s representatives expressed marked interest in removing “artificially created” obstacles to potential joint initiatives with Russia in many areas, including economic and foreign policy.

Among other things, the sides agreed to restore embassy staffing and form high-level teams to begin work on the potential Ukraine peace settlement.

“We welcome this,” Lavrov said, noting that the countries could eventually return to the state of cooperation they had prior to the Ukraine conflict and the West’s sanctions war on Russia.

“There will always be problems, but the main thing is to meet, listen and hear one another, make decisions that will be realistic with regard to the partners they concern,” he stated.

Tuesday’s negotiations have been described as “truly monumental” in Washington.

Following the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also acknowledged that the West would need to address the sanctions imposed on Russia in order to reach a lasting solution to the conflict and to restore relations. Later on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told journalists he felt “much more confident” about the prospects of a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine amid the budding rapprochement with Moscow.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , | Leave a comment

West should repair oil infrastructure damaged by Ukraine – Putin

FILE PHOTO: A gas turbine produced by the German company Siemens © Global Look Press / IMAGO / Christoph Reichwein
RT | February 18, 2025

Repairs to an oil pumping station in southern Russia damaged by a Ukrainian drone strike on Monday should be covered by the facility operator’s Western co-owners, President Vladimir Putin has suggested. The infrastructure is operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which is partly controlled by US and EU companies.

The station was attacked on Monday by at least seven Ukrainian drones, Russia’s deputy prime minister and former energy minister, Aleksandr Novak, told Putin during a government meeting on Tuesday. The strike damaged some critical components, prompting its operators to resort to a reserve pumping scheme and slash capacity by 30-40%, the official said.

According to Novak, restoring the station’s full capacity would require “major repairs” since it used Western equipment, including from Germany’s Siemens, which has previously refused to supply equipment for Russian gas pipelines, citing sanctions. Repairing the facility could, according to Novak, take “quite along time.”

The Western CPC shareholders are also taking part in the damage assessment, Novak said, adding that the list of consortium members includes US giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.

The Russian president responded by saying that the Western companies should facilitate the repairs at the station and provide all the necessary equipment.

“Since they [the Western companies] are … interested in restoring the facility’s operational capacity, then let them arrange for the necessary equipment delivery despite all the sanctions,” Putin said. He pointed out that the CPC shareholders would be doing that “for their own benefit” anyway. Moscow should also provide all the assistance that is necessary, he added.

The Kropotkinskaya pumping station is located in the Russian Krasnodar Region, some 230 kilometers from the port city of Novorossiysk. It is a part of a pipeline project that transports oil from western Kazakhstan along with Russian products. US companies controlled some 40% of oil supplies shipped via the pipeline in 2024.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the strike an attack against US companies, the global oil market, and US President Donald Trump’s agenda. On Tuesday, Novak also described the attack as Kiev’s “response” to the US desire to engage in dialogue with Moscow.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Economics, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

FM: Iran won’t condone language of threats; maximum pressure doomed to fail

Press TV – February 18, 2025

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Islamic Republic does not condone threats, stressing that the US’s “maximum pressure” campaign will certainly fail.

Araghchi made the remarks at a meeting with Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart, the Swiss Special Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa, on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference in Oman on Monday.

During the meeting, Araghchi referred to the three rounds of negotiations held between Iran and the three European signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and expressed Tehran’s readiness to continue talks with the three European countries, namely the United Kingdom, France, and Germany (E3).

The minister stressed that the Islamic Republic “does not brook the language of threats or pressure”, asserting that the policy of maximum pressure led by the US “is bound to fail.”

That came as US President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum re-imposing his so-called “maximum economic pressure” on Iran.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian minister hailed the long-standing ties between Iran and Switzerland, stressing the importance of the “constructive” role played by the country, which acts as the protecting power for the US in Tehran, in promoting peace and stability in the region.

He also welcomed the upcoming round of political talks scheduled to take place between Tehran and Bern in the Iranian capital.

“We emphasize [the importance] of continuing dialogue and cooperation in this regard”.

For his part, Bruelhart stressed the “significant and influential” role played by Iran in the region.

He also underscored the importance of talks with Iran on bilateral and regional issues, and expressed his country’s keenness to continue dialogue with Tehran, especially during the upcoming meeting in Tehran.

Iran and the E3 have been conducting on-again, off-again talks since 2021, three years after the United States illegally and unilaterally left a historic nuclear accord between Iran and world powers under Donald Trump, returning Washington’s unlawful sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The trio then failed to live up to their promise of bringing Washington back into the deal.

Reacting to the counter-party’s non-commitment to its obligations, Tehran initiated a set of retaliatory nuclear steps, including by activating more advanced centrifuges.

The country has been stepping up the measures in response to the other parties’ continued refusal to uphold their obligations.

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

US firms lost $300 billion by leaving Russia: Investment Fund CEO

RT | February 18, 2025

US companies lost more than $300 billion by leaving the Russian market amid Ukraine-related sanctions, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has said. He noted that Moscow and Washington need to reestablish dialogue to jointly solve problems that affect both economies.

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the West slapped Russia with unprecedented sanctions aimed at destabilizing the country’s economy and forcing Moscow to end its military operation. The measures, coupled with Moscow’s countersanctions, led many Western firms to divest from their businesses in Russia, losing billions in investment and profits. According to estimates from the Yale University School of Management, over 1,000 foreign firms have voluntarily curtailed operations in Russia to some degree since February 2022.

“US businesses lost over $300 billion from leaving the Russian market,” Dmitriev told CNN on Tuesday, ahead of the first direct Russia-US negotiations over the Ukraine conflict in Saudi Arabia. The figure is nearly equal to the amount of Russian central bank assets frozen in the West as part of sanctions.

The official noted that given such hefty losses, lifting sanctions would be in the interests of the US as well as Russia.

“What we want is good dialogue… finding joint economic ways to solve problems is extremely important, mainly for the US,” Dmitriev stated.

Commenting on the Russia-US talks, Dmitriev said “the entire globe is waiting to see whether the US and Russia will be able to improve relations.”

“Our better relations will allow us to solve a large number of global tasks and problems that the world faces,” added the official, who will be responsible for the economic aspect of the talks as part of the Russian team.

“I think it’s very important to build bridges. I think US-Russia relations are very important for the world. I think it’s very important that the US and Russia cooperate.”

Dmitriev noted that Moscow was already in contact with members of US President Donald Trump’s administration ahead of the talks, and considers them “great problem solvers.” He said that signals from Washington have so far been positive, with Trump and his team indicating they want to reestablish dialogue.

The talks in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were proposed following last week’s phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While neither head of state is expected to attend the talks, they are being conducted by high-level officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Neither Ukrainian nor EU diplomats will be present at the meeting.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier explained that the location for the talks was selected because it suited both countries. He added that the meeting would be devoted to “restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” and laying the groundwork for a Trump-Putin summit.

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Economics | , | Leave a comment

EU to uphold Russia sanctions regardless of US – commissioner

RT | February 18, 2025

The EU has no plans to lift sanctions against Russia even if the US decides to do so, and is working on the next raft of measures, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has said.

The bloc has proposed a 16th round of sanctions on Russia to be imposed next week for the third anniversary of the start of the Russian military operation against Ukraine on February 24. Along with the US, the EU has slapped numerous rounds of sanctions on Russia since 2022 in a bid to isolate the country, cutting it off from the Western financial system and freezing its foreign reserves.

Asked if the EU would lift its sanctions on Russia if the US eases its restrictions in exchange for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, Dombrovskis stated that Brussels would pursue an independent sanctions policy.

“It’s very clear with the moves of the current Trump administration that the EU will have to take issues related to the EU’s security more in its own hands. It also concerns the sanctions policy as you know the work continues on preparing the 16th package,” the commissioner said.

Last month, the EU extended its existing sanctions against Russia until the end of July. The restrictions already target a broad range of sectors and include trade embargoes, travel bans, and individual sanctions against Russian businessmen and public officials.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with Franceinfo on Tuesday that the EU’s upcoming batch of measures will primarily target Russia’s energy sector.

Barrot claimed the new package aims to “force [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table,” adding that the EU will continue to “raise the cost of the war” for Moscow. The sanctions will also target countries that facilitate bypassing the restrictions, the minister said.

Earlier this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban renewed calls on the EU to lift its sanctions on Russia in order to align the bloc’s policies with the new US government. Budapest has long criticized Brussels’ approach to the Ukraine conflict as being incapable of ending hostilities and damaging to the bloc’s member states.

Last week, Orban predicted that Russia will be “reintegrated” into the world economy and the European energy system once the Ukraine conflict ends.

Moscow has condemned Western sanctions as illegal, repeatedly arguing that they have failed to destabilize Russia’s economy or isolate it from the global financial system.

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

Ukraine attacks US-linked facilities in Russia

By Lucas Leiroz | February 18, 2025

The Kiev regime continues its escalatory measures in an attempt to undermine the diplomatic process between Russia and the West. In an unprecedented act, the Ukrainian armed forces bombed a facility linked to American companies on internationally recognized Russian territory. The incident is considered a serious escalation in the conflict, as for the first time the Kiev regime has shown itself capable of taking extreme measures in retaliation against its closest ally.

Kiev recently launched a large-scale drone attack on an oil pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The facility is partially owned by the American group Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). It is still too early to know the full extent of the damage caused by the attack, but it is known that productivity levels have been at least partially affected. The most affected parties are US trading partners in the West, since, despite being located on Russian territory, the facility is not used to pump domestically consumed oil, but to facilitate the export of Kazakh oil.

It is also worth emphasizing that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the oil pumped at this station is the State of Israel itself, one of Washington’s biggest allies. Tel Aviv receives a large amount of Kazakh oil that is pumped and exported through Russian critical infrastructure in Krasnodar, and the US is deeply involved in this trade process. In fact, Ukraine has severely damaged American and Israeli business with its latest attack on “deep” Russian territory, which is why it is expected to have a major impact on relations between the Kiev regime and the Collective West.

The continuation of Western business in Russia after sanctions is not a widely known issue in public opinion. Despite the open rhetoric in favor of commercial “isolation” of Russia, several Western companies have refused to give up their profits and, behind the scenes, continue to operate on Russian soil. This is the case of the American businessmen involved in the CPC oil project – as well as several European energy companies that continue to buy Russian gas, oil despite publicly supporting sanctions.

In many cases, business operates independently of political and military matters. Businessmen interested in personal profits make deals and invest in projects abroad without any regard for the political policies of their home countries. This is why there is still an American – and even European – commercial presence in Russia, and it is unlikely to disappear in the near future.

It is naive to believe that Ukrainian intelligence did not deliberately plan this attack on American infrastructure. Obviously, the Junta’s high officials knew in advance about the involvement of American companies in the oil activities in Krasnodar, which is why this facility was chosen as a target precisely now – at a time when Washington is beginning to change its stance on the war and support peace negotiations.

Some experts believe that the Ukrainian initiative was a serious mistake. Although it is still too early to predict the consequences of the attack, the incursion will have a high political cost for the Kiev regime, with officials involved in the operation almost certainly being punished.

“Ukraine’s large-scale drone attack against the partially US-owned CPC will therefore probably end up being something that it comes to regret. It would be premature to describe it as a game-changer, but it couldn’t have occurred as a worse time for Ukraine given the ongoing Russian-US talks over that country. Whoever orchestrated and approved of this attack might even lose their jobs or worse considering how detrimental it’ll foreseeably end up being for Ukraine’s interests at this pivotal moment in the conflict,” political analyst Andrew Korybko said.

Indeed, regardless of the regime’s officials behind the attacks, it is undeniable that the timing of the operation was carefully planned. Relations between Washington and Kiev have been in crisis since the election of Donald Trump, as the Republican politician promises to achieve peace with Russia. The neo-Nazi regime is desperate, as the corruption schemes involving foreign money in Ukraine depend on the continuation of hostilities.

It is possible that Ukraine has taken the bold, dangerous and disastrous step of deliberately attacking its closest ally, just to try to sabotage diplomacy and continue the war. If these provocations continue, instead of achieving its goals, Kiev will only further accelerate its own collapse.

Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

February 18, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

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