Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

Putin Says Russia Ready to ‘Return to the Table’ to End Ukraine War

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | February 19, 2025

President Vladimir Putin celebrated the talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. He said the Kremlin was prepared to engage in bringing the war in Ukraine to an end.

According to Interfax, on Wednesday, Putin lauded the first round of talks between the US and Russia before saying Moscow is willing to engage with Kiev on ending the war in Ukraine. “Yes, I have been informed. I rate them highly, there are results,” he said. “In my opinion, we made the first step to restore work in various areas of mutual interests.”

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia. Rubio said the two sides agreed to normalize diplomatic relations and work to end the war in Ukraine.

Putin explained while US involvement in talks was required, he was willing to engage with the Ukrainians. “No one is excluding Ukraine,” he said. “We are not imposing anything on anyone. We are ready, I have already said this a hundred times – if they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations.”

On Tuesday, the Kremlin said Putin would be willing to speak with Ukrainian President Zelensky. On Wednesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelenksy is a “dictator” who has done a “terrible job.”

While ending the war is a top priority, both Washington and Moscow have indicated that the two superpowers have a range of issues to discuss. Arms control is at a historic low point, and talks on nuclear weapons treaties halted during the latter years of the Joe Biden presidency. The last remaining nuclear arms control agreement, the New Start Treaty, is set to expire in a year.

February 20, 2025 Posted by | 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

Zelensky accuses Trump of repeating ‘Russian disinformation’

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky © Mert Gokhankoc / dia images via Getty Images
RT | February 19, 2025

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim regarding his approval rating as Russian disinformation, saying that a majority of Ukrainians trust his leadership.

During a press conference after a high-level meeting between American and Russian officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Zelensky’s approval rating in Ukraine is 4%. The Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KMIS) said on Wednesday, however, that in a survey in January, 57% of Ukrainians expressed trust in Zelensky, an increase from 54% the previous month.

Zelensky referenced the Ukrainian pollster’s report as evidence against Trump’s skepticism about public support for him. He noted that Ukrainian officials “are aware of this disinformation and recognize that it is coming from Russia,” without providing specific sources. He stressed that “if anyone wants to replace me right now, it’s not going to happen.”

He also urged Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who is currently visiting Kiev, to “speak to the people and ask them if they trust their president, whether they trust [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. Let him ask them about Trump” and his remarks.

In his comments, Trump pointed to the absence of elections in Ukraine due to Zelensky’s declaration of martial law. “I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval.” He characterized the situation in Ukraine as dire, saying it has been “blown to smithereens” and is nearly impossible to live in.

Although Zelensky’s presidential term expired last year, he has not transferred authority to the parliament speaker, as mandated by the Ukrainian Constitution.

Zelensky has argued that holding an election under the current circumstances is both legally and technically infeasible, and that Ukrainians would oppose it amid the conflict with Russia. He also claimed that if an election were held, he would secure a second term. Recent opinion polls, however, suggest that he would lose to retired General Valery Zaluzhny in a runoff.

Russian officials have expressed concern regarding Zelensky’s legitimacy, saying that any international treaties he signs could be challenged. Moscow has indicated a willingness to negotiate peace with Zelensky, yet remains skeptical of his ability to finalize any agreements.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties | , | 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

How USAID Assisted the Corporate Takeover of Ukrainian Agriculture

By John Klar | Brownstone Institute | February 19, 2025

A recent essay titled “The Real Purpose of Net Zero” by Jefferey Jaxon posited that Europe’s current war against farmers in the name of preventing climate change is ultimately designed to inflict famine. Jaxon is not speculating on globalist motives; he is warning humanity of a rapidly unfolding reality that is observable in the perverse lies against cows, denigration of European farmers as enemies of the Earth, and calls by the WHO, WEF, and UN for a plant-based diet dependent entirely on GMOs, synthetic fertilizers, and agrichemicals.

Revelations about the evil doings of the Orwellian-monikered “United States Agency of International Development” (USAID) reveal a roadmap to totalitarian control unwittingly funded by America’s taxpaying proles. USAID’s clandestine machinations have long focused on controlling local and global food supplies as “soft colonization” by multinational chemical, agricultural, and financial corporations. European farmers revolting against climate, wildlife, and animal rights policies are harbingers of this tightening globalist noose.

The roots of the current globalist plan to “save humanity from climate change” link directly to the infamous Kissinger Report, which called to control world food supplies and agriculture as part of a globalist collaboration between nation-states and NGOs to advance US national security interests and “save the world” from human overpopulation using “fertility reduction technologies.” Kissinger’s 1974 Report was created by USAID, the CIA, and various federal agencies, including the USDA.

Fast forward to the 2003 Iraq War, justified using fear-mongering propaganda about weapons of mass destruction and neo-conservative malarky about rescuing the Iraqi people. The US-led occupation of Iraq became a rapacious profiteering smorgasbord for colonizing corporations husbanded by USAID. Iraq is heir to the birthplace of human civilization, made possible by early Mesopotamian agriculture: many of the grains, fruits, and vegetables that now feed the world were developed there. Iraq’s farmers saved back 97% of their seed stocks from their own harvests before the US invasion. Under Paul Bremer, Rule 81 (never fully implemented) sought to institute GMO cropping and patented seed varieties, as Cargill, Monsanto, and other corporations descended upon the war-ravaged nation using American tax dollars and USAID.

That playbook was more quietly implemented during the Ukraine War, once again orchestrated by USAID. Before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Ukraine was the breadbasket of Europe, prohibiting GMO technologies and restricting land ownership to Ukrainians. Within months of US intervention, USAID assisted in the dismantling of these protections in the name of “land reforms,” free markets, financial support, improved agricultural efficiency, and rescuing the Ukrainian people. In just two years, over half of Ukraine’s farmland became the property of foreign investors. GMO seeds and drone technology were “donated” by Bayer Corporation, and companies such as GMO seed-seller Syngenta and German chemical manufacturer BASF became the dominant agricultural “stakeholders” in war-torn Ukraine. Russia may withdraw, but Ukraine’s foreign debts, soil degradation, and soft colonization will remain.

The UN, WTO, WHO, and WEF all conspire to peddle a false narrative that cows and peasant farmers are destroying the planet, and that chemical-dependent GMO monocropping, synthetic fertilizers, and patented fake meats and bug burgers must be implemented post haste (by force if necessary) to rescue humanity. The argument that pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (manufactured from natural gas, aka methane) are salvific is patently false. They are, however, highly profitable for chemical companies like Bayer, Dow, and BASF.

Jefferey Jaxon is exactly correct. The Netherlands committed to robust agricultural development following a Nazi embargo that deliberately inflicted mass famine following their collaboration with Allied Forces in Operation Market Garden. France boasts the highest cow population in all of Europe. Ireland’s culture is tightly linked to farming as part of its trauma during the (British-assisted) Irish Potato Famine. The corporate/NGO cabal now uprooting and targeting farmers in these nations and across the EU in the name of staving off climate change and preserving wildlife is a direct outcropping of Kissinger’s grand dystopian scheme launched through USAID in 1974.

Americans watch European farmer protests from afar, largely oblivious that most all of US agriculture was absorbed by the Big Ag Borg generations ago. Currency control linked to a (political, environmental, and economic) social credit scorecard promises the fruition of Kissinger’s demonic plan: “Control the food, control the people.”

Modern humans suffer a double hubris that blinds them to the contemplation of the truth of Jaxon’s hypothesis: a cultish trust in technology, coupled with an irrational faith in their self-perceived moral superiority to past civilizations (Wendell Berry calls this “historical pride”). Yet, as long as mankind has had the capacity to harm another for personal gain, humans have devised ways to control food for power or profit. Siege warfare generally depended on starving defenders of castle walls into submission.

Even if globalist food control proposals are well-intentioned, a monolithic, monocultured, industrial-dependent worldwide food system is a lurking humanitarian disaster. Berry observed:

In a highly centralized and industrialized food-supply system there can be no small disaster. Whether it be a production “error” or a corn blight, the disaster is not foreseen until it exists; it is not recognized until it is widespread.

The current push to dominate global food production using industrial systems is the cornerstone of complete globalist dominion over all of humanity. The “Mark of the Beast” without which no American will buy or sell goods – including guns, bullets, or factory-grown hamburgers and cricket patties – is mere steps away. Mr. Jaxon is correct that these leaders “know these basic historical and current facts,” and that “[f]armers are becoming endangered because of government [climate] policy … and it’s being allowed to happen.” USAID has been actively seeding and watering this dystopia for decades.

Klaus Schwab and Bill Gates are as fully cognizant of this fundamental truth as Henry Kissinger was in 1974. USAID has aided all three. Having lost almost all of their small farms over the last century, Americans are well ahead of Europeans in their near-complete dependence on industrial food.

That’s the plan.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , , , , | 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

EU Elites Are in Panic Over the US Leaving Ukraine and Europe

Professor Glenn Diesen & Pascal Lottaz
Glenn Diesen | February 17, 2025

I had a conversation with Pascal Lottaz at Neutrality Studies regarding the panic in the EU as the US made it clear it no longer considers Europe to be a priority. For years, the Europeans failed to establish the continent as an independent pole of power by neglecting to define their security and economic interests separate from the US. Europe is subsequently now a divided continent at war, in economic decline and with diminishing relevance in the world. The US must address multipolar realities by restoring a workable relationship with Russia and pivoting toward Asia. The comfortable ideological bubble has been burst, yet there is still a reluctance to deal with uncomfortable realities.

February 19, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Progressive Hypocrite, Russophobia, Video | , , , | 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

UK and EU ‘incapable of negotiation’ – Moscow

RT | February 17, 2025

The UK and EU cannot be part of the Ukraine peace talks, as they are incapable of negotiating, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia has said.

The diplomat made the comments as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Yury Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for bilateral talks with top US diplomats, discussions to which the EU and Ukraine are not invited.

“The Minsk guarantors, and in general EU states and the UK are incapable of negotiation and cannot be a party to any future agreements on regulating the Ukrainian crisis,” Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Both are blinded by “a manic desire to defeat Russia on the battlefield at the hands of the surviving Ukrainians,” the diplomat said. Neither EU countries nor the UK are suitable to serve “as either guarantors or middlemen” to a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, he added.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for ending the hostilities, Keith Kellogg, has also noted that European states have no place in upcoming peace talks. France and Germany served as the Western guarantors of the failed Minsk accord, a deal supposedly aimed at stopping hostilities between Ukraine and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has since admitted the ceasefire was intended to buy time for Kiev to build up strength.

While previously both the US and its allies in Europe have shown a united front in backing Ukraine in its conflict with Russia since its escalation in 2022, Washington has touted a pivot under Trump. The new US president has promised to bring a swift end to the hostilities, while simultaneously signaling that Europe should begin to shoulder more of the cost of its own security, as well as Ukraine’s.

The Russian diplomatic delegation in Riyadh is expected to prepare the ground for an upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin, following tomorrow’s initial bilateral involving senior diplomats form both sides.

Moscow is coming to the negotiations primarily to “hear out” Washington regarding the Ukraine conflict, as well as to restore communication after “an absolutely abnormal period” in Russia-US relations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The top diplomat has previously stressed that Moscow will reject any attempt to temporarily freeze the Ukraine conflict, as Kiev’s Western backers would use such a measure to rearm Kiev. Any solution to the hostilities would need to have an ironclad legal basis and address the root causes of the conflict, Lavrov has said.

February 17, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Progressive Hypocrite | , , , , | Leave a comment

Zelensky demands Israel-style guarantees, immediate EU membership

The Ukrainian leader also insists on a “strong package of missiles” and an army to equal Russia’s

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky © Getty Images / Foto Olimpik; NurPhoto
RT | February 17, 2025

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has outlined a wish list of security guarantees that he wants to be included in a peace agreement with Russia in an interview with NBC News. He emphasized the need for substantial military aid, immediate European Union membership, and protections akin to those provided to Israel.

His demands come as Russia and the US are expected to hold talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, dedicated to finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Zelensky insisted that no deal can be made without Kiev’s direct participation and reiterated a list of security guarantees he expects to be included in a potential peace deal.

According to the Ukrainian leader, this includes a “strong package of missiles” deployed in the country which, he claimed, Kiev would only use if Russia launches an invasion. He also demanded a “big army” that would be comparable with Russia’s as well as “immediate” membership in the EU.

Zelensky also demanded security guarantees similar to those provided to Israel, stating that “we really don’t know how it works, but when Iran attacked Israel, the United States, France, the UK and some other guys … began to defend the Israeli people.”

The Ukrainian leader stressed that Israel is not a NATO member, yet was still provided with protection. He insisted that Kiev should be offered similar protection, apparently suggesting that NATO members should pledge to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, Zelensky voiced similar demands after the US said that Kiev’s goal of NATO membership was “unrealistic.” Then, Zelensky stated that Kiev would need an army of some 1.5 million soldiers if it is left out of the bloc.

“If Ukraine is not in NATO, it means that Ukraine will build NATO on its territory. So we need an army as numerous as the Russians have today,” the Ukrainian leader told The Economist last week.

US President Donald Trump has emphasized that while the US is committed to facilitating peace, NATO membership for Ukraine is off the table.

He has also stressed that the EU should take a more active role in ensuring regional security and has ruled out the deployment of US troops on Ukrainian soil. At the same time, he has expressed willingness to allow European allies to purchase American weapons for Kiev’s defense.

Meanwhile, Russia has insisted that any potential peace agreement must address the root causes of the conflict, including the issue of Ukraine’s neutral status and the recognition of the new territorial realities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump are reportedly set to meet later this month with delegations from Washington and Moscow already working in Riyadh to set up the summit.

February 17, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

Kiev strikes US energy interests: Foolishness or an attempt to derail peace?

By Timur Tarkhanov | RT | February 17, 2025

The recent Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station is a reckless, irresponsible, and potentially criminal act that threatens ongoing diplomatic efforts between the United States and Russia. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio leads a US delegation to Saudi Arabia for high-stakes negotiations aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict, such aggressive actions jeopardize the fragile path toward peace and reveal Ukraine’s disregard for international norms and its own supporters’ interests.

The Kropotkinskaya station, operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), is a critical infrastructure component that primarily facilitates the export of Kazakh oil – much of which is produced by American and European companies – through Russia to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. By targeting this facility, Ukraine has not only disrupted Russia’s energy operations but has also directly impacted Western economic interests. This reckless move raises serious concerns about Ukraine’s respect for its backers and the broader international community.

The timing of this attack is particularly concerning. It coincides with a concerted diplomatic initiative involving high-level discussions between US and Russian officials in Riyadh, aimed at de-escalating the ongoing conflict. Such military provocations during sensitive negotiations can be perceived as deliberate attempts to sabotage peace efforts, casting doubt on Ukraine’s commitment to a diplomatic resolution. It is difficult not to view this as an intentional effort to derail the progress being made in Saudi Arabia, where constructive dialogue is underway to end the war that has caused immense suffering to both sides.

Ukraine’s drone strike on Kropotkinskaya is not an isolated incident. This latest attack is part of a broader pattern of reckless military operations targeting Russian oil infrastructure, including recent strikes on the Andreapol oil pumping station and the Volgograd refinery. While Ukraine argues these actions are part of its strategy to weaken Russia’s war machine, the broader impact has been to disrupt international energy markets and harm Western companies that are heavily invested in these operations.

In 2024 alone, the CPC transported 62.4 million tons of oil, with over 88% originating from Kazakhstan. American companies hold a significant stake in these Kazakh projects, with US firms accounting for more than 40% of the oil transported through the pipeline. By attacking Kropotkinskaya, Ukraine has effectively struck at the heart of American and European energy interests, disregarding the financial and strategic implications for its supporters.

This raises uncomfortable questions about Ukraine’s true intentions. Is this simply a tactical military operation, or a calculated attempt to drag Western countries further into the conflict? The US has provided billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war. Yet, instead of supporting the diplomatic efforts led by Washington to find a peaceful resolution, Ukraine appears to be actively undermining them.

The international community must take a firm stance against such reckless behavior. Ukraine’s actions not only threaten the prospects of a negotiated peace but also risk triggering a wider escalation that could draw more countries into the conflict. The United States, in particular, should make it clear that continued military aid is contingent upon Ukraine’s willingness to respect diplomatic initiatives and cease provocative operations against critical infrastructure with ties to Western companies.

Ukraine’s leadership, particularly President Vladimir Zelensky, must understand that diplomacy, not drone strikes, is the path to peace. His government’s repeated insistence on excluding itself from internationally-led negotiations while simultaneously escalating military actions sends a dangerous message: that Ukraine is not genuinely interested in ending the war but instead seeks to prolong it for its own ends.

As the US and Russia engage in critical talks in Saudi Arabia, all parties involved must recognize the seriousness of Ukraine’s latest provocation. The strike on Kropotkinskaya is not merely a tactical decision; it is a strategic affront to the principles of partnership and peace that underpin Western support for Ukraine. The world cannot afford to turn a blind eye to such actions. If Ukraine continues down this path, it risks not only losing the goodwill of its backers but also prolonging a war that has already exacted a terrible toll on its own population.

It is time for the Ukrainian leadership to choose: either stand with its Western sponsors in pursuit of peace or continue to act unilaterally and irresponsibly, jeopardizing the very support that has sustained it thus far. The stakes are too high, and the world is watching closely.

February 17, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

America’s ‘Democratic’ Allies Are Becoming More Authoritarian

By Ted Galen Carpenter | The Libertarian Institute | February 17, 2025

U.S. officials have a long history of portraying Washington’s allies and clients as democratic, even when their behavior is blatantly authoritarian. Such cynical hypocrisy was at its zenith during the Cold War, but it is surging again.

A similar trend is evident with respect to U.S. interference in the internal political affairs of other countries through such mechanisms as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Such agencies fund regimes and political movements that are deemed obedient to Washington’s wishes and supportive of American foreign policy objectives.  Conversely, U.S. administrations actively undermine governments or movements that they consider hostile or even just insufficiently cooperative. The actual nature of U.S. clients often is a far cry from the carefully crafted democratic image of them that Washington circulates.

A recent example of American meddling in the internal affairs of another democratic country appears to have taken place in the Republic of Georgia. According to Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, USAID spent $41.7 million to support its preferred candidates in the country’s recent parliamentary elections. Adjusted for the size of Georgia’s population, such an expenditure in the United States would amount to $3.78 billion,

The U.S. track record in Georgia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union lends credibility to the speaker’s accusation that Washington is meddling in his country’s internal political affairs. President George W. Bush fawned with praise for Mikheil Saakashvili, the leader of Georgia’s “rose revolution” in 2003. Under Saakashvili, Georgia had become a “beacon of liberty,” Bush crowed. Generous flows of aid from Washington ensued. However, massive corruption soon characterized Saakashvili’s rule, as did his growing repression of political opponents. Ultimately, Saakashvili’s adversaries ousted Washington’s beloved “democratic” client from power.

The contrast between the laudatory American portrayal of Saakashvili as a paragon of democratic reform and the reality of his conduct was stark. However, Washington’s role in Ukraine over the years has been even more pervasive and dishonest. Although Ukraine’s president, Victor Yanukovych, came to office in a 2010 election that even a team of European Union (EU) observers conceded was reasonably free and fair, officials in Barack Obama’s administration, especially Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, worked to undermine his presidency. Yanukovych’s preference for closer economic ties with Russia instead of the EU and the United States apparently was intolerable to Western policymakers.

In 2014, the United States and key NATO partners helped Ukrainian demonstrators (primarily in Kiev’s Maidan Square) force Yanukovych to flee. An intercepted telephone call between Nuland and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine confirmed the massive extent of Washington’s interference in Ukraine’s affairs. Nuland herself later admitted that the United States had poured more than $5 billion to Ukrainian groups in the years before the Maidan uprising. Supposedly, the purpose was to “promote democracy,” but as usual, the funds went almost entirely to groups Washington considered supportive of U.S. policies. It would be hard to identify a more flagrant case of outside interference in the affairs of another country.

Even if U.S. leaders sincerely intended their largesse to bring a stronger, healthier democracy to Ukraine—which is extremely doubtful—Washington did not achieve that goal. Corruption and blatant repression have become increasingly bad under the post-Maidan governments. Even though U.S. leaders invariably portray Ukraine’s current president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a democratic champion, his record proves the opposite. Under his rule, Ukraine has outlawed opposition parties, muzzled the press, harassed uncooperative churches, and amassed a record of arbitrary imprisonment and torture. Much of that abuse was evident before the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia. Confirming that any attempt to portray Zelensky’s rule as democratic is a hypocritical farce, Ukraine has now postponed elections indefinitely.

The rot of hypocrisy and covert authoritarianism has infected even governments in NATO and the European Union. A grotesque example occurred earlier this month in Romania when an election commission dominated by the two governing parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD and the National Liberal Party (PNL), annulled the first round of the presidential election held on November 24. Instead of the candidates of those two parties advancing to the second round runoff as expected, neither one did so. Instead, Caliin Georgescu, the candidate of a right-wing populist party led the field. Elena Lasconi, a reformer representing another “minor” party took the other runoff spot.

That outcome apparently was intolerable to Romania’s political establishment or its supporters in the EU and the United States. They viewed Georgescu as especially unacceptable, since he openly criticized NATO and opposed continuing to aid Ukraine. The country’s election commission nullified the voting results and rescheduled the first round balloting for May 4, 2025. Commissioners charged that, wait for it… Russia had illegally tampered with the election! Moscow’s horrid offense was its alleged support of a Tik Tok campaign that seemed to benefit Georgescu. Tangible evidence regarding Russian involvement was noticeably absent. Despite the lack of evidence, U.S. and EU officials denounced Russia and praised the Romanian government for trashing the election.

Eugene Doyle, a reporter for New Zealand’s Solidarity.com, noted the menacing significance of this episode. “To save democracy, the US and the European elites appear to have found it necessary to destroy democracy. For the first time ever an election was overturned in an EU/NATO country. Ever,” he wrote. Doyle also cites evidence that Russia was not even the likely culprit. The Tik Tok effort apparently originated with a botched PNL scheme to siphon off votes to Georgescu from other mainstream competitors.

Moreover, as Doyle points out, “Even if the Russians did it, in what crazy world would you wipe an election for a Tik Tok campaign, particularly one that was at best a few hundred thousands of dollars’ worth of advertising/messaging/ chatting—in contrast to the millions of dollars the U.S. State Department and various branches of the U.S. government spent on the same campaign?”

The answer is that it would happen in a world where political elites in the United States and its principal allies have never really been committed to democracy. Not as a domestic governing principle and definitely not as a foreign policy objective. Instead, the alleged commitment is a propaganda tool that is discarded whenever it becomes inconvenient. We live in such a world, and have done so for many years.

February 17, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Corruption, Deception, Progressive Hypocrite | , , , , , | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »