The IOC’s decision to ban the Russian flag and anthem from the Winter Olympics is grossly discriminatory and makes no legal or moral sense by Alexander Mercouris (cross-posted with Russia Feed by special agreement with the author) In the first half of 2016, shortly before the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Professor Richard McLaren at the request of WADA published his preliminary report on sports doping in Russia.
Putin’s Syrian withdrawal announcement: neither a full Russian withdrawal nor victory in Syria by Alexander Mercouris (cross-posted with The Duran by special agreement with the author) At a time when President Putin is undertaking a tour of the Middle East it would have been politically speaking extremely unwise for him not to have made a stop-over to meet the Russian troops at the Khmeimim air base whom Putin himself sent
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran Chinese President Xi Jinping sends personal message of friendship to Russian President Putin on China’s behalf, scotching attempt by US to make trouble between them. Russia’s President Putin has met in the Oval Hall of the Kremlin with Li Zhanshu, Director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, and chief of staff of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting was held
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran Ukraine’s case in the ICJ looks like a device to avoid paying the likely High Court Judgment for payment of the $3 billion debt Ukraine owes Russia The case Ukraine is bringing in the International Court of Justice is attracting scant international attention and has been almost entirely ignored by Western governments and by the Western media. Having said this it is an interesting
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran Whilst the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement offers the best route to peace in Syria, and in theory gives the Syrian army the space to rebuild and to take the war to Al-Qaeda and ISIS, its success ultimately depends too much on the commitment of Turkish President Erdogan to invest too much hope in its success. As my colleague Adam Garrie has previously reported, on 31st
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran The Saker has written an article on the subject of the recent murder in the Donetsk People’s Republic of the militia leader Motorola. In it he calls for the Russian authorities to take over the investigation of Motorola’s murder and to take steps to ensure security in the Donbass. Normally I avoid expressing views on these sort of issues, but on this occasion I
Note by the Saker: I have to admit that I still am rather puzzled by the Turkish “invasion” of Syria. There are several hypotheses about what the Turks are really up to and what their real goal is. Since my friends Alexander Mercouris and Mark Sleboda seem to have a much better understanding of what is happening than I, I submit to your attention their analysis rather than to exposes
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran Evidence is mounting that the Russians are cranking up to resume large scale bombing in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo. The background is an agreement which was concluded by the US and the Russians in February. This called for a “cessation of hostilities” between the various Syrian factions in return for which Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria was to be scaled down.
by Alexander Mercouris for the Duran As the Russian government weathers a period of unpopularity caused by the recession, there is talk that Putin is about to purge his cabinet, but this is almost certainly wrong. An article has recently appeared in The Huffington Post which discusses rumours of an imminent purge of liberals from Russia’s government. According to this view Russia’s President Putin is coming under increasing pressure from
by Alexander Mercouris for The Duran The announcement that former Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin has been appointed deputy head of Russian President Putin’s Council of Economic Advisers has provoked a stir. This is not surprising. Few individuals in Russian politics polarise opinion as strongly as Kudrin does. Kudrin’s admirers are to be found in the business community, amongst liberal economists and amongst people of generally elite backgrounds and liberal views. Amongst people of
Dear friends, As some of you might have already heard from the social media, Peter Lavelle and Alexander Mercouris have decided to create a new media ressource: The Duran which can be found at http://theduran.com/ Since I consider both Peter and Alexander as friends and crucial brothers in arms, I am delighted to see them team up and create a new member of our “network of resistance”. As soon as
by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider Increasingly frantic diplomatic efforts by European leaders show growing desperation to settle Ukrainian crisis before failure of sanctions policy becomes obvious. As the political situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate – with the government paralysed as a result of the power struggle between Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk – the Europeans are becoming increasingly desperate. They are also becoming increasingly frustrated with the Ukrainians whose intransigence
by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider sources: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/un-security-council-resolution-2268-russia-gets-resolution-it-wanted/ri13102 http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/syrian-peace-plan-us-seethes-its-humiliation-russia/ri13097 Russia obtain a further UN Security Council Resolution conforming with the “cessation of hostilities” agreement Russia negotiated with the US – this time with American support A week ago, amidst Turkish shelling of Kurdish positions in Syria and talk of a Turkish invasion, the Russians proposed a Resolution to the UN Security Council reaffirming Syria’s sovereignty. The Resolution was blocked by
[Note by the Saker: I do not believe that Russia has made such a threat and I will post my reasons for this in the next 24 hours. However, I might be wrong and Mercouris and Perry right, I therefore feel like I should post this analysis] Reports say a source close to Putin claims Russia warned Erdogan of readiness to use tactical nuclear weapons to defend Russian strike force
In an article in a British newspaper Russia’s ambassador to the UK reveals the Russians were told by the Western powers that after the US proclaimed a no-fly zone ISIS would capture Damascus by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russias-ambassador-uk-drops-bombshell-us-expected-isis-seize-damascus-october/ri12860 Alexander Yakovenko, Russia’s ambassador to Britain, dropped something of a bombshell on Monday, though one that has gone completely unnoticed. In a piece in the print edition of the London
Foreign Minister Lavrov’s press conference shows that Russian government at all levels rejects US attempts to re-write terms of Minsk II Agreement for Ukrainian conflict settlement by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider Dr. Gilbert Doctorow has recently provided a masterly discussion of Lavrov’s recent January press conference. Lavrov’s press conference touched on one of the strangest and most mysterious diplomatic meetings to have happened so far this year. This was
by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/litvinenko-inquiry-was/ri12452 Despite twisting the evidence and throwing legal procedure out of the window it failed to show the Russian authorities killed Litvinenko. It could only say “probably” – an absurd verdict the evidence contradicts. What follows is a long and very detailed 11,000 word expert legal analysis of the Litvinenko inquiry by Russia Insider‘s International Affairs Editor, who was a practicing lawyer for 12
The lifting of sanctions is an unequivocal victory for Iran, sealing its regional position, and leaving its nuclear capability intact by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider. Confirmation that international sanctions on Iran have at last been lifted is unequivocally a victory for Iran. The sanctions should never have been imposed in the first place. As I said in April last year in an article I wrote for Sputnik, the evidence
by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider source: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/putin-talks-bild-zeitung/ri12178 Putin used Russia’s Christmas break to give an interview for the German tabloid Bild-Zeitung (see here and here). Unusually for the Western media, the German interviewers proved to be both well-informed and intelligent and avoided cliches, giving Putin a good opportunity to explain himself concisely on a wide range of topics. The fact the interviewers from Bild-Zeitung conducted the interview so intelligently
