This was expected for quite a while now, but nonetheless, this is huge news: the Biden Admin has given up on US plans to prevent the NS2 from being completed. Not only that but, apparently, Blinken wants the Ukies to stop bitching about NS2.
Yet another “ally” betrayed by Uncle Shmuel when needed. True. And, tonight, the Ukro nationalists are busy mixing mourning, hysterics and vague promises/threats to “do something about this”.
Still, good news. This might well be the first time Europe has shown some tiny little balls, but maybe they will now start growing, God knows the EU needs them :-)
Yet another proof that the Empire is already dead and the USA in agony.
The Saker
Hilarious – tiny balls indeed!
Balls?
Zelensky is a bigger dick than you may realise.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2-UiadUOrfk
Samuli Koski-Laulaja https://youtu.be/H5ANCC5CowU
They perfomanced it a lot of times
Another Zelensky’s stupid joke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J-SNyqNc_E
The clear reference is “has” not “is”.
Nope. “Has” would not be appropriate. IS is just fine, cause Zelensky IS a dick. See, “has dick” is anatomical feature, “IS dick” is more of personality description.
:-)
How long will it take / how bad will it get, before the rest of the Ukraine comes back to Mother?
(I cannot tell the difference between the languages Ukrainian and Russian. I am not fluent in many languages, but you know, French and German and Spanish just sound different, and you can tell, without understanding the words. Russian and Ukrainian sound the same to me.)
How long will it take / how bad will it get, before the rest of the Ukraine comes back to Mother?
I don’t think that Russia wants the entire Ukraine to rejoin Russia.
Crimea is Russian forever and Russia will *never* allow anybody to invade it again.
The LDNR will go to Russia for sure.
There are still parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions which need to be liberated.
The same is probably true for the Mariupol-Berdiansk-Kherson-Nikolaev-Odessa coastline.
Ditto for Transdniestria, in one way or another.
In the long term, Kazakhastan might decide to confederate with Russia (but not for a while).
That’s it.
Russia has no need for a broken, failed, Nazi-fucked-up Ukraine. None.
Ditto for the 3B – nobody needs them.
My 2cts
The Saker
Russia may not need the whole of Ukraine now (certainly not the Western part, the former Galicia), but it remains to be seen what will happen in the future.
When it comes to Ukraine, it is not a question if the country will collapse, but when. When Yanukovich was in power, the population of the country was 50 million. Analysts are now not sure if the population is 36 million or 25 million. Also, since 2017 they have been stating that Ukraine will break up into three parts. What then ? Will Russia sit back and watch, or will it react ?
” … it is not a question if the country will collapse ..” Truth to tell I think it collapsed way back in 2014. The poorest country in Europe has just about been kept alive on an IMF drip-feed ever since, but even they have now run out of patience with this crackpot regime. Just goes to show how totalitarian systems of government never last.
Why do you think NATO just went in and ‘practiced’ their fragmentation mitigation plans?
Exactly to have the response strategy ready to inhibit such a natural and organic re-organization.
But strangely enough, the IMF is delivering another $2.4 billion tranche, no strings attached, which might silence Zelensky’s hysterical tantrums for a few minutes..
Let me remind you that the West installed this “crackpot regime”. West has nothing to contact complain about! This is what Europe gets for 500 years of Genocide throughout the world! There are limits of blaming Ukraine for West’s problems. EU captive? Europe along with US took world captive, now chickens have to roost!
Hello Saker, fully agree with you. I would like to add: we also need to consider that the integration into Eurasia’s economic corridors, like BRI, and energy markets will give further motivation to the countries and areas you listed to confederate with Russia.
About the EU balls: they are still too tiny to make any difference. We need to await for the result of upcoming German elections. The US could perfectly well have placed a time bomb in German pockets already. This bomb is called Annalena Baerbock. The greens she represents had pushed Germany out of nuclear already, and are aiming to conclude the job of bring Germany back to Iron Age, pushing it out of fossils.
The EU has now an inconveniently hard-pointy packed weight to carry: PU + 3B. They will prevent any opening for normalization with Russia, I am afraid.
I couldn’t agree more with the Saker as I wondered if Putin is waiting for Ukrainians to give him a good excuse to swiftly take that part of Ukraine from Kyiv to the Black Sea Border of Romania. Certainly there’s no doubt he has no interest on the part West of that line full of Roman Christian Fascists who now want to destroy every vestige of that which conquered them in WW2.
But Putin needs NS2 to be completed and as the Great Stephen Cohen said……. “Why would Putin invade the Baltic States and have to pay their Pensions?”………. So all Putin wants and it is glaringly clear!…… To reunite the Slavic Russian Peoples and restore the Dignity of that Nation.
Everything Putin says and I follow him from here in Australia makes if plain to see The US and Yeltzin might have tried to Balkanise and Corporatise Russia but he will die first to prevent that from happening again.
When you have a slithering shyster like the one we have as Prime Minister I marvel at how focused a person Putin is protecting the Values of a Proud Nation…….Scorched by the Hate of the West?
Thank you Saker for giving me an 84 year old Contrarian the opportunity to vent my spleen.
Maybe with Transdniestria Russia should first apologize to Moldavians and Romanian people, return the Romanian treasury left with Moscow in WWI for safekeeping and then stolen by the Bolsheviks, and support unabashedly the reunification of Republic of Moldavia (historical territory of Bessarabia, which was the eastern half of Moldavian principality) with Romania.
The biggest aberration done by the Soviets was the insistence that Moldavian “language” was different than Romanian language, despite the the consensus among linguists around the world that in fact there wasn’t such a thing as Moldavian language…
Transdniestria was never Romanian/Moldavian territory and probably the Romanian state would be better off without it and in the control of Russia than Ukraine, but still Romanians/Moldavians should drive a hard bargain.
Okay, but then Romania has to give back Transylvania to Hungary too. If you want pre-World War I borders
There was a national assembly in Transylvania that voted the unification of Transylvania with Romania, same way there was a national assembly in Bessarabia that voted for the RE-unification of Bessarabia (now Republic of Moldavia) with Romania [Bessarabia was part of the principality of Moldavia for hundreds of years, liberated from the Golden Horde with the blood of generations – And in 1812, the Czarist Empire, a multiethnic empire based on conquest, taking advantage of treason in the ranks of the Ottoman suzerain, acquired half of the principality, instead of all of it as it intended]. The Romanians are and were the majority (over 60% in both these areas). Removed. No attacking other commenters or the author. Mod.
And if the Rus is allowed to dream of reunification of lands populated by Russians, same should be valid for others.
And don’t forget Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan. They are far better of with Russia. Otherwise they will either be eaten by China or become American puppet states…
@Lenard
But Kazakhstan keeps backing away from discussions for a union state with Russia. They’re apparently hoping to be neutral.
The same happened with Belarus. But now Lukashenko has realized the west wants to conquer Belarus and balance between the two blocs is impossible. I’m well aware Kazahkhstan is currently approaching the west, but I’m sure this move is only temporarly. Sooner or later they will come back. Especially Uzbekistan, Kyrgyztan and Tadjikistan are becoming more and more Russia friendly. A strong alliance would also solve disputes about borders and natural ressources.
Eaten by China.
Try to know the place instead of sputtering nonsense.
@ Saker
Didn’t Kazakhstan backed down at the suggestion of joining Russia in a union state some years back? Do you think that there’s any chance of the two countries uniting? I’ve heard that the former Kazakh leader is anti-Russian and that he still holds much power in the govt.
Yes, Nazarbayev was anti-Russian. He entered Kazakhstan into NATO’s “partnership for peace” programme and he changed the Kazakh language to latin alphabet.
But who know, perhaps his successor has other plans and brings back Kazakhstan? Like Belarus has changed its political course dramatically in the last three years…
Is the Ukraine still the breadbasket of Europe? Was the Ukraine ever the breadbasket of Europe and if not, why did my geography teachers lie to me? Will the Ukraine be important as a food exporting region in the future?
I’m guessing Poland might want a slice. It’ll start with a peace keeping force.
Saker: My opinion is that Russia should incorporate not only the parts of Ukraine that you mention but also Bielorussia. Concerning Bioelorussia the hyenas are wandering around and as soon as they see a small opportunity, weakness they will attack to transform it into another Ukraine.
@Amerikanski
”How long will it take / how bad will it get, before the rest of the Ukraine comes back to Mother?”
I believe the answer lies in the ongoing depopulation of Ukraine. As this huge territory becomes increasingly void, it means that it will also be up for grabs. On this basis, Russia is in a perfect position to retake what’s rightfully hers. As for the backwater of Galicia, in case there are any people left there, it could and should be partitioned between the squabbling pack of hyenas coveting it: Poland, Hungary, and Romania.
As for the timeline, especially considering the accelerating process of collapse of the West, I think Ukraine will be official RF territory no later than by 2030 — and not a single sanction in sight.
“… it could and should be partitioned between the squabbling pack of hyenas coveting it: …”
Better yet, (as I mentioned in a another comment) transfer the Palestine Occupation program back home — after all, it fits with the USA’s general ISIS relocation policy. And Israel is just ISIS version 1.0 (c. 1948).
Nord Stream 2 should be ready to transport hydrogen in ten years
Great planning and fits the “green agenda”.
Russia will come to grips with hydrogen energy
Transport routes for the transit of hydrogen to Europe were planned in advance
“in ten years, Nord Stream 2 should be ready to transport hydrogen through one or both lines.”
https://russtrat.ru/news/21-iyulya-2021-1444-5150
MOSCOW, July 21, 2021, RUSSTRAT Institute. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the creation of an interdepartmental working group for the development of hydrogen energy. The head of the group is Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, his deputies are Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and his deputy Pavel Sorokin.
Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko was appointed head of scientific activities – deputy head of the working group, General Director of the Russian Energy Agency Alexei Kulapin – secretary of the working group.
Such a representative composition of the working group speaks of the importance that Russia attaches to the development of the direction of hydrogen energy. This approach is fully consistent with the global global trend within the framework of the “green agenda”.
It should be noted that Russia took care of the development of its export potential for hydrogen in advance, and transport routes for the transit of hydrogen to Europe were planned in advance. Thus, two strings of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline have a special coating inside. As previously stated by the head of Nord Stream 2 AG, Matthias Warnig: “We have defined a clear goal – in ten years, Nord Stream 2 should be ready to transport hydrogen through one or both lines.”
Other Russian gas pipelines can also be used to transport hydrogen. Currently, within the framework of a joint project between Gazprom and the German company Wintershall Dea, a technology for transporting hydrogen mixed with natural gas is being tested.
Elena Panina , Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute
Primer….
Hydrogen can be extracted from fossil fuels and biomass, from water, or from a mix of both. Natural gas is currently the primary source of hydrogen production, accounting for around three quarters of the annual global dedicated hydrogen production of around 70 million tonnes. This accounts for about 6% of global natural gas use. Gas is followed by coal, due to its dominant role in China, and a small fraction is produced from from the use of oil and electricity.
The production cost of hydrogen from natural gas is influenced by a range of technical and economic factors, with gas prices and capital expenditures being the two most important.
Fuel costs are the largest cost component, accounting for between 45% and 75% of production costs. Low gas prices in the Middle East, Russia and North America give rise to some of the lowest hydrogen production costs. Gas importers like Japan, Korea, China and India have to contend with higher gas import prices, and that makes for higher hydrogen production costs.
I’m probably a little older than you and a scientist. Hydrogen was, is, and always will be a joke. It’s an energy transportation technology (not an energy source … you have to make it with other ‘energy’), which is unneeded and impractical. We have gasoline, and we have an electrical grid. Hydrogen is nonsense. I first wrote about this ~ 35 years ago in a letter (which was published) to C&E News, when the last hydrogen mania was at a peak.
Russia is in perfect shape in terms of energy. Loads of oil and natural gas, and the best nuclear power technology (and developments) in the World. Hydrogen is part of the green nonsense.
Maybe Merkel showed some ovaries if not cajones. She offered a face-saving for Biden, some “green” technology to be foisted on the Ukies. Along with “climate change” incense offerings, the US is threatening Russia to guarantee ten years of payments to Ukraine for gas transit.
The fee agreement ends in 2024. Gazprom is not going to extend it.
Well, I am quite sure that Mrs Merkel as more balls than her male colleagues (their withered away and fell off in the early 90s).
You are right about 2024.
Frankly, if I had any friends in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine I would have only one advice for them: “run the hell away while you still can! Whether you go West or East depends on your political views, but in either case RUN WHILE YOU CAN – there is *NO* hope for the Ukraine, none.
Either way, eventually the Ukraine will fall apart into several successor states.
The Russians finally did it: They hinted (hit) the Germans where it hurts them dearest:
“Despite the summer temperatures and lower consumption, natural gas prices have recently reached a 13-year high. Experts explain this by the fact that the Russian monopoly Gazprom reduced its deliveries to Europe by a fifth, while demand increased in the first quarter. This imbalance has contributed to the price of natural gas in Europe climbing to their highest level since 2008.”
Translated with Google from: https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/weltwirtschaft/nordstream-zwei-gasversorgung-pipeline-energie-russland-101.html
The Germans struck the US demand for a kill switch in the agreement. On the other hand they pledged to support extension of the transit contract through Ukraine “up to further ten years”, which is plausible because Germany needs much more gas when nuclear and coal power will be phased out.
The rest of the agreement what the Germans pledged to invest in Ukraine is peanuts compared to NS2.
One single vassal entity the Ukraine economically divided between Poland, Germany, US and Russia is (sad, but already true) the same.
Busloads of young people of certain professions (healthcare I know of) are imported to Germany in the 10000s numbers every year. They and the million+ refugees to Russia are missing there for a (hypthetical) future. (I also employ several Ukrainians, but offer best conditions for them to stay in their homeland. The money earned here is a fortune there. And we speak a mix of Russian, Ukrainian and German – I don’t employ Nazis.)
“run the hell away while you still can! Whether you go West or East depends on your political views, but in either case RUN WHILE YOU CAN – there is *NO* hope for the Ukraine, none.
Dear Saker,
With all due respect there is nowhere to go. What happened in Ukraine, can happen anywhere else. The grass is not greener on the other side. I been to Ukraine. Yes, things are challenging and life is difficult. Ukrainians suffer no illusions. They know that things are terrible. Nevertheless, people get by.
Here is another thing. As bad as things are in Ukraine, Ukraine is no worse shape, than the Unites States. I was reading the article by Fred Reed. “America: view form outside”. In that Article, Fred remarked that the poverty you see in San Francisco, Seattle is so horrible, you do not see such things often even in poorest third world counties. How is this possible, you tell me that in the wealthiest nation on Earth? What is the America’s excuse? And let us not forget apartment building collapse in Florida. How can it be that things like this happen in America? And the apartment building that did collapse. It is not the only one! Also the same for Europe. I was reading articles by Andre Vltchek and he travelled to Europe, he remarked how Europe seems to be collapsing. Poverty, infrastructure falling apart. People being unhappy.
At the end leaving home is not easy. Yes some people want to leave, but there are those who want to stay. There is no place like home. And no amount of comforts in the world will replace home. There is more to life than affluence, GDP, Economy. People can survive and even thrive in most difficult conditions, You want to know something? I was reading all the way back in 2007 a book by Bill McKibben, American Environmentalist. before the financial collapse. In the book, If I am not mistaken, there was a mention that Mexicans, being poorer are lot happier than Americans, despite the fact that Americans are surrounded by all the affluence. And it was back in 2007!
Speaking of hope, I have a question for you. Think back to 1999, when Putin came to power. Remember where Russia was back then. If someone told you where Russia would be in 2021 back in 1999, would you have believed them back then? No one knows what future brings. As for Neonazism, as bad as everything is, Nazis in ukraine are far from the only sinners and definitely far from worst. West has nothing to complain about. West committed so many atrocities over the last 500 years. Raping, plundering, destroying other cultures. Read up American Holocaust by david Stannard, Stolen Continents by Ronald Wright, and you will undersatnd why West behaves the way it does, particularly United States! You do not call this Nazism? Yes there are no Nazi symbols or brownshirts, the ideology is the same. Now west has nazi regime problem in Europe. My impression is that West thinks that it can commit atrocities in far away places against “Unpeople” and expect that consequences will not catch up with it. You do not need to wear brownshirts or make Nazi salutes to be a Nazi. Leaving home is more than just change of address. It has major emotional toll. And not many people in Ukraine, may I remind you can afford to leave!!!!!
Excellent points, all of them.
In a sense they are slaves to money, and not alone I might add.
The USA (Biden specifically, and his cocain son, Hunter, on the Board job) broke the Ukraine system.
So, now they own it and need to pay the piper.
But of course, in usual political style, they are trying to weasel their way out of their responsibilities so others pay the price of their criminality.
The Germans, as losers of two world wars, are a prime target.
And the Russians, who lost 24+million in WW2 probably don’t care if the karma takes another 3-4 generations of Germans to wear it off.
I don’t think anyone outside Ukriane really cares — but its dissolution would be an ideal oppotunity to shift the Ashkenazi Occupation of Palestine (AOP) back closer to their historic home turf. Hey, instead of torturing the real decendants of the Hebrews in Gaza and surrounds, the Settlers and their bully boys and girls in uniform could tackel some real nazi scum in the Ukraine. But then again, different uniforms don’t reall hide the same animal spots.
Do not delude yourself. They will not handle Nazi Scum. They will mostly ally with Nazis.
I believe this will depend on how aware said Russians are of what the USA does to “weasel [its] way out of [its] responsibilities so others pay the price of [its] criminality”.
Cajones no, cojones💪🏻😁
Yes, “the Biden Admin has given up on US plans to prevent the NS2 from being completed.” But, ReTrumplicans in Congress are solidly against this. Senator, Ted Cruz, is putting “holds” on Biden’s nominees for Department of State because of Nord Stream 2. He told CNN today, “I look forward to lifting the holds just as soon as they impose the sanctions on Nord Stream 2 that are required by federal law.”
In a statement on July 20, responding to rumors of the deal, Cruz called it “a generational geopolitical win for Putin and a catastrophe for the United States and our allies.” Just like ReTrumplicans in Congress will never allow a nuclear treaty with Iran because of Israel, they also side with Ukraine who wants a piece of the pipeline action.
If the Empire is already dead, and I hope it is, maybe the USA can somehow figure out how to go back to being a normal country that works for a living and pays its bills, without availing itself of the Sampson Option.
Yeah, the Reps have taken over the flag of total russophobia from the Dems.
I heard that imbecile Cruz hallucinating about all this.
Let them – the world only laughs at these hardcore Zone A ignoramuses and their big statements!
Yeah, I know Saker…Cruz the ultimate sleaze…the sound of his voice and the mere sight of him makes my skin crawl.
To think that he was part of the 2016 freak show POTUS hopefuls is a timely reminder that however dreadful the holders of that office have been, there is always a group of lunatics waiting in the wings in anticipation that could well be even worse.
Cruz of course has major aspirations, but add to the motley list the likes of Haley, Powers, even Pompeo perhaps. Then, of course, God help us all, even perhaps Nuland eventually!!!
Cheers
Col
Well, for me he represents one of the stronger forces against my future living in a radical left, totalitarian tyranny. He may be dead wrong on Russia, China, but frankly what worries me are not the Russians or the Chinese, but the Democratic Party of AOC, etc.
Ted Cruz is right about many things … the First Amendment, fair elections, etc. He’s wrong about Russia. He is certainly not an imbecile … began his career as a Clerk for Antonin Scalia … If you think Scalia tolerated imbeciles, you are mistaken.
” Ukraine who wants a piece of the pipeline action.”
That is a huge joke because it was partly to bypass Ukraine that Nordstream 2 was originally contemplated.
The deal was done with Russia back when Biden begged Putin for a meeting — the rest, as was that meeting effectively, is just an official face-saving mass-media narrative for US domestic consumption in the lead up to the 2022 mid-terms. Joe’s the deal-maker; not the country breaker etc.
Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by “the deal.”
I don’t think Biden had anything to do with plans for Nord Stream 2.
But with his Ukraine plays as vice president he probably got a whiff of how much Russia wanted OUT of Ukraine and its ongoing gas shenanigans. He may have made some kind of promises to his Uke buddies at that time.
Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Giving up before the German elex? NATO has been suffering strategic loss after loss since last year. Are they winding up for a sucker punch against China, or are they truly on the deathbed?
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will certainly profit that Merkel showed some Russian-friendly actions. The CDU has realized it will lose many voters, especially in east Germany, if they continue with their Russophobia.
Anyway, if this was just a tactical move for the elections or not, I’m very glad that Nord Stream II will be completed and used. At least some good news in those strange times…
There is much more to Nord Stream 2 than what reaches the eyes but not the Americans. This gas line will sow the seeds of an explosion of German investments in Russia than what it is about USD 79 Billion.
Putin is already preparing the Russian economy for the global shock expected coming from the collapse of the American Fiat Dollar and a receding economy.
Some are already asking if a united states will remain united as the US economy may be competing with its Haitian colony.
Hungary, is another case who seems to be drifting away from the EU. There are so many changes occurring in the International System no one can predict where the next excitement will come from.
Perhaps, the Queen Elizabeth may be buried in the South China sea as it attempts to bring back the Opium Trade as it did before in earlier times.
Good points.
QE2 — confiscate the thing for 300 years of British opium/drug wars and Japanese reparations etc. Park it off HK as a gambling casino although I think the kitchens leak and may not pass health and safety standards.
The usd$ collapse is a key point. As they say in some theoretical circles — the center is failing.
But they are only at ‘Delta’ atm — so pleanty more alphabet stages to go through at the point of a needle to keep the plantations cloistered.
Threw the kitchen sink at preventing/stopping this project, Sanctions, Threats & Intimidations, all their Toys out of the Pram . . . . . . alas, to no avail.
I wonder if the penny’s dropping for these genocidal maniacs!
There are ways to burn the thing without leaving traces of who’s donne it… They themselves showed how to do it in their perfidious attacks, before…
With the Biden Administration destroying the XL-Pipeline and now that NS2 is a done deal. Maybe the Biden Administration can work a deal out with Russia and Germany to supply the energy that Biden stopped.
Ze will be butt hurt.
Belarus opposition (or is that President in exile,according to the US?) gets to visit the White House.
Ze is still waiting in the queue.
Aw.And he thought he rated as a very special, favourite pet.
Tikhanovskaya arrived in the United States earlier on Sunday.
As part of the trip, she plans to hold meetings with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but so far she cannot confirm them with certainty.
Tikhanovskaya’s telegram channel previously reported that she had scheduled high-level meetings at the State Department for July 19, and at the White House for July 20.
In addition, she plans to meet with US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power and US lawmakers.
https://tass.com/world/1315193
Oh. Ze now has his invite.
After Merkel and Joe have stitched up the Nordstream deal.
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1417890763480915974
Samantha Power, skipped out of Dublin as a child to America, Ireland’s best ever export, thanks be to Mary & Joseph. There were rumours the IRA turned her membership down, too violent.
Tikhanovskaya’s meetings.
Of course, the main meeting as shown was prob with the vile nuland, shown holding court in all of her arrogance and smug power.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/6923932.html
Me recuerda a la reunion tripartita de febrero 2003 Cuando Putin + Schroeder + Chirac intentaban evitar una guerra de Usa contra Irak. Un mes despues Bush ordenaba un ataque contra Bagdad. Ese momento unipolar esperemos que haya quedado en el pasado. Con la serpiente Nuland siempre hay que estar atento. No?
Y como lei por ahí. Ucrania 404 not found. Otra nacion destruida por los Anglosionistas sumada a la lista. (Libia – Irak – Mitad Siria- Serbia)
Google translation,MOD:
It reminds me of the tripartite meeting of February 2003 when Putin + Schroeder + Chirac tried to avoid a US war against Iraq. A month later, Bush ordered an attack on Baghdad. Hopefully that unipolar moment is in the past. With the Nuland snake you always have to be vigilant. Not?
And as I read there. Ukraine 404 not found. Another nation destroyed by the Anglo-Zionists added to the list. (Libya – Iraq – Half Syria- Serbia)
So TASS reports that Zelensky signed the law ‘on indigenous peoples of Ukraine,’ which denies this status to ethnic Russians.
This is probably his pushback. I see a world of hurt coming.
https://tass.com/world/1316451
US: Will someone tell that annoying poodle to shut its yapping?
US urges Ukraine to stay quiet on Russian pipeline
The Biden administration is asking an unhappy Ukraine not to make waves, as it nears Russia-Germany pipeline agreement.
https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/07/20/us-ukraine-russia-pipeline-500334
Extracts:
§§§ I n the midst of tense negotiations with Berlin over a controversial Russia-to-Germany pipeline, the Biden administration is asking a friendly country to stay quiet about its vociferous opposition. And Ukraine is not happy.
§§§ The U.S. officials have indicated that going public with opposition to the forthcoming agreement could damage the Washington-Kyiv bilateral relationship, those sources said. The officials have also urged the Ukrainians not to discuss the U.S. and Germany’s potential plans with Congress. A senior administration official disputed this reporting, noting that the situation is more nuanced than that, but declined to share further details on U.S. officials’ talks with their Ukrainian counterparts.
§§§ they have been trying to mollify a key regional partner in Ukraine — which stands to lose the most from the pipeline’s ultimate completion — and rebuild the frayed U.S. relationship with Germany, which supports the pipeline. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not reach an agreement on how to handle the matter when she visited Washington last week, Reuters reported. Biden said after meeting with her that “good friends can disagree.”
§§§ “It’s unbalanced and unfair that Russia gets a huge reward and Ukraine is flogged over criticism,” said Alina Polyakova, the president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis. “It’s 100 percent true that if Trump did this,” everyone would go nuts, she added.
§§§ Derek Chollet, an adviser to Blinken, is visiting Kyiv this week to seek Ukraine’s support. He’s also stopping in Poland — where the U.S. recently inked an energy security agreement worth billions — to try to quell criticism from elsewhere in the region. The Polish government has called the pipeline a threat to regional energy security, as Reuters has reported.
§§§§ Ukraine fears that a completed Nord Stream 2 will minimize its role as a transit nation for energy flowing from Russia into Europe. German officials have tried unsuccessfully to reassure Kyiv.
“For us, Ukraine is and will remain a transit country even once Nord Stream 2 is completed,” Merkel said last week during a press conference alongside Zelensky in Berlin.
“There are big worries about this on the Ukrainian side and we take those seriously,” she continued, adding “the European Union and Germany will see to it that this continues in the future beyond 2024.”
Let me offer a contrarian view: given NS2 was going to be completed anyway, the US-German agreement – with the arch Russophobe, Nuland, playing a central role – is a step towards trapping Germany into a commitment to impose sanctions in case of “Russian aggression on Ukraine”.
Thus an attack on Donbass by Nuland – via her puppet in Kiev – which would certainly provoke a Russian reaction would be trigger for sanctions. Gemany, like in 2014 when she was wavering on sanctions before MH17 sealed the deal, has just committed publicly to it.
And keep in mind, sanctions against Russian and other companies involved in NS2 still continue.
Moreover, Germany – and essentially Europe – have essentially agreed in writing that the US should have a say in their energy policy. And that this policy should effectively be anti-Russian.
All in all, this is not as much as a face saving agreement but a US-led roadmap for further anti-Russian provocations with Germany firmly heeled in.
Interesting.
Would explain why this deal was signed before Merkel left office.
Would also explain why the US is hushing Ukraine.
And it certainly fits within US double dealing.
Biden is taking a lot of flak on Nordstrom.But maybe (highly likely)there is a double deal in play.
Interesting.
“Moreover, Germany – and essentially Europe – have essentially agreed in writing that the US should have a say in their energy policy. And that this policy should effectively be anti-Russian.”
This was my main takeaway when I read about a “Vereinbarung” between Germany and the USA regarding the pipeline.
WTF?
Why does Germany have to make an agreement with the US about a Russian-German pipeline?
Katherine
Exactly. Imagine for a moment that the UK made noise about NS2 and that Merkel had to go to London to reassure Johnson about the pipeline and agree to UK terms about German economic decisions. It would be absurd and Germans wouldn’t stand for it.
Yet here we are: German supplication to the US in full view. For the price of being able to import cheap gas, Germany has further debased itself to its imperial master, agreed to support Ukraine (under US supervison of course) and agree to sanction Russia apparently no matter what its ward does.
I see this as a master stroke from Nuland (who is a committed anti-Russian ideologue who never takes her eye of her the goal that will define her life’s work: the containment if not destruction of Russia). NS2 couldn’t be stopped because of local German opposition that even Merkel couldn’t overcome. Thus Merkel had to pay by this humiliation with a promise to further aggravate ties with Russia.
Next on Nuland’s agenda: time an action in Donbass with eyes on the German (and Russian?) elections – where an even more pliable, freshly minted chancellor eager to grovel at the Empire’s feet – will be present. The new anti-Russian Moldova’s government will also be in place. Keep pushing on Donbass till Russia reacts and bam, more severe sanctions – with Germany championing them in Europe – NATO moves etc.
This agreement was another bad day for even a pretense of European sovereignty and worse for Russo-German relationship.
Because Germany has no Constitution and is administered from Washington.
So my question is: does Russia plan on renewing the transit fees to Ukraine after ’24; does that give it some leverage, or does the US/EU have leverage over them to make them sign up for another 10 years? It’ll be interesting to see what Russia does with respect to that.
This has me blubbering like a baby. What is to become of Alexey Navalny? As we all know, the man has wit, spine, and courage like nobody else on the planet; not even Novichok could silence this mortal threat to The Kremlin. And now he’s just being abandoned, indeed stabbed in the back by his foreign sponsors?
On a more serious note, why do some people here instantly try to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Sanctions this, sanctions that — big % # € @ deal. The West is going down the toilet (along with its Eastern European puppets), Russia and China are not. As for the adorable Victoria Nuland, the harridan will most likely end up canonized in the Greek Catholic Church. Totally harmless as opposed to her achievements 8 years ago.
Again: It’s great fun watching and hearing the Zionazis’ temper tantrums whenever they are genuine; driven by real pain.
Google translation,MOD:
Brave Navalny
March, march forward
Silly, ugly idiot
But from the taiga to the British seas
Brave Navalny is the strongest of all!
A take off of “The Red Army Is The Strongest”. *
To Nussiminen
Thank you! I was just about to say the same – reading the above comments that are full of doom and gloom for Russia and what USA and EU can do to it if it “steps out of line” is enough to swear! What is wrong with you people?! Have you not figured it out by now that Russia doesn’t give a fig anymore as to what the imbecils are planning to do to it.
They don’t matter to Russia at all, and their sanctions, well, they can carry on pulling them out of their a.ses – these make no difference whatsoever. Russia has everything in place to absolutely ignore those. So, please stop this handwringing and clutching of pearls – Russia will do what it needs to and what is in it’s interests. Period.
BTW, gas transit thru Ukraine will not be extended after 2024 and it does not matter what lip flapping and hot air is produced by “Biden”, frau Merkel and Co. Get your brains in gear.
@Katerina
My pleasure spanking these incorrigible defeatists alongside the spanking they get by being proven wrong forever by ”incorrigible” Russia, LOL.
Navalny, Tikhanovskaya, Zelensky, Biden, Nuland, Merkel — blooming idiots for all the world to see.
Maybe the existing Ukr pipeline infrastructure is so outdated and in poor condition it will not be sufficient for hydrogen .. nor for any reverse flow from EU either. So ukr might need a whole new pipeline infrastructure….its old one just about capable for its own gas resources….perhaps…but it has its own resources it needs to invest in.
Ukraine holds 39 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves as of 2017, ranking 23rd in the world and accounting for about 1% of the world’s total natural gas reserves of 6,923 Tcf. Ukraine has proven reserves equivalent to 35.7 times its annual consumption.
BTW…..anyone who currently has energy smart meters . they won’t work when hydrogen replaces nat gas…. all gotta be changed. Customers are paying for these smart meters and will have to pay for new ones and boiler conversions etc etc. Uhuh .
The name of the new Russian fighter Su-75 “Checkmate” is very interesting, and deeply symbolic, a real game of words and meaning.
In English, the word “checkmate” means winning of chess game. In Russian, the word “шахматы” (my transliteration as “shachmaty”) means the game of chess. To put it literally in English it would be – guess – “checkmate”.
The chess is very popular in Russia. Many people enjoy playing it, and use various chessboards for. A few of them (I meant Russians, not boards) play it not least but on the Grand Chessboard, a famous one, designed by not less famous Mr. Brzezinski. And they do it well.
Once upon a time von Clausewitz had said: “War is simply the continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means”. To rephrase, maybe without much exaggeration, one could say that the North Stream 2 is a geopolitical continuation of War, having in mind many obstacles and diversions which Russia had to surpass to complete the NS2.
It caused a real domino effect, of various events, all over the Chessboard, which pieces are pretty unusual – Zircon, S-500, . . . , Mr. Putin’s educational letter, . . . , and current, but not the last – Su-57. The NS2 is a true Alekhine’s game (or maybe you would prefer to call it Capablanca’s game).
Now we see the reason(s) for Mr. Putin’s patience (with Ukraine etc) and, sometimes, our no-reason impatience with his patience.
A lesson for the future – wait for the end of the game.
Ergo, Mrs. Merkel at once got a courage and sovereignty. Mr. Biden became penitent, a big boss full of empathy for German energetic needs (or needs for energy), hushing the Uk (or UK) yelp. Etc, etc, no need to elaborate further, as the readers and commenters here know well the rest of the story.
Two gas pipelines (the Turkish Stream, former the South Stream, and the North Stream 1 and 2) will bring to Europe more independency, whatever it sounds as a paradox. All know that but the performance must be played until the play is over.
@S-RB: “шахматы” (my transliteration as “shachmaty”).
Pedant’s corner: “Shach Mat” (Shah Dead) from the Arabic “Sheikh Met”.
Unfortunately, Sаker isn’t completely right at this point.
1. The US does not give up the sanctions pressure on NS 2. The State Department said that in August it will present new sanctions on the “Nord Stream-2”
https://ria.ru/20210721/gosdep-1742291979.html
2. Who said, that after the case is done, some «Greens» will not file a lawsuit in some European court claiming that the pipe scares some fish or birds or mermaids? The court will decide to suspend the operation of the pipeline. But gas contracts will be signed. They will tell Gazprom: you have contracts and there is an alternative way exists – through Ukraine. Go ahead guys, give a lot money to ukies Hitler’s fans!
3. Who will certify the pipe? Who will insure the pipe and the business? They will not accept the work of Russian agencies. Western agencies will be afraid of sanctions. How can start the process in this situation?
Maybe Biden refused to oppose the completion of the construction of the pipe, but he certainly did not give up the idea of making its operation impossible or absolutely unprofitable for Russia.
To Baora
Perhaps you need to educate yourself a bit more with regard to NS-2. It is not just a Gazprom project, five European companies are fully involved in this project, including two German ones. This pipe is simply a commercial project for Russia, while for Germany it is an absolute necessity. Their whole future will depend on it – getting a guaranteed supply of reasonably priced Russian gas to stay competitive, especially in today’s global economy.
EU and USA politicians can mouth off their usual inane drivel but in real life they will have to deal with businessmen and industrialists in Germany and the rest of Europe – these that drive their countries economy. They will be answerable to them; as for Russia, it makes little difference, Russia has got other markets for it’s gas. Very large markets indeed. Some people posting comments seems to be ignorant of these simple facts.
Austria is interested in the completion of Nord Stream II too. The OMV company has largely invested in this project. It will benefit all of Europe
@Baora: “European court claiming that the pipe scares some fish or birds or mermaids? The court will decide to suspend the operation of the pipeline. ”
Denmark tried the Green Gambit but it failed. In my opinion, not even Greta Greenberg is strong enough to dissuade Europe from accepting a reliable long term supply of gas — especially since North Stream 2 plans to deliver the cleanest greenest fuel, Hydrogen, by 2050.
(“How dare you!”)
I think it was an agreement between the USA and Germany. Now the Empire is mostly focused against China, whose economy is much larger than the Russian one. Possibly the germans have agreed to distance themselves from China and maybe to take part in bulling operations in the South China Sea and in exchange they got the green light to complete the NS2.
Nope. “Has” would not be appropriate. IS is just fine, cause Zelensky IS a dick. See, “has dick” is anatomical feature, “IS dick” is more of personality trait.
:-)
Poland and Ukraine still attempting to affect the situation…”legal “complications..?
https://theduran.com/and-again-about-ukrainian-transit/
This 11:39 min video provides excellent summary of the American crime on Ukraine: nothing new here for the well informed reader here but it is a reminder at just how vile, evil, and cynical our state dept “leaders” are as they plot currently the next steps on Belyrus. It is clear that nuland is active.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7lNABfDVk
@Taras77
Belarus has what it takes to deal with swine and scum such as Nuland. The reason why her Marie Antoinette ”performance” worked in Ukraine is because of the Bandernazi legacy there of which there is zero, zilch, nada in Belarus and Russia. Evil and insane people will have considerable difficulties achieving their aims unless there are similar attitudes permeating the society where these people operate. On this basis, it would be interesting to see if she could pull off another Maidan anywhere today (except Galicia of course).
Not sure if this fits here in this thread but will try: Russia Min files complaint with european court:
https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4825996
(in Russian, translate needed)
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/07/22/russia-takes-ukraine-to-european-court-over-post-annexation-grievances-a74584
(yes, Moscow times, usually large grain of salt needed)
The Russian government is taking Ukraine to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over a slew of issues ranging from violence during anti-government protests and the downing of flight MH17 in 2014.
My comment: This is prob a non-starter but “could” be interesting to see the euros squirm if that is possible; do not know composition of court but if reps from baltics, poland,are involved, doubt squirm is possible.
Putin should never have gone to meeting with clown Biden, exercise in futility.
Let’s not forget that NS2 itself was never so important for Russia’s economy that Mrs Merkel and German energy change. Big looser was also Poland. Germans won’t buy its coal for MWh.
According to the German-US agreement, Germany should put sanctions on Russia the moment Russia tries something ‘aggressive’ against Ukraine.
I feel that they’re creating the pretext for a false flag targeting the Russian elections in September. If the ukies attack Donbass, Russia wouldn’t have any option but to come into the defense. If it stays idle, it would harm Putin’s image and give the opposition the opportunity to say that Putin doesn’t defend the country’s interests.
On the other hand, if Russia retaliates, the US would press Germany and the EU to put more sanctions on Russia.
The zionists are following the good old tactic of pitting one against the other.
Having a very large chunk of my modest savings in Gazprom shares, so I have followed the saga of Nordsteam 2 very closely. I started accumulation shares after reading this April 3rd 2017 Alexander Mercouris article on the history of the energy war in Europe. https://theduran.com/russia-wins-battle-eu-nord-stream-2/
Gazprom’s long running strategy use to be supplying Europe with enough gas to keep the spot price right at or just below the breakeven point of American LNG, slowly driving the American shale industry bankrupt, and making a tidy profit selling at those rates. December 2019 Gazprom inked a deal with Ukraine with only enough transit to keep that line functional and just enough total pipeline capacity that Gazprom can fulfill all it’s contractual obligations. Now in 2021 they are not selling on the spot market, prices are soaring, and most of those contracts are at least in part indexed off the spot price. Needless to say as a Gazprom share holder I am glad Nordsteam 2 is coming on line, but at the same time I would not mind if the regulators held it up for another year, and Europe has to pay threw the nose for it’s gas, sure American LNG will gain some market share but Gazprom would make a fortune.
As far a a long term deal with Ukraine I suspect Gazprom would like to keep the reduced guaranteed amount of 40 billion cubic meters far into the future, to keep that rout alive and have some spare total transit capacity. Hopefully Ukraine will realize they have lost all of their leverage and they will abandon the business model of finding new creative ways to bring lawsuits, theft and blackmail.
It is actually very good news at least for Germany.