Analyses on recent geo-political development

‘Russia alone can already confront the entire West…’

President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of talks in restricted format, Kremlin, Moscow, March 21, 2023

The Russian media reported that President Vladimir Putin made an extraordinary gesture as President Xi Jinping left the Kremlin following the state dinner last week on Tuesday evening by escorting him to the limousine and seeing him off. 

And Xi during the goodbye handshake reportedly responded, “Together, we should push forward these changes that have not happened for 100 years. Take care.” 

Read Full Article: https://www.indianpunchline.com/russia-alone-can-already-confront-the-entire-west/

Erdogan weighs up Russia, dares Biden

Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s (R) friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) annoys the US (File photo) 

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has disclosed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the nuclear fuel loading ceremony on April 27 at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. 

Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov deftly handled the political bombshell, choosing not to refute Erdogan’s statement. According to Erdogan, Putin’s participation in the ceremony may form part of an official visit. 

Read Full Article: https://www.indianpunchline.com/erdogan-weighs-up-russia-dares-biden/

OPEC: Saudis aren’t afraid of US anymore

The shock oil production cuts from May outlined by the OPEC+ on Sunday essentially means that eight key OPEC countries decided to join hands with Russia to reduce oil production, messaging that OPEC and OPEC+ are now back in control of the oil market.

No single oil producing country is acting as the Pied Piper here. The great beauty about it is that Saudi Arabia and seven other major OPEC countries have unexpectedly decided to support Russia’s efforts and unilaterally reduce production. 

Read Full Text: https://www.indianpunchline.com/opec-saudis-arent-afraid-of-us-anymore/

Regional isolation of Syria may end soon

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad. (Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Saudi Arabia may invite Syria to attend the upcoming Arab League summit in Riyadh in May, Reuters reported on Sunday, April 2, quoting three unnamed sources close to the process. The report confirms the trend of Syria’s reintegration in regional politics after over a decade of isolation.  

While not officially confirmed yet, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is likely to visit Syrian capital Damascus in the coming weeks to formally invite Syria for the summit, the report claims.

The Arab League summit is scheduled to be held from May 19.  

Saudi Arabia and Syria have agreed to reopen their respective embassies in Damascus and Riyadh after Ramadan this year. 

Read Full Article: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/04/03/regional-isolation-of-syria-may-end-soon/

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Thierry Meyssan: The world order already changed in 2022

Thierry Meyssan

VOLTAIRENET.ORG | January 12, 2023

After long months of pulling her punches, Russia is finally letting Ukraine get a taste of what it has sown through fanaticism, nonstop lies and indecent, often brutal acts against civilians and Russian personnel.

It is a constant of History: changes are rare, but sudden. Those who bear the brunt of them are generally the last to see them coming. They perceive them only too late. Contrary to the static image that prevails in the West, international relations have been turned upside down in 2022, mainly to the detriment of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, often to the benefit of China and Russia. With their eyes riveted on Ukraine, Westerners do not perceive the redistribution of the cards.

T. MEYSSAN


IT is rare for international relations to be shaken as they were in 2022. And it is not over. The process that has begun will not stop, even if events disrupt it and possibly interrupt it for a few years. The domination of the West, both the United States and the former colonial powers of Europe (mainly the United Kingdom, France and Spain) and Asia (Japan), is coming to an end. No one obeys a leader anymore, including the states that remain vassals of Washington. Everyone is now beginning to think for themselves. We are not yet in the multipolar world that Russia and China are trying to bring about, but we are seeing it being built.

Read More »

‘Oil war’: How US and Saudi crashed crude prices to hurt Russia, Iran, Venezuela in 2014

In a 2014 “oil war,” the US pressured Saudi Arabia to overproduce crude and intentionally crash prices on the global market, in order to hurt the export-reliant economies of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

Ben Norton

Multipolarista | November 18, 2022

The United States and Saudi Arabia waged a very important yet little-known “oil war” in 2014, which had huge geopolitical and economic consequences for the world.

Washington pressured Riyadh to significantly overproduce crude and intentionally crash prices on the global market, in order to hurt the export-reliant economies of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

Read More »

The Euro Without German Industry

Michael Hudson | October 04, 2022

The reaction to the sabotage of three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in four places on Monday, September 26, has focused on speculations about who did it and whether NATO will make a serious attempt to discover the answer. Yet instead of panic, there has been a great sigh of diplomatic relief, even calm. Disabling these pipelines ends the uncertainty and worries on the part of US/NATO diplomats that nearly reached a crisis proportion the previous week, when large demonstrations took place in Germany calling for the sanctions to end and to commission Nord Stream 2 to resolve the energy shortage. 

The German public was coming to understand what it will mean if their steel companies, fertilizer companies, glass companies and toilet-paper companies were shutting down. These companies were forecasting that they would have to go out of business entirely – or shift operations to the United States – if Germany did not withdraw from the trade and currency sanctions against Russia and permit Russian gas and oil imports to resume, and presumably to fall back from their astronomical eight to tenfold price increase.

Read More »

Michael Hudson: A roadmap to escape the west’s stranglehold

Pepe Escobar

THE CRADLE | October 06, 2022

It is impossible to track the geoeconomic turbulence inherent to the “birth pangs” of the multipolar world without the insights of Professor Michael Hudson at the University of Missouri, and author of the already seminal The Destiny of Civilization.

In his latest essay, Professor Hudson digs deeper into Germany’s suicidal economic/financial policies; their effect on the already falling euro – and hints at some possibilities for fast integrating Eurasia and the Global South as a whole to try to break the Hegemon’s stranglehold.

That led to a series of email exchanges, especially about the future role of the yuan, where Hudson remarked:

“The Chinese whom I’ve talked to for years and years did not expect the dollar to weaken. They’re not crying about its rise, but they are concerned about flight capital from China as I think after the Party Congress [starting on October 16] there will be a crackdown on the Shanghai free-market advocacy. Pressure for the coming changes has been long building up. The spirit of reform to rein in ‘free markets’ was spreading among students over a decade ago, and they have been rising in the Party hierarchy.”

Read More »

Ukraine War Has No End in Sight

Scott Ritter

As the Ukraine conflict enters its third month, the Kremlin looks likely to achieve its major military objective of securing physical control over the eastern Donbas region. Peripheral territorial acquisition of the strategic southern city of Kherson, as well as a swath of territory connecting Crimea to the Donbas and the border of the Russian Federation, also looks likely.

This will, however, fall short of expectations by both Russia and many military observers when the war began. Perhaps the greatest contributor is what appears to be a massive Russian intelligence failure over prewar assessments that organized resistance by Ukraine would be limited and easily overcome. Instead, the Russians were met by an organized, capable and determined Ukrainian military that has shown great resilience in defending against Russian attack. Instead of a quick campaign of less than a month, Russia found itself in a drawn-out fight that required its military to alter its approach — pulling back from supporting attacks against Kyiv and Odessa in favor of a more singular focus on eastern Ukraine.

Read More »

Geopolitical Update

U.S. to leverage Russia-Ukraine Bloc Against China, Says Blinken

Countercurrents | May 27, 2022

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the Biden administration aims to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.

Media reports including a report by AP from Washington DC said:

In a speech outlining the administration’s China policy, Blinken laid out a three-pillar approach to competing with Beijing in a race to define the 21st century’s economic and military balance.

While the U.S. sees Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine as the most acute and immediate threat to international stability, Blinken said the administration believes China poses a greater danger.

Read the Full News: https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/geopolitical-update-u-s-to-leverage-russia-ukraine-bloc-against-china-says-blinken/

Sweden And Finland Set To Join NATO

Countercurrents | May 16, 2022

Sweden’s ruling party dropped the country’s historic military nonalignment on Sunday and agreed to join NATO, shortly after Finland’s leaders officially announced they would do the same.

Media reports from Europe and other places said:

The moves were major steps in ending decades of military neutrality for the two Nordic nations, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to dramatically shift security considerations in Europe.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said their accession would be a “turning point for security” in Europe. “Their membership in NATO would increase our shared security, demonstrate that NATO’s door is open, and that aggression does not pay.”

“We arre now facing a fundamentally changed security environment in Europe,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said.

Read the Full News: https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/sweden-and-finland-set-to-join-nato/

Japan, EU Agree To Raise Efforts In Indo-Pacific

Countercurrents | May 13, 2022

Geopolitical developments are expanding quickly in various regions of the world.

Media reports from various regions said:

Japan and the European Union on Thursday agreed to step up their sanctions against Russia as leaders from the two sides raised concerns about the war’s impact in the Indo-Pacific, where they seek to strengthen their partnership and increase engagement amid China’s growing assertiveness.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who held talks in Tokyo with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, told a joint news conference that Japan supports tough sanctions against Russia and ample support for Ukraine because the war “shakes the foundation of the world order not only in Europe but also in Asia.”

“Security in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific are inseparable,” Kishida said.

The EU leaders said they want to take a greater role and responsibility in the region and agreed to bolster cooperation in a range of areas including digital transformation, renewable energy and climate.

Read the Full News: https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/geopolitical-update-japan-eu-agree-to-raise-efforts-in-indo-pacific/

[THIS ARTICLE IS POSTED HERE FOR NON-PROFIT, NON-COMMERCIAL, EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THAT OF ITS AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEW OF THE JOP]

Ukraine Crisis: News/Updates drowned by the cacophony of Mainstream Media

As the crisis in Ukraine unfolds, highly significant developments are taking place in Europe and in other geopolitical stages across the world. For any conscious reader/learner, studying these developments are crucial. The cacophony in the mainstream media drowns out these events and present a very biased, partial scenario of the current situation. However, this has always been the nature of the mainstream media — to serve as mouthpieces of the imperialist establishments. As a blog inclined to serve the masses, JoP feels that it is its duty to bring analyses and updates of those aspects/developments to the attention of our readership. In that spirit, we publish four posts from the Countercurrents which may help our readers understand the ongoing situation in Ukraine. However, we would like to clarify that the articles posted here are for non-profit, non-commercial, educational purposes. The views expressed in this article(s) are those of its author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the JoP.

Nevertheless, if you do find JoP’s posts to be informative and therefore necessary in the face of the mainstream narrative, we would like to request you to share our posts with your friends, family or anyone you feel like sharing with. Happy Reading!

Ukraine Update: Zelenskyy’s Representative Blames U.S. And Budapest Memorandum Signatories For War

Countercurrents Collective | March 28, 2022

A representative of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described signatories to the Budapest Memorandum as a reason Ukraine is at war, citing their failure to hold up their end of the agreement.

“They signed their obligation to protect Ukraine, to provide the security and safety,” Fedir Venislavsky, President Zelenskyy’s representative to Ukraine’s Constitutional Court, told Fox News.

“Which means when Ukraine gave up its nuclear potential … Ukraine was confident the other countries who have signed all of those agreements were going to guarantee its territorial integrity, it is independence and it is sovereignty.”

“Unfortunately, we are deeply sorry” the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum and the Charter “did not perform” and “provide the security of Ukraine” and “there is a war because of that going on in our territory,” Venislavsky explained.

The Budapest Memorandum “says that whatever countries would sign that, they would guarantee the safety and security of Ukraine. And there is the charter about the special partnership between NATO and Ukraine and all the signatories,” Venislavsky added.

“Innocent people are dying every day simply because we believed that those countries were going to provide what they obliged for.”

Venislavsky said the failure to protect Ukraine will have lasting consequences.

“After the Ukrainian case, I think there are going to be a lot of doubts in the world regarding international obligations that are given in exchange for whatever concessions,” Venislavsky said.

Zelensky Steps Up Criticism Of West

A Washington post report (Zelensky steps up criticism of West, demanding weapons and sanctions) report said:

Zelensky is demanding that the United States and its allies send more weapons and ratchet up sanctions, portraying some leaders as timid in the face of Russian aggression. His escalation of criticism comes one day after President Biden extemporaneously declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

Zelensky said in a video address on Sunday, praising the southern port city that has come under horrendous bombardment by Russian forces. “Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” he said. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had one percent of their courage.”

Read Full Article: https://countercurrents.org/2022/03/ukraine-update-zelenskyys-representative-blames-u-s-and-budapest-memorandum-signatories-for-war/

Ukraine Update: U.S. Sets Red Line For China

Countercurrents Collective | March 25, 2022

A Reuters report said:

The Biden administration, seeking to deter China from aiding sanctions-hit Russia, on Wednesday warned Beijing not to take advantage of business opportunities created by sanctions, help Moscow evade export controls or process its banned financial transactions.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that G7 countries would soon announce a unified response to make sure Russia cannot evade Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine with the help of China or any other country.

Read Full Article: https://countercurrents.org/2022/03/ukraine-update-u-s-sets-red-line-for-china/

Ukraine Update: NATO Faces Splits On Russia Question

Countercurrents Collective | March 24, 2022

A Washington Post report (As allies meet, splits emerge in NATO about how to deter Russia) said:

As President Biden landed in Brussels on Wednesday splits were emerging within NATO and in Washington about how to deter the Kremlin from further escalation. Allied leaders are discussing whether it is best to keep Russia guessing about what will trigger a bigger military response or to outline precisely what would draw NATO into a conflict.

It said:

‘Some NATO policymakers in Europe worry that there has been too much public messaging about what the alliance won’t do — send its troops into Ukraine, nor, for the moment, send fighter jets for which Kyiv has been campaigning. With the threat of Russian nuclear and chemical weapons looming over the battlefields of Ukraine, a better approach, they say, would be not to rule out anything publicly.

Read Full Article: https://countercurrents.org/2022/03/ukraine-update-nato-faces-splits-on-russia-question/

Ukraine Update: Vietnam And Malaysia Oppose Anti-Russian Sanctions

Countercurrents Collective | March 23, 2022

Vietnam and Malaysia did not support the anti-Russian sanctions and agreed to remain neutral towards the Ukraine crisis, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters Tuesday after his visit to Hanoi.

“We discussed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and agreed that Malaysia and Vietnam will remain neutral on this issue,” he said according to the Bernama news agency. “As for sanctions against Russia, we do not support them.”

“The sides do not support unilateral sanctions; we recognize restrictions that could be imposed only by the UN Security Council,” the Prime Minister underscored.

He noted that the two countries “do not support such aggression against a sovereign state,” underscoring that their “position is non-interference.”

“We expect a diplomatic resolution of the crisis in Ukraine,” the Prime Minister added.

Read Full Article: https://countercurrents.org/2022/03/ukraine-update-vietnam-and-malaysia-oppose-anti-russian-sanctions/

[THIS ARTICLE IS POSTED HERE FOR NON-PROFIT, NON-COMMERCIAL, EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THAT OF ITS AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEW OF THE JOP]

China sees parallel between Ukraine, Taiwan

M. K. Bhadrakumar

Indian Punchline | March 20, 2022

On the evening of 18 March, President Xi Jinping (R) had a video call with US President Joe Biden at the request of the latter.

The Chinese stance on developments around Ukraine was initially one-dimensional, namely, there is no conceivable comparison between Ukraine and Taiwan issues, as they are fundamentally different, because Taiwan is a part of China, whereas Ukraine is an independent country. Factually, that was a correct stance. 

However, there has been a shift lately toward acknowledging that the Eurasian tensions hold an analogy for Indo-Pacific region. The Chinese commentaries underline that the relentless expansion of the NATO in the post-Cold War era is the root cause of events unfolding over Ukraine. In the video call with President Biden in the weekend, President Xi Jinping implicitly touched on this aspect: 

Read More »

China-India Relation: New Developments

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