Russian and Ukrainian officials appeared optimistic tonight after EU-brokered talks on their natural gas dispute have them agreeing on at least the broad framework for a settlement.
Ukraine had long opposed a deal with Russia’s Gazprom, which claims they owe billions of dollars in unpaid gas bills, but with winter fast approaching the prospects of at least an interim deal to get them through the winter months are growing.
Previous agreements had the EU getting Ukraine to agree to pay $2 billion of the debt so long as Russia turned the gas back on, and agreed to give them a substantial discount.
It’s an important matter to the EU, because much of its natural gas also comes from Gazprom, and through the same pipeline. Russia has warned that if Ukraine starts siphoning gas out of the pipeline without paying, it could threaten the European supply as well.
Beside the ligitimat syrian government, the syrian Kurdish fighters, the Iranian, Lebanese USG there are no others, what USG/NATO have in hand is ISIS, relying on jordanians the Erdogan islamic and Saudis with UAE on board USG is looking for a minimum 30 years of war in Middle East. So stop fooling yourself, over two million syrian are homeless, many thousands of Kurdish people are homeless, do USG wants to kill them all and every nations in middle east, or start the third world war? Barack Hussein Obama have a limited time to choose, they have made the mess, now is time to correct it by siding with Syrian, Iranian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Kurdish fighters whom are fighting ISIS, not those whom are in bed with Israel and saudis.
This morning the Dutch newspaper NRC-Handelsblad reports that a deal has been reached. The NYT? No, of course not.
This is a fool's errand. The local Islamic groups in Syria and Iraq are by now well aware that the US doesn't give a ratsass about them or their agenda. The US is in this for themselves only. And the idiots running the US show continue to blather on about "moderates" they can/should support. There are no "moderates" and they surely are not interested in aiding the US in reaching its (and Israel's) goals. If we "train and arm" these "moderates" the day will surely come, and probably soon, when they turn on the US, with our own weapons.
Rich owning fossil fuels — Ultimate in self-genocide
Noam Chomsky has just come out in full support of what Naomi Klein has been saying all along, that all fossil fuels are the property of you and me, the public and should be nationalized and ruled over by the public.
For when it comes to global warming, anything that heats up the environment temperature needs to be controlled in a way that is diametrically opposed to capitalism, profit and free enterprise. Namely, an industry operated at a loss so that no one can possibly make a profit or high executive salary from it.
Basically, all this is part of a broader settlement between Putin, Ukraine and the EU. Putin abandons any further attempts to break up Ukraine, he gets to pull his merceneries out of Donetsk, allowing sanctions to be lifted, he gets a trade deal between the EU and his "Eurasian Customs Union", which will probably become an extension of the EU in the same manner as the EEA. The white elephant in the room, Crimea, will not be mentioned for the moment. Essentially, Putin will go back to square one, where he was before the neocons manipulated him into attacking the best friend he has in the world, namely, the EU, and try to carry on as if nothing ever happened. He will present that as a huge victory and no one will contradict him publicly, although his elderly supporters in Russia will probably see it as a humiliation. They wanted an exhumed Soviet Union, which they wil realise they are never going to get. What effect that will have on Putin's future will be interesting to watch.
I didn't see Russia attacking EU. When did that happen? Did the Ukraine become part of the EU and no one told us?
Putin's "mercenaries" must have been superhuman to beat down the Ukrainian Army. I personally cannot wait for Russia to cut the Ukraine off from the Black Sea altogether after the next batch of US/EU provocations and leave naught but a small rump state full of hateful neo-Nazis that you are obviously so sympathetic to.
Remember, in your alt-universe that everyone who tried to conquer Russia came through the Ukraine. It won't happen again.
Stop spreading your lies.
Apparently the Ukraine seems to think they are entitled to Russian gas for free.
Ukraine is walking in a sort of unrrealistic world,and decided that she is in war with Russia,killing its own rots…without any analysis of what really appends. Monday the Rada will decide to forbid russian tv serials on their tv chains.That is the level of the Turchinov brain(the man who put the question on discussion).When the people of Ukraine will wake up ? After us pizza tv serials ?
The squabble of Ukraine with Russia was always somewhat absurd, because it is so dependent on Russia. Like Georgia, it could only sustain a quarrel with Russia if it was given substantial and continuing economic and other aid from the US or the EU. Neither wished to put themselves to the trouble and expense. This was the reason I always disapproved of the vigorous verbal encouragement they were given. It simply encouraged Ukraine to place itself in an untenable position, and then find it didn't have the backing it needed to succeed. Still, if either party had really been concerned about the independence of Ukrainians, they wouldn't have encouraged the elimination of their nuclear arms and the shut-down of their nuclear power plants on the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I am getting an article concerning Ukraine when I click on the story today about the U.S.having trouble finding allies willing to fight their latest ground war in Iraq and Syria.