Biden, Germany’s Scholz Try to Show United Front Amid Ukraine Tensions

13 thoughts on “Biden, Germany’s Scholz Try to Show United Front Amid Ukraine Tensions”

1. The stupid part is Russia couldn’t care less. They’ve already recouped their investment due to the recent high energy prices. And they’ve got another pipeline coming up going to China. The only countries hurt by stopping NS2 is the EU. The US knows this. The US is sacrificing the EU in order to squeeze the last dollar out of them by selling them LNG before they collapse.

   1. I eish it were this simple. US must congrol Europe and nott let its advanced capabilities be leveraged by Russia’s cheep energy or Chinese open market or infrastructure prowess.
      So, what is to be done?
      Two moves are afoot — separating Europe from
      continental connectivity to the globe — through Russia. Europe can become integrated into the fastest growing economies of Eurasian continent. No need for dependance on US-UK thalassocracy. Second move — cut off Europe from Asia, by controlling Bab-al-Mandeb straits connecting Asia to Europe by Red Sea. Since US cannot control Suez canal, it must control the straits. This is what Yemen war is sll about. Saudis and UAE have been alternatively used to work with each other and agaunst each other to maintain chaos, and establish control over both sides if the straits. The status today is as clear as mud.
      But should US suceed and Gibraltar already conntrolled by British -/ Europe would be cut off frim the world.

      Us snd UK to Germany and France — trust us, not bad Russians — we will NEVER block you from the world. Trust us!

      And here we are. Germany keeping good relations with Russia would make US gambit on Ded Sea straits semi-pointless. It will STILL remain the powerful weapon against all Red sea dependent states for Asia trade — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen. This is why Saydi Arabis and Egypt joined SCO, This is why Sudan military kucked out US “civil society” from the governing coslition, this why Ethiopia and Eritrea jointly stopped Tigray, US supported clique that rulled Ethioia, from coming back to government by force,

      Europe must stay US controlled — the only part of Eurasian territoty — apart from South Korea.
      And South Korea is itself cut off from the continent by North Korea, it is in fact an island.

      Without Europe, US snd UK become Oceania.

      1. Interesting points that I wasn’t aware of. However, when I say the US is “sacrificing” Europe, I didn’t mean that they were “giving up” Europe. I meant that they were sacrificing the European economy to the US’ own economy by cutting Europe off from Russia over this manufactured crisis.

         It’s not certain yet whether the Europeans have enough balls to cut themselves off from the US and join Eurasia. Andrei Martyanov seems skeptical that the EU will rebel against this current anti-Russia push by the US. Will be interesting to see.

         If all this is true, however, it makes it even less likely that any negotiated settlement with Russia is possible, or that the Biden administration is serious about such negotiations. Another strike against the Pollyannas.

2. The true story is opposite of the narrative. The narrative is that Ukraine is the threat and that in retaliation, they will shut down the pipeline. In truth, the real threat (to US hegemony) is what the pipeline represents, and to fight against it they are using a fabricated Ukraine crisis.

3. US is fighting windmills , thinking they are enemies. Europe is the enabler — letting US exausts its energies on pointless objectives, hoping it will see its own problems soon.

   As if Germany cannot see this. By separating Germany frim anything Russian, having no codependency — just like UK suceeded before, US hopes to turm Germans again into Russias enemy, a sacrificial mass of humanity servicing the common good of preserving Anglo-American empire, Two flies with one stroke.

   The absurdity is — why would Getmany voluntarily deprive itself from energy with no realistic alternative in sight? Why destroy its industry and profitable sales to China?

   There is no why in politics. Politics applies law if physics. Power, force, leverage. strength, conductivity, speed, mass, resistance. durability, corrosion, etc

   Germany may have vulnerabilities we do not understand. That may lead to forced suicidal moves.

   1. As Andrei Martyanov says, geopolitics depends on geography – which means economic power – and military power. The problem is that politics in general – meaning internal and geopolitics – depends on human nature – and that’s always a recipe for disaster.

4. Bernhard weighs in on an alternative vision Russia might have.

   Europe Should Leave NATO Behind And Integrate With Russia
   https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/02/europe-should-leave-nato-behind-and-integrate-with-russia.html

   But what Karaganov seems to envision now is an integration of Russia with Europe without U.S. involvement.

   That is certainly something the French President Macron would also like to see. France has long insisted on European sovereignty including in defense matters. German’s chancellor Scholz would likewise agree with it. As would other west-European countries…

   But to set up an alternative organization is not easy. The current European Union structures in Brussels do not allow for doing that under an EU umbrella. A new alliance of France, German, Spain and maybe Italy could be a decent start to then integrate with Russia. That would certainly also attract other European NATO members though some eastern European countries would probably lag because of their historic Russia phobia.

   That all may look to be far outside of the current horizon. But we should remember that it was a U.S. president who just five years ago considered to leave NATO.

   Karaganov may be onto something and the European capitals should start to think about it.

5. Well, well, it appears that Gilbert Doctorow is beginning to get the picture… In this article, he sounds like me. A big turnaround from his “it’s all going to work out due to diplomacy” earlier articles here.

   The fatigue factor: the ongoing marathon of European diplomacy is a useless distraction
   https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/02/08/the-fatigue-factor-the-ongoing-marathon-of-european-diplomacy-is-a-useless-distraction/

   It was clear that notwithstanding the complexity of the ongoing crisis at the Russian-Ukraine border, he had only one goal for the talks that had been agreed with the European Commission, NATO and Washington before his flight to Moscow: to persuade the Kremlin to begin withdrawal of its military forces so that a de-escalation could be announced to the world.

   On Macron’s face we saw in addition to fatigue, strain and animal fear. What could he fear? That he would leave Moscow empty-handed, with no concessions to boast.

   And just I said in a previous post, that’s exactly what happened.

   Indeed, French government spokesmen put lipstick on the pig when they claimed a certain success well after the meeting ended, saying that Vladimir Putin would now order a large part of Russia’s 30,000 soldiers presently in Belarus back to their bases in Russia once the ten day military exercises soon to start are completed. Of course, that was always in the Russian game plan of exercises that prioritize training their Belarus colleagues on the latest Russian military hardware, which they brought with them and which will remain in Belarus to bolster the country’s southern flank…

   Yup. Exactly as I said in that previous post.

   The issue of the 150,000 Ukrainian forces massed at the border with Donbas and armed to the teeth with new Western toys for the boys was not addressed in any way by Mr. Macron, whereas it is precisely that which explains the Russian troop concentrations on their side of the border and explains why the bulk of the Russians are not leaving any time soon. We heard from Macron only upbeat and empty remarks on how the Normandy Format would be continued in further efforts to implement the Minsk Accords…

   Gilbert gets that exactly right. What matters is forces on the ground.

   To use a favorite term of former British Prime Minister and possibly future NATO General Director Theresa May, it is “highly likely” that the question of whether there will be war or peace between Ukraine and Russia is outside the control of any of these European civilian leaders and may well be outside the control of Vladimir Putin. The Guns of February or March will be fired, if they are fired at all, by actions taken by military authorities either in Kiev or at the line of demarcation independently of what President Zelensky may wish. The fuse may even be lit by detachments of British or U.S. special forces now circulating near the line of demarcation, also without the specific knowledge of their respective Prime Minister or President just as the February 2014 coup d’etat in Kiev was engineered by a certain State Department officer, Victoria Nuland, without the participation or detailed knowledge of her bosses.

   Needless to say, this is exactly the scenario I’ve been talking about for months now.

6. Meanwhile, there’s the UK and Poland’s contribution to the war plan…

   British-trained far-right militia arrives on frontline in Donbass as Western aggression in Ukraine continues
   https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/british-trained-far-right-militia-arrives-frontline-donbass-western-aggression

   They are set to be joined by at least 100 British special operations forces, Lugansk People’s Militia spokesman Ivan Filiponenko told a press briefing today.

   “Despite the fact that the United Kingdom officially states that these servicemen are instructors and will train the Ukrainian army, our intelligence obtained verifiable information that the British special operations servicemen arrived as regular units and can perform reconnaissance and sabotage tasks,” he said.

7. And more UK support for the CIA/neocon plan…

   UK to arm Ukraine with anti-ship missiles against Russia – Kiev’s envoy
   https://news.antiwar.com/2022/02/07/biden-germanys-scholz-try-to-show-united-front-amid-ukraine-tensions/

   The UK will supply Kiev with anti-ship missiles to potentially use against the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s envoy to Britain, Vadim Pristayko, said in an interview with Novoye Radio on Tuesday. The official did not specify what munitions London is sending, nor the date they are set to arrive in Ukraine.

   “For the first time, our armed forces, the Navy in particular, will receive real weapons, missiles that will finally enable us to have something against the Russians in the Black and Azov Seas,” the diplomat said.

8. And more UK support for the CIA/neocon plan…

   UK to arm Ukraine with anti-ship missiles against Russia – Kiev’s envoy
   https://news.antiwar.com/2022/02/07/biden-germanys-scholz-try-to-show-united-front-amid-ukraine-tensions/

   The UK will supply Kiev with anti-ship missiles to potentially use against the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s envoy to Britain, Vadim Pristayko, said in an interview with Novoye Radio on Tuesday. The official did not specify what munitions London is sending, nor the date they are set to arrive in Ukraine.

   “For the first time, our armed forces, the Navy in particular, will receive real weapons, missiles that will finally enable us to have something against the Russians in the Black and Azov Seas,” the diplomat said.

9. Very comprehensive article from Michael Hudson. I haven’t read much from him, but I’ve seen his name everywhere. But this seems very good. Fits in with Andrei Martyanov’s opinion that the US is sacrificing the EU’s economy in favor of its own.

   America’s real adversaries are its European and other allies: The U.S. aim is to keep them from trading with China and Russia
   https://thesaker.is/americas-real-adversaries-are-its-european-and-other-allies-the-u-s-aim-is-to-keep-them-from-trading-with-china-and-russia/

   The Iron Curtain of the 1940s and ‘50s was ostensibly designed to isolate Russia from Western Europe – to keep out Communist ideology and military penetration. Today’s sanctions regime is aimed inward, to prevent America’s NATO and other Western allies from opening up more trade and investment with Russia and China. The aim is not so much to isolate Russia and China as to hold these allies firmly within America’s own economic orbit. Allies are to forego the benefits of importing Russian gas and Chinese products, buying much higher-priced U.S. LNG and other exports, capped by more U.S. arms…

   The most glaring example is the U.S. drive to block Germany from authorizing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to obtain Russian gas for the coming cold weather. Angela Merkel agreed with Donald Trump to spend $1 billion building a new LNG port to become more dependent on highly priced U.S. LNG. (The plan was cancelled after the U.S. and German elections changed both leaders.) But Germany has no other way of heating many of its houses and office buildings (or supplying its fertilizer companies) than with Russian gas.

   The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.”[1] The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor….

10. And from the inimitable Maria Zakharova, the same message…

    Germany an ‘occupied state’ — Russia
    US ambassadors give orders in Berlin, backed by American boots on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman tells RT
    https://www.rt.com/russia/548712-germany-occupied-us-nordstream-zakharova/

    Germany, according to a number of relevant characteristics – this is neither mine, nor Russia’s opinion, this is according to politological terms and metrics – remains, one way or another, an occupied state: 30,000 of American [troops] are stationed there,” she told RT.

    Zakharova added that “American ambassadors to Germany, who are supposed to work there to improve bilateral relations, are giving orders to German officials.” Richard Grenell, who was the US ambassador to Berlin during the Trump presidency, was “giving them orders literally every day on what to do on issues such as Nord Stream 2.”

    So if the US is doing that to Germany, what do you think they’re doing to pipsqueak Ukraine, eh? And yet some people think Zelensky has agency to implement Minsk?

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