Latest News from Ukraine-Kiev snipers hired by Maidan leaders – leaked EU’s Ashton phone tape
Posted on March 6th, 2014
Kiev snipers hired by Maidan leaders – leaked EU’s Ashton phone tape
The snipers who shot at protesters and police in Kiev were allegedly hired by Maidan leaders, according to a leaked phone conversation between the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Estonian foreign affairs minister, which has emerged online.“There is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition,” Urmas Paet said during the conversation.“I think we do want to investigate. I mean, I didn’t pick that up, that’s interesting. Gosh,” Ashton answered.The call took place after Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visited Kiev on February 25, following the peak of clashes between the pro-EU protesters and security forces in the Ukrainian capital.
http://rt.com/news/ashton-maidan-snipers-estonia-946/
Estonian Foreign Ministry confirms authenticity of leaked call on Kiev snipers
Estonian foreign ministry has confirmed the recording of his conversation with EU foreign policy chief is authentic. Urmas Paet said that snipers who shot at protesters and police in Kiev were hired by Maidan leaders.
Paet told RIA-Novosti news agency that he talked to Catherine Ashton last week right after retiring from Kiev, but refrained from further comments, saying that he has to “listen to the tape first.”
“It’s very disappointing that such surveillance took place altogether. It’s not a coincidence that this conversation was uploaded [to the web] today,” he stressed.
“My conversation with Ashton took place last week right after I returned from Kiev. At that time I was already in Estonia,” Paet added.
Paet also gave a press conference about the leaked tape on Wednesday, saying that the dramatic events in Kiev, which resulted in people being killed, must become the subject of an independent investigation.
The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on its website, saying that the recording of the leaked telephone conversation between Paet and Ashton is “authentic.”
http://rt.com/news/estonia-confirm-leaked-tape-970/
Those who seized power in Kiev want to sour relations between West & Russia – Lavrov
The suggestion of Kiev’s new self-proclaimed government to swap economic aid for the placement of US missile defense shield looks too much like an attempt to sour relations between the West and Russia, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Financial aid to the self-proclaimed government in Kiev is currently being discussed, with US secretary of state John Kerry arriving on Tuesday. Although the Russian Foreign Minister said it had heard no previous mention of the swap, earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine’s ambassador to Belorus, Mikhail Ezhal did mention that such an idea was in the works. When asked about this suggestion at a news conference with his Spanish counterpart, Lavrov said that ” if it is true, then we have another example wherein, completely unhindered by our Western partners, those who have taken over the Rada are trying to gamble on the relationship between Russia and the West, and are trying to cause frictions in this relationship with their attempts at fishing in murky waters.”
Lavrov, for his part, believes that such ways of doing business aren’t serious enough and that “our Western partners are well aware of these games.”
http://rt.com/news/lavrov-kiev-russia-west-924/
Ron Paul: US shouldn’t meddle in Ukraine
Former presidential hopeful and long-time lawmaker Ron Paul told RT that he doesn’t think the United States should get involved any further in the escalating situation in Ukraine.
Paul, a staunch non-interventionist who last year retired from Congress after more than a quarter-century, said during an exclusive interview with RT on Wednesday that there’s “no sense” in having America entangled in the overseas standoff.
“I don’t think we have any business there,” Paul told RT from his office in Texas this week.
Tensions in the European country have worsened in recent weeks, particularly after President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February amid fiery anti-government protests in the capital city of Kiev. Violence quickly spread to other regions of the country, particularly in Crimea where local authorities have refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government and have established self-defense militias.
“I think it would be nice if we considered the Ukrainians. It’s their civil strike, their civil war, and deciding who to run that country should be left to them,” Paul told RT. “Unfortunately, others get involved and it seems like its irresistible for the US to be involved.”
http://rt.com/usa/ron-paul-ukraine-crisis-002/
Ukraine crisis: Urgent talks, angry words, but still no coherent plan to end Crimea’s stand-off
French officials said that Mr Lavrov had refused to recognise Mr Deshchytsia’s legitimacy as a representative of the Ukrainian people – sticking to Moscow’s line that the change of government in Kiev last month was an “illegal” coup.
Russians retake Ukraine regional HQ
Pro-Moscow youths recaptured the administrative headquarters of the eastern city of Donetsk and flew the Russian flag from its roof on Wednesday, hours after Kiev’s authorities managed to fly their own flag there for the first time since Saturday.
About 1,000 pro-Russian protesters took back the regional government building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Wednesday, leaving around a dozen people injured, a reporter witnessed.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6324c417-a05c-4bde-bb88-8b599d41081a.aspx
Questions on Ukraine the West chooses not to answer
Ukrainian and Western refusal to answer Moscow’s hard questions explains Russia’s tough stance on the crisis in Kiev.
Ignoring Russian concerns is a western habit adopted after the Soviet Union’s collapse; when NATO bombed Yugoslavia; during the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, and the US push to install an anti-missile shield over Europe that can target Russia.
It also happened recently when western diplomats flocked to Ukraine to smile and wave and lobby their interests in a future Ukrainian government, while accusing Russia of meddling in Ukrainian affairs.
But it seems that in Ukraine lies Russia’s red line and Moscow no longer takes “don’t know, don’t care” for an answer.
Here’s the questions.
http://rt.com/news/ukraine-west-questions-not-answered-994/
Officials of Crimean government to arrive in Moscow this week
This week, the delegation from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is to arrive in Moscow. The Crimean authorities intend to hold a meeting with State Duma deputies.
According to the head of the Supreme Council of the Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, the agenda of the meeting is currently being formed. A wide range of questions will be discussed – from the provision of medicines and food to energy. In addition, the Crimean authorities are concerned about the upcoming tourist season.
http://english.pravda.ru/news/russia/05-03-2014/127033-crimea_moscow-0/
Crimea asks $6 billion from Russia
The government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea asks Russia to provide economic aid in the amount of six billion dollars. One billion would be direct financial support, whereas the remaining five would serve as investment, vice-speaker of the Federation Council Yevgeny Bushmin said.
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has drawn up a plan of assistance that would soon be sent to the government for approval in the coming days.
http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/05-03-2014/127032-crimea_russia-0/
March 5th, 2014 at 7:05 pm
The events of the Ukraine and Syria are to destroy the Russian oil industry, by blocking the natural gas line through the Ukraine, and in regard to Syria, the whole purpose of the war, to have Persian gulf gas to pass through Syria to Europe in order to cripple Russia’s Gas and Oil export, in order to keep Russia behind.
March 5th, 2014 at 8:18 pm
Russia cannot be seen without including the CSTO, SCO and China. The CSTO was formed as Russia’s NATO but unlike the members of NATO the CSTO members are financially sound, rich in natural resources and strategically better placed. Many NATO members are in deep financial trouble including the US, UK, France. Putin did not take over the Crimea to engage in proposals for peace talks. Already the world has accepted the annexation of the Crimea as part of Russia.
President Obama wants to make the Ukraine a member nation of NATO. That would be handing the Ukraine to Russia for Russia will not have one of her CSTO member nations share a border with a NATO nation since Belarus is a CSTO member and shares a border with the Ukraine. Two days ago Russia launched an ICBM missile thereby violating the SALT treaty (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) and made a mockery of the agreement Obama had with Putin a few years ago to limit the nuclear weapons stock pile of both nations.
Obama has threatened Putin that if the crisis in the Ukraine is not solved he will not attend the G8 summit and has threatened to remove Russia from the G8 nations which were formed as a collection of nations who have the strongest industrial base (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States,Canada and Russia) yet they do not include China which has the second largest economy in the world and Italy, Japan and the UK are in a financial trouble of some level with Italy being the worst. If Russia exits the G8, it will be the G8 that will be hurt and not Russia. If Obama does not attend the G8 meeting then Russia will prevail in that meeting. Obama has painted himself into a corner by his own inflated threats.
Russia in turn has threatened to shut the gas and oil to Europe who is dependent on Russia. In addition Russia has threatened to drop the US currency in bilateral trade. Trade between Russia and China alone is enormous since Russia is one of the main suppliers of oil to China. If China were to sell even half of our 40% debt that she holds on the open market as junk bonds the dollar will take a terrible beating. It maybe the beginning of the end of the dollar as the international currency of exchange. China in recent times wants to replace the dollar with the Yuan as the international currency of exchange. Since these bonds are sold at zero interest and China wants to replace the dollar any excuse would be sufficient for China to take this step. Recently both China and Japan dumped Billions of dollars of American bonds on the market.
The US has already lost to Russia in the middle East regarding Syria and Iran, President Obama has loosened sanctions on Iran and come to agreements which Iran now repudiates. This has caused friction between the US and her long time alley Saudi Arabia who sees a rising Persian nation armed with nuclear weapons. Most of the Arab nations now have only one option and that is to become nuclear powers themselves in order to bring balance of power in the region where Israel and now Iran hold that power. Pakistan is more than willing to supply Saudi Arabia with the technology as she did with Iran and North Korea.
Regarding China the US containment policy is not going well. Recently the US approached the Maldive nation to build a military base in that nation and was turned down, while Russia plans to build eight military bases across the world. Three of them in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua or right under the belly of the US, thereby making a mockery of the “Monroe Doctrine”. two other military bases are planned for Seychelles and in Singapore which is one of four banking capitals of the world.
Recently a Muslim from the Chinese province of Xinjiang attacked and killed 33 people in a subway station and wounding several more with a knife as the separatist movement in Xinjiang continues. Pakistan under the Pakistani Taliban wants to make Pakistan into a theocracy that follows the Sharia law. They are also deeply involved in supporting the separatist movement in Xinjiang. Xinjiang is China’s largest province by land and is the richest in proven natural resources. Just a few days ago President Obama sent 1.6 Billion dollars to the Taliban controlled Pakistan. It is obvious some of this money will go to support the separatist movement in China.
At the same time President Obama wants to cut our military to pre world war 2 levels or 450 thousand men and women down from one million five hundred thousand. He also intends to cut the troops stationed in South Korea, Japan and Germany. This is not going unnoticed to China and Russia who have increased their expenditure on military spending. China has raised hers by 12% in order to create a blue water navy.
Finally the nature of Russia and China. Unlike India or the US these nations would not blink an eye if a million people die from a war but that cannot be said of the US or India where panic would be the result. This means the autocratic regimes of Russia and China are more formidable in war than the US or India.
India is caught in an odd situation. She has been recruited by the US to contain China and has approached Japan for that purpose. This puts China and India at opposite ends of the pole. While China holds 40% of the US debt both India and the US are experiencing deep economic problems. India’s growth rate has dropped from 8% to 4%. this is dangerous when 80% of her population are 40 years and younger and are of the working age. The US debt is at 17 trillion dollars (Google US national debt clock real time and see the chart. Look to the upper left to see how fast our debt is increasing). Nevertheless Washington DC. has increased the debt ceiling of the nation in order to borrow from itself another two trillion dollars. The collapse of the dollar is inevitable. A good book on this subject is the Crucible of Decline: Tottering on the fall of America” by Rocky Bagaladi.
When it comes to Sri Lanka the increasing tension between the US and NATO against China and Russia including their respective organizations the SCO and CSTO will serve well in the Security Council where issues of an international investigation on Sri Lanka will be immediately vetoed by Russia and China as they see the US is overextending her power into areas of the world that she has no business.
March 5th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
Nice defence round up BW.
Russian moves in crimea has BLOCKED US troops escaping Afghanistan!!
USA had only 3 routes to and out of Afghanistan. One through Pakistan – bombed and busted by the Taliban so USA gave it up. Another route through the Caspian was closed because tensions over Iran. The only route is the one running through central Asia, crosses Russia and into the Black Sea. IF USA tries to be too smart, Putin may close it forcing USA to abandon large weapons in Afghanistan and run. These may fall into the hands of the Taliban.
Who thought this coming!
By US media will play it down. They never tell that American troops are at the mercy of Putin.
SL should NOT have gone to that foolish pro-Endian BIMSTEC thing.
It is an ANTI CHINA alliance led by Endia not Bangladesh. By taking its top post, SL has sent the WRONG SIGNAL to China unless SL is China’s cat’s paw in the useless group.
Despite MR taking the risk useless Manmoron refused to support SL. A wasted trip.
March 5th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
BW,
You should write those AS AN ARTICLE in LW.
March 6th, 2014 at 11:17 am
Lorenzo:
Thank you. Would love to write an article for the Lankaweb but do not know how to go about the process.