Geopolitical Rumblings Leave U.S. Behind
Over the last month we have seen astonishing geopolitical developments.
In February China publicly lambasted U.S. hegemony, launched a global security initiative and offered a peace plan for Ukraine.
On March 10 China mediated an agreement which restored relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
On March 15 Moscow rolled out the red carpet for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Yesterday al-Assad and his wife Asma arrived in the UAE for talks with Sheikh Mohammed
Also yesterday Iran and Iraq signed a security cooperation agreement that will stop the CIA sponsored Kurdish activities against Iran.
Also yesterday King Salman of Saudi Arabia invited the President of Iran to a visit in Riyadh.
For the last 30 years the U.S. considered the Middle East as its backyard. Twenty years ago it illegally invaded Iraq and caused 100,000nds of death and decades of chaos. Now China, by peaceful means, changed the balance in the Middle East within just one month.
Today China's President Xi arrived in Moscow for three days of talks with Russia's President Putin. An article by President Putin was published in the People's Daily while Russian media published a signed article by President Xi.
The U.S. is afraid that China's peace initiative for Ukraine will gain ground. It has openly come out against a cease-fire and peace talks. I had thought that was for Ukraine to decide?
It is likely that Putin will publicly endorse the Chinese peace plan while the U.S. is paranoid that peace might indeed happen. It may even want to sabotage the Saudi Iranian deal.
China's people are by the way the most happy in the world.
Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless 'unilateral' people around him are left aside.
Posted by b on March 20, 2023 at 10:21 UTC | Permalink
next page »The AUKUS (or more correctly the USUKA) nuclear submarine deal that looks more and more like our hapless Prime Minister Albanese's Albatross couldn't have come at a worse time than the very week in which China brought Iran and Saudi Arabia together and got those two countries agreeing to re-establish diplomatic relations. Instead Australia opts to follow the global bully. We'll rue the day when war breaks out between China and the US through no fault of the Chinese, and we discover that we'll have to do nearly all the fighting and take all the hits "for the team" while Washington DC makes all sorts of promises to us that it never intends to keep.
Posted by: Refinnejenna | Mar 20 2023 10:47 utc | 2
Beyond doubt ther will be pictures of them side by side smiling, and facing each other with warm hand shakes.
I hope that will be the momment north American polatitans, military and media realize, they are a small minority within a minor country.
Welcome to the unipolar world welcome to reality.
Thanks b your onto it.
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 10:53 utc | 3
let’s hope that the US will not panic and accept the truth that everyone is finally beginning to see, which is: USA is the No. 1 Terrorist organization on this planet, our home.
But I don’t see that coming. It would be naïve to think that they will let China do what they are doing. The US will fight for their unipolar hegemony.
However, it is surprising how stupid the US is acting… (no need to explain that further in this audience) But the fact that such stupid people have access to all kind of weapons, is very worrying.
In the last days I have already noticed a new level of emotionalized propaganda in the German media, “explaining” in all “newspapers” the ever-boring story of The Good and The Evil. The language is becoming more infantile and desperate, almost embarrassing (Fremdscham)
I am afraid they are preparing their people for a justification of something …. very very stupid. I hope not.
So far Russia and China have acted quite cleverly, not responding to the various childish provocations. Instead they behaved like adults and were surprisingly successful in de-escalation. They show strength and wisdom at the same time.
They seem to be prepared for anything the US will do. They know the US empire is ending and they even seem to be aware that they should not humiliate the Empire (something they could do very well, if they wanted to).
May peace prevail.
Posted by: HansJuergen | Mar 20 2023 11:07 utc | 4
The Chinese "Peace Plan" - as annotated by me:
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/zyxw/202302/t20230224_11030707.shtml
China's position on a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis
2023-02-24 09:00
First, respect the sovereignty of all countries. Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, should be strictly observed, and the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all States should be effectively guaranteed. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal, and all parties should jointly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations and safeguard international fairness and justice. International law should be applied equally and uniformly, without double standards.
[MY NOTE: Boilerplate, standard Chinese position which does not even mention Ukraine or Russia.]
Second, abandon the Cold War mentality. The security of one country cannot be at the expense of the security of other countries, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries should be taken into account and properly addressed. There are no easy solutions to complex problems. We should adhere to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, focus on the long-term peace and stability of the world, promote the construction of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture, oppose basing one's own security on the insecurity of other countries, prevent the formation of camp confrontation, and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Eurasian continent.
[MY NOTE: Ditto]
3. Ceasefire and cessation of war. There are no winners in conflict wars. All parties should remain rational and restrained, do not add fuel to the fire, do not intensify contradictions, avoid further deterioration or even loss of control of the Ukrainian crisis, support Russia and Ukraine to meet each other halfway, resume direct dialogue as soon as possible, gradually promote the de-escalation of the situation, and finally reach a comprehensive ceasefire.
[MY NOTE: Note that this does not call on Russia or Ukraine to do anything. Instead it calls on "all parties" to "avoid loss of control", calls on outside parties to support Russia and Ukraine in peace efforts to promote a ceasefire. No direct calls for either Russia or Ukraine to actually commit to a ceasefire.]
4. Initiating peace talks. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. All efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis should be encouraged and supported. The international community should adhere to the right direction of persuading peace and promoting talks, help all parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement of the crisis as soon as possible, and create conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of negotiations. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in this regard.
[MY NOTE: Ditto.]
Fifth, resolve humanitarian crises. All initiatives that contribute to alleviating the humanitarian crisis should be encouraged and supported. Humanitarian action must respect the principles of neutrality and impartiality and prevent the politicization of humanitarian issues. Effectively protect the safety of civilians and establish humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from warring areas. Increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve the humanitarian situation, provide rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and prevent larger humanitarian crises. Support the coordinating role of the United Nations in humanitarian assistance to conflict areas.
[MY NOTE: Again, boiler plate concern for humanitarian issues. Russia can agree to this in a heartbeat without having to do anything different than they've been doing.]
Protection of civilians and prisoners of war. Parties to a conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, refrain from attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, protect women and children and other victims of conflict, and respect the fundamental rights of prisoners of war. China supports the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine, and all parties should create more favorable conditions for this.
[MY NOTE: Ditto.]
7. Maintain the safety of nuclear power plants. Oppose armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities such as nuclear power plants. We call on all parties to abide by international law such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. Support the constructive role of the IAEA in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.
[MY NOTE: Same, same - Russia has been doing that, Ukraine has not. This is a strike against Ukraine and is something which Russia again could agree to in a heartbeat without having to do anything at all.]
8. Reduce strategic risks. Nuclear weapons cannot be used, and nuclear war cannot be fought. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons should be rejected. Prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid nuclear crises. It opposes the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.
[MY NOTE: And who has biowarfare labs in Ukraine? Not Russia! Another strike against Ukraine - and by extension, the US. Again, Russia need do nothing.]
9. Ensuring the export of grain. All parties should implement the Black Sea grain transportation agreement signed by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations in a balanced, comprehensive and effective manner, and support the United Nations in playing an important role in this regard. China's initiative on international food security cooperation provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.
[MY NOTE: Once again, Russia need do nothing it isn't already doing.]
10. Stop unilateral sanctions. /b10>Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure will not only fail to solve problems, but will also create new ones. Oppose any unilateral sanctions not authorized by the Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" against other countries, play a role in cooling down the Ukraine crisis, and create conditions for developing countries to develop their economies and improve their livelihood.
[MY NOTE: Direct strike against the United States and Western Europe. Again, Russia doesn't need to do anything.]
11. Ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain. All parties should earnestly safeguard the existing world economic system and oppose the politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of the world economy. Jointly mitigate the spillover impact of the crisis, prevent international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade, and transportation from being disrupted, and harm global economic recovery.
[MY NOTE: Ditto.]
12. Promote post-war reconstruction. The international community should take measures to support post-war reconstruction in conflict areas. China is ready to provide assistance and play a constructive role in this regard.
[MY NOTE: Ditto.]
This is a "peace plan"? I thought China was trying to get a real ceasefire going based on the babble I was reading from everyone else. This is pablum. This is a PR document, nothing more. It's utterly meaningless. Why the US even bothered to say they won't do it is beyond me - other than, of course, to guarantee that no negotiations ever occur. But this document doesn't even call for meaningful negotiations on any specific time frame, venue or with any support except China.
Russia can agree to this in a heartbeat, then get right back to prosecuting the war the same way as it did yesterday.
This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen. It makes it very clear that Xi is going to Russia for discussions on matters other than this nonsense and is using this to solidify the Russian-Chinese alliance for the benefit of the perception of the non-aligned nations.
There will be absolutely no change in the war based on this document or any comments which Putin or Xi may make in the wake of their meetings.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
How much do I like to see a comprehensive joint Russia-China cooperation leading to full break up in the form of a controlled demolition of the US petrodollar sham. Now that Saudi Arabia is on the Eurasian world order train it would be a good time pulling the rug under US' feet. The Neocons will continue on with their bluster Unless the world drops US' petrodollar reserve currency privileged status.
Posted by: maskazer | Mar 20 2023 11:32 utc | 6
There is a reason I have come to like the neocons and wish that they continue to dictate us foreign policy. Us was the unquestioned hegemon of the world and the world had a single pole before the administration of Dumbo bush and his neocon handlers came to lead the us, and it is thanks to their policies and action the unipolar order is gone us empire is weakened, us society is deeply divided and we r now seeing the beginning of a multipolar world order.
Yes there was death and carnage but in terms of big picture that is worth it when u see a more just order being developed and asia takes the center stage as it has been the norm throughout history.
Actually I hope our African brothers r the ones who take the lead in this century because Asia and Europe always had contact and it is Africa that developed separately until the European colonialism so they might offer something new.
Same could've been said of south America but the indigenous civilizations have been wiped out so I don't see them offering anything new.
Posted by: A.z | Mar 20 2023 11:38 utc | 7
I'm so happy to see the global south getting happier and happier, particularly China.
I hope the miserable billion can wake up and understand that they are engaged in a lose-lose dynamic. We need solidarity and love now more than ever.
Posted by: tiago | Mar 20 2023 11:46 utc | 8
@Refinnejenna | Mar 20 2023 10:47 utc | 2
"... and take the hits..."
Agreed.
It is a no-brainer to work out whose $zillion (rented/shared) wiz-bang steam-kettle nuclear submarines will be the first sacrifices to be 'sunk' (if that is the correct word). Won't matter what the official rego numbers are on the Oz Navy books.
The only 'black swan' stick-in-the-mud fun-times could be India-China-Africa (BRICS+++) taking out (liberating) Paradise Island in Diego Garcia. Perhaps, on the pretence that China wants their MH370 engineer tourist group remains back.
That outside left-field Indian Ocean scenario makes a fall-back strategy to the Perth (Stirling) Naval Base more rational, imo.
Posted by: imo | Mar 20 2023 11:51 utc | 9
Posted by: maskazer | Mar 20 2023 11:32 utc | 6
US already telegraphed their response to Middle East developments by refloating ISIS. That base in al-Tanf is long past due-date.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 20 2023 11:57 utc | 10
@ Refinnejenna | Mar 20 2023 10:47 utc | 2
interestingly : "(or more correctly the USUKA)",
U-SUKA would translate into U-bitch ( 'female dog' in Polish )
U-SUKA pronounced identically U-сука ( U-bitch 'female dog' in Russian )
U-SUKA pronounced identically U-сука ( U-bitch 'female dog' in Ukrainian )
----
An intended quadruple-entendre ?
:)
Posted by: µM | Mar 20 2023 12:09 utc | 11
Anyone recall Kissinger and „Shuttle Diplomacy“ ? Seems hard to imagine US being capable in recent years. China plays mood music and US breaks up the furniture
Looking at US society you can see how it sees the world as a Zone of Plunder and Realm of Chaos to be controlled by brute force and threats - but that script was operational 1935-45 in Europe and Asia
It is fascinating to watch the Rim of Fire in volcanic activity increase as the Financial Collapse of 1998 postponed by Greenspan Put to 2008 re-awakens and societal disintegration accelerates
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Mar 20 2023 12:28 utc | 12
There will be absolutely no change in the war based on this document or any comments which Putin or Xi may make in the wake of their meetings.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreed. But great virtue signaling, though, from unexpected quarters.
Posted by: Acco Hengst | Mar 20 2023 12:29 utc | 13
RSH @ 5
Thanks for putting the peace plan up for us, I do understand where your comming from, in your comments there.
It needs teeth and enforcement.wheres the stick.
I think thats deliberate, not to provoke escalation as we know a major strategy of both Russia and China.
'That's the plan our actions will speak louder than words.
We may here about the stick over the next days.
After the recent warrant for Putin's arrest Xi ping standing next to Putin is a poke in the eye for Biden and that's infront of the entire world.
That's big.
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 12:31 utc | 14
Posted by: µM | Mar 20 2023 12:09 utc | 11
The problem with the Slavic pun of USUKA is that "u" means something like "at" or "next to", and it sounds wrongly when combined with nominative "suka". Either "u suki" or "u suk" (singular or plural). Or it is a bitch of type U... "You suck-a" sounds like "You sucker" so it does not have problems as a pun.
Anyway, AUKUS should have a Biblical motto "Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him." Australians got milked (treated like a cash cow).
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Mar 20 2023 12:31 utc | 15
b forgot to mention the Saudi-Yemen de-escalation process.
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Mar 20 2023 12:37 utc | 16
Also, Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to visit China. Perhaps the example of Ukraine is so graphic that the Taiwanese penny has finally dropped.
Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 20 2023 12:39 utc | 17
There's a RSOTM video in which Russian soldiers have to walk through an Ukrainan trench they conquered. They have to walk, they cannot avoid this even if you see them doing it gingerly, over the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, collapsed face down into the cold mud. Imagine seeing your son, husband or father killed like that. That's what war is - all for the greed and callousness of some "Western" millionaires and billionaires. And it was ever so. I do not worship Xi and Putin, but I admire them and we can but hope they will change the world.
Posted by: Anthony | Mar 20 2023 12:44 utc | 18
From Telegram...
https://t.me/ZandVchannel/56909
Peace, peaceful existence and inter-religious dialogue cannot be preserved in conditions where the Ukrainian military mocks the Koran.
Sheikh Majid Al-Aqabi, head of the Center for Public Thought, Dialogue and Reforms, said this on RT Arabic.
He recalled that the Koran is the basic law for more than 2 billion people and the behavior of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reduces the number of supporters of Ukraine in Muslim countries.
“This will only push for the speedy liberation of Ukraine from this gang of ignorant people who seized power in a country that does not bear any responsibility, does not respect the diversity of beliefs, religious beliefs,” he added.
UkroNazi defiling of the Koran to tweek their nose at Kadyrov, is having the unintended consequence of alienating the entire muslim world.
This will not end well for the UkroNazis and their allies.....
INDY
Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Mar 20 2023 12:45 utc | 19
Seems to me that the big peace plan was proposed by Russia 17 Dec 2021...the draft security treaties.
The Chinese "plan" seems to be coaxial to and buttressing of the Russian proposed treaties.
The US lost the war a long time ago...the period of now is mere denouement. The nukes are a problem though...eh?
Posted by: Walter | Mar 20 2023 12:56 utc | 20
We are handling this stuff really badly. We should be pulling in our horns a little and showing more accommodation so as to reduce the resistance to our hegemony. That would allow us to remain in charge of events for several more decades, perhaps longer than might be expected. Instead we increase resistance to our rule by becoming more assertive. And now under a notably incompetent leader.
Posted by: Jmaas | Mar 20 2023 12:57 utc | 21
@ Piotr Berman | Mar 20 2023 12:31 utc | 15
? = "(treated like a cash ~SUKA)"
:)
µM
=(1E-6)(1E+6)="1"
Posted by: µM | Mar 20 2023 12:57 utc | 22
Interestingly enough, although the BBC and The Guardian both report on Xi's visit to Moscow, neither of them, or indeed no mainstream UK publications (that I can see) mention the "Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World" conference taking place.
Pepe Escobar
Pepe Escobar - Twitter
If I were a less cynical person maybe I wouldn't be thinking .. "Hmmm ... its almost as if some people would rather not concentrate on the changing geopolitical winds".
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Mar 20 2023 13:00 utc | 23
These nation-states arent european, but the nation-state concept operates on european logic, so I wonder if the Kurds and Armenians will be exterminated as the "price" for lasting peace in the middle east?
Posted by: Domerts | Mar 20 2023 13:11 utc | 24
SattaMassaGana @ 23
Thanks for that and the link.
With History things move very slow then very quick.
Good luck to all Africa an example to Australia right there.
Walter @ 20
Your last sentence...
That's one hell of an understatement.
Let's hope it's not famous last words
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 13:17 utc | 25
Biden and the hapless 'unilateral' people around him are left aside.
Well... As Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, said on september 2, 2020: « The lowest risk sexual activity during COVID-19 involves yourself alone. »
Posted by: Leuk | Mar 20 2023 13:25 utc | 26
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Mar 20 2023 12:31 utc | 15
AUKUS -> USUKA or "You sucka"
What a marvelous and hilarious two bit soundbite apt for the Aussie submarine deal.
Wonder if it would be picked up by Australia politicians and media opposed to the deal, like Sky News Australia.
Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Mar 20 2023 13:48 utc | 27
Also, growing rumors of China building jet fighters in Argentina and Evo Morales blasted the ICC case against Putin.
Posted by: Ringo | Mar 20 2023 13:50 utc | 28
Good luck to all Africa an example to Australia right there.
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 13:17 utc | 25
Agreed .. although I would still caution Africa to enter into any agreements in this rising Multipolar world with their eyes fully open.
If anyone remembers the media firestorm about Putin and "his" war threatening the lives of the poorest in Africa and the "3rd world" due to disruption caused to grain exports, then read on ...
... Michael Koch traced the shipments of Ukrainian grain through the sea corridor, which was created "to help starving countries in Africa."
It turned out that almost all of the grain products went to feed the Spanish pigs.Spain is one of the largest pork producers in the world, and 2.9 million tons of wheat and corn from the Ukraine were sent to Spain.
Only 15 percent of current Ukrainian exports go to countries in Africa or Asia.Slavyangrad
Slavyangrad - Telegram
Now contrast that with this ...
... Putin - "If we still decide not to extend the "grain deal" after 60 days, then we are ready to deliver all the volume that was sent to the countries in need in Africa during the previous time from Russia to these countries for free."AZGeoplitics
AZGeoplitics - Twitter
So whilst I would advise Africa to be cautious, what the West is offering is more of the same lies, double dealing and duplicity. This is why the Multipolar World will not be stoped because the countries who have been abused for so long finally have what seems to be a viable alternative.
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Mar 20 2023 13:51 utc | 29
There will be absolutely no change in the war based on this document or any comments which Putin or Xi may make in the wake of their meetings.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
I disagree. The fact that China is entering the conversation is itself significant and indicates that China is directing its influence toward a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine. There is no reason for an opening statement to contain any more than what the present Chinese document contains. The essential message is, "Let's settle this thing peaceably. And I am here to assist that process."
Posted by: Clever Dog | Mar 20 2023 14:02 utc | 30
Great summation.
A huge geopolitical sea-change is underway.
The tide is indeed rushing out on now out-dated Western, Central Bank enabled dominance.
It seems the over-arching strategy is simple: use this period of crisis, first with covid and now in Ukraine, to forge new alliances and vision for RoW thereby simply leaving the Old Order behind rather than trying to confront it directly (except where given no choice, as in NATO-sponsored build-up in Donbass last January-February).
As the Old Order views the Rest of the World sailing away into a new, far horizon, perhaps it will be left with no option but to start looking inward such that a period of internecine strife will ensue to determine how they can proceed as nations no longer able to finance everything, the good and the bad, with their military-backed petrodollar moreover without any core, human values and mores.
Will the High Finance elites in Manhattan, London, Zurich and elsewhere hold onto power somehow within their now reduced domain or are they already secretly on board the China and United Nations Globalist Express? And if so will the latter come to regret allowing them in as much as the so-called 'Anglo-Saxon' West is about to once the tide is all run out and the real movers and shakers therein are finally revealed, naked, for all to see.
Interesting times a-coming...
Thanks b.
I read just about everything to do with Iran, and came across this article from Brookings Institute sponsored Lawfare. It reads like a new way to undermine the government(oops, meant the negative term: regime).
I had never heard of ‘popular sovereignty’ till now, but here is a prescription for the ‘elite should.’ And all should know this: the constitution is unconstitutional.
It is time for social movements in Iran and Iranian elites to take a page from Khomeini’s book. He didn’t focus on the constitutionality of the 1906 constitutional revolution nor the legitimacy of a constitutional monarchy. Instead, for 15 years, he focused on the legality and legitimacy of the reforms of 1925 and 1949. This enabled him to erode the regime’s claim of legality and legitimacy. Therefore, rather than staying within the confines of the 1979 narrative, Iranian elites should shift the popular rhetoric toward the unconstitutionality and illegitimacy of the 1989 silent counter-revolution. The focus should be on the promotion of a different theory of sovereignty, popular sovereignty, and the unconstitutionality of the current constitution. Khomeini himself famously said[link at original]: “With the constitution being unconstitutional, people are not bound by any law passed by the parliament.” The defects of the 1979 revolution and its constitution are many. But at least it enjoyed a minimum level of revolutionary legality and legitimacy. The same cannot be said of the current constitution of Iran as revised unconstitutionally in 1989. In short, the question should not be whether the 1979 revolution was right or wrong. Rather, with all of its many faults and merits, the 1979 revolution is a stolen revolution. The current constitution is simply unconstitutional.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/unconstitutionality-irans-current-constitution
Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 20 2023 14:14 utc | 32
re: ICC double standards, from DW:
Ukraine updates: China warns ICC against 'double standards'
China has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to avoid "politicization and double standards" after after the tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges.
During a media briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also called on the ICC to "uphold an objective and impartial stance" and "respect the immunity of heads of state from jurisdiction under international law."
China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the United Nations treaty which governs the court.
Russia and the United States are among a handful of countries that initially signed the Rome Statute, only to later declare they would not ratify the treaty.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also criticized Putin's arrest warrant on Monday.
"They decided to try a president of... a nuclear power that does not participate in the ICC on the same grounds as the United States and other countries," Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
"The consequences for international law will be monstrous.. . .here
Recall that Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC and then the criminal charges against the US were dropped. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 14:18 utc | 33
Iraq and the pathologies of primacy:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/iraq-and-pathologies-primacy
Wertheim ignores the anti-war movement and doesn't understand the political economy of US imperialism. He treats primacy as simply a deeply held US cultural and political tradition. He doesn't understand how US capitalism is propped up and sustained by US dollar/financial/military primacy.
So his critique doesn't go deep enough.
See the work of Peter Gowan in the Dollar Wall Street Regime for a better understanding of US imperial strategy.
Posted by: Ringo | Mar 20 2023 14:20 utc | 34
@ Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 20 2023 14:14 utc | 32
re: "the unconstitutionality of the current [Iran] constitution . .The current constitution is simply unconstitutional."
That's a good one.
constitution . . .a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 14:27 utc | 35
Putin has now openly supported Xi's peace plan, like you expected.
That said, I wouldn't say China did a major diplomatic reshuffle in just one month; the first key results anazingly are occurring over a mere month. Yet this was a long-term work that eventually rewards seriousness, competence and years of hard work. Still, a genuine Diplomatic Revolution is long overdue, and we might still get there.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Mar 20 2023 14:35 utc | 36
Lt. Gen. Soleimani was initiator of Iran's rapprochement with Saudis, Emiratis - Presstv.ir
Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.The mainstream media coverage of the agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties after seven years is missing a key element - the instrumental role of General Qassem Soleimani to make it happen.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in a recent article threw light on the top anti-terror commander's behind-the-scenes role in pushing the peace deal between Tehran and Riyadh, but it has not received the necessary attention.
General Soleimani was tirelessly mediating to try to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with both the Saudis as well as the Emiratis, both of whom severed ties with Tehran after the execution of top Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in 2016.
It was this mediation that led to his assassination by the Trump administration in Baghdad in January 2020. The cowardly crime was an attempt to prevent a diplomatic resolution of regional conflicts.
According to Press TV's 2020 article, the New York Times revealed that General Soleimani met with Emirati authorities at least once in September 2020 to broker peace.
Once the Americans learned of the meeting, "alarms sounded inside the White House," as reported by the NYT.
During the same period, General Soleimani made serious efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Saudi Arabia with the mediation of Pakistan and Iraq, according to reports.
...
The naysayers of course will jump on China for being ineffective, missing the point that image is the important issue here, that there's a new leader in the world to replace Biden and his stupid appointees.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 14:40 utc | 38
you need to look at Pakistan; the US control is backfiring; attempts to suppress Imran Khan aren't working. Another strategic loss for USA; All of Asia is rejecting US influence. Maybe we can take out Asia from Diego Garcia.
Posted by: scottindallas | Mar 20 2023 14:42 utc | 39
@ Outraged | Mar 20 2023 14:37 utc | 37
Should probably be : ... met with Emirati authorities at least once in September 2019(?) to broker peace. (misc year(of) errors by author)
Empires assassination had unforeseen consequences, as for most political leadership assassinations, hardening of determination & acceleration of rapprochement, IMO.
b: I received a gift, a book on China by a German author, Kai Strittmatter: 'We have been harmonised: life in China's surveillance state'. My first instinct is that this is one of many sinophobic books to be found in today's bookstores, and I just wondered if you were familiar with this journalist?
Posted by: LaxardalrNeil | Mar 20 2023 14:56 utc | 41
another misunderstanding, PR stunt or more?
German paper reporting on how Jan Emeryk Rościszewski on French TV suggested Poland to enter the war if Ukraine appeared to be unable to stand up for its independence any more.
Polish embassy immediately backed away from his statements.
Posted by: AG | Mar 20 2023 14:59 utc | 42
Posted by: LaxardalrNeil | Mar 20 2023 14:56 utc | 41
You can easily ask foreigners who are living in China now. There are about 800,000 including me.
The "China surveillance state" is very much a US invention, as in all anti China rhetoric.
Posted by: Surferket | Mar 20 2023 15:08 utc | 43
Empires assassination had unforeseen consequences, as for most political leadership assassinations, hardening of determination & acceleration of rapprochement, IMO.
Posted by: Outraged | Mar 20 2023 14:47 utc | 40
As I remember it, the punishment for Soleimani's assassination was to be US' expulsion from the Middle East. Or something like that.
So the plan is coming together here.
Posted by: Bemildred | Mar 20 2023 15:21 utc | 44
@Paul Greenwood | Mar 20 2023 12:28 utc | 12
“China plays mood music and US breaks up the furniture.”
…qoute of the day! Thank you! And yes, reality has become that comical.
Posted by: El Lissitzky | Mar 20 2023 15:26 utc | 45
LaxardalrNeil @41
I wasn't asked, but the Washington Post seems to like the book:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/50-notable-works-of-nonfiction-in-2020/2020/11/16/37f4c4de-2069-11eb-b532-05c751cd5dc2_story.html
However, even propaganda pieces contain useful information a lot of the time.
Posted by: aquileia | Mar 20 2023 15:40 utc | 46
Below is a current posting headline from Reuters that speaks to unresolved issues in our world
JERUSALEM, March 20 (Reuters) - An Israeli minister with responsibility for the administration of the occupied West Bank drew condemnation on Monday after he said there was no Palestinian history or culture and no such thing as a Palestinian people.
Lets hope that the civilization war we are in resolves all of our current barbarism tendencies.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 20 2023 15:44 utc | 47
@A.z | Mar 20 2023 11:38 utc | 7
Yes there was death and carnage but in terms of big picture that is worth it when u see a more just order being developed and asia takes the center stage as it has been the norm throughout history.Madeleine, is that you? Where is the limit for death and carnage?
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2023 15:52 utc | 48
@ Clever Dog | Mar 20 2023 14:02 utc | 30
I agree, it is the Chinese way of doing things.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2023 16:00 utc | 49
Posted by: A.z | Mar 20 2023 11:38 utc | 7
Actually I hope our African brothers r the ones who take the lead in this century
Does any of the braintrust have a clue what they were doing before European "colonisation"? I'm afraid it wasn't very nice, and considering many of them are still at it, I have little hope they have changed their ways.
Not that the chop-licking over a Chinese/Russian hegemony is much better, the best I'm hoping for is a dramatic rebalancing so everyone has a piece, and for Europe to regrow its balls.
Posted by: Due West | Mar 20 2023 16:07 utc | 50
thanks b...
@ Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
yes, i agree... but as @ Acco Hengst | Mar 20 2023 12:29 utc | 13 notes -great virtue signaling which is usually the wests approach... the west is falling down on all levels here... it can't even virtue signal, lol...
Posted by: james | Mar 20 2023 16:09 utc | 51
@Outraged | Mar 20 2023 14:37 utc | 37
According to Press TV's 2020 article, the New York Times revealed that General Soleimani met with Emirati authorities at least once in September 2020 to broker peace.September 2019 more likely...
Btw., the assassination of Soleimani was apparently no problem for the ICC?
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2023 16:09 utc | 52
This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen.
Above Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
Then you need much better vision enhancement. What it is is a proposed framework for peace negotiations laying out principles for international co-existence which should lead to a far more peaceful world than the current unipolar so-called 'rules-based order' has created. Having such an abstract presentation allows additional parties to voice their views without taking sides with specific national players with whose behavior they may be in only partial agreement.
Posted by: StirThePot | Mar 20 2023 16:10 utc | 53
Posted by: Ringo | Mar 20 2023 13:50 utc | 28
There was also a post recently suggesting that China was increasing its purchase of foreign weapons as a kind of “incentive” for arms manufacturers that often have an outsized influence on their own national governments.
Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 20 2023 16:12 utc | 54
Ringo | Mar 20 2023 13:50 utc | 28 Evo Morales, Putin
Pretty plausible that he denounced the International Clown Court's action.
Bolivia has strong reasons to seek close contacts with Russia. Three days ago, president Arce had a phonecon with Putin aimed at strengthening the mutual relations. And look at the four pictures in the reply to that tweet! That's the spirit of multipolarity in another part of the world!
Meanwhile, General Laura Richardson, commander of USSOUTHCOM provoked a diplomatic spat when she said on March 15 about the extraction of lithium in Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, that the "...strategic rivals of the US take advantage of this region full of ressources by malign activities..." (my words, free after El ministro de Hidrocarburos rechaza injerencia de EEUU.
Posted by: OttoE | Mar 20 2023 16:22 utc | 55
Posted by: Outraged | Mar 20 2023 14:37 utc | 37
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/3/three-years-on-iran-vows-revenge-for-qassem-soleimani
“We have not and will not forget the blood of martyr Soleimani. The Americans must know that revenge for martyr Soleimani’s blood is certain, and the murderers and perpetrators will have no easy sleep,” President Ebrahim Raisi told an audience of thousands in Tehran on Tuesday.
...
Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi told reporters on Tuesday that the judiciary has identified 154 suspects in the case of Soleimani’s assassination, 96 of whom are US citizens.
Posted by: anon2020 | Mar 20 2023 16:24 utc | 56
b - you missed this one held today. 40 nations from Africa attended.
International Parliamentary Conference Russia – Africa in a Multipolar World
Posted by: circumspect | Mar 20 2023 16:36 utc | 57
Western war propaganda is not making much impression any longer. The supply of more and heavier Western weapons to Ukraine will not lead to an end to the war. Unyielding Russian counter-escalation can lead to peace.
Those are the issues raised in my new op-ed 'Russian counter-escalation: the road to peace in Ukraine?', see https://geopolitiekincontext.wordpress.com/2023/03/20/russische-tegen-escalatie-de-weg-naar-vrede-in-oekraine/
Translate the Dutch text by using the 'Google translate' tool in the top right corner.
Posted by: Paul-Robert | Mar 20 2023 16:39 utc | 58
The Romans, Napoleon, Hitler - all big Empire dreams came to an end when they overextended their reach.
Posted by: Marvin | Mar 20 2023 16:40 utc | 59
well, Kai Strittmatter former long-time China correspondent for the German major daily Süddeutsche Zeitung; since in Germany knowledge of China/Chinese languages is very limited you can be king easily.
He says the above mentioned book forced him to leave China as sort of persona non grata.
As someone here stated correctly: even propaganda can contain info
Posted by: AG | Mar 20 2023 16:40 utc | 60
Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
Sure, Russia can easily agree, but can Zelensky afford NOT to? By setting up a peace process that demands a minimum, the Chinese are opening up the possibility (almost an obligation, but not quite) that a clear yes/no statement is required. The RoW are watching closely, and the rejection of the Chinese inoitiative will show who are the real aggressors. We may realise that already, but here they will have to take their militant stand in front of world opinion.
(Who is "they"? The US and EU or Ukraine? The US has already refused the apparently innocuous road that has been charted)
I guess the contribution of the US to the warming relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will be to make them even warmer with a Hellfire missile when both countries leaders will shake their hands…
Posted by: scc | Mar 20 2023 16:45 utc | 62
The keystone is Turkey and its nato dismember-ship off.
The carrot is the Gas Hub. The stick is to leave it as Anglo-Europeans historic whipping boy.
I expect a major defence and security announcement on Wednesday will encourage the Ancient Turks to embrace their EuraAsian / Multipolar destiny.
The Equinox is promising a bright new springtime for humanity.
Posted by: DunGroanin | Mar 20 2023 16:45 utc | 63
It's not that Russia or China are perfect, of course they're not, no one is (and "perfection" has always been horrible anyway —utopian nightmares no less destructive the EU's "garden" bullshit). There are/would be plenty of issues due to cultures and whatnot even if somehow nothing at all was wrong. To their credit they know this on at least some level and try to respect it, at least more than many. This requires a deliberate attitude towards avoiding being or pretending to be some kind of master of the universe. It requires recognizing the US megalomania for what it is.
No, instead it is that they're not a massively giant bloated junkie corpse of a "government" waddling all over the world in a stupor crushing and suffocating anything and everything at a whim or by accident (including "allies"; currently all of Europe (if not the entire world) is under US attack).
It's a difference big enough to matter. It should be hard to deny for anyone having a honest sincere look. Everything else is currently secondary or outright irrelevant as we "wait" (year beyond year) for the corpse to finally collapse and go into rigor mortis, and hopefully smoothly without the addict pressing the launch button.
Regrowth, catharsis, and rejuvenation afterwards? Hmm well look at Spain, Portugal, Britain and even France (the last hegemons or nearly so before the US). Spain and Portugal ended up overtly fascist and to some degree seem to have survived because of it despite how unpleasant that is to admit, and Britain and France only slightly less so or at least not as overtly.
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 20 2023 16:47 utc | 64
Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 14:18 utc | 33
Claims that heads of state and other highest state officials have immunity from criminal prosecution
by the ICC are incorrect.
They have immunity from prosecution in a foreign country, not an international court.
Article 27 of the ICC Statute, which is international law, is explicit:
Article 27 of the ICC Statute:
Irrelevance of official capacity
1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In particular,
official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected
representative or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under
this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for reduction of sentence.
2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under
national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.
ICC Statute: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf
Regarding immunity from prosecution by foreign courts:
Immunity of jurisdiction for the State and its agents concerning prosecutions before foreign courts remains an absolute principle in customary international law. This principle was recognized in several decisions by the International Court of Justice. The ICJ recalled that this immunity could not be assimilated to impunity because immunity was a procedural guarantee limited in time. Immunity can postpone the application of criminal responsibility, but it does not erase it (infra Jurisprudence).
Source: https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/immunity/
The arrest warrants issued for Putin and Lvova-Belova, while possible under the Statute, appear to be an astounding abuse of the law in its proper meaning, functions and application. The warrants are not public so the alleged facts are secret, but it is difficult to imagine how saving children from a war zone can qualify as criminal in the concrete context and circumstances. It is cynical in the extreme, ugly and unforgivable.
Posted by: JB | Mar 20 2023 16:48 utc | 65
Due West | Mar 20 2023 16:07 utc | 50
[Africa]...Does any of the braintrust have a clue what they were doing before European "colonisation"? I'm afraid it wasn't very nice...
Purely racist. Have you ever been in Egypt? Or Morocco, from where Europe was colonized, as can be witnessed in Granada, Spain. Ever heard of Axum (Ethiopia) or Carthage, a civilisation older than Rome, that, déjà-vu, European imperialists had to destroy to obtain dominance? There are many more ancient African cultures. Just look it up!
Posted by: OttoE | Mar 20 2023 16:48 utc | 66
That should be "...no less destructive than the EU's...". Proof-reading is hard :)
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 20 2023 16:53 utc | 67
AG | Mar 20 2023 16:40 utc | 60 "...in Germany knowledge of China/Chinese languages is very limited...
Confirmed. After having been for 5 years in China, I once remarked in a letter to the editor of DIE ZEIT that "...they know nothing beyond the second ring road of Beijing and the propaganda of Ai Weiwei...".
Posted by: OttoE | Mar 20 2023 16:58 utc | 68
Thank you b --- three days of talks between the leaders of China and Russia --- this is what it is all about!
And thank you, Outraged at Mar 20 2023 14:37 utc | 37. Well said!
Posted by: juliania | Mar 20 2023 16:58 utc | 69
It will be certainly be a clarion call for the end of US hegemony if China can find a solution to borders ukraine and russia will accept and sign treaties to abide by.
Maybe in the works? Wild. China wants to save the world from the US.
Well, given the illegitimate Biden administration maybe it's not the worst idea. That guy is bad, and it's damaging that everyone pretends its OK and normal a demented child sniffer who stole the election is to be a respected leader.
Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Mar 20 2023 17:07 utc | 70
This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen.Above Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
Then you need much better vision enhancement. What it is is a proposed framework for peace negotiations laying out principles for international co-existence which should lead to a far more peaceful world than the current unipolar so-called 'rules-based order' has created. Having such an abstract presentation allows additional parties to voice their views without taking sides with specific national players with whose behavior they may be in only partial agreement.
Posted by: StirThePot | Mar 20 2023 16:10 utc | 53
I'd characterize it as a meta-plan, or at worst a meta-meta-plan. But officially terming it such would make everyone's eyes glaze over, aside from the above-mentioned rationale for calling it a "plan."
Posted by: David Levin | Mar 20 2023 17:20 utc | 71
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2023 16:00 utc | 49
I also agree. There will be an ongoing consultation and provisions made so that all Russia's requirements for a peace that is lasting and a security that is lasting for its borders are met, just as was agreed upon for both Saudi Arabia and Iran, will happen for Iran and Iraq, and even for Israel and Palestine as far off and unlikely as that now seems.
This is the beginning of the beginning.
Posted by: juliania | Mar 20 2023 17:26 utc | 72
The Empire of Lies will eventually be called - it is well known that their promises, or signatures under documents, aren't worth a thing - and now they've also committed themselves to their recent lie about NS2. The best way to keep the true story hidden would have been, never to mention the issue, as they had originally planned. Then came Seymour Hersh and they responded with a theory of their own making - which most people easily reckognize as BS. I'm glad for this development, for the new version will not prevail. The issue will finally get the attention it deserves. This will expose the US as the terrorists and liars that they are. They are going to further lose influence in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, South Asia.
How the Europeans will react to these changes is still unclear. In Germany, the Media and politics are still dominated by transatlanticists, people who, like Baerbock and Merkel, owe much of their careers to Uncle Sam and they will side with him as long as they can. Right now, there is no improvement in sight: Even an overthrow of Olaf Scholz would bring no change for the better, but for the worse, with Friedrich Merz, CDU, taking over the chancellor's office.
Posted by: grunzt | Mar 20 2023 17:28 utc | 73
@ juliania | Mar 20 2023 17:26 utc | 72
. . .and even for Israel and Palestine as far off and unlikely as that now seems.
There is also another plum that might be picked off the tree to US's dismay -- China might resurrect the Singapore Agreement that neighbor North Korea had with Trump, an excellent plan that died on the vine (to mix a metaphor). Let's end the Korean war, for heaven's sake, and unify the country. That would include removing 28,000 US troops and a US airbase one air-hour from Beijing.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 17:45 utc | 74
@ Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 17:45 utc | 74
Just remove the US troops and let things take their course.
Posted by: too scents | Mar 20 2023 17:52 utc | 75
I just provided many links at the week in review thread relevant to this thread. Putin was greeted with a standing ovation at the International Parliamentary Conference "Russia–Africa in a Multipolar World"; his speech I've translated and posted here. Putin's article published in China can be read in English here, and Xi's article published in Russia today prior to his arrival can be read here.
On China's Ukraine proposal, when it comes to China-Russia relations, there's zero in China's proposal that goes against Russia's interests and its importance is downplayed in Xi's article. What's most important is that Russia/China are tag-teaming on ending the Outlaw US Empire's hegemony and associated illegal, Anti-Human activities. That's why Putin was greeted as he was at the Conference. What we ought to be realizing as b seems to is that the International Info War waged by the Collective West has utterly failed and the lines demarcating the two major blocs of nations are quickly forming. This reality was made even clearer during Lavrov's presser that I provided at the WiR thread--all deals proposed by the West are bunk and it's become a waste of time to engage with the West while it tries to rescue its rapidly waning domination.
What we see globally is the West frantically pulling on every lever it has remaining to try and stem its being sucked down the drain into the sewer of its own making. The one area the West no longer controls is Occupied Palestine and the events transpiring there. As Crooke and others are reporting, the Zionist Zealots are out-of-control and a new if somewhat different war is likely to emerge. IMO, neither Xi or Putin can do anything to forestall what's to come there. And IMO, that's a far bigger danger to the world than what's ongoing in Ukraine where NATO has already lost but is unwilling to admit that fact.
Just a small reminder of something most all here already know....
At the beginning of the SMO Vladamire Putin's terms and conditions to stop the SMO were very realistic and for the betterment of all concerned.
Those terms and conditions were scorned by the west.
How many lives have been lost sence then, both Armys and the public lives lost.
Now finely we have two sane adults in the room.
What ever they decide il back them.
What's the alternative.
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 18:00 utc | 77
@juliania | Mar 20 2023 17:26 utc | 72
This is the beginning of the beginning.Well said. The Chinese have a much wider perspective than anyone else. They can afford to make a move that looks like nothing, but soon after they have the momentum.
Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 20 2023 18:03 utc | 78
The germans to the front! (europeanizing the war)
Source: Wolfgang Streeck, at The New Left Review
Posted by: Luís Borges | Mar 20 2023 18:07 utc | 79
there was no Palestinian history or culture and no such thing as a Palestinian people.———
Lets hope that the civilization war we are in resolves all of our current barbarism tendencies.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 20 2023 15:44 utc | 47
psychohistorian, I remember Newt Gangrene saying pretty much the same thing when he was running for president (bought and paid for by Sheldon A).
No, no Palestinian people, problems solved
Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 20 2023 18:13 utc | 80
StirThePot | Mar 20 2023 16:10 utc | 53
This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen.Above Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
Then you need much better vision enhancement. What it is is a proposed framework for peace negotiations laying out principles for international co-existence which should lead to a far more peaceful world than the current unipolar so-called 'rules-based order' has created. Having such an abstract presentation allows additional parties to voice their views without taking sides with specific national players with whose behavior they may be in only partial agreement.
Et Paf!
Posted by: Sarlat La Canède | Mar 20 2023 18:14 utc | 81
.. .from Spengler, Asia Times
. . .We should not be surprised, one of the lead presenters said at the end of the conclave, if Ukraine’s President Zelensky takes up China’s peace plan. No one in the West anticipated that China would mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Although Washington has dismissed China’s peace plan for Ukraine, Zelensky has not. Russia would keep the Sea of Azov and most of the Donbas, a settlement that might be forced on Ukraine as it runs out of manpower and ammunition. America’s view of China is “primitive,” the expert added, and tends to underestimate Chinese sophistication.
A spokesman for the National Security Council dismissed the Chinese initiative, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, noting that a ceasefire would allow Russia to remain in place on territory it seized from Ukraine. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 18:17 utc | 82
Yes. Tectonic plates have shifted significantly ...
Now waiting for Turkey where polls show Erdogan in a spot of bother and the usual 'hammer a few Kurds' not on the agenda following the devastating earthquakes ...
Connor Gallagher ...
Posted by: Don Firineach | Mar 20 2023 18:18 utc | 83
#81 contd on Turkey
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Washington, Moscow, and the wider region in the election. Should the National Alliance emerge victorious and shift towards the US, it could mean some or all of the following:
Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Erdogan has thus far refused to agree to the countries’ accession (which all NATO countries must approve) without his conditions being met, which include Sweden extraditing individuals Türkiye considers Kurdish terrorists and ending further support for such groups.
Cutting off one of Russia’s links to bypass Western sanctions. The ports of the Azov-Black Sea Basin increased activity by 2.7 percent to 263.6 mln metric tons in 2022. Türkiye, despite constant pressure from Washington, has transformed into a transport, logistics, and gas hub between Russia and the West.
Opening the Dardanelles and therefore the Black Sea to NATO warships, which Erdogan has refused to do under the 1936 Montreux Convention. Moscow’s updated version of the Naval Doctrine of the Russian Federation lists the eastern Mediterranean basin, the Black Sea and the Turkish straits as “important areas,” in which the use of force will be available as a last resort after other options have been exhausted.
A lifeline for the US positions in Syria, which are becoming untenable with the Tehran-Riyadh rapprochement and nearly every country in the region now wanting the Americans out.
We’ll see. The election is 55 days away.
Posted by: Don Firineach | Mar 20 2023 18:22 utc | 84
from India Punchline
US paranoid about Russia-China summit
. . .The Anglo-Saxon clique is watching with dismay the talks in Moscow tomorrow. To be sure, Moscow and Beijing have decided to stand together to bury the US hegemony. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 18:24 utc | 85
Posted by: Due West | Mar 20 2023 16:07 utc | 50
People like you ... Really not worth the time, you wear your illiteracy like a badge of pride. If the truth were to hit you full on you'd still deny it ... soooo ...
Posted by: SattaMassaGana | Mar 20 2023 18:28 utc | 86
@ Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 18:00 utc | 77
mark... that is an important reminder and speaks to the depravity of the west here as well... lets see whether they have the sanity to accept the changes on the ground, or like some player at a casino, keep on pushing.... my feeling is they will continue to double down, but i hope i am wrong! it is hard to stop when you are addicted to crack which is where the west finds itself here...
Posted by: james | Mar 20 2023 18:31 utc | 87
from SCMP
Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou to lead delegation to mainland China next week
Ma plans to visit China for 12 days from March 27 to honour ancestors, foster friendship among young people, spokesman says
Ruling DPP accuses the former KMT leader of trying to steal political spotlight from Taiwan’s current president
Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou will travel to mainland China next week in a bid to ease growing hostilities amid deteriorating relations between the two sides and worries over a possible cross-strait conflict.
It would be the first time a former Taiwanese president has visited the mainland since 1949.
Ma, who has said that more exchanges could help reduce animosity between the people across the strait, is expected to lead a delegation of several of his former aides and 30-odd students to visit five mainland cities – Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Shanghai- for 12 days from March 27. . .here.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 20 2023 18:31 utc | 88
Dear b., dear barflies,
Thank you for all the info on our silly world.I reside in south Europe.The rot is visible every day.
Have you seen the Adam Curtis documentary: The bitter lake, it is old and am watching it again. Mr. B, have you seen it is worth watching.
Thank you b. for all you do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84P4dzow1Bw
Posted by: stranger | Mar 20 2023 18:34 utc | 89
RE; "Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5"
It is not even remotely possible to have "peaceful dialogue" with Banderite Nazis.
And "cooling down the Ukraine crisis" can only be accomplished by getting rid of the Nazis -- the goal expressed by President Putin when he announced his SMO.
If you have rats in your larder, cockroaches in your kitchen and snakes in your bathroom, no amount of "peaceful dialogue" will ever solve the problem.
Posted by: AntiSpin | Mar 20 2023 18:40 utc | 90
Global Times announced the publication by China's MFA of a scathing document, "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022", only available currently in Chinese, although my translator worked quite well. Its aim is to provide truths about what "democracy" is in reality within the Outlaw US Empire as Biden prepares to hold another propaganda summit on the topic at the end of March. What follows are the document's concluding remarks:
Democracy is a value shared by all mankind, but there is no model of political system in the world that applies to all countries. The gardens of human civilization are rich and colorful, and democracy in all countries should also bloom. The United States has American-style democracy, China has Chinese-style democracy, and each country also has a unique model of democracy suited to its own national conditions. Whether a country is a democracy and how to better realize it should be judged by the people of that country, not by a few self-righteous countries.Under the guise of democracy, harming others and disrupting the world should be unanimously opposed, and simply dividing the countries of the world into two categories, democracy and authoritarianism, lacks modernity and science. What the world needs today is not to create division in the name of democracy and to promote de facto unilateralism, but to strengthen solidarity and cooperation on the basis of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to adhere to genuine multilateralism. What the world needs today is not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs under the guise of democracy, but to promote true democracy, abandon pseudo-democracy, and jointly promote democracy in international relations. What the world needs today is not a "democracy summit" that exaggerates confrontation and is not conducive to working together to address global challenges, but a solidarity conference that does more practical things and focuses on solving the outstanding problems facing the international community.
Freedom, democracy and human rights are the common pursuit of mankind and the values that the Communist Party of China has always pursued. China adheres to and develops people's democracy in the whole process, and concretely and realistically embodies the people's mastery of the country in the governance of the country by the Communist Party of China. China is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with other countries on the issue of democracy, carry forward the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, promote democracy in international relations and make new and greater contributions to the cause of human progress.
Hopefully, China will quickly translate this into numerous languages and distribute it through its embassy's globally.
Maybe I should have made clear that I have lived in Middle East for 20 years and loved it.I speak the language.
Posted by: stranger | Mar 20 2023 18:49 utc | 92
Don Bacon @88--
Thanks for your posting. Seems KMT has wisdom DPP lacks and is stealing the political spotlight as I've awaited. DPP's Anti-China Western attitude is continually becoming more overt which goes against the values of most Taiwanese. I expect DPP to lose the next election in a landslide and KMT to further reestablish itself.
This is the biggest nothingburger I've ever seen. It makes it very clear that Xi is going to Russia for discussions on matters other than this nonsense and is using this to solidify the Russian-Chinese alliance for the benefit of the perception of the non-aligned nations.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 20 2023 11:30 utc | 5
After 3 days of talks, stand By for the two major announcements.
Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow
The Chinese leader’s visit comes at a time when bilateral relations are at an all-time high, according to Russian officials
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day state visit to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. During the summit, the two sides will discuss strategic cooperation in the energy and military spheres, as well as the Ukraine conflict. (emphasis added here)Xi said he was happy to be back in Russia after landing at Vnukovo Airport, and stressed the importance of strong relations between Beijing and Moscow, not just for the nations themselves but also for the wider international community.
The Chinese leader asserted that together with Russia, his nation is ready to “defend with resolve the UN-centric international system.” The two countries would endeavor to “abide by true multipolarity and foster a multipolar world with democratized international relations, to encourage the development of global affairs in a direction that would be more just and rational,” Xi added.
Later in the day, the Chinese leader is scheduled to hold an informal meeting with Putin which will focus on “key and sensitive issues,” according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.
The main round of talks, however, will take place on Tuesday, with the Chinese leader also expected to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Later, the Russian and Chinese delegations will hold negotiations in an expanded format.
[.]
In total, Moscow and Beijing are set to sign a dozen documents outlining bilateral cooperation, including two major joint statements.[.] (emphasis added here)
We are spectators to a global shift off the Richter scale.
Heart attacks due in D.C.
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 20 2023 18:55 utc | 94
James @ 87
Thanks James for your kind reply.
Ha ha your ahead of my next comment.
Before I read yours was going to say....
We can predict wherever deal is agreed between the two.
America will again pure scorn on it.
So let's get in first.
They will say ahh but no.'not in America's interest'
But that's the lie right there. it will be in ther interest.
It will be in the American publics best interest, just not the top curupt echelons of America.
I will stop there while I'm ahead becouse ther are 20 people on this blog at this momment who can put the rest into words better than I.
Posted by: Mark2 | Mar 20 2023 18:55 utc | 95
@karlof1 | Mar 20 2023 18:43 utc | 91
FYI: one English translation of "The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022" is available at CGTN:
Posted by: LuRenJia | Mar 20 2023 19:00 utc | 96
«astonishing geopolitical developments. [...] China publicly lambasted U.S. hegemony [...] Moscow rolled out the red carpet for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. [...] Today China's President Xi arrived in Moscow for three days of talks with Russia's President Putin. [...] Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless 'unilateral' people around him are left aside.»
This is nothing astonishing, just a repeat of Cold War news, almost unchanged, with the "second world" made of PRC and RF and a few others (Korea-North, Iran, Mongolia, Cuba, ...) is again "contained" behind the Iron Curtain, just as
The "first world" has expanded enormously (eastern Europe, most of south-east Asia and western Asia, most of Africa), and the "third world" led as usual by India is as usual playing both sides, but mostly pro-USA.
Sometimes our bar host "b" sounds to me quite fond of wishful thinking, like the others who overplay the "multilaterality" and "collapse of the USA hegemony" claims.
Realistically speaking the USA are still enormously powerful, they have kept most of the huge gains made during the past 30-40 years, and they are successfully isolating RF and PRC behind a new Iron Curtain to prevent their vassals from defecting.
Posted by: Blissex | Mar 20 2023 19:03 utc | 97
While calling for Putin to go, this delusional
German regional leader wants Nord Stream repaired
Saxony premier Michael Kretschmer said the sabotaged gas pipelines would be needed if Germany and Russia resume trade.
Germany should repair the Nord Stream gas pipelines while it is still possible, the state premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, has argued. The politician suggested that the pipelines, which were blown up last September, could be needed again in the event that Germany and Russia normalize trade relations under new leadership in Moscow.
“In energy policy, it’s all about keeping options open,” Kretschmer told Germany’s Focus magazine in an interview published on Sunday.
“When Putin is gone, the pipeline could also be an opportunity for a successor to restore economic relations with us,” the official added, predicting that this could happen in around five years’ time.
[.]
Buddy, in less than 2 years Germany will be hulled out; standing behind Haiti. Its major industries companies will be located in China.
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 20 2023 19:03 utc | 98
RT reports that effective beginning this October SWIFT will be banned for use in domestic transactions:
Starting from October, Russian banks will be obliged to only use domestic services for transferring messages on financial transactions. The use of SWIFT will be allowed only for international payments.“This will ensure reliability, continuity and security of data exchange when conducting intra-Russian transactions,” the regulator said in a statement.
Information on such transactions will now need to be transmitted through the Bank of Russia’s own banking systems, services of third-party Russian companies, or through the Bank of Russia’s own financial messaging system, SPFS.
The SPFS was created by the regulator in 2018 as a substitute for SWIFT on the domestic market. While its coverage is still much smaller than that of SWIFT – which boasts 11,000 financial organizations globally – the spread of SPFS has been gaining momentum in recent months. In February, the Russian Central Bank announced that SPFS now has 469 participants, including 115 foreign entities from 14 nations.
This was reported by Global Times:
"Second, since more and more companies tend to use yuan and rubles to sign contracts, the two countries can continue to deepen bilateral financial cooperation, especially in the areas of financial services, such as promoting the local currency settlement of China-Russia commodity transactions as well as bilateral digital currency cooperation. In 2022, the proportion of energy trade between China and Russia settled in their own currencies increased by 64 percent, with rise also seen in the proportion of yuan in Russia's international reserves. Russia has already become the third-largest market for offshore yuan transactions."
Chipping away at Dollar Hegemony on a daily basis.
Sometimes a slip of the pen ...... enlightens...
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/49484
"The situation in Bakhmut is threatening": fierce battles are underway, "Wagners" are pressing in all directions
Ukrainian military analysts report on the plight of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
"Heavy fighting continues, the Russians have some successes, the situation remains very threatening."
- In the south-west of Bakhmut, fighting continues in the area of school No. 2 and Ivan Ivkin Street.
- In the Sobachevka area, there are active street fights in the area of Medovaya and Mariupolskaya streets.
- In the north of Bakhmut, Wagner continues to transfer forces to the previously captured AZOM facilities. Positional battles in the area of Heroes of Labor and Alexander Sibirtsev streets.
The main offensive actions in the Bakhmut direction are carried out by the Russians in the direction of the settlements of Bogdanovka, Grigorovka and Orekhovo-Vasilevka, setting the main goal of capturing the dominant heights.
I note that the UkroNazi source mentions.... "Previously captured AZOM Facilities"
Which means....
Wagner liberated the entire AZOM plant....
Thus driving a nail southward into the heart of Artemovsk....
INDY
Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Mar 20 2023 19:15 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
b said : "Xi and Putin are now running the multilateral global show. Biden and the hapless 'unilateral' people around him are left aside."
.
The time for this change is long overdue.
Posted by: Merkin Scot | Mar 20 2023 10:39 utc | 1