Russia and Ukraine

[Leonardo17]

Here's a bit of history.

Probably Henry Kissinger and John Pilger were about as far apart as two people can be, on the subject of US foreign policy. But both of them warned, over ten years ago, what would happen if the US tried to bring Ukraine into NATO.

When did this American initiative to lure Ukraine into NATO happen? Be specific. I want dates, diplomats involved, any memoranda of understanding composed, and so on.

You won't, because you cannot, because -- wait for it -- it never happened.

Russian shill.

In fact it’s the exact opposite that happened. In 1994, Belarus + Kazakhstan + Ukraine gave all their nuclear arsenal to Russia in return for guarantees that they would not be attacked by Russia. And it was the US that convinced them to do so.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crl3ndxglwxo
 
The kremlin is taking facts, turning them 180 degrees and saying “You violated past agreements” when they were the ones who did exactly that.

Belaqua on Iraq:
 
- Yes this is true. George W. Bush’s action set a precedent for Putin. Now Putin is saying “If you attack Iraq for non-existing biological weapons who are you to tell me to stop in Ukraine / Georgia / Central Asia / Moldova or the Baltic states?”
 
- But we have to get there. More armies and military spending will not do this alone. We need a rules based world order. We need some political rules. We need some rules of trade (I’m thinking on the tariffs imposed on China, yes these are also very unfair).
 
On China: The EU has recently adopted more “fair” rules on Chinese and other goods. If (for instance) China is subsidizing its electric cars in a Leninist way, the EU is imposing more tariffs on these to protect its industries. Same on agriculture. Agricultural products that are produced outside the EU (with less regulation on pesticides etc.) are submitted to more taxes or other incentives are put in practice to protect EU farmers.
 
Trump on the other hand is acting like a philistine. “25% on this one, 10% on this one, another 10% on that one”. I really think he is on his way to becoming the worst US president ever.