Russia can legally be present in Nicaragua, as well as deploy military and equipment on the territory of the state. This was stated by the Russian ambassador to Nicaragua Alexander Khokholikov. The statement was made after threats from Washington to take action if Russia starts military development of Latin America. The political scientist explained what the next Western threats may be related to.
Photo: AP
“The Sandinista Government annually passes a law regarding the foreign military presence on Nicaraguan territory. It provides for the possibility of transit and stay in Nicaragua of military personnel and military equipment of a number of countries, including Russia,” Ambassador Khokholikov said.
The diplomat clarified that the same law grants the right of presence in the region and representatives of the United States. This is done to exchange experience in the field of military-technical cooperation, conduct joint exercises and activities in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. He also stressed that bilateral cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua in the military field is not directed against third countries.
The West has not taken Russian security concerns seriously. Just ignored it. The Russian leadership promised a response in the military and military-technical field. So the interest in the question of possible Russian bases of Russia in the Western Hemisphere remains relevant.
There is logic in this. If the United States, together with NATO, pose a threat to us directly at the western borders, it would be fair to create symmetrical threats to the States. For example, by placing missiles with a short flight time near the United States. The decision is up to the country’s leadership.
The editor-in-chief of the magazine “National Defense”, political scientist Igor Korotchenko believes that Russian-Nicaraguan cooperation will become an occasion for another Western hysteria.
From the point of view of its geographical location, Nicaragua is an important point for a possible Russian military presence in the region. In what format and how is this a matter of bilateral relations, political and military expediency. But the fact that such a presence, if necessary, can be implemented, I think, is absolutely normal. This corresponds to all norms of international law and, of course, is based on the interests that both the Russian and Nicaraguan sides will implement in this case.
The USA, of course, will raise a howl. This is categorically unacceptable for them, as they have repeatedly stated. But the fact is that no one will ask them. Russia and Nicaragua are two sovereign states, therefore, issues of bilateral relations, including military-technical ones, are exclusively within the competence of our two countries. And the UnitedLet the States of America stand outside the door. Naturally, we understand that there will be a sharply aggravated reaction on their part, since we are talking about the region that Americans used to consider their “backyard”.
America definitely poses a threat to any Latin American country that pursues a sovereign and independent policy.
The Secretary General of the Turkish Vatan party, Dogu Perincek, believes that the expansion of NATO to the east will lead to the “death” of the alliance.
Thus, he called this direction a threat to the alliance itself. “There is a pit, an abyss for NATO. The visits of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to China and Turkey are a kind of “grave” for NATO, so it is historically important,” the Turkish politician said.
NATO’s expansion to the east threatens not only Russia, but also Turkey, Iran, and China. Perincek believes that only these four states will be able to stop the expansion.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east has become a “great success story” in spreading democracy and freedom.
The head of NATO commented on the joint statement of Russia and China, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping protested against the further expansion of NATO and the Cold War approaches used by the alliance.
As Stoltenberg stressed, thanks to the accession of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to NATO, the number of participants in the bloc has almost doubled. This, according to the head of the alliance, contributed to the spread of freedom and democratic values in Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in an interview with the Washington Post, said that Germany supplied Ukraine with five thousand helmets at the request of Kiev, while export restrictions play an important role in the issue of possible arms supplies.
According to him, earlier representatives of Ukraine appealed to the German authorities with a request to send them helmets.
“We have responded to this request, but there are a number of requirements. There are strict export criteria that we adhere to when exporting weapons to crisis regions. Among other things, there is a long succession of German export restrictions on weapons, which was handled by the former government of our country. There is continuity in this issue,” Scholz said.
Recall that on the eve of the German Defense Ministry announced the supply of five thousand helmets to Ukraine. Representatives of Kiev asked to start supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine, but the German government stated that they did not supply weapons to the conflict regions.
Turkey’s deliveries of Bayraktar drones to Ukraine are a big mistake. This was stated by the Secretary General of the Turkish Vatan party Dogu Perincek to journalists.
The politician pointed out that his party has always talked about this. He believes that the weapons will eventually be used not only against Russia, but also Turkey itself.
Kiev and Ankara have signed an agreement providing for the expansion of the production of Turkish Bayraktar drones to Kiev.
During the visit of the Turkish President to Kiev, the Ukrainian side raised the issue of extraordinary purchases of defensive weapons. This was announced today by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov.
“Friend Xi” supported Russia — but only “from a chaise longue on the beach”
Vladimir Putin arrived on a brief visit to Beijing and held face-to-face talks with his Chinese friend Xi for the first time in the years of the pandemic. As a result of this rendezvous, the two leaders issued a joint statement, which with good reason can be called a “Chinese letter”. For those who have forgotten the exact meaning of this Russian phraseology, I remind you. “Chinese literacy” is a certain set of words, the meaning of which is absolutely not accessible to an ignorant person.
Photo: kremlin.ru
In the document with the pretentious title “On international relations entering a new era and global sustainable development”, every word and every paragraph is understandable. But the main thing escapes understanding — the general meaning of all this political beauty.
Should the joint statement of the two leaders be perceived as a call for “all good and against all bad?” Or is there something hidden among the magnificent but devoid of deep inner content of ritual phrases that is really important against the background of the current unprecedented aggravation of relations between the Russian Federation and the West? The truth is most likely somewhere in the middle. But it seems that this middle is still skewed towards the first option.
In the Russian version, the joint statement consists of 36,996 characters. This is almost one and a half newspaper strips of a concise text. But most of this concise text deserves only a cursory reading.
A typical example: “The parties appeal to all States to strengthen dialogue and mutual trust, deepen mutual understanding, defend such universal values as peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom, respect the rights of peoples to independently choose the path of development of their countries, as well as the sovereignty and interests of States in the field of security and development.”
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have enough calls here to protect the rights of cats, as well as camels, which are undoubtedly oppressed by some camel-haters. What is the reason for this irony? The suspicion is that the vastness of the document is intended to mask the absence of something really new and significant in it.
Of course, it is impossible to say that the statement of the two leaders consists only of platitudes and common words. We read, for example, the following: “Some forces representing a minority on the world stage continue to defend unilateral approaches to solving international problems and resort to power politics, practice interference in the internal affairs of other states, harming their legitimate rights and interests, provoke contradictions, disagreements and confrontation, hinder the development and progress of mankind.”
It is clear that “by some forces” the United States is meant here. But is America really a “minority” in the international arena now? And does this passage have at least some applied political significance?
Another mystery: “The parties confirm that the Russian-Chinese interstate relations of a new type surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War. Friendship between the two states has no borders, there are no forbidden zones in cooperation, the strengthening of bilateral strategic cooperation is not directed against third countries, is not affected by the changing international environment and situational changes in third countries.”
Beautiful, grandiloquent — and extremely incomprehensible. What is hidden in practice behind the phrase “interstate relations of a new type”? How exactly do they “surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War?” And does the thesis about the immunity of the new “great friendship” in relation to “situational changes in third countries” mean that Chinese banks will not obey the US sanctions aimed at Russia? Somehow I doubt it.
Putin and Xi Jinping’s handshake was “canceled” by covid: gallery of meetings of different years
See the photo gallery on the topic
We are moving on in the search for specifics: “The Chinese Side understands and supports the proposals put forward by the Russian Federation on the formation of long-term legally binding security guarantees in Europe.” Golden words — or only gilded? In terms of international relations, the term “support” hasthere are many different degrees, ranging from support “looking from the side of a chaise longue on the beach” and ending with support in the form of their active participation in the fight. The wording used pushes us to the conclusion that Chinese support for Russia at this difficult moment in its history is closer to “sympathy from the outside”.
Of course, there are issues where there is really complete unity between the two countries. Moscow and Beijing are against attempts to revise the results of the Second World War. Great. “Russia and China, which are world powers with a rich cultural and historical heritage, have deep traditions of democracy” – less remarkable or even slightlycomical. Who exactly, I wonder, laid these “deep traditions of democracy— – Stalin and Mao, the Chinese emperors or representatives of our Romanov dynasty? But let’s not quibble. Let’s assume that in such a peculiar form, Putin and Xi expressed their protest against the American desire to plant their own form of democracy everywhere.
“The parties support the policy of internationalization of Internet network management, advocate for equal rights to manage it, consider unacceptable any attempts to limit their sovereign right to regulate and ensure the security of national segments of the Internet – there are also questions about these passages. With American control over the Internet, social networks andother and so on, it’s definitely time to finish. But God forbid that we follow the path of China in terms of forming a society of universal electronic surveillance and universal electronic control. But this is so, thoughts aloud and remarks from the category of “marginal notes”. And now, from these notes, it’s time to return to the main thing: in the fight with the collective West, Russia seems to be alone with this very West.
Of course, one cannot base one’s conclusions only on the document profusely quoted above. This piece of paper was clearly prepared and agreed upon strongly in advance. The really important thing is what happened at the closed part of the meeting of the two leaders. And we don’t know about this yet and are unlikely to find out soon. However, I will use this phrase again : it is unlikely that the spirit of what was discussed in Beijing behind closed doorsdoors, very different from the spirit of the notorious “Joint Statement”. Russia at the moment is undoubtedly a great, but no less undoubtedly a lonely power. We have someone nice to talk to, but not much to lean on. Such is now the song “Moscow-Beijing”.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping did not shake hands at the meeting: video
In the Gagauz autonomy of Moldova, the protesters decided to seek help directly from the Russian authorities in order to resolve the gas crisis.
Recall that on Sunday, February 6, residents of the autonomy in the center of Comrat staged another mass protest against the increase in gas prices.
During the rally, a participant of the action, deputy of the People’s Assembly Viktor Petrov, said that he had already prepared and sent an appeal addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as deputy head of the administration of Russian leader Dmitry Kozak and the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller.
“We are waiting for a response. I am sure that Russia will lend us a helping hand and provide humanitarian assistance in the form of gas,” the deputy said.
Macron will meet with Putin in Moscow on Monday, and will fly to Kiev on Tuesday
Photo: kremlin.ru
French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to Russia on February 7. According to Politico, in Moscow, Macron plans to negotiate with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on peace in Ukraine on the eve of the presidential elections in France, which will be held in April this year.
Paris has high hopes for this visit, because if Macron manages to prevent a possible invasion of the territory of Ukraine, he will look like a hero in the eyes of his electorate, the newspaper writes.
For example, some French media have already compared Macron with the former leader of the republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, who at one time successfully mediated in the Russian-Georgian conflict.
“You can’t win elections based only on foreign policy. But such steps can strengthen Macron’s status as a world-class politician. This will allow him to stand out from the other candidates even before the start of the election campaign, so he will show that he can ensure the existence of France in the international arena,” explained Cyril Bret, an expert on international relations.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrel, speculated about Russia’s ability to adapt to the sanctions pressure of the West.
As the head of EU diplomacy noted in his personal blog, the Russian side has managed to increase its resistance to restrictive measures, including European ones, in recent years. While Europe itself is much less ready for possible cuts in gas supplies from the Russian Federation.
“In recent years, Russia has increased its resistance to economic sanctions by increasing its foreign exchange reserves, to a greater extent than the EU has done to increase its ability to withstand possible interruptions in gas supplies. We need to consider in the near future the possibility of developing strategic gas reserves in the European Union and the possibility of joint gas purchases,” Borrel said on the eve of the EU-US Energy Council meeting.
He also recalled that currently more than 40% of EU gas imports come from Russia. At the same time, Moscow has allegedly already used energy resources for political purposes in the past. And in recent weeks, despite Moscow’s strict fulfillment of its contractual obligations, Gazprom has refused to send additionalvolumes of gas to replenish European storage facilities. This, according to Borrel, further increased the nervousness in the market.
“In the conditions of a severe crisis that we are currently experiencing with Russia, not only the issue of energy prices is relevant, but also the issue of security of supply”, – added the head of EU diplomacy.
The Ukrainian army lacks protective equipment – there is a serious shortage of body armor, helmets, many types of ammunition and fuel. This was announced by the Colonel-General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Igor Kolesnik.
“We know that there is practically no strategic and operational reserve of fuels and lubricants. There is a shortage of ammunition for some types,” he said.
Kolesnik expressed hope that the West will help Kiev with ammunition and other problems.
“We had problems with tornadoes, with artillery ammunition, with shots to grenade launchers,” Kolesnik said.
The old weapons of the Ukrainian army are gradually wearing out, but there are no funds for a new one. Kiev has enough money only for the purchase of decommissioned foreign weapons. Assistance is also coming from abroad.
For example, Ukraine received decommissioned US patrol boats Drummond (WPB-1323) and Cushing (WPB-1321) last year. They were built in 1988. Recently, many soldiers have left the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In five years, about 130 thousand people have left.
Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Foreign Policy Studies Grigory Perepelitsa compared the capabilities of the NATO and Russian armies in favor of the latter. The expert called it the most powerful in the world.
LNR and DNR are looking for new channels of information dissemination
This morning, YouTube “crashed” all the information resources of the LPR, the channels of the Ministry of Information and the People’s Militia of the DPR were also deleted. This was reported by a number of leading media and telegram channels, citing official sources of the republics. A veteran of the People’s Militia of the LPR commented on the incident.
Photo: dan-news.info.
“The channel of the Ministry of Information of the DPR in YouTube is blocked, we found it this morning. The official channel of the People’s Militia of the DPR has also been blocked, the Minister of Information of the DPR Igor Antipov said.
It is also known that the video hosting removed the channels of the agency Luganskinformcenter (PERSONS) of the State Television and Radio Company of the LPR and the press service of the Luhansk People’s Militia.
Veteran of the People’s Militia of the LPR Andrei Marochko believes that what happened is nothing more than an attempt by the West to “close his mouth” to an alternative opinion, to ban content that runs counter to the position of the US State Department.
Of course, the catastrophe did not happen. After independent mass media covering the events in the Donbas began to be blocked in Ukraine, we realized that in the near future we should expect an attack on the information resources of the republics. Many have started making “backups” of their materials on video hosting sites. I talked to people whose information channels were closed, they assured me that they had already started working on an alternative to YouTube video hosting. However, in any case, it can be stated that they are trying to close the international Internet platform for residents of Donbass.
In the West, people who do not really trust the statements of their governments about the situation around Ukraine could watch an alternative opinion on YouTube, which is distributed around the globe. Anyone can open and find a video series on topics of interest to them. And it is worth noting that in the modern world, people are more inclined to trust videos than text publications, since it is more difficult to fake videos. Although modern technologies allow you to create fakes, but it is technically not so easy, and most importantly, a video fake is easy to expose.
Some representatives of the media in the LPR have submitted applications to the video hosting with a request to explain the reason for what happened, but so far no one has received any answers.
The information platforms of the DPR and LPR defense departments, as well as the Ministry of Communications, which provides video order to all news agencies existing in the republic, have been closed.
— There is no panic. Believe me, we had life situations and circumstances much more serious. People perceive everything that is happening quite adequately and understand what is really happening. And there is a real information war going on. The West is trying to completely shut its mouth to an alternative opinion that is expressed contrary to the US position.
We have all seen that recently the United States has been trying very hard to create an information wall about Russia’s allegedly impending attack on Ukraine. But any Internet user, going to the video hosting of our defense departments, to other resources, will see that the situation is exactly the opposite. That is, he will understand that Washington is blatantly lying. Of course, this state of affairs is extremely inconvenient for the White House, and therefore, I believe that the large-scale information war that has begun will only worsen further and develop in a negative direction.
The Luhansk Defense Ministry is already engaged in placing their materials on alternative hosting sites. They also have telegram channels where you can post some of the video materials. It is planned to create new channels on the same YouTube and post everything deleted. But this is done, rather, in order to check whether channels were accidentally or purposefully deleted. No one really expects that they will last for a long time. I am sure that in the near future everything will become clear, and there will be technical solutions to overcome such obstacles and machinations on the part of the West.
