jueves, 14 de mayo de 2015

Venezuela y Ukrania - Read it in this Blog



.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft (L) watches at the presidential residence of Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, Russia May 12, 2015 (Reuters / Joshua Roberts)
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John Kerry’s Sochi meetings with Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov hardly dissolved years of mistrust between Washington and the Kremlin. However, they probably signaled the end of Ukraine’s period as a global cause célèbre.
In 1968, at an art exhibition in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, the celebrated artist Andy Warhol was the star attraction. In the programme notes he wrote that “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” What was probably a throwaway comment for the painter has become an internationally renowned catchphrase. While the modern art icon was being grandiloquent, it’s amazing how many non-entities manage to attain his prophesied quarter-hour, or even much more than that.


Warhol, born Warhola, had ancestral ties to both Slovakia and Ukraine. It’s fair to say that the latter has proven his theory repeatedly over the past 18 months. It’s actually incredible how a country that is relatively economically and culturally insignificant has managed to hijack the news agenda for so long. Nevertheless, it’s finally clear that Ukraine’s 15 minutes are over.
John Kerry didn't travel to Sochi because he fancied an early summer jaunt to Russia’s tourist showpiece. He flew to the Black Sea pearl to do business. Serious business. By doing so, he signaled that Washington is finally prepared to leave the Ukraine crisis behind and re-engage with Russia on other matters more pressing to humanity. There are deeper headaches than the future of a corrupt, critically divided, failed state on Europe’s edge.

Minsk, Minsk and more Minsk?

Kerry’s joint press conference with Sergey Lavrov was more notable for what he didn’t say than what he did mention. The Secretary of State spoke about the Middle East and the Minsk agreement. He didn’t refer to Crimea, nor did he bluster about “Russian troops” in Donbas. Indeed, Kerry made it clear that the only solution to Ukraine crisis is Minsk, Minsk and more Minsk. Moreover, he mentioned the Belarusian capital so frequently that an uninformed viewer might have assumed he was in Sochi to participate in a tongue-twister contest. “Max thinks that Minsk is close to Pinsk. That’s Pinsk near Minsk says mixed-up Max,” was the entry I doodled for the putative showdown.


The truth is that everyone is tired of Ukraine, except the diminishing band who made their names from the Maidan crisis. The media has exhausted the subject and politicians on both sides are as frustrated with their own proxies as they are with the “enemy” at this stage. What began as an emotional rollercoaster has turned into a bitter disappointment for everyone in the west. The penny has slowly dropped that all the “revolution” did was replace a bunch of corrupt, albeit elected, rulers with a group of malcontents who are now stealing for themselves and their own cronies. The actors have changed but the script sounds the same to me.
I sincerely doubt there is a news editor from Moscow to London to New York who reacts with anything more than a resigned shrug these days when someone pitches a story about Ukraine. This is not to belittle the suffering in the civil war stricken land, which is heinous. I’m merely stating an uncomfortable truth. As far as powerful people are concerned, Ukraine is yesterday’s fish and chip paper. As IS continue their murderous rampage a few thousand kilometers to the south, Kiev's travails are now a sideshow within a sideshow.

Obama's legacy

Barack Obama has a year and a half left in the White House and he’s got a clear choice to make about his legacy. Does he want to be remembered as a President who left a smoldering Middle East and a new Cold War behind him? Methinks not. The problem for Obama is that the solution to both those problems first requires rapprochement with Moscow. Kerry’s Sochi visit probably indicates that Washington is willing to radically change its policy to Russia in order to secure the Kremlins’ cooperation on other pressing issues.


In Sochi, Kerry highlighted the need for unity to finalize the Iran deal and to bring peace to Syria through a political transition. He also spoke of the necessity of tacking the so called Islamic State, a bunch of nutters who make Ukraine’s extremists look like trainee hospitality professionals by comparison. Kerry also tied the roll back of anti-Russian sanctions to the full implementation of the Minsk agreement. Never mind that the treaty is so byzantine that it can’t be actually fully executed, the intention was clear. John Kerry seemed to be offering the Russians a deal: let’s agree to disagree on Ukraine and instead engage on other issues (like Syria, Iran and IS) where mutual conformity is possible.
Kerry was also careful to thank Putin for outlining his position in depth and to honor Russia’s war dead after Obama had snubbed the VE Day 70 celebrations in Moscow last weekend. The Secretary of State took the opportunity to slap down Ukraine’s President Poroshenko after his daft comments about retaking Donetsk airport. A couple of months ago, the Americans would have almost certainly denied ever hearing of such remarks. Now, the ear plugs have been removed and Poroshenko’s time in the sun was but a fleeting moment.

Has a deal been struck?

For his part, Sergey Lavrov felt that Russia and the US had now agreed to lean on their ‘sides’ (the rebels and Kiev respectively) to honour Minsk. The wily Russian Foreign Minister also echoed Kerry’s sentiments on the Middle East, fueling the idea that some kind of deal has been made.
Whether or not a gentleman's accord now exists between the US and Russian governments, it's fairly certain that Kerry's Sochi visit was significant. He was the first top American official to visit Russia since before the Ukraine crisis kicked off and the fact that he also met Putin is indicative of a mutual desire for a thaw.
Notwithstanding the tedious Ukraine issue, there is much Moscow and Washington can achieve if they work together. With the Middle East going to hell in a handcart, it's perhaps time for the globe's two military superpowers to leave their differences behind.
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
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Comments
Donald Paulus 1 hour ago
Hey, it looks like the Russians are winning re Ukraine. Crimea and the eastern provinces too. Hurrah for Putin and all the rest.
James Bradley 2 hours ago
Interesting 'take' on the Sochi meetings, Bryan MacDonald, but I think the US has invested too much in their VITAL Ukraine 'project' to throw it all away now. $6 billion financial cost +7000 lives lost and the downing of MH17 is no small investment.
Without the Ukrainian pawn, how can the NeoCons neutralise Russia, let alone China!
As for the Middle East: that's only a trivial side-show and just a distraction for the worlkd and a good place for the US to test weapons, train troops and sell armaments!
cra 4 hours ago
John Kooms
More death , destruction and failure by the geniuses who decide U.S. foreign policy . Putin should kick Mr.more...
Frustration leads to agression, and acting out the agression by kicking Kerry might make someone feel better (while they are in jail), but it will not solve the problem. The problem is that Kerry was directly or indirectly chosen by the vote of the US public for parties in a two party system. The public must become involved, and vote to get the Kerryies out, and write and tell them you disapprove of what they are doing. Until the US people decide that politics is more important than basketball, etc, the Kerries will continue to wreak havoc, until we may destroy everything.
cra 5 hours ago
Western Europe wants to start to remove US control as possible, as they have in Ukraine, brokering a cease fire independently of the US. Sensing their "allies" opposition, which seems evident with Marine LePen, Mogherini, Merkel, Hollande, the US appears to be softening it's image, but it is not at all clear, and seems unlikely, they have changed their long term objectives. For example the US attempt to close down a Russian (European) pipeline to Europe, in favor of a US one, continues. Reduction of US Empire intervention and control of the European "cash cow" increasingly weakens, impoverishes, and isolates the Empire, and it is strenuously opposing that, which could lead by accident or otherwise, to nuclear war.
John Kooms 7 hours ago
More death , destruction and failure by the geniuses who decide U.S. foreign policy . Putin should kick Mr. Ed right in the walnuts .
John Kooms 7 hours ago
Tsarkov
"Well, our own US propaganda, lies, and murdering didn't work this time, so I guess we'll actually engage in somemore...
Exactly.
John Kooms 7 hours ago
Ivan
This shows mr. Kerry is a wise man, he finally admits that you can not push a superpower like Russiamore...
John Kerry is a buffoon .
DavEd CamerBand 10 hours ago
hat nato has sent troops to train ukrainians and there is trouble in maceonia which seems usa conspired suggests to me that this is a washington feint .Saakashvili and hawkish US Senator John McCain to advise ukraine?? NATO to send advisers to Ukrainian defense ministry??
Brigitte Meier 11 hours ago
Evo Immorales
Ideally Putin would do so for Ukraine - but Ukraine's leaders do not want that. How they behave willmore...
Good point.
Ivan 11 hours ago
This shows mr. Kerry is a wise man, he finally admits that you can not push a superpower like Russia aside, both need eachother to challenge the IS terror, Ukraina is lost in corruption and stealing oligarchs, both the US/EU on one hand and Russia on the other are needed to bring peace to Ukraina and the west shoul recognize the transition of Crimea by referendum where the vast majority of the people wanted to be Russian again after 60 years of Ukrainian occupation.
It would also be wise to put pressure on the Baltic states that slide back in nazi style governing by treating ethnic Russians there like paria.
Teresa Deacon 12 hours ago
First piece of media news I have read in months that I actually agree with!
michael barry 12 hours ago
the zionist monsters that control washington d.c., have finally come up against someone they dare not, bomb, invade, and cannot destroy economically, russia.
nice, to see them grovel, for a change.
Evo Immorales 12 hours ago
Brigitte Meier
There is nothing further that can be done with Ukraine by the US at this time: the EU refused tomore...
Ideally Putin would do so for Ukraine - but Ukraine's leaders do not want that. How they behave will demonstrate whether US's reconciliation with Russia is genuine.
Evo Immorales 12 hours ago
After Maidan, after all the abuse by Kerry & Newland and all the Ukrainian & other lives lost, can we really believe this change of tack on the US' part is genuine? Perhaps the US leaders have finally realized that their fracking-oil boom is so transitory that they will never be able to satisfy energy-thirsty England or Europe!

Having said that, Russia must always heed Machiavelli's dictum: "When the enemy is making an obvious mistake (or being suddenly friendly!) it should be presumed that this is a mere ruse hiding something that our side has not yet appreciated."
Vincent P P 12 hours ago
thank god for minsk, may god help the suffering ukrainians in the east,may there be genuine accord with us russia others ,may you all keep your powder dry, you have wisely,avoided disaster, thank you jesus.
Tsarkov 12 hours ago
"Well, our own US propaganda, lies, and murdering didn't work this time, so I guess we'll actually engage in some diplomacy until we feel time is right for us to try it again...which we will eventually."
Brigitte Meier 13 hours ago
There is nothing further that can be done with Ukraine by the US at this time: the EU refused to fight a war on Russia; sanctions didn't cause the Russian economy to collapse, but reduced the German one and with it US exports, thus resulting in a contraction of GDP in the US. The hoped for turn by the Russian people against Putin didn't happen. And the 70th anniversary of WW2 in Russia, which the US so shamefully - or maybe better "shamedly" - ignored, was just that, the 70th anniversary of peace in Europe. Ukraine will not be a NATO member for a good while to come if ever, and Crimea didn't turn into a US base. With the entire series of policy issues having failed or not been met, the US really has no further bones in Ukraine and wants to get out of it. Least of all does it want to pay for the Ukraine fiasco. So no more propaganda grandstanding with Lavrov and Putin, but just simply: how do we stop this fast.

From the standpoint of Kiev and the rebels, the matter is different. They have to come to a solution that actually solves their problem. For Poroshenko to stay in power, that really means federating Ukraine. It will give Poroshenko a government not unlike a corporate business: attributing funds to various provinces to develop them; rebuilding the economy; finding foreign investment to make rebuilding the economy possible. That is more like his chocolate factory. For Yatsenyuk, it means cooperating with the policies divided by Poroshenko. No easy matter because of the hypocrisy to cover the tracks of failure so far.

For the rebels any solution that does not give them autonomy and self-determination within their two provinces is not acceptable.

Putin better go help to federate Ukraine and advise how to govern Ukraine.
Dan 14 hours ago
Kerry would have made a better president than Obomber.

US should stop voting for novelties.

- Muppet
- Womaniser
- Intellectually challenged
- non-white

And look who's running:
- son of muppet and brother of the intellectually challenged (who is also intellectually challenged)
- wife of the womaniser
- Fox news go to man for the extreme warmonger perspective: Lindsey Graham. Most famous for things

The only slightly normal person running is the son of Ron Paul.
Silviu Costea 15 hours ago
another war lost for Washington... losers :D
Dan 15 hours ago
Message deleted
Even the US people don't trust their government. Of course nobody else does.
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