you seem to say that Russia was pushed into invading Ukraine by NATO and the USA and Zelenskiy should have given in, give to Putin what he wants to avoid devastation of Ukraine.
russia has never been a communist state (or aspired to become one; or tried to achieve peace within a communist framework). it's not even a nation state, it consists of more than 200 ethnic groups (a third of the population dont speak russian at home) and were a kind of empire until the 1990's - the delusion of which persists and fuels Putin's imperialism after the loss of the baltics. What's left of russia post 90's is the rump of a fascist (leninist, trotskyist, stalinist etc) empire, by definition in opposition to its neighbours. And without any history of rule of law or treating citizens equally or impartially.No i do not. My post to JA and OG's response to it were about Syria and its government, not Russia. This is the trouble in here, people not sticking to the subject and imagining what is posted. See below.
Fully agreed in every detail and I've said similar. I could give you many incidences, see this warning from me for example, with the link that it's from:
"Overwhelmed by these immense odds against him, who knows what a trapped brutal thug like Putin might do. I suggest to satisfy his immense ego he might end his life by taking everyone else with him as far as possible."
Brexit, for once some facts.
Once again Zlatan stop making up what I posted because you are so utterly clueless about the background to all this. My criticism of the USA was about the way they rejected the entirely reasonable Mikhail Ivanovich Gorbachov as president by using covert CIA action to get rid of him, in favour...www.pedelecs.co.uk
That is my view of Putin.
Trouble is like all in here you want it all ways, totally one sided with no mention of what the other side sees and reacts to. Well you are not going to get that from me, since I will continues to stand in other's shoes and comment on what they perceive and what they sometimes do that is right and good as well as the evil they do.
When it comes to all the hostile Russian actions since the end of the cold war, they have all been directly due to the stupid hostility of the USA and it's refusal to accept that they wanted peace but within a communist framework. I suspect that with the cold war ended you, like so many, sleepwalked through the 1990s and early 2000s but now pretend you were closely watching events back then. Clearly you were not or you don't remember them.
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NO, NO , NO, nowhere have I said that, once again don't make things up.
Unfortunately today's news is that it will be death by a thousand cuts (over several months)
Wrong. Clearly you were another one sleepwalking through the late 1980s and early 1990s.
One swallow (gorbachev) does not a summer make. There was a counter revolution remember, and a cleptocracy of oligarchs who gave birth to a mafia state. That's more defining than anything gorbachev may or may not have achieved.
Don't forget that Yeltsin also strongly favoured perestroika and was originally Gorbachovs ally. The falling out was only over when, Gorbachov favouring gradual orderly change, Yeltsin sudden and to hell with the chaotic consequences, playing directly into America's hands. Also don't forget obedient employee Putin as PM faithfully carried out perestroika, miraculously making Moscow look like rather like a western city in an amazingly short time, cars and western shops and businesses everywhere
Who mentioned ethics? Saying something has a right to exist doesn't signify approval. In this instance it just signifies recognition that far more approve of their life than you think. Afghanistan for example where around 75% of the population always supported the Taliban and still do.
Flecc, I have stayed out of much of this discussion because it is circular. But facts are facts. Ukraine was on no path to NATO membership last January . NATO had rebuffed earlier approaches by Ukraine , particularly because it could be seen as worrying to Russia. Finland , pragmatically had taken a similar stance,and had remained neutral from NATO , but a strong player in UN missions. Zynlenskyy had made offers to Moscow that NATO was not a stumbling block , but Putins response was I want Ukrainian Nazis destroyed. Since there were more in Russia, than the 3% in Ukraine, that was an unattainable demand. Then Levorv was on about Ukrainians being Nationalists ..as if this was a bad thing.
I have never made reference to Ukraine seeking NATO membership. All my references have been to the US efforts to get Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, commencing from 2004. US success was signalled when Saakashhvilli announced in November 2007 that they would seek NATO membership. That period was the origin of Russia's fears and why it led to the the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 to, as it were, teach them a lesson, that spelled out to President Mikheil Saakashvili by Putin in person.
I wonder what Russia could be if it did not have Putin for dictator or if it was a member of the EU.
Although describing any part of this thread as circular reasoning is of course in itself circular.
It could have been. In the post cold war days when Putin was following the will of the Duma by successfully converting Russia into a similar capitalist consumer society to ours, he broached the subject of Russia joining the EU. He was entirely willing, but the USA predictably, plus certain EU elements, snubbed him. The USA's next move was to try to reactivate the cold war by enlarging NATO up to Russia's borders.
www.forbes.com
The truth is that this Russian aggression would have been prevented if Ukraine has been allowed to join Nato.
Perhaps Putin would understand if Germany started proclaiming that Königsberg was always an integral part of Germany? Kaliningrad just an aberration.
Putin knows that Russia has huge fossil energy resources and a surplus balance of payments.
Unless of course Russia had joined... Which folk make out was Russia 's intent, except for fact in Putin' s discussion with Nato he refused to go through entrance protocol and"stand in line with small countries".
NATO has never had all members totally in agreement.
