Why has the poisoning of Alexei Navalny been met with Western silence? It is now an established fact, confirmed by laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden, that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union. The powerful poison, which has been used in at least one previous assassination attempt against foes of the Russian regime, was this time employed against a domestic opposition leader who operated openly to expose corruption and challenge the Kremlin. It requires a serious response. Continue reading the news article published on the New York Times website.
-
-
Die deutsche Empörung hat etwas Heuchlerisches!
Schon immer wurde gegen die zweite Gasleitung von Russland nach Deutschland protestiert. Amerikas Ruppigkeit mag inakzeptabel sein. Die Empörung darüber ist aber etwas hergeholt. Im Kongress in Washington wird ein Gesetz vorbereitet, das, sollte es in Kraft treten, nicht nur Unternehmen mit Sanktionen belegen würde, die an der Fertigstellung der Gasleitung Nord Stream 2 arbeiten, sondern auch Behörden. Es träfe vor allem deutsche Unternehmen und Behörden. Continue reading the news article on the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper website.
-
General Court of the European Union declares actions against Directive 2019/692 inadmissible
The General Court of the European Union declares that the actions brought by NordStream AG and NordStream 2 AG against Directive 2019/692, which extends certain rules of the internal market in natural gas to pipelines from third countries, are inadmissible The operators of the NordStream 1 and NordStream 2 pipelines are not, in any event, directly concerned by that directive On 17 April 2019 the Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2019/6922 (‘the amending directive’) amending Directive 2009/73 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas. 3 That directive entered into force on 23 May 2019 and was, in principle, to be transposed by the Member States into…
-
Putin’s Strategy Extends Further Across Europe
POISON AND DARK MONEY spy scandal in the Czech Republic involving Russian diplomats has reached new heights. At the end of April, the Czech publication Respekt reported that, according to an unnamed source in the security services, a man carrying a diplomatic passport arrived in Prague with a suitcase containing the fatal poison ricin. According to the report, the poison was intended for Czech politicians whose actions aroused the wrath of Moscow – the dismantling of the monument to the Russian commander Ivan Konev and the renaming of the square in front of the Russian Embassy in honour of the murdered Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. The police provided security to all potential…
-
Germany will not outlaw Stream, but how will the Russians implement it?
The gas directive may delay the launch of Nord Stream 2 An official decision by the German regulator was made that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not be removed from the gas directive, which could further delay it and reduce its profitability. If the new US sanctions do not stop him, his architects may try to apply EU law so that it does not disturb their interests – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of BiznesAlert.pl. Continue reading the in Polish language published blog article on the Wjakobik website.
-
Prague mayor under police protection amid reports of Russian plot
Zdenêk Hřib says there is ‘risk to my life’ as magazine alleges he was poisoning target. The mayor of Prague has said he is under police protection from a “risk to my life”, with one Czech investigative outlet reporting he had been targeted in a Russian poisoning plot. Zdeněk Hřib confirmed on Monday that police had placed him under protection several weeks ago after identifying a threat against him, but declined to say whether had been been targeted by Russia or reveal the nature of threat. Continue reading the published article on The Guardian news website.
-
Hot Issue – They’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat: The Curious Voyage of the Akademik Cherskiy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Autor: Benjamin L. Schmitt Since its announcement in 2015, Russia’s proposed Nord Stream Two natural gas pipeline has remained the infrastructure project posing the largest single threat to the energy and national security of the European Union and Ukraine. The year 2019 witnessed the culmination of years of growing diplomatic opposition to the pipeline and resulted in two tangible actions taken by the Transatlantic community to respond to the national security challenge of the project. First, the European Union passed an update to the Gas Directive of its largest energy market liberalization regulatory framework, the EU Third Energy Package, which will impede Gazprom’s ability to operate the pipeline…
-
The Neue Ostpolitik approach to Nord Stream 2: A legal fiction carried a little too far
EnergySource by Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt On April 10, 2018, signs emerged that the German government was finally beginning to recognize the geostrategic implications of the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Standing next to then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: “I made very clear that a Nord Stream 2 project is not possible without clarity on the future transit role of Ukraine…so you can see that it is not just an economic issue, but there are also political considerations.” In one short statement, the chancellor had seemingly repudiated years of arguments that she and other German politicians had made since the pipeline’s announcement: namely, the claim that…
-
Superfluous and politically lethal. The construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is highly contentious. Two German experts present their different views for The Security Times
By Ralf Fücks February 2018. If we listen to those groups advocating on behalf of Nord Stream 2 – the second double pipeline designed to move Russian natural gas through the Baltic Sea – we might come to think the new project is a highly energy-efficient project and politically quite harmless. According to them, Nord Stream 2 will increase European energy security – after all, the Soviet Union was a reliable provider – and remain a purely commercial project. They argue that the European Commission would do well to stay out of the matter, and should refrain from interfering in Germany’s energy sovereignty. Objection, your Honor! Continue reading the blog…
-
Wie die GroKo für die Putin-Pipeline trickst
Was tut die Bundesregierung noch alles, um Wladimir Putins Prestige-Projekt „Nord Stream 2“ nach den Wünschen des russischen Gasriesen Gazprom zu realisieren? Die Koalitionsparteien von CDU/CSU und SPD haben nach BILD-Informationen einen Gesetz-Änderungsantrag formuliert, der die verschärften EU-Richtlinien für Pipelines aus Drittstaaten im Fall von „Nord Stream 2“ außer Kraft setzen könnte. Hintergrund: Die überarbeitete Gasdirektive der EU sieht eine komplette Entflechtung von Pipeline-Betreiber und Pipeline-Nutzer/Gaslieferant vor. Gazprom dürfte demnach nicht mehr Eigentümer der Pipeline sein – und zugleich eigenes Gas durch die Pipelines leiten. Dies macht einen Betrieb von „Nord Stream 2“ zu Russlands Konditionen nahezu unmöglich. Continue reading the news article on the German Bild website.
-
Nord Stream 2: Großprojekt der Privatwirtschaft oder Instrument russischer Geopolitik?
Bei Nord Stream 2 fallen wirtschaftliche und geopolitische Interessen Russlands untrennbar voneinander zusammen. Der Bau der Pipeline muss als Versuch Moskaus gewertet werden, sich in der aktuell angespannten politischen Lage vor allem gegenüber der Ukraine aber auch der EU alle Handlungsoptionen offen zu halten, um diese zukünftig zur Durchsetzung eigener strategischer Ziele nutzen zu können. ‚Deutschland ist ein Gefangener Russlands‘. Mit dieser provokanten Aussage erregte US Präsident Donald Trump am Rande des NATO-Gipfels im Jahr 2018 in Brüssel große mediale Aufmerksamkeit. Und US-Vizepräsident Mike Pence fand auf der Münchener Sicherheitskonferenz in diesem Jahr noch deutlichere Worte: „Wir können die Verteidigung des Westens nicht garantieren, wenn unsere Bündnispartner sich vom Osten abhängig…
-
RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT HELPED BERLIN ASSASSIN TRAVEL ACROSS EUROPE TO KILL TARGET
The mysterious assassin who killed a former militant in Berlin last month was likely assisted by officials within the Russian dgovernment, who facilitated his travel across Europe and wiped his faked records from official databases after the killing, new research indicates. According to evidence uncovered by the Bellingcat investigative journalism organization, the killer could not have carried out the assassination of Georgian Zelimkhan Khangoshvili on August 23 without help from Russian officials. Khangoshvili fought against Russian forces in Chechnya. There are conflicting reports regarding the identity of the gunman, who has reportedly refused to speak with German law enforcement since his arrest, though he has met with Russia diplomats. Continue reading the news article…
-
An apparent assassination in Germany has all the hallmarks of the Kremlin — and Russia doesn’t seem to care
The daylight killing of a Chechen militant in Berlin looks increasingly like the work of Russia, though the Kremlin denies it. Investigators recently published evidence they say proves the suspect had a fake ID which only the Russian state could provide. A longtime Israeli intelligence operative, speaking anonymously, told Insider that the cover provided would not withstand much scrutiny — a common feature in Russia-linked killings. Extensive databases and new technology, the source said, mean that techniques once used to falsify identities no longer work. For Russia to continue such work, knowing the likelihood of getting caught, is tantamount to saying that it does not care. Continue reading the published…
-
Lega Nord’s Bedfellows: Russians Offering Illicit Funding to Italian Far-Right Party Identified
In a previous joint investigation with BuzzFeed News and the Insider, Bellingcat disclosed the inordinately frequent travel of two Italian politicians from the close circle of the head of Italy’s far-right party Lega Nord, and self-styled “Italian Trump” Matteo Salvini. As previously reported by Italian media and BuzzFeed, one of the frequent travelers and advisers to Italy’s deputy prime minister – Gianluca Savoini – took part in a meeting in Moscow last October with three so-far unidentified Russian speakers. Continue reading the article on the Bellingcat news website.
-
Nord Stream 2: Energy Security For Europe Or Prelude To Russian Aggression In The Baltic?
Nord Stream 2 (NS2) has been subject to a vigorous debate and much disagreement on whether it provides an opportunity for diversification of gas supply to the European union or facilitates Russian dominance. But some go even further, suggesting that NS2 could become excuse for Russian expanded military presence or even military aggression in the Baltic Sea. The Project in a Nutshell The Nord Stream 2 (NS2) project consists of two pipelines running across the bottom of the Baltic Sea carrying Russian natural gas to Germany. Once completed the two pipelines would offer 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) in annual capacity. As such, NS2 is an attempt at duplicating the success of Nord…
-
“Putin es una bomba de relojería: un sociópata con poder y armas nucleares”
Title, “Putin is a time bomb: a sociopath with power and nuclear weapons” Para el Gobierno ruso, Bill Browder (Massachusetts, 1964) es un agente, bien de la CIA o del MI6, un multimillonario que ha sobornado a políticos de todo el mundo, y forma parte de una conspiración sionista que tiene como objetivo dominar el mundo, y reducir a la mínima expresión el poder de Moscú y de su presidente, Vladimir Putin. Para quienes creen en su lucha, es un emprendedor entusiasta que lleva diez años empeñado en hacer justicia por la muerte de su auditor, el abogado Serguei Leonidovich Magnitsky (Odesa, 1972). Continue reading the Spanish published article on…
-
U.S. Efforts To Derail Russian Pipelines To Europe Have Failed Since The 1960s. Will Nord Stream 2 Be Any Different?
U.S. President Donald Trump will fly to Europe later this month to pursue a goal his predecessors going back to John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan failed to achieve — derailing a Kremlin-backed energy-export pipeline. The Trump administration and the U.S. Congress are fighting to block the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.6 billion) Nord Stream 2 project amid fears it will make NATO allies and other European countries more reliant on Russian energy and damage Ukraine by depriving it of transit fees. Continue reading the article on the Radio Free Europe news website.
-
The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline And The Dangers Of Moving Too Rashly Toward Renewable Energy
Few Americans likely noticed last week that Denmark refused to grant a permit for finishing construction of the Russian natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, but its international significance is enormous. Denmark’s refusal is the latest chapter in a story of how good intentions in fighting climate change go bad. It is a cautionary tale of how a country – in this case, Germany – while seeking to make itself and its energy use cleaner, more efficient and more self-sufficient, can produce the opposite of all three. As climate change becomes more of an issue in America heading into the 2020 election season, Nord Stream 2 provides a case study of the…
-
Die EU hat Trump höhere US-Flüssiggasimporte zugesagt – doch der Deal ist in Gefahr
Bis 2023 will die Europäische Union die Importe von US-Flüssiggas verdoppeln. Doch Russland und Saudi-Arabien könnten den Plan durchkreuzen. BerlinDie Gefahr droht aus zwei entgegengesetzten Richtungen, und dazu noch von zwei Staaten, die früher einmal Erzfeinde waren: Russlandund Saudi-Arabien. Die EU hat den USA zugesagt, bis 2023 die Importe von US-Flüssiggas bis 2023 auf acht Milliarden Kubikmeter pro Jahr zu verdoppeln. Doch Moskau und Riad wollen auf diesem Markt auch mitmischen. So war der russische Gaskonzern Novatek im Februar erstmals der größte Importeur von verflüssigtem Erdgas (LNG) in Europa. Und der Oligarchen-Konzern hat noch größere Projekte in der Pipeline. Russland ist bereits größter Gaslieferant Europas – aber bisher ausschließlich über Pipelines. Und der…
-
U.S. Senate Threatens Sanctions Over Russian Pipeline
Washington and Berlin face off again over Nord Stream 2 as European ships are targeted. In the latest uptick of trans-Atlantic tensions, European ships involved in the construction of a controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany could be subject to U.S. sanctions under a new bipartisan bill that will be introduced in the U.S. Senate as early as Monday. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, would sanction companies involved in laying deep-sea pipelines for Russian energy projects, taking direct aim at the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has emerged as a major source of tension between the United States and Germany. Foreign…
