My Interview With Bonnie Faulkner (NYC WBAI radio-station).

Here is my hour long interview with Bonnie Faulkner of a popular Guns and Butter radio-show. 

Russian military and naval analyst, Andrei Martyanov, discusses the dangerous April standoff between Kiev and Moscow and its implications for US/Russian relations; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; new Russian weapons; US deployment to the Black Sea cancelled; Russia’s geopolitical, cultural and economic departure from the West; Russian Constitution; US goes to DEFCON 3; a coercion to peace; Russia discards Western payment systems; Russia’s view of the Ukraine; both Biden and Nuland involved in 2014 Ukrainian coup, both are back in power; alliance between Russia and China; scale of US deficiency v Russian firepower; US military nuclear-bias; crisis of financial predatory capitalism; global tectonic change taking place; 

It was given in April at the height of the tensions, when 404's military adventurism around LDNR threatened to unleash Russia's firepower which would drive the United States to the wall and into the military-political dead-end from which the United States would have to either go out totally militarily humiliated with the immense geopolitical ramifications for itself, or through the escalation to nuclear threshold and then all bets could be off. Chasing Russians with the de facto demand for summit has been a direct result of April events, which have been even compared to Cuban Missile Crisis by former Russia's President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. I wouldn't go as far as to compare these two events, but there is no denial that the probability of a direct military confrontation between the United States and Russia was growing. OK, summit has happened, sides expressed enough respect to each-other and, as I quoted former Soviet FM Andrei Gromyko--ten years of negotiations are better than one day of war. When related to the nuclear superpowers such as Russia and the US this is ultimately, 146%, true. 

In related news, Lavrov (in Russian) simply ran over UK's FM Dominic Raab, or speaking in diplomatic lingo--beat the shit out of him. Alexander Mercouris thinks that Lavrov chewed him up. No matter how one calls it--Raab (and UK represented by him) have been put in their place. Here is Alexander's take on that:

But I want to remind you what I wrote more than a year ago about Noblesse Oblige in an exclusive superpowers club. Real superpowers in modern times have a very specific way of interaction because of the enormous stakes for the entire world in such an interaction. The United Kingdom is not in this club, not even close and it is time the UK finally faced the fact that it is a second tier-power way out of league of the US, China and Russia. I don't think UK can adjust its discourse but it really doesn't matter for Russia whose main economic anchor in Europe after WW II was always Germany, while UK's place is lower that that of Netherlands.  

So, let's face it, UK is not THAT important for Russia, while militarily...well, I'll abstain from commenting in order not to rub the salt into the wounds of my many British friends, majority of who are great lads and for a guy, like me, who grew up with British rock-music, comedy and wonderful literature, there is still a lot what could be admired in the UK of the past. So, there we are on this Friday. Enjoy, if you can get through my thick Rrrrusian accent.

You Would Expect...

That I want to comment on this "summit". No. There is really nothing to comment on, except that Western journalists are primarily lowlifes and that once you heard the term "Strategic Stability" from the US Department of State, that means only one thing--Russians invented some shit which is really bad for US exceptionalists. Here is Putin responding to CNN's own Moscow's village idiot Matthew Chance. 

No, this is the real news (in Russian).
 

The first serial MS-21 with fully Russian composite wing and PD-14 engines and the delivery starts early next year with two serial MS-21s already being assembled, 6 more being readied and the production run hitting 36 a year after 2022. 3 new assembly lines are getting ready. Borisov is, obviously, happy. Ah, yes, another four serial SU-57s are getting ready for a delivery to Russia's VKS. As for Joe, in a surprisingly lucid moment he stated to Putin that new Cold War is not in the interest of the both sides. Agree. The problem is that many US journos should be tried for war crimes and instigation of the war, other than that, Russia is not going to lay down her arms but, if Joe understands that it is good to talk (in Russian), sure! As legendary Soviet/Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Andreevich Gromyko used to say:"Ten years of negotiations are better than one day of war." He knew what he was talking about.

The Summit Thing.

Russians soon will have to really hide under the bed in order to avoid being stalked by the US and NATO and being subjected to incessant requests to hold summits of one form or another. If stalking Russians to get the Geneva summit out of them hasn't been enough, now Mr. Stoltenberg wants to hold a meeting of a de facto defunct (since 2014) NATO-Russia Council. 

BRUSSELS, June 7. /TASS/. NATO is currently holding contacts with Russia in order to convene the Russia-NATO Council at the ambassadorial level, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, speaking at the Atlantic Council Monday. "We have a standing invitation for Russia to participate in a meeting, to convene the Russia-NATO Council again. So far, they have not answered," Stoltenberg noted. "We are now in contact with Russia to convene the Russia-NATO Council," he said.

As I always state: to discuss exactly WHAT? NATO, which is the United States and a bunch of its vassals is not going to change and playing a willing side changes absolutely nothing because NATO lied to Russia and its word is worthless. As if giving Stoltenberg a bit of a cold shower, Russia's Foreign Ministry stated today:

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Sanctions against Russia have been enshrined in the legal acts of Western states and will last forever, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told the parliamentary hearings in the State Duma (lower house) on Monday."The sanctions regime has always been in place. And it will remain so forever, let us be realistic. Sanctions have been enshrined in many legal acts, in the US and other states, and it is impossible to roll them back," the diplomat stated."All of them are illegitimate, they were slapped under very shaky pretexts, without any proof, but those facts, which are deemed as committed, cannot be rolled back," Pankin noted.The diplomat stressed that Russia would not ask anyone to lift sanctions and would not say sorry for what it is not doing.

So, Mr. Stoltenberg, it is what it is and Russia also will not miraculously stop her both military and economic development and transitioning into the new economic paradigm and increasing her massive military advantage over NATO. All what Russia does, she does in her territory and Russia's red lines will be articulated at Biden-Putin summit (if it goes ahead) and the opinion of some vassals doesn't really count. Plus, Stoltenberg better attend to a much more urgent NATO problems such as this one, because this is the level of military problems NATO is still capable to solve. 

BERLIN (AP) — The German military says it has found a solution for an unusual logistics problem its troops in Afghanistan face: a glut of beer. Defense Ministry spokeswoman Christina Routsi said Monday that a recent decision by the German commander in Afghanistan to ban the consumption of alcohol for security reasons had resulted in a pileup of beer, wine and mixed drinks at Camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif. German soldiers are usually entitled to two cans of beer — or equivalent — per day. Routsi said the military had found a civilian contractor who will take the alcohol back out of the country ahead of the German troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan as the NATO mission in the country ends in the coming months. The German army said the 22,600 liters (almost 6,000 gallons) of alcohol — including almost 60,000 cans of beer — couldn't be sold in Afghanistan due to local religious restrictions, or destroyed for environmental reasons. Proceeds from the German contractor's sale of the beer elsewhere should cover the cost of transporting it out of the country, the army said.

I have to admit, though, that this is a very very German problem. It cannot get any more German than that. 

So, here we are, everyone wants Russia. It is Russia, Russia, Russia all day long and even booboo Zelensky is so hurt and confused because of Biden...well, ignoring him. I don't know what it takes to explain to Ze that his country is a third world shithole which tried to do the most stupid thing in geopolitics--to interject itself into the game of superpowers. The result was totally expected, just ask Poland which now begins to feel a bit of Germany's wrath. One doesn't play (with) big boys and expect to be treated as equal. 

Denmark's environmental and food appeals board has repealed a construction permit for the Baltic Pipe, which will connect Poland's gas market with fields offshore Norway. 

This is how it always worked and will continue to work because in geopolitics some are MORE equal than others. Those who do not like it--they can go and fuck themselves. Now, for some of my readers who love a tough talk and tough actions and want to see Russia going around smashing everyone's heads and thumping her chest with the triumphant screams. This is NOT how power-balance works. Listen to Alexander Mercouris about Turkey and listen attentively. That may explain to some how the political power and influence work. Especially when superpowers are involved. 

So, apart from steady stream of news from Russia regarding the development of a cutting edge weaponry and very interesting economic data, after listening to Alexander, ask yourself a question why Erdogan does what he does and why Stoltenberg wants to talk to Russians, like really-really bad. No, it is not because Russians want to "invade" Europe. Why? The reason is different.

Getting Ready.

For the US-Russia summit on June 16. Sergei Lavrov didn't miss a beat when yesterday, speaking at the conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Russian-Chinese Treaty on Good Neighborhood, Friendship and Cooperation, stated that:

Всеобъемлющее партнерство РФ и КНР больше чем просто военно-стратегический союз.

Translation: All-encompassing partnership between Russian Federation and China is more than just military-strategic alliance.  

Sergei Lavrov is not the kind of statesman who uses hyperbole to describe facts of life, but the fact that obvious and undeniable partnership between China and Russia "is more" than just military-strategic alliance tells us all we need to know about the fact that the actual military-strategic alliance is being developed and that has immense geopolitical implications. What kind of implications one may ask. It is one thing to get oneself into the economic alliance akin to EU, totally another--to declare a military one. Immediately, that implies, at some point of time, a unified system of C2 (Command and Control) and unification and even integration of a number operational and tactical manuals and of fighting doctrines. The last one is not as difficult as it may seem between Russia and China, because of a tradition of a military-technological interaction for decades. 

For all Chinese achievements in the military-technological field, even a brief look and PLA(N) and its TOE tells us that to a very large degree Chinese military is copied from Soviet/Russian one. But the visual commonality should not obscure a much deeper and more fundamental similarity in fighting doctrine--both Russia and China are what would be called in Pentagonese A2/AD powers. In fact, Chinese arsenal, ranging from Air Defense to anti-ship missiles, to submarines and aviation is a variant of a Russian one. Just to give you some visuals:

Russia's 3M54 Kalibr ASM.
 

China's YJ-18 ASM. 

So, you get the point, right? Because of the tactical-technical similarities in weapons it is inevitable that tactically and operationally there are bound to be similarities too. You launch a salvo of missiles against Carrier Battle Group, you need good intelligence and targeting. If Russia is helping China in developing and building a Missile Attack Early Warning System, who is to say that Russia will not provide targeting for Chinese weapons? Liana is already operational and its constellation is being augmented as I type this, China has her own targeting system. This is just a single example. The fact that Russians and Chinese form the mixed units during numerous exercises, including Chinese participation in such monster events as Vostok-2018, to joint air patrols of strategic bombers and their fighter escorts, gives already some clue on what is going on and, as the last week visit of Yang Jiechi to Russia suggests, once one learns about a number of top Chinese military officer accompanying him to Moscow to meet Patrushev, one gets a whiff of a possible synchronization of Russian-Chinese weapons programs within certain "allied" framework. What is this framework, I don't know but in seems to imply that in case of an actual conflict in South China Sea between China and the US, China will have a very substantive military support from Russia, short only of Russians themselves getting involved in hostilities with the US. 

This is bad news for the US and Lavrov's words are to forestall any possible spin, which is inevitable in the West, about some kind of "deal" between Putin and Biden, if the summit goes ahead. No deal is possible between the US and Russia and the only benefit from this summit could be some reduction of tensions and stepping from the precipice of a big war. The United States will continue with sabotage and indirect strategies against Russia, while pretending that Russians, somehow, want to join Western fold--which is a product of a sheer delirium in D.C.--but it is what it is. Modern American "elites" are terminal and nothing could be done about them because their condition is not treatable.  Current combined West is only valuable as a market for Russia's goods ranging from hydrocarbons to high value added, for the rest--new iron curtain against degeneracy emanating from the West is highly desirable. Modern Western "values" and values of Russia are irreconcilable on a fundamental level and that is the cold hard fact of life.    

Lavrov on SWIFT Ploy: The EU Is Unreliable Partner And Don't Respect Written Agreements

P.S. Looks like Sudan did renege on its treaty with Russia on Sudan's PMTO (supply and basing post) for the Russian Navy. Well, not the first time, not the last one. One can still recall Iran abandoning its promises to Russia after, however brief, lifting of sanctions. You all know how that thing went. Sudan's "change of heart" (wink, wink) means merely additional patrols into the Eastern Med by Russia's squadron to "see" what is going on in the Red Sea. Modern (anti-shipping) missiles have incredibly long ranges. 

Anti-hype.

As you all know now, Presidents Putin and Biden are to meet in Geneva on June 16 this year for a summit. Here is Alexander Mercouris giving a time line leading to the decision to hold meeting and making some very good points on the overall state of the Russian-American relations, or whatever passes for them nowadays. 

But these are the last 15 or so minutes of Alexander's review of Lavrov's interview to Russian weekly AIF (Arguments and Facts) which are of a particular interest. I wrote about this many times and two and a half months ago I pointed out, commenting on some wet dreams which pass today in the US for geopolitical expertise, this:

It has to be clearly understood also, that Russia and China are the two pillars of a unification  of a colossus of Eurasia in a single, well defended, economic space whose size dwarfs anything the United States is capable to offer to Russia even if the United States suddenly finds itself friendly to Russia and willing to sincerely develop mutual relations. The time for this has passed long ago, and as they say--timing is everything. The US is, generally, economic non-entity for Russia when compared to China, and is of interest to Russia only as a global security risk, whose departure should be negotiated and arranged in a peaceful manner. Mr. Olsen may find Russian-Chinese growing space partnership troubling, but, hey, the United States has Elon Musk, let him provide for Lunar station. I heard he is really competent (cough, cough). 

And then there is this time thingy, both Russians and Chinese think in terms of long historic trends. They think with historic time scales, the United States lacks this perspective due to its elites being grossly uncultured and badly educated, plus, as I am on record for years, there is this issue with cause and effect, which increasingly manifests in the US scholarship and politics. That is why Russia has nobody to talk to in the modern US. This piece by Olsen demonstrates my point perfectly. They really do think that they are that important and attractive as to ignore reality on the ground. But it always bites. It is a bitter admission for me, because at some point of time I did see a window of opportunity for combined West, including Russia, to become something else--it never materialized and there is nothing to discuss any more in this respect, no matter what kind of ridiculous fantasies and delusions modern US elites try to present as a viable strategy.

Basically, most of what was said or written by Alexander, Pepe Escobar, Andrei Raevsky (The Saker), Patrick Armstrong and me, among many other observers, is unfolding in a front of our eyes and Russian-Chinese alliance begins to take shape be that unified position on the history of WW II or on global stability, or be that initial operational integration such as was observed at Vostok-2018 maneuvers or joint air patrols and Russia aiding China with her anti-missile early warning system--it is like, dude...

There is NO fvcking way the US can split Russia and China from each-other. With what? Remember this? Can you imagine the scale of riches and prosperity possible in Eurasia? Just think about it. France, ever so vigilant, begins to suspect something:

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Macron said that "with Russia, the policy of progressive sanctions on frozen situations is no longer an effective policy." "I think that we are at a moment of truth in our relationship with Russia, which should lead us to rethink the terms of the tension that we decide to put in place," the leader added. Asked by reporters as to how the EU can put forward its political objectives in cases like that of the jailing of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Macron pushed back, asking. "What would you like us to do? Do we start an armed conflict? Do we completely cut off relations? Do we go further with sanctions – but where to?"

Riiight. Someone builds a gigantic common market in Eurasia and is planning human exploration of Mars using new types of propulsion, others discover new genders and support all kind of lowlifes such as Navalny or Neo-Nazis in Kiev. Hey, free will, free will. So the United States still can produce some Force majeure before Geneva summit to kill the summit or try to frame Putin  but at this stage it doesn't matter. It is very anti-hype and almost anti-climatic and this state of the affairs is brilliantly summarized by Leo Tolstoy, and I hope you know what quote from War and Peace I am talking about.