Symptomatic.

As it has been observed not for once, European "elites", especially when it comes to defense and foreign relations are not good, like in "they suck". Russians also have a saying: once every century Europeans gather their forces and go to Russia to get the shit beaten out of them.(c) As their American counterparts in the foreign policy establishment, Europeans also prefer degrees in law to be a background for bloviating on geopolitical matters. Germany is especially interesting in this respect since apart from having Heiko Maas as Germany's Foreign Minister, Germans also love women to be in charge of Germany's "defense". Enough to recall Ursula von der Leyen's tenure in charge of defense of Germany, which saw basically an emaciation of already badly mauled Bundeswehr--now Ursula applies her educational background as a children's doctor as a biggest honcho in EU--now a new (relatively) lady with degree in law gets to run Germany's defense. 

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is your typical party worm careerist with zero understanding of global politics (not a strong trait of modern German "elites" as a whole), let alone global military balance. This, however, does not prevent her from being a globalist shill  and she demonstrated it yesterday when made statements such as reported by TASS:

"Мы должны усилить нашу позицию, - заявила министр, призвав вести переговоры с Россией по таким вопросам, как разоружение, "с позиции силы". Эта всегда была хорошая позиция германской внешней политики, и так должно остаться в будущем."

Translation: We must reinforce our position--said Minister--calling on conducting negotiations with Russia on such issues as disarmament "from the position of strength". It was always a good position of German politics and it should remain such into the future. 

It might be pure coincidence but Annegret's father, as her bio states, was a special education teacher. Just saying, but one cannot shake the impression off that much of current German "elite" are people who came out of the special education (or alternatively gifted) programs. I am not being facetious--they are that stupid and unaware. They also have a very short memory. Last time Germany, with the help of the rest of Europe, tried to speak to Russia "from the position of strength" we all know how it all ended. Germany is a military midget compared to Russia, and Russia is also not impressed with the US posturing, which is implied in Kramp-Karrenbauer's statements, because in case of Russia being attacked by the US, first things after Washington which will go up in flames will be a number of strategic locations in Germany. Germany alone is no threat to Russia and, generally, Annegret doesn't have any instruments to even grasp complexities of the "position of strength". Yet, in the midst of this delirium and chest thumping, one factor can not be ignored. Here it is:

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The German defence minister's warning against the "illusions" of pursuing European defence autonomy rattled French President Emmanuel Macron so much that her comments became a topic of discussion at a cabinet meeting this month in Paris. "We found it regrettable, but we noted it was only an isolated position and not (Chancellor Angela) Merkel's line," an official present in the room at the Elysee palace told Reuters, putting a brave face on the divergence of views.   

I have some news for Germany's Defense Minister who, if she studied "law and politics", should know that, as I stated few days ago:

No, really, ha-ha, Macron doesn't seek "leadership", what he seeks is an age old arrangement in case Germans really get all pissed off with continuous national suicide and France, as usual, will be in the way, this is when Russia comes in.

It is not a secret. In fact, it is a European truism that France's security has a very strong Russian "flavor." Recall with what pomp Maurice Paleologue was received in St.Petersburg (shortly to be renamed Petrograd) on the eve of WW I. And this teeny-weeny historic fact, as well as Stalin making sure that France is included into the cohort of WW II Victors should give some hint to how deep down France looks at Germany, even despite all those strides made in a direction of European "unity" since the end of the WW II, as a potential threat. After all, France is a nuclear power. But here is a question to ponder--what if German, at some point of time, decide to become one too? Of course, they lost a lot of expertise and being the America' door mat I am not seeing it happening any time soon. But, as practice of international relations has shown, the pseudo-intellectual crap of the "End of History" was just that, an ejaculate of a prolonged "intellectual" masturbation, which resulted in a corruption of a realist (as much as it is possible today in the increasingly totalitarian West) view of the world. 

World is still run by nation-states and passions of the past cannot be ignored, history tends to vow itself into the national DNA and nothing could be done about it, no matter how "scientific" next big ideology tries to present itself. They all are crap. Passions will erupt because contradictions will accumulate--it is inevitable. And since Russia owes nothing to anyone, my calls for erection of the Iron Curtain between Europe and Russia will continue. Judging by nervous (to put it mildly) Paris' reaction to a geopolitical stupidity of Germany's Defense Minister one can clearly see those teeny-weeny cracks which begin to appear in the European "unity" because Europe is too small to be accommodating for several regional super-powers. Even slaves often had some scores to settle. For Russia both France and Germany are local powers and markets, especially Germany. But if Germany will continue to produce people of such intellectual ability as Maas or Kramp-Karrenbauer, there will be no talks at all, from any position, strength or otherwise for Germany. Russia and China may have different views on the world, but China desperately needs Russia's energy and she will gladly take whatever will be freed from European consumption. The infrastructure for that is being built as I type this. 

Now in terms of position of strength, Russia can do this not only to Germany but to the combined West, not least because of things like that. Judging by the intense test launches, technologies like that are fully operational and either are deployed or are about to. This is few days ago.

Russia can talk from the position of strength to Germany, especially being now totally independent in terms of ships' propulsion (MTU, bye, bye), the opposite is not only not true it is impossible in principle. The sooner Germany's Defense Minister learns this simple fact of life, the better it will be for Germany, and Europe as a whole. But then again, she is a party functionary with "politics" degree, I am not even sure she can comprehend what she sees in these videos, unless it is explained to her. They don't teach material science and sensor fusion at those departments. And it shows. Iron Curtain between Russia and EU is needed.

2020 For You. Now, Maradona.

I never liked him after the Hand of God, I just couldn't bring myself to it, but for all his shenanigans there was no denial that he was a genius. Paradoxically, it wasn't his and Argentina's triumph at World Cup in Mexico in 1986, which made me call him then a genius. In 1986 Argentina had a wonderful team. It came later, in 1990 World Cup when he, Maradona, with the help of incredible, incomparable Sergio Goycochea in the frame and ever versatile and experienced Burruchaga took shitty, boring, uninspiring mediocre team Argentina could assemble for that World Cup to the freaking finals. It was a mind-numbingly mediocre team, which took the third place in the qualification group losing to Cameroon, tying Romania and winning USSR. Argentina met mighty Brazil in the knock out stage. Everyone thought Argentina was finished. Well, without Maradona it would have been. But Argentina had him and, as usual, he created a goal out of nothing leaving Caniggia with an easy task of putting a ball into the Brazilian net.

You look at this an can only say--Son of a Bitch, how does he do this. Yet, Maradona surely missed his penalty kick against Yugoslavia in a penalty shootout after the game in which Yugoslavs dominated, but then again, Argentina had Sergio Goycochea. Then were the hosts, Italy, ever dangerous Italy. Maradona again, made a goal and he didn't miss his penalty kick which took Argentina to finals. 

They lost there to Germany, on penalty kick by Brehme. I hated that Argentina team but I saw already then how massive a player Maradona was. The fact that this crap of a team made it to finals thanks to Maradona and Sergio--I never saw anything like this in my life. I remember my beloved Italy of 1982--but that was a Team, a dream-team, really, which resurrected themselves after the scandals to overcome greatest challenges of a time: Argentina, Brazil and West Germany. But here, it was one guy who literally pushed a POS of a team into finals. This was a true greatness. I surrendered and I said to myself that he is a SOB, but, God, how good is he. Don't give me this Messi crap, the guy is a midget on international arena where it only matters and where reputations are made. Maradona since 1986 WAS a team and he was busting his ass for the team. Maradona's titles list with a national teams is something Messi can only dream about

Diego Maradona, one of football's greatest-ever players, has died aged 60. The 1986 World Cup winner had surgery to remove a blood clot on the brain earlier this month. The Argentine Football Association confirmed he had died this afternoon. "The Argentine Football Association, through its president Claudio Tapia, expresses its deepest sorrow for the death of our legend, Diego Armando Maradona. You will always be in our hearts," they said. Another of football's greats, Pele, has led the tributes to: "Certainly, one day we'll kick a ball together in the sky above."

Yes, he was a drug junkie and he was eccentric, but so was George Best, an alcoholic. I guess this comes with a territory for geniuses. Maradona was a genius of the game, every fvcking single fan of football in the world will tell you this. Go to Naples, ask them what Maradona did and means for S.S.C. Napoli. Read about Maradona Era in Napoli where he is still revered as deity. He was only 60. Was Maradona better than Pele? Probably, Pele didn't play the game which was being played since mid-1970s with tightening defense and increasingly skillful and hard defenders--I am not sure that Pele would do well against the likes of Franko Baresi or Collovati. Maradona tried, he didn't like it. What can I say, what a fvcking year--it takes the best. RIP, SOB, you were the best. I am sad, really sad.

How You Name The Ship...

I didn't want to do it, but here it is. Since I didn't serve around Vladivostok so I do not know for sure configuration of Russia's territorial waters there, I just know that in accordance to 1984 document, and that is what US, or whoever runs it today (is there anybody out there?), refers to, stating that Zaliv Petra Velikogo (The Peter-the-Great Gulf) is not exactly Russian waters. Here is what the US Navy had to say:

The U.S. 7th Fleet issued a statement that said the McCain had operated in accordance with international law, and that Russia had in 1984 illegally claimed the area as "internal waters." The boundary claimed by Russia is "inconsistent with the rules of international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention to enclose the waters of a bay," according to the U.S. statement. International maritime boundaries are typically recognized a certain distance offshore. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union claimed a large portion of the Peter the Great Gulf — which Americans refer to as a bay — beyond these traditional boundaries. The U.S. and its allies reject this claim. The 7th Fleet said that McCain’s operation was intended to demonstrate that these waters are not Russia’s territory.

I kinda put together what it may look like in terms of the Gulf, distance measure black lines very roughly following those basic lines, which Russia considers her territorial waters. If someone will have the time (I am simply lazy to go over it in detail) and finds the actual maps, feel free to post it in discussion. 

This is not the first time the US Navy tries to exercise "freedom of navigation" thingy. Before this one, the latest one was in 2018. 

US Warship Sails Near Disputed Waters to ‘Challenge Russia’s Excessive Maritime Claims’

Generally speaking, this whole thing has nothing to do with FONOP (Freedom of Navigation Operation) but with the United States being very interested in things around Bolshoy Kamen, where a mastodon Zvezda shipyard is located, and especially parts of it where all those Oscars (pr. 949A SSGNs) are refitting for who knows what kind of weapon systems, wink, wink. 

Photo above is the old one, today Zvezda looks like this:

An extremely busy (loaded to the hilt with orders for major ships) shipyard. So, why not get closer to it; this, plus good ol' signal collection, plus the main base of Russia's Pacific Fleet is there, so you get my drift. Come on, we all know that curiosity is a natural trait of humanity. This, plus showing off. Russians sent out Admiral Vinogradov to shadow the American ship.

 

But the problem with the American ship was the fact that its name is DDG-56  USS John McCain. You know, symbolism, especially when one (US side) declares that it sails and flies wherever it wants to (BS, of course, but for the sake of argument), US 7th Fleet should have known when dispatching DDG-56 to demonstrate anything to Russians that Russians know about late Senator, after whose admiral father DDG-56 was named, as much, if not more, than Americans and this particular American "hero" in Russia is a clownish, very comedic, figure and, as was expected, Russian web-sphere exploded with acerbic comments which I prefer not to post here. But as you might expect the most neutral was tongue in cheek "It is how you name your ship". So, let's put it this way--McCain's family is not taken seriously in Russia and the father, whose name DDG-56 bears, can thank his son for parading himself as mentally unstable and bile and revenge-driven person which gave this aura to the whole McCain seed. 

Naturally Admiral Vinogradov did what Russians traditionally do--promised to ram DDG-56 if she is not going to leave Russia's territorial waters. DDG-56 left the Gulf and the whole scene was reminiscent of Ilf and Petrov's comedic masterpiece 12 Chairs. Sorry for my non-native Russian speaking friends but I couldn't resist. LOL.

On a more serious note, at some point of time Russians may get tired of this BS and may "accidentally" find a way to pay back with the same coin. If simple Russian intelligence ship created a shitstorm in US media, while being well in the international waters, can you imagine what happens when completely modernized Admiral Nakhimov will undertake round-the-globe trip to check on its new rather lovely weapons and sensors suite and will sail near the United States. I guess we all are entering the time of great tribulations and the less everyone show-off the better it will be for everyone, but one may only hope. So, don't hold your breath.

Recall This?

I will remind you what I wrote in March this year once the whole thing with COVID-19 unfolded. 

As I stated earlier, I will still reserve my opinion on the origin of this Covid-19 situation but, if your read my comments, I was in no way distraught over the fact that Trump defunded WHO. Even RT gave the tribune to such an opinion. ....So, we may face ahead even larger adjustments which will change statistics of Covid-19 and social outlook dramatically. I don't think China necessarily lied, I think Chinese were simply trying to feed info as it was unfolding  and WHO did "cry wolf" before. Swine flu, remember? So, take it anywhere you want but do not forget which US political party is tightly connected to supranational structures under UN auspices and represents radically globalist.... Oops, I misspoke, never mind, never mind, wink, wink.   

Now, I can be more specific. Before being more specific I need to remind you couple things: 

1. You all well know that I am no Sinophile--I am on record, constantly, that Russian-Chinese "alliance" is a situational one, and that it is predicated on political and economic stability of China. Russia is a thing in itself and is civilization on her own. But modern Russia IS NOT an Asiatic country.

2. China is a great civilization with rich culture and an extremely complex ethnic and cultural composition. It also has a mind-boggling variety of dialects, which precludes any person without highly focused effort to study China, to be called a Sinologist. I am no Sinologist, not even close and I fully understand this. I, as well as many others in my line of writing, thus are forced to rely on the opinions of real Sinologists. 

I have couple of sources I use for insights into China's economic and political reality, one of those sources being Nikolai Vavilov (no relation to other Vavilov, a geneticist of Stalin-times fame) who has an excellent grasp of Chinese political and economic elites. Here is  one of his books on China (The Uncrowned Kings of China) in Russian, New one came out recently and Nikolai has a serious claim on knowledge on China, not only he lived and worked in China for many years, including work for Chinese Xinhua news-agency. He is fluent in many Chinese dialects, so when he speaks, I listen. And now important stuff. 

1. China DOES NOT offer world the alternative to globalism. China IS a globalist power and for many people who for years have been misled by China's massive scale economic plans, the recent G-20 address by Xi should come as an unpleasant surprise. Here are some points, we start with this:  

Xi expressed his opinion on the priority of the fight against the novel coronavirus. The G20 should respect the World Health Organization (WHO) and create a global mechanism coping with pandemics. Xi also suggested a specific measure that the G20 can take to bring the pandemic to a stop, which is an international recognition mechanism of the "health code." The code should be based on the global standard of QR code technology and the result of the COVID-19 nucleic acid test. He wished more countries can join the effort of creating a standardized "express passage" for people to travel between nations.

This is, for now, merely a suggestion but the nature of this suggestion is that the world should follow China's already in place and in active use code system which does this (In Russian):

a) Each Chinese city has its own "platform" on Alipay or WeChat, where everyone is obliged to register with their own "code";

b) The system tracks everyone by their QR-code and assigns the color in which "green" means that you can go pretty much anywhere, and then limitations are imposed if the code is "orange", let alone "red" which forbids any movements. 

Well, my friends, if this de facto electronic concentration camp (or ghetto) hasn't been implemented yet in your neighborhood, let's open Comrade Xi's remarks on the BRICS summit five days ago and here is what he said:

Around the world, COVID-19 is posing a grave threat to people’s life and well-being. The global public health system is facing a severe test. Human society is going through the most serious pandemic in the past century. International trade and investment have shrunk considerably. The flow of goods and personnel has been impeded. Factors for uncertainty and instability are numerous. The world economy is witnessing the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Unilateralism, protectionism and acts of bullying are becoming rampant, and the deficit in governance, trust, development and peace is widening instead of narrowing. Despite all this, we remain convinced that the theme of our times, peace and development, has not changed, and that the trend toward multipolarity and economic globalization cannot be turned around. We must keep people’s welfare close to heart and pursue the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind. Through concrete actions, we will contribute our share to making the world a better place for everyone.

Wait a minute! No, no, no, no--this is NOT how it works--it is precisely economic globalization and the orthodoxy of a Free Trade which are in the foundation of the global economic crisis, for which grossly inflated threat of COVID-19, serves as a good excuse. Including a strange correlation between Chinese so called Komsomol (Hu Yaobang's Trotskist and globalist heirs) leaders getting to power with American Democratic Party Presidents being elected. Correlation doesn't mean causality, do not misinterpret me, but what is not open for misinterpretation is the fact that:

1. China needs globalism because...

2. Chinese economy, for all its gigantic size, is not doing that well

3. US Democrats are truly neo-left globalist cabal who also seem to "influence" Comrade Xi at BRICS Summit. Like this, as he himself states:

Fifth, we need to pursue green and low-carbon development, and strive for harmony between man and nature.

How not well, you may ask, is China's economy? Simple: China STILL is dependent on these two markets:

1. The United States--a lot of statistics is being faked to show China "reducing" this dependency. Reality, however, is grim for China and the US--the level of mutual dependency remains very high.

2. Japan. And then South Korea.

Remove them and China's economy collapses. But then, of course, there is this:

In this report, we show how China’s production of coal-intensive products is accelerating. In October, steel production rose 13% year-on-year, aluminium  rose 11%, cement rose 10%, and electricity production rose 7%. China’s GDP data confirms that the industrial sector provided a higher proportion of its economic growth this summer than at any time since at least 2016. Consequently, China has produced almost 60% of the world’s steel, aluminium and cement so far this year. In addition, steel and aluminium exports have collapsed, meaning China itself is using more of these products. Meanwhile, China’s coal-fired electricity generation is unchanged from last year, because of high electricity demand outpacing clean electricity investment. Coal generation in the rest of the world, by comparison, is expected to fall by about 12% this year, meaning China’s share of global coal generation will rise to 53%.

Pay attention to highlighted and remember, 65% of China's electricity generation is based on coal, which increasingly becomes scarce and increasingly expensive to extract with many mines in China already going as deep as 1,000 meters (1 kilometer). And we all know what that means, right? Just to give you some idea on generation--in the United States coal amounts to 22.8% of generating sources, In Russia--it amounts to around 16%, so you get my drift, right? Well, this also is not the whole story, costs for China will continue to grow and the shift from coal to gas, nuclear and other sources is a daunting task for the export economy the size of China's and which is dramatically vulnerable to fluctuations on markets. Let's remember what was the foundation of Trump's economic platform which he was running on--right, decoupling from China. Recall also an abrupt limitation to education of Chinese students and researchers in the United States. Nasty, aggressive? Undeniably so, typical arrogance BUT...give Trump, for all his bluster and being full of shit, a credit, he found Chinese cojones and grabbed them. And now the main part:

1. China's attempt to focus on domestic consumption to support her economy has failed (in Russian);

2. "Second circulation" policy is now in place, another attempt at internal market. Enter Nikolai Vavilov (sadly in Russian only). 

Right, 12 years China was effectively printing money, they went, right, right, right, into the real estate. Guess, China was becoming the US 2.0 by producing debt. Guess what this second attempt will be? Right, inflation and debt and "export", again. But now even more, while many praise recent RCEP signed by China and East Asian nations, many forget that this same RCEP, which originally was a Japanese idea, reduces 90% of tariffs not only for China-made consumer goods, but for such things, among many, as Japanese cars and parts for them, same goes for Korean automakers. Bye, bye Chinese auto-industry. Now that you know these peculiar facts, ask yourself a question if at least some influential parts of Chinese elites were not interested in removing radically anti-Chinese Trump and getting a democrat in the office? There is another funny fact, the origin and spread of COVID-19 somehow was limited to the cities and provinces which are managed by those very same representatives of China's Komsomol who made fortunes at the American market. Coincidences, coincidences. How can you remove Trump? Right. 

But in general, especially after Xi's remarks at BRICS' summit it remains patently clear that the only way China can remain more or less (primarily less) healthy, for now at least, economically is to continue to export until the whole thing collapses, because globalism and Free Trade are collapsing. Yet, Xi praises these moribund practices as if nothing what is happening in the world today is related to the subjects he praised. I will omit here the sheer anti-scientific idiocy of CO2 emissions. Of course, Chinese didn't congratulate uncle Joe with becoming a President-elect (and he is still not), in fact, the statement of Chinese Foreign Ministry (a level below official protocol) was down-right humiliating to Biden, who insulted Xi and China not for once. But behind globalist totalitarian mafia of the Democratic Party we all can see the silhouettes of the Clintons and the Obamas and their vast network of political operatives who want to turn the United States, the remnants of the flawed Republic, into the playground of the most destructive, amoral, anti-human and criminal forces which will stop at nothing, including high treason to get to power. Remember this? 

"I certainly do think that the Chinese government and central bank are making a smart decision by continuing to invest in Treasury bonds," she said during an interview Sunday with the popular talk show "One on One." "It's a safe investment. The United States has a well-deserved financial reputation." To boost the economy, the U.S has to incur more debt, she said, shortly before departing for Washington. "It would not be in China's interest if we were unable to get our economy moving," Clinton said. "So by continuing to support American Treasury instruments, the Chinese are recognizing our interconnection. We are truly going to rise or fall together. We are in the same boat and, thankfully, we are rowing in the same direction.

I do. It is a good idea to refresh sometimes a decade old statements, they contain so much in them. Recall who was China's President then? Right, and read what Hu Jintao's one of the main foreign policy "accomplishments" was during his term.

He improved ties with Japan, but effectively downgraded relations with Putin’s Russia, which repeatedly disappointed Beijing in terms of arms sales and energy deals. 

This phrase opens a whole new can of worms which allows to understand why Russians are really nonchalant about CREP and why all this blatter about Russia being junior partner in Russian-Chinese duo is just that--pure BS. There are many things we don't see, as it is supposed to be in the real life, but there is a reason why I constantly point out to a simple fact of China still preferring Russia to lead in geopolitical arena. So, do I say that COVID-19 is a global operation of influence? No, what I say it that there is a viable motive. And again, correlation does not mean causality but only sober and factual assessment of real strength of participants in the game can give good insight into intentions of everyone. 

A Bit For The Mood.

This is beyond good, it is magnificent:

David Lynch and his muse Chrysta Bell (Agent Tammy Preston in Twin peaks: The Return). Stunning.

And this too: 

Old School Beautiful.

No, not Victoria Kosoglyadenko of TV Zvezda who did this report (you don't need to know Russian to understand what is going on--regular inspection of submerged part of the hull). But the Oliver H. Perry-class FFG flag-ship Alexandria which is now in service with Egyptian Navy still shows off its nice lines. The group of Egyptian ships arrived to naval base Novorossisk to hold joint exercises with Russia's Black Sea Fleet. 

And you can still enjoy the naval architectural beauty of old but gold American design--the nose silhouette of Perrys is gorgeous. Just plain beautiful. Below is the video of Alexandria and Admiral Makarov leaving Novorossiisk for exercise. 

In other related news, Small Missile Ship Odintsovo of Karakurt-class has been commissioned to Russia's Baltic Fleet and as you can see, this one is with fully operational navalised Pantsir-M, which is now capable to intercept high supersonic targets at distances of up to 40 kilometers, which allows even a group of 2-3 Karakurts deploy a robust air-defense in the area. 

New, 4,500 kilometer range 3M14 land attack and 1500 kilometer range anti-shipping 3M54 missiles and coming soon 3M22 Zircon make these ships a nightmare for any theater of operations. Vladimir Putin speaking to G-20 today (in Russian) about the risks the world faces warned about steady unemployment with further growth of poverty as the main danger. As you all know, this type of depression, and it is depression, cannot be resolved by pure "peaceful" means. For this collapse of the financial capitalism to not go full global and nuclear one needs this proverbial gun at the temple of those, from governments to creeps like Soros and other self-proclaimed "elites", to ensure that no stupid movements are allowed. This is what Russia's rearmament program is all about--blocking all possible paths to military escalation, especially when one considers the ignorance and a complete moral decay of modern Western decision makers.

It Really Becomes Annoying As Hell.

I will not stop repeating it until I am dead--Russia owes nothing to anyone, period. Want something from Russia? Take a number and be nice at the window once your number is called. I also will repeat it ad nauseam--constant attempts to "analyze" anything in contemporary international relations from the position of some diplomatic chimeras of the days past should stop and as Doctor Lecter used to say Quid Pro Quo, Clarice. Or, rather, Emmanuel. This, plus overwhelming cutting edge military power--these are the only two things which matter today. No good will, no emotions, just Quid Pro Quo and recognition that behind this offer is a deadly big stick capable to ensure that if this Quo is not good enough negotiations are over and no new Quid is coming. Out of the cellar of geopolitical well-wishing come Macron's new ideas:

Russia and France have different objectives, yet both recognize the need to push back against Turkey’s expansionism, the intrusive influence of the US, and the zero-sum security architecture in Europe, which threatens stability. Emmanuel Macron has called on the European Union to reconsider policies towards Russia and improve relations. The French President's move deserves a favourable response as rapprochement is sadly now a politically bold move in the Euro-Atlantic community.France has also requested a role in establishing lasting peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. Paris approved of Turkey’s collaboration with radical militant groups in Syria, although now objects as Ankara exports the same fighters to Libya and the South Caucasus. Paris has traditionally depicted all anti-Russian Chechens as freedom fighters, albeit it now calls for greater anti-terrorism cooperation with Moscow.

The immediate question, granted there is some sort of Turkey's expansionism, is--and how does France see herself "pushing back" against everything bad for everything good in this geopolitical "combination"? Russia, as was pointed out not for once, is not going to "repatriate" those "anti-Russian Chechens", they are France's responsibility and let France deal with them. Moreover, what is France's real value in "pushing against intrusive influence of the US and zero-sum security architecture in Europe"? Can you make bees hate honey? No, really? The next stratagem, the "vision" is down right hilarious:

Macron seeks French leadership in a sovereign and strengthened EU, which does not entail including Russia in a shared European security architecture. Meanwhile, Russia has also abandoned former illusions about a Greater Europe and is now pursuing a strategic partnership with China to develop a Greater Eurasia. Keeping in mind these realities, a Russian-French partnership would be limited to mitigating and managing the dividing lines in Europe.    

No, really, ha-ha, Macron doesn't seek "leadership", what he seeks is an age old arrangement in case Germans really get all pissed off with continuous national suicide and France, as usual, will be in the way, this is when Russia comes in. Nope, this ship sailed. In fact, neither Germany nor, especially, modern France are the players of a scale which can REALLY interest Moscow in anything but markets and, in case of France, some sort of support in UNSC. "Sovereign EU" sounds like a meme, especially when having a leader such as Macron--this is down right hilarious. The next para is more than just hilarious, it is clinical, as in a psychiatric case clinical that is.

Macron is deeply critical of Russia, yet he cautioned that “pushing Russia away from Europe is a deep strategic error because we are pushing Russia either to isolation which increases the tensions, or to ally with other great powers like China”. Macron seemingly attempts to play the role of a new Kissinger that reaches out to Moscow to prevent Russia from cosying up to China.

Russians have a meme, it is really not in any way deliberately offensive, it is just a meme, about Estonians, like in being slow in recognizing a reality. Well, on the Estonian scale of being slow Macron and France, obviously, are off it and are finally discovering that not only Russia has been "pushed away" long time ago, but what is most remarkable--overwhelming majority of Russians view Europe as a hostile and creepy place and do not want to have anything in common with it. They are pretty happy with being "pushed away". I am not even talking about this BS comparison with Kissinger who not only was "sold" to the world by propaganda as a shrewd diplomat but in reality being, as is a tradition in US political life, nothing more than a second-rate thinker who was mostly in self-promotion and constructing of own myth. He was a first-rate media figure and a second-rate diplomat who is now observing some juicy fruits of American school of "diplomacy" biting whole US establishments in the ass. Basically, Kissinger is to diplomacy, what Patton is to armored warfare. If Macron sees himself as Kissinger, good luck, but geostrategic reality is such that France is not a subject in the process of shaping the global power balance. 

 

Both Paris and Berlin have been "politely" told by Moscow to go fuck themselves in regards to Nagorny Karabakh and this is the only way it is, and should be, from now on. You have power and you have goods? Make an offer, otherwise--bug off. And even in Russian-Chinese relations, as I am writing non-stop, not everything as it seems in the West. But I will touch upon it later. But there is  a reason Russia supports European conservative movements because Macron's Europe is doomed. The scale of West-Russia split is evidently still not grasped by very many in the West. They still think that it is all fun and games. It is not, and Russia's Asian vector is just the part of the puzzle--I am constantly on record: don't overestimate the role of China in Russia's geopolitical realignment. China is extremely important but she is not the only factor in Russia's geopolitical considerations. I usually agree with Patrick Armstrong on many of his conclusions but not with this one:

So is Moscow about to say it’s had enough? If so, it has somewhat of a problem. At the moment and for the foreseeable future, depending on how serious the civil disorder is after its election, the United States is the principal power in the world if for no other reason that it has far more destructive power than anyone else. Moscow must tread carefully here; cutting relations with Washington would cost more than it’s worth. London is probably lost to Moscow but Berlin, Paris and Rome are not necessarily lost. And, as they go, many other Europeans will follow. Therefore Moscow can hope that, in the reasonable near term, more normal relations with some of the principal European powers may be possible. Thus it would be a bad move to cut relations with them. 

For starters, Moscow is not impressed with American, grossly exaggerated to start with, destructive power, which is not that destructive in a conventional peer-to-peer conflict. Secondly, as I say above in this post, Russia is open for a decent offer. But, if Europe has anything to offer--let it take a number and wait for the number to be called. As for Russian-American relations, Vladimir Putin was explicit today when stating (in Russian) that: it is impossible to spoil Russian-American relations, because they are already spoiled. Can not get any clearer than that, I see no problem with "cutting relations" with Washington once one considers this simple fact that there is NOBODY to talk to at the highest political level in the United States. US is a dysfunctional state which is utterly non-agreement capable, plus, come on, let's face it--Russians know damn well both economic situation in the United States, Europe and China. Russia, of course, will maintain diplomatic and trade relations with Europeans on bilateral basis, but, honestly--the cultural shift of unprecedented historic scale in Russia have occurred. Opinions of some Moscow pseudo-intellectuals and doctrine-mongers trying to imitate intellectual activity in foreign policy field are mostly worthless, it is better to listen and watch what Putin, Lavrov, Mishustin, Belousov and Shoigu say and do in the last couple of months. 

H.G. Wells, in his book Russia in the Shadows, after visiting Russia and interviewing Lenin, described Lenin in 1920 as a "Dreamer in the Kremlin". In 1920 Russia was utterly destroyed by WW I and Civil War. By 1939 historic Russia was a premier industrial power in Europe. In 1945 Red Army hoisted the Red Banner over Reichstag. In 1957 USSR launched Sputnik, in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space and the Soviet Union became the most educated nation in the world, especially after the devastation of WW II. For all his faults, Lenin turned out to be not just a dreamer. Macron is not in the same league, not even close, albeit I propose to apply to him the term Elysee Palace Dreamer as a term describing a person who is absolutely out of his depth and has no grasp of the reality. Memorize: Quid Pro Quo and hypersonic weapons, Quid Pro Quo and hypersonic weapons, Quid Pro Quo...