Thread: Russia And China 'In Agreement' Over Ukraine

Russia And China 'In Agreement' Over
Ukraine
News Sky
3/3/14

Russia has said China is largely "in agreement" over Ukraine, after other world powers condemned Moscow for sending troops into the country.

VIDEO AT SOURCE

Hundreds of Russian soldiers have surrounded a military base in Crimea, preventing Ukrainian soldiers from going in or out.

Ukraine: Russia Delivers 'Assault Storm' Deadline

The convoy blockading the site, near the Crimean capital Simferopol, includes at least 17 military vehicles.

Russian soldiers surround Ukrainian military units in Perevalnoye, Crimea Russian troops are also reported to have taken control of a ferry terminal in the city of Kerch on the eastern tip of Crimea, which has a majority Russian-speaking population.

Ukraine's defence ministry said two Russian fighter jets violated the country's air space in the Black Sea on Sunday night and that it had scrambled an interceptor aircraft to prevent the "provocative actions".

And reports claimed pro-Russian protesters had occupied a floor of the regional government building in Donetsk. The 11-storey building has been flying the Russian flag for the last three days.


A Russian navy ship enters the port of Sevastopol Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk has insisted his country "will never give up Crimea to anyone" and urged Russian forces to withdraw.

Mr Yatseniuk said: "I was and am a supporter of a diplomatic solution to the crisis, as a conflict would destroy the foundations for stability in the whole region."

In an interview with Sky News, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the crisis is likely to take some time to resolve.

He said: "I think we probably are looking at a long period of very active diplomacy and looking for solutions to this since there is no sign of a change in the Russian position on this.


William Hague said the crisis was the biggest in Europe in the 21st century "It's impossible to be optimistic at the moment. We're not in any position to be optimistic about the security situation and what is happening in the Crimea."

The crisis has had a huge knock-on effect on global stock markets, with Moscow's stock exchange plunging as much as 10% on Monday morning.

Russia's central bank raised its rate to 7% from 5.5% as the ruble hit an historic low against the dollar and the euro.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine by telephone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Monday, and claimed they had "broadly coinciding points of view" on the situation there, according to a ministry statement.


Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva later, Mr Lavrov said Russian troops were necessary in Ukraine "until the normalisation of the political situation" and dismissed threats of sanctions and boycotts.

He added: "We call for a responsible approach, to put aside geopolitical calculations, and above all to put the interests of the Ukrainian people first."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "China has always upheld the principles of diplomacy and the fundamental norms of international relations.

"At the same time we also take into consideration the history and the current complexities of the Ukrainian issue."


As the tense stand-off continues, the other seven nations of the G8 urged Moscow to hold talks with Kiev.

"We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation's clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," they said in a statement.

"We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is in Kiev for talks on the crisis, said Russia has taken operational control of Crimea.

He described Russia's intervention in Ukraine as the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century.

Rear Admiral Berezovsky announces his defection before TV cameras At a news conference with Mr Yatseniuk, Mr Hague said: "If this situation cannot resolve itself, if Russia cannot be persuaded to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, there will have to be other consequences and other costs."

Mr Hague added: "The UK is not discussion military action, our concentration is on diplomatic and economic pressure."

Prime Minister David Cameron will later chair a meeting of the National Security Council on the "British and international response to the grave situation in Ukraine", where he will press for a European summit on the crisis.

European foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting on Ukraine in Brussels to table a joint response to the military incursion.

Mr Yatseniuk heads a pro-Western government that took power in the former Soviet republic when its Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted last week.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev on Tuesday to show "strong support for Ukrainian sovereignty".

Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a treason case against its new navy chief after he switched allegiance to the pro-Russian Crimea region.

Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky was appointed head of Ukraine's navy on Saturday.

But a day later he appeared before cameras, alongside the pro-Russian prime minister of Crimea's regional parliament, saying he had ordered Ukrainian naval forces there to disregard orders from "self-proclaimed" authorities in Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday won parliament's authorisation to use force in Ukraine.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

• Related Stories
• Ukraine Defection Reflects Escalating Rift
• Live Updates: Tensions Mount In Ukraine Crisis
• Hague Says 'No Military Action' Over Ukraine
• Putin Poised For Next Move In Ukraine Crisis
• Putin Is Cracking The Whip On The West
• Ukraine's New Navy Chief Defects To Crimea

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1219922/ru...t-over-ukraine

The 'Real Message' to the USA ..

American Conquest by Subversion: Victoria Nuland’s Admits Washington Has Spent $5 Billion to “Subvert Ukraine”

“After three visits to Ukraine in five weeks, Victoria Nuland explains that in the past two decades, the United States has spent five Billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) to subvert Ukraine, and assures her listeners that there are prominent businessmen and government officials who support the US project to tear Ukraine away from its historic relationship with Russia and into the US sphere of interest (via “Europe”).

Victoria Nuland is the wife of Robert Kagan, leader of the younger generation of “neo-cons”.

After serving as Hillary Clinton’s spokesperson, she is now undersecretary of state for Europe and Eurasia.” Diana Johnstone

Hear Victoria Nuland’s very concise, almost victorious speech:





http://www.globalresearch.ca/america...kraine/5367782

At the very least, Putin will annex Crimea and Russians will consider him a modern national hero.

Hague Says 'No Military Action' Over Ukraine


By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

William Hague has warned Russia there will be "consequences" for military mobilisation in Ukraine, saying the world "cannot just allow this to happen".

The Foreign Secretary urged caution as he undertook a a series of meetings in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, but ruled out military action from the UK and said that instead "economic and diplomatic pressure" would be brought to bear on Russia.

Mr Hague urged Russia to de-escalate tensions in the region by withdrawing its forces. He said the country otherwise faced "significant costs".

Speaking at a press conference in Kiev, after talks with interim Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk, Mr Hague said: "If this situation cannot be resolved, if Russia cannot be persuaded to respect the sovereignty of the Ukraine there will have to be other consequences and other costs."

He would not be drawn on what those other consequences would be but said that Russia's actions could not become "the normal way of behaving in the world".

He added: "The UK is not discussion military action, our concentration is on diplomatic and economic pressure."

Mr Putin got the green light from parliament to deploy soldiers in Ukraine

Mr Hague said Britain would be sending experts to Ukraine this week to give technical support, and financial advice, particularly relating to energy pricing.

It comes as the Prime Minister is convening a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss Britain's response to the growing crisis in Ukraine.

David Cameron will consider the idea of pushing for a European council meeting that will allow world leaders to come together face-to-face to tackle the issue.

Mr Cameron will discuss what diplomatic and financial options could be used, sources said but added it was too early for details.

The Moscow stock exchange fell by about 10% on Monday morning, marking record lows against the dollar and the euro as investors show concern over the increasing tensions between Russia and the West.


Russian troops have surrounded a military unit in Crimea

Meanwhile, Mr Hague will be represented by the Europe Minister, David Lidington, at a special meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on the crisis. It follows an urgent Nato meeting that called for Russia to step back.

And Russia faced a strong statement from the other seven of the G8 countries condemning its action.

"We are united in supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its right to choose its own future. We commit ourselves to support Ukraine in its efforts to restore unity, stability and political and economic health to the country," said the statement from the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission.

The countries said they were suspending participation in activities associated with the preparation of the G8 summit in Sochi this June.

The Prime Minister and Mr Hague also told all British ministers to boycott the Paralympic Games about to start in the city.

Mr Cameron also issued a joint statement with US President Obama calling Russia's actions "completely unacceptable".

The National Security Council is convened for ministers to consider serious threats to and the country's relationships with international powers.

http://news.sky.com/story/1220131/ha...n-over-ukraine

BREAKING NEWS: China Starts Dumping U.S. Dollar




Published on Feb 18, 2014


China Sold Second-Largest Amount Ever Of US Treasurys In December: And Guess Who Comes To The Rescue
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02...

China Sold Second-Largest Amount Ever Of US Treasurys In December: And Guess Who Comes To The Rescue


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/18/2014 20:15 -0500

While we will have more to say about the disastrous December TIC data shortly, which was released early today, and which showed a dramatic plunge in foreign purchases of US securities in December - the month when the S&P soared to all time highs and when everyone was panicking about the 3% barrier in the 10 Year being breached and resulting in a selloff in Tsy paper - one thing stands out.

The chart below shows holdings of Chinese Treasurys (pending revision of course, as the Treasury department is quite fond of ajdusting this data series with annual regularity): in a nutshell, Chinese Treasury holdings plunged by the most in two years, after China offloaded some $48 billion in paper, bringing its total to only $1268.9 billion, down from $1316.7 billion, and back to a level last seen in March 2013!



This was the second largest dump by China in history with the sole exception of December 2011.



That this happened at a time when Chinese FX reserves soared to all time highs, and when China had gobs of spare cash lying around and not investing in US paper should be quite troubling to anyone who follows the nuanced game theory between the US and its largest external creditor, and the signals China sends to the world when it comes to its confidence in the US.

Yet what was truly surprising is that despite the plunge in Chinese holdings, and Japanese holdings which also dropped by $4 billion in December, is that total foreign holdings of US Treasurys increased in December, from $5716.9 billion to 5794.9 billion.

Why? Because of this country. Guess which one it is without looking at legend.



That's right: at a time when America's two largest foreign creditors, China and Japan, went on a buyers strike, the entity that came to the US rescue was Belgium, which as most know is simply another name for... Europe: the continent that has just a modest amount of its own excess debt to worry about. One wonders what favors were (and are) being exchanged behind the scenes in order to preserve the semblance that "all is well"?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...o-comes-rescue

Russia And China Stand In Agreement On Ukraine – Is That Bad News For The United States?

Michael Snyder 2 Hours Ago
1 Comment

So much for "isolating" Russia. The Chinese government is publicly siding with Russia on the crisis in Ukraine, and that is very bad news for the United States. Not only does it mean that the U.S. is essentially powerless to do anything about the situation in Ukraine, it also means that Russia and China are starting to understand how much economic leverage that they really have. Yes, the Obama administration can threaten to slap "sanctions" on Russia or threaten to kick Russia "out of the G8", but those actions would not actually hurt too much. On the other hand, Russia and China hold approximately 25 percent of all foreign-owned U.S. debt, and if they started massively dumping U.S. debt it could rapidly create a nightmare scenario. In addition, it is important to remember that Russia is the largest exporter of natural gas and the second largest exporter of oil in the world. And China now imports more oil than anyone else on the planet does, including the United States. If Russia and China got together and decided to kill the petrodollar, they could do it almost overnight. So when it comes to Ukraine, it is definitely not the United States that has the leverage.
If China and the rest of the world abandoned Russia over Ukraine, that would be one thing. But that is not happening at all. In fact, China has chosen to publicly stand with Russia on this issue. The following is from a Sky News article entitled "Russia And China 'In Agreement' Over Ukraine"...

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine by telephone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Monday, and claimed they had "broadly coinciding points of view" on the situation there, according to a ministry statement.

And Chinese state news agency Xinhua is publicly rebuking the West for their handling of the Ukrainian crisis...

China's state news agency Xinhua accused western powers of adopting a Cold War- like mindset towards Russia, trying to isolate Moscow at a time when much needed mediation is need to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Crimea.
"Based on the fact that Russia and Ukraine have deep cultural, historical and economic connections, it is time for Western powers to abandon their Cold War thinking. Stop trying to exclude Russia from the political crisis they failed to mediate, and respect Russia's unique role in mapping out the future of Ukraine," Xinhua wrote in an opinion piece.

Apparently clueless as to how the geopolitical chips are falling, the Obama administration is busy planning all sorts of ways that it can punish Russia...

Behind the scenes, Obama administration officials are preparing a series of possible battle plans for a potential economic assault on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, an administration source close to the issue told The Daily Beast. Among the possible targets for these financial attacks: everyone from high-ranking Russian military officials to government leaders to top businessmen to Russian-speaking separatists in Ukraine. It’s all part of the work to prepare an executive order now under consideration at the Obama administration’s highest levels.

Does the Obama administration really want to start an "economic war" with Russia and potentially against China as well?
Considering how much money we owe them, and considering the fact that we desperately need them to continue to use the petrodollar, we stand to lose far more than they do.
This is one of the reasons why I have always insisted that the national debt was a national security issue. By going into so much debt, we have given other nations such as Russia and China a tremendous amount of leverage over us.
Unfortunately, the debtmongers in Washington D.C. never have listened to common sense.
When it comes to Ukraine, there are other economic considerations as well.
For example, about 25 percent of the natural gas that Europe uses comes from Russia, and Ukraine only has about four months of natural gas supplies stockpiled.
If Russia cut off the natural gas, that would create some huge problems. Fortunately, winter is just about over or the Russians would have even more leverage.
In addition, Ukraine is one of the leading exporters of wheat and corn on the planet, and a disruption in the growing of those crops could make the emerging global food crisis even worse.
But of course the biggest concern is that the Ukraine crisis could ultimately spark a global war.
Unfortunately, there is a treaty that requires the United States to defend Ukraine if it is attacked...

President Bill Clinton, along with the British, signed in 1994 a nearly forgotten agreement to protect Ukraine’s borders. Ukraine now is appealing to the countries that signed the agreement.
As the British Daily Mail points out, it means that, technically, if Russia were to invade Ukraine, it would be difficult for the U.S. and Britain to avoid going to war.


Given that the late Russian president, Boris Yeltsin also signed it, it was apparent that it wasn’t expected that the Russians would take the action that Putin now is undertaking.

And top Ukrainian politicians are now asking western nations to come to the aid of Ukraine militarily...

Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has appealed for the West to adopt 'strongest means' to intervene in Russia's occupation of Crimea if diplomacy fails.
In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Tymoshenko, freed last week after the riots throughout the nation, said if Russia is allowed to 'take away' Crimea, life will change 'practically everywhere in the world.'
She added: 'Then we have to accept... an aggressor, can violate all the international agreements, take away territories, whenever she likes.'

On the other side, deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has formally requested that Russia militarily intervene in his nation...

Russia's U.N. envoy said Monday that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych asked Russia to send troops to "establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability, and defending the people of Ukraine." Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin read a letter from Yanukovych at the U.N. Security Council meeting.
"Ukraine is on the brink of civil war. In the country, there is chaos and anarchy. The life, the security and the rights of people, particularly in the southeast part in Crimea are being threatened. So under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terrorism and violence. People are being persecuted for language and political reasons," the letter said. "So in this regard, I would call on the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability, and defending the people of Ukraine."

And it is very important to note that Yanukovych would have never issued this letter if the Russian government has not asked him to.
So the stage is set.
Russia has already grabbed Crimea, and it is eyeing other territories in eastern Ukraine.
China is publicly backing Russia, and collectively they have a tremendous amount of economic leverage.
The Obama administration is barking loudly about what Russia has done, but the reality is that the U.S. has very little economic leverage at this point.
What the U.S. does have is the strongest military on the entire planet, but let us hope and pray that Obama does not decide to get the U.S. military involved in Ukraine. That would be absolutely disastrous.
In the end, the U.S. has no good options in Ukraine. The Obama administration helped aid and organize the violent revolution that overthrew the Ukrainian government, and now we have a giant mess.
Nobody is quite sure what comes next, but one thing is certain...
The relationship between the United States and Russia will never, ever be the same again.
Get a look at the future of America: The Beginning of the End.

Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook, Google Plus, Tea Party Community & Twitter.


http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/03/ru...united-states/