Proof? It will only be known once there starts a production. So fa it is an estimation. Russia has much more gas than that. As fo Black Sea gas Crimea and Kouban are not the only deposits available. Bulgaria also has it. But snce there is no coup there - noone will make any referendum and vote to merge with Russia. There are no that many russians in Bulgaria. There could be a damage really. But Crimea is not that important as a resource. It is mostly a key region for russian culture and history and it is the military outpost that was longly wanted by russian people. Crimea is the balls of eastern europe. The one who has them would rather treat it gently, but is always able to squese them with pliers if something in Europe goes wrong. Gas is mostly a rumor for the newspapers. it is impossible to lower prices on gas for long. Americans are really trying their best to lower the prices. But Russia is not very motivated to do so.
Here in lies the problem for Russia. #1. The U.S. has established a TRIP WIRE in Poland as for now only 600 U.S. Troops will be sent but those 600 will set up an plan for an additional deployment of 19.400 U.S. Troops that will be IMMEDIATELY SENT...if Putin makes any moves at annexing any part of the Eastern Ukraine. #2. The U.S. has already sent troops to the Balkans. #3. The United States is currently planning to be able to supply Europe with LNG..Liquid Natural Gas and Oil to replace any Gas or Oil that it get's from Russia....and HERE is the BIG problem for Russia....the U.S. is just not planning this it is IMPLEMENTING THIS....as both the U.S. and E.U. have agreed to do anything to immediately replace Russia as their supplier of Energy. #4. Sanctions. #5. Russia cannot afford to stop selling oil and gas to Europe as well if the U.S. and E.U. do work out a way to cut Russia completely out of supplying Europe with Energy....Russia's economy will collapse. AboveAlpha
How many of these LNG transporters exist now and who will build and pay for enough of them to replace piped supplies ? Europeans can barely afford to pay for their energy requirements as it is. What is the sum that the US has in mind for subsidising Europe's central heating and cooking stoves ? Bearing in mind the trillions of dollars that the US already owes China and others wouldn't it be a lot simpler to let Crimeans have their wish and be part of Russia without a fuss ?
Evidently those LNG supplies would be financed by both the U.S. and E.U. Hey...I am NOT making this up. You can go on the internet and Google Charlie Rose and watch as several U.S. Senators and Congressmen both Republican and Democrats and as well John McCain....detail out this plan in depth. It is not just being planned...it is being implemented as we speak. AboveAlpha
McCain is a muppet, loathed as the stupid and aggressive, self-serving neocon that he is. Anybody following the ideas of McCain better get their asbestos suits on. Again, how many transports exist now ? What will Europeans do for fuel whilst McCain and his cronies build more ? And as this thread is about Palestinian Statehood, will McCain's shipbuilding programme provide work for Palestinian refugees ?
This is not my area of expertise...but as I stated you can Google this topic and find out all you want to know because it is happening. And McCain was just one person talking as there are plenty talking about how we are going to do this on both sides of the aisle. AboveAlpha
In order to understand Putin's actions we need to look with his eyes. Putin doesn't need another Chechnya or Afghanistan that is as big as Ukraine. Which is the size of France and has more than 40 mln people (with russian population at 150). He doesn't need terrorist attacks from ukrainians. (Like we have from the side of caucases) He doesn't need hostility between ukrainians and russians. (which have never been any issue so far). If one thinks that Putin is ready to have a risk of it we need to look for a serious motivation. Which is bigger than the gasfiel in Crimea. There is obviously a link between coup in Kiev and Putin's actions. The climax in Kiev has a long story of relationship of western leaders towards Russia. It hasn't started in one day. To understand Putin we need to have a better look of what these coup leaders really are and what is the motivation of the guys who stay behind their backs. Once we did it everything will be in its place. To tell my conclusions (which are not at all facts, because I don't get a secret and true information but I use different sources of information which lately started to look as desinformation from both sides) the current coup leaders receved a task from their american masters to make civil war in Ukraine which will have to turn into war with Russia. It looks inhuman but that is the only logical information I have. - firstly. They were not looking for any compromise with Yanukovich. Yanukovich made every step towards their demands. He fired his PM. Disarmed his police. agreed to change the constitution. Appointed an election of a president. If they demanded him to have an oral sex with every guy from Maidan I wouldn't be surprised if he agreed and that such a demand was made. None of the demands was enough. - secondly. EU wants a free trade agreement with Ukraine signed. This trade agreement will kill the ukrainian economy and expose russian economy to risks or to pressure from WTO. But it still is a way out. Yanukovich refused for a economical suicide, but only because of Putin who forbade him to expose russian economy to a risk. If the protesters were EUdriven they would just sign the full version of the document... But they didn't. They signed only the phrases that don't mean that much. It tells that they are not from EU-side... - thirdly. Junta could just replace Yanukovich and ease the tension in the public. Even with the conflict with police and army they could use the belonging to them media to ease the tension. But they don't do it. Read their magazines. They live in a state of war with Russia. Already. - fourth reason. ANY power needs to be backed by police and army. But the current junta intensionally started to fire police and has discredited all the possible officers and soldiers. They called all the soldiers that chose ukrainian side in Crimea and had to leave to their territory as traitors... Under the circumstances it means that they are not going to arm THESE people, who are really READY TO PROTECT UKRAINE. -fifth reason. There are already several armed organisation that are created by every political side of ukrainian junta-leaders. These people have already started to kill each other. But for now the fire is just ceased just because of Putin (which means that Putin has broken the initial plan and the initial plan included this internal fight). - Sixth reason. Propaganda. Just look at their propaganda. It's really obvious that these people don't have any wish for peace. - Seventh reason. There is no help from the west. So far ukrainians were promised a lot but it is much less than Russia has already provided the Ukraine in december. It means that west knows that the investment is a waste... Why? I see only one reason. And only one interested party. For 5 bln USD it performed a project that would cause an inevitable civil war between russians and ukrainians. This would make a possibility in turn to overthrow russian government that wasn't overthrown previously and get access to its resources. On the other hand as a bonus. EU will be cfuked as it will become clear that it is not able to protect anyone who wants to join. This would make possible to destabilize one of the 2 major competitors of the only side which is really interested in such a plan. (the second competitor is China of course). It looks insane. Even for me. But if you remember Hitler's motivation to invade USSR, which was to get englishmen scared and to get free the resources from the bolsheviks you would probably remember that such events as the one in Ukraine are never set up by sane people. The only big for insane muderers thing is motivation. Since you have understood the motivation then all the charm and misteriousness is lost. Motivation of gas obtaining makes sense. But it is not worthy of the risks. Besides, for the moment the events are not around Crimea. The situation escalates around Ukraine's south-east.
№1. Laughable. If Russia annexes eastern Ukraine or the Ukraine itself than the 20 000 of troops in Poland will not be able to anything but to draw red lines around their feet. №2. Even more laughable, because it's even further. You have more troops in the pacific region which can attack russian territories. But it happens or not without any ties to Ukraine. №3 These plans are years old. The infrastructure was getting ready for years. Now it is ready. The issue is only one - gas. The price for liquid gas will be more expensive. And if the US wants to motivate Europe to buy it from US rather than from Russia (which also is ready to sell LNG) it should require a better show. №4 )) I wish I was in the sanctions list. Every russian patriot has to be there I think. It doesn't make any inconvinience to Russia. №5 IF. And if they try and fail then Russia will have every right to charge its trade partners for plotting against Russia. So far we will be able to sell our resources to the countries which are independent enough to buy what they need and not what the US considers a smart buy.
Yaz....anyway one looks at this be it with Putin's eyes or not....the fact remains that Russia illegally annexed a portion of another Nation. Russia did not just go in with Peace Keeping Forces or fight a battle and come home. Russia went in and KEPT THE TERRITORY. This is a HUGE miscalculation by Putin and when Europe finds other suppliers to fill their needs of Gas and Oil...they are NOT again going to make the mistake of trusting Russia. The entire issue is LOSE/LOSE for Russia and for Putin. The U.S. will NEVER let Putin get away with this without Putin and Russia paying a High Cost. AboveAlpha
What about all those European voices who agree with the Crimeans and East Ukrainians and who will make their voices heard at the ballot boxes in the forthcoming elections ? Russia has many European sympathisers who don't like US aggression and double-speak . They are not all readers of the Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, the Jerusalem Post or the Times and they don't listen to the BBC.
???What US agression? Europe simply wanted to enter into trade agreements with the Ukraine and Putin would not allow it. He is ready to start WW3 to get what he wants - - - Updated - - - What nonsense. Paranoid delusions.
Nothing paranoid. Western goods are advanced if the trade barriers are removed they win the competition in the inner market of a country of eastern europe. Thus the money start to leave from the country. And people start to lose jobs as factories start to close down. 'Free trade' is exceptional for strong and developed, but killing for developing and weak. Ukraine is weak and it will be killed. Anyway Yatsenyuk hasn't signed the agreement because of the same 'paranoid delusion'.
Actually, precisely the opposite is likely to take place as Ukraine has lower wages than its European competitors, other Europen nations would likely lose jobs to Ukraine Paranoid delusions.
Lower wages will cause ukrainians to leave Ukraine and go to western Europe like it is happening with Poland, Baltic countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia etc. Wages mean the difference only once the technology is the same. If you have production facility that is equal to productivity of a 100 person than the one that is used by your competitor you are able to afford a 5 times more salary to your worker. But if the productivity of your workers and your technical facilities is 20 times less which means that you have 20 workers instead of 1 that is used by your competitor then even if you pay them 10 times less you will have to have higher prices for the end product. Us is proposing EU a free trade zone... Europe for some reason hasn't accepted this generous offer. Maybe they also have the same paranoid delusions as I do?
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2013/june/wh-ttip T-TIP. • Further open EU markets, increasing the $458 billion in goods and private services the United States exported in 2012 to the EU, our largest export market. • Strengthen rules-based investment to grow the world’s largest investment relationship. The United States and the EU already maintain a total of nearly $3.7 trillion in investment in each other’s economies (as of 2011). • Eliminate all tariffs on trade. • Tackle costly “behind the border” non-tariff barriers that impede the flow of goods, including agricultural goods. • Obtain improved market access on trade in services. • Significantly reduce the cost of differences in regulations and standards by promoting greater compatibility, transparency, and cooperation, while maintaining our high levels of health, safety, and environmental protection. • Develop rules, principles, and new modes of cooperation on issues of global concern, including intellectual property and market-based disciplines addressing state-owned enterprises and discriminatory localization barriers to trade. • Promote the global competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises. Do you see any benefits of EU at a glance? http://www.euractiv.com/sections/trade-industry/study-reveals-german-us-scepticism-over-ttip-301516 This is a polite version of german scepticism and strange pattern about attitude of Germany to EU-negotiators. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...onal-corporations-warn-activists-9057318.html This is the fear of UK. http://europeangreens.eu/brussels2014/content/position-paper-ttip This is the position of quite strong EU-'greens'. Do my words look after you have read this as paranoid? Or my paranoia has a reason and is based on opinion of Europeans? If so maybe you read more before rejecting smth without even asking for a reason?
Absolutely the same... They are bargaining with the US for more than a year and tell about possible loss of sovereignty, but they don't want to discuss and bargain the same with the Ukraine hailing a change of government that hasn't signed this wonderful paper... What could that mean, eh?
There was no negotiations from the side of EU. There was an ultimatum to yanukovich to sign the bloody paper and die. Without any alternative to such a capitulation.
D E L U S I O N A L ! ! ! ! Viktor Yanukovych was the one pushing the agreement while the EU had a list of demands for Ukraine that must be met in order for the EU to sign the agreement.
There are a LOT more European's that are angry with Putin as they live right next door to Russia and the LAST thing European's want is a return to the Cold War. The thing that European's worry about even more than Russia cutting of all sales of Russian Oil and Natural Gas to Europe if Europe went along with the U.S. and placed heavy sanctions upon Russia .....is having huge tariffs placed on European Exports to the United States or worse having the United States remove the tidal of MOST FAVORED NATION TRADING STATUS from their nation. The BIG PRIZE for Europeans is being able to trade and sell exports without having to pay huge tariffs to the United States. ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE SECONDARY. AboveAlpha
