"As regards sanctions [against Russia], no sensible European would want to see economic sanctions. In case Russia would not escalate the crisis, then we should be able to avoid this sanctions,"-Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro.
Olli Rehn's title, translated, means "Big Cheese." He is the BC on economic matters for the EU. That is an unhelpful statement coming from an EU BC. Division in Europe over sanctions is one of the things Putin foresaw. Former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Senator Sam Nunn co-authored an article in gulfnews.com today explaining Russian vulnerabilities to the sanctions the EU BC doesn't want. Europe gets a lot of its energy needs from Russia which is the reason for Olli's loosening of the bowels. But (economics really is an on-the-one hand, on-the-other thing) if Europe didn't buy as much oil and gas from Rus, whose bottom line gets hurt too? Rus's bottom line! And, guess who has more frigging fracking natural gas at the moment than it knows what to do with? The U.S.&A! The U.S.&A. would know what to do with that natural gas.
There is a caveat Olli put in his statement: "In case Russia would not escalate..." Yesterday, there were reports that Putin had pulled back some troops from the Ukraine border, a battalion or something, about 200 guys. Not much when there are thirty, forty thousand on the border but hey, it looked good, given Putin's call to Obama, the diversion of Kerry's plane to Paris. Today though, not so much. NATO said it hasn't seen any movement. Its surveillance could probably miss 200 guys, hell that few could have gone to the john together, but NATO has had enough, NATO dis-integrated--love that word in this context.--Russia today, suspending "all practical civilian and military cooperation." So, disintegrated by NATO this week, disintegrated by the G8 last week. Good.
On the other hand, Malaysia still hasn't found the plane.
Olli Rehn's title, translated, means "Big Cheese." He is the BC on economic matters for the EU. That is an unhelpful statement coming from an EU BC. Division in Europe over sanctions is one of the things Putin foresaw. Former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Senator Sam Nunn co-authored an article in gulfnews.com today explaining Russian vulnerabilities to the sanctions the EU BC doesn't want. Europe gets a lot of its energy needs from Russia which is the reason for Olli's loosening of the bowels. But (economics really is an on-the-one hand, on-the-other thing) if Europe didn't buy as much oil and gas from Rus, whose bottom line gets hurt too? Rus's bottom line! And, guess who has more frigging fracking natural gas at the moment than it knows what to do with? The U.S.&A! The U.S.&A. would know what to do with that natural gas.
There is a caveat Olli put in his statement: "In case Russia would not escalate..." Yesterday, there were reports that Putin had pulled back some troops from the Ukraine border, a battalion or something, about 200 guys. Not much when there are thirty, forty thousand on the border but hey, it looked good, given Putin's call to Obama, the diversion of Kerry's plane to Paris. Today though, not so much. NATO said it hasn't seen any movement. Its surveillance could probably miss 200 guys, hell that few could have gone to the john together, but NATO has had enough, NATO dis-integrated--love that word in this context.--Russia today, suspending "all practical civilian and military cooperation." So, disintegrated by NATO this week, disintegrated by the G8 last week. Good.
On the other hand, Malaysia still hasn't found the plane.
