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Alexandra Barcus's avatar

Well that is heavy duty good news. Shutting down India and Nord Stream constitutes two huge wins. The more back room methods Russia has for handling oil the better obviously. And Europe has been taking major, decisive steps that way. The shadow fleet watch party and cutting out India will have Putin grinding his teeth and watching his back. The market cap on oil is going to send shockwaves through his coterie. But then the oil top bureaucrats in Russia seem to be suffering from the Moscow syndrome of window dysmorphia—the need to defenestrate oneself when the going gets tricky with the boss.

The EU is doing great things. Now we need to expose Trump’s bogus, unilateral promises of arms for Ukraine for what they are—not immediate solutions, everything bought and paid for (not aid), and subject to the whims of the U.S. unitary executive. This is not fun and games. Trump doesn’t seem to feel massive numbers of deaths as more than an accounting problem—a ledger sheet in Ukraine and the Middle East.He ultimately can’t bring himself to hurt Putin’s feelings. I hope the world recognizes this regime for its two-faced promises. We are not a reliable ally any longer. And the President’s word is not good for much.

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Paul M Sotkiewicz's avatar

If not done, severely diminished. I am taken back to 2003 in Budapest (long before Orban), and talking with my European regulatory colleagues that they viewed Russian gas as a blessing still in the honeymoon period post Cold War. I reminded them of history and that Russia having a virtual monopoly will ultimately use it as a weapon. I was told that I was crazy. Things have changed. I insisted given my training as a historian specializing in Russia/USSR military and diplomatic history. I was met with further denials.

It took less than a decade to show that with cuts through Ukraine, yet nobody paid attention and the Nord Stream projects were built. So, 22 years later the lesson has finally been learned.

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