Posted on 06/09/2015 8:13:50 AM PDT by stevie_d_64
Luciano Fontana: I would like to start with a question concerning Russian-Italian relations. This relationship has always been close and privileged, both in the economic and political spheres. However, it has been somewhat marred by the crisis in Ukraine and the sanctions. Could the recent visit by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Russia and your upcoming visit to Milan somehow change this trend, and if so, what is needed for that?
Vladimir Putin: First, I firmly believe that Russia was not responsible for the deterioration in relations between our country and the EU states. This was not our choice; it was dictated to us by our partners. It was not we who introduced restrictions on trade and economic activities. Rather, we were the target and we had to respond with retaliatory, protective measures.
But the relationship between Russia and Italy has, indeed, always been privileged, both in politics and the economy. For instance, in recent years, that is, in the last couple of years, trade between our countries increased eleven fold, from what I believe was $4.2 billion we make calculations in US dollars to over $48 billion, nearly $49 billion.
There are 400 Italian companies operating in Russia. We are cooperating actively in the energy sector, in an array of fields. Italy is the third largest consumer of our energy resources. We also have many joint high technology projects: in the space and aircraft industries, and in many other sectors. Russian regions are working very closely with Italy. Last year, almost a million Russian tourists, about 900,000, visited Italy. And while there, they spent over a billion euro.
(Excerpt) Read more at mintpressnews.com ...
Putin, from a certain point of view, may actually have a point here...
Now, that being said, knowing the USSRs/Russias history in destabilizing, and causing a lot of Malox moments in many western countries lives, it is obvious the paradigm has changed...
Where most of those same western countries have changed politically to the left, including ours, the meeting in the middle is getting a little crowded...And a new form of clashing (of ideas and chest beating) is occurring...
I believe Obama and the democrats (with the help of the elites and moderates in the GOP) in this country have completed our declining value to stabilizing, and therefore ourselves become a destabilizing force around the globe...
I know some may differ with my initial assessment, and thats ok, I am still looking at some other data that talks about the trade deals Russia has with european countries, including our own...
But the military presense (bases) is actually a good point, but one that is kinda tempered by the fact that it is what it is because those countries have wanted us there for quite some time, and that there have been many instances where we have closed bases and facilities, removed personnel, re-assigned them, etc etc etc...
Russia may not have much in the way of bases in the traditional sense, but they do have overseas presense in a lot of countries in South (and Central) America, Asia, etc etc etc...And they too have been an invited presense...
But the way he (Putin) delivered this statement resonates well with the rest of the world...
The world that sits down and reads only the headlines and drinks their coffee in the morning...
Personally, I believe the instinctive move for the next president of this country should be to repair what Obama has destroyed...(Granted if Hillarree doesnt win the WH)
But, I do not believe that will happen because the damage is done...We might be able to repair the relationship with Israel...
But in a broader sense we may never be able to get back to a condition of a Pre-Obama America...
Iraq, if we can beat back ISIS, should be broken up into three states devided by religious boundaries...A Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish region should be implemented and should be a cornerstone for the next Administration...That puts the Iraqi problem into a fix mode, itll take years, but that is the only way to stabilize the region, IMO...
Well just have to deal with Russia and China the way we have always done in the past...How we put that genie back in the bottle is anyones guess...We are going to have to have a State Department Spring Cleaning like there has never been before...That will take years to fix...
For all the woes brought upon by this current administration, these international issues may very well have to take a back seat to getting our own house in order as well...
The next president is not going to have a free ride with the press for doing things to undo and repair since their guy f#*% it all up...And they sure as hell are not going to fess up holding his water for this long either...
I yield the balance of my time...
That's just one from this link
Poor Russia, even as they are invading other countries to conquer them for empire, they remind us that they are just innocent victims.
Pingsky.
Missing British contingent in Belize (old British Honduras):
http://forces.tv/85677232
Don’t know what they use it for these days, but it was used as the successor to Ft Sherman’s Jungle Warfare School for awhile in the late 90’s/early ‘00s.
Some people can’t look at it objectively. They can only look at it emotionally. I expect that from liberals. I am surprised at it from so-called conservatives.
I think it is a good point. From our view there is no threat — it is us, and we are wonderful people. But from Russia’s view, of course they see it as a threat and feel they must respond to it. It’s not just the U.S. It is the ever growing NATO.
Yes, and Obama believes he is not responsible for the deterioration in relations between the races.
Both are either delusional or lying through their teeth.
As for the bases to an extent he is correct.
Russia may flood countries with their troops but they rarely build bases. They just take over bases that are already there.
Russians don't know how to build squat.
I'm a solid "so-called conservative" who has no sympathy for a thugocracy that has a long history of media propaganda, including this piece, murdering opposition, taking territories like Georgia and Ukraine, shooting down civilian airlines, etc. In a just world, there would be no Putin or FRussians pining for him here on Freerepublic.
“Russians don’t know how to build squat.”
They didn’t build that???
hehehe
So true.
I saw a documentary recently that showed most of the famous architecture in Russian is not home grown.
Yeah, our family and I flew into that airport with the two AA gun emplacements on both ends of the runway, before we flew out on a small charter to Ambergris Cay for some diving...
Trying to remember what kind of system they were...I’ll go look at the old pictures we took at the time...
You mean they brought in cheap labor???
Nechivo!!! (I dunno, sounded good, hehehe)
Number 9 is a Canadian base in Alberta that has a British tank unit that trains there, it is not a British military base.
Like your home page synopsis ,,, clear and concise ... I’ve stolen it.
Use freely as you will.
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