Posted on 12/01/2014 7:35:35 PM PST by Theoria
President Vladimir V. Putin said Monday that he would scrap Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline, a grandiose project that was once intended to establish the country’s dominance in southeastern Europe but instead fell victim to Russia’s increasingly toxic relationship with the West.
It was a rare diplomatic defeat for Mr. Putin, who said Russia would redirect the pipeline to Turkey. He painted the failure to build the pipeline as a loss for Europe and blamed Brussels for its intransigence.
The decision also seemed to be a rare victory for the European Union and the Obama administration, which have appeared largely impotent this year as Mr. Putin annexed Crimea and stirred rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Russia had long presented the $22 billion South Stream project as a sound business move. But Washington and Brussels had dismissed it as a thinly veiled attempt by the Kremlin to cement its position as the dominant supplier in Europe while sidestepping Ukraine, where price disputes with Moscow twice interrupted supplies in recent years.
The conflict in Ukraine increased pressure from Europe against the pipeline, and construction was halted by Bulgaria in June. As diplomatic and economic pressures increased, Mr. Putin personally decided to cancel the project, Russia’s energy minister, Alexander Novak, said.
If there was one winner it was Turkey, which, along with China and other energy-hungry developing nations, has been exploiting the East-West rift to gain long-term energy supplies at bargain prices. Mr. Putin noted that on Monday during a news conference in Ankara with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Turkey would receive a discount on gas and an additional three billion cubic meters of gas annually.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Assad is a sponsor of terrorism, and Putin supports him. And let’s not get started about Iran.
I think the word you're looking for is "spin."
>>Ukrainian crisis was mostly an Obama’s way to say “I’m sorry” to the Saudis and a shot in the back for Russia.
Holy crap, another BS theory...do you have ANY proof for any of your BS?
The Ukrainian ‘crisis’ was Ukraine revolting against Russia. That’s really it. Why do you have such a problem with that??
Remember, Obama is an amateur with regard to foreign affairs . . . except when he is a geopolitical mastermind. ;)
ROTFLOL, yeah, and the nice folks you support in ISIS and the Muzzie Brotherhood aren't really slaughtering Christians by the hundreds and thousands.
Thanks for making it clear you embrace radical Islam just like your leader Obama.
You could be right. I am not more than superficially aware, but I’ve seen the articles coming over the transom.
When your currency is at it’s lowest point ever, I think it’s a tough sell saying you just caused another region financial problems.
He needs the oil sales. He’s in trouble.
LOL
Can’t believe he isn’t riding it for a photo op.
LOL, you’ve got yourself in a simmering war you can’t seem to win. Your currency is the lowest it has ever been. You’re pissing folks off around the world, because that’s all children with temper tantrums do.
You’re stinking up the place with your praise of this child.
What you say makes sense, but I don’t think there’s much of a percentage in turning Russia back into a closed society like it was during the Iron Curtain years.
It wasn’t good when China was that way either.
It’s not the Russian people so much, as their leaders who are causing problems. I think they’re going to get much worse too.
Sanctions well placed and reasoned may help. Will Obama know what ones to use effectively? Sure, but he’ll install others instead. IMO
Listen, comrade. I understand why you want to spin it the way you do . . . and observing that Russia sponsors terrorism on a scale greater than the US does not make me an Obama supporter. That is a failure of logic that cannot even be excused by too much vodka.
Now, let's think this through. Obama is shredding the Constitution, has added eight Trillion to the national debt, has been working hard to destroy the middle class and the military, but some childish little twit swears that Prez Obama is as pure as the wind driven snow with regard to Ukraine and Russia where he's only looking out for the best interests of the US.
LOL, right, and the media that has covered Obama's butt since he was in the Senate is telling us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what's going on in Ukraine.
That's even more stupid than the people who stood by Carter when he insisted that the evil Shah of Iran had to go so there would be a free nation of Iran to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the Middle East instead of Iran having a nasty Shah.
People who believe the media and administration spin on the Ukraine are either stupid, ignorant and too lazy to not remain ignorant, or ringers for the Obama crowd. Or, of course, some combination of those things.
"failure of logic", ROTFLOL, as if sucking down the Obama party line is locical?
Please direct your comment to an Obama supporter [still chuckling].
LOL...of all the idiotic talking points the Soviets on here come up with, I think that’s the funniest one.
...geopolitical mastermind Obama beating up on poor little Putin.
~The Ukrainian ‘crisis’ was Ukraine revolting against Russia. That’s really it. Why do you have such a problem with that??~
Any prove for a ‘BS theory’? Technically it was an uprising against a corrupt leader, which is a fact noone can effectively argue. An idea of ‘revolting against Russia’ is actually based on a lie which says ‘Yanukovich is a Russian puppet’.
You must be really ignorant on his politics to believe this crap.
No kidding. It's not like he fled to Russia.
If I’m not mistaken, he’s still there.
The Russkie spin here is laughable. Russia wanted the pipeline, the EU said no, and that’s a win for Russia? As usual completely absent from your patriotic analysis is what is best for the USA. The end of this pipeline is a win for the USA, precisely because it is a defeat for Russia. What is best for the EU? Who cares? Am I as an American supposed to be upset that the EU is putting America’s interests first, instead of Russia’s. I’m not upset about that, I’m happy.
?????
Get a map.
Look at it.
It isn’t hard to figure out the strategy.
Russia loses the South Stream, but still gets the chance (With the now-proposed Blue Line expansion) to cut off the Saudi project, and supply gas to southern Europe, by passing Ukraine.
Not sure why you are attacking me, yet again.
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