If Russia doesn’t want European produce, they’re nuts.
Meat, milk and dairy products, fish, fruits and vegetables from the United States and the European Union are banned from Russia for one year, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
Russia announced a day earlier it would ban or limit food and agricultural goods imported from countries that have sanctioned Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
“Until the last moment, we hoped that our foreign colleagues would understand that sanctions lead to a deadlock and no one needs them,” Medvedev said Thursday, according to The Associated Press. “But they didn’t, and the situation now requires us to take retaliatory measures.”
Russia said it would instead import goods from Turkey, Latin America and former Soviet nations.
I notice, however, that they didn’t place a ban on the importation of European wine. That would have caused a revolution.
Cue the Nation editorial that instructs us how this will lead Russia more quickly down the path to a more open democracy and greater progressive practices.
I’m guessing it will have something to do with figs.
If there’s new Cold War, it’s because the US national security establishment doesn’t want to face a peace dividend from the end of US involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. They have been whacking hornets nests all over the place trying to get their war footing going again. The most expensive military in the world has to keep feeding its shareholders profits. Because that’s the only part of the government that can get funded anymore.
Lord, we are over the edge with this sanctions BS on Russia. And the war scares about an imminent invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions aren’t particularly serious for us. The chances of the US engaging in any actual war with Russia are nil.
Whether the sanctions will impact ordinary Russians for very long is hard to tell. Putin has limited options if they do.
Well, I know one Russian family that will be effected. The wife works for an Italian-Polish meat importation company. Sounds like she’s gonna be SOL for a year.
anyone else getting a “PNAC’s Last Stand” vibe from the headlines lately?
Nuland and Pyatt are certainly of the PNAC strain of thought.
America really is a complete mystery to you isn’t it?
You have some profound insight into this situation?
No profound insight my friend just a wild guess, Russia annexed Ukrainian territory and is attempting to extend it’s sovereignty over more Ukrainian territory.
The United States, the European Union and NATO is actively opposing Russia’s attempt to dismember, dismantle and destroy Ukraine and view such extraordinarily hostile behavior as acts of war against Ukraine and as a serious threat to European peace, stability and prosperity.
Why would Russia want the bother of the Ukraine?
I don’t speak for the Russian government.
They can speak for themselves.
http://government.ru/en/
about annexing the Ukraine.
Except for Crimea, which has been part of Russia for most of the last 200 years, Russia has good reasons not to want to annex the Ukraine.
The problems arise now because the US wants to bring the Ukraine into NATO and put first-strike nuclear missiles on the Russian border.
This is the reverse of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. This is not a war-of-choice for the Russians nor can they afford to lose. It is the US that will be blinking.
–Gaianne
Well, I think if one watches the actions of the United States one can tell the difference between what one thinks the United States will do and what the United States actually does.
As far trying to justify Russia’s behavior, I don’t want you to get the misimpression that such statements and assertions carry any meaning to me.
They don’t.
One almost expect an ad somewhere in this empty thread. Lots of contentless comments.
More like a refrigerated war than a truly cold war.
Putin and his Kremlin team aren’t nuts. First, Putin has an 87% approval rating. Second, other countries are lining up to replace EU/US agricultural products. Third, Greece is in talks to be excluded from the ban.
In the meantime, the EU can look forward to a triple-dip recession, and the US won’t get off without some damage (even if limited mostly to more stirrings about finding an alternative to the Dollar as a reserve currency).
OT: John Walsh dropping out of the Montana Senate race,
There are probably reasons no one wants Uzbek eggplants.
The agriculture sector represent the strongest voice lobbying inside the European Union, pocketing some €120bn annual EU subsidies. It appears Latvia and Poland will suffer a lot, serves Radek Sikorski well, a little Soviet push-back!
NATO SG Rasmussen voicing his support for Ukraine on his visit to Kiev today and a future as NATO partner.
○ USS Vella Gulf returns to BlackSea to promote peace and stability in the region Aug. 7, 2014
○ How NATO Jabs Russia on Ukraine May 15, 2014
It’s kind of weird to read this post just below an ad for Russian mail order brides. Has anyone else seen that?
Baby food is excluded as well. Wine and baby food, keeping a range of folks subdued.
OT: NYT is reporting that US air forces are attacking ISIS advance on Erbil and US statement mentions relief for Yazidis. Turkey is sending humanitarian relief to Kurds. US “consulted” with Iraq before this move.
US could operate in Kurdish area and Iran could support Shi’ite militias without stirring up domestic hawks. One wonders about the degree of US-Iranian consultation on the regional issues and how communications function between two countries who now find each other necessary but cannot overcome a 35-year-old refusal of communication.
Key to future is stopping ISIS advance.
OT: Guardian says that Pentagon has denied that there are airstrikes but that humanitarian aid is being delivered to the Yazidis. In addition Guardian reports ISIS advance toward Irbil is going through minority communities such as the largest Christian town in Iraq (folks there have mostly fled).
so glad to hear about the humanitarian aid
weeks. Never, ever seen the US move so slowly.
Obviously the US does not oppose ISIS–Daash–at all. Still hoping it can get Daash to overthrow Assad and break up Syria.
–Gaianne
products actually has a good deal of logic.
Firstly, its biggest impact is on eastern European countries that have been eagerly following the US lead in hostility toward Russia. Does Russia need to be helping those hostile economies? You dream!
Secondly, it clarifies a point–being a vassal of the US has a cost, and now that cost shall be paid. The Finns are talking about suing the EU for lost revenue. Of course, they did not have to give up their sovereignty and dignity but they did–so go ahead, sue the EU! Either way that turns out, its all good!
Third, Russia needs to reduce its vulnerabilities. Stopping the flood of foreign food will incourage its own food production, which is a good thing as food is strategic to national survival. This is essential if Russia is to cope with the coming US aggression.
Fourth, this move will help reduce the importance of the dollar in world trade. Here the effect is small but it will be steady, and needful, as the US can no longer restrain itself from openly abusing its currency power.
There is already talk of suing Russia before the WTO. Good! The WTO has devolved to open plunder and that would be just the shot in the head it needs to finish it off. (Which is why I am sure nothing will come of the proposal.)
–Gaianne
this confuses me:
>>eastern European countries that have been eagerly following the US lead in hostility toward Russia
If I were a Pole, or from one of the Baltic or former Soviet countries, I don’t think I’d need any american leadership on this topic. The history of those countries is: being taken over by Russia, some of them more than once.
But throwing in with the West has resulted in a thorough looting out. (Estonia comes to mind, but the situation in other Baltics is not good either.)
So at what price revenge?
A more neutral course might be wiser.
When is revenge wise?
–Gaianne
I don’t think trying to avoid repeating ugly history is the same thing as “revenge”.
I admit that there are also historical arguments for those countries to want protection from Russia against Germany. Russia is only the most recent outside conqueror. All those countries have been stuck forever between expansionist Russia and expansionist Germany, wishing that the wiser neutral course was possible.
So whether it’s avoidance of history or revenge, reducing Russian gas, or the means to pay for it, this is about to leave large stretches of Europe very cold this winter. Losing fifteen percent of your energy (what travels through Ukraine) is a good way to shut down factories.
But don’t worry, the US will go into a crash program to build LNG terminals so you can receive our fracked gas.
You see, everyone wins!
Wasn’t so good when taken over by Germany/Prussia either. Poland was death camp central for the Nazis. Only ten percent of the pre-WWII Jewish population in Poland of 3.5 million survived.
Kiev turns off hot water amid fears of winter gas shortage
Western Ukrainians aren’t too pleased with the conscription to fight the war in eastern Ukraine either.
Renounce hot water. Can’t wait for the great patriotic Ukrainian leaders to renounce food and heat.
Ukraine’s about to cut off the gas lines through their territory, which, of course, was what this was ever all about.
This entire exercise has nothing to do with democracy. The US helped overthrow an elected government and created a coup government with fascists in key ministry posts.
As I’ve said before, the quiet diplomatic pressure the US has been using over the last couple of years to block South Stream is the tell.
The US’s biggest strategic interest here is to cut Europe off from Russian gas. Sure, it will screw up the European (and world) economy, but think of how much the natural gas fracked out of grandma’s front yard in Pennsylvania will be able to be sold for.
“Where is the oil and who do we have to kill to get it?”