RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-129 :: Sunday, 15 July 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#129
Sunday, 15 July 2018

A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. AP: Pussy Riot claims on-field protest at World Cup final.
2. USAToday.com: Martin Rogers, Why this was the best World Cup in history.
3. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Larry King’s “Politicking” show on RT, Moscow, July 14, 2018.
4. Interfax: Russia supports U.S. efforts on settlement on Korean Peninsula in contacts with N. Korea – Lavrov.
5. The National Interest: Dimitri Alexander Simes, Trump-Putin Summit: The View from Moscow. While no one in Moscow expects a miraculous turnaround in U.S.-Russian relations after this summit, there is a genuine hope that some modest progress can be made.
6. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Don’t Expect Much from the Helsinki Meeting. [Text with links and comments: unz.com/akarlin/helsinki-meeting/]
7. The National Interest: Dave Majumdar, Russia, America and NATO: Where Are They Headed? The Center for the National Interest convened a panel of foreign policy experts to answer this very question.
8. The Independent (UK): Mary Dejevsky, Donald Trump’s unease about Nato is neither shocking or new – but he is only one factor in its likely decline. Just because Donald Trump was not Europe’s choice for president, just because his bombastic words and his mercantile ways rub up so many Europeans the wrong way, does not mean that he is always wrong. [independent.co.uk/voices/nato-donald-trump-europe-russia-china-eu-a8444796.html]
9. RFE/RL: Big Weapons, Big Meeting: Could Trump, Putin Agree On New Arms Control Deal?
10. The National Interest: Steven Heydemann and Michael O’Hanlon, Here’s What a Trump-Putin Deal on Syria Could Look Like. America needs to look after its interests and allies, while also preventing the rise of an ISIS 2.0.
11. Fort Russ: Yuri Apukhtin, IN DEPTH: What Can Putin And Trump Agree About Ukraine? [fort-russ.com/2018/07/putin-and-trump-agree-about-ukraine/]
12. Washington Post editorial: Of all at stake at the Trump-Putin summit, Syria is most in peril. The conflict is the most probable area of appeasement for Mr. Trump in his meeting with Mr. Putin.
13. Russia Insider: Pepe Escobar, Trump Is Right – NATO Is Obsolete, and if Europe Wants to Fight Imaginary Enemies, It Should Pay Its Own Way.Terrified by Trump, Eurocrats in Brussels over these past few days have conveyed to Asia Times fears about the end of NATO, the end of the World Trade Organization, even the end of the EU. [russia-insider.com/en/politics/trump-right-nato-obsolete-and-if-europe-wants-fight-imaginary-enemies-it-should-pay-its-own]
14. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Trump And Putin Meet Monday: Run For Your Lives.
15. Washington Post: James Goldgeier, Trump and Putin one-on-one is not a good idea. Here’s why.
16. Facebook: Michael McFaul, “Of course, the Russian attack on American soil in 2016 was not on the scale or scope as Pearl Harbor or 9-11. But it was an attack, conducted by Russian military officers. Tomorrow, Trump must treat Putin as the person who ordered that attack. Any other approach is appeasement.”
17. Washington Post: Michael McFaul, I’ve been in meetings with Putin. Here’s what Trump can expect.
18. www.rt.com: Russia speeds up dumping the dollar from economy.
19. Thestreet.com: As Trump Courts Putin, Russia Is Shrinking Away from U.S. Economy. President Trump says he wants a better relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin, with the leaders scheduled for a sit-down on Monday. But the reality is, investment and trade between the U.S. and Russia is tiny and shrinking fast.
20. BBC: Young Russians see lives changed by feel-good World Cup.
21. http://usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be: Gilbert Doctorow, Letter from Orlino, July 2018. (blog on the Russian countryside)
22. Daily Beast: David Rothkopf, Way Trump Deals with Russian Attacks is ‘Textbook Treason’
23. New York Times: Trump Invited the Russians to Hack Clinton. Were They Listening?
24. New York Times editorial: How Do You Say ‘Witch Hunt’ in Russian? It sure is strange that Donald Trump is so angry at American justice for the indictment of 12 Russian military officers.
25. Moon of Alabama: No Evidence In Mueller’s Indictment Of 12 Russians – Release Now May Sabotage Upcoming Summit [moonofalabama.org/2018/07/no-evidence-in-muellers-indictment-of-12-russians-release-now-may-sabotage-upcoming-summit.html]
26. Medium: Mark McCarty, Mueller’s New Indictment — Do the Feds Take Us for Idiots.
27. Medium: Caitlin Johnstone, Five Things That Would Make The CIA/CNN Russia Narrative More Believable.
28. Asia Times: M.K. Bhadrakumar, Trump-Putin summit hits last-minute turbulence. A craftily timed intervention to torpedo – or reset the agenda – of Monday’s Helsinki summit will infuriate and disappoint Moscow.
29. Consortiumnews.com: Joe Lauria, Clinging to Collusion: Why Evidence Will Probably Never Be Produced in the Indictments of ‘Russian Agents.’ The indictment of 12 Russian ‘agents,’ which included no collusion with Trump’s team, is essentially a political and not legal document because it is almost certain the U.S. government will never have to present any evidence in court. [Text with links: consortiumnews.com/2018/07/14/clinging-to-collusion-why-evidence-will-probably-never-be-produced-in-the-indictments-of-russian-agents/]
30. Slate.com: Isaac Chotiner, “We Don’t Think of the Damage That We’ve Done.” Keith Gessen on the blinkered Western understanding of Russia. [slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/trump-putin-summit-what-americans-dont-understand-about-russia.html]

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