RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#239 :: Wednesday, 8 December 2021
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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#239 :: Wednesday, 8 December 2021
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1. TASS: Soviet Union ceased to exist 30 years ago today – tass.com/society/1372631
2. Intellinews: Ben Aris, Talks have begun with the US over Ukraine crisis, but Kremlin playing a long game. Talks on several key issues have begun with the December 7 summit between US president Joe BIden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, which is a good sign, but no breakthroughs were made.
3. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, What Putin really told Biden. Russian and US leaders dropped their respective rhetorical gauntlets but nobody really expects Russia to invade Ukraine.
4. Moscow Times: Putin and Biden Speak: What They Discussed. The Russian and U.S. leaders talked about rising tensions for two hours, but the path forward for both sides, and Ukraine, remains unclear.
5. rt.com: Biden to discuss Putin proposals with NATO – Kremlin – rt.com/russia/542548-nato-expansion-putin-biden/
6. The National Interest: Mark Episkopos, Can Biden and Putin Avert War Over Ukraine? Right now, Putin holds the upper hand as Biden and Europe try to puzzle out how respond to his moves.
7. American Committee for US-Russia Accord: Nicolai Petro, The Fundamental Choice Before Us
8. Antiwar.com: Ray McGovern, Did Biden Thwart Putin’s ‘Plan’ To Invade Ukraine with 175,000 Troops?
9. Twitter: Alexander Baunov, Today’s virtual summit.
10. rt.com: US not needed for Ukraine peace talks – Kremlin – rt.com/russia/542473-us-donbas-peace-talks/
11. gilbertdoctorow.com: Gilbert Doctorow, Biden-Putin Summit: who won the match of wills? – gilbertdoctorow.com/2021/12/08/biden-putin-summit-who-won-the-match-of-wills/
12. rt.com: US considers cutting off Russia from global financial system – Nuland – rt.com/russia/542522-cutting-swift-financial-system/
13. TASS: Recreating the USSR impossible under today’s circumstances, Kremlin insists – tass.com/politics/1372635
14. rt.com: 5 key takeaways from Putin-Biden online summit – rt.com/russia/542500-putin-biden-key-takeaways/
15. New York Times: Here are five takeaways from the Biden-Putin call
16. The Times (UK): Joe Biden threatens Vladimir Putin with gas embargo over Ukraine. Don’t dare try another Crimea, he warns Russian president.
17. Asia Times: Why China, Russia and U.S. won’t save the Taliban. Beijing, Moscow and Washington all have geostrategic cause for withholding aid despite the rising risk of a disastrous famine.
18. Responsible Statecraft: Anatol Lieven, Why it would be better if this Democracy Summit never happened. The Biden administration risks the charge of hypocrisy as it picks and chooses which authoritarians are in, and which are out.
19. Intellinews: Ben Aris, Linas Jegelevicius, Clare Nuttall, DEATH OF THE SOVIET UNION: A green revolution brought the USSR down. The devastation caused by the Chernobyl disaster caused a wave of protests that led into the later independence protests that brought down the Soviet Union.
20. Project Syndicate: Ander Aslund, Putin’s Last Gasp. Although U.S. intelligence agencies are warning that Russia is mobilizing its ground forces for an attack on Ukraine, it is still tempting to think that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never actually follow through on such a risky move. Yet when a strongman has so few good options for retaining power, the risk calculus changes.
21. The Daily Beast: Biden Tells Putin Where to Shove His ‘Red Lines’
22. Foxnews.com: Tucker Carlson: America would gain nothing from starting war with Russia. ‘No one seems aware of how crazy’ pitching nuclear warfare with Russia is, Carlson says.
23. The White House: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, December 7, 2021.
