RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-187 :: Thursday, 25 October 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#187 :: Thursday, 25 October 2018
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1. www.rt.com: Moscow alarmed that US spy plane coordinated drone attack on Russia’s Syria base.
2. TASS: Drone attack on Russia’s Syrian airbase was elaborate Pentagon operation, says expert.
3. Valdai Discussion Club: Anatol Lieven, New Cold War: NATO Washes the Car. For many years, it has been a standard trope of liberal writing on hostilities between nations and ethnicities that these are not rooted either in inherited conflicts or real contemporary clashes of interest but are rather “constructed” by wicked political elites to serve their own political and economic ends. [valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/new-cold-war-nato-washes-the-car/]
4. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Putin, Trump expected to discuss China at Paris meeting.
5. Moscow Times: Putin’s Approval Rating Lowest Since 2013 – Poll.
6. TASS: Putin calls for tougher gun laws.
6a. www.rt.com: Russians not ready for large-scale possession of guns – security chief.
7. TASS: Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russia’s economy faces six major risks, analysts say.
8. Interfax: Putin sees national projects as detailed plan of breakthrough in Russia’s development.
9. www.rt.com: Russian stocks & ruble strengthen as Bolton says US has no plans for further sanctions at the moment.
10. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, The Abolition of Nuclear Abolitionism? President Trump’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty nullifies a historic precedent.
11. The National Interest: Lyle Goldstein, Showdown in the Sea of Azov? Why Tensions Are Growing Between Ukraine and Russia. This Russia conflict scenario would make operations in Syria look like a round of croquet.
12. Defense One: Peter Zwack, Three Questions from Last Month’s Giant Vostok Exercise.
13. TASS: Russia sees serious threats to its security in US actions – senior diplomat.
14. www.rt.com: Europe will expose itself to retaliation if it agrees to deploy US missiles – Putin.
15. Interfax: U.S. decision to quit INF treaty already made, to be finalized in a month – Lavrov.
16. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Kortunov, The US Withdrawal from the INF Treaty Will Be Implemented.
17. New York Times editorial: ‘Getting Tough’ Over a Missile Pact Could Weaken America. If President Trump withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Russia could expand its arsenal freely.
18. Washington Post editorial: Trump is eyeing a dangerous repeat of the Cold War. He should work with Putin to fix a nuclear treaty, not walk away.
19. TASS: Vedomosti: NATO not planning to deploy new nuclear missiles to Europe.
20. Moscow Times: Vladimir Frolov, Russia’s Superpower Status Teeters with INF Treaty . The Kremlin can no longer tout its membership to an exclusive arms-control club.
21. Meduza: ‘There was an outpouring of respect for us then, but not today’ A Soviet diplomat who helped negotiate the INF Treaty recalls how it came together in 1987 and what U.S. withdrawal means today. (Viktor Mizin)
22. www.rt.com: Mikhail Khodarenok, US’ ultimate goal is to strip Russia of its nukes.
[rt.com/op-ed/442136-inf-russia-us-nuclear/]
23. Russian International Affairs Council: Yuri Barmin, Russia and Israel: The Middle Eastern Vector of Relations. [russiancouncil.ru/papers/Russia-Israel-Paper42-Eng.pdf]
24. Financial Times: Nato launches biggest war game since Soviet era. Mock battle in Norway amid rising tensions between alliance and Moscow.
25. Wall Street Journal: The Future of Arctic Shipping. Russia’s Northern Sea Route gets more tanker traffic, but it remains a risky endeavor. (excerpt)
26. Strategic Culture Foundation: Alex Gorka, Militarization of Arctic: Issue of Incredible Importance Not Given Due Attention to. [strategic-culture.org/news/2018/10/24/militarization-arctic-issue-incredible-importance-not-given-due-attention-to.html]
27. EUObserver.com: Know your enemy. The Moscow State Institute of International Relations has been singled out by the Polish foreign ministry.
28. www.rt.com: Russians don’t hold Kremlin responsible for Skripal poisoning, say British did it themselves – poll.
29. FAIR.org: Alan MacLeod, Why Is Russiagate Rumbling Into the 2018 Midterms?
30. Intellinews.com: Ukraine opposition leader pledges to change negotiations format with Russia.
31. Sic Semper Tyrannis: DNC Emails–A Seth Attack Not a Russian Hack by Publius Tacitus. [turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/10/dnc-emails-a-seth-attack-not-a-russian-hack-by-publius-tacitus.html#more]