RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#103 contents with links :: Wednesday 7 May 2014
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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#103 :: 7 May 2014
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1. Wire Services: Russia pulls troops from Ukraine border as Putin presses for delay in referendums.
2. Reuters: NATO commander says must consider permanent troops in Eastern Europe.
3. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Vedomosti: Vitaly Kashin, Russia will not risk entanglement in southeast Ukraine. All the signs are that a military invasion of Ukraine’s restive eastern provinces by Russian forces is not on the cards. The likeliest scenario is that Moscow will allow Kiev to gradually claw back control of the east, though a prolonged crisis in relations with the West remains unavoidable.
4. ITAR-TASS: United Ukraine future impossible without consensus in society.
5. RIA Novosti: To settle Ukraine crisis, rebellious east should be heard – top Russian diplomat. (Sergey Ryabkov)
6. ITAR-TASS: One-third of Russians believe nationalists took advantage of protests in Ukraine – poll.
7. www.rt.com: ‘Both presidential elections and Donbass referendum in Ukraine should be postponed.’ (interview with Jonathan Steele)
8. Bloomberg: U.S. Presses Ukraine to Hold Vote as Russian Seeks Delay.
9. New York Times: As Ukrainian Election Looms, Western Powers and Russia Campaign for Influence.
10. Russia Direct: Gordon Hahn, The road to and from war in Ukraine. Violence in Eastern Ukraine between ethnic Russians and non-Russians could spread to other post-Soviet countries. It’s possible to prevent this scenario if both Russia and the West learn important lessons from recent events and post-Soviet history.
11. Interfax: West turning a blind eye on true causes of Odesa tragedy – Lavrov.
12. Euronews: Odessa buries its dead as locals blame Kyiv for the violence.
13. Wall Street Journal: Deadly Ukraine Fire Likely Sparked by Rebels, Government Says. Rebels Accidentally Dropped Molotov Cocktails on Roof, According to Preliminary Investigation.
14. www.rt.com: Odessa tragedy survivor: ‘Many people strangled after escaping the fire’
15. Interfax: 40% of Ukrainians support talks with separatist protesters – poll.
16. Reuters: Ukraine’s Poroshenko urges more sanctions if Russia backs referendum.
17. RAPSI: Ukrainian Parliament votes against referendum on federalisation.
18. Moscow Times: Accusations of Separatism Get Ukraine Communists Expelled From Parliament.
19. National Public Radio (NPR): In Ukraine’s Corridors Of Power, An Effort To Toss Out The Old. (re lustration)
20. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Ukraine investors scatter as civil war approaches.
21. Business New Europe: Concorde Capital, Russia is reportedly ready to provide a discount for gas to Ukraine.
22. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Gets First Tranche of IMF Rescue Package. A portion of the $3.19 billion Tranche May be Used to Pay Part of its Moscow Gas Bill.
23. www.rt.com: Pepe Escobar, The IMF goes to war in Ukraine.
24. Wall Street Journal: European Business Hit By Russian Slowdown.
25. Reuters: Some investors hold fast in Russian markets, unfazed by big retreat.
26. http://therealnews.com: Is Ukraine Descending into Civil War? Professors Nicolai Petro and Aleksandr Buzgalin discuss the factional clashes in the Ukrainian city of Odessa and how the international community can de-escalate tensions.
27. Moscow Times/Vedomosti: Putin’s Russian World.
28. Moscow Times: Visa and MasterCard Cling to Russia Despite $3.8Bln Blow.
29. Russia Direct: Ukraine crisis may spur a new space race between Russia and the U.S.
30. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, How MI5 and CIA Can Fight the Russian Threat.
31. The Globalist: Stephan Richter, The Disastrous U.S. Habit to Rush Elections. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Ukraine, the U.S. always hopes to get “its man” into office quickly – with poor results.
32. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexey Malashenko, From Afghanistan to Gorbachev, and from Crimea to …
33. New York Times: Thomas Friedman, Go Big, Get Crazy.
34. Wall Street Journal: William Galston, The Ukraine Speech Obama Should Give. We must provide Kiev with a package of economic, political and, yes, military assistance.
35. http://consortiumnews.com: Robert Parry, What Obama Can Do to Save Ukraine.
36. www.aljazeera.com: Alexander Nekrassov, The view from Moscow: What’s the US endgame in Ukraine? Imagine for a moment Putin and his aides are sitting around, trying to figure out what the West is doing in Ukraine.
37. RIA Novosti: Top Russian diplomat interviewed on US, Ukraine, Iran. (Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov)
38. Reuters: U.S. officials working on new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.
39. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Testimony of Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
40. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Testimony of Angela Stent.
41. RFE/RL: ‘Speaking Truth To Power:’ Pussy Riot Members Tell Congress Of Rights Abuses.
42. Interfax: Russians characterize Putin as competent, focused politician – VTsIOM.
43. Business New Europe: Kremlin continues its corruption crackdown on officials with a trust funds ban.
44. www.rt.com: Half of Putin’s 218 principal orders fulfilled – government.
45. Interfax: Russians get ready to celebrate Victory Day – poll.
46. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Gazprom beats Apple to top global ranking amid Rothschild interest.
47. Reuters: Eyes on Ukraine, Putin tightens curbs on protesters.
48. Moscow Times: Mass Grave in Moscow Suburbs is Among Russia’s Holiest Sites.
49. Moscow Times: What the Papers Say, May 7, 2014.
