Voice of Russia
December 3, 2013
John Kerry meets with NATO, snubs Ukraine for Moldova, heads to Israel
John Robles
US Secretary of State John Kerry is currently on a whirlwind tour which is to see him visiting NATO headquarters in Brussels, Moldova, Israel and the State of Palestine, destinations which may for the casual observer seem unrelated but which are all important and key locations in the framework of expanding and cementing US influence (albeit waning) and hegemony both in Europe and the Middle East.
Kerry’s current trip, from a geopolitical perspective, is just another in a long series of step in what is the diplomatic equivalent of what US/NATO have been engaged in militarily since the end of the cold war, namely attempting to establish US influence in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and in the long term the world and at all costs diminish the influence of the Russian Federation, which continues growing in economic and political strength.
The fact that the relationship between the EU and the US is so intertwined that the EU appears to do almost nothing without consulting the US first is a matter not spoken of in the western media but one which may come to the fore as more and more Europeans realize that they have been for lack of a better word “annexed” by the US.
The almost total loss of sovereignty by the EU as a whole, as it has become more and more influenced by the US, and by each member country as well, was recently underlined by spying revelations that were brushed under the carpet and the continuing expansion of NATO into countries that were once non-aligned, neutral or part of the “Eastern Bloc”.
It is important to underline and consider if one is to have an intelligent discussion over the implications of any US/EU/NATO moves in Europe that while Russia’s European territory makes up a whopping 40% of the European continent, US/EU/NATO continue to attempt to keep Russia out of the European loop and behave as if Russia is not part of Europe.
Belgium December 3, 2013
On Tuesday Kerry is scheduled to meet with NATO foreign ministers in what the West is saying is a meeting that will focus on the refusal by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign security agreements with US/NATOwhich will guarantee a US/NATO presence in Afghanistan after the scheduled 2014 withdrawal of US/NATO forces from the country.
Of course the insistence by Karzai on maintaining some modicum of sovereigntyis being propagandized by the West as a threat to the future of Afghanistan etc., the move is of course a blow to the geopolitical plans of Washington. As Ukraine was supposed to be the crowning jewel in US/NATO’s Eastern European crown, Afghanistan was supposed to be the same in Central Asia.
The plain fact of the matter is that if Afghanistan allows for the US/NATO to maintain their presence, after being invaded and attacked under the false pretext of somehow being in collusion with the events of 9-11, the country will in fact be cementing the loss of their own sovereignty and allowing themselves to be used as an important piece in US/NATO plans for global expansion. The reality, and this must be made clear, US/NATO are not in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people, they are there to advance their own agenda in spreading worldwide.
Moldova December 4, 2013
The stopover in Moldova was seen as necessary by the US State Department as Moldova, along with Georgia, recently gave up a large and significant part of their sovereigntyby recently signing the so-called “Association Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements after the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius on November 29th.
Kerry’s visit to Moldova while on the surface odd as the small country has not signed any agreements with the US itself, is a bold and open admission to the fact that the EU has merely become a proxy of the US.Another fact ignored by the western mass media yet one that should have caused a resonance among EU diplomats.
The four hour visit and the second stop on Kerry’s tour, hailed by the West as one of historic importance, and the first visit of a US Secretary of State in two decades, while being hailed by Moldovans who have been chasing the carrot of EU integration, in fact shows how desperate the US really is. While Moldovans and Georgians have failed to read the fine print in the agreements they recently signed, or consider the long-term implications, the fact is that they have opened up their economies and markets to manipulation and profiteering by the US and in this regard their proxy the EU.
The US does nothing and hails no one if their own interests are not being advanced and given the sorry state of the EU and in particular the US economically, with a debt of over 200 trillion (in reality bankrupt), any country that currently enters into any sort of economic agreement with the US would be advised to very carefully analyze the fine print before the give up their sovereignty and bite the carrot of “EU integration”.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in the Europe and has a population of only 3.5 million, which of course made it an easy target for the US/EU and their integration carrot.
Ukraine Cancelled
While Moldova and Georgia have failed to maintain their sovereignty and pursue independent policies, something hailed by the US as “brave decisions”, Ukraine recently slammed on the brakes on the same Eastern Partnership Agreement, apparently after someone read the fine print and did the math, something the Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Chepurin recently characterized by saying the following: “… everyone has an imagination that is shattered when it meets the reality,” mentioning Ukraine as an example, which “met the reality when it was supposed to sign the free trade agreement with the EU.”
“There was an impression that each year tens of billions of euros would be arriving to Ukraine from the EU, while in fact it was about one billion over seven years. The damage from severing the free trade with Russia would have been a hundred times greater.” he said.
The figures about how much the EU and the US stand to gain economically are purposefully obfuscated and almost impossible to find but given that US/EU would do nothing that does not benefit them directly, the figures must be great, if the visit by Kerry is any clue.
Ukraine is important to mention because originally Kerry was scheduled to meet with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Ukraine during his tour but that visit was conveniently cancelled after Ukraine refused to sign the “Eastern Partnership” Agreements. According to the US Department of State there were “scheduling” problems.
Israel December 4, 2013
Sometimes it is stunning how the western propaganda machine works seamlessly with the US Government even creating heretofore unheard of facts to support the most questionable self-serving moves by the US, something so cleverly done that one has to completely remove oneself from the loop sometimes to see it. In this case I am talking about Kerry’s statements on the eve of his visit regarding global anti-Semitism being on the rise and the need for Israel’s voice to be heard everywhere.
The hypocrisy here is unbelievable and just goes to once again show the “special relationship” Israel and the US have, which is aimed at advancing their own agendas. Of note: recently Israel was complaining about the State of Palestine voting for the first time in the UN and has been indignant on the nuclear deal reached with Iran, openly claiming that such an agreement grants Iran legitimacy as a state, while ignoring its own illegitimacy and its illegal expansion of its own territory.
Kerry’s global anti-Semitism comments came after the much propagandized restoration of ties with the UN Human Rights Council, a body which barred Israelor which Israel withdrew from, depending on who is reporting the matter.
Israel, which sees itself as part of Europe and the EU,with sitting observers and intelligence ties to EU countries and organizations, was allowed to join the European and Others Group in Geneva (WEOG) after being barred by Arab countries in the Asian regional body from participating due to its human rights record.
Kerry is expected to discuss the Iranian agreement with Israel and of course the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Whether a US-brokered-breakthrough in the peace process will occur is possible especially given the admission and warning by Kerry recently that Israel will find itself increasingly isolated if it does not find a way to peace. Given the fact that the key stumbling block to the peace process is Israel’s continuation of illegal settlement activities and Washington’s staunch support of Israel, this isolation will of course carry over to the US.
Kerry recently stated: “If we do not find the way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel, there will be an increasing campaign of delegitimization of Israel that has been taking place on an international basis.”
According to Ibrahim Sharqiehfrom the Brookings Doha Center: “This process of isolation, in fact, has already begun. Just weeks ago, UNESCO suspended the voting rights of Israel and the United States, “two years after both countries stopped paying dues to the UN’s cultural arm in protest over its granting full membership to the Palestinians.”
Palestine
It is unclear besides Israeli settlement activities exactly what Kerry is to discuss with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas but there is no doubt that reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is as important for Kerry, given his upcoming presidential aspirations as it is for Obama, given his lackluster terms as president. Reaching such a historic agreement would definitely be a plus for both of them.
Despite all of the apparent good intentions, it continues to be Israel’s obtuse, illegitimate and relentless settlement activities on Palestinian territory that can in no way be supported under international law and by international players without bringing their own legitimacy into question.
The State of Palestine, while demonized is beyond a doubt in the right when it comes to demanding the cessation of illegal Israeli settlement activities on its territory and until Israel respects the rule of law it and withdraws from the sovereign territory of Palestine it is unlikely there will ever be peace.
What Kerry plans to offer to President Mahmoud Abbas is surely something that is of great interest if it does not include a cessation to Israel’s illegal expansion and encroachment on the territory of the State of Palestine.
Russia
Seemingly unrelated but perfectly timed to gather Russia’s reactions and intelligence US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, is scheduled to visit Moscow from the 8th-10th of December.
Her visit will come after meetings in Georgia, on December 6th and in Ukraine on December 5th with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the aforementioned meeting cancelled by Kerry after Ukraine’s decision not to sign the “Eastern Partnership” Agreements.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_12_03/John-Kerry-meets-with-NATO-snubs-Ukraine-for-Moldova-heads-to-Israel-5999/