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Russia rebuked by G20 Printer friendly page Print This
By Staff Writers, BBC with Axis of Logic commentary
BBC Newsworld
Saturday, Nov 15, 2014

Editor's Commentary:
The utter worthlessness of meetings of the G20 or G8 (G7 these days because of Russia's BO), is once again on the world stage. As the article below shows, 19 world leaders are pouting at Putin.

Coincidentally, Putin was interviewed by the German TV channel ARD a few days ago. Russia Today is reporting:
It’s astounding that the EU and US don’t realize that by limiting Russia's access to international capital, they’re actually undermining the financial well being of Ukraine, which is credited by Russian banks, Vladimir Putin told German TV channel ARD.

The Russian President said that the country's banks "have currently extended a $25-billion loan to the Ukrainian economy.”

“If our European and American partners want to help Ukraine, how can they undermine the financial base by limiting our financial institutions’ access to world capital markets?” said Putin in the ARD interview.

“Do they want to bankrupt our banks? In that case they will bankrupt Ukraine. Have they thought about what they are doing at all or not? Or has politics blinded them? As we know eyes constitute a peripheral part of brain. Was something switched off in their brains?” the president wondered.

The Russian state isn’t going to execute its formal right to demand an early payment of the $3 billion it loaned Kiev a year ago, Putin said.

“We have already decided that we will not do it because then Ukraine’s whole financial system would collapse,” he explained.

“We do not want to aggravate the situation. We want Ukraine to get back on its feet at last,” the president stressed.
So, who's the more reasonable party here?

The West doesn't seem to grasp that the world is changing and that Russia and China as an economic block (along with the rest of the BRICS members) may soon be in a position to tell the West to piss off. Maybe it's time for the West to climb down off its collective ego before it falls and hurts itself.

- prh, Editor
Axis of Logic


Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders at the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, 15 November 2014 President Putin faced a frosty reception from Western leaders at the G20 meeting

Russia has been rebuked by Western leaders about its role in the Ukraine crisis, at a G20 summit in Australia.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he needed to "get out of Ukraine".

US President Barack Obama said Moscow's "aggression" in Ukraine was a "threat to the world", while the UK threatened more sanctions unless Russia stopped "destabilising" its neighbour.

The two-day summit in Brisbane is focusing on promoting economic growth.

World leaders are expected to elaborate on plans agreed by G20 finance ministers in February to boost global growth by 2% in five years.

Frosty handshake
However, Saturday - the first of the two-day summit - was dominated by Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting government forces in eastern regions.

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russia of sending military forces across the border, something the Kremlin denies.

The EU imposed sanctions when Russia annexed Crimea in March and has added further measures since.

Before the G20 summit began, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said there would "have to be a very different relationship" between Europe and Russia if "we continue to see Russian troops" inside Ukraine, adding that there was "the potential for further sanctions".

Mr Cameron later held a private meeting with Mr Putin. The two discussed "rebuilding relations", Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Koala diplomacy? Australia's Tony Abbot and President Putin had this photo op, despite tensions

The Russian president faced a frosty reception from Canada's Mr Harper.

"I'll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine," Mr Harper told him, the Canadian leader's spokesman said.

President Obama said the US was at the forefront of "opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world".

The BBC's John Donnison in Brisbane says President Putin cut something of an isolated figure among the world's powerbrokers.

Russian officials said he was planning to leave the summit on Sunday ahead of schedule, but gave no reasons for the move.

Meeting on the margins of the summit on Saturday, Mr Putin urged his French counterpart Francois Hollande to join him to defuse tensions between the two countries over Ukraine.

France has withheld the delivery of two warships to the Russian navy over its actions in Ukraine.

'Message of hope'
Meanwhile, President Obama said Asia's security must not be based on intimidation of small nations by big ones, but on mutual alliances.

He did not mention China explicitly but he warned of the dangers posed by territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing's actions have raised concern among its neighbours.

Mr Obama said there was "no question" over his commitment to Asia-Pacific allies, referring to US efforts to strengthen strategic ties with the region.

Opening the summit, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he wanted to use the event to reassure people about the direction of the world's economy, with a "message of hope and optimism".

He said job creation, identifying tax cheats and strengthening the global economy would all be discussed.

His government had tried to keep climate change off the agenda, despite calls from campaigners.

In other developments, G20 leaders released a statement in which they vowed to do all they could to "extinguish" the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

It said that members state were committed to do what was necessary "to ensure the international effort can extinguish the outbreak and address its medium-term economic and humanitarian costs".

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