IMAGE: IMAGE: kommersant.ru
US actions against the Nord Stream 2 project and linked companies contradict “all tenets and norms of international law”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed during a joint press conference following talks with Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl on March 12.
“This contradicts all tenets and norms of international law. It is not for nothing that our American and some other Western colleagues no longer use the phrase “international law,” but urge everyone to respect the rules-based order.
Under international law, there must be elementary competition of economic approaches and proposals. This, by the way, is consistent with WTO rules. The rules invented by a small group of countries which they are trying to impose on everyone else solely in their own interest fit into the logic currently promoted by the United States. Calling the Nord Stream 2 project purely political, Washington issued a demand to abandon it and to buy American gas instead which is 20% to 30% more expensive. So, it will be not a political but an economic project. Indeed, it will be purely commercial for the United States, which will be receiving additional revenue. For those whom they are trying to force to abandon Nord Stream 2 and to switch to more expensive American gas, this decision will be political, even though they will come under pressure in the form of all kinds of illegitimate unilateral economic sanctions. I have already mentioned that Washington’s diplomacy comes down to sanctions. This applies to Nord Stream 2 and a number of other areas,” Lavrov said.
The top diplomat recalled that just recently “US Secretary of State Pompeo accused Rosneft of violating US sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company and demanded an end to the purchase of oil from PDVSA”.
“How can this be explained?
By the way, a bad example is contagious. Juan Guaido, whom US Vice President Mike Pence proclaimed interim President of Venezuela, has already announced that his country should stop selling oil to Cuba. How does this fit with international law? It doesn’t.
Competition must be fair. We are witnessing the gross violation of all ethical and legal norms, when the United States demands, in fact, that all countries in the world not buy raw materials and energy resources from Russia, but instead buy them from the United States, not buy Russian-made products as part of their defence industry cooperation, but buy more expensive US-made products. Unfair competition in sports has already become proverbial,” Lavrov said.
He continued by saying that “dictating everything to everyone will not bring any good.”
“We have already warned our American colleagues that, perhaps, in a very short historical period (18 to 36 months), they may receive some kind of benefits, but in the strategic, long-term perspective, they are undermining trust in the dollar-based international system. This will not end well for them,” he said.
Lavrov also adressed a recent initiative of the Trump administration to spend $500m on combating Russina “malign” influence around the world. It should be noted that these funds were described as “aid” to targeted allies.
“What we see in the US administration’s budget request for the next year is, of course, not diplomacy, but, rather, modern American diplomacy, which boils down either to threats or sanctions, or, as we are seeing, to an attempt to purchase allies. It’s up to US legislators and taxpayers to decide whether it is in their interest. Of course, it is also up to the countries that are the recipients of this generous aid designed to fight “Russia’s malign influence” – clearly, in order to exert their “well-intentioned” influence instead of our “malign” influence.
By the way, I am not sure whether the recipient countries will like the fact that someone wants to buy them. However, knowing the manners that now prevail in Washington, I cannot rule out that if they refuse to accept this aid that is imposed on them, they will see sanctions imposed on them, so they need to make up their mind,” the foreign minister noted.
While in general, Lavrov’s remarks may be described as relative straightforward, it should be noted how ‘careful’ he was in comments regarding possible consequences of US policies. The reason is that the collapse of the current dollar-dominated economic system will also be a blow to the Russian establishment.
Some experts reckon that the ruling Russian elites are not ready for this and hope to avoid such scenarios. Russian oligarchs are mostly satisfied with their role of junior partners in the relations with ‘US counterparts’. They are ready to operate and compete within the existing world system and hope to find a kind of understanding from their ‘Western partners’.
“it should be noted how ‘careful’ he was in comments regarding possible consequences of US policies”
Not really, it’s called diplomacy. Avoding to behave like americans on the international stage, who only spew out insults and threats can only be a good thing.
“Russian oligarchs are mostly satisfied with their role of junior partners in the relations with ‘US counterparts’. They are ready to operate and compete within the existing world system and hope to find a kind of understanding from their ‘Western partners’.”
You wish.
As the world careers towards nuclear annihilation it is critical that the core interests of nuclear rivals do not clash. This ultimately forces countries into war, by acting ‘solely in their own interest’ they undermine those very interests, eventually getting the very war they seek to avoid. https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
Much like Lavrov is rapporting from a little tent near Al Tanf.
Russian Oligarchs live in London, Tel Aviv and in US. Like Erdogan they have been waiting on the doormat to EU howling, begging, barking and crying, why they cannot get into the fine apartment with the fine ladies with their dirty feet.