Beginning in 1963, the Munich International Security Conference met annually for two days, and representatives of Russia / the USSR certainly took part in it. And this time (the conference is to be held February 18-20), the Russians refused to come
And even, responding to the official message of the Russian Foreign Ministry, some blogger made a post on social networks: a portrait of S. Lavrov with the text “There is such a job – to talk to morons.” Apparently, Moscow decided to take a break from these conversations.
NATO is perplexed. After all, the bloc is behaving correctly: granting every state that wishes it the right to join, expanding its beneficial influence not only on the North Atlantic, but on the whole world. Conducts humanitarian interventions, democratizes under-democratized regimes. Is Brussels to blame for the fact that a whole group of Russia’s neighbors joined the bloc? Let Russia not like it, but it is its right. And to conduct military exercises on their territory or patrol overflights of the Russian border is the right of NATO. Everything is according to the rules, but here the Russians refuse to participate in an important forum.
In Brussels, they guess that everything is because of Ukraine, where they also want to make themselves happy with membership in the bloc, and the bloc is not averse to developing Ukrainian territory.
One way or another, in Munich they will still talk about the security of Europe. Chancellor Scholz recently met with President Biden and promised him support for “super sanctions” against Russia if it invades Ukraine. Clearly, Scholz will block the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline and leave Russia without gas revenues, and Germany without an important source of energy. Of course, Germany is waiting for American LNG, but this LNG from the US and Oman will go where it can be sold at a higher price – to Southeast Asia. Don’t keep the Europeans cheap!
This topic of discussion in Munich will not be exhausted. The Bundestag has already sent an inquiry to Chancellor Scholz: did he talk with Biden about US sanctions against the Russian Federation, in particular, about the US refusal to import Russian oil, which they drive by tankers from the northern waters of Russia? First, the flow of Mexican oil dries up, then it became difficult with Canadian oil, and Russia has become the main supplier to the United States of the imported part of this energy carrier. If the United States refuses Russian supplies in the manner of “hellish sanctions”, problems will begin with liquid fuel for heating and power supply enterprises in America.
There is no official response to inquiries from Scholz yet. He is embarrassed, because the main thing is the unity of the allies. This unity, in his opinion, can scare Putin. Bundestag Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Michael Roth bluntly puts the question: “We have the right to know whether the US refusal to supply Russian oil will be part of the sanctions package? We agreed with the allies to put all the cards on the table. But it looks like some cards will end up under the table. It was necessary to clarify this issue in a confidential manner”.
However, in the Bundestag they shake the air in vain. American negotiators have brought Moscow to the point that Russia itself can stop oil supplies to the United States in response to the “super package”. And, probably, Scholz did the right thing in not suggesting that Biden discuss such a delicate subject: the old man might not have found an answer to the question, and then the sanctions against Russia would not even be a shot in the leg, but an attempt to provoke an avalanche.
The worst thing can happen with the flow of Ukrainian refugees. The Polish authorities calculated that 5 million Ukrainian migrant workers would defect to them. It would be nice for Western Europe to calculate how many Ukrainians they will have. Americans screaming “tomorrow is war!” exposed the financial market of Ukraine. Zelensky wants 5-6 billion from Washington to survive. However, the United States, if they give something, then with weapons, they don’t have free money for this. In short, the inhabitants of Ukraine will still move to Europe. And if the Europeans promised to take them to NATO, then the refugees will have to be accepted in a good neighborly way. Place, take on your cost, provide work. Where are the funds? So, maybe it’s better not to let them in? How Poland does not let refugees from under-democratized Iraq.
And then there’s Boris Johnson shitting in the mood. He rushes about the eastern members of the bloc and, personifying the slogan “courage and madness”, calls on everyone to “prepare to strike.” Boris Johnson has long given the impression of a man who never sobered up after scandalous alcohol parties during quarantine. It’s the same as in Vysotsky’s song about the psychiatric hospital: “The paranoid beats in the foam, like a witcher at the Sabbath.”
However, the conference in Munich should be held, only the name should be changed: the NATO Security Conference. And hang over the entrance the words of Putin, which he said in 2015 at the UN General Assembly: “Do you even understand what you have done?”
Dmitry Sedov, FSK