Russian Foreign Policy

[odyssey06]

You're probably right. Kept Dev posted on the latest Holocaust count I'm sure, a man whose word you could trust.

I don't think the German ambassador had an intelligence section in his basement bunker.

 

[odyssey06]

Not sure how much to read into Ukraine holding up the current Russian advances... it seems like the Russian forces (except maybe the paratroops) aren't the cream \ elite of the Russian army with their latest tanks etc... but in the first wave a lot of the Russian forces seem to be made up Afghanistan era equipment.

Maybe this is a softening up phase... get ukraine to run down defensive weapons on the B team.

 

[Baby boomer]

Although I have no qualifications in Psychiatry I have no doubt Vladimir Putin is mad.

Yes. So was Hitler. So what? Still are evil bastards that need stopping.

If anybody saw last evening's interview on RTE News at 6.00 pm with the Ambassador to Ireland of Russia you'd have no doubt he is mad also.

An ambassador is a man sent abroad to lie for his country. Filatov makes a fine ambassador!

If he isn't mad then the situation in the Russian Embassy is worse than I thought and the Ambassador is a downright liar. I believe Ireland's first "shot" should be to expel the Russian Ambassador and his entire delegation immediately.

Yes, but ideally better done by the EU in a coordinated act.

Then our government should press for more sanctions and treat Russia like lepers. We need the EU to row in behind this too.

Yes, the sports boycott is a particularly effective tool. Don't underestimate it's influence on South Africa back in the day.

An armed response is futile and is what Putin wants.

Agreed.

 

[odyssey06]

Germany and Hungary on board with cutting off Russian banks from SWIFT

Reports that the financial director of Gazprom has been found dead by 'suicide' in St Petersburg

 

[odyssey06]

Ukraine military seems to be hitting 'soft' secondary supply units leaving the spearhead armoured units isolated and short of fuel, resupply etc

 

[michaelm]

I am in awe at the resolve of Ukraine. The West must continue to turn the sanctions screw and flood weapons and supplies into Ukraine. Sanctions should remain while Putin remains (not just in Ukraine). Methinks this whole misadventure is the beginning of the end for the increasingly unhinged Putin. Hopefully he will be hoist with his own petard. A trip to The Hague would be ideal.

 

[cremeegg]

Why is "neutrality" against evil so meritorious? Genuine question. I agree with a lot of your posts but I genuinely don't get this neutrality fetish that a lot of Irish people elevate to the ultimate virtue signal.

Its a good question with a simple answer.

Before looking at that answer first the wrong answer needs to be gotten out of the way. The wrong answer is that we are/should be neutral because they are both as bad as each other. Lets call that answer the Daly/Wallace answer.

While I do recognise that Russia has genuine concerns and the US is not a disinterested observer, there can be no question that western society is far preferable for all its faults and the invasion of Ukraine is inexcusable. The Daly/Wallace answer is nonsense. Many people seeing that the Daly/Wallace answer is nonsense think that there is no good argument for Irelands neutrality, that's not the case.

The simple answer is Irelands self interest is best served by staying out of the way. My father-in-law was taken as slave labour to a factory in Germany by the Nazis, many of his compatriots fared far worse. My grandfather spent WW2 'eating cabbage and drinking tea' at his pre-war job. Both were citizens of small neutral states, one in the way of the Nazi advance, one from Mayo.

Some people feel it would be more honourable for Ireland to join NATO, carry our share of the Wests defence. That at present we are benefiting from its protection without carrying our share of the load. That is an much nonsense as the Daly/Wallace argument. The RAF doesn't patrol Irish airspace because they love us, they do it for their own security, we gat the benefit. We are benefitting from our geographic location. For once in our history, lucky for us. Not taking advantage of the security benefits of our position would be as foolish as not taking advantage of our beautiful beaches or agricultural potential.

Of course things change.

We have already suffered the HSE cyber attack which originated Kremlinside. Then there's the incursions into Irish controlled civil airspace, and the military exercises in our EEZ. We simply don't have the option of being neutral.

I would absolutely agree that we need to take our cybersecurity seriously. We have no natural advantage there. I would like to see a robust independent Irish cybersecurity system.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

@cremeegg I agree that our selfish interests are to hide behind NATO's shield and save the dosh. Similarly, we should not be top of the class in fighting climate change, we can't make any difference and should piggy back off the big guys.

 

[Baby boomer]

@cremeegg @Duke of Marmalade

Yeah, I see your points. Sort of anyway. However, we are in the EU and there's a pretty strong consensus we'll remain. Now the EU is somewhat more than a collection of independent sovereign states, while also being somewhat less than a unitary federal state. It is however, heading irrevocably toward the latter rather than the former. If anything the current crisis will only accelerate this movement. This is a good thing and we should not fear it - we should embrace it. The EU is perhaps the most impressive model of supranational political and economic governance ever invented, built as it is on peace, cooperation, democracy, human rights and economic development. While admittedly not perfect, the EU has been good for the Continent as a whole and EU membership has been good to us and we need to play our part in defending it. In practice, and until a fully fledged EU army emerges - and it will - that means NATO. It's the most moral choice we could make. It's not about aggression, it's about joint deterrence through overwhelming military strength. We have a (small) part to play.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

@Baby boomer I agree with you on the EU. I'm no IRexiteer and indeed see the EU as a potential bulwark against the loonies taking over here. The 4 Irish MEPs who voted against an EU resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were Clare, Mick, Ming and...SF's Chris McManus.
I am not sure of our moral duty to be good EU citizens; we resisted to the very end attempts to curb our tax piracy.

 

[Itchy]

While its logical to examine what our contribution to European security could be in the absence of 'military non-alignment', it is not helpful to the debate to describe a state of 'non-neutrality' as Ireland in NATO, in my opinion. They are not the same. Its a legitimate position to not declare ourselves as neutral and to also not be in NATO.

We first need to recognise the amorality our so-called 'neutrality' and the futility of the structures that support it (e.g. the triple-lock). We can should make a meaningful contribution to collective defence and security. But the debate at least need to be grounded in the realities of the world as it is, not as we would like it to be.

 

[Itchy]

@Baby boomer The 4 Irish MEPs who voted against an EU resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were Clare, Mick, Ming and...SF's Chris McManus.

To be fair to Ming, he did say that despite almost universal condemnation of the invasion of UA, he thought that his vote could 'possibly make it [the situation] worse'. Which makes you wonder why he votes for anything?

Ironically, the views of those MEPs who shill for Putin and of the "anti-war" movement here and in the UK, have emboldened the actions that will have all but guaranteed the militarisation of the European continent for generations to come.

 

[Sophrosyne]

I am not sure of our moral duty to be good EU citizens; we resisted to the very end attempts to curb out tax piracy.

I’ll leave it to others to slug out the neutrality issue, however regarding your point about “tax piracy” what we quite rightly resisted was being wrongly accused, when it was clear that it was and still is, the US tax regime for US multinationals that is the root cause of the problem.

 

[Sophrosyne]

Latest from Putin:

“Senior officials of the leading NATO countries also allow aggressive statements against our country; therefore, I order the minister of Defence and the chief of the general staff [of the Russian armed forces] to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty,” Putin said in televised comments.

“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country.”

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I’ll leave it to others to slug out the neutrality issue, however regarding your point about “tax piracy” what we quite rightly resisted was being wrongly accused, when it was clear that it was and still is, the US tax regime for US multinationals that is the root cause of the problem.

The whole history of Irish corporation tax and the EU has been one of cute hoorism - and more thanks (I mean it ) to Charlie for bequeathing us that culture.
It started with a differential tax of 12.5% for IFSC companies and 40% for domestic companies. We knew that was against the spirit if not the letter of the ECC, or whatever it was called, but we made them force us to come into line and left it till we had no option. By then we realised that the huge wins we were getting from our "tax haven" status would more than compensate for the loss of domestic corporation tax. Good move, Ireland.
We have resisted ever since a fairer corporation tax rate base and indeed any move on our predatory rate. Dragged screaming to be good EU citizens. Good move, Ireland.

Then we have the VRT on cars. I know it is not discriminatory, it also applies to Irish manufactured cars. Good move, Ireland.

Maybe the US is responsible for the sort of situation at Apple but I don't think we have anybody else to blame for the "double Irish".

 

[odyssey06]

The EU - not individual members - is to purchase and send weapons to Ukraine.
This is unprecedented.

 

[odyssey06]

Seen on twitter... @PaulSonne

Russian bank Tinkoff now offering to exchange rubles for dollars at a rate of 171 rubles per dollar. It was 83 before the European/US announcement about targeting the Russian central bank. Currency market formally opens tomorrow. This is brutal.

 

[odyssey06]

Kyiv is now surrounded according to reports from Ukranian side - no evacuation of refugees possible at present.

 

[odyssey06]

Ireland will not contribute financially to weapons for Ukraine, after the EU announced it would close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund weapons purchases to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets.

The country has a longstanding policy of military neutrality.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told PA news agency: “The EU Foreign Affairs Council will approve a package of assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces consisting of both lethal and non-lethal military equipment.

“The latter component will include supplies such as personal protective equipment, medical kits and fuel.

“In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, Ireland will constructively abstain from the lethal equipment elements and will not contribute financially to this aspect.

“Instead, we will provide a corresponding contribution to the provision of non-lethal support. Our understanding is that a number of Member States, including Austria and Malta, are likely to take the same approach.”

 

[Purple]

Ireland's Neutrality was hard won.

We aren’t neutral, we are unaligned. We don’t have armed forces to deploy but we are a rich Western country whose security is underpinned by the British, Americans and NATO. It is hypocritical and cowardly to benefit from that investment and risk of human life by others without even contributing financially, or backing those who we ask to fight on our behalf to defend our freedom, with our words or political capital.

Sometimes it’s about right and wrong.
Sometimes you have to pick a side.
This is one of those times.