RUSSIA DESK

SERAPHIM HANISCH—They recalled that in August 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the US Department of Defense signed an agreement on cooperation in preventing the proliferation of technologies, pathogens and knowledge that can be used to develop biological weapons. The document provides for the collection and storage of all dangerous pathogens on Ukrainian territory in laboratories funded by Washington, and also obliges, at the request of the American side, to transfer copies of dangerous strains to the United States for further research. Medvedchuk believes that the facilities in Ukraine that are subordinate to the Pentagon and carry out their assigned tasks are de facto US military bases, which is expressly prohibited by article 17 of the Ukrainian constitution.

Hua Chunying: The Canadian side, by ganging up on China with a few individuals from some embassies in China to point fingers at China’s lawful handling of relevant cases involving Canadian citizens, has grossly interfered in China’s judicial sovereignty. We deplore and reject that.
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are suspected of crimes endangering China’s national security. The Chinese judicial authorities try cases in strict accordance with law and fully protect the two individual’s litigation rights. As relevant cases involve state secrets, relevant courts didn’t hear them in open court, which is in compliance with law and thus beyond reproach. The Criminal Law of Canada also has clear provisions that Canadian judges have the right to decide if cases should be heard in private for the purpose of safeguarding national security. It is hypocritical and unjustifiable for Canada, a self-styled champion of the rule of law, to make wanton comments on China’s judicial authorities’ lawful handling of cases and practice “double standards” on legal issues.
Here is a piece of advice: it is a fool’s errand that serves no purpose at all to resort to “megaphone diplomacy” or to gang up on China.

PEPE ESCOBAR—China’s millennial diplomatic protocol establishes that discussions start around common ground – which are then extolled as being more important than disagreements between negotiating parties. That’s at the heart of the concept of “no loss of face”. Only afterwards the parties discuss their differences. Yet it was totally predictable that a bunch of amateurish, tactless and clueless Americans would smash those basic diplomatic rules to show “strength” to their home crowd, distilling the proverbial litany on Taiwan, Hong Kong, South China Sea, “genocide” of Uighurs.

THE SAKER—Their problem, however, is that they are now true US protectorates/colonies, with no real foreign policy of their own. Their top leaders, political and military, are also prostitutes, just like “New Europe”, so while they have a wealth of historical experience to draw from, they cannot act on it because of the iron grip Uncle Shmuel has on their political throats. Even France, which used to have some real independence, under such leaders as de Gaulle and Mitterrand, now is just another voiceless and clueless protectorate.

THE FINNISH BOLSHEVIK—After one hundred years of controversy, the Kronstadt rebellion continues to cause controversy and divide the left, proof of its confusing and largely falsified history, much of it intentional, notes The Finnish Bolshevik, and we agree.