Entering into another dangerous phase in world geopolitics, 70-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned today that if the European Union sanctions the Russian Federation over the legal disposition of Russian dissident Alexi Navalny, his government is prepared to break off ties with the EU. Threatening travel bans and asset freezes with members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, Lavrov issued the warning to EU politicians. Mass hysteria in the U.S. and EU has consumed foreign policy over Navalny, much like it did when Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi was killed Oct. 2, 2018 by Saudi agents at its embassy in Istanbul. What makes the Navalny case so inexplicable is that Navalny was a well-known, unapologetic Trotskyite seeking to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin. What doesn’t the U.S. and EU get about Navalny.
Yes, it’s true that a Russian hit squad most likely affiliated with Russia’s FSB [formerly KGB], poisoned Navalny in Tomsk, Siberia Aug. 20, prompting his emergency airlift to German for life-saving treatment. No one knows for sure that the poisoning was ordered by Putin or some other faction in-or-out of the Kremlin. Like the Khashoggi targeted assassination, there’s also no proof that the assassination order came from 45-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. Whatever the reason behind the U.S. and EU attack on Putin, the EU, especially Germany, stands to lose 40% of its heating oil and 30% of its petroleum if Brussels moves ahead with punitive economic sanctions. Navalny’s plight, whether he gets out of jail sooner-or-later, is of little consequence to the EU, whose strong business ties to Moscow have gone on for decades.
Putin reacted harshly to accusations by EU leaders that he ordered the Novichok, [a banned Soviet-era neurotoxin] poisoning of Navalny, violating the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention ban on using deadly substances. EU officials recall the March 4, 2018 of Novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, U.K. EU officials look at the use of Novichok and draw no other conclusion than it was ordered by Putin or some faction in the Kremlin. Whatever the situation, it’s still not enough to destabilize world geopolitics with Moscow considering severing ties with the EU. “We proceed from the fact that we’re ready [for that]. In the event that we again see sanctions imposed in some sectors that create risks for our economy, including in the most sensitive spheres,” Lavrov said. Before the madness sweeping from Washington to Brussels continues, the brakes must be pumped.
Russian has done nothing with Navalny other than deal with an internal dispute with a known dissident calling for the overthrow of the Russian government. However frustrated Russians are with Putin, it’s a Russian matter, not one for the U.S. and EU to resolve. “We don’t want to isolate ourselves from global life, but we have to be ready for that. If you want peace, prepare for war,” Lavrov said, serving notice to the U.S. and EU that Russia will not tolerate interference. Germany has a lot to lose if Putin pulls the plug on the $11 billion Nordstream 2 pipeline. But the world’s geopolitical balance depends on Russia to help the developing world in Africa and Asia and parts between. Britain’s prestigious medical journal Lancet confirmed today that Russia Sputnik V Covi-19 vaccine is 92% effective and will go a long way to help eradicate the novel coronavirus global pandemic.
What kind of madness is going on in the U.S. and EU over an inconsequential Russian Trotskyite, calling for the end of the Putin government? Does the U.S. and EU really wants to interfere with Russia’s internal politics? Whatever happens with Navalny should not derail the fragile geopolitical world with many competing interests around the globe. Putin has the reach and resources to improve global stability if he’s part of the international community. Lavrov is right warning the West that they can only push so hard without repercussions. “These statements are really disconcerting and incomprehensible,” said Germany’s Foreign Ministry. What’s “disconcerting and incomprehensible” letting Navalny spoil all the good will established between the Russian Federation and West. Lavrov wants the U.S. and EU to come to their senses before sending the world to the brink.
U.S. and EU diplomats must get a grip before it’s too late, stopping the madness of sanctions on the Russian Federation because of its prosecution and sentencing of dissident Alexi Navalny. Whatever form of government you call Russia, it’s not the business of the U.S. and EU to undermine the Russian Federation, regardless of sympathies for Navalny or any other anti-Kremlin dissident. “If the EU goes down that path then yes, we should be ready, because you have to be ready for the worst,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. When the U.S and EU comes to its senses, they’ll realize they have far too much to loose to let the world spiral into a new Cold War where diplomacy, reason and common ground ends. If the U.S. and EU want more global stability, they need to stop the madness of sanctioning Russia for an internal matter best left for the Russian Federation,
