Billionaire George Soros is concerned about the situation in Turkey following Friday's failed coup attempt. Warning that Ankara could soon be moving closer to Moscow, the billionaire suggested that Ukraine may now be the EU's last line of defense against an array of threats.
Soros Says Ukraine Could Become Giant Refugee Camp for EU in Turkey's Place
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160722/1043451734/soros-ukraine-turkey-refugees-commentary.html
Interviewed by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Soros, the billionaire philanthropist known in Eastern Europe for financing color revolutions, warned that the present waning of the migration crisis in Europe is temporary, and that the continent cannot hope to preserve the current situation indefinitely.
The business magnate emphasized that the number of migrants from Muslim countries is set to rise, and that the ratio of migrants to Europeans will worsen accordingly. He noted that Europe's ongoing migration crisis is one of the reasons the European Union is in "mortal danger," and that this problem must be resolved as quickly as possible.
The failed coup attempt in Turkey also increases the level of uncertainty, according to Soros, and could affect Ankara's agreement with Brussels on keeping migrants out of Europe. In any case, Soros doesn't believe that the EU should build its refugee policy on the basis of this agreement.
"One thing is clear," Soros said. "Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now seeking some kind of reconciliation with Russia and Vladimir Putin. I do not know what his motives are. Perhaps he wants Turkey to become a balancing factor in relations between Russia and Europe. In any case, the agreement between the EU and Turkey is a very weak foundation on which to build the EU's refugee policy."
At the same time, commenting on the possible solutions to the threats facing the EU project, Soros reiterated that one of the countries that could help rescue the bloc is Ukraine. "The EU must defend itself from external enemies and recognize that Ukraine is the most important resource at its disposal for ensuring its security."
Russian commentators didn't know quite what to make of Soros' remarks, except to say that what the billionaire was implying was using Ukraine as a pawn, perhaps all the way up to turning the country into a giant dumping ground for Middle Eastern refugees in Turkey's place. That country presently holds about 2.6 million refugees from Syria.
Svetlana Gomzikova, a columnist for Russia's Svobodnaya Pressa online newspaper, recalled that this wasn't the first time that Ukraine has been presented as Europe's 'last line of defense' from external threats.
"Generally, if Europe has no one else to defend it against Europe, it's not really in an enviable position," the journalist wrote. At the same time, she added, "Soros' commentary repeats almost word for word the declarations of Ukrainian politicians when they travel to the West to ask for money."
In late May, at a ceremony where the EU flag was raised over Ukraine's Presidential Administration, President Poroshenko declared that "today it is us, Ukrainians, who are defending Europe from barbarism, defending it against the tyranny, terrorism, aggression, and militarism which hangs over our continent."
"Soros," Gomzikova suggested, "likely understands the 'threat' to Europe to consist of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. But how Ukraine will be able to save the Europeans from this phenomenon is completely incomprehensible."
Asked to comment on Soros' pseudo-proposal, political commentator Armen Gasparyan told the online newspaper that in a situation where Ukraine is overrun by armed ultranationalist volunteer battalions, many of them now officially integrated into the country's security services, it's unlikely that these forces will simply accept the idea of placing hundreds of thousands of non-European refugees in their country.
As for Soros' comments, Gasparyan suggested that the billionaire is simply protecting his business assets. "He has invested huge sums in Ukraine through his various [civil society] funds, going back all the way to the early 1990s. And the events of 2014 were a golden period for Soros – his Klondike."
How can Soros protect his assets? Only through promotion. Because there is nothing else for Ukraine to offer Europe today; its industry is destroyed, the country is in a dire economic and political situation, and continues to be in a state of war…What's left? What's left, forgive me for being rude, is to create a reservation."
Still, Gasparyan noted, if that is what Soros was implying with his commentary, it's unlikely that his plan will succeed. "Because when Ukraine's population finds out that someone intends to move half a million Arabs into their country, it will result in an immediate social explosion. Integrating even ten people into a society with very different beliefs, a different religion, a different weltanschauung, is incredibly difficult. And here we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people."
Ultimately, the commentator recalled, Soros' main goal through all his initiatives is to preserve and grow his capital. "What happens in Ukraine – in Poltava, Sumy, or Kherson, is not his concern. He's not going to live there in twenty years, or have to sort through the ethnic clashes which would be guaranteed to take place there" if his plans materialized.
In any case, Gasparyan noted, European officials are unlikely to agree to such plans anyway. "Europe is already exhausted by Ukraine," and will not be willing to finance refugees' presence on Ukrainian territory. "If the EU has no money for Italy, Portugal, Greece and others, where is it going to find money for Ukraine?" the commentator concluded.
In June, the President of Ukraine earned more than 30,000 hryvnias.
Poroshenko's Salary Grew Three Times in Six Months
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/07/poroshenkos-salary-grew-three-times-in.html
The salary of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in June amounted to UAH 30,980,85. This was reported by Ukranews, referring to the response received from the State Administration.
It was reported that according to the regulations, the salary of the President, which is 140% of the wage of the Prime Minister, is paid in the total amount without detailing its components and is indexed in accordance with legislation.
As was reported by Korrespondent.net, in January 2016 Petro Poroshenko earned 11,620 UAH.
Comfortable conditions for the Russian opposition should be created in Ukraine so that they can feel at home. Such an opinion was expressed by the head of the Radical Party of Ukraine, Oleg Lyashko, while commenting on the publication of the “Friends of Ukraine 2016” list.
"Make yourself at home": Ukrainian Radical leader invites Russian opposition
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/07/make-yourself-at-home-ukrainian-radical.html
The head Ukrainian Radical expressed words of gratitude to all opposition figures in Russia who support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and are telling the “truth” about the situation in the country.
“Everyone who supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, our independence, and our sovereignty are without a doubt our allies. We are sincerely grateful that they have the strength to tell the truth about the situation in Ukraine,” he stated.
Lyashko urged Ukraine to help these people in any way and, if necessary, offer them shelter.
“Everyone in Ukraine feels free. And Ukraine’s friends should also feel themselves at home in our country,” the radical asserted.
The list of "Friends of Ukraine" included: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Ryzhkov, Grigory Yavlinsky, Mikhail Kasyanov, Garry Kasparov, Andrey Makarevich, Ilya Ponomarev, Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Yashin, Oleg Kashin, Alexei Navalny, Ksenia Sobchak, Liya Akhedzhakova, Viktor Shenderovich, Boris Akunin, Alexander Nevzorov, Evgeny Chirikov, Matvey Ganapolsky, Mikhail Kozyrev, Dmitry Oreshkin, Konstantin Borovoy, Gennady Gudkov, Artemy Troitsky and Yuri Shevchuk.
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has appealed to the UN with an official letter in which he requests that pressure be put on Ukraine in order to prevent the resumption of full-scale hostilities in Donbass. In Churkin’s opinion, Kiev is preparing a military operation, and his letter cites data on Ukrainian security forces’ shelling of civilian residential areas in Donbass “within the last week alone.” The number of these bombardments has grown dramatically.
Churkin writes letter to UN: A final warning for Ukraine
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/07/churkin-writes-letter-to-un-final.html
Churkin is known for his professionalism and poise. Obviously, only the most extreme circumstances could have compelled him take such an extraordinary step. Moreover, this is not the first appeal by such a high-ranking Russian diplomat to international and foreign institutions. The Foreign Ministry of Russia’s State Secretary Grigory Karasin already met with the ambassadors of France and Germany on this subject and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone talk with the presidents of the US, France, and the German Chancellor. According to Karl Marx’s famous formula, quantity turns into quality. In our case, the number of shellings of Donbass’ cities by the UAF and neo-Nazi battalions risks turning into a new, full-scale war.
It should be admitted that Kiev’s tactics are quite effective. Shellings cause tangible losses while also exerting psychological pressure on the republics. The purpose of such frequent attacks is provoking return fire by the DPR and LPR’s armies. Then Kiev would accuse the Donbass republics (and of course Russia) of tearing up the Minsk Agreements, and call upon the international community to intervene in the conflict. By “international community,” of course, is meant NATO. At the NATO summit in Warsaw, words of support for Kiev against “Russian aggression” were heard along with promises to provide military and technological assistance. It is possible that these and other measures of support are being prepared. Most likely, this is not Ukraine’s accession to NATO, but NATO’s accession to Ukraine, i.e., an actual occupation of Ukrainian territory by the alliance. This could come about in the form of establishing permanent military bases and upgrading equipment and manpower.
My friends from the military and political circles of the DPR report that the sheer force of UAF attacks is reminiscent of the most difficult days of summer, 2014. But the republics are not afraid of fire. On the contrary, they are waiting for when Ukraine will go on a new offensive in order to then bury the Ukrainian army on Donbass land. Ukraine has already been given two chances to stop (and survive), but has not taken any of these. Churkin’s letter is perhaps one of the last warnings for Ukraine.
Товарищи ее поправят, вот и предложение уже созрело.
