Thumpalumpacus
Major
No nation or group of nations should change its foreign policy to appease a bully. I'd thought this lesson got learned 80 years ago ....
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Latvia and Estonia directly border Russia and so does the north tip of Norway, all NATO countries so I don't know where your "gentlemen's agreement" comes in. It would be a mistake for the west to say NOW to the bare-chested blubberhead that Ukraine will never join. He gets what he wants that way and can tell all of his people and his cronies that the invasion, er, sorry, "special military operation", was worth it.
Tsar to vassal. I'm liking it.I saw an interesting evaluation by a retired official or officer who pointed out in 1863 Russia took Manchuria and surrounding areas from China. Now that Putin has become indebted to XII (I call him eleven) China may want that territory back. With the Russian military weakened and now short of equipment, with Russia's low GDP rebuilding the military may take a long time.
What Ukraine needs is another nation, clearly one not in NATO to actively join the fight in Ukraine. Moldova is an obvious contender since they'll be next if Ukraine falls. It's a damn shame Belarus has chosen the wrong side as they could have stood with Ukraine - together Russia wouldn't, apparently, stand a chance.No nation or group of nations should change its foreign policy to appease a bully. I'd thought this lesson got learned 80 years ago ....
Excellent!Regarding China picking up the slack for Russian sales of petroleum products:
1) The Russians would have to finish their pipeline to China first, no?
2) Finding a shipping line that wouldn't be worried about sanctions, and be willing to pay the higher insurance rates such business would incur, might be tough sledding.
Moldova is a former territory of Romania, but they are and want to remain, neutral.What Ukraine needs is another nation, clearly one not in NATO to actively join the fight in Ukraine. Moldova is an obvious contender since they'll be next if Ukraine falls. It's a damn shame Belarus has chosen the wrong side as they could have stood with Ukraine - together Russia wouldn't, apparently, stand a chance.
The EU have no army and defence is on a state by state basis.Does the EU have a mutual-defense clause along the lines of the NATO pact?
Ukraine wanted to remain neutral as well.Moldova want(s) to remain, neutral. If Putin tries to take Moldova he'll have to answer to Romania….
Ah, you've played Diplomacy, too.I saw an interesting evaluation by a retired official or officer who pointed out in 1863 Russia took Manchuria and surrounding areas from China. Now that Putin has become indebted to XII (I call him eleven) China may want that territory back. With the Russian military weakened and now short of equipment, with Russia's low GDP rebuilding the military may take a long time.
Does the EU have a mutual-defense clause along the lines of the NATO pact?
You sure? April 2020 (mid Covid) numbers had imports from Russia at 408k barrels per day.Regarding American imports of Russian oil, it's about 600k bbl in the last year (12,600 bbl/month, so about 607k bbl per annum), not per day, as posted above. Source: U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports
It's my understanding that this oil is imported for refinement and re-export, rather than American use. I'm not sure how that affects Russian finances, but it would seem to hurt countries downstream if my understanding about re-export is correct.
You sure? April 2020 (mid Covid) numbers had imports from Russia at 408 barrels per day.
You sure? April 2020 (mid Covid) numbers had imports from Russia at 408 barrels per day.
The April 2020 number quotes the 2019 average barrels per day and it is indeed 408000. 12600 per month sounds wrong for a country that imports 7million bpd.
That's why I was questioning it and wonder if your quoted 12600 barrels per month should be in thousands.Edited as above.
I don't understand why the same agency would report such wildly varying figures. 408,000 bbls/day equals about 149 million barrels per year, or about 12+ million bbls/mo.
ETA: The only reason I can think for the discrepancy would be the difference between domestic American use and refining for reshipment.