Sunday 16 November 2014

Tension and cuddles at the G20 meeting in Brisbane

Early this morning I was alerted by a Radio NZ report that Vladimir Putin was skipping a session at the G-20 in Brisbane and leaving early because of presure from western leaders. It reflected the BBC by saying that Putin “cut an isolated figure” but failed to report that these reports are being denied by the Russians.

I doubt if Putin is going anywhere soon.


Putin plans to leave G20 early: report
Reports Vladimir Putin is leaving Brisbane's G20 Summit early due to pressure over the Ukraine crisis are "nonsense", the Russian President's press secretary says.





15 November, 2014


On Saturday night Bloomberg.com said Mr Putin was intending to skip an official G20 lunch on Sunday and bring forward a media conference before leaving for home.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out that Mr Putin was leaving early. However he rejected reports Mr Putin's possible departure was linked to ongoing scrutiny over the situation in the Ukraine.

"This is full nonsense," he told Russian state news agency TASS.

"Negotiators are raising this issue constantly.

"This is an ordinary routine situation."

Mr Putin's response to the downing of commercial flight MH17 and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis have overshadowed his attendance at the G20 summit.

Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott famously vowed to "shirt front" Mr Putin over the MH17 incident, in which 27 Australians died.

While there have been simmering tensions between the pair, they publicly shook hands and later posed with koalas for the cameras.

Mr Putin arrived in Brisbane late on Friday night.



Canada's PM To Putin: "I Guess I'll Shake Your Hand..." Putin's Response "It Was Not Positive"


15 November, 2014


Following last week's (humiliating for the US) APEC meeting in Beijing, in which the BRIC nations clearly distanced themselves from the "developed world" and the topic of the "Russian invasion of Ukraine" was largely missing as it is clearly not in the interest of the Pacific nations to warmonger when the two key nations, Russia and China are obviously not complying with the western media 'straight to populism' narrative, it was time for another major world summit, this time in the quite "western" Brisbane, Australia.

It was here that the G-7 part of the G-20 nations seized the opportunity to quickly pivot against Moscow and remind Europe that the reason why Europe is in a triple-dip recession (if one removes the GDP "boost" from hookers and blow) is because of Russia's "take over" of east Ukraine, ignoring the reality that it was the US State Department's Victoria Nuland that incited the Kiev coup and the west that imposed the "costly" sanctions on Russia which have hurt Germany and Europe just as badly. This was all largely lost on the local, as outside the summit, Ukrainian Australians staged an anti-Putin protest, wearing headbands reading "Putin, Killer".

It was a full court press from the start: as the NYT reports, "at a speech at a university in Brisbane, Mr. Obama called Russia’s aggression against Ukraine a “threat to the world,as we saw in the appalling shootdown of MH-17, a tragedy that took so many innocent lives, among them your fellow citizens,” a reference to the Australian citizens and residents who were killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 went down in eastern Ukraine.

As your ally and friend, America shares the grief of these Australian families, and we share the determination of your nation for justice and accountability,” Mr. Obama said."

This charade was set to continue Sunday, when leaders from the European Union planned to meet with Mr. Obama to discuss Ukraine, among other issues, said Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council. He said the European Union was committed to finding a political solution to the crisis.
We will continue to use all the diplomatic tools, including sanctions, at our disposal,” he said.

Indeed, as Reuters adds "Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturdaythat he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine."

But perhaps the best confirmation that all the G-20 meeting was nothing but a giant populist photo-op comes from Bloomberg which reports that "Russian President Vladimir Putin got a blunt message when he approached Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a handshake at today’s Group of 20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.


I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine,” Harper told Putin, the prime minister’s spokesman Jason MacDonald said in an e-mail.

Putin’s response to the comment wasn’t positive, MacDonald said, without elaborating. Putin and Harper talked briefly, according to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Pskov.

Indeed Harper told Putin that Russia should leave Ukraine,” Peskov said by phone today in Brisbane. “Putin told him that this is impossible because they are not there.”

Asked about the tone of the meeting between the two leaders, Peskov said “it was within the bounds of decency.”

Say no more.


Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, walks past Canadian Prime Minister 
Stephen Harper, left, during a welcoming ceremony at the G-20 summit in Brisbane.

Yet at the end of the day, captioned photo-op or not, one wonders how much of all the front-page drama is even remotely real when every single time the west goes on the "offensive" against Putin with "costs" just to have a convenient scapegoat for Europe's ongoing depression, one hears in the back of one head the following exchange:

Obama: "This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility."

Medvedev: "I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir"


Here is the view from "Pravda on the Thames"

Ukraine crisis: Russia under pressure at G20 summit



BBC,
15 November, 2014


Russia has been rebuked by Western leaders about its role in the Ukraine crisis, at a G20 summit in Australia.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he needed to "get out of Ukraine".
US President Barack Obama said Moscow's "aggression" in Ukraine was a "threat to the world", while the UK threatened more sanctions unless Russia stopped "destabilising" its neighbour.
The two-day summit in Brisbane is focusing on promoting economic growth.
World leaders are expected to elaborate on plans agreed by G20 finance ministers in February to boost global growth by 2% in five years.
Frosty handshake
However, Saturday - the first of the two-day summit - was dominated by Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting government forces in eastern regions.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russia of sending military forces across the border, something the Kremlin denies.
The EU imposed sanctions when Russia annexed Crimea in March and has added further measures since.
Before the G20 summit began, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said there would "have to be a very different relationship" between Europe and Russia if "we continue to see Russian troops" inside Ukraine, adding that there was "the potential for further sanctions".
Mr Cameron later held a private meeting with Mr Putin. The two discussed "rebuilding relations", Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian president faced a frosty reception from Canada's Mr Harper.
"I'll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine," Mr Harper told him, the Canadian leader's spokesman said.
President Obama said the US was at the forefront of "opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world".
If President Putin expected a warm diplomatic welcome at the G20 under the blazing Brisbane sun, he was disappointed; he was in fact subjected to something more akin to a severe Siberian winter.
The West believes Russia is behind the escalation of tension in eastern Ukraine - a conflict that has already cost 4,000 lives. Tensions have also been increased by Russian military activity around Nato's borders, with several instances of fighter planes being scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers will consider whether to extend sanctions against Russia - there are already restrictions on the energy, defence and finance sectors as well as travel bans and asset freezes on individuals.
President Putin denies he is directly involved in Ukraine, and dismisses sanctions as pointless. It all amounts to a standoff between the West and Russia - and little sign of any thaw in prospect.
The BBC's John Donnison in Brisbane says President Putin cut something of an isolated figure among the world's powerbrokers.
Russian officials said he was planning to leave the summit on Sunday ahead of schedule, but gave no reasons for the move.
Meeting on the margins of the summit on Saturday, Mr Putin urged his French counterpart Francois Hollande to join him to defuse tensions between the two countries over Ukraine.
France has withheld the delivery of two warships to the Russian navy over its actions in Ukraine.
'Message of hope'
Meanwhile, President Obama said Asia's security must not be based on intimidation of small nations by big ones, but on mutual alliances.
He did not mention China explicitly but he warned of the dangers posed by territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing's actions have raised concern among its neighbours.
US President Obama: "Choices are conflict or co-operation, oppression or liberty"
Mr Obama said there was "no question" over his commitment to Asia-Pacific allies, referring to US efforts to strengthen strategic ties with the region.
Opening the summit, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he wanted to use the event to reassure people about the direction of the world's economy, with a "message of hope and optimism".
He said job creation, identifying tax cheats and strengthening the global economy would all be discussed.
His government had tried to keep climate change off the agenda, despite calls from campaigners.
In other developments, G20 leaders released a statement in which they vowed to do all they could to "extinguish" the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
It said that members state were committed to do what was necessary "to ensure the international effort can extinguish the outbreak and address its medium-term economic and humanitarian costs".

RT has opted for the softer, cuddlier aspects of the meeting - perhaps sensibly waitingк to see what comes out of the meeting before doing the serious reporting.  The promised 'shirt-fronting' did not happen, possibly, partly explained by the fact that Abbott has his own worries - being isolated over policy towards climate change

'It’s called a koala, Tony': Twitter explodes after Abbott trades 'shirtfronting' Putin for cuddly joint pic

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they meet Koalas before the start of the first G20 meeting in Brisbane.(AFP Photo / Andrew Taylo)
Australia's

15 November, 2014

Twitter users have had a field day with Australian PM Tony Abbott’s claim that he would “shirtfront” Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit over the MH17 crash – because the leaders' face-to-face encounter actually resulted in a...koala cuddle.

Yes, that’s right. Social media is abuzz with photos of Abbott and Putin snuggling up to the world’s cutest marsupial, even though previous statements had almost guaranteed that a scuffle was in the work.

When the soft, furry critter sunk its claws into Putin’s suit, the Australian PM seemed to feel quite soft and fuzzy inside himself; a smackdown shoulder charge appeared to be the last thing on his mind.

Abbott’s remark came back in October, after he told journalists that he would “shirtfront” the Russian president on the sidelines of the G20 summit over the MH17 tragedy.

I am going to shirtfront Mr. Putin – you bet I am – I am going to be saying to Mr. Putin [that] Australians were murdered, they were murdered by Russian-backed rebels,” Abbott said.

Twitter users wondered why the promised “shirtfront” was no where to be found.

View image on Twitter
So that's what a shirtfronting looks like.
View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
"Am I going to give Putin a cute koala to cuddle? You bet you are...you bet I am." A man of his word.
View image on Twitter
and spend Koala-T time together...
View image on Twitter
Australian PM Tony Abbott delegates shirtfronting to the koalas.

'Shirtfront' is a football term for a front-on chest bump or rough handling aimed at knocking a rival backwards to the ground. It is a “reportable offence and considered illegal,” according to the Australian Football Rules website.

Abbott has faced his fair share of criticism both online and in the media lately. Most recently, he came under fire for stating that before colonization in 1788, the country was “nothing except bushes” – apparently forgetting about the country's indigenous peoples.

Meanwhile, the only “shirtfronting” to take place happened on Friday at the official greeting for the G20 summit in Brisbane – but it wasn't by Abbott; it was by Canadian PM Stephen Harper.

Putin approached the Canadian PM with his hand extended, which Harper shook while simultaneously accusing Putin of sending troops to Ukraine.

Well I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine,” Harper said, as cited by his spokesman Jason MacDonald.

Who knew "" was Russian for "group hug with koalas" ?
According to the Kremlin’s press service, Putin’s reply was that “unfortunately it is impossible – because we are not there.”

Who knew "" was Russian for "group hug with koalas" ?


Western media is closely following every step of the Russian president at the G20 summit. After his meetings with British PM David Cameron and France’s President Francois Hollande, during which the Ukraine crisis was discussed, 

Reuters cited “an unnamed source in the Russian delegation” claiming that Putin planned to leave the summit early after Western leaders' pressure over the Ukraine crisis.

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied those reports, saying they were simply wrong.

"The G20 summit ends tomorrow [on Sunday] and Vladimir Putin will surely leave it – when all the work is finished,” he told Kommersant FM radio.


"Putin cut an isolated figure" says the BBC.  He doesn't look very isolated here, meeting with the leaders of the BRICS who are rapidly becoming more significant economically than the western bloc.

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