The World Blog by humble servant.

The Russian military has presented documents showing Ukraine’s interest in using drones to deliver weaponized pathogens developed in US-funded biolabs. Names of US officials involved in the biolabs projects, and the role the current US president’s son played in the program, were also made public during the special briefing on Thursday. One of the key pieces of evidence was a letter from the Ukrainian company Motor Sich to the Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Makina – makers of the Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci UAVs – dated December 15, 2021. The Ukrainians specifically asked if the drones could carry 20 liters of aerosolized payload to a range of 300 kilometers – putting them in range of a dozen major Russian cities and almost all of Belarus. “We are talking about the development by the Kiev regime of technical means of delivery and use of biological weapons with the possibility of their use against the Russian Federation,” said Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russi...

Pakistani PM Imran Khan ‘accidentally’ named the United States as the culprit when he claimed “a foreign country I can’t name” was eager to see him removed from his post via a no-confidence vote. “America has – oh, not America but a foreign country I can’t name” sent the leader the message in an effort to meddle in his country’s politics, Khan said in a televised address on Thursday, after a no-confidence vote against him was rescheduled. Khan had received a briefing letter from the Pakistani ambassador to the US that included a recording of a senior official from Washington implying the relationship between the two countries would improve in Khan’s absence, local media reported on Thursday. “They say that ‘our anger will vanish if Imran Khan loses this no-confidence vote’,” Khan claimed, describing the contents of the letter. Pakistan, like India, won't bow to Western pressure – PM Khan US State Department spokesperson Ned Price insisted there was “no truth” to the allegation...

US President Joe Biden unveiled a two-pronged plan on Thursday to lower gas prices by increasing supply and decreasing demand, vowing to lead the country to a future of clean energy while soothing its immediate wounds by unleashing millions of barrels from its strategic reserves. A “use it or lose it” policy would see Washington punish US oil companies by charging them fees for federal leases they hadn’t drilled on in years, Biden explained. Oil and gas companies are also obligated to use what they have, the president said, pointing to 9,000 unused but approved production permits for federal lands, amounting to more than a million unused acres that US oil and gas companies supposedly have the right to exploit. All Russian exports could soon be in rubles Read more All Russian exports could soon be in rubles If they don’t use the land, Biden suggested, they should pay up. “For US oil companies that are recording their largest profits in years, they can put those profits to productive ...

The Ukraine ‘aid’ bill that’s actually a license to kill and defraud Russian servicemen are pictured by military equipment captured by Russian troops during Russia's military operation in Ukraine, near the village of Huta-Mezhyhirska, in Ukraine. © Sputnik / Russian Defence Ministry On March 15, US President Joe Biden signed a bill approving a staggering $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine. Heavily promoted in advance as a vital lifeline to Kiev that would safeguard citizens, defend refugees, and protect democracy, references to the supposedly landmark move immediately vanished from the mainstream media following its White House approval, and have remained absent ever since. One explanation for this informational deficit could well be that in reality, the legislation serves no tangible benevolent ends of any kind, in fact providing an effective blank cheque for proxy war, and untrammelled embezzlement by US government agencies and contractors. This much is certain from a precursory ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Europe of a new influx of migrants that, in his opinion, will “inevitably” follow the food crisis. Discussing on Thursday the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine, Putin criticized the behavior of some Western politicians, who are allegedly prepared to sacrifice their citizens’ interests in order to “enjoy the good graces of their overseas master and overlord,” branding such an approach as “the opposite of populism.” “​​People are urged to eat less, put on more clothes, and use less heating, give up on travel – presumably for the benefit of the people who are demanding this kind of voluntary deprivation as a sign of some abstract North Atlantic solidarity,” Putin said at a meeting on air transportation and aircraft manufacturing on Thursday. He underlined that Moscow has been seeing “such questionable approaches and actions” in economic, energy, and food policies for more than ...

As part of their unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia, the US and its allies announced last week they were moving to block financial transactions with Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) that involve gold, aiming to further restrict the country’s ability to use its international reserves. RT talked to Sergey Kopylov, a junior partner at consulting company BSC and a lead researcher at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, to find out what it means and whether Western countries could really freeze Russian bullion holdings. Sanctions mean that the sale or purchase of gold by Russia is prohibited in a number of countries, such as the US, UK, Switzerland, Europe, and others. In addition, they prohibit the circulation of gold bars produced in Russia starting from March 7, Kopylov said. “Potentially other jurisdictions may also follow the same sanctions. However, to date, all the countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia have refrained from supporting the sanctions regime. Thu...

China has decided to restrict visas for a number of US officials in response to similar measures introduced by Washington earlier this month over alleged human rights abuses. "The Chinese side decided to impose retaliatory visa restrictions on certain US officials who spread lies on the issue of human rights, imposed sanctions against China and harmed China's interests," stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Thursday. Wang said the move was made "to protect the sovereignty, security and development interests of the PRC. The spokesperson claims that the US used, what he called, the false pretext of human rights issues to interfere in the internal affairs of China, discredit Beijing, and put pressure on Chinese officials. Wang stated that such actions are a serious violation of the basic principles of international law and international relations. China’s foreign ministry has so far not confirmed which exact officials will fall under these new...

Russian forces have almost completely destroyed the Ukrainian defense industry and are “finishing off” the civilian one, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Alexey Arestovich, said. Commenting on the most recent round of the negotiations between Kiev and Moscow, which took place on Tuesday in Istanbul, Arestovich underlined that any “large-scale military aggression and peace agreement are always compromises between the sides.” “Because both sides suffer losses. If you think that we do not suffer losses, then you are deeply mistaken. They have practically destroyed our military industry and in many ways are finishing it off. And in many ways they are finishing off the civilian one, deliberately destroying it,” he explained. Ukraine ready to fulfill key Russian demands – MoscowREAD MORE: Ukraine ready to fulfill key Russian demands – Moscow He claimed that Russia’s goal is to reduce Ukraine to a state when “no one would be interested” in it, “like a destroyed territ...

Russian gas buyers from “unfriendly countries” will be obliged to open a ruble account in an unsanctioned Russian bank, RBC reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the new payment mechanism. “The proposed scheme requires the mandatory opening of accounts in Russian rubles in a Russian bank by a foreign buyer of Russian gas,” a government source said. “The payment from the buyer to Gazprom will have to be made exclusively in rubles.” A source close to Gazprom has confirmed to RBC the structure of the new payment plan. The deadline set by the Russian government for switching to rubles in gas payments is April 1

Germany is “100%” prepared to provide some form of security guarantees to Ukraine, while the US government is still “in constant discussion” with Kiev, according to officials from both countries. The comments came, on Wednesday, after leaked proposals from Russian-Ukrainian peace talks appeared to suggest an arrangement where Moscow and various Western capitals would agree to promise Kiev protection if it agreed to de-militarise. “If guarantees are needed, then Germany will be there and give guarantees,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock told state broadcaster ARD on Wednesday, saying Kiev could rely on her country’s support. Baerbock said Berlin was “in full solidarity, by 100%” with Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday that Berlin had a “general willingness” to give security guarantees — but a government spokesperson did not specify whether this would include military assistance. Ukraine ready to fulfi...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday that his country was offered to serve as a guarantor of the prospective peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. This week, the parties held another round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey, to end Moscow’s military campaign in the neighboring country. Italy has been “requested by Russia and Ukraine to become a guarantor of the implementation of negotiations terms,” Draghi told reporters at a press conference in Rome. “In fact, the positions of the sides have come a little closer,” the prime minister said, but added that he was “cautious because there is still a lot of skepticism.” “We all wish to see a glimmer of light,” Draghi said. He told Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on Wednesday that his country was ready to contribute to the peace process, according to the Italian government. US and Germany reveal attitudes to Ukrainian security guaranteesREAD MORE: US and Germany reveal attitudes to Ukrainian security guara...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that any NATO military presence in Central Asia would undermine the security of the Russian-led CSTO alliance, in the region, and would not be tolerated by Moscow. The minister made his comment at an Afghanistan-themed summit in Tunxi, China. “We believe it’s unacceptable to have any US and NATO military infrastructure, or their Afghan helpers, on the territory of neighboring states, especially in Central Asia,” Lavrov said, adding that “such designs go against the security interests of our countries.” He added that the existence of Western military sites would contradict the interests of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which has six members, all former Soviet states. The Russian official also called for “extreme caution” regarding the settlement of Afghan refugees in states bordering their homeland. He argued countries should consider the “high risks” for their own security and the region as a whole. Rus...

The Indian government is reportedly considering Moscow’s proposal to turn to the Russian payment system, which allows direct rupee-ruble transfers in bilateral trade. The mechanism developed by the Russian central bank is expected to boost commerce between the two countries by avoiding dollar-denominated trade, and allow the world’s third biggest oil consumer to continue purchases from Russia, bypassing Western sanctions. The scheme involves rupee-ruble-denominated payments via Russia’s messaging system, SPFS. The final decision is expected to come after a two-day visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to India, according to unnamed people with knowledge of the matter, as quoted by Bloomberg. Lavrov’s visit to India is scheduled for Thursday, and Russian central bank officials will reportedly visit the country next week to discuss the details. According to Bloomberg’s sources, the Reserve Bank of India regularly meets with executives from the country’s banking system to d...

Sanctions against Russia could undermine the global dominance of the US dollar, according to Gita Gopinath, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund. “The dollar would remain the major global currency even in that landscape but fragmentation at a smaller level is certainly quite possible,” Gopinath said in an interview with the Financial Times on Wednesday. She added that some countries are already renegotiating the currency in which they are paid for trade. Russia and India are currently preparing a rupee-ruble mechanism which would allow them to trade in national currencies while evading the dollar. According to Gopinath, the radical restrictive measures introduced by Western countries amid Russia’s military operation in Ukraine could lead to the emergence of small currency blocs based on trade between individual groups of countries. Furthermore, the use of currencies other than the dollar or the euro in global trade would lead to further diversificat...

During NATO’s US-led intervention in Iraq, then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair played the role of shotgun-riding sidekick to then-US President George W. Bush when the prime minister was in the best position to mitigate the headlong rush into war. Now, the role of enabler in the conflict ginned up by NATO against Russia in Ukraine goes to French President Emmanuel Macron. And it’s the people of Europe – including French citizens who are set to head to the polls on April 10 and 24 to decide whether Macron deserves a second five-year presidential mandate – who are on the verge of realizing just how much Macron’s kowtowing to the US is going to personally cost them. In February 2019, Foreign Policy magazine claimed that “Macron is going full De Gaulle,” and that, “France’s president is pushing around Britain, Germany, and Italy – and going back to his country’s foreign-policy roots.” If it truly had been the case that Macron was acting like the legendary French president and former World Wa...

Washington has eased sanctions on Russian agricultural products, including fertilizers, placed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine. The move aims to protect US farmers from a shortage of chemical products as food prices in the country continue to soar. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury recently published a new general license dated March 24, which effectively removed restrictions on the import of Russian fertilizers. The document authorized transactions relating to the exportation and re-exportation of agricultural commodities, banned last month by Washington’s ‘Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations’. The list of agro-related products now exempt from sanctions includes food for humans, live animals, vitamins and minerals, food additives and supplements, seeds for food crops, fertilizers, and reproductive materials. READ MORE: US ramps up imports of ‘banned’ Russian oil Exemptions also cover medicine, medical devices, software updat...

The Kremlin said on Thursday that claims of President Vladimir Putin being misled by his own military only prove how little the US really knows about Russia. The response came after the White House and the Pentagon suggested that officials were afraid to speak the truth to Putin about the performance of the Russian Army in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was dismayed by claims that advisers have misled the president. As it turns out, neither the State Department nor the Pentagon have the real information of what is going on in the Kremlin. They simply don’t understand President Putin, don’t understand the decision-making mechanism, and don’t understand the work we do. “It’s not only regrettable, but also raises concerns because such lack of understanding leads to wrong, rash decisions with bad consequences,” Peskov said. The comment came after Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that Putin “has not been fully informed by his Minist...