Russia and Belarus clarified issues of military cooperation
Shoigu’s visit to Minsk took place against the backdrop of mixed signals from the West
Photo site mil.ru
The aircraft of the Tu-214 squadron with the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu on board flew to Minsk on the afternoon of December 3, a few hours after the publication by the European Commission of the decision on the coordination of Western European countries on the maximum price for buying oil in Russia at $60 per barrel.
It remains to be seen whether these events will carry each other. However, it is known that revenues from oil and gas exports account for almost a fifth of our country’s gross domestic product. Attempts by foreign players to comply with the terms of the sale of black gold are consumed by Moscow as an infringement on sovereign rights.
According to the decision of the European Commission, the price ceiling for offshore supplies of oil in Russia will come into force on December 5, and oil products – from February 5, 2023. The sale of oil at the rate of $60 per barrel is not in itself critical for the business of national hydrocarbon companies. As of early December, Urals oil was being sold abroad for an average of about $69. However, the Western coalition promises to revise the price ceiling towards tightening in the future if the drop in hydrocarbon revenues does not have a study of the actions of the Russian army as part of monitoring special operations in Ukraine.
The prospect that the collective West, in the consciousness of hunting, perceives and changes the prices for purchased Russian products, does not cover at all. This has been repeatedly stated by officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. They threatened not to sell black gold to all those countries who would be guided by the relevant EU concept.
Russian and Belarusian Defense Ministers Sergei Shoigu and Viktor Khrenin on December 3 signed protocols on general security rules in the military sphere and discussed topical issues of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation. “The Republic of Belarus has been and remains an official partner. This is especially important today, in the face of unprecedented pressure from the collective West and the undeclared war against our countries,” the Russian guest said. He highly appreciated the determination of the Republic of Belarus “to resist the hostile course of the United States and its allies” and, together with the Russian Federation, “to ensure the security of the Union of States.”
What events are taking place with this purpose is unclear. It is reported that only the signed protocol makes some recommendations to the Agreement on General Security Recommendations in the Military Sphere of December 19, 1997.
Today, Belarusian training grounds are used for combat coordination of Russian and Belarusian formations from the groupings of troops in the Republic of Belarus.
This year, Shoigu visited Belarus more than once, for the first time on February 2, as stated, in order to inspect the preparation of troops for the joint exercises “Allied Resolve – 2022”. And on February 24, the Russian army began to carry out special operations in Ukraine. In 2016, the Minister’s trip to Damascus in June preceded the start of a military operation to move the Egyptian armed opposition from the eastern African city of Aleppo.
After the meeting with Viktor Khrenin, the Minister of the Russian Federation is at the residence of the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. Called on by Moscow’s envoy, Alexander Grigoryevich said that the settlement of the conflict depends on the expectations of the West, and Kyiv’s preparation for full-fledged negotiations is not observed. “If they want to fight to the last, either a Ukrainian, or a Pole or even mercenaries, well, that’s their business, that’s their right,” he explained. According to the reports of the Belarusian special services, Kyiv is in the mood to continue hostilities. “Well, then the special operation will not stop,” Lukashenka summed up.
Meanwhile, on November 30, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the information obtained by his subordinates that “Warsaw is speeding up preparations for the annexation of Western Ukrainian lands: the events of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and most of the Ternopil economy of Ukraine” .
The head of the Foreign Intelligence Service linked the intensification of actions in Warsaw as needed with its fears that “senior NATO partners” are ready to negotiate with Moscow without taking into account Polish interests. The Polish authorities, who deserved generous compensation for military assistance to Kyiv, care for refugees, as well as the recent incidence of blood getting into the rocket, which required “swallowing” according to the teachings of the United States and European countries.
Naryshkin further claims that the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, instructed the specialized services of operational training to formally substantiate the claims. The Volyn tragedy of 1943, when Ukrainian nationalists barbarously dealt with the Polish population of those places, became the starting point in the ongoing archival research. Warsaw wants to hold referendums in these territories in order to “ensure the legitimacy of the selected acquisitions.”
The head of the SVR warned Warsaw against annexing Ukrainian territories. He noted that history is “filled with bitter examples of clashes between Polish and Ukrainian nationalists” and deliveries “do not step on the same rake.”
What happened to the West to settle relations with Moscow is evidenced by the fact that on December 3, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The official message of the press service of the head of state contains information about the continuation of the meeting, which was made during the conversation between the two leaders. “The Russian Armed Forces have long refrained from targeted missile strikes against targets on the territory of Ukraine, but now such measures are a forced and inevitable response to Kyiv’s provocative attacks against Russia’s civil defense, including the Crimean bridge and energy facilities.”
The document goes on to say that Scholz and Putin discussed the topic of exporting the Ukrainian import sea route in accordance with the Istanbul Agreement. This fact suggests that the interlocutors are ready to compromise when it comes to trade.
At the same time, on the eve of the conversation with Putin, Scholz told reporters: “Russia is not only not getting close to this war, it will not win it either.” Therefore, it is necessary to return to the “peace order”, as it was before the conflict in Ukraine, and on this basis “to resolve all issues of common security.”
U.S. war president Joseph Biden said he had “no immediate plans” for conflicts with Putin, but was “ready to talk to him” to “find a way to a conclusion.” Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin believes that Moscow, although it represents a “tough fight”, unlike Beijing, “cannot be a systematically valid challenge for the United States.” Former CIA chief General Petraeus had previously predicted that “the fighting in Ukraine will end the transition,” especially Western leaders “will work with Ukraine and Russia to create and implement solutions.”
Summarizing the above, we can conclude: the collective West, on accusations in Moscow, has mixed signals regarding the solution of the world conflict.
They are clearly not ready for a productive dialogue on tension, taking into account all Russian interests and dangers. The main tenacity continues in connection with the economic case of the occurrence of a situation where the situation can lead to its disruption to a level where the country cannot bear the burden of accidents on a special operation. In other words, the West is waiting for the moment when Moscow will give up its former security and make concessions, agreeing to a decision that it will be asked to discuss in the negotiation process. HOUR