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by seemslikeadream » Tue Oct 01, 2019 8:33 pm
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Holy fuck, Zelensky ordered Ukrainian forces out of Donbas.
Folks, we need to read the entire July 25 call.
Trump may have forced Zelensky to cave.
IOW, our president may have helped Putin take eastern Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/johnastoehr/status/ ... 6523532289
by seemslikeadream » Wed Oct 02, 2019 6:26 am
Ukraine agrees to election in separatist-controlled east
Nationalists protest deal but President Zelensky says polls will be held only when all borders with Russia are retaken.
4 hours ago
Hundreds of protesters gather in Kiev’s Maidan, the square that symbolises Ukraine’s resistance to Russia [Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA]
Ukraine on Tuesday signed much-anticipated accords with separatists from the country’s east, Russia and European monitors that agree local elections can be held in separatist-controlled territory, paving the way for peace talks with Moscow.
The signing at a meeting in the Belarussian capital of Minsk was largely seen as the new Ukrainian government taking a major step towards resolving the prolonged armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than one million since 2014.
Ukrainian nationalists protested against the move, with hundreds gathering on Kiev’s Maidan, the square that symbolises Ukraine’s resistance to Russian influence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a briefing in Kiev that the country agreed to a snap local election in the east, which has been controlled by Russia-backed separatists since April 2014.
He sought to dispel fears about excessive concessions to the separatists, saying the election would be held only when Ukraine regains control of all its borders with Russia.
"There won’t be any elections under the barrel of a gun," Zelensky said in response to criticism that his administration bowed to Russia’s demands.
"There won’t be any elections there if the troops are still there."
Separatist leaders and the Ukrainian government also pledged to pull back troops from two locations in the Donetsk and the Luhansk regions early next week.
Zelenskiy insisted the local election would be held according to Ukrainian law, meaning all candidates and political parties should be allowed to run.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a news conference in Kiev
Zelenskiy insisted the local election would be held according to Ukrainian law, meaning all candidates and political parties should be allowed to run [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Separatist leaders have rejected that idea in the past, saying they would not allow Ukrainian parties that included nationalist politicians to contest.
Putin-Zelenskiy summit
Both the separatists and Ukraine agreed the election will be considered valid as long as monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe determine they are free and fair, Zelenskiy said.
The Kremlin has denied providing military or financial support to the separatists, despite overwhelming evidence.
Russian troops were spotted in eastern Ukraine during crucial offensives, and the rebels themselves make no secret of the weapons and training they received from the Russian military.
Moscow has tried to play down its involvement in eastern Ukraine in recent years, pulling back its troops and mostly relying on proxy forces.
The separatists, in the meantime, have rebranded their fighters as police or other law enforcement officers.
The election agreement was seen as the final hurdle before a summit between Zelenskiy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of France and Germany, who have helped mediate the peace talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Tuesday that he expects the summit in the coming weeks.
Russia previously declined to sit down with Ukraine unless it signed an agreement on holding a local election.
Former Ukrainian officials and legislators who were voted out of office earlier this year following a landslide victory by Zelensky and his allies expressed concern on Tuesday that Kiev was giving up its sovereignty over the east by signing the accords.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/ ... 13030.html
by JackRiddler » Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:10 am
The election agreement was seen as the final hurdle before a summit between Zelenskiy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of France and Germany, who have helped mediate the peace talks.
by seemslikeadream » Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:13 am
Through diligent research, Seth Abramson exposes a story that U.S. media has largely missed: a pre-election geopolitical conspiracy involving Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Russia that sought to put Trump in the White House—and succeeded.
Seth Abramson
New fruits from the Red Sea Conspiracy emerge daily. Trilateral talks between the US, Russia and Israel were announced weeks ago, now Netanyahu—who looks to have illegally aided in Trump's election—is getting election aid from Trump.
Date Initiated: November/December, 2015
Location: Red Sea (yacht)
Parties: MBS, Saudi Arabia; MBZ, UAE; el-Sisi, Egypt; Nader, Trump associate
Purpose: Remake the Middle East by colluding pre-election with Israel and presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.
https://twitter.com/sethabramson/status ... 01?lang=en
"[Proof of Conspiracy] alleges a 'Red Sea Conspiracy' hatched in 2015 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates and then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Their plan....was to illicitly help Donald Trump's presidential campaign in order to gain his support for a 'grand bargain' that would end U.S. sanctions on Russia in exchange for Vladimir Putin's help in evicting Iran from Syria, pave the way for dozens of new Saudi and Emirati nuclear plants, and forge an anti-Iranian, pro-Israeli military alliance among Sunni Arab nations....[CNN analyst Abramson] traces labyrinths of murky 'ties,' meetings, and business deals....[and offers] serious criticisms of Trump's foreign policy, including his support of the Saudi regime's brutal war in Yemen." ―Publishers Weekly
https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Conspiracy ... 1250256712
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This document was signed by #Ukraine earlier on Tuesday 1 October, confirming that #Kyiv was agreeing to Steinmeier Formula for the #Donbass conflict resolution:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/kyiv?lang=en
Michael MacKay
Protests are growing in Kyiv against Zelenskyy's surrender to Russia.
If Zelenskyy goes ahead and betrays 5 1/2 years of the heroic armed defence of Ukrainian nationhood there will be a third Maidan and he will be overthrown.
#RussiaInvadedUkraine
https://twitter.com/mhmck/status/1174797544796381184
AlexKokcharov
5h5 hours ago
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Another #protest rally in central #Kyiv, #Ukraine, happening tonight, against the potential concessions to #Russia over the #Donbass conflict resolution - this time on #Maidan:
Tetyana Retweeted Громадське радіо
Many Ukrainians don't trust so-called "Steinmeir formula" to which Zelenskyy has apparently agreed to today.
Big meeting tonight at the presidential administration in #Kyiv
Tbh, he should've done some video explanation of what it is like he did them during the election campaign
Azov News
2h2 hours ago
National Corps - "NO Surrender!" Protest outside the Presidential Office in #Kyiv after #Zelenskiy announced support for Steinmeier Formula.
Stefan Weichert
4h4 hours ago
Demonstration in #Kyiv against the presidents new deal on #Donbas. “This is not a day of celebration” according to participant, who are afraid of what will happen to other Eastern European countries after this deal that he says has no benefits for #Ukraine but victory for Putin.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/kyiv?lang=en
SCAPEGOAT
Pompeo Pushed Out His Own Ukraine Rep to Squash a Growing Scandal
“Volker was the easier guy to let go,” said one former State Department official. “But just because it is an easy choice doesn’t mean it is the right choice.”
Erin Banco
National Security Reporter
Updated 10.01.19 9:34PM ET
Published 10.01.19 9:00PM ET
EXCLUSIVE
Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast
When President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani appeared on cable news programs last week, he deflected questions about his work in Ukraine and instead hammered home one talking point over and over again: The State Department knew he was trying to dig up dirt on 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Giuliani waved his phone on air, flashing text messages between himself and State Department representatives, saying it was the department that connected him to a close adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Giuliani’s on-air appearances threw the department into a tizzy, forcing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to try to quell a bubbling internal crisis of confidence, according to three senior U.S. officials. For Pompeo, to solve the problem meant to find someone to blame, and there was only one individual who fit the mold, according to those same sources: former U.S. representative for Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker.
Volker resigned on Friday. But despite his resignation, the State Department has scrambled to correct course, according to these same U.S. officials, especially after news that Pompeo was on the now-infamous call between President Trump and Zelensky in July. Pompeo had previously denied knowing about it on national television. On top of that, three congressional committees subpoenaed Pompeo for documents related to Trump and Giuliani’s work in Ukraine and demanded that five current and former department officials appear for depositions.
In response, Pompeo tried a time-tested Trump White House strategy: stonewalling Congress. The secretary said Tuesday that Congress was “bullying” career officials and suggested they would not appear for questioning. (The State Department’s inspector general is currently investigating members of Pompeo’s department for pushing career officials out of their posts for perceived political bias.)
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Pompeo’s plan appears to have backfired. Despite the secretary’s efforts to block several of his current and former officials from speaking to Congress, Volker is set to go to Capitol Hill on Thursday with the backing of a cadre of current and former diplomats. Some of those diplomats spoke to The Daily Beast and requested anonymity because they feared reprisals from Pompeo and other Trump administration officials.
“I think Kurt definitely felt like he was being pushed out. He really believed in the job and was committed to helping Ukraine work toward a better future.”
— Senior U.S. official who requested anonymity
Now the department is bracing for impact. Current and former State Department officials who spoke to The Daily Beast, some of who are close Volker, said he was forced out of his post. Volker’s interview with Congress could lay bare details of Pompeo’s involvement in the Trump-Giuliani Ukraine saga.
“I think Kurt definitely felt like he was being pushed out,” said one senior U.S. official. “He really believed in the job and was committed to helping Ukraine work toward a better future.”
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is also set to sit for questioning with congressional investigators next week. Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled from her position in May following public criticism by Giuliani for her work in the country. And on Wednesday the State Department’s inspector general is headed to Capitol Hill for an urgent briefing with Congress. It’s unclear exactly what the briefing will entail, but Democratic aides told The Daily Beast the State IG said it wanted to meet about documents it obtained from the Office of the Legal Adviser at the department.
The beginning of the end for Volker started when Giuliani outed the Ukraine negotiator’s text messages on national television, officials say. The next day, the State Department got word that major U.S. media outlets were scrutinizing the negotiator’s work and relationships in Ukraine. As the public began to learn more about Volker, Pompeo became convinced that scapegoating his representative would leave the department in a better place politically, especially with Congress ratcheting up its investigation into Giuliani and Trump’s efforts, according to two senior U.S. officials.
One individual familiar with Pompeo’s thinking told The Daily Beast that “it was decision time, I think, for Pompeo.” “It was clear this wasn’t going away, and something had to be done.”
Several U.S. officials told The Daily Beast the former Ukraine negotiator expressed openly that he was not ready to leave his position.
"WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and current lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to members of the media during a White House Sports and Fitness Day at the South Lawn of the White House May 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted the event to encourage children to participate in sports and make youth sports more accessible to economically disadvantaged students. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)"
U.S. Ambassador Roped Into Rudy’s Quest to Smear Biden
House Committees Subpoena Pompeo Over Trump-Ukraine Call
“Volker was the easier guy to let go,” said one former State Department official. “He was never supposed to be in a permanent position and he didn’t hold as much weight internationally as some of the ambassadors. But just because it is an easy choice doesn’t mean it is the right choice.”
Now that Volker is set to appear on Capitol Hill, officials are coming forward, telling The Daily Beast he should never have been let go in the first place. Four current and former State Department officials told The Daily Beast they were worried about how the U.S. would continue to engage internationally on Ukraine without Volker in place.
“Ukraine policy has gone from being an office of one to a national level political scandal, and I don’t think there is an easy way to conduct the state of affairs in that atmosphere,” said another former State Department official. “There’s just a lot happening, and now we’re left without a day to day policy champion because Kurt is gone.”
“Sondland seems like the guy everyone should be looking at.”
— Diplomat who requested anonymity
Several officials said they trusted Volker over other U.S. ambassadors in Europe, including the Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, on engaging with officials in countries like Germany, France, and the United Kingdom on Ukraine policy.
Sondland, who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, was also involved in conversations with Giuliani about his efforts to investigate the Bidens in Ukraine. Giuliani told The Daily Beast last week that he worked with Volker first before taking part in several conference calls with Sondland. Volker’s resignation raised questions among officials about Sondland and why the ambassador did not face a similar fate.
“Sondland seems like the guy everyone should be looking at,” one diplomat told The Daily Beast. “He was more involved than Volker and has the president’s ear. He follows orders from the White House in a way Volker didn’t.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-pomp ... ng-scandal
by stillrobertpaulsen » Wed Oct 02, 2019 3:43 pm
seemslikeadream » Tue Oct 01, 2019 7:33 pm wrote:
Folks, we need to read the entire July 25 call.
Senator King Suggests At Least 20 Minutes Are Missing From Trump Ukraine Call Transcript
By David Brennan On 10/2/19 at 12:11 PM EDT
Independent Senator Angus King has claimed that some 20 minutes of the phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are missing from the White House memo detailing the conversation.
King told CNN host Anderson Cooper Tuesday that he and his staff had reconstructed the call using the memo, determining that more than two thirds of the call time was unaccounted for.
The full transcript of the now-infamous call between the two leaders has not been released. Though the document makes clear that the read out has been edited, it is not clear exactly how much has been cut, and what those sections may contain.
King told Cooper he has a "hunch" about the edited transcript, the release of which pushed the Democratic Party to open an impeachment investigation into the president.
"I had two staff members from my office the other day read it aloud. And we timed it," King explained. "They read it in normal speaking pace. It took them 10 minutes and 40 seconds. The phone call was 30 minutes. Now, we don't know what is missing."
King admitted that some, or even all, of the missing time could have been taken up by translators facilitating the call. "It may be there was a translator involved and that made it go much longer," the senator acknowledged.
"But the president of the Ukraine speaks English. If there was no translator that raises a question of what's in the other 20 minutes of that discussion."
Zelensky is not fluent in English, despite claims to the contrary by some observers. While his skills are increasing, RFERL Christopher Miller noted the president " would certainly need a translator to speak in the manner in which this memo suggests he did."
King noted that he has long been lukewarm on the prospect of impeaching the president. However, he cited the time gap on the phone call memo as the reason "why I think there has to be an inquiry to get to the facts surrounding this, what looks like at least an attempted transaction."
Since the release of the memo, Trump's characteristically pugnacious social media output has become even more aggressive. Among other allegations, Trump has accused the anonymous whistleblower who brought the conversation to the attention of Congress of committing treason and spying on the president.
King warned that any accusation of treason must not be made lightly. "To throw it around in this situation, the problem is the president feels that he is the state, you know, like Louis XIV."
King suggested Trump believes that "criticism of him is treason against the United States. That's not true. That's just not the way it works."
He continued, "And by the way, the whistleblower doesn't decide the case. He or she has brought forth a set of facts which are now in the hands of Congress. And they have the opportunity to investigate it to find out if the whistleblower is right or wrong."
by seemslikeadream » Wed Oct 02, 2019 7:43 pm
Omoro Kinte
Replying to @olgaNYC1211
Omoro Kinte Retweeted Aaron Rupar
Olga, one question. Why is the $391 million being covered as a lump sum. My undertanding is that Congress approved 250, then Mnuchin added 140. What was the 140 million for?
Omoro Kinte added,
Aaron Rupar
Mnuchin doesn't have a response when Chuck Todd asks him if he can explain "how all of the sudden when the [Ukraine] aid got released, more money showed up. Where did [it] come from?...They got an additional…
Olga Lautman
I dont know but in Ukrainian circles the price for Biden crap was going for 100 million. Its uncorroborated and was discussed in regards to a few oligarchs Giuliani was working with.
https://twitter.com/olgaNYC1211/status/ ... 3007980545
by Jerky » Sun Oct 06, 2019 10:23 pm
by Iamwhomiam » Mon Oct 07, 2019 1:54 am
by Jerky » Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:29 am
JackRiddler » 02 Oct 2019 14:10 wrote:The election agreement was seen as the final hurdle before a summit between Zelenskiy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of France and Germany, who have helped mediate the peace talks.
Amazing! Zelensky, who campaigned as the candidate who would end the Ukrainian civil war and won in a landslide against the incumbent who called him an agent of Putin, is actually moving forward on his promise and taking steps to end the Ukrainian civil war.
The most important words in that article, right in the first line, are that this was a "much-anticipated" move. The hysteria about this being related to Trump ruminating about Biden in a phone call is a case of American exceptionalism just like the hysteria about Trump and Kim. There, the South Koreans voted for a peace policy in a landslide, and the Trumpocentric U.S. media are utterly ignorant of it.
People in these countries voted for peace, and if Trump isn't getting in the way of it (unlike his moves toward war with Iran and in Venezuela), that is pretty much the only good thing about him. And out of all his crimes, why is this the one that the Democrats and corporate media decide is impeachable?!
by JackRiddler » Mon Oct 07, 2019 11:13 am
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