“HOSTAGE TO THE KLEPTOCRACY”

What is the price the EU and all Europeans have to pay for their alignment to Washington against Russia?

By Sidney Hey

Nine months have passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to launch Special Operation “Z” (For Victory) with the aim of staving off a massive offensive that Western-backed Ukrainian forces were preparing to launch in early March. Without knowing these reasons, and with little known in the West about what has been happening in the Donbass since 2014, it was certainly easy for Washington and London to manipulate the origin of the situation.

But despite this, citizens in the West are not so gullible, and this was evident from the moment Washington tightened its censorship of Russian media and pro-Russian websites. Certainly, a measure that worked very well in the 1980s and even the 1990s, but which began to falter in the new century after it became clear (thanks to alternative media on the internet) that the US and Britain were committing atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Incidentally, we have yet to see any international tribunal citing those responsible for these crimes against humanity which -despite abundant documentation such as the Chilcot Report- still go unpunished.

Once again, the US and in particular the White House jumped into the fray promising to “fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood”...of course without giving any guarantees that the Europeans will also have to put up a share of their own. And while enthusiastic pro-Washington European officials -including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak- applauded the words of the loudmouth of the day, the Americans launched their secret weapon with which they had brought other nations to their knees in the past and are keeping their feet firmly planted in the present, economic-financial extortion by freezing and robbing bank funds of Russian assets in the West. Thus, the continent's most fervent Russophobes such as Von Leyen, Borrell and Stoltenberg were squaring up to the measures, the State Department and the CIA were already outlining with their British colleagues to damage the Russian Federation's economy. How can we do this, they asked themselves?

The answer soon became clear in the form of brutal trade sanctions (including threats) against anyone who dared to deal with Russia, and when that did not work, they turned to sabotage and terrorism. Thus, more than ever, the face of the Anglo-Saxon “democracies”, which are more like “kleptocracies” controlled by neo-conservative sectors with hegemonic pretensions, was exposed.

As part of their Machiavellian elaborations (which do not originate in law), they deliberately set the EU as the dummy, knowing that it will be their citizens and their companies who will suffer the brunt of these measures, which, on the contrary, will benefit the USA. Since the cut-off of Russian gas supplies due to the sabotage of Nord Stream, Europeans' standard of living has been deteriorating to such an extent that they feel they are refugees in their own land.

It is more than clear that it was the Anglo-Saxons who cut off access to gas, even though they knew it would harm their continental "friends". Just to illustrate this, let us imagine Emmanuel Macron waking up in the middle of the night in his luxurious bed in the majestic room of the Elysée Palace and when he turns on the lamp it does not light and, to make matters worse, he realises that he is freezing to death simply because the heating has been cut off: “Mon dieu, que se passe-t-il!!!”. Obviously, this is suffered only by ordinary citizens, although Macron himself seems to have come to terms with it after asking his peer Joe Biden to share, or at least consider, the economic losses the French are bearing for their loyalty. Predictably, all he got was a smile and a handshake, which translated into reality means “You're fucked, man”.

The followership of European officials on the other side of the channel is founded on mere political subservience to the US at the expense of the profits and fortunes of European businessmen.  For it is impossible to understand how the EU's governing bodies have co-sponsored every one of Washington's measures that undermine the living standards of Europeans for the benefit of the Americans. Europeans who have already realised this look at each other and ask how come?

Quite simply. While the US and Britain cut off -by means of naval sabotage- the supply of cheap Russian gas, American LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) companies have become the suppliers of European needs who in return are paying six times more than they used to pay Moscow. As you can see, the Anglo-Saxons have thrown "market freedom" out of the window.

The latest White House commandment (drawn up by the White House National Security Council) and channelled through the G-7 is that Russian oil cannot be paid more than 60 dollars, giving another indication of the “democratic” nature of the US government's measures, which are more akin to a mafia threat. With this captive price, Washington is seeking to sink the Russian economy, although that would work if there were no markets willing to buy it on market principles. The manoeuvre is downright risky, as evidenced by the fall in oil futures, which owe their allegiance only to trade.

Moreover, this illegal and anti-economic measure will damage the world energy market and ultimately make the lives of Europeans and emerging countries even more precarious. How far will Europeans allow themselves to be held hostage to Washington's plans?