Putin slams ‘golden billion’ idea as neocolonial and racist

Inside Russia : Outside Russia : News Digest by the Embassy of Russian Federation in Bangladesh on July 21 2022.

Dhaka July 21 2022 :

INSIDE RUSSIA

Putin slams ‘golden billion’ idea as neocolonial and racist

MOSCOW, July 20./TASS/. The idea of total domination of the ‘golden billion’ is racist and neocolonial, dividing the peoples into first and second-rate, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, speaking at the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum.

“The model of total domination of the so-called golden billion is unfair. Why should this ‘golden billion’ of all the population on the globe dominate over everyone and impose its own rules of behavior? Based on the illusion of exceptionalism, it (this model – TASS) divides the peoples into those of first or second-rate, and therefore it is racist and neocolonial in its essence, while the globalist, allegedly liberal ideology underlying it, is more and more acquiring the features of totalitarianism, restraining the creative search and free historical creativeness”, the Russian president stressed.

According to Putin, the impression is that the West simply cannot offer the world a model of the future. “Of course, this ‘golden billion’ became golden for a reason. It has achieved a lot. But it not only took such positions thanks to some implemented ideas, to a large extent it took its positions by robbing other peoples: in Asia, and in Africa,” the head of state pointed out, “Indeed, it was like that. Look at how India has been plundered”.

Therefore, the Russian president continued, today the ‘golden billion’ elites are panically afraid that other world centers can present their visions of global development.

West Came to Global Preeminence Through Robbery of Other Peoples, Has No Model of the Future: Putin

Ilya Tsukanov, Sputnik news

Relations between Moscow and the West have ebbed to their lowest point in Russia’s modern history over the crisis in Ukraine. The situation has exacerbated global economic concerns about out of control energy prices and skyrocketing inflation. Russian officials have stressed that the West’s own shortsightedness and sanctions are to blame.

The West owes its global preeminence in large part to its historic plunder of other peoples around the world, and has no model of development to offer others, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

“The model of the total dominance of the so-called ‘golden billion’ is unjust. Why should this ‘golden billion’ among the planet’s population dominate others, impose its own rules of conduct?” Putin asked, speaking at a forum in Moscow on Wednesday.

“Based on the illusion of ‘exclusivity,’ this model divides people into first and second class status, and is therefore racist and neo-colonial in its essence. And the globalist, supposedly liberal ideology which underlies it is increasingly acquiring the features of totalitarianism, holding back creative pursuit, free historical creation,” Putin said.

Characterizing the existing unipolar world order as a hindrance to global development, Putin stressed that the current model of development has been presented by countries which gained their dominant positions through the wholesale robbery of others.

“Of course, this ‘golden billion’ did not become ‘golden’ by accident. It has achieved a lot. But it did not only take up its positions thanks to the realization of some ideas, but to a large extent due to the robbery of other peoples – both in Asia and Africa. That’s what happened,” he said.

The West, Putin suggested, has no model of the future to offer the planet, and its elites are fearful that other world centers may present their own options for development.

“No matter how much Western and so-called supranational elites strive to preserve the existing order of things, a new era is coming, a new stage in world history. And only truly sovereign states can ensure high dynamics for growth and become an example for others,” Putin said.

Putin and other Russian officials including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service director Sergei Naryshkin have repeatedly commented on the global realignments taking place today, sparked by the confrontation between Russia and the West in Ukraine.

Late last month, Lavrov accused Western powers of attempting to impose a “dictatorship” on the rest of the world, “issuing ultimatums and not shunning any methods of subjugation.”

“The future of the world order is really at stake, and we will return to the roots and in practice uphold the principles of the UN Charter, first and foremost the principle of the sovereign equality of states. Otherwise, the world will be plunged into long-term chaos,” Lavrov said.

Relations between Russia and the US-dominated Western world have hit a low point not witnessed in post-1991 history over Ukraine, a country which has been wracked by turmoil, instability, and civil war since the February 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev.

Putin agrees to head supervisory board of Russia’s movement of children and youth

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to head the supervisory board of a national movement of children and youth during a video conference meeting with the finalists of the Bolshaya Peremena (or the Great Change) contest on Wednesday.

“I am happy to accept the proposal. I hope that my interaction with the new movement will benefit me, my colleagues who will be involved in the movement’s activities one way or another, as well as all of its members,” Putin said.

Participants in a constituent meeting of the Russian movement of children and youth voted to establish the organization earlier on Wednesday.

Earlier, Putin signed a law On the Russian Movement of Children and Youth. The movement’s goals include efforts to implement state policy for the sake of children and young people, facilitate the moral education of children, provide vocational guidance to them, organize leisure activities and create conditions for their full development and self-realization.

The movement will bring together children starting from the age of six, while adult mentors will see to their moral education and organize their leisure activities.

US, UK Want to Turn Russia Against Europe by Supplying Ukraine With Weapons, Lavrov Tells Sputnik

By arming Ukraine, the West seeks to pit European countries against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, adding that the strategy is advantageous for the United States.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Ukraine is essentially being prevented by the US and the UK from making any constructive moves amid the ongoing crisis.

“The fact that they [Ukraine] are being literally prevented from making any constructive moves, that they are literally being pumped with weapons and are forced to use these weapons in increasingly risky ways, the fact that foreign instructors and specialists who service these weapon systems – such as HIMARS – are deployed there, it is no longer a secret,” Lavrov said during an interview with Sputnik.

He suggested that by arming Ukraine, the West seeks to pit European countries against Russia and turn the current conflict in Ukraine into a “real war.”

This strategy, Lavrov explained, is advantageous for the United States, as all the fighting is being done far away from US shores.

The top diplomat also said he believes the Ukraine will not be allowed to engage in negotiations until the US decides that “enough chaos has been sown.”

The geographical area of the Russian military operation in Ukraine has changed since the talks in Istanbul, in light of the supply of weapons systems such as the US-made HIMARS to Kiev, Lavrov observed.

“Now the geography is different. It is far from being only the DPR and LPR [Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics], it is also the Kherson region, the Zaporozhye region and a number of other territories, and this process continues, and continues consistently and persistently,” he said.

Russia, Lavrov explained, simply cannot tolerate the presence of weapons that might pose a threat to its territory and to the territory of “those republics that have declared their independence, those who want to define their future themselves,” in the part of Ukraine controlled by Zelensky or whoever may replace him.

Regarding the prospects of Europe attempting to change its course and mend relations with Russia in the future, Lavrov remarked that Moscow would not spurn such efforts, but would react only after assessing how Russia may benefit from them.

As for the prospects of peace talks with Kiev, Lavrov said that holding such negotiations would be pointless at this time.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine following requests for assistance from Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Moscow stated that the goal of this operation is to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, and that only the country’s military infrastructure is being targeted.

EU politicians must consider role of their own mistakes in domestic crises — diplomat

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. European politicians should search for the causes of domestics crises in their mistakes and unprofessionalism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday in a commentary distributed in connection with the statements of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

“We would advise European politicians to look for the causes of their domestic crises in their own mistakes and unprofessionalism, the social and economic consequences of which are increasingly felt by ordinary citizens of EU countries,” the commentary reads.

According to Zakharova, Di Maio continues to look for external causes of his country’s domestic political problems. “We ourselves are stunned by the might of Russian diplomacy, as the Italian media reports suggest. It turns out that our ambassadors can change governments with a couple of calls,” she pointed out.

“Representatives of other Western countries have repeatedly tried such tricks when there was no one to blame for their own failures amid growing popular discontent. This is, in particular, exactly what is happening today in the energy and food markets,” the diplomat added.

Zakharova stressed that “in contrast to ‘truly democratic states,’ whose representatives often openly and without a shadow of embarrassment admit their participation in preparing coups d’etat in other countries, Russia has always adhered and continues to adhere to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states, and its diplomatic institutions strictly observe the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”. “This has been repeatedly emphasized, including the other day in the context of domestic political events in Italy,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted.

Russia’s FM reveals who wins from lack of ‘bright leaders’ in Europe

Sergey Lavrov says the shortage of competent politicians is “convenient” for the EU’s bureaucracy

The bureaucrats in Brussels are the real winners from today’s lack of competent leaders in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT and Sputnik on Wednesday.

“The [current] Western elites are very adequate in their own eyes, but they are restricted [in terms] of political experience and vision,” Lavrov told RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan. “The lack of bright leaders is something really convenient.”

“To whom?” Simonyan asked.

“To the bureaucrats that make up the European Commission,” he said.

“They have become ‘a thing-in-itself’. It’s no wonder that Poland and Hungary are asking, ‘Why do we have to listen to these people?’”

To illustrate the point about the conflicts within the EU, Lavrov mentioned the ongoing spat between Budapest and Brussels over Hungary’s law that bans content which “promotes” or portrays “sex change or homosexuality” to minors.

The European Commission said the law was discriminatory and announced last week that it was suing Hungary in the European Court of Justice, the EU’s top judicial body.

Lavrov’s remarks come after former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Bloomberg that the current “European leadership does not have the sense of direction and mission,” unlike leaders of the past such as Charles de Gaulle of France and Konrad Adenauer of West Germany.

Lavrov tells RT what would push Moscow to redraw front line

The use of Western-supplied heavy weapons by Kiev will only force Russia to move deeper into Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT and Sputnik on Wednesday.

Lavrov told RT Editor-in-Chief, Margarita Simonyan that when negotiators met in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29-30, they were discussing “one geography,” referring to the areas controlled by Russia and the forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR).

“Our willingness to accept Ukrainian suggestions was based on the geography as of the end of March, 2022,” the minister noted.

“Now the geography is different. We’re not talking about the DPR, the LPR. We’re talking about Kherson Region, Zaporozhye Region and a number of other territories, and this process is ongoing.”

Lavrov accused the West of exacerbating the conflict by “pumping” Ukraine with heavy weapons, including M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and long-range munitions.

“It means that we will have to put the line even further,” he said, adding that Moscow will not allow Ukrainian troops to threaten either Russia, or the Donbass republics.

During its offensive, Russian and allied troops captured parts of southern Ukraine and pushed Ukrainian troops out of many towns in Donbass. The peace talks, meanwhile, have remained stalled since March, as Western politicians say that Kiev should not be pressured into giving up territory to Moscow.

The Russian Embassy in Washington released a statement on Wednesday, saying that people living in Russian-controlled areas will “decide on their future independently, by themselves.”

OUTSIDE RUSSIA

Rosatom starts construction of first nuclear power plant in Egypt

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom started construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt on Wednesday, an official at Rosatom told TASS.

“We have started [the construction of a nuclear power plant in Egypt],” the official said.

El-Dabaa will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt and the first major project of Rosatom in Africa.

It will be built in El-Dabaa city in the Governorate of Matrouh on the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea. The El Dabaa NPP will comprise four units, with each of them having a capacity of 1200 MW, equipped with a Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor, considered to be the latest technology for nuclear power plants, which has already been successfully implemented in other countries.

Russia and Egypt signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant in Cairo in November 2015. The total cost of construction is $30 billion. The parties also signed an agreement to provide Egypt with a state export loan of $25 billion for the construction of the nuclear power plant, which will cover 85% of the work. The remaining expenses should be covered by the Egyptian side by attracting private investors. Under the agreement Egypt is to start payments on the loan, which was provided at 3% per annum, in October 2029.

SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE

Russian troops given new orders in Ukraine

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has inspected troops taking part in Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. He ordered them to take measures to stop the Ukrainian military’s strikes on civilians, the ministry revealed on Wednesday.

Shoigu visited a command post of the ‘West’ grouping where he got a progress report on the military campaign from Lieutenant General Andrey Sychevoy.

“After hearing the report…, Sergei Shoigu gave instructions for a further increase of operational responsiveness related to destroying enemy unmanned aerial vehicles over areas at the Russian border, as well as to step up the prevention of attacks launched by nationalists on residential areas of the liberated settlements due to the delivery of new counter-battery warfare means,” the statement read.

Earlier this month, the ministry revealed that Shoigu had also met the commanding officers of the ‘South’ and ‘Center’ groupings and had given instructions to ramp up actions aimed at staving off rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure by the Ukrainian military.

Russia’s defense minister pays surprise visit to Ukraine

The defense minister’s visit comes amid numerous Ukrainian strikes that have targeted residential areas. In an attack earlier this month, Kiev forces shelled the Russian-controlled city of Novaya Kakhovka in Kherson Region using US-made HIMARS launchers. Local officials said that the attack hit a cluster of warehouses containing chemicals. In addition to those killed and injured, the explosion damaged a hospital and church and left over 270 people homeless, they claimed.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant attacked by Ukrainian drones

A Ukrainian nuclear power plant located in the city of Energodar has been attacked by three ‘kamikadze drones’ belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian media reports, citing local officials.

According to them, Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located in southeastern Ukraine, has not been damaged.

Its reactor was not impacted by the attack either.

The radiation background is normal and it is constantly being monitored, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporozhye Region military-civil administration, told Tass news agency.

This is not the first time the NPP has been targeted by the Ukrainian military.  On July 12, Ukrainian UAVs dropped several 120mm shells on a building located next to the power plant, causing damage to its roof and window, the press-service of the Energodar city administration told RIA Novosti. According to the spokesperson of the administration, 11 employees were injured during that attack, with four of them remaining in serious condition.

Russia currently controls the southern and central part of the Zaporozhye region, including the city of Energodar, where the biggest nuclear plant in Europe is situated. The administrative center of the region, Zaporozhye, remains under Ukrainian control.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.

INSIGHTS

Militaristic and hegemonic ambitions grow in Europe amid Ukrainian conflict — Readovka.world

Europe has been awakened from its lazy half-slumber and sweet dreams of a long peace, The Hindu reports

Today’s world order is dominated by the United States, while Europe has lost its centuries-old dominance and ability to shape the world since the collapse of the colonial system. For centuries, Europe has considered itself the center of the world, and the aftermath of the Ukrainian conflict could set the stage for European politicians to try to reclaim a Eurocentric world, The Hindu reports.

European states consider wars in Europe to be the main threat to international stability and the «rules-based» world order. Since the rest of the non-European world has other priorities like fighting poverty, social stability, and ending local conflicts, European politicians’ surprise at the lack of interest and sympathy for the Ukrainian conflict in other parts of the globe reveals their Eurocentric view of the world.

Since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, there has been a sense of insecurity in Europe, especially in Germany. According to the author, «Europe was rudely awakened from its lazy half-slumber and sweet dreams of a long peace on the continent and the power of pacifism».

In this context, European politicians began to argue enthusiastically for the inclusion of new members, Finland and Sweden, into NATO. Security concerns have turned out to be more than just rhetoric: Berlin, for example, has allocated another 100 billion euros for defense in addition to its usual 50 billion euros a year. Moreover, the belief that NATO and the EU have better days ahead is shared by many politicians.

Thus, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his address to parliament called February 24 a revolution in the history of post-war Europe. Germany refuses to position itself as a nation of pacifists and increases defense spending, assigning to it more than 2% of GDP instead of 1.3%. Berlin also no longer believes in the UN and the UN Security Council, and now relies on the EU and NATO.

According to the author, the effect of the remilitarization of Europe, the reduction of the influence of international organizations, and the increasing importance of the EU and NATO will be to turn Europe into a strong global superstructure, dictating the rules with the support of the military force. Europe already has a huge power to make laws for the whole world. We are talking about laws on digital services and assets, as well as human rights standards that have been adopted unilaterally and imposed on other countries. While many of these standards may be progressive, the very process of their adoption is Eurocentric, which then creates moral and ethical problems: A democratic Europe uses undemocratic methods to impose these standards on the rest of the world.

As a result of the rise of Eurocentrism, discussions of new norms and laws will take place only within Europe, and only Europeans and selected non-Europeans will be admitted. As a consequence, the rest of the world will be asked to submit to these standards, and this unilateral attempt to shape the world will be presented under the guise of the need to counter China’s ambitions.

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