Tag: eu

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Will Qatar Supply EU With Gas?

Mohammed Abbasi

EU Reconsiders Russian LNG, Qatar Waits in Wings By Daniel Wagner, Giorgio Cafiero, and Sufyan bin Uzayr A tanker transports liquid natural gas (LNG) through the province of A Coruña, on Spain’s Atlantic Coast. Credit: Robert/cc by 2.0 WASHINGTON, Apr 25 2014 (IPS) – Throughout the Ukraine crisis, European Union (EU) leaders have become more vocal about their interest in reducing Europe’s consumption of Russian natural gas. As a result, Qatar — the world’s number-one provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) — is well positioned to play a more influential role in Europe’s energy landscape. Although unlikely to replace Russia as Europe’s top natural gas provider, … Continue reading Will Qatar Supply EU With Gas?

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How Crimea plays in Beijing

Mohammed Abbasi

“We are paying very close attention to the situation in Ukraine. We hope all parties can calmly maintain restraint to prevent the situation from further escalating and worsening. Political resolution and dialogue is the only way out.”  This, via Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong, is Beijing’s quite measured, official interpretation of what’s happening in Ukraine, tailored for global consumption.  But here, in a People’s Daily editorial, is what the leadership is really thinking. And the focus is clearly on the dangers of regime change, the “West’s inability to understand the lessons of history”, and “the final battlefield of the Cold … Continue reading How Crimea plays in Beijing

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Careful what you wish for in Ukraine

Mohammed Abbasi

By Spengler  Western governments are jubilant over the fall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a Russian ally. They may be underestimating Vladimir Putin: Russia has the option to hasten Ukraine’s slide into chaos and wait until the hapless European Union acquiesces to – if not begs for – Russian intervention.  That leaves the West with a limited number of choices. The first is to do nothing and watch the country spiral into chaos, with Russia as the eventual beneficiary. The second is to dig deep into its pockets and find US$20 billion or more to buy near-term popularity for a pro-Western … Continue reading Careful what you wish for in Ukraine

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Turkey to buy Chinese defence missiles

Mohammed Abbasi

Turkey goes for Chinese take-away defenseBy Peter Lee On September 26, 2013, Turkey made the rather eyebrow-raising decision to put its long range missile defense eggs in a Chinese basket, announcing it had awarded a US$3 billion contract to the People’s Republic of China for its truck-mounted “shoot and scoot” FD-2000 system. The Chinese FD-2000 is based on the Hong Qi missile, which has been around since the 1990s. The FD-2000 is an export version of the HQ-9 that appeared in 2009 and is marketed as a next-generation improvement on the Russian S-300 system, but whose fire control radar looks … Continue reading Turkey to buy Chinese defence missiles