Ksenia Kirillova
Amid talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Kremlin appears interested in restoring normal relations with the West, and the demand for this normalization has become one of Putin’s key negotiating conditions (see EDM, March 28, April 1; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 1). One example of this is that Germany, Russia, and the United States are discussing the resumption of oil supply via the “Friendship” (Druzhba) pipeline to Germany. According to independent journalists’ investigations, U.S. firms are planning to acquire Rosneft’s stake in the RSK oil refinery in Schwedt from its German subsidiary Rosneft Deutschland. Journalists also report that the Donald Trump administration wants to invest in restarting the gas pipeline as a “strategic asset” that might be used to establish peace (Istories.media, March 13). Russian military analysts do not hide their joy at the prospect of foreign brands returning to collaborating with Russia (Military Review, March 16). Aggressive rhetoric against Europe, now referred to as “Russia’s main enemy,” however, is increasing in Kremlin propaganda (Voennoedelo.com, February 3). Pro-Kremlin analysts hope the United States will, willingly or unwillingly, help Moscow weaken Europe.
Writers at the website “Military Review,” which is close to the Russian Ministry of Defense, write that the U.S. plans to “cleanse the rotten blood out of the heads of European state leaders.” They say that “by pushing European governments into an arms race, U.S. President [Donald Trump] is deliberately creating financial problems for these countries” and is pushing Europeans to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. The authors at “Military Review” are certain that Moscow will immediately destroy such a peacekeeping corps, and the residents of European countries will overthrow their governments over a “stream of coffins into Europe” (Military Review, March 11).
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