1 Apr, 2022 15:16

Russia tells OSCE to leave Ukraine

Moscow accused the organization’s monitoring mission of a “selective approach to facts”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretariat “to immediately launch measures for winding down” its Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a lengthy statement on Friday that “in the current political and legal realities,” the mission cannot work in accordance with the previous mandate anymore. It expired on Thursday and covered the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, now recognized by Russia as independent states.

“This means that its further activities do not have the consensus support of the participating States and, therefore, cannot be carried out de jure. We urge the OSCE Secretariat to immediately begin measures to wind down the SMM, sell its property, terminate employment contracts with its personnel, and settle contractual obligations to service providers and landlords,” Zakharova wrote.

All monitoring and reporting functions of the SMM were de facto terminated on March 7. On that day, the OSCE evacuated its last international monitors, who for eight years have been watching over the conflict between Ukraine and the two breakaway republics of Donbass.

“We draw special attention to the unacceptability of a repetition of such cases in which OSCE property temporarily remaining in Ukraine, especially armored vehicles, ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Zakharova said.

While expressing respect for the work of the SMM staff, the spokeswoman noted that “due to constant opposition and pressure from Kiev and its Western patrons,” the SMM’s professionalism and impartiality was increasingly giving way to “a selective approach to facts and political bias.”

She also said the SMM leadership “openly played along with Kiev,” did not establish normal working contacts with Donbass, and did not really monitor the human rights situation, including the situation with national minorities and media throughout Ukraine.

“It did not react in any way to the growth of the ulcer of aggressive Russophobic nationalism in the country, the spread of neo-Nazi ideology. The contrast between the rosy picture painted by the SMM reports and the real state of affairs, which is now becoming more and more clear, was striking,” Zakharova claimed.

She expressed hope that the participating states and the OSCE Secretariat “would draw appropriate lessons from the achievements and shortcomings of the SMM’s eight-year work.”

Meanwhile, the OSCE leadership on Thursday expressed “deepest regret” that it had been unable to reach an agreement on the extension of the mandate of the SMM, which it considers to be a “key component of its response to the crisis in and around Ukraine.”

According to OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, the mission “has been playing crucial role by providing objective information on the security and humanitarian situation on the ground and relentlessly working to ease the effects of the conflict on the civilian population.”

Rau also said the Polish Chairmanship would continue consultations with the participating states “on the OSCE’s future role and presence in Ukraine.”

“While those discussions continue, the SMM will maintain its administrative status as an OSCE field operation, and continue to carry out functions including ensuring the safety and security of mission members, assets and premises,” the OSCE said in a statement.

OSCE monitors were deployed in 2014 to chronicle the conflict and later the ceasefire between Ukraine and the Donbass republics. The mission was established following a request by the Ukrainian government, and a consensus decision by all 57 participating states. With 1,291 mission members, the SMM was the biggest mission in the OSCE.

The Vienna-based organization began evacuating staff after Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24.

https://www.rt.com/russia/553130-russia-tells-osce-leave/

1 Apr, 2022 15:16

London exchange suspends Russian metals

The West are now getting into ”we’re going to cut off our nose to spite our face” territory now!

Aluminum, copper, and lead are subject to suspension

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has suspended deliveries of some Russian metals to its warehouses amid a recent import duty hike. The move was announced by the exchange earlier on Friday.

“Following the announcement by the UK of an additional 35% duty on imports of Russian copper, lead, primary aluminum and aluminum alloys, this notice announces the immediate suspension of the placement of [these metals] … at warehouses registered with the LME in the UK,” the exchange stated.

Meanwhile, if the warehouse can prove that the date of export from Russia was before March 25, 2022, it can keep the batch. According to the exchange, however, it currently does not have any Russian metal on warrant in LME-listed UK warehouses.

A little over a week ago, the LME said it had no plans to ban Russian metals from its system, despite calls from some members to do so amid the Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia.

Russia is a major metals exporter and analysts advise against subjecting them to sanctions, as this could lead to shortages and further price surges, propelling global inflation higher.

https://www.rt.com/business/553123-uk-suspends-trading-russian-metals/

1 Apr, 2022 14:18

Kiev ‘unlikely’ to get NATO-like protection from West – media

The US and its allies are reluctant to sign up to defend Ukraine the way it wants, CNN sources said

Western officials are uncertain that their governments will agree to give Ukraine legally binding security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5, sources told CNN. The US and its allies are not likely to do what Kiev wants them to, the news network reported on Friday.

Ukraine has agreed to renounce its constitutionally-enshrined aspiration to become a NATO member and said it now seeks a different kind of security arrangement in a proposal it delivered to the Russian delegation during peace talks in Istanbul this week.

Under the proposal, Kiev would pledge not to host foreign military bases or troops on its territory. In return, leading world powers, including Russia, would make a legally binding pledge to defend Ukraine from future military attacks. Moscow said the very fact that Kiev made a written proposal on how it wants to resolve the conflict was positive, but refrained so far from committing to any part of it.

It is “unlikely” CNN said, that “the US and its allies will ultimately offer Ukraine the kinds of legally binding protections it is requesting.” Meanwhile, “anything short of full commitment to defend Ukraine won't be enough for the Ukrainians,” one Western official told the outlet.

Ukrainian officials complained that NATO's open door policy did not translate into a clear path towards membership for their country and into allies using their troops to defend the country.

Russia drew a red line at NATO membership for Kiev as early as 2008, when the US-led bloc formally declared that Ukraine would one day join its ranks. Moscow said that the organization's creeping expansion into Ukraine since the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, and its refusal to negotiate a peaceful reduction of the threat to Russia's national security, were major reasons for launching the attack against its neighbor.

According to CNN's sources, some Western nations believe that EU membership could serve as some sort of protection for Ukraine. “It would be difficult for Russia to attack an EU member country,” one European official was quoted as saying. “Because that automatically could involve much more support for that country.”

Ukraine's backers publicly state that they are doing everything they can to help it now without risking an escalation of the conflict into a world war.

Kiev's proposals handed to Moscow in Istanbul include a demand that Moscow formally declare a lack of opposition to its EU membership. Ukraine applied for a rapid accession to the economic union after Russia launched its attack in February, but didn't receive any timetable for joining.

The EU official quoted by CNN said Western nations will not discuss Kiev's request for NATO-like protection in earnest until they are certain that it would be accepted by Moscow in the first place.

Russia must “demonstrate that it is serious about retreating and commit to allowing Ukraine to maintain a robust military,” an unnamed European official told the outlet, adding that this would de facto require Moscow to renounce its stated goal of demilitarizing Ukraine. According to CNN, he added that “Ukraine must first win the war and be given the support it needs to do so.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/553115-no-western-guarantees-ukraine/