[…] The signal lamp on the bridge of Beijing’s diplomatic flagship has been flashing that its captain has changed course and wants the West, particularly the United States, to reconsider its depiction of China as a disruptive force bent on undermining the global economy’s steering system — that it is neither a rule-maker, nor a rule-taker, but a rule-breaker. This is not how China sees itself. Indeed, it has a strong interest in upholding a stable global economy while it struggles with its own economic challenges

China wants to re-enter the global community and, in particular, the global economy after flirting with developing a more self-reliant economy and a closer association with Putin’s Russia. The lessons learned and the conclusions drawn are that this was a blind alley and failed to offer China’s leadership what it wants more than anything else: economic growth. […]

On December 21, the chairman of Putin’s political party, Dmitry Medvedev, visited Beijing at the CCP’s invitation. The Chinese news agency Xinhua subsequently reported that Xi affirmed to his visitor that Beijing “decides its position and policy based on the merits of the matter concerned, upholds objectivity and fairness, and actively promotes peace talks. Hopefully, relevant parties will remain rational and exercise restraint, carry out comprehensive dialogue, and address joint security concerns through political means.” Not a word about “understanding,” let alone supporting Russian policy in Ukraine.

China did not impose sanctions on Russia after the attack on Ukraine but neither did it substantially step up economic cooperation with Russia to alleviate the effect of Western sanctions. It is the second biggest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds and could easily have made life difficult for Washington by selling some. It didn’t do so.

In a remarkable signal of policy change already last summer, then-vice foreign minister Le Yucheng, who was in charge of relations with Russia and who had repeatedly stressed the depth and warmth of the bilateral relationship, was removed from his post and now serves as deputy head of the National Radio and Television Administration. Until then, he had been seen as one of the top candidates to replace Wang Yi as minister for foreign affairs. When the name of the new foreign minister was announced at the same time, the ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, got the nod. Läs artikel

Oscar Stenström vid statsrådberedningen bekräftar i en intervju med Sveriges Radio det som utrikesministern sa till Expressen under lördagen: Det pågår just nu inte några Natoförhandlingar med Turkiet. […]

En av anledningarna till att Turkiets strålkastarljus riktats mot Sverige och inte Finland, är enligt Oscar Stenström, är den svenska relationen med PKK. Sverige terrorklassade den kurdiska organisationen redan 1984, som andra land i världen efter Turkiet. Trots det kommer en inte oansenlig del av organisationens finansiering från just Sverige.

– Till skillnad från Finland så har vi en större andel av finansiering av PKK från Sverige, säger Oscar Stenström i radioprogrammet.

Turkiet menar att Sverige genom sitt bistånd till norra Syrien förser PYD och i förlängningen PKK med hundratals miljoner dollar.Men det är inte bara det svenska biståndet som förser PKK med medel. Det kanske även Sveriges just nu mycket grova brottlighet gör. Ett alias som förekommit frekvent under den senaste tiden är ”den kurdiska räven” som tros vara en av nyckelpersonerna bakom den våldvåg som just nu skakar Stockholm. Läs artikel

Läs även kommentar tidigare på den här sajten om Sveriges stöd till kurdiska separatistorganisationer i norra Syrien.

Det är nog dags att slå larm. Igen. Den 1 januari i år trädde den nya lagen om utlandsspioneri i kraft. Den har vi och andra skrivit en hel del om. […]

Den här gången handlar det om vad som än så länge är en departementsskrivelse, med namnet DS 2022:20 – Återkallelse av sändningstillstånd med hänsyn till Sveriges säkerhet.

Kort sammanfattat är skrivelsen vad den heter.

Sändningstillståndet för radio- och tv-kanaler i Sverige ska kunna dras in om sändningarna anses utgöra ”en fara för Sveriges säkerhet”. Undantag finns: public service-kanaler i tv och radio omfattas inte av den tilltänkta lagen, eftersom deras uppdrag kommer från regeringen.

Resten – oberoende och kommersiella medier med sändningstillstånd (i dag handlar det om 662 radio- och tv-kanaler, enligt yttrandefrihetsexperten Nils Funcke) – ska kunna stoppas redan utan att faran är ett faktum. Det räcker med att det finns ”en viss sannolikhet” att Sveriges säkerhet skadats. Innehåll som består av ”omstörtande eller subversiv verksamhet […] bör som regel kunna anses medföra fara för Sveriges säkerhet”.

Förslaget är luddigt formulerat och otydligheten gör det svårt att veta vad lagstiftningen skulle få för konsekvenser. Vad som föranleder den är inte heller explicit uttryckt, några exempel på sändningar som skadat Sveriges säkerhet får vi inte.

Ett sändningstillstånd ska också kunna återkallas om det använts för ”otillbörlig informationspåverkan” eller ”förtäckta påverkanskampanjer” som i efterhand konstateras ha inneburit fara för Sveriges säkerhet. Inget av detta är nödvändigtvis brottsligt, så hur ska en publicist veta vad som gäller? Läs artikel

Stortingspolitiker Per-Willy Amundsen (Frp) fra Harstad mener det er en selvfølge at Norge deltar i det internasjonale samarbeidet for å hjelpe Ukraina. Å sende stridsvogner mener han er et ledd i det.

Men å hente stridsvogner fra Hæren i Nord-Norge stiller han seg noe spørrende til.

– Vi må også ivareta norske interesser og hensyn. Det legger jeg til grunn at man gjør i disse vurderingene, sier han.

Han etterlyser samtidig framdrifta i anskaffelsen av nye stridsvogner til Hæren.

– Vi bør ikke ha færre, vi bør ha flere stridsvogner. De bør komme raskt på plass i Nord-Norge.

SV-politiker Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes er ganske enig i at stridsvognene nord i landsdelen bør forbli der.

– Det vil være overraskende dersom de tas fra nord. Her har vi i utgangspunktet en utfordring med for få stridsvogner. Det er bakgrunnen for at vi skal kjøpe nye. Det vil ta tid før de er på plass, sier han. […]

Tormod Heier er professor i militær strategi og operasjoner. Han sier det er viktig å ikke hause opp stemningen eller skape mer frykt i befolkningen nå når Norge bidrar med mer krigsmateriell til Ukraina.

Ikke siden 2. verdenskrig har Russland vært svakere og mer sårbar, sier han.

– Russland utgjør overhodet ingen militær trussel, verken mot Norge, Baltikum, Polen eller andre. De ligger jo med brukket militær rygg i en hengemyr de ikke kommer seg opp av, i Europas nest største land. Läs artikel

[…] As to the supposed threat to invade NATO: If the Russian army cannot take Kharkhiv, 20 miles from the Russian border, when only the Ukrainian army is defending it, can the Kremlin really realistically dream of capturing Warsaw or Riga, and fighting a full-scale war with NATO? Elsewhere in the world, we need to recognize that, while Russia’s presence is sometimes hostile to U.S. interests, in other cases we are still objectively speaking on the same side, such as when it comes to fighting against Islamist extremism, containing the Taliban’s influence in Central Asia, and defending Armenia against what would otherwise very likely be its destruction.

A more cogent and legitimate argument is that the defeat of Russia is necessary to preserve the international legal order and punish the crime of aggression. However, the United States has always in practice adopted a flexible approach to international law when it comes to ending wars. Moreover, when it comes to the need to punish Russia, in terms not just of its initial objectives in this war but of Russian hegemony over Ukraine for more than 300 years, Russia has already suffered a crushing defeat and Ukraine, with Western help, has won a great victory. Tens of thousands of the best Russian soldiers are dead, Russia’s military reputation has been shredded, and its international prestige severely damaged. Läs artikel

”Through more than two decades, the Barents cooperation contributed to developing dialogue, trust, and interaction in the North. It helped create an atmosphere for solving important questions about Norway and Russia, including the agreement on the maritime delimitation in the Barents Sea which resulted in the 2010 agreement.”

That is said by Øyvind Nordsletten, who has extensive experience within Norwegian Russia diplomacy as both ambassador in Moscow and Consulate General in Murmansk.[…]

”In addition, the cooperation in the Barents region has always been about something more than building bridges between Norway and Russia especially. It has also been about connecting northern provinces in several countries closer together, with the inclusion of Finland and Sweden as ’core countries’. Cooperation between Nordic countries has gained extra inspiration and input through the Barents cooperation,” says the retired diplomat.

On the 11th of January 1993, the Kirkenes Declaration – the Barents cooperation’s foundation document – was adopted by Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and the EU commission.

Through this new framework for interaction, bridges were to be built over dividing lines in the militarized north – aiming for stability, peace, and joint projects.

Currently, three decades later, some believe that the cooperation in the Barents region has been a failure – with reference to Russia’s authoritarian approach towards its civil society, its warfare against Ukraine, and its stings against the West.

However, the understanding of the Barents cooperation as a successful format still holds up. The long-standing collaboration – both between states, regional units, and people – has been fruitful in ways that do not fade away because of the war, Sverre Jervell also believes. […]

The Russian MFA Andrei Kozyrev’s journey before signing the Kirkenes Declaration:

Ukraine is stepping up its appeals for modern fighter jets now that the U.S and NATO allies have agreed to send main battle tanks to help counter Russia’s stepped up ground attacks, a Ukrainian official said.

“Until today, the major focus in the discussions have been the tanks,” Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksii Reznikov told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Now we’ll start talking about jets.”

American-made F-16s top Ukraine’s wish list. Swedish-made Gripens, designed to operate from spartan airfields with a limited support crew, as well as other fourth-generation fighters also would be welcomed by Kyiv, but Sak said Ukraine’s hope is that Washington will eventually support the transfer of F-16s.

“F-16[s] are best suited for our situations,” Sak said.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for Western jets since the start of the war. It has also sought longer-distance ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles. But the Biden administration so far has held the line at weapons with the reach to take the war beyond Ukraine’s borders, fearing such a move might be seen by the Russians as escalatory, leading to a direct clash between U.S. and Russian forces.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a Jan. 26 briefing that F-16s were “another challenging system that would require training,” noting that even if the aircraft were provided, it would take time for Ukraine’s pilots to become proficient enough for combat.  Läs artikel

Medan Turkiet ställer flera krav på framför allt Sverige för att godkänna Natoansökan har företrädare för Ungerns regering upprepade gånger försäkrat att landet vill att Finland och Sverige går med. Trots det dröjer ratificeringen.

– Förslaget är lämnat till parlamentet. Frågan kommer upp under vårsessionen och den inleds den 27 februari, säger EU- och justitieminister Judit Varga till DN i samband med att hon besöker Stockholm. […]

Judit Varga säger att man i Ungern är väl medveten om säkerhetsläget i Europa.

– Vi är helt i linje med det europeiska intresset när det gäller Natomedlemskapen. De stöds fullt ut av regeringen, säger hon. […]

Judit Varga vill inte kommentera Turkiets skarpa reaktion på bränningen.

– Det är en bilateral relation med ditt land. Jag avstår alltid från att kommentera andras frågor. Läs artikel

Only few months ago the lion’s share of the ships sailing out from the Kola Bay had course for Rotterdam and other European ports. Today, it is all different. A tectonic shift has taken place in Russia’s international trade, and it is well reflected in shipping from far northern Port of Murmansk. Hardly any of the ships that today set out from the port have European destinations. Instead, they sail towards “friendly” countries.

Murmansk has one of Russia’s five biggest seaports. It normally handles more than 50 million tons of goods annually, most of it crude oil, coal, as well as fertilisers and processed nickel. Ship tracking shows that practically all the tankers and cargo vessels that in January 2023 sailed from the north Russian port with export goods were heading to ports in Turkey, North Africa, Asia and South America.

Among the key destinations were the Turkish ports of Iskenderun and Zonguldak and Egyptian Ports Said. In addition, carriers had course for ports in Brazil, Libya, Morocco and China. Läs artikel