ROCKMAN wrote:Obviously I can't predict how the president-elect or Rex will interact with Putin. But I've been the fly on the wall when some very powerful folks (including a few billionaires as well as many CEO's) were in negotiation situations. Watched them shake hands, smile, exchange pleasantries like long lost siblings, etc. And knew exactly how many despised each other. But that is not the demeanor one takes when trying to cut a deal. Cutting deals sometimes with both sides understanding one was getting screwed.
Verbal gutter fighting has gotten so pervasive in politics apparent many in the public expect the same approach between global leaders. It's not like President Obama has told Putin, Assad, the N Korean asshole or any other global piece of sh*t to go f*ck themselves. LOL.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
The United States won't waver in its commitment to NATO and Baltic security, Sen. John McCain said Tuesday in Estonia, where he's seeking to soothe anxiety over President-elect Donald Trump's rhetoric.
McCain told reporters that he and Estonia's leaders discussed the outcome of American election, which he conceded came as a surprise after Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton polled so well in the weeks leading up to the vote.
"But I am convinced and certain that our relationship and [...] the American relationship with NATO, will remain the same," he said.
"I think the presence of the American troops here in Estonia is a signal that we believe in what Ronald Reagan believed, and that is peace through strength," McCain added from Tallinn, the Estonian capital. "And the best way to prevent Russian misbehavior by having a credible, strong military and a strong NATO alliance."
While on the campaign trail, Trump raised alarm bells in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia when he suggested the U.S. would not necessarily defend new NATO members in the Baltics in the event of a Russian attack. He told The New York Times that it would depend on whether those countries had "fulfilled their obligations to us" in terms of financial contributions to the NATO alliance.
Russia says a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer be possible if Finland and Sweden become NATO members, alluding to additional nuclear deployments in Europe.
“If Sweden and Finland join NATO, the length of the alliance’s land borders with the Russian Federation will more than double. Naturally, these borders will have to be strengthened,” Dmitry Medvedev, former president and deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on his official Telegram channel Thursday.
Russia will have to “seriously strengthen the grouping of land forces and air defense, deploy significant naval forces in the waters of the Gulf of Finland. In this case, it will no longer be possible to talk about any nuclear-free status of the Baltic - the balance must be restored,” he said.
Newfie wrote:Any reaction to Russias push back comments today?
Tuike wrote:Newfie wrote:Any reaction to Russias push back comments today?
We already know Russians don't like when Nato gets new members. Planning to join Nato continues.
Tuike wrote:Turkey formally approves Finland’s NATO membership, in setback for Russia -cnbc
A few months prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in October 2021, Finnish popular support for joining the alliance was at 24%, according to local polls. By November 2022, it had soared to 78%.
Newfie wrote:What is clear is that the egocentric politicians are ALL all in on a short term Ukraine win. These guys are betting their political future. That is very dear to them and they would not make the wager without certainty.
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