Disappointing Russia
Well, you just cannot please everyone all the time. And as it happens, no one appears able to please Russia even some of the time. Russia is quite conflicted, actually. It wishes to retain robust relations with the rest of the world, and it is quite pleased with itself over its almost-super-power status, its re-assertion on the world stage of late, post-Soviet-Union-collapse. Not every country has a politician of the...um...stature of Vladimir Putin. Although France is in the running.Anyway, Russia was prevailed upon to cast its vote, along with (another reluctant player) China, France, England and the United States (five permanent members of the UN Security Council) plus Germany, to enact a fourth set of sanctions against nuclear-depraved Iran. Iran's intention to build-like-an-energizer-bunny, one nuclear installation after another, without legal collaboration of the IAEA, oddly worries the world.
I mean, let's get real here, a country with the largest proven gas field in the world, with oodles of oil running out of its geography doesn't need another energy source, does it? Now, it would be a good internal business move to take some of the proceeds of its fossil fuel sales to invest in finishing facilities, so it wouldn't have to be so reliant on accessing the finished product from outside processors, but that's not Iran's way.
Nope. Iran has fallen madly in love with the idea of nuclear reactors. To produce medical isotopes, of course. It's on a sneer-off course with Canada whose own isotope-producing reactor was in repair-mothballed condition for over a year and which country produced a lion's share of the world's isotopes. Canada and Iran, you see, are daintily in opposition to one another. Canada unfairly characterizing Iran as a human-rights oppressor.
When the entire world knows that Iran is a peace-loving country with nothing but good intentions toward all other nations of the world. Whereas Canada is a human-rights-abusing country of the first dimension. And Canada, damn their black souls, supports the right of Israel to exist upon land sanctified by Allah for Islam. Off on a tangent, are we? Well, back to Iran's nuclear plans, shall we?
Patience, all will be revealed, and truth to tell, all is interwoven in the entire narrative. Moscow, you see, considers the additional sanctions that the European Union will be placing on investment in Iran's oil and gas fields unfair, unjustifiable and unneeded. This kind of miserable alliance between the EU and the U.S. is not to be countenanced, and Russia considers it "unacceptable".
To the extent that the West risks losing Russian support in its efforts to bring sanity to Iran's suspected weaponry nuclearization plans. "We are extremely disappointed that neither the United States nor the European Union is heeding our calls to refrain from such steps", sniffed Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister. That makes, one might safely assume, for a matched pair, since the EU and U.S. have been losing patience with Russia's reluctance to rein in Iran's nuclear aspirations.
Perhaps this is a wily attempt on Russia's part to finally proclaim that they're pulling out of the sanctions. Prepared to release the new-generation rocket launchers and other armaments contracted to supply to The Islamic Republic of Iran, their great good friends. Against Israel's pleas, but then who listens to Israel's pleas anyway? Certainly not the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
So does Russia have a point in its pointed objections to the U.S. Treasury imposing sanctions on some Iranian banks, companies and etcetera? Well, cue Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "You showed bad temper, reneged on your promise and again resorted to devilish manners", he accused France and Russia. Did they cringe in embarrassment? Well, just to teach them a lesson in manners, Iran has now decided it will build four new nuclear reactors.
There, lesson learned?
Labels: European Union, Middle East, Russia, United States
posted by Pieface @ Friday, June 18, 2010
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