EEF-2024: Russia shows readiness to help build international system reflecting interests of global majority

“President Putin emphasized global cooperation, [that] Russia is ready to cooperate to establish a multipolar world order which reflects justice for a majority of countries,” Dr. Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, Professor with the Faculty of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University, Indonesian military and security expert, told Sputnik, summarizing her impressions of President Putin’s speech at this year’s Eastern Economic Forum, and the forum in general.

The panel discussion, which included a conversation on security, the threat of terrorism, efforts by some countries to destabilize others, the Ukrainian crisis, the nuclear threat, energy security and other issues demonstrated that the forum was about economics, but also “very related to security,” Bakrie said.

In general, the forum highlighted Russia’s commitment to taking relations with Asia-Pacific region to a new level, the observer said.

“The most important thing for the Asia-Pacific is technology and science, because we are a little bit weak on that position. In President Putin’s speech yesterday, he really underlined that Russia will play a very big part in building science and technology together [with Asian countries, ed.], especially in the nuclear aspect of energy security,” Bakrie said.

When it comes to technological security and sovereignty, Russia-Asia Pacific partnerships could do for the issue what US-led initiatives have aimed to do via AUKUS and QUAD – providing “military industry, high technology, surveillance systems, things like that to balance the Indo-Pacific,” according to the observer.

Bakrie was also impressed by the Russian Far East, saying it was her first time visiting the region, and that she was “surprised that the Far East’s development is so advanced. I see that the development of the Far East is very serious, especially when President Putin mentioned that in the last ten years, 25,000 manufacturing, infrastructure, technology and education projects were built in that area.”

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External forces are not trying to interfere in the US presidential election, a US intelligence official told a special briefing.

But he claimed that Russia, China and Iran see the November general elections as a “weak point” and are trying to influence the outcome by promoting one or other candidate.

"Russia is the most active threat," and Moscow's goal is allegedly an attempt to "weaken the United States and Washington's support for Ukraine," the official said.

On September 4, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, as well as her deputies Anton Anisimov and Elizaveta Brodskaya.

Also targeted were the head of RT information broadcasting Andrei Kiyashko, the head of the digital media projects department Konstantin Kalashnikov and a number of other employees of the TV channel.

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◻️ Why the Russian Far East can become 21st century’s main driver of growth

◻️ Pavel Durov's charges are hinting at French spying on private communications

◻️ What might be the reason for Hunter Biden’s guilty plea?

◻️ Read about newly-appointed French PM Michel Barnier's known political issues?

◻️ How Russia shows readiness to help build new international system

◻️ What stands behind Ukraine’s Cabinet reshuffle?

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Macron’s PM pick makes sense for a president ‘no longer in control’

The appointment of Michel Barnier after two months of deadlock is a sign of a president “deeply weakened, nationally and internationality,” a president “no longer and control,” and in need of “an experienced 73-year-old with a long political career under his belt,” Dr. Edouard Husson, a French historian and publisher of Le Courrier des Strateges geopolitical affairs journal, told Sputnik, commenting on President Macron's prime ministerial appointment.

Barnier “was elected Member of Parliament at the age of 27, in 1978. Not only did he campaign for General de Gaulle's re-election in 1965, but he also had an insider's view of the Gaullist party and was a minister under Jacques Chirac and then Nicolas Sarkozy. He also knows European institutions far better than Emmanuel Macron," notes expert.

"All these factors mean that Michel Barnier is more independent-minded than Emmanuel Macron and his supporters. He is capable of questioning a system that he knows intimately,” Professor Husson explained, pointing, for example, to Barnier’s 2022 proposal to suspend EU immigration rules for France.

While France and the world shouldn’t expect any dramatic changes from Barnier, he is a “pragmatist,” according to the observer.

“On Ukraine, or Gaza, he is more likely than others to listen to the nuanced views of Pope Francis than the rest of the French political class…In reality, I think his priority will be the budget - we need to start getting France out of debt. And to do that, it's better to have a peaceful policy,” Husson said.

On domestic policy, Barnier is the opposite of Macron – a “unifier” rather than a divider, according to the observer.

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‘Zombie’ Volkswagen result of years of wrong-headed German government policy

“German and European industry will lose this battle with China for sure, and for me, it’s a completely silly idea to politically decide to commit suicide in the automotive industry and ‘repair’ it by banning Chinese vehicles from the European market,” Bundestag member Dirk Spaniel told Sputnik, commenting on German car-making giant Volkswagen’s plans to close plants amid stiff competition from China and spiking energy costs, as Brussels mulls tough new tariffs against Beijing.

“[If the] Chinese are not allowed to sell the cars in Germany or Europe, probably other products will be taxed in China. This will lead, especially for an exporter nation like Germany, to large drops of volumes of goods exported to China, which will affect the German market or German companies. For sure, this is a very bad way to wage a trade war with China,” Spaniel, a member of the Alternative for Germany parliamentary faction and the party’s spokesman for transport policy, said.

“Building cars has been a long tradition in Germany,” Spaniel said, noting that the country’s traditional advantage has revolved around its ability to achieve full cycle production.

“Right now things are changing because of the European Union, which decided to ban internal combustion engines,” Spaniel explained, pointing out that European carmakers’ efforts to quickly retool to build EVs has cost a great deal of money, increasing the price of vehicles which consumers aren’t particularly interested in.

On top of that is the lingering fallout of the economic downturn caused by the response to Covid, high energy prices, and the fiscal crunch currently facing the state, which has meant a halt to subsidies for EVs and higher prices. As Berlin eyes a bailout for Volkswagen, the company is looking more and more “like a zombie,” Spaniel emphasized.

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Benny Johnson declares no one influenced his content policies amid allegations against Russia

US conservative blogger Benny Johnson wrote on his X account that no one influenced his editorial policy amid accusations by US authorities that his employing company was allegedly secretly funded from Russia.

“I have been notified by the FBI that I have been the victim of a crime. [US Attorney General] Merrick Garland said the same thing at his press conference. I am the only person who has ever had editorial control over my program. Period,” said Johnson, whose Youtube channel has nearly 2.4 million subscribers.

Although the US Justice Department did not mention the name of the company in its charges, US media believe the company in question is Tenet Media, which represented Johnson and a number of other conservative influencers. According to the US Justice Department, the company was allegedly secretly funded from Russia by RT employees. The bloggers themselves were not charged because the company allegedly did not tell them the source of the funds.

The US imposed sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly. The new sanctions affected Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya, and a number of top managers of the RT broadcaster. Simonyan later claimed that the Western media "have plunged into a fit of paranoia,” adding that bloggers allegedly hired by RT, according to US authorities, “deny everything, but what else can they do?”

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the US presidential election will be won by the candidate chosen by the American people, and it is up to Russia not to interfere and to observe the process. Russian authorities have repeatedly emphasized that Russia does not interfere in American electoral processes.

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🇨🇳 Chinese technology never ceases to amaze. Self-parking cars have become commonplace there.

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US knew about reshuffle of Ukrainian government, likely pushed it – journo

The White House knew beforehand about the mass resignations in the Ukrainian government that were probably conducted under US pressure, American journalist, Jackson Hinkle, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

Such a massive dismissal, he added, could not have happened without a serious dialogue with the US, even if it took place behind the curtains and didn’t involve top officials of the State Department.

On September 4th, Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise reshuffle of senior officials in Kiev. Among them, Rostyslav Shurma, the deputy head of Zelensky’s office, was dismissed, as was Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Earlier, experts had told Sputnik that the Cabinet reshuffle is likely a ‘sham’ political reboot aimed at showing off ‘democratic’ process in the country.

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UK ‘thinking head of Western hydra that helps Zelensky regime’ – expert 

It’s safe to say that Britain is directly involved in hostilities against Moscow, military journalist, Alexey Borzenko, told Sputnik.

He was commenting on Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s recent statement that the preliminary adjustment of the flight controllers of the Ukrainian drones that attacked an oil storage facility in Russia’s Rostov region were carried out in Salisbury and Newport, UK.

“For Moscow, Britain is the most hostile NATO country because the UK is involved in all major projects to damage Russian infrastructure, and the civilian population and troops to the maximum,” Borzenko, who is also deputy chief editor of the Literary Russia newspaper, said.  

He stressed that it is in the UK where Ukrainian specialists in electronic warfare, missile technology, and strike systems using long-range artillery are trained. 

The UK can be called “the thinking head of the entire Western hydra”, which helps the Kiev regime by providing it with military hardware, the journalist pointed out, recalling that Britain was the first to supply grenade launchers to Ukraine, followed by tanks, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and even poison in ampoules. 

Borzenko expressed hope that “on a certain stage", Britain will bear responsibility for its actions. 

When it comes to Moscow’s retaliatory steps, the journalist subscribed to Zakharova’s stand that “in response to the Zelensky regime’s strikes on Russian territory using UK-made weapons, Russia reserves its right to strike any British military facilities and vehicles in Ukraine and beyond."

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◻️UK ‘thinking head of Western hydra that helps Zelensky regime’ – expert

◻️Benny Johnson declares no one influenced his content policies amid allegations against Russia

◻️Macron’s PM pick makes sense for a president ‘no longer in control’

◻️‘Zombie’ Volkswagen result of years of wrong-headed German government policy

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Pentagon invested $5.3 billion in ammunition as Ukraine burns through stockpiles

The Pentagon has allocated $5.3 billion of congressionally approved funds to ramp up US munitions production for Ukraine, and to replenish American stockpiles since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, according to new data released on Friday.

As Ukraine exhausted its stockpiles trying fruitlessly to change the situation on the battlefield, the US has increased production of 155mm shells, Patriot missiles, GMLRS rockets, HIMARS launch vehicles, and Javelin anti-armor weapons.

The Pentagon released the data as Zelensky took part in a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Earlier, Foreign Policy reported that the US was running short of ammunition, citing Gen. Joe Hilbert, the Army’s director of force development, who said “bottom line is that short of the supplement, [the US] will end up hitting a ceiling.”

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❗️Russia's Tsentr Battlegroup liberated the settlement of Kalinovo in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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❗️Russian forces struck Ukrainian missile and artillery armament depots and a satellite communications node, as well as military airfield infrastructure

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️Russia's Yug Battlegroup defeated formations of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 810 militants;

▪️Ukraine lost up to 110 soldiers as a result of actions of the Vostok Battlegroup;

▪️Russia's Zapad Battlegroup eliminated 450 Ukrainian militants and a tank;

▪️The Dnepr Battlegroup defeated troops and equipment of four brigades. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 60 soldiers;

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 470 militants in the area of responsibility of the Tsentr Battlegroup;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down four HIMARS MLRS shells, three Hammer bombs and 30 Ukrainian drones during the day.

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📹💥A Russian drone crew destroyed Ukraine's camouflaged mortars on the right bank of the Dnepr river

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The US' 'Russia election interference' mantra: How Western media tried to blame Moscow in 2020

Washington has again accused Moscow of meddling in the US presidential election after Russian President Vladimir Putin jokingly said that the Kremlin would support Democratic hopeful Kamala Harris in the 2024 race.

The same accusations were made four years ago even though Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said that there was no evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 US election.

Let’s delve into what Western media wrote in 2020 about the alleged role of Russia, which repeatedly rejected the US’ election interference claims as unsubstantiated.

💬 The New York Times: Russian hackers “infiltrated dozens of state and local computer networks” across the US to allegedly help President Donald Trump win the race.

💬The Washington Post: “The US government is mounting a major effort to address Russia’s attempts to manipulate the presidential election” despite Trump questioning intelligence that “the Kremlin is intent on undermining American democracy.”

💬ABC News: The White House insists POTUS “was not personally briefed on the intelligence community’s reported findings that Russia is again delivering a misinformation campaign aimed at helping Trump win reelection.”

💬CNN: “Over the past week there have been fresh warnings over Russian hackers targeting the 2020 election, suggesting Moscow is still looking to duplicate its wildly successful 2016 meddling campaign.”

💬BBC: Foreign states, including Russia, could use "covert and overt influence measures" to sway the vote.

💬The Medium: A classified CIA report cites Russia’s “influence operations aimed at denigrating the former US vice president [Joe Biden], supporting the US president [Trump] and fueling public discord” ahead of the November 3, 2020 election.

Four years on, allegations of Russia’s US election interference remain part and parcel of the White House’s political agenda.

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❗️Ukrainian forces lost more than 280 militants and 13 armored vehicles in Russia's Kursk region during the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian troops repelled two attacks in the region.
Tactical aviation also hit the reserves of ten Ukrainian brigades in the Sumy region, the ministry added.

During the entire period of Ukraine's incursion in the Kursk region, Ukrainian losses have amounted to more than 10,700 soldiers, the Defense Ministry noted.

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🇷🇺🥳Putin marks Moscow Сity Day

On the occasion of the 877th anniversary of the Russian capital of Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Zaryadye Park near the Kremlin.

Putin stressed that the capital of Russia is "one of the best megacities in the world both in terms of quality of life and opportunities for self-realization."

"Moscow has become the most important center for the development of unmanned technologies," Putin also said.

The president praised Moscow residents' love for the Motherland. He noted that thousands of them participate in the special military operation, while Moscow-based enterprises have increased production for the front and strengthened the technological sovereignty of the country.

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No US-style witch hunt in Russia – American journo

If Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer who cooperated with Russian media, and the assets of Dimitri K. Simes, a Russian political scientist with US citizenship, were in Russia and not within the reach of the presumably free US, they would not be threatened by a “witch hunt,” US journalist Jackson Hinkle said in a conversation with Sputnik on the sidelines of the 2024 Eastern Economic Forum.

Ritter earlier said that he was forced to stop cooperation with RT and Sputnik because of the new US sanctions against Russian media companies, while expressing gratitude to his Russian colleagues for their professionalism.

For his part, Hinkle said that sanctions and the 'witch hunt' waged against the Russian media cannot stop him, because he is in Russia and he is safe. Hinkle also noted that if Ritter were in Russia, his passport wouldn't have been confiscated. Likewise, if the paintings and all of Simes' belongings were in Russia, they wouldn't have been seized.

In June, Ritter told Sputnik that US Customs and Border Protection officers seized his passport on State Department orders, preventing him from attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In a seperate move, in August, the FBI confirmed to Sputnik a search at Simes' estate in the US. As the political scientist himself told the agency, he was not notified of the search in advance and has not been to the US since October 2022.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that American restrictions on the performance of Russian media indicate the degradation of the US itself and its transformation into a totalitarian neoliberal dictatorship.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on Argentina's appeal to the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro:

"Doesn't Argentina have its own problems, and has President Milei already implemented all his election promises?" Zakharova wrote on her Telegram account.

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