Tag Archives: U. S. Curfews

Mar 31 2022

Biden Says U.S. Govt Has No Money to Fight Pandemic, Moments Later Biden Says U.S. Govt Sending $500 Million to Ukraine


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance 

During a speech to highlight the administration’s ongoing effort to battle COVID-19, today Joe Biden said:

WHITE HOUSE – […] “Congress hasn’t provided enough money to keep purchasing these monoclonal bo- — antibodies.  We’ve had to cancel planned orders and cut the supply we’re sending to the states.  Without more funding, we’ll start to run out of them by the end of May — the end of May.  We’ve also had to scale back our plan to purchase more preventive therapies for Americans who are immunocompromised — critical tools to protect the most vulnerable among us.  Without more funding, we risk running out of the supply by this fall.” (link)

Approximately 3 minutes after making that speech, the White House provided a readout from a telephone call between Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that took place shortly before the speech:

WHITE HOUSE – “President Biden informed President Zelenskyy that the United States intends to provide the Ukrainian government with $500 million in direct budgetary aid” (link)

We the People are in an abusive relationship with our government.

Mar 31 2022

Russia Agrees to Accept Euros for Energy Payment, Which Will Be Transacted into Rubles by Gazprombank


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold further discussions on the purchase of Russian energy products in rubles according to TASS (Russian News) and western media.  However, in the interim Russia will continue accepting payment in euros which will be exchanged for rubles by Gazprom bank.

(left) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – (right) Russian President Vladimir Putin

The situation is ongoing, as an outcome of the G7 energy minister’s prior emergency meeting on Monday, where they demanded Russia continue accepting both euros and dollars for the payment of Russian gas and oil purchases.  The current short-term resolution to continue accepting euros and dollars may not last long, as Russia is continuing to emphasize their demand that purchasing nations switch to rubles for future contracts.

Despite NATO, the G7 nations and western alliance agreeing to use economic and financial sanctions to block Russia from receiving dollars and euros.  Inside the alliance, there appears to be a fear that if Russia is successful in creating a financial trade system based on rubles, the G7 may lose influence on energy policy via climate change.

Inside the western alliance, the geopolitical control mechanisms that use energy sector development are under stress.  If global oil and gas is not exchanged in euros (European centric) or petrodollars (globally), the ability of the multinational agents to pressure climate change demands will be weakened.

The economic globalists need the oil/gas producing nations to stay linked to euros and dollars. The economic nationalists, who essentially generate most of the oil and gas that is used by the rest of the world, would be more favorable to a different form of currency for payment.

Thus, inside the western alliance that triggered the sanctions, there is a problem.  That problem becomes a pressure point for Russia to exploit, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin is doing by asking for payment in rubles.

To try and support the western alliance political effort, the ideologically allied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now pushing “green energy” development.  Getting the entire world economy realigned through the tool of energy development is the objective of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and climate change globalists within the sphere of international finance.  The sticky issue remains with Europe dependent on Russia selling energy.

♦ WESTERN OUTLOOK – The Kremlin separately said in a statement on Wednesday that switching to ruble payments shouldn’t deteriorate contract terms for European importers of Russian gas.

Putin told Scholz that after European buyers make payments in euros to lender Gazprombank, it would convert the currency to rubles, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement describing the call. (link)

♦ RUSSIAN OUTLOOK – Russia agrees to accept payments for gas from European partners in euros through Gazprombank, which will convert them into rubles. This statement was made on Wednesday by the representative of the German government Steffen Hebestreit following the results of telephone conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

[…] As previously reported by the press service of the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed that the transition to payment for Russian gas in rubles will be further discussed by experts of the two countries. It was noted that the decision should not lead to a deterioration in contractual conditions for European companies importing Russian gas. (link)

This stuff is extremely interesting, because the outcome of this trade exchange could seriously alter the course of history.  Up to this point, the ‘globalists’ were overwhelmingly winning the geopolitical economic battles.  However, there is a very real possibility the events of the last two years, in combination with the events within the Ukraine/Russia conflict, could end with a rise of economic nationalism.

When Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau used a national emergency declaration to seize the bank accounts and financial assets of his political opposition, he triggered an awakening in citizens as they realized how the Canadian government could be weaponized against them.  Regardless of what the future holds, that factual reference point will always exist.

When the western alliance triggered their economic and financial sanctions against Russia, again an example of seizing the banking and financial assets of their political opposition – albeit on a geopolitical scale, they too triggered a new awakening about the risks and vulnerabilities of being connected to a one-world-order system.  That awakening is what is taking place right now.

In the Canadian example, people immediately started looking for ways to remain sovereign as a citizen and solvent as a person.  In the NATO example, nations are now contemplating how to remain nationalist as a country, and solvent as an economy.  Both intents and objectives hold similarities.

For the first time in decades, the globalists appear to be shaken and unsteady.  The underlying premise of their assembly is in the spotlight, and that premise is not as appealing as it was.  Simultaneously, for the first time in decades, the benefits of economic nationalism are being reevaluated and reassessed, and there is an increased appeal in the self-sufficiency of sovereignty.  WATCH:

We live in very interesting times.

Carry on…

There is a big table between them.

Mar 31 2022

NBC Concerned the Midterm Election Is in Shellacking Territory


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance

Unrelated to the NBC polling, CTH has been monitoring a pattern, a statistical pattern, as it pertains to public sentiment on key issues throughout our nation.  There is a consistent ratio of 3:1 evident in almost all current political policy reviews.

Meaning, take any singular issue, inflation, gas prices, covid mandates, Ukraine v Russia, specific policy popularity or opinion of Biden as examples, and you will consistently see roughly 75% of the American people on one side and 25% on the other (a roughly 3:1 ratio).   In the bigger picture, the policies and outcomes of the current political elite, domestic and international, only have the support of one-quarter of the affected population.

In broad terms, three-quarters of the public do not support the radical agenda of the global political class.  Thus, when corporate media and politicians say democracy is stressed or democracy doesn’t seem to be working, what they are really recognizing is their own creation. Powerful political, cultural and corporate elites are pushing an agenda not supported by the overwhelming majority.  This background truism is also evident in this NBC polling. WATCH:

Keep watching any political data, and you might also start to spot this repeating 3:1 ratio.  It is showing up everywhere now.

Mar 31 2022

U.S. Intel and National Security Apparatus Make Moves to Protect Joe Biden From Hunter Biden Laptop Fallout


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 | Sundance 

Two extremely devastating accounts from the CIA and U.S. Intelligence Community’s public relations firm, The Washington Post, surface today highlighting and confirming the authenticity of the material contained in the Hunter Biden laptop.

The first defensive narrative is titled “Here’s how The Post analyzed Hunter Biden’s laptop” and was published at 11:00am ET today.  The second effort, intended to defend the administration from the fallout is titled, “Inside Hunter Biden’s multimillion-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company,” and was published four minutes later at 11:04am.

Both WaPo reports, facilitated by, approved by, and coordinated within the United States intelligence community, reveal that Hunter Biden used his position to leverage money from foreign governments in order to build the bank accounts and financial interests of the Biden family. However, it is critical to review these releases knowing the baseline is *NOT* to remove Joe Biden, but to protect him.

The New York Times and Washington Post are not in business to impede the DC agenda, they are in business to protect the DC agenda.

These releases today are about *PROTECTING* the current unique ability that retaining Biden represents. Joe Biden will never be discarded, ever. He will never not be useful. The installation of Joe Biden was/is the ultimate tool. Their once in a lifetime opportunity to advance the goals of the globalist deep state without concern for political fallout.

The first WaPo report is an effort to protect their own integrity and make claims about why they could not, until now, verify the authenticity of the Hunter Biden emails and electronic communication.  Their goal, in this article, is to make people believe it was impossible to accurately authenticate the content until now.

(Wa/Po) – Thousands of emails purportedly from the laptop computer of Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, are authentic communications that can be verified through cryptographic signatures from Google and other technology companies, say two security experts who examined the data at the request of The Washington Post.

The verifiable emails are a small fraction of 217 gigabytes of data provided to The Post on a portable hard drive by Republican activist Jack Maxey. He said the contents of the portable drive originated from Biden’s MacBook Pro, which Biden reportedly dropped off at a computer repair shop in Wilmington, Del., in April 2019 and never reclaimed.

[…]  Many Republicans have portrayed this data as offering evidence of misbehavior by Hunter Biden that implicated his father in scandal, while Democrats have dismissed it as probable disinformation, perhaps pushed by Russian operatives acting in a well-documented effort to undermine Biden. Facebook and Twitter in 2020 restricted distribution of stories about the drive’s contents out of concern that the revelations might have resulted from a nefarious hacking campaign intended to upend the election, much as Russian hacks of sensitive Democratic Party emails shaped the trajectory of the 2016 election.

The Washington Post’s forensic findings are unlikely to resolve that debate, offering instead only the limited revelation that some of the data on the portable drive appears to be authentic. The security experts who examined the data for The Post struggled to reach definitive conclusions about the contents as a whole, including whether all of it originated from a single computer or could have been assembled from files from multiple computers and put on the portable drive. (read more)

The second report, published four minutes after the purposeful obfuscation effort to detract from the authenticity, goes into details surrounding how the Biden family gained financial wealth from selling influence.

(WaPo) – The deal was years in the making, the culmination of forging contacts, hosting dinners, of flights to and from China. But on Aug. 2, 2017, signatures were quickly affixed, one from Hunter Biden, the other from a Chinese executive named Gongwen Dong.

Within days, a new Cathay Bank account was created. Within a week, millions of dollars started to change hands.

Within a year, it would all begin to collapse.

While many aspects of Hunter Biden’s financial arrangement with CEFC China Energy have been previously reported and were included in a Republican-led Senate report from 2020, a Washington Post review confirmed many of the key details and found additional documents showing Biden family interactions with Chinese executives.

Over the course of 14 months, the Chinese energy conglomerate and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter Biden and his uncle, according to government records, court documents and newly disclosed bank statements, as well as emails contained on a copy of a laptop hard drive that purportedly once belonged to Hunter Biden.

The Post did not find evidence that Joe Biden personally benefited from or knew details about the transactions with CEFC, which took place after he had left the vice presidency and before he announced his intentions to run for the White House in 2020.

But the new documents — which include a signed copy of a $1 million legal retainer, emails related to the wire transfers, and $3.8 million in consulting fees that are confirmed in new bank records and agreements signed by Hunter Biden — illustrate the ways in which his family profited from relationships built over Joe Biden’s decades in public service. The potential energy projects Hunter Biden discussed with CEFC never came to fruition.

Nonetheless, accounts linked to Hunter Biden received $3.8 million in payments from CEFC through consulting contracts, according to bank records and joint agreements reviewed by The Post.

Biden received an additional $1 million retainer, issued as part of an agreement to represent Patrick Ho, a CEFC official who would later be charged in the United States in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe leaders from Chad and Uganda. That retainer agreement, in a newly uncovered document, contains the signatures of both Hunter Biden and Ho, who was later convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

[…] CEFC, a massive oil and gas company founded in 2002, had financing from government development banks and ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army, according to people who studied the firm. Ye’s official biography said he was once deputy secretary of the China Association for International Friendly Contact, an organization that a 2011 U.S. congressional report called “a front” for the People’s Liberation Army.

While CEFC was ostensibly private, experts in the Chinese economy say it is unlikely that it operated independently of the government.

The Chinese Embassy declined to comment on CEFC ties to the Chinese government or Hunter Biden’s involvement with the firm.

Shortly after Joe Biden left the vice presidency, Hunter Biden and Ye met over dinner in Miami.

The two discussed business opportunities for CEFC in the United States, including a $40 million joint venture to produce liquefied natural gas in Louisiana, according to a July 2019 New Yorker report based on extensive interviews with Hunter Biden.

That deal failed. But Ye Jianming was so pleased with his initial meeting with Hunter Biden that after dinner he sent a 2.8-carat diamond to Hunter Biden’s hotel room with a card thanking him for the conversation, according to the New Yorker.

In divorce proceedings, Hunter’s wife would claim the diamond was worth $80,000. Hunter Biden told the New Yorker the value was closer to $10,000, that he gave the diamond to his associates, and that he doesn’t know what they did with it.

In the summer of 2017, Hunter Biden received a request from Ye that would foreshadow subsequent problems for CEFC. Ye said that a top CEFC associate, Patrick Ho, might be under investigation by U.S. law enforcement and he asked Hunter Biden for help. Hunter Biden told the New Yorker that he agreed to represent Ho and to try to figure out if he was under scrutiny by law enforcement.

[…] The execution of the bigger consulting deal between Hunter Biden and CEFC occurred rapidly in early August 2017.

The contract, signed on Aug. 2, 2017, stated that Hunter Biden would get a one-time retainer of $500,000 and would then receive a monthly stipend of $100,000, with his uncle James Biden getting $65,000 a month.

An unsigned copy of the agreement was found on the purported copy of Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive. A signed copy was included with bank records provided to Grassley and reviewed by The Post. Under the 26-page agreement, they agreed to jointly pursue investments under a company named Hudson West III LLC.

The money began flowing almost immediately, with the first incoming wire of $5 million arriving on Aug. 8, 2017, according to documents found on the copy of Hunter Biden’s laptop and corroborated by identical bank statements that Grassley’s office obtained from Cathay Bank for an account jointly held by Hunter Biden and CEFC executives.

After expenses and personnel costs, the bulk of the money, about $4.8 million, was directed over a 14-month period, usually in increments of $165,000, to an account linked to Hunter Biden, the documents show. During that time period, about $1.4 million was transferred from Hunter’s account to Lion Hall Group, the consulting firm that James Biden ran, according to other government records reviewed by The Post.

“No comment,” James Biden said when reached on his cellphone and asked about the CEFC deal. (read more)

Mar 31 2022

John Solomon Interviews President Trump on Current Events


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 30, 2022 

John Solomon and Amanda Head sit down with President Donald Trump for an exclusive interview covering the biggest issues effecting Americans today. {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

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Mar 30 2022

Weaponizing Russian Energy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Mar 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

In an attempt to boost the ruble and avoid sanctions, Russia will stop accepting payments in dollars and euros from “unfriendly countries.” India is on board and willing to change to a SWIFT alternative to easily convert rupees to rubles. The G7 has declared that they will not pay for gas in rubles. “[A]ll G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts,” German energy minister Robert Habeck stated. “Payment in ruble is not acceptable, and we will urge the companies affected not to follow Putin’s demand,” Habeck said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we clearly aren’t going to supply gas for free” and Russia would not “engage in charity for Europe.” Europe’s pipeline systems are largely connected so it would be difficult to cut off flows to individual nations within the continent. Gazprom, the largest supplier of gas from Russia, has been notified. The company provided “unfriendly countries” with around 70% of exports in 2021 totaling $69 billion.

The contracts are already in order. “I want to emphasize that Russia will definitely continue to supply natural gas in line with the volumes and prices and pricing mechanisms set forth in the existing contracts,” Putin said as he knows that gas exports are essential to the Russian economy. “It’s pretty clear that it makes no sense for us to supply our goods to the European Union, to the U.S. and receive payments in dollars, euros, other currencies,” Putin also stated.

Europe still imports 40% of gas and 25% of oil from Russia. Since the Kremlin is open to all possible outcomes, Europe is preparing for gas shortages. Germany, the largest importer of Russian gas, has asked some energy companies to be aware of possible shortages. The current contracts in place should be safe if Putin keeps his promise, but then a real problem will arise.

Mar 30 2022

Ukraine & Russia Peace Talks – Will Sanctions Be Lifted?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Turkey Posted Mar 29, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

While the news is spinning this as Russia is losing for they are now negotiating, there is a lot more going on behind the curtain than people suspect – this will be a true TEST of international law. Indeed, Russia has promised to drastically scale down its military operations around Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv given Ukraine’s proposed neutral status with international guarantees. This will turn on the guarantee that Ukraine will not only remain out of NATO but will also no longer host bases of foreign troops. This will be under the original security guarantee in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defense clause of NATO. The proposal will be that this guarantee will be secured by NATO members Canada, Poland, and Turkey.

In addition, Ukraine will agree to a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea upon a complete ceasefire. These proposals are being submitted to President Vladimir Putin. The Donbas is on the table for that must be settled to end the civil war which the US has been covertly funding against Russia thanks to the US Neocons.

While it appears based on our computer that some decision will come perhaps the week of April 18th, the real test will be something even far more important. Can the powers that be get our insane leader of the Free World, Joe Biden, to terminate all sanctions against Russians? If there is a peace settlement, then the White House should rescind all sanctions. That should include those put on by Obama back in 2014 because of Crimea. If that is NOT done, then there is no way to restore the world economy nor to aid the reduction of inflation. As long as sanctions remain in place, peace or no peace in Ukraine will mean nothing going forward.

Mar 30 2022

Col Douglas Macgregor Gives His Updated Opinion on Current Status of Ukraine-Russia Conflict


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 29, 2022

Col Douglas Macgregor appears for an interview with Dave Smith on his “Part Of The Problem” podcast.  Col Macgregor gives his status update on the Ukraine and Russian military along with some excellent background information on the U.S. cultural issues which are driving the U.S. position.

Additionally, Macgregor overlays the economic battle both domestically and geopolitically with the currency war and talks about economic repercussions for the U.S., NATO countries, Ukraine and Russia.   As noted by Macgregor when the Biden administration turned favorably toward Iran the Saudis immediately realized it was in their best interest to withdraw strategic support for the U.S.

It’s a good interview that goes into much more depth than the average media appearance, and permits discussion of multiple facets of the conflict in/around Ukraine. The video is prompted to begin at 17:34 when the Ukraine discussion begins. WATCH:

Mar 30 2022

Ukraine President Zelenskyy Demands Europe Transition to “Green Energy” Quickly


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 29, 2022 

And there it is….. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a public broadcast urging the allied western nations to quickly adopt “green energy” policies which he says will undermine the influence of Russia in Europe.  If you’ve been following events, this demand is yet another big puzzle piece coming together.  {Go Deep 1, Go Deep 2, and Go Deep 3)

The Recount has the video HERE. I cannot locate the shareable video on any other tech platform, which, given the importance, is not surprising. I doubt any govt in the western world wants to have the dots connected.

In the video Zelenskyy urges the NATO alliance, specifically western Europe, to quickly adopt the Build Back Better climate change agenda as it helps his country.  He advocates for “green energy” as a top priority so that alliance members are not reliant on Russian energy sales.

If it seems a little odd that a president, in the middle of a war zone, would be advocating for the climate change agenda, you are not seeing the big picture.  Ukraine is a crisis that cannot be wasted.  The Green New Deal, Build Back Better, and western nation climate change agenda is far more important than a single proxy war nation.  Ukraine is a tool in the bigger agenda, nothing more.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is controlled by the western alliance, NATO, Dept of State, CIA and western allied intelligence.  This is part of the reason why Russia took action in the first place.  Zelenskyy has a role to play and pushing the Build Back Better (WEF) agenda, while the opportunity exists, is all part of the organized global cleaving.

Two fractured geopolitical groups globally.

The green energy group (economic globalists), and the fossil fuel group (economic nationalists).

Behind the G7 and NATO, we know the multinational corporations assembled in the World Economic Forum are ultimately the driver of political policy. The central bankers, finance ministers and politicians all operate under the guidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO).

Together, the WEF, IMF, WB, WTO, EU central banks and U.S. federal reserve, collectively represent what we call the globalists.  And the globalists are pushing the climate change agenda hard {WEF LINK}.

It is always important to remember the ultimate goal of the ‘climate change’ promoters is not an energy system that changes the global climate. The goal of the ‘climate change’ group is to create a carbon trading system; a new financial mechanism (a global tax program) to control human activity on a world-wide basis.  This system also needs a digital identity in order to work.

As a consequence, when we look at the fracturing of the global energy marketplace, it is worth viewing the divided group through the prism of the globalist carbon trading scheme.

Two world groupings.  One group, oil-based energy (traditional) – let’s label them the RED GROUP (grey on map below), and one group GREEN energy (the build back better plan, yellow on map below).  It is not accidental these two groups hold similar internal geopolitical views and perspectives, hence, their alignment with the sanctions against Russia.

♦ The important part to see is… if this cleaving continues, there are going to be two sets of nations with two structurally different economies. A red group and a green group.

The Green group is going to be at a strong disadvantage, at least for a generation or two, as the costs associated with the production of goods and systems is going to be much more expensive to operate, as the transition into Build Back Better sustainable or renewable energy takes place.

However, this is where the strategery comes in.  If they can control the world effort globally, the GREEN GROUP may be able to offset their operational costs with a global tax against the RED GROUP.  That’s what yesterday’s G7 announcement was really about {GO DEEP}

This geopolitical contest is for all the marbles folks.

The opportunity to use disposable Joe Biden is the globalists once in a lifetime chance….

…And they are sure as hell acting like it.

Mar 30 2022

Russia Indicates Withdrawal in Position From Ukraine Capital, Kyiv


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 29, 2022 

While the western propaganda about the Russian objective in Ukraine remains at a fever pitch, most intellectually honest observers have always held that liberation of eastern Ukraine was the goal of Russia and western Ukraine was never part of the objective.

With a decade-long civil war in eastern Ukraine preceding the current Russian operations, and with western forces supporting one side while Russia supported the other, it was always presumed -prior to the Russian military operations- that Vladimir Putin’s central goal was removing the NATO influence from eastern Ukraine.

That objective has seemingly remained visible throughout the conflict with Russian activity in western Ukraine limited in scope to targeting inbound NATO weapons and material support.

We might remember the 20-mile-long armored convoy that sat in place for weeks north of Kyiv while the media narrative was ‘any day now’. Those troops never moved on Kyiv, and in hindsight looked more like a strategic positioning of resources to keep western Ukraine in check while the more important goal of clearing eastern Ukraine was the ongoing operation.

It seems a little silly to point out the obvious, but everything Putin said about what he was doing in Ukraine is factually what has taken place. The western media narrative spinning his ‘true intents’ to be much more significant than his open statements, has never played out when reviewing the actual military operations. In short, Putin was then (as he said), and continues now, to be carving out eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region.

As the Russian operations in eastern Ukraine enter the clean-up and finalization stage, this report about the shift in Russian operations near Kyiv and western Ukraine makes a great deal of sense.  The Reuters spin is that Putin was losing western Ukraine, ergo he is reducing activity.  However, it never appeared that western Ukraine was part of the objective.

ISTANBUL/KYIV OUTSKIRTS/MARIUPOL, Ukraine, March 29 (Reuters) – Russia promised on Tuesday to scale down military operations around Ukraine’s capital and north, while Kyiv proposed adopting neutral status, in confidence-building steps that were the first signs of progress towards negotiating peace.

Their talks took place in an Istanbul palace more than a month into the largest attack on a European nation since World War Two. Russia’s invasion has been halted on most fronts by stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces who have recaptured territory even as civilians are trapped in besieged cities.

He made no mention of other areas that have seen heavy fighting, including around Mariupol in the southeast, Sumy and Kharkiv in the east and Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south.

Some analysts noted that Russia’s promise to reduce fighting mostly covered areas where it has been losing ground.

[…] Ukrainian negotiators said that under their proposals, Kyiv would agree not to join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defence clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.

They named Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that may give such guarantees. Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy could also be involved.

The proposals, which would require a referendum in Ukraine, mentioned a 15-year consultation period on the status of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. The fate of the southeastern Donbas region, which Russia demands Ukraine cede to separatists, would be discussed by the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

Kyiv’s proposals also included one that Moscow would not oppose Ukraine joining the European Union, Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. Russia has previously opposed Ukrainian membership of the EU and especially of NATO. (read more)