RUSSIA, BRICSA, EU, AND NATO: PART ONE: CYPRUS, RUSSIA SIGNED DEAL OVER CYPRIOT PORTS

by Joseph Farrell, Giza Death Star.com:

You may have missed this one, but in the wake of the Greek Syriza party’s victory in the Greek elections, and the whirlwind visits of its ministers to Brussels, Frankfurt, and Moscow, there’s another part of the Atlantic alliance tapestry that might be beginning to be unstuck:

Russia, Greek Cyprus sign military deal on use of Mediterranean ports

There’s something in this article that I found very interesting, and it is one of those things one might have missed unless one was paying attention to the obvious:

“We signed a number of documents regarding our military cooperation. For example regarding the entrance of our ships to [Greek] Cypriot ports,” Putin told journalists.

Ties between Russia and the West have plummeted in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, but Putin said the ships allowed to dock at Greek Cypriot ports would mostly be used in international anti-terrorism and piracy efforts.

“I don’t think this should worry anyone,” he said.

Greek Cyprus, which is heavily dependent on Russian investment, played down Wednesday’s deal, saying Russian ships had always had access to its ports. A government source said it was simply the first time access had been spelled out in a separate accord.

Russia has sought to forge stronger ties with individual members of the European Union, including Greek Cyprus, Hungary and Greece, after the 28-nation bloc, along with the United States, imposed cumulative sanctions on Moscow for its role in Ukraine.” (Emphasis added)

Some time ago, I pointed out that one key element of Russia’s international strategy has been to emphasis not only the integrity and sovereignty of the nation-state, but of its unique culture, a meme which has been picked up by Hungarian president Orban.

This strategy is being supplemented by its insistence on dealing with the member-nations of the EU on a nation-by-nation basis. The goal here would seem to be self-evident: Russia is still tyring to integrate itself into the EU picture, or rather, to integrate the EU picture into its own development of the Eurasian Economic Union. As such, it has repeatedly called attention to Washington’s influence in Brussels at the EU level, seeking to exploit the growing disenchantment of Europeans not only with Washington, but the ludicrously undemocratic nature of the EU and Brussels bureaucracy itself.

But Cyprus is a divided island, Greek and Christian, and Turkish and Muslim, and that brings us to the other major story in the Eastern Mediterranean: Turkey. But that will have to wait until tomorrow…

See you on the flip side…

PART TWO 

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