Germany owes Greece EUR300 billion WWII reparations

By Vladimir V. Sytin

Recently, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece, has reiterated that Germany must pay reparations of damages done by the Nazi military during the occupation of the Balkan country in World War II. Prokopis Pavlopoulos made this statement when he visited the Greek village of Kommeno where Nazi war criminals executed 317 inhabitants and torched the village on August 16, 1943.

The President of Greece honored the memory of the victims of German fascist terror and stated that “our claims [for the reparations] are legally effective and judicially enforceable”. Overall, Germany owes 300 billion euros to Greece.

During the German occupation, much of Greece was subjected to enormous destruction of its industry (80% of which was destroyed), infrastructure (28% destroyed), ports, roads, railroads and bridges (90%), forests and other natural resources (25%) and loss of civilian life (up to 11.17% of its citizens). Reportedly, the occupying Nazi regime forced Greece to pay the cost of the Nazi occupation in the country, as well as requisitioned raw materials and food for the occupation forces, creating the conditions for the Great Famine during which over 300,000 Greeks died from starvation. In 1942, the Greek Central Bank was forced by the occupying Nazi regime to loan 476 million Reich marks at 0% interest to Nazi Germany to fund its North African campaign.

The Greek newspaper Ekathimerini notes that Germany has repeatedly rejected Greece's claims as it allegedly honored its obligations, including a 115 million deutschmark payment to Athens in 1960.

Poroshenko regime, U.S. are no match for Russia's military leviathan

According to analysts, the Ukrainian military dare not attack heroic defenders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for fear of the retaliatory strike that could be made by Russia. The Ukrainian army would have long launched a major offensive on the republics if it were not for the deployment of Russian armed forces on borders with Ukraine.

Additionally, Russia conducts ongoing military exercises on its west and south-west borders with Ukraine to prevent any attack against the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. In the meantime, President Vladimir Putin has brought in the bill into the State Duma, Russia's parliament, which will allow Moscow to put air defenses on Byelorussia's borders with Ukraine.

Paul Craig Roberts, chairman of the Institute for Political Economy, wrote that it was Washington that enabled Ukraine's attack on its former provinces with large Russian populations. Some of the crazed neoconservatives erroneously believe Russia is not sufficiently well-armed to respond to U.S. aggression, but the fact of the matter is that Russia's strategic weapons are superior and more powerful than those of the United States.

Critics say Ukraine's attack on the Donbas region is mindless. It shows Washington's puppets, who still sit in Kiev, totally devoid of all intelligence. Even a fool understands that violence creates growing resistance, and the Poroshenko regime has not even the intelligence of fools. In the event of non-fulfillment of the Minsk agreements, Kiev will have to bear a great expenditure on a civil war in Donbas, borrow from international financial institutions and submit to the loss of a part of territory.

Russia bars 79 Washington's puppets linked to voting for Montenegro’s NATO membership

By Vladimir V. Sytin

Russian authorities have barred 79 citizens of Montenegro from entering the country in response to recent bans Podgorica placed on 149 Russians traveling to Montenegro. The "undesirable" list reportedly includes prime minister Dusko Markovic, president of the Assembly Ivan Brajovic, the leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists, Milo Djukanovic, and members of Montenegrin parliament, among others. Those placed on the Russian blacklist were selected because of their role in voting for Montenegro’s NATO membership.

Previously, the Montenegrin opposition coalition Democratic Front stated that it would initiate a referendum on the entry of the country into the NATO if a decision about Montenegro’s NATO membership were made by a legislature. According to opposition leader Andrija Mandic, the Western alliance has made the great mistake of sending Montenegro an invitation because NATO member states know that two thirds of Montenegrins are against membership of the country in NATO. He thinks it is especially dangerous for Montenegro that the decision was made by parliament in defiance of the will of citizens.

Incidentally, Serbian authorities stated recently that Serbia would not enter NATO. It is worth recalling that the aggressive Western alliance (essentially the United States) waged the illegal bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999, although the Balkan country posed no threat whatsoever to NATO members. Do you remember "war criminal" Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian President branded "the butcher of the Balkans," who was compared to Hitler? Mr. Milosevic died in prison, some say murdered, before he was cleared of charges by the International Criminal Tribunal. Unsurprisingly, the Serbian society is full of hatred for the Western alliance.

In fact, the Western alliance is the cover for Washington’s war crimes. Many observers think it can provide no other service.

So, the government of Montenegro should take note that the only sovereign country in the West is the U.S. All the rest are Washington’s vassals. Anyone integrated into the West, be it NATO or the European Union, is subject to U.S. pressure.

Crimean forums offer candid insights into development prospects of peninsula, Russian World

The 11th international festival of Russian and Slavic Culture, which is entitled Great Russian Word, took place at the Livadia Palace in Yalta on June 5-6. Aimed to preserve the Russian language and culture, the format of the event included Pushkin recitations and performances given by folklore groups.

The festival gathered more than 30 foreign delegations, many politicians and political analysts who discussed questions concerning the expansion of the Russian World into all corners of the globe. It was held under the patronage of Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of the Russian Federation Council, who stated that the forum gave politicians, government officials, experts and NGOs a unique opportunity to debate the critical issues and prospects of development of the Russian World, as well as a huge role played by the Russian language and culture in integration processes within the post-Soviet space and throughout the globe on the whole.

In addition, the resort town of Alushta hosted the inaugural international forum Open Crimea on June 11-12. Financed by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the event brought together political scientists, experts and mass media representatives from Britain, Syria, Armenia, Cuba, Germany, France, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands and other countries. The forum offered its participants candid insights into development prospects of the peninsula, construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait, achievements in the field of investments and the banking system.

German top politicians call for return to detente toward Russia

By Vladimir V. Sytin

Recently, two German top politicians have called for resumption of friendly relations with Russia.

Christian Lindner, leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party of Germany, spoke for a change in Berlin's policy with respect to Moscow. According to him, it is necessary to prepare the suggestions that would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to change the policy without losing face. Mr. Lindner thinks the conflict around the Crimea, which reunited with Russia in March 2014, should be “encapsulated” so that progress can be made on other issues such as a civil war in the Donbas region.

Sahra Wagenknecht, member of the National Committee of the Left Party of Germany, supported the standpoint of the Free Democratic Party. She believes a prompt return to the foreign policy tradition of detente toward Moscow would be quintessential for peace and security in Europe.

Surely you have heard at least one thousand times that Russia invaded Ukraine; yet Washington's puppet still sits in Kiev, according to Paul Craig Roberts, chairman of the Institute for Political Economy. As he wrote, one does not have to have an IQ above 90 to understand that if Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukraine would not still be here.

ОРГАНИЗАТОРУ ТЕРРОРИСТИЧЕСКОЙ ГРУППЫ УВЕЛИЧИЛИ СРОК ЛИШЕНИЯ СВОБОДЫ

Верховный суд России принял решение увеличить срок лишения свободы крымскому татарину Руслану Зейтуллаеву с 12 до 15 лет. Зейтуллаев осуждён по обвинению в создании террористической организации и осуществлении террористической деятельности на территории Автономной Республики Крым.

В сентябре прошлого года российский суд признал Руслана Зейтуллаева виновным в участии в террористическом сообществе и осудил его на семь лет лишения свободы. Впоследствии российская прокуратура обжаловала это решение в Верховном суде России, настаивая, чтобы Зейтуллаева признали не участником, а организатором террористической группы.

Economic indicators: trade

By Vladimir V. Sytin

The export turnover of Ukrainian goods amounted to $17,242.1 million and the volume of import to $18,572.2 million in January-May, a 25.9% and 28.6% increase respectively from the same period of 2016. The unfavorable foreign trade balance worked out to $1,330.1 million, compared with $745 million in January-May 2016.

Export to the European Union rose by 25.2%, compared with January-May 2016. Within the period under review export to Byelorussia and Russia rose by 44.7% and 33.2% respectively.

According to James Rickards, editor of the Strategic Intelligence newsletter, Russia is the 12th largest economy in the world, is one of the three largest energy producers, has abundant natural resources other than oil, has advanced weapons and space technologies. President Vladimir Putin remains the geopolitical chess master he has always been. His long game involves the accumulation of gold, development of alternative payments systems, and the ultimate demise of the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency. As far as Ukrainian-Russian trade and economic ties are concerned, The New York Times once noted that there has never been a country in world history, which wrecked relations with its main, nation-state, trading partner and prospered from it.

A retail trade turnover increased by 7.3% to 362.6 billion grivnas in Ukraine in January-June, compared with the same period last year. The turnover of enterprises of wholesale trade rose by 1.5% to 857.7 billion grn in January-June, compared with a year-earlier period.