Saturday, March 01, 2014

Vladimir this is not a good idea. Forget the G8 in Sochi. It isn't going to happen if this is Russian policy.

Posted February 27, 2014 6:25 (GMT)
By FX Empire Analyst - Barry Norman

Russia military action (click here) turned up the heat on geopolitical tension on Wednesday, pushing traders towards risk aversion and safety. Gold touched a recent high, but the US dollar became the favored safe haven trade. The greenback climbed against most of its crosses. The US dollar held near a two-week high against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, as heightening tensions in Ukraine helped support safe-haven demand for the greenback....

It is easily said that Russia is spending any political capital it may have gained during the Olympics. This is such a sour note after the games. Sorry to see all this occur. Russia got tired of being threatened by The West and it's missile shield.

Ukraine says Russia sending 'thousands' of troops to Crimea (click here)
By Bertrand De Saisset and Dmitry Zaks in Kiev (AFP) – 32 minutes ago 

Masked men calling themselves members of a local militia rest at their checkpoint on a highway that connect Black Sea peninsula to mainland Ukraine near the city of Armyansk, on February 28, 2014 (AFP, Viktor Drachev)
Simferopol — Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of sending thousands of extra troops into Crimea as the Kremlin vowed to help restore calm on the flashpoint peninsula and Washington warned of "costs" to Moscow should it use force.

Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh told the Ukrainian government's first cabinet session that Russia's armed forces had sent in 30 armoured personnel carriers and 6,000 additional troops into Crimea in a bid to help local pro-Kremlin militia gain broader independence from the new pro-EU leaders in Kiev.
Tenyukh accused Russia of starting to send in these reinforcements on Friday "without warning or Ukraine's permission."

The defence chief spoke as dozens of pro-Russian gunmen in full combat gear patrolled outside the seat of power in Crimea's capital Simferopol, a day after similar gunmen seized control over airports and government buildings in the territory....

The so called Prime Minister of the Crimea never existed until Russia indulged their aggression dreams. 

Aksyonov is playing Russia for a fool. He has no standing with any international body. He has no government and is playing with power that doesn't belong to him. The power he is counting on is becoming a territory of Russia. Is Russia going to occupy this land forever? There is no preparation by any Crimean to be an autonomous nation. The Crimea is unable to stand on it's own. Russia can remove him from being a Prime Minister as soon as they recognized him.

Sergei Aksyonov is in the photo left.

Originally Published at 13:20

SIMFEROPOL, March 1 (RIA Novosti) – The Crimean Prime Minister (click here) said Saturday that Russian troops are operating on the Ukrainian peninsula and made a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin for more assistance.

The Kremlin said in a subsequent statement that it would not ignore the request for help.

Sergei Aksyonov, who was appointed prime minister after a parliamentary vote Thursday, said that an agreement was in place with Russia’s Black Sea Fleet for Russian soldiers to perform guard duties at strategic locations.
“We have established cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet to protect vitally important sites,” Aksyonov said during a Cabinet meeting.

There have been widespread reports of significant Russian military activity, including the movement of tanks, troops and helicopters, across the Crimea in recent days. But Russia has insisted that all the movements are allowed within the framework of a 1997 agreement with Ukraine about the use of naval bases....