Libya s PM, eastern commander set to commit to ceasefire, election

[SAT]

CELLE-SAINT-CLOUD, France - Libya s Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and the divided country s eastern commander Khalifa Haftar are set to agree to a conditional ceasefire and to work towards elections, according to a draft statement emailed by French President Emmanuel Macron s office.

The two men, who are due to meet Macron in the afternoon, agreed to commit to use force only for counter-terrorism, according to the statement, which the Elysee later said had been sent prematurely and was only a working document.

They are set to commit to working for elections as soon as possible from July 25 under UN supervision.

http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/L...lection-500687

[SAT]

Macron the Mensch

In his speech commemorating the 75th anniversary of the roundup of Jews in France during World War II, Macron said unequivocally that it was indeed France that organized this. He added that not a single German was involved. Rather, Macron correctly noted, it was the French police under Nazi rule and in the Vichy government of unoccupied France that did the deed.

Macron also rejected the assertions of the National Front and the French far right that the Vichy regime did not represent the French people in their policy of anti-Semitic purges and deportations to Nazi death camps. We cannot build pride upon a lie, Macron added.

On the subject of Israel, Macron acknowledged that recently we have witnessed a rise of extremist forces that seek to destroy not only the Jews, but of course, the Jewish state as well, but beyond that The zealots of militant Islam, who seek to destroy you [the Jewish people], seek to destroy us [the French], as well. We must stand against them together. Lastly, Macron paraphrased the late, great Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in plainly stating that anti-Zionism is a reinvented form of anti-Semitism.

Go ahead and blink in surprise. I did. More than that, however, I shed tears of joy. As a former Justice Department prosecutor of fugitive Nazi war criminals, as a participant in the United States investigation of postwar American (yes, American) complicity in the escape of Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, and as a lifelong pro-Israel activist, I frankly thought that I would never live to see the day when a president of France, with no holds barred, spoke truth to the power of denial.

https://jewishjournal.com/news/world...on-the-mensch/

[SAT]

Russia planning to resume Gaddafi era contracts with Libya

We plan to resign the contracts signed during Muammar Gaddafi rule. This includes the previous agreements in the transport sector, construction of railways, energy, electrification and a number of others, said Lev Dengov, the head of the Russian contact team on Libya in an interview with Kommersant daily.

http://www.libyanexpress.com/russia-...ts-with-libya/

Trump, Macron discuss global issues: White House

US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed various global issues, including mutual interests regarding North Korea, crisis in Syria and Iraq, the White House has said.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron spoke on the phone, the White House said in a statement on Friday. Trump spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France to explore how to increase cooperation in addressing the ongoing crises in Syria and Iraq and countering Iranian malign influence, it said.

They also spoke about forging a political resolution in Libyaand countering terror activity in the Sahel region of Africa, it added.

They agreed that the Maduro regime in Venezuela must restore the rights of the Venezuelan people and reaffirmed the importance of all sides implementing the Minsk agreements to reach a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, the White House said.

Finally, they discussed mutual interests regarding North Korea, it said.

read:http://www.thehindu.com/news/interna...le19432857.ece

Trump, Macron discuss countering malign Iranian influence

The two leaders also spoke about countering Iranian malign influence, according to a readout of the call provided by the White House, which gave no further details.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-m...ian-influence/


Eyeing Russia, U.S. military shifts toward more global war games

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...+World+News%29

I can imagine Tillerson's meetings with Lavrov this weekend could ended up confirming the move away from Russia and what lead to.....

Trump Officially Hands Syria Over to Russia and Iran
http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/1.802675

After sanctions, Tillerson may find Russia talks an uphill climb

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1AL0JX

but as of right now Syria still stands and Russia wasted no time after the Trump /Putin ceasefire to set a military base on the Israeli border.

And..

Russia just deployed the 'Terminator' to Syria, and you'll be shocked to see what it can do
http://www.businessinsider.com/russi...-can-do-2017-8

reminder

Russia & Syrian regime seeking to poach US backed fighters

Russia and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad are attempting to entice US backed rebels based at the At Tanf garrison in southern Syria to switch sides, US officials tell CNN, in an apparent bid to oust the coalition from a strategic piece of real estate that is seen as crucial to Syria and Iran s long term interests in the region.
It s just the latest gambit in a months-long tug of war between the US and Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers in the Syrian desert.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/politi...anf/index.html

[SAT]

Russia's Lavrov meets Tillerson, says feels U.S. ready to continue dialogue

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday he believed his U.S. colleagues were ready to continue dialogue with Moscow on complex issues despite bilateral tensions.

Lavrov described his talks with Tillerson as lengthy and said they covered a wide range of topics, from the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula to coordination plans between Russia and the United States to withstand attacks.

The two sides agreed that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Under Secretary Thomas A. Shannon would continue discussing complex issues on the bilateral agenda.

We would be interested to see what impression the U.S. special envoy has on the current state of affairs, Lavrov said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...+World+News%29

[SAT]

Interesting...

Russia in Libya: War or Peace?



http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentar..._or_peace_7223

[SAT]

Special Report: Vladimir s Venezuela Leveraging loans to Caracas, Moscow snaps up oil assets

Venezuela s unraveling socialist government is increasingly turning to ally Russia for the cash and credit it needs to survive and offering prized state-owned oil assets in return, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

As Caracas struggles to contain an economic meltdown and violent street protests, Moscow is using its position as Venezuela s lender of last resort to gain more control over the OPEC nation s crude reserves, the largest in the world

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-v...-idUSKBN1AR14U

[SAT]

Castro huddles with Russia as US-Cuba relationship crumbles

Cuba has been quietly reaching out to Russia over the last few weeks
. Castro's team has huddled twice with senior Russian officials since the last week of July.

Specifically, Castro's foreign ministry sent the "head of the United States division," Josefina Vidal, to Moscow for a meeting with deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov in late July, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. Ryabkov then met with the Cuban ambassador to Russia on Wednesday.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ca...rticle/2631231

[SAT]

Russia s biggest war game in Europe since the cold war alarms NATO

SEPTEMBER will be an edgy time for NATO s front-line member states. For a week in the middle of the month, Russia will be running what is being described as the biggest military exercise in Europe since the end of the cold war. The build-up is already under way.

https://www.economist.com/news/europ...ar-game-europe


reminder...

U.S. general says allies worry Russian war game may be Trojan horse

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.org/f...e-trojan-horse

[SAT]

Moscow to cut dependence on US payment systems

http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/M...systems-501812

Trump admin still seeks cooperation with Russia despite new sanctions and retaliation

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ry?id=49065989

and the reminder

Petraeus: World order under 'unprecedented threat'

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.o...ighlight=yalta


and...

The North Korean nuclear threat is a hinge moment for the United States and China, and for the new international order both nations say they want.

If Washington and Beijing manage to stay together in dealing with Pyongyang, the door opens on a new era in which China will play a larger and more responsible role in global affairs, commensurate with its economic power.

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.o...th-north-korea


but also

China/ India

India's military steps up operational readiness on China border

India s military has increased operational readiness along the eastern Indian border with China, sources said, as neither side shows any sign of backing off from a face-off in a remote Himalayan region near their disputed frontier.

Indian and Chinese troops have been embroiled in the seven-week confrontation on the Doklam plateau, claimed by both China and India s tiny ally, Bhutan.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-i...-idUSKBN1AR191

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.org/f...90-china-india

[SAT]

now add...


Kissinger Warns Trump: ISIS Is Keeping Iran in Check, You Must Not Let Tehran Fill the Void

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.o...et-tehran-fill


Jared Kushner to return to Israel later this month re restarting peace negotiations

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.org/f...e-negotiations

[SAT]

Jared Kushner to return to Israel later this month re restarting peace negotiations

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.o...e-negotiations

and they have already prepared the new leader for the Palestinians....

Mohammad Dahlan

https://wedg.millenniumweekend.o...ohammad-dahlan

the reason Abbas is trying to shut him down...

PA chief Abbas issues decree curbing free speech online

Does this thread makes sense to anyone?

[Guest]

There's a lot to absorb these days. I feel like my head is spinning!

[SAT]

Libyan Military Commander Haftar Visiting Russia: RIA

Haftar is expected to meet Sergei Lavrov on Monday, Lev Dengov, head of the Russian contact group on Libya, told RIA. It was not immediately clear what the pair would be discussing.

It has rejected a U.N.backed government in Tripoli that is struggling to assert authority over an array of armed factions which have been competing for control since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...ing-russia-ria

[SAT]

I had to add this one.

Foreign minister warns U.S. embassy not to meddle in Russian regional elections

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ons/559071001/