đŸ‡·đŸ‡ș Russia

I think the point is that Russia isn’t going to be sanctioned to death. It has access to the world’s biggest manufacturer.

So they’re making money and taking political advantage of the situation, that is hardly surprising (I think I wrote that 7 days ago Pap, you don’t have to be a geo-political wizard to know that) but their silence has been huge in the main.
China is very close to Ukraine and you do know the Chinese have always said all borders are sovereign so they can’t side with Russia on this, they can mediate and effectively stay silent, they’re playing the long game.
This war started by Russia will massively weaken them long term and China will be the winner.

Pap if you believe that you really do not know too much about patents, production and globalisation.
The US and China are far far too close in trade for Russia to get in the way, Russia is a fly to be swatted in global terms of money and production, now if China were to go into Taiwan then the gloves are off and its effectively a World War.

See the statement from the Chinese. Normal relations. Are you a more authoritative source on Chinese intentions than the Chinese themselves?

Yes they’re sitting on the fence, that is political speak for doing nothing Pap, they won’t condemn nor praise, this is what autocratic states do as it could compromise their future endeavours, they’re effectively saying nothing.
They want to mediate, mediation brings power and prestige Pap.

And Pap after fully reading this

I would if I were you and others probably be a little bit sheepish, its shows you were either off the boil on geo-politics for years or you don’t really understand it.
I suggest you have a read as its all on there, the goading of Barry (could be seen as bullying) by some and yet after all of this Russia has been quite obviously aggressive, have a read it really is a sad as it is amusing.

2018 isn’t the present.

Are we clear?

Of course, so my brother is a political clairvoyant?

Please. It’s not even established that you’re in the right on this. You’ve got a weeklong war and you’ve set yourself the standard that Putin is Hitler. Good luck clearing that bar. Perhaps discuss things more sensibly in the future?

Well he has got off to a running start.

Create dissent and unrest in another nations region.:heavy_check_mark:
Invade region as peacekeeper.:heavy_check_mark:
Invade Country fully to ironically get rid of the nazis (and drug addicts, that one is actually so bizarre its off the charts):heavy_check_mark:

I suggest you read that thread fully, its embarrassing and not a good look.

Wise words here about NFZ’s

Out comes the Nokia 95 and the old set of Stan Smiths


Can you remind me what my views on schooling are again? I genuinely can’t remember sharing those on here.

Because of a complex ownership situation he has inherited a quarter of a box flat on the outskirts of a big expensive city. Once tax is taken into account he’s left with <£20k or something, hardly a massive inheritance albeit more than some.

You hammered my brother Barry (he told me most distressed over a glass of port) for wanting to send his children to a private school if his local one was poor (one of the worst in the UK) so to wait for a better state one if and when offered.
A principle is a principle comrade.

May I also suggest you read this as you feature quite highly in this regarding Russian aggression.

I think you’ve got the wrong person Barry. I’m guessing you think I’m @Saint-or-sinner?

Yes that’s him.

I hammered him too. Ban hammered him.

Article from the Telegraph

“Londongrad” may have become the playground of Russia’s ultra-rich], but Cyprus has long played an integral role in helping oligarchs make moves to the West.

The island, dubbed “Moscow-on-the-Med”, became a major magnet for magnates – from Russia and beyond – thanks to the generous perks it offers for the wealthy.

Sunshine, beaches and halloumi may be the main attractions for visitors to Cyprus, but for Vladimir Putin’s allies it has long provided a different class of services: EU passports and a number of banks with a relaxed stance on money-laundering.

The country has tried to clean up its act following a series of scandals, but apparent reticence over sanctions against Moscow have put its role as a gateway to the West under the microscope again.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cyprus offered attractive benefits to Russian nationals: low taxes, low scrutiny and – perhaps most importantly – somewhere to keep money out of the Kremlin’s sight.

Tellingly, Cyprus – one of the EU‘s smallest economies – frequently tops lists as the biggest source of foreign direct investment into Russia. Oligarchs like using the island as a base for operations as they direct their money back home. Russia, meanwhile, is typically its biggest investor.

As Jakub Janda, director of the Prague-based European Values Center for Security Policy put it last week: “Cyprus is a Russian bank with dirty money posing as an EU state.”

In return, Cyprus has made plenty of money from Russians. In 2014, Russia-related business income was equivalent to about 14pc of the country’s GDP. Of course, much of that is now tourism – the island caters to middle-class Russians seeking a spot of sun, as well as the billionaire clientele of its luxury retailers.

Facing increasing political pressure in the wake of the Crimea annexation, Cypriot authorities began to crack down on the island’s network of shell companies. That forced some Russians to wind down entities after being presented with anti-money laundering controls.

By early 2019, Cyprus’s foreign-held bank account valuation, mainly reflecting Russian wealth, had fallen to €7.1bn, according to its central bank. That was down from a peak of €21.5bn in 2012, when it was estimated a third of all bank deposits were of Russian origin.

Banking has not been the only draw, however. Cyprus’s “golden passports” were, until recently, one of the easiest ways for Russians to buy the power and credibility granted by citizenship of a bloc member.

The idea was simple: foreigners could obtain “citizenship by investment” if they pumped enough money into Cyprus.

Initially introduced in 2008, the scheme was loosened substantially by current president Nicos Anastasiades. Facing a financial crisis after coming to power in 2013, he cut the amount of investment needed for eligibility from €10m to €3m. The figure was subsequently lowered even further.

Anastasiades’ target was obvious. The policy was announced to a crowd of Russian business figures in the port city of Limassol (sometimes called “Limassolgrad"), where Cyrillic signs and Russian-named yachts are commonplace.

Russian investors and their families made up almost half of the thousands of passports awarded in the first five years of the loosened scheme. It even continued to draw huge amounts of interest after Russia’s move on Crimea in 2014.

An investigation by Reuters found relatives and allies on Hun Sen, Cambodia’s authoritarian prime minister, had been granted Cypriot citizenship. Then Politis, a domestic news organisation, revealed that Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman at the heart of the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB lotting and money-laundering scandal had also become a citizen.

The revelations prompted probes in Cyprus, and led EU politicians to issue calls for the golden passport scheme to be tackled. Authorities have subsequently stripped nationality from dozens of people after finding “mistakes” in the process.

The coup de grace was delivered by broadcaster Al Jazeera, which a year later revealed documents that showed how Russian elites – including several with state positions, and some of the country’s richest men – had bought their way into the benefits from EU citizenship through the Cypriot scheme.

An independent commission found Cypriot authorities had unlawfully issued passports to relatives of investors who ploughed money into the island, and that many of those granted passports had failed to meet the conditions.

The scheme was wound down in disgrace last year, after 13 years that generated political scandal, 6,779 new citizens, and about €8bn of direct cash for the island.

As Russia becomes a political and economic pariah, Cyprus will be keen to show that it has cleaned up its act. But as global regulators try to crack down on the flows of Russian wealth, Cyprus’s bankers may face some difficult questions.