Putin to visit Cuba and other LatAm nations

[dipsydoodle]

Source: NewsDaily

President Vladimir Putin will next week begin a major Latin America tour that will take him to Cuba, Argentina and Brazil as he seeks to counter Russia's growing international isolation over the Ukraine crisis.

Putin will begin his six-day tour with the July 11 visit to Cuba, where he will meet President Raul Castro and the 87-year-old father of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, the Kremlin said on Friday.

The visit to the Communist-run island will come as tensions remain high between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis. Havana has sided with its old ally Russia in the conflict.

Putin and his Cuban hosts are expected to discuss cooperation in energy, transport, aviation, space and health, the Kremlin said.

Ahead of the visit, Russian parliament voted on Friday to write off 90 percent of Cuba's Soviet-era debt of more than $35 billion (26 billion euros) and said the rest would be earmarked for investment projects in Cuba.

Read more: http://www.newsdaily.com/article/cee38c4511b815752fa40c626360d1bd/putin-to-visit-cuba-and-other-latam-nations

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Ahead of the visit, Russian parliament voted on Friday to write off 90 percent of Cuba's Soviet-era debt of more than $35 billion (26 billion euros) and said the rest would be earmarked for investment projects in Cuba.

[craigmatic]

1. It's nice that they'd forgive their debt like that. Some people say that the Cubans are the

ones really in control of that relationship getting Russia and the USSR to go along with various adventures in Latin America and else where.

[Igel]

2. Yup.

Putin's looking to revive some old allies, mostly by writing off debt that's not likely to be repaid and doling out rubles. Putin's really anal about keeping his butt covered. You can never tell what those gay Jewish Nazis in Kiev will do with such a studly butt. (I'd really like to hear Putin's definition of "fascist.&quot

Last month it was North Korea. This month it's Cuba. For being pro-Russian, the ONF project is as much anti-Western and specifically anti-American. They can't get out of their craw that the USSR collapsed for good reasons. Not just a reason. Or a single good reason. But a lot of reasons. And without a huge conflagration--they deserved at least a huge civil war.

After the initial US "we beat the USSR" by driving it to a military buildup it couldn't afford, there was a huge spate of claims, some with evidence, that the USSR just collapsed. Some looked at agricultural productivity going back to Khrushchev's abortive maize fetish. Or the lack of innovation. Or openness. Others looked at simple corruption and inefficiency or the inherent inadequacies of C&C economics where, really, you can't know everything but have to act like you do (with a bill proposed to restore 5-year plans in Russia, this is amusing). Some looked at how Big-Idea/ideology-based collectives evolve and how at the 3rd generation things tend to come a bit unglued. Or how useful the US as a perceived outside threat had changed. Afghanistan figured prominently in some. Another made claims about GDP growth and GULag populations. Or just population growth. Or moral standards.

In the end what finally is winning is a conspiratorial view: The US, in particular, undermined the great Russian people (gone all the crap about a "new Soviet man"--it was always Russians) and were betrayed by their own leaders.

Between the "amerikosy" and "pindosy", the Ivans never stood a chance, it seems. For being so awesome, they were duped. And are going to try to repeat the entire mess. This time, though, it seems that they're hell bent on that conflagration, with dreams of another World War to show their mettle. Or meddling. Hard to tell, what with how a lot of dialects of English flap their post-tonic dental obstuents (those that don't replace the voiceless ones with a glottal stop, at least).

[DeSwiss]

4. ''Putin's really anal about keeping his butt covered.''

- Well if he's Pootin' he should!!!!

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. DW: "IMF sees Russia close to recession as Ukraine sanctions bite"

uhe/ nz (Reuters, www.imf.com)

Even before a renewed confrontation with the West emerged over influence in Ukraine, the Russian economy was facing prolonged uncertainty and a deterioration of confidence, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released on Tuesday.

According to the IMF, the consequences of the crisis could include lower consumption, weaker investment, greater exchange rate pressure, and capital outflows.

The IMF estimated that Russian GDP growth would come in at just 0.2 percent for the whole of 2014, or about 1 percent lower than it had predicted in a pre-crisis estimate.

Putin has called on the country's business leaders to repatriate their assets and reduce their dependence on Western financial markets. But measures to try to protect the economy failed to stop Russia from losing $80 billion (58.4 billion euros) in capital flight in the first five months of the year. The country's currency, the ruble, has lost 10 percent of its value against the US dollar and inflation has soared since the beginning of 2014.

http://www.dw.de/imf-sees-russia-close-to-recession-as-ukraine-sanctions-bite/a-17751834

Russia debt close to 'junk' status as S&P cuts rating

International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has lowered Russia’s creditworthiness for the first time in five years. The analysts fear sanctions over the Ukraine crisis will lead to capital flight and risk investment.

Not sure how he's gonna support ($$$$) Crimea, and all of Latin America, but best of luck.

[DeSwiss]

5. He's making ''adjustments'' to his own maps.....

- K&R

[Judi Lynn]

6. Cuba could use a break on that debt. It's a small island, only 11,000,000 people there.

They could use a hand surviving the longest lasting embargo (Cubans call it "bloqueo" (blockade)) in world history. Pure economic warfare, as it was intended.

It's about time they got some relief. Absolutely no excuse whatsoever for grinding them down to a powder any longer because they chose to run off the racist monsters who were making life a living hell for the extremely impoverished majority before the revolution.

Thank you, dipsydoodle.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Well they've got it

bigtime.

Maybe the US will now issue sanctions against Russia for aiding a rogue state.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Ha! No doubt, whatsoever, even if it IS a very tiny rogue state.

[MADem]

9. Maybe he'll throw Eddie on the plane! nt

[joshcryer]

10. That would be a smart move, actually.

He doesn't really want to deal with Snowden, really.

[MADem]

11. He wanted him at first--the guy spent several days at the Russian Consulate in Hong Kong; even

celebrated his birthday there with a pizza party. So either Putin wooed him, or Ed approached them and they responded to his advances.

I never thought it was an accident that Ed wound up in Moscow. I think it was his destination--or at the very least, his fall back plan--all along.

I think he should have done his homework first. For such a sharp guy, you'd think he would have done a little research on the Icelandic political system and their current relations with USA. They aren't the same place they were when a crazed American chess grand master was hiding out there. USA-Iceland tourism is through the roof lately (members of my family are going this summer). We're terribly cozy with them. I think he lacked awareness of this dynamic. I don't think he had a real understanding of the way (and the reasons) countries talk a load of bullshit ("This is outrageous! We cannot tolerate this!" on the one hand, while they are smoking and joking on the other) but they don't really mean it.

In any event, it's hard to know if Ed is a free fellow or if he's a pampered prisoner like Kim Philby--a living, breathing propaganda tool.

[joshcryer]

12. Wikileaks makes it clear they trusted Putin over anywhere else.

And that Snowden was being helped by them. A strategic mistake on his part, but who knows who has the ears of the Wikileaks inner circle.

The main problem with Snowden being in Russia for Putin is that the State Department will use it as leverage on any deals, even if it's a minor thing. Putin doesn't need that name coming up every time discussions happen.

He's definitely not free. Perhaps only somewhat freer than Assange.