The US has just given the EU the kiss of death
Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022 (he was born on March 2, 1931). And when he died, there was a confused pain among Russians, and a muted exultation among Western government-controlled media. Said Joe Biden, as reported by the CNN, “As leader of the USSR, he worked with President Reagan to reduce our two countries’ nuclear arsenals, to the relief of people worldwide praying for an end to the nuclear arms race.” Mr Biden added that Mr Gorbachev’s reforms led to “a safer world and greater freedom for millions of people.”
What remained unsaid
Most Western media underscored the fact that unlike the present regime, Mr Gorbachev wanted world peace. What they did not say is that even before the present president of Russia, Vladmir Putin, assumed charge, the West was doing all it could to undermine the very principles Mr Gorbachev stood for and which the Western nations had promised to abide by. By implication, while Mr Gorbachev stood for peace, the Western world stood for instability, even war, as the events that led to the Ukraine war clearly show.
To understand the sequence of events, it is necessary to know more about the discussions that took place between the Western powers and Mr Gorbachev. What is interesting is that many of the socalled fact-finding websites which are committed to inform the public about fake news kept denying that these discussions ever took place. Both sides are less hostile to such an interpretation, than they were in January 2022.
As luck would have it, some information got declassified in the US. More facts began tumbling out.
Yes, Mr Gorbachev wanted peace, but only on the condition that the western powers – and that included NATO – did not try edging close to the erstwhile borders of the USSR. Everyone agreed. “not one inch eastward” was the assurance given by US Secretary of State James Baker.
What was sad is that even Germany which wanted a unified country, and sought the demolition of the Berlin Wall, also joined hands with the US in breaking its pledges to Mr Gorbachev.
It first supported Ukraine joining the NATO (a clear breach). It then scuttled the Nordstream 2 which was built to bring gas directly to Germany from Russia. In fact, the US allowed NATO to partner with one Eastern Bloc country after another. It was provoking Russia into a confrontation through proxies. Ukraine and Nordstream were the last straws.
Nord Stream 2 would have had a capacity of 55 billion cubic metres of gas, effectively doubling the volume delivered by its predecessor, Nord Stream 1. Both have been built to allow Russia to access the German market directly, without pumping gas through pipelines in Ukraine, for which Moscow pays transit fees.
Energy riots begin
That would have helped Germany bring down energy prices. Now Russia has decided to close down Nordstream2. You cannot sanction Russia without the latter too deciding on some sanctions of its own against those who had betrayed an old agreement.
Not surprisingly, energy prices have begun shooting up in Germany and the whole of Europe. As Oil Price put it on 2 Sept 2022, “According to risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, the world is facing an unprecedented rise in civil unrest due to rising inflation and energy costs . . . . In Europe, even some of the wealthiest nations are facing extreme risk of protest, including the Netherlands and Germany . . . While wealthy governments may be able to buy more time, it appears that the worst of this crisis is yet to come.”
By Sept 6, 2022, Holger Zschaepitz, an energy analyst, tweeted, “German factory orders fell for 6th month as inflation & uncertainty about energy supplies lead to creeping #deindustrialisation of the country. Demand slipped 1.1% from June, driven by slump in consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical products, worse than -0.7% expected.”
The peace that Mr Gorbachev wanted may not come. In its place there could be more strife, even the dreaded “never again” war, where there will be no winners.
Germany could have prevented this if it had not abrogated the Nordstream 2 deal. Even now, the survival of Western civilisation may lie in the hands of the Germans.
What will happen will become clear this winter, when consumers’ anxieties and frustrations will be at a peak. When cornered, politicians are capable of reckless behaviour. One can only hope and pray events don’t end that way.