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Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
@A_Melikishvili
Dec 16 • 10 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
1/10 Venerable @CatherineBelton (author of Putin's People) wrote an interesting story for @washingtonpost not long ago. It focuses on American businessman Stephen Lynch, who wants to buy a Swiss company that operates the now defunct Nord Stream 2 gas washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/…
2/10 pipeline. She points out that, according to the German MP (from Christian Democratic Union) Roderich Kiesewetter @RKiesewetter, who also happens to be a member of Bundestag's committee on foreign affairs, there is "a growing contingent in the German establishment
3/10 supportive of restoring ties with Russia as the German economy falters." Germans have already commenced backchannel talks with the neo-fascist Putin's regime. Belton refers to information provided by @dossier_center indicating that Matthias Platzeck (pictured), ex-chairman Image
4/10 of Social Democrats (outgoing Chancellor @Bundeskanzler's party), bought tickets to fly to Moscow in November 2023 & February 2024. Another person engaged in these efforts is Ronald Pofalla (pictured), CDU politician & ex-chief of staff under Merkel (how appropriate). Image
5/10 Pofalla bought tickets to fly to Moscow in February 2024. In addition, German press (Die Zeit) reported in October that this duo was supposed to travel to Baku to meet Gazprom CEO Viktor Zubkov and other Russian officials there. Choice of Azerbaijan is not accidental as that
6/10 authoritarian country is on good terms with Russia & holding such meetings there makes sense as Aliyev's regime will safeguard the necessary discretion. As for Germany's secret overtures with Russia, given the fact that German economic model is collapsing due to absence of
7/10 cheap gas from Russia, angst of some in German political & business circles is entirely understandable. Latest confirmation comes from the Russia Calling! investment forum, which was held in Moscow on 4 December. This was 15th iteration organized by Russia's VTB Bank (*under
8/10 sanctions). The only Western businessman at this event was German, @AndreBarendregt. He asked Putin a question in English for which Russian leader chided him in a cheap propaganda trick aimed to show Germany's supposed subservience to US. Read Barendregt's question below. Image
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9/10 @BND_Deutschland & @BfV_Bund must show some interest towards this gentleman, but I wouldn't be surprised if both are blissfully unaware. According to Russian open sources, Barendregt owns company (MCS Unternehmensberatung und Management Service GmbH) contorra.ru/ru/sankcii-vre…
10/10 with office in Moscow & rudimentary website (ab-family-office.ic-os.de/en/). His exchange with Putin is captured in the official event transcript on Kremlin's website. In my view this is an embarrassment for Germany. Attention, @sumlenny. Circulate! en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…

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More from @A_Melikishvili

Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Sep 7
1/5 Adding insult to injury. So get this. Organizers of @la_Biennale are OK with showing pro-Russian "documentary" that portrays Putin's cannon fodder in sympathetic manner, but they do not allow the screening of Georgian film by @RusudanGlurjidz. Her film (The Antique) depicts
2/5 inhuman mass deportation of Georgians from Russia in 2006 (for which, by the way, European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay €10 million to Georgia in 2019, but, of course, Moscow refused to pay). However, Venice film festival refused to agenda.ge/en/news/2019/1…
3/5 show Glurjidze's film under court injunction obtained by scumbag Italian lawyer Bruno Della Ragione (on the photo), who was hired by three film production companies: one in Russia (Viva Film) and two likely Russian proxies - Avantura Film in Croatia and Pygmalion in Cyprus. Image
Read 5 tweets
Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Jul 22
1/8 Azerbaijan's President Aliyev over the past weekend vowed to support pro-independence movements in French overseas territories "until they are free." It's not clear what exactly he meant by this, but it sounds like official Baku plans to up the ante. . reuters.com/world/azerbaij…
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2/8 Due to geography & other factors there are many obstacles that Azeri government will have to overcome to render this assistance practically meaningful, though I speculate that financial assistance will be provided for sure, including by tacit means and via @bakuinitiative.
3/8 If Baku decides to arm pro-independence movements in New Caledonia, Mayotte or Corsica for that matter, France will use every means at its disposal to derail energy cooperation between EU and Azerbaijan, possibly paralyzing the entirety of Southern Gas Corridor. I do hope
Read 8 tweets
Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Jan 16
1/4 Earlier this month, @sanctionsgroup released 52-page report detailing Russia's continued efforts to procure "battlefield goods" (communications equipment, electronic components, or semiconductors for military use, among others) that are critical for its defense industry.


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2/4 This report is a damning verdict of Biden administration's inability to enforce sanctions and export controls. It is a scathing collective indictment of @StateDept, @BISgov, @USTreasury, @CommerceGov. One key data point is the main takeaway: In January-October 2023,


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3/4 Russia acquired $932 million worth of battlefield goods, which is only 10% less than it spent on them before sanctions. And the main enablers are well known: 38 producers of CNC machinery, which is vital for Russia's production of advanced weapons. Attention, @SimonOstrovsky.
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Read 4 tweets
Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Jan 3
1/4 Two years after anti-government protests shook Kazakhstan, President Tokayev finds courage to spill the beans about what happened. In an exclusive interview to Egemen Qazaqstan, he recalls a blunt conversation with former President Nazarbayev. egemen.kz/article/355466…
2/4 According to Tokayev, he told Elbasy that "political games of his [Nazarbayev's] closest supporters nearly tore the country apart." One way to interpret this remark is that the unrest was organized by Nazarbayev's loyalists, which is one of the often heard explanations.
3/4 Tokayev also noted obliquely that "attempts to impose a duopoly model indeed took place." He even characterized them as being "purposeful and organized." Tokayev pointed out that the existence of a parallel power center personified by ex-President holding on to chairmanship
Read 4 tweets
Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Oct 24, 2023
1/6 NATO member France and Armenia, which is a member of Russia-led military alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), reached an agreement on military-technical cooperation yesterday. According to the agreement, France (Thales) will sell Armenia 3 GM-200 radars.
2/6 In addition, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding according to which France will sell Armenia Mistral short-range air defense system sometime in the future. However, this development raises a number of questions. Chief among them is the fact that Armenia
3/6 is already covered by joint air defense system with Russia. It's unclear if @SebLecornu was even aware of this. Russia and Armenia signed an agreement on establishment of joint air defense system back in 2015. In 2016, Armenian parliament ratified it. reuters.com/world/france-b…
Read 6 tweets
Alex Melikishvili Profile picture
Apr 13, 2023
1/4 This belatedly. On Tuesday, there was another episode of border skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This time it was near settlement of Tegh in Armenia's Syunik province, which borders Azerbaijan. Armenia says 4 soldiers died, 6 were wounded. tass.ru/mezhdunarodnay…
2/4 Azerbaijan says Armenian side opened fire with mortars & large-caliber weapons against Azeri positions in Lachin district, killing 3 soldiers. Naturally, both sides blame each other for provocations. I wonder what EU monitors in Armenia have to say. tass.ru/mezhdunarodnay…
3/4 The incident was deemed significant enough to prompt the Armenian defense minister Suren Papikyan to halt his visit to Brussels and return. Perhaps the incident was timed to "impress" OSCE Chairman (currently Bujar Osmani), who is visiting the region. tass.ru/mezhdunarodnay…
Read 4 tweets

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