Russia This Week is a weekly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest Russia-related news and analysis from media in Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Cartoon Of The Week:
CNN accused Russian hackers of taking over the Qatari news agency's website and planting false materials. (Source: Sputniknews.com)
Quote Of The Week
Igor Levitin, Putin's aide:
"The world has reached the danger point. The situation between Russia and the West has deteriorated – and it is up to the experts how matters will be resolved … It's impossible to solve all the problems, but we have to step back from the danger point step by step… There is a choice to be made - whether to deepen the tensions still further or to begin ascending from the nadir in US-Russia relations, where we are now."
(Ria.ru, May 28, 2017)
Igor Levitin (Source: Rostec.ru)
Pushkov's Tweet Storm
Senator Alexey Pushkov (@Alexey_Pushkov) tweeted: "Left with nothing in hand after Comey's testimony, the anti-Russian coalition in the U.S. Senate decided to strike relations Russia via new sanctions. Obsessed."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 12, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 12, 2017)
Pushkov wrote: "The Republican leadership in the U.S.: it's time to halt the investigation into Trump's ties with Russia. There were no ties. Even a hedgehog understands that [a Russian expression meaning that even an idiot would get it], but not McCain and Co."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 11, 2017)
Pushkov jabbed: "Sensation! Trump's lawyers have clients, who 'have ties with Russia!' In this way they try to revive the moribund nonsense about Trump's ties with the Kremlin."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 10, 2017)
Pushkov tweeted: "As anticipated Comey's testimony turned out to be a big soap bubble. It won't help Trump's opponents initiate impeachment proceedings."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 8, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 8, 2017)
Pushkov wrote: "The noise around Comey's testimony is exaggerated: Trump's enemies are craving for blood. Resembles the hunt for enemies in the McCarthy era. McCarthyism is an old U.S. malady."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 8, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 8, 2017)
Pushkov tweeted: "The liberal U.S. media promote low Trump's ratings through a non-stop campaign designed to undermine his reputation. Orwell's '5 minutes of hate' can relax."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 7, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 7, 2017)
Pushkov wrote: "Brainwashing in action: 54% in the U.S. are convinced that Trump is 'too friendly' towards Russia, while in reality, relations could hardly get any worse."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 7, 2017)
Pushkov tweeted: "The U.S. is still supporting militants in Syria. The talks about fighting ISIS are merely a distraction. The administrations change – the policy direction does not."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 6, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 6, 2017)
Pushkov tweeted: "Trump assigned Tillerson to put relations with Russia back in order. Pence called Russia one of the main threats, along with the terror threat. Do they have two different administrations in the White House?"
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 6, 2017)
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 6, 2017)
Pushkov revealed: There was a conspiracy in the U.S. between the Congress and part of the State Department aimed at preventing Trump from lifting sanctions from Russia. It's a narrow caste interest rather than the national interest."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 2, 2017)
Russia Decries Daily Cyber-Attacks From U.S. Territory
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia registers daily cyber-attacks emanating from the U.S. territory. Peskov said: "Hacking attacks, which are carried out from the U.S. territory, are recorded daily, including attacks targeting the website of the Russian President." When asked by the media to clarify whether the Kremlin believes that U.S. intelligence agencies might be involved in cyber-attacks against Russia, Peskov stressed that he was only talking about the "U.S. territory." He added: "I don’t want to make the public laugh by claiming that official Washington is behind it. A mere fact that a hacking attack is carried out from the territory of some state is in no way a proof that official authorities are involved."
(Rt.com, June 9, 2017)
Deputy FM Ryabkov: 28% of Hacker Attacks Originate From U.S. Territory
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the U.S. security services, led by the NSA and the CIA, emerged to be the center of international espionage, harming Russia amongst others. According to him, 28 % of hacker attacks on Russian electronic infrastructure originate from U.S. territory, while Russian hackers bear responsibility for only 2-3% of hacker attacks against the U.S.
(Kommersant.ru, June 7, 2017)
In a previous interview, commenting about the accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential elections, Ryabkov mentioned that the U.S. special services "started spreading false statements about Moscow’s alleged planned operation aimed at undermining the American democracy." He then added: "The White House openly bet on hatred against Russia. From the very beginning, we have been demanding that Washington provide at least some evidence. We warned that the U.S. is destroying the basis of bilateral relations and what was left of mutual understanding between our peoples. Unfortunately, our appeals have been ignored. Of course, no actual evidence was put forward before the U.S. citizens and the global community as there can be no evidence, because the allegations about Russia’s interference are false."
Ryabkov also stressed: "On October 31, in accordance with the agreement on notification about dangerous activities in the cyberspace, the US contacted the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center and requested to end unauthorized entry into the US digital networks. The official U.S. message said they were confident that Russia was involved in some malicious activities but still, there was no evidence. There were just allegations saying that the cyber-attacks were carried out from the servers owned by a Russian hosting company based in the town of Biisk. The company’s owner pointed out that they were unable to control their clients all over the world who used the company’s infrastructure."
(Tass.com, June 7, 2017)
Russia Denies Hacking Qatar’s State News Agency
During a press conference, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov responded to a question referring to accusations of Russian involvement in hacking Qatar's state news agency:
Question: "Yesterday, citing anonymous sources, CNN accused Russian hackers of breaking into Qatari news agencies and publishing the information that has led to the current crisis. What is Moscow’s response to this rhetoric regarding the ubiquitous role of Russian intelligence services?"
Sergey Lavrov: "This TV network has once again taken a step that further damages its reputation as an independent and objective media outlet, as it was established by Ted Turner. He should look at what has happened to his creation now. I think that CNN, as well as other media outlets, is not worthy of this status. Being an outlet of what is in fact mass disinformation, this TV network is waiting with bated breath for some fishy story or scandal so as to automatically – without any conclusive evidence – chalk it up to Russia, hackers or something else related to Russia. It’s a pity that CNN is so painstakingly destroying its own reputation."
(Mid.ru, June 7, 2017)
In one of his tweets, Pushkov also wrote: "Russian hackers are already in Qatar? There is no nonsense that CNN, for the sake of making its own contribution to the tremendous hysteria surrounding Russia, would not broadcast."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, June 7, 2017)
Qatar Diplomatic Crisis
After Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said: "We believe that this conflict should be resolved via political means, and we do hope that this conflict in the Middle East will be reconciled, because, really, for the sake of the market and further cooperation expansion on the part of the Persian Gulf a stable and normalized situation is required."
(Sputniknews.com, June 12, 2017)
During a phone call between Russian President Putin and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Putin reaffirmed "Russia’s principled position in favor of settling crises by political and diplomatic means, through dialogue."
(Kremlin.ru, June 6, 2017)
Lavrov also had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on June 5, on Qatar’s initiative. The Foreign Ministry website reported: "The sudden surge in tensions between Qatar and a number of other Arab countries was the main subject of discussion. Mr. Lavrov expressed grave concern over this latest source of tension in the Arab world and appealed for efforts to overcome the differences through negotiations and mutually respectful dialogue in the face of challenges of unprecedented gravity, above all the terrorist threat."
(Mid.ru, June 5, 2017)
Russia-Egypt Relations
On May 29, Lavrov visited Cairo with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu for a joint meeting of the Russian and Egyptian foreign and defense ministers. Shoigu said that Russia was offering Egypt "very interesting projects in the realm of military-technical cooperation." The Russian defense minister called Egypt one of Russia's main strategic partners in the region. Shoigu said: "We are interested in Cairo's leading role, when it comes to the questions of strengthening regional security and stability." The minister also said that Russia proposed to increase mutual and joint military exercises and stressed that he saw a positive dynamics in Russia-Egypt security relations.
(Tvzvezda.ru, May 29, 2017)
Russian media outlet Lenta.ru pointed out that, during the meetings, the Russian side referred to the Egyptian counterparts as "friends", while the Egyptian officials used the term "partners." This, according to Vasily Kuznetsov from the Russian Academy of Sciences' Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, was shorthand for Egyptian unwillingness to draw too close to Russia given the importance it attaches to relations with Washington.
(Lenta.ru, May 30, 2017)
Russia's Position On The Libyan Crisis
Lavrov’s Remarks At A Joint Press Conference With Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry, In Cairo, May 29, 2017
Question (addressed to both ministers): "The UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord has recently accused the National Salvation Government of the escalation of violence in the country. We are talking about the armed groups that took part in overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and enjoyed wide support of the Western countries. In a manner of speaking, the explosive situation in Libya, from which terrorists spread not only throughout the region but also throughout the world, as we can see from the Manchester terror attack, is the result of some Western countries’ policies."
Question (addressed to Sergey Lavrov): "Do you think that responsibility for these consequences lies with Western countries? Can the fight against terrorism be effective when the main players cannot coordinate their actions?"
Sergey Lavrov (speaking after Sameh Hassan Shoukry): "Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently admitted that the invasion of Iraq was based on a fictitious pretext, which was used to convince the world that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. I hope to see conscience wake up in those who organized the aggression against Libya in violation of international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolution, who are guilty of bombing Libya, overthrowing its government and turning the country into a black hole and a transit lane for terrorists, thugs, arms traffickers and illegal migrants. We now see the consequences of that misguided and irresponsible policy. We are not rejoicing at the tragedies in the Middle East and Europe, and we are not going to say, 'We told you so.' But we must learn this lesson, or our efforts will be obstructed by double standards again and again.
"It is a fact, as you have pointed out, that the government of Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown largely with the help of those who had come from Europe. Those people were allowed to leave although it was clear where they were headed, and later they were allowed to return. In the past, they had European citizenship and so enjoyed the liberties of the free democratic states, including the right to travel abroad on business. But theirs was a highly specific business.
"The belief that you can flirt with or pamper to extremists, including those monitored by the security services, in the hope that they would remain loyal to European values and would not bite the hand that fed them, has been shattered by dozens of terrorist attacks in Europe. Take Great Britain, which has suspended counterterrorism cooperation with Russia for reasons that have no relation to fighting this evil. I want to repeat: we believe that we must abandon all considerations of secondary importance, even if they appear important to someone, because there is nothing more important now than combating terrorism and the terrorist ideology. We can only do this together.
"All of us want to settle the Libyan crisis, but if we fail to prevent the destruction of Syria, just as we failed in Iraq and Libya, we will not be worth our salt as politicians and diplomats. This will mean that we have not learned the lessons of the horrible tragedies that have happened in this region.
As we have said, today we discussed practical aspects of fighting terrorism. We have agreed to work towards creating a truly universal front against terrorism without double standards, or attempts to exclude anyone from this process or exploit the fight against terrorism for geopolitical purposes.
(Mid.ru, May 29, 2017)
