When Donald Trump won the US presidential race Putin, his 'siloviki', and the members of the Russian Duma, celebrated.
Not so in the case of the victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential elections last Sunday.
As reported by Angelique Chrisafis,
"Centrist independent wins by 66% to 34% margin, but Marine Le Pen’s defeat still marks historically high vote for France’s far right" (The Guardian :8 May, 2017)
Putin was desperate to have Marine Le Pen win the French presidential election, for the simple reason that, as reported by Putin's propaganda mouthpiece, Sputnik,
"Emmanuel Macron’s presidential election victory means France’s foreign policy will remain unchanged with sanctions retained against Russia..." (Sputnik : 09.05.2017) (my emphasis)
This contrasts with Marine Le Pen who, as recently as March of this year, whilst meeting Putin in the Kremlin, argued that,
"Ms Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front (FN) party, called during her visit to Moscow for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia, arguing that they were "counterproductive".
...
Speaking at Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, she vowed to push for the so-called "blacklists" of targeted individuals to be abolished.
...
Ms Le Pen has previously stated her approval of Russia's annexation of of Crimea. (BBC News : 24 March 2017) (my emphasis)
What is even more significant in the defeat of Marine Le Pen by Emmanuel Macron is the fact that,
"The hackers behind a “massive and coordinated” attack on the campaign of France’s president-elect, Emmanuel Macron,
have been linked by a number of cybersecurity research firms to the
Russian-affiliated group blamed for attacking the Democratic party
shortly before the US election." (Alex Hern :The Guardian : Monday 8 May 2017) (my emphasis)
And yesterday, Sally Yates (right), former US Acting Attorney General, testified before US Congress on Putin's interference in the US presidential elections. (full video)
What is significant about her testimony is that it exposed Trump National Security appointee, Michael Flynn, as possibly being an agent for Putin who, in collusion with Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak (left),
Putin is now confronted by both Emmanuel Macron and the fact that the ongoing US Senate and Congressional Intelligence Hearings have somewhat put paid to Donald Trump even considering lifting the US sanctions against him because of his illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, and his war with Ukraine in the Donbas.
As the US Senate and Congressional hearings into the direct links between Putin's Kremlin and US President Trump and his White House associates continues to unfold, Putin's room for diplomatic manouvering is rapidly diminishing.
(to be continued)
Not so in the case of the victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential elections last Sunday.
As reported by Angelique Chrisafis,
"Centrist independent wins by 66% to 34% margin, but Marine Le Pen’s defeat still marks historically high vote for France’s far right" (The Guardian :8 May, 2017)
Putin was desperate to have Marine Le Pen win the French presidential election, for the simple reason that, as reported by Putin's propaganda mouthpiece, Sputnik,
"Emmanuel Macron’s presidential election victory means France’s foreign policy will remain unchanged with sanctions retained against Russia..." (Sputnik : 09.05.2017) (my emphasis)
"Ms Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front (FN) party, called during her visit to Moscow for the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia, arguing that they were "counterproductive".
...
Speaking at Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, she vowed to push for the so-called "blacklists" of targeted individuals to be abolished.
...
Ms Le Pen has previously stated her approval of Russia's annexation of of Crimea. (BBC News : 24 March 2017) (my emphasis)
What is even more significant in the defeat of Marine Le Pen by Emmanuel Macron is the fact that,
"The hackers behind a “massive and coordinated” attack on the campaign of France’s president-elect, Emmanuel Macron,
have been linked by a number of cybersecurity research firms to the
Russian-affiliated group blamed for attacking the Democratic party
shortly before the US election." (Alex Hern :The Guardian : Monday 8 May 2017) (my emphasis)And yesterday, Sally Yates (right), former US Acting Attorney General, testified before US Congress on Putin's interference in the US presidential elections. (full video)What is significant about her testimony is that it exposed Trump National Security appointee, Michael Flynn, as possibly being an agent for Putin who, in collusion with Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak (left),
" ... talked about sanctions against Russia with the country’s ambassador in December, The Washington Post reports.
The
report, which cites current and former U.S. officials, contradicts
Michael Flynn’s assertion on Wednesday that he never discussed the topic
with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during a series of phone calls
in the month before Trump took office. " (Max Greenwood : The Hill : 09/02/17) (my emphasis)
Putin is now confronted by both Emmanuel Macron and the fact that the ongoing US Senate and Congressional Intelligence Hearings have somewhat put paid to Donald Trump even considering lifting the US sanctions against him because of his illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, and his war with Ukraine in the Donbas.
As the US Senate and Congressional hearings into the direct links between Putin's Kremlin and US President Trump and his White House associates continues to unfold, Putin's room for diplomatic manouvering is rapidly diminishing.
BREAKING NEWS
Just as FBI Director James Comey's investigations into the links between Trump, his associates in the White House, and Putin, is gaining a critical head of steam, Trump has possibly set in motion a constitutional crisis by summarily dismissing Comey.
And all to protect himself from the public exposure of the indelible link between himself and Putin.
Putin himself must be wiping the sweat off his brow following the election of Emmanuel Macron, and the fading of his hopes that the EU sanctions against him would be lifted, as the news of Trump's dismissal of FBI Director Comey reached his ears.
If, earlier, I stated that, "Putin's room for diplomatic manouvering is rapidly diminishing", the dismissal of Comey by Trump has eased the tensions in the Kremlin and, no doubt, brought a thankful respite for Putin from his diplomatic anxieties about the easing of US-EU sanctions against himself and his 'siloviki' clique in the Kremlin.
We now await to see what the political repercussions of Comey's dismissal by Trump has on the body politic of the USA.
(to be continued)
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