Transcripts For RT News 20240711

This is our to International Coming to you live from the russian capital where its just turned 5 pm. Welcome to the program. We start with breaking news from a conference between the Russian Foreign minister and international journalists. So gayle overall has suggested that russian Opposition Leader ill extend a volley. It was poisoned, allegedly, with the know he choked nerve agent in august may have been targeted outside his home country. Just know when you have every reason to believe that what happened to him in terms of Chemical Warfare agents getting into his body could have happened in germany were on the plane and was she was flown to the Charity Hospital r. T. As more of a national is in the studio with us again for all the details on that, can you explain what the foreign minister meant . Well, i cant say for sure, but i think the key issue is that the russian doctors who initially treated mr violently in the city of told repeatedly said no talks of materials found on owning hain, but shortly after, in a volley was transported to germany. We started hearing about the novel chalk family nerve agent, and i guess i cant say for sure again, but i guess mr. Lover of just tried to explain this sudden twist, you know, clear examples in russia talks examples in germany. It wasnt just germany by the way, france and sweden, shortly after that joint base chorus. And also saying about navi chalk and russia was very quickly accused of using a nerve agent a banned chemical substance and was very quickly punished with the whole package of economic sanctions. Approved by the whole of e. U. And mr. Lover of today expressed his concerns about the behavior from so called park ness of russia that he called unreliable western partners. And he said russia had prepared sanctions against germany and france in response to this behavior. It is difficult for me to understand the motives of our german partners. I already told this to her, and i can repeat this. Its not a secret that we see how germany took the role of a leader in the new escalation of relations with the russian federation. There will of course be a response to the sanctions. And since germany was the driving force behind the zeal sanctions over the nerve on the case. And since these sanctions directly affect high ranking stouffers of the russian president s administration, we will respond in kind and as mr. Lopper stressed today, again, there was never, it was never proved russias involvement was never told me, prove there was never any added and some never got any access to. That. To the fact that led western countries to this conclusion that russia had used this nerve agent. And this is why mr. Lubbers today called this whole situation a circus. So i guess like russias anger is rising. Exactly, as you were saying, there russia repeatedly requested to see the data, but they never got any access to correct. Yes. When russia and this is another source of concerns and anger and disappointment, of course, from the russian side, that this is what mr. Repeated today. Again, when russia requested to have any information on him, like to see the samples, to see the documents, to prove the toxic materials allegedly found in samples. Russia was denied. And when russia addressed to germany, germany said you have to talk to you. And this is the German Foreign minister mr. Mas talking about this i would like to reiterate that we do not expect, to be criticized. It would be better to deal with the news. Even for the c. W. , snowden has ation that the russian side can approach to ask further questions. Ironically, when russia addressed to the o. P. C. W, it was sent back to germany. And i guess this is why mr. Lopper of called this circus, because i mean, this ping pong is just, it cannot be like serious the back and forth going nowhere whatsoever. So what could this all mean for russias future role as a member of the o. P. C. Dobby . Oh, yeah, we hear russias concerns about this whole organization and the attitude of the member countries. And we just heard recently from russias permanent member to un, mr. Baines or that russia is considering to leave this organization. I will be blunt. The o. P. C. W. s technical secretary is increasingly turning into a tool in the west. Hams which is being used to exert informational and political pressure on countries that fail to toe the line. This conclusion is backed up by the watch dogs involvement in the russian campaigns with the screen case. And now with the alleged poisoning of alexina. So, as you can see, we have sanctions now prepared against germany and france. Russia is considering to leave the o. P. C. Double is getting very serious. But again, as mr. Lover said, today, russia is just responding to their western countries behavior that mere response that he was talking about. R. T. Is maria for national. Thank you for bringing us down for us. Now, some background to this story, i would say the only is of course a prominent activist and critic of the russian government. He fell sick on the 20th of august on board a plane flying from the siberian city of tomsk to moscow. Aircraft made an Emergency Landing in the city of mr. Valma, it was taken to a local hospital. He was put into an induced coma and remained in for 2 days. The samples were sent to several russian laboratories and they ran tests and none of them found traces of any toxins in his system. Of all these family insisted his life would be in danger if he stayed in russia and arranged for his transportation 3 top clinic in berlin. And in early september, German Authorities concluded that the bali how the bin German Authorities, french officials, had determined that he had been poisoned with no, a check. Were now going to cross live to our guest laughlin historian and International Affairs specialist. Thank you for joining us on the program. Why do you think that the developing case is so politically explosive, that theres a big hubbub every time its brought up a well, obviously its because not only is the only activist as you describe him, that anybody in the west has ever heard of. He pretends to be a pro western liberal, and he definitely is associated with certain circles in the west. But above all, hes the only one anyones ever heard of. There are plenty of opposition. Politicians in russia, their opposition parties, their opposition candidates at the president ial election, and not only wasnt one of them, but because hes put forward in the western media as the liberal Anti Corruption candidate. And because that fits the narrative, the western narrative about russia, that its a north or a tarion state that kept power, that keeps power only by force, which is a kleptocracy. Thats one of only is always in the headlines also, of course, hes very good at self promotion. But in this particular case, its in the headlines because hes in germany. And as we know, russia and germany are on the point of concluding the not stream to gas pipeline. If that is concluded, that pipeline, that will be an extraordinary example of corporation between europe and russia, which will last for many decades. And its obvious to me, ive said this before and r. T. That the latest allegations concerning the valley are designed to scupper that gas line project. And thats why its in the headlines. Well, exactly, that pipeline was really thought to have been in danger when this all broke months ago, when the finger was being pointed at russia, when there were no choke was again being batted around. But that seems to have died down. And yet now we have this announcement coming from the Russian Foreign minister. Do you think thats going to cause problems once again . Which announcement are you referring to the threat to use to leave the a, b, c, w, or the open c, w a. The sanctions, the mere sanctions that theyre going to put out the idea that its possible that natalee was poisoned outside of russia all of that together. Well, i think its, its an example of russia doing what states do in diplomatic circles in diplomatic conflicts. And that is, of course, to retaliate. They have been sanctioned, the russians have been sanctioned themselves, and so theyre sanctioning back. Theyve been accused of poisoning, so theyre making accusations back. I think that it is very regrettable that this kind of nonsense should carry on because i believe the novelli accusations to be complete nonsense. But on the other hand, as you just said in your question, not stream to seems to be slightly on the backburner. So my suspicion and indeed hope is that the sanctions and the noise about the o. P. C. W. Is a cover for the fact that the pipeline will go ahead. Thats my feeling right now. We havent got to the point where the construction of the pipeline has been definitively abandoned. It hasnt been completed, but it hasnt been definitively abandoned. And so i suspect that the Political Class is finding a way to save face. In other words, to put symbolic sanctions on russia to up the ante on the diplomatic level, but probably my guess is to complete the pipeline. Lets go ahead and look at that possibility of russia leaving the o. P. C. W. How likely do you think that is and what kind of ramifications could that capn . Well, its difficult for me to say how likely it is. I mean, i think that russia is camp conducting a campaign against the o. P. C. W. Because it feels the a p c, w. Is can conducting a campaign against it . And i have to say that anybody who observes its behavior can only shake their hands, shake their heads in wonder because this is a disarmament body. An International Disarmament body intended to rid the world of a certain category of weapons of mass destruction. And yet its been caught up in this case. And in the script case, with what is at most, if not a completely invented story, is at most a, an individual crime which has absolutely nothing to do with warfare. These are supposed to be weapons of mass destruction, which countries are supposed to deploy in warfare or not to deploy. If theyve signed a convention and the use of a chemical to poison someone is absolutely not what the o. P. C. W. Was sent up to. To police, its not a police force, its a International Disarmament body. And these bodies, theres a lot of misunderstanding. I think about the role of these bodies and what they can do. They can only function if there is trust among the signatory states who trust each other more or less and trust the body to carry out the disarmament verification. Theyre not some kind of International Police force. They dont have any power over the states concerned. And we see this, by the way, in the fact that the one country that has not got rid of its chemical weapons is the United States of america, which has a gigantic stockpile still of them. So its a mistake to believe that this organization has any policing role. And on the contrary, if, as has obviously happened, trust breaks down between signatory states and they start accusing each other russia by the way, having disarmed its chemical weapons in 2017. If the other signatory states dont believe that and dont believe the verification that took place then when indeed the inevitable result is that russia will leave. But that is in the logic of international relations. These International Bodies dont have any coercive power. They are simply the expression of a trust which exists and so if trust doesnt exist, they cant function. Weve been speaking with historian and International Affairs specialist john often thank you for your time and your comments. Parts of the u. S. Mainstream media are seeking to eliminate all doubt that joe biden won the race to the white house, going so far as to brand reports on probes into alleged voter fraud as misinformation artist come up and explains questioning the u. S. Election results is tantamount to sacrilege, the media is outraged that anyone would talk about ballot fraud, especially this New York Times columnist. Facebook is absolutely teeming with right wing misinformation right now. These are all among the 10 most engaged else on the platform of the post 24 right wing mis information. So what is this misinformation that he feels is so dangerous and unacceptable. And that perhaps the reason that this information is deemed to be so dangerous is because those headlines are actually true. And what about this guy . 2nd, pennsylvania u. S. P. S. Whistleblower claims postmaster ordered late ballots picked up and separated. While the Washington Post came forward and said, this is all a big hoax that the postal worker has recanted his story. Well, thats a great journalistic expose, except the postal worker says he has not recanted. Here to say that i did not read. My statement. Head of the Republican National Committee Says they have 234 pages containing the 500 signed affidavits alleging 11000 incidents of potential voter fraud. Now you have a media thats rigging it again by saying were not going to listen to these stories. Were not even to validate. The 11000 incident reports that we have, the 500. 00 affidavits we have across the states. 11000. 00 witnesses is not a small number. Now in georgia, the Senate Runoff elections are coming up and another New York Times columnist has this idea would be everybody moved to georgia, you know, in the next month or 2. A registers to vote in votes for these 2 democratic senators. Well, in georgia, that is actually a felony. It is illegal to move to georgia simply for the purpose of registering to vote. Only people in georgia with a stablished residency are able to vote. Republicans have a lot of questions about the Election Results that showed joe biden. As the clear winner. Now at this point weve got Mainstream Media saying those questions are simply off limits. However, that seems to be making the trump base even more bold. R. T. , new york. The issue of voter fraud remains highly debated with many believing its been going on for ages. Well, others demand more concrete evidence. If there is fraud in what the courts want to see is brought, you have to have a public particularities. Which means that who, what, when, why, where or how . Ok, so if there is fraud, where is it . You cant make conclusory allegations and thats what hes doing. And thats why its lawsuits are falling short. Thats what, thats why its a pittance. Bring it for the democrats every time they lose an election and immediately cry foul. This is going on for decades. But when the republicans lose the election, then the they are immediately expected to accept defeat. At the very time when the democrats are saying no problems, no fraud, that took place, anyone whos claiming that was brought up and there is fear is that they should be actually actively perpetrating a fraud by saying go down to georgia for a golfing holiday. And then. 3 when in the form and so you are a legal resident, that is precisely the uproar. The change of the us president could mean a change of fate for Julian Assange. And wiki leaks, founder is currently in a u. K. Present, waiting for a court to decide whether or not to extradite him stateside under the trump administration. He was charged under the u. S. Espionage act. On 18 counts. Hes accused of unlawfully obtaining and publishing state secrets. And if extradited traces up to 175 years in prison, democrats spied included, havent pulled their punches when discussing a songe of the past. Mr khan also is a high tech terrorist. Others say this is akin to the pentagon papers where you come to, i would argue that it is closer to the high tech terrorists. And then the pentagon papers disguise a traitor, a treasonous, and he has broken every law of the United States. The guy ought to be, im not for the death penalty. So if im not for the death penalty, want to do it illegally shoot the son of a cancer or with the dog as its been hard and talk to the obama biden administration, actually prosecuted more whistleblowers than any other. This list includes Chelsea Manning who leaked documents to Julian Assange and word snowden who lifted the lid on the n. S. A. s mass surveillance programs. However, the Obama Administration decided not to charge a staunch himself. Earlier my colleague neil harvey spoke to a songes, former legal representative julian burnside. He says that the future looks brighter for the wiki leaks, founder under president joe biden. I know that hes riddle ations about Hillary Clinton affected the democrats rather than the republicans. But in my opinion, joe biden is a much more rational being than donald trump ever was. How would you assess joe bidens approach towards whistleblowers . I know that when he was Vice President in the bomb a president ial year or a bomber had made a big thing about, you know, trying to create opportunities for whistleblowers to encourage them. But actually, the reality was quite different and they prosecuted more whistleblowers, i think than any other ministration prior to them. I still think that biden will adopt a rational approach. Mind you, he will not be president of the 4th of january, so i suspect theyre on 4th of january. If biden is ultimately accepted as the president. I think thats going to be a better outcome for than it would otherwise be on the part of the reason why science is in the predicament he is because of the leaking of information. Private information relating to the Democratic Party by an obviously, democrats think will be forgiven and forgotten to well to the next stent, or will they still base some kind of goods from the party itself . Its worth remembering that Chelsea Manning received a pardon or commutation from a bomber. And i think the same thinking that lead to that result is likely to influence biden, if he becomes president. And if assad ends up in america, theres talk of the likelihood hell be sent to this supermax prison, which the warden previous warden of not prison said in the face were worse than death being sent. Its a pretty horrible prospect. And the way Chelsea Manning was treated in relation to the same matters or related matters gives no confidence about the way sound will be treated. Its a reason why this trial in government should come in and help him, but theyve done nothing. Absolutely nothing to help him. I think we should be concerned about about if hes mistreated, i dont see any leader of the mainstream press. Who is sought to be punished as a result of the publication of the thing is that the published many armenians are furious about their countrys peace deal with azerbaijan, seeing it as a humiliating defeat for the last 2 days. Here a ban has been gripped by an rests with protesters calling on the Prime Minister to step down. These are the latest pictures from the armenian capital. Protesters are gathering near the Parliament Building again where theres a heavy police presence. Multiple arrests have been made already. Arties interest on the reports from here. Meaning its going through a national tragedy. People are gathering for mass protests absolutely heartbroken and shocked. That armenia has agreed to pass to turn over huge patches of land. It used to control in the golan a cow back over to azerbaijan, and there are refugees who fled the fighting. And now have joined these protests saying that they feel betrayed, saying that they feel that their sons, fathers and brothers, died for nothing. He says, here i left a car about 3 weeks ago. Oh my family are there. The bombs fell outside our house. There were children there and they didnt know where to go. What to do. Then they realized the word was happening. Children died young boys for what to give away or land. This treaty as an attack on our means. When the Prime Minister signed it, he betrayed us. If we were willing to give up the slant, we wouldnt have sent so many young men to work. And this sentiment is shared by those who choose to take to the streets to they say that they want the signature of nickell pasha, the armenian Prime Minister to be revoked, to be retracted from from the documents because they say that the do want peace, but not on such humiliating terms, the one creator did all of this laundry to a word, no, right . To sign a piece of paper to give away lands those homes. To make people homeless, we showed our borders for fighting the fires, and i was like, god, im sorry, im not trying hard, but theres a somewhat different message coming from the go and i pad back from the fight. Is there who responded to those who rioted . Who violently protested here in the armenian capital, saying that if they wanted to change the tide of war, they should have come to the disputed region and join them on the front lines instead of breaking and you know, destroying their city, the capital right now. And the Prime Minister whos being called on to resign over this peace deal is saying that this agreement has helped him avoid an even bigger disaster. Guys, the war is not a year. Of course we care about. So you should all come and join us. We need men and women can do the shouting back in europe and the general stuff. Recall to me that we liked results. Is there a sign in the peace deal we managed to keep . Will we would have lost, had we carried on the war . The polacre, it was in effect, defenseless. There would have been a total collapse, dozens of military personnel from the frontlines have some videos in wish they support the decision and all the ground they understood the situation best. But so far people arent convinced they say again that theyve been betrayed. Yesterday at a protest i talked to some protestors and some of them have been saying and while speculating that some cities like the to city of was deliberately given up on by, by passing on and on, passing on orders that have been no evidence of that. As of now, but this is what people seem to believe mostly because the emotions well they fly the very high here. And what isnt helping people here deal with emotions is what theyre hearing from the other side, from a 0 by john and from the president who pretty much teases and tool and some mean eons. It is among the picture we saw on the freed territories shows us that the enemy live there with the feeling of heat towards their, by johnny people. Otherwise, why would they destroy all the buildings there . But having spent close to an entire month in the go, in a cab back myself, i have to say that theres a Silver Lining to this deal. At least the fighting has stopped having seen so many so much destruction, so much pain and fear in peoples eyes and those who were civilians are those who decided to stay there, hoping that their army would change the tide of this war at least as of now there will be no more deaths, no more people will lose their lives. But clearly, a lot of for a lot of people, this is not enough for a lot of people, too many have already died too many have already suffered for armenia, they say to give up now. So really well have to see how this unfolds, but the Russian Peacekeeping mission is in full swing right now in the region. Our crew will be standing by here to bring you all the latest. Former diplomat, jeremy kinsmen who worked as the canadian ambassador to armenia. Explain to us why hes optimistic about the peace deal. When you have a narrative that goes when you have group, if you want that, that lives in 2 countries. And when, when leaders whip up nationalist sentiment, it, it becomes very, very difficult because its very emotional. And theres nothing wrong with patriotic commotions. But when they are directed with such hostility toward the other side from both people inherit generation to generation and narrative. And it takes, it takes great creativity of the 2 to, to counsel people, to, to learn again, to live together. Its going to depend on the extent to which russian leaders obtain the complete cooperation of the leaders of the 2 countries in year end. 2000 very well trained. Russian troops will be very effective. But what will be most effective will be self discipline. On the part of the 2 sides, and i think that can only be obtained through communication from us. Thats our global news update for this hour. But dont forget, you can always had to our website r. T. Dot com for the details on all of those stories. And many more this is a story of women, women with troubled histories and complex cold cases. You know, some of those deadly leave who lives out there . Who are not the person that hears that shes innocent, be, they are considered the most dangerous of criminals. Shes in a still all the off, 23 hours of the day. Tell me that its not enough punishment. It will give women on death row. Was always on the bull, but the most rational big city bright lights, huge opportunities and many dangers to the rest of the globe. Atlanta. Its also a city where up to 300000. 00 crimes are committed every year for the almost wouldnt believe the new mosque. Its filled to the reserve least one Police Officer for every 200. 00 residents in russias capital cost on the english. And i would do the trick. I think im not going to come in and boysen. You know, the truth is im going to mostly what your people look for to see whether what were saying is actually playing out in the real world. And sort of thing to look at would be the u. S. Dollar versus the chinese are the big. Ok, thats their main 4 expire. Thats going to tell you whats happening in the globe, the economy. If what this, all this debt is going to trigger all this money printing, the dollar will start to drift lower and its already, you know, looking very weak and i think the last 4 years under, oh, theyve been able to kind of propped up not to a large degree, but i think mad going to see a serious decline of the dollar. You can see the chinese currency start to