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Showing posts with label Venezuela. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venezuela. Show all posts

March 18, 2019

Netherlands, U.S. agree on use of Curacao as possible aid hub for Venezuela

The Netherlands and the United States reached an agreement on Friday to use facilities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao for possible distribution of aid to nearby Venezuela, Curacao’s prime minister said.

Theisland will only be used for civilian operations to deliver aid, such as food and medicines, to Venezuela if the Venezuelan government explicitly allows it, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said last month.

Note Almere Digest: A good idea, as long as the US does not use it as a "stepping stone" for a US "sponsored" military  invasion.

Read more: Netherlands, U.S. agree on use of Curacao as possible aid hub for Venezuela | Reuters

January 24, 2019

Venezuela: EU working on joint Venezuela statement - by Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

EU member states are consulting on a joint reaction to the latest developments in Venezuela, a statement from French president’s office said Wednesday.

“France is consulting with its European partners about the situation in Venezuela, the president's office said on Wednesday as the South American country's opposition leader declared himself interim president,” read a statement from Emmanuel Macron’s office.

Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrel said a joint statement from the EU on the situation is important amid demands of the government from the right-wing opposition to recognize Juan Guaido as president
.
Some Venezuelans living in the Spanish capital of Madrid who celebrated the developments in a main square were joined by the leader of main opposition party, the People’s Party.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass also said a joint response is being worked on with EU partners.

"We call on all actors Venezuela in prudence and to refrain from violence," he said. “ [We] Will coordinate a joint response with our EU partners,” he said.

Britain’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alan Duncan said on Twitter he was “following the situation in Venezuela carefully’ and “Juan Guaido has widespread support among Venezuelans.”

He said: “The political crisis has gone on long enough. Now is the time to find a way forward that leads to a peaceful solution for all Venezuelans.”

Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen also took to the Twitter.

“New hope in Venezuela. Denmark will always support legitimate elected democratic institutions- not least the parliamentary assembly including Juan Guaido,” he said. “Working for a strong EU statement.”

Meanwhile, Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, urged the EU to recognize Guaido as president.

“The US, Canada & many crucial EU partners in Latin American have recognised @Jguaido as President of #Venezuela & the EU should do the same,” he said on Twitter.

“He is the only legitimately elected representative of the Venezuelan people & authorities must guarantee his fundamental rights & security,” Verhofstadt wrote.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Washington would recognize opposition leader Guaido as interim president.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has slammed the decision and said his country was cutting off diplomatic relations with the U.S., giving American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.

Maduro made the announcement while speaking to supporters who gathered at the Presidential Palace in the capital of Caracas.

EU-Digest


March 14, 2015

Venezuela: Euro MPs call on Venezuela to release detainees

The European Parliament called Venezuela Thursday to release students and opposition figures "arbitrarily detained" during protests against left-wing President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has launched a crackdown on the opposition, saying they are doing Washington's work in trying to oust him and other left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Earlier this week, the United States imposed sanctions against Venezuela as Maduro moved closer to rule by decree.

In a resolution passed by 384 votes to 75, the European Parliament called on the government of the oil-rich South American nation to release all those detained and to end its opposition crackdown.

Read more: Euro MPs call on Venezuela to release detainees | News , World | THE DAILY STAR

December 16, 2014

Energy: The Dangerous Energy Poker Game:Between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Russia and the USA

Geo-Political Poker Game Or Saudi Blackmail?
"After two years of stable prices at around $105 to $110 a barrel, Brent blend, the international benchmark fell from $112 a barrel in June to around $65 on Friday, December 12 . “What is the reason for the United States and some U.S. allies wanting to drive down the price of oil?” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked rhetorically in October. His answer? “To harm Russia.” - says Mohamad Bazzi in a report he wrote for Reuters

That is partially true, but Saudi Arabia’s gambit is more complex.

The kingdom has two targets in its latest oil war: it is trying to squeeze U.S. shale oil—which requires higher prices to remain competitive with conventional production—out of the market. More broadly, the Saudis are also punishing two rivals, Russia and Iran, for their support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the Syrian civil war. Since the Syrian uprising began in 2011, regional and world powers have played out a series of proxy battles there.

While Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been arming many of the Syrian rebels, the Iranian regime—and to a lesser extent, Russia—have provided the weapons and funding to keep Assad in power.

Russia and Iran are highly dependent on stable oil prices. By many estimates, Russia needs prices at around $100 a barrel to meet its budget commitments. Iran, facing Western sanctions and economic isolation, needs even higher prices. Already, Iran has taken an economic hit from Saudi actions.

On Nov. 30, as a result of OPEC’s decision not to increase production, the Iranian rial dropped nearly six percent against the dollar.

The Saudis believe it can protect itself from the impact of the price drops. It can always increase oil production to make up for falling prices, or soften the blow of lower profits by accessing some of its $750 billion stashed in foreign reserves.

Still, Saudi Arabia is playing a dangerous game—there is little evidence that authoritarian regimes like Russia and Iran would change their behavior under economic pressure. Worse, the Saudi policy could backfire, making Russia and especially Iran more intransigent in countering Saudi influence in the Middle East.

In the meantime  OPEC Gulf members and crisis-hit producer Russia held the line on resisting oil output cuts, a message that helped send oil to a fresh five-year low on Tuesday December 16.

A near-$20 drop in prices since OPEC declined to cut output at a Nov. 27 meeting has yet to prompt the Gulf members - who overruled calls for output cuts by poorer members such as Venezuela - to reverse course.

Russia has said it would not cut production even if oil prices fell below $60 per barrel - far below some $100 a barrel it needs to balance its budget - a message reinforced on Tuesday by energy minister Alexander Novak arriving at a gas producers summit in Qatar.

"If we cut, the importer countries will increase their production and this will mean a loss of our niche market," he told reporters, speaking through an interpreter.

"We plan to preserve the plan for 2014 production without any increase or decrease," he said.
His comments came as the rouble fell to a new all-time low despite the central bank's steep rate hike on Monday.

Oil prices dropped to below $59 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time since 2009 and are now down almost by a half since June due to weak demand and growing supply from the United States.

The collapse of the rouble and plunging oil revenue present one of the biggest challenges for President Vladimir Putin during his 15-year rule at a time when the Russian economy is already struggling under Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Novak said Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, will maintain its output levels even if there was no guarantee prices would not go much lower.

"No one will tell you this," Novak said when asked what was the floor for oil prices.
He also said Russia agreed with the view of Saudi Arabia that the oil market would eventually stabilize itself.

What is certain however is that the oil market and the world economy  faces an uncertain outlook in 2015 as tumbling oil prices resulting from global oversupply stoke geopolitical tensions in key producers of crude, analysts say.

In fact, if no one eventually blinks in this rapidly deteriorating volatile energy based geo-political dispute, it potentially has the ability to escalate on a global scale and turn into a military conflict involving all super powers which, without any doubt, would mean the end of civilization as we know it.

EU-Digest