JAV ir Rusijos pareigūnams susitikus, derybos tęsis ne tik apie Ukrainą

 

 „Dvi šalys susitinka Saudo Arabijoje, kur vyksta plačiausios diskusijos per pastaruosius metus. Be Ukrainos, aptariami verslo ryšiai.

 

 JAV ir Rusijos aukšto rango pareigūnai antradienį turėjo susitikti Saudo Arabijoje, kur vyks plačiausios abiejų šalių derybos per mažiausiai trejus metus, prezidentui Trumpui siekiant užbaigti karą Ukrainoje, o Kremliui siekiant šiltesnių santykių su Vašingtonu.

 

 Atvykę į Rijadą, Saudo Arabijos sostinę, Rusijos pareigūnai sakė sieksiantys „normalizavimo“ su Jungtinėmis Valstijomis, net numatę galimybę, kad didžiosios Amerikos naftos kompanijos gali grįžti į Rusiją. Ukraina ir Europa žiūrėjo iš tolo su giliu susirūpinimu, baiminantis, kad D. Trumpas gali pabandyti priversti Ukrainai sudaryti taikos susitarimą, kuris būtų palankus Rusijai.

 

 Susitikimas įvyko praėjus mažiau nei savaitei po ilgo D. Trumpo pokalbio telefonu su Rusijos prezidentu Vladimiru V. Putinu. Ponas Trumpas vėliau sakė, kad abu lyderiai kalbėjo apie „didžiulę naudą“, kurią Jungtinės Valstijos ir Rusija „kada nors turės dirbdamos kartu“, ir kad abu lyderiai susitarė „nedelsdami pradėti derybas“, kad užbaigtų konfliktą Ukrainoje.

 

 JAV delegacijai Rijade vadovauja valstybės sekretorius Marco Rubio; Michael Waltz, patarėjas nacionalinio saugumo klausimais; ir Steve'as Witkoffas, D. Trumpo pasiuntinys Artimuosiuose Rytuose ir ilgametis prezidento draugas.

 

 Antradienį jie turėjo susitikti su Rusijos pareigūnais, įskaitant užsienio reikalų ministrą Sergejų V. Lavrovą; Jurijus Ušakovas, pono Putino patarėjas užsienio politikos klausimais; ir Rusijos nepriklausomo turto fondo vadovas Kirilas Dmitrijevas.

 

 Ušakovas, nusileidęs Rijade, žurnalistams sakė, kad derybų tikslas bus „pradėti realų santykių tarp mūsų ir Vašingtono normalizavimą“.

 

 P. Dmitrijevas, dirbęs su ponu Witkoffu, siekdamas praėjusią savaitę paleisti Rusijoje įkalintą amerikiečių mokytoją, sakė, kad sieks iš naujo pradėti ekonominį bendradarbiavimą su Jungtinėmis Valstijomis, kad „atkurtų bendravimą, atkurtų pasitikėjimą ir atgautų sėkmę“.

 

 „JAV didžiosios naftos įmonės Rusijoje turėjo labai sėkmingą verslą“, – trumpame interviu antradienį prieš derybų pradžią sakė D. Dmitrijevas, pateikdamas pavyzdį, kaip šalys galėtų atkurti verslo ryšius. „Manome, kad kada nors jie sugrįš, nes kodėl jie atsisakytų šių Rusijos suteiktų galimybių gauti prieigą prie Rusijos gamtos išteklių?

 

 Pirmaujančios Vakarų naftos kompanijos, įskaitant „Exxon Mobil“, paliko Rusiją po įvykių Ukrainoje prieš beveik trejus metus. Pasak D. Trumpo ir Kremliaus, energetikos ir ekonominiai ryšiai buvo tarp V. Putino ir D. Trumpo pokalbio temų praėjusią savaitę.

 

 Antradienio diskusijos bus pirmas kartas nuo 2022 m. pradžios, kai žinoma, kad plačios aukšto rango Amerikos ir Rusijos pareigūnų delegacijos susitiks asmeniškai. Šis susitikimas yra dar vienas žingsnis siekiant D. Trumpo siekio nutraukti diplomatinę Rusijos izoliaciją, kurią buvęs prezidentas Josephas R. Bidenas jaunesnysis siekė įtvirtinti nuo įvykių pradžios – šis žingsnis, pasak D. Trumpo administracijos, yra būtinas siekiant sustabdyti konfliktą.

 

 „Jei čia bus galimybė siekti taikos, mums reikės pasikalbėti su rusais“, – sekmadienį CBS laidoje „Face the Nation“ sakė ponas Rubio.

 

 Tačiau Europoje ir Ukrainoje žinia apie antradienį planuojamas derybas buvo sutikta sumaištimi ir susirūpinimu. Nors D. Rubio derybas apibūdino, kaip išankstines, Europoje buvo plačiai kritikuojama, kad D. Trumpo požiūris į Rusiją nebuvo derinamas su JAV sąjungininkais. O Ukrainos pareigūnai tvirtino, kad atmes bet kokį susitarimą dėl jų šalies, dėl kurio buvo deramasi, jiems nedalyvaujant.

 

 „Negalime pripažinti jokių susitarimų, sudarytų be mūsų“, – pirmadienį sakė Ukrainos prezidentas Volodymyras Zelenskis.

 

 P. Zelenskis šią savaitę taip pat yra Persijos įlankos regione, kur kelios šalys siekė panaudoti savo santykius su Maskva, Kijevu ir Vakarais, kad atliktų tarpininkų vaidmenį Ukrainos konflikte. Pirmadienį M. Zelenskis buvo Jungtiniuose Arabų Emyratuose aptarti kalinių mainų ir ukrainiečių vaikų grąžinimo iš Rusijos.

 

 Ukrainos pareigūnai taip pat sakė, kad M. Zelenskis šią savaitę bus Saudo Arabijoje, tačiau Ukraina nebuvo pakviesta į JAV ir Rusijos derybas. Kremliaus patarėjas užsienio politikos klausimais P. Ušakovas sakė, kad neplanuojama surengti trišalio susitikimo su ukrainiečiais.

 

 „Mes atvykome čia derėtis su amerikiečių kolegomis“, – sakė jis." [1]

 

Mažesnis spaudimas tarp rusų ir amerikiečių būtų ir teigiamas, ir susirūpinimą keliantis Kinijai. Mažesnis trukdymas, energiją parduodantiems, rusams sumažintų infliaciją visame pasaulyje. Labas, Bidenai, ar tau viskas gerai? Pralaimėjai juk dėl infliacijos, ar ne? Vargšė sosyskė...

1. As U.S. and Russian Officials Meet, Talks Are Set to Go Beyond Ukraine. Troianovski, Anton.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Feb 18, 2025.

As U.S. and Russian Officials Meet, Talks Are Set to Go Beyond Ukraine

"The two sides are meeting in Saudi Arabia for their most extensive discussions in years. In addition to Ukraine, business ties are on the table.

Senior American and Russian officials were set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the most extensive negotiations between the two countries in at least three years, as President Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin seeks warmer ties with Washington.

After arriving in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, Russian officials said they would seek “normalization” with the United States, even holding out the possibility that major American oil companies could return to Russia. Ukraine and Europe were watching from a distance with deep apprehension, amid fears that Mr. Trump could try to force a peace deal on Ukraine that would be favorable to Russia.

The meeting comes less than a week after Mr. Trump’s lengthy phone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Trump said afterward that the two leaders spoke of “the great benefit” that the United States and Russia “will someday have in working together,” and that the two leaders had agreed to “start negotiations immediately” to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The U.S. delegation in Riyadh is led by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state; Michael Waltz, the national security adviser; and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy and a longtime friend of the president.

They were expected to meet Tuesday with Russian officials including Sergey V. Lavrov, the foreign minister; Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy adviser; and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Mr. Ushakov told reporters after landing in Riyadh that the goal of the talks would be “to start a real normalization of the relationship between us and Washington.”

Mr. Dmitriev, who worked with Mr. Witkoff to broker the release last week of an American schoolteacher jailed in Russia, said he would seek to restart economic cooperation with the United States in order to “rebuild communication, rebuild trust, rebuild success.”

“U.S. oil majors have had very successful business in Russia,” Mr. Dmitriev said in a brief interview on Tuesday before the talks began, offering an example of how the countries could rebuild business ties. “We believe at some point they will be coming back, because why would they forego these opportunities that Russia gave them to have access to Russian natural resources?”

Leading Western oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, left Russia after events in Ukraine almost three years ago. Energy and economic ties were among the topics of the call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump last week, according to Mr. Trump and the Kremlin.

Tuesday’s discussions will be the first time since early 2022 that broad delegations of senior American and Russian officials are known to have met in person. The meeting is another step in Mr. Trump’s bid to end the diplomatic isolation of Russia that former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. sought to enforce since the start of the events — a step that the Trump administration says is necessary in order to stop the conflict.

“If there is going to be the possibility of progress here towards peace, we are going to need to talk to the Russians,” Mr. Rubio said on the CBS show “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

But in Europe and Ukraine, the news of Tuesday’s planned talks has been met with confusion and concern. While Mr. Rubio characterized the talks as preliminary, there was widespread criticism in Europe that Mr. Trump’s approach to Russia hadn’t been coordinated with allies of the United States. And Ukrainian officials insisted they would reject any agreement about their country that was negotiated without their involvement.

“We cannot recognize any agreements made about us without us,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Monday.

Mr. Zelensky is also in the Gulf region this week, where several countries have sought to use their relationships with Moscow, Kyiv and the West to play roles as mediators in the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, Mr. Zelensky was in the United Arab Emirates to discuss prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia.

Ukrainian officials have also said that Mr. Zelensky will be in Saudi Arabia this week, but that Ukraine was not invited to the U.S.-Russia talks. Mr. Ushakov, the Kremlin foreign policy adviser, said there were no plans for a three-way meeting with the Ukrainians.

“We came here to hold negotiations with American colleagues,” he said." [1]

Lower pressure between the Russians and the Americans would be both positive and concern for China. Less interference with Russians selling energy wuold reduce inflation in all the world. Hello, Biden, are you OK? You lost because of inflation, didn"t you? Poor sausage...

1. As U.S. and Russian Officials Meet, Talks Are Set to Go Beyond Ukraine. Troianovski, Anton.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Feb 18, 2025.

 

Why Porsche Is No Longer a ‘Premium’ Sports Car in China

 

"Chinese drivers are buying affordable electric vehicles loaded with new technology, a trend that is redefining high-end vehicles and hurting German automakers.

After decades of dominating China’s market for high-performance cars with precision engineering, German automakers are losing out to Chinese rivals that have shifted the definition of a high-end car to one that is electric, smart and affordable.

Many new Chinese vehicles resemble their German rivals, like the wildly popular Xiaomi SU7, which mimics Porsche’s Taycan. The SU7 rivals the Taycan in power and braking, but it also includes integrated artificial intelligence that can, for instance, help with parking and greet drivers with their favorite song. The cherry on top: It sells for roughly half the price of a Taycan.

As a result, the German automakers that for decades commanded China’s premium car market are now seeing their sales dwindle, while Xiaomi — a leading Chinese smartphone manufacturer — last year sold more than 100,000 models of the SU7.

Among the hardest hit has been Porsche, which reported last month that its deliveries in China plunged 28 percent in 2024. Although Porsche’s sales were up in every other region around the world, the decline in China was significant enough to pull down its global deliveries for the year by 3 percent.

For years, German automakers relied on the Chinese market to make up for weaker demand elsewhere, leading them to ignore deeper structural problems at home. Chief among them was a reluctance to adopt the technology that has come to define driving in China: electric vehicles equipped with sophisticated software and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.

“The German, but also the American and the Japanese-Korean, established Western manufacturers have greatly underestimated the development dynamics of the Chinese manufacturers, namely in the important fields of electro-mobility and software-defined vehicles,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center for Automotive Management in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.

Market experts said advances in software and features such as automated driving and remote control had become standard in Chinese electric cars, pressuring European automakers used to cashing in on their brand names to step up their game.

“I think Chinese consumers right now are ready to accept that Chinese companies can produce cars that are considered as premium to them,” said Gary Ng, an economist with Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking.

This month, Porsche announced that it would part ways with its finance chief and a top sales executive, both of whom had come under pressure for Porsche’s poor performance, including in China.

Adding to the pressure, President Trump has directed his advisers to devise new tariff levels for America’s trading partners, including the European Union. This could hurt Porsche, which, unlike BMW, Mercedes-Benz or other Volkswagen brands, supplies its U.S. market only with exports from Germany.

Last week, Porsche said it would cut up to 1,900 jobs in Germany over the coming years, amid a decline in global demand. Sales of the electric Taycan dropped by nearly half last year, to 20,836 deliveries, and sales of the new Panamera, a hybrid model, declined 13 percent last year, in part because Chinese buyers did not show as much interest as expected.

The extent of Porsche’s problem is reflected in car buyers like Seaky He, a social media content creator who lives in Changsha in China’s central Hunan Province. In 2017, she bought her first car, a bright red Mercedes-Benz CLA coupe. But last year, she decided to trade it in for a Xiaomi SU7.

Xiaomi has loaded the SU7 with features like automatic parking and remotely activated temperature control, which are exactly what Ms. He said she, and other young Chinese drivers, wanted from a car.

“In choosing my new car, I didn’t even consider buying another German vehicle,” Ms. He said.

The SU7 is not yet available for export, but a few models have reached the United States. James D. Farley Jr., the chief executive of Ford Motor, said he had one shipped from Shanghai to Chicago to drive for six months and “didn’t want to give it up.”

Xiaomi has also been testing pared-down versions its SU7 Ultra, which will be released in China in March, on Germany’s storied racetrack, the Nürburgring. In October, the car set a record for the “fastest four-door sedan,” and industry media and car fans cheered the news, excited that the SU7 had beaten Porsche’s Taycan by 20 seconds.

Racetrack officials pointed out, however, that the times were not comparable because the Chinese car was a preliminary version competing in an essentially open category, while the Taycan was a showroom-ready model and ran in a highly regulated category. Regardless, the message was unmistakable.

“As German carmakers, we have to be at least as much or more innovative as we are more expensive,” Mr. Bratzel said. “And that has gradually been lost, because Chinese carmakers are now just as innovative, and some are even more innovative.”” [1]

 

1 Why Porsche Is No Longer a ‘Premium’ Sports Car in China. Eddy, Melissa.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Feb 17, 2025.