Russia to pull Western diplomats

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that there is “no point” in maintaining the country’s current level of diplomatic presence in the West, according to the country’s state media RIA Novosti.

“It makes no sense, and we have no desire to maintain the same presence in Western countries. Our people work in conditions that can hardly be called human. They face constant problems, threats of physical attacks,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state media during a meeting with university graduates accepted into the diplomatic service.

“The main thing is that there is no work there since Europe decided to close itself from us and stop any economic cooperation. You can’t be forced to be nice,” he added.

Lavrov said that the Russian foreign ministry is currently carrying out a “geographical reorientation” of its activities both abroad and in the central office, suggesting a potential downgrade of Russia’s diplomatic presence in the West.

Jeff

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My Jewish Irish grandfather was friends before WW II with the German ambassador to Ireland. Hitler recalled him in 1939 from Dublin to Berlin. He was a Baron. He knew he was going back to Germany to be executed as Royalty. The Baron left a very large china tea cup and saucer with my grandfather as a gift.

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Not all family history tales are accurate. This one seems to not be. According to Wikipedia, the German ambassador to Ireland leading up to and through WWII was Eduard Hempel, who served in that post from 1937 through the end of the war. He was never recalled back to Germany at all (much less to be executed as “Royalty,” nor does he appear to have been in any way royal or holding any rank of nobility), and held his post for the entire duration of the war. He lived until 1972.

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Al,

That is welcome news.

But is up there with something my mother told me about her father on the other side of the family. As an Irish teller he was very popular. But fell ill early in life. My grandmother and mother went to Dublin to see the bankers. Grandma would lie so he could keep his job. He was really incapacitated and dying. She was seeking a higher level pension by holding on. The very last time they went to see HQ in Dublin a nice older bank manager followed them out. He told them to keep lying to them. They knew it was a lie but it was okay.

The truth?

No my mother is into chesme as the Spanish call it.

The truth? My grandmother had his pension till she was age 98.

The truth for all the stories the Irish would be good to people.

We have people in westerns gain power and tell far more lies. We do not really face our lies.

Chesme is not actually lying it is an artform. As are western movies where the American hero kills the bad guy. The American hero should not try to starve the poor in the process.

Al, My Jewish grandfather was into chesme as well. I was told we were Mongolian because he hated eastern Europe where he came from so badly. We had lost family for centuries there. He might have been the one who said the “baron went back to die”. He would upon the ambassador becoming a Nazis. The end of the friendship would have been treated as a death.

Pluralizing the N word because it is forbidden here.

I hope the Russians leave their seat on United Nations Security Council to a more deserving nation like Japan, India or Indonesia.

Jaak

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Nice idea, but the seat is useful as a platform for their propaganda, and as a way to obstruct UN activities.

Steve

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