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UK bilateral trade with Russia was ~$17 billion in 2021 (i assume that's imports plus exports right?). Russia was a very close friend twenty years ago, Iraq wa
by caoilte 4y ago
UK bilateral trade with Russia was ~$17 billion in 2021 (i assume that's imports plus exports right?).
Russia was a very close friend twenty years ago, Iraq was a very close ally in the 1980s. I'm sure Israel realises how quickly the west can turn on friends and allies when it suits us and that this is why they spend tens of millions a year wooing US and UK politicians.
Russia became a pariah over night and the moment it becomes politically convenient to diplomatically recognise Israel as an apartheid state the trade won't count for anything (not least because most of it is the direct consequence of billions in annual US subsidies)
- simonh 4y agoRussia's been a pain in the arse continuously. 20 years ago they were up to their eyeballs in the Iranian nuclear programme, carpet bombing Chechnya, blowing up their own apartment blocks and blaming it on terrorists, destabilising Georgia and goodness knows what else. That's all just from memory. But they have a lot of oil and gas so we let it all slide. More fool us.
- _AdAstra_ 4y agoYou are aware that the Israely government does similar things, right?
- haerra 4y agoYup, so does the US and the UK.
- simonh 4y agoMost European governments look at the simultaneous invasion of Israel by three Arab states in 1948, and statements made about the aims of that invasion, and think "what would we be prepared to do to defend against such determined, implacable hostility?". They look at what Israel does to defend itself and think, yeah, pretty much we'd do that. They look at Israel and see a democratic, technologically advanced state with a liberal economy much like their own. They look at the repressive, autocratic extraction economies in the Arab world and recoil in horror. I'm not making any judgement on this, or whether they're right or wrong, but that's just how many Europeans see the situation.
- jeffrallen 4y agoAnd some other Europeans see human rights abusers and boycott them.
- jeffrallen 4y agoAnd some other Europeans see the Israeli government as human rights abusers and boycott them.
- monkey_monkey 4y agoI mean wow, they really don't.
- specproc 4y agoThe sad reality is that we've not really had truly independent foreign policy since WW2. The US military never left our soil, and we've been in lock step with Washington on everything serious since then. We're a vassal state, there's no Brexit on the special relationship.