Forbes: "They say "the Russian bear is dying," but the reality is different"

By Vestnik Kavkaza

The independent US newspaper the National Interest wrote today that North Korea is the new best friend of Russia. Official confirmation that the North Korean leader is going to visit the parade in Moscow on May 9 has worried Western analysts.

In addition, this visit by Kim Jong-un to Russia will be the first official foreign visit of the leader,  North Korea has declared 2015 the 'Year of Friendship with Russia', which means that the two countries have embarked on convergence. Over the past two years, Russia has become the closest political and major economic partner of Pyongyang. In terms of energy cooperation, Moscow and North Korea could become for the EU yet another obstacle to economic independence from Russia.

Product exchange between the countries has been growing since 2012, and in light of the anti-Russian sanctions from the West, this fact opens up new markets in Moscow, which allows Russia to bear the economic blockade more easily. For North Korea, after the deterioration of relations with China, Russia could become a very significant partner in the region. For the West, this once again means that a desire to dominate the world is not enough.

"Are there really such serious demographic problems in Russia?" the business publication Forbes wonders. The Western press as part of anti-Russian policy never ceases to write that "the Russian bear is dying," but is this really the case? The reality is different. Of course, the growth in the birthrate fell in recent times, but over the past 10 years, since Putin came to power in Russia, the demographic picture has improved as a whole, due to an increase in the health of the population.

According to the forecasts of Western analysts, by the early 2000's the population would be reduced by half, which could lead to the so-called extinction of the nation. However, this did not happen, largely due to the improvement of the financial climate and the economic situation in the country. Of course, Western countries imposed sanctions affected the well-being of the population, but the balanced policy of the Kremlin and the successful introduction of import substitution helped to stabilize the situation in the country, whose numbers remained stable and at a good  level.

The New York Times writes today about the 'ghost' of Iran, or that it is a threat to the US and EU. Most likely, an agreement on the nuclear program of Iran will be signed. And for everybody this will be the best outcome of the negotiations. Iran will give up its nuclear capacity and the United States will be able to get close to the Muslim country for the first time in the past 36 years.

It would seem that we are talking about the maintenance of stability and security in the Middle East region. However, no one mentions that Iran needs 100 billion in investments for the development of oil fields, and American oil companies will be seeking to participate in the bidding for these contracts as soon as the sanctions are lifted.

But will the sanctions be lifted? At the Federal Court of the United States, there are two charges against Iran, going back to 1983, which Iran has never recognized. Could Obama ignore the court's decision and achieve the signing of the agreement? Most likely yes, because the economic interest is higher than the political differences.