Secret Lisbon meet focuses on India’s neutrality,
purchase of Russian oil
World Secret Lisbon meet focuses on India’s
neutrality, purchase of Russian oil
By
Abhinandan
Mishra
May 21,
2023
‘The
Ukraine defence minister is there, so are individuals who want a regime change
in Russia. The head of BP Oil is there who did not like the Nord Stream line.
These elites are very upset with India.’
At least
130 massively influential individuals from 23 countries are meeting in Lisbon,
Portugal, for a four-day conclave, from 18-21 May, under the annual Bilderberg
Meetings in which among the 13 topics that will be discussed under utmost
secrecy is “India”.
These
individuals, including political leaders and experts from industry, finance,
academia, labour and the media, are all from North America and Europe. The said
meeting is reportedly being held at the 5-star Pestana Palace hotel in Lisbon.
As per the
norms followed in this annual meet, which began in 1954, these individuals will
have informal discussions about major issues. The said meetings are held under
the Chatham House Rule, under which the participants are free to use the
information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the
speaker(s) nor any other participant can be revealed.
Sources
following this congregation, which has been called “secretive” and an event
that discusses “informally” the ways to impact policy changes in Asian and
African countries, said that the policy decision taken by India to remain
“neutral” and take a balanced approach while commenting and acting on the Russia-Ukraine
war will also be discussed by this influential gathering.
The said
stand by India has come under severe criticism from influential bodies and
institutions based in the Western region who want India to side with Ukraine.
The
decision of India to buy cheap Russian oil keeping in view its domestic
strategic needs, is also likely to come up for discussion with methods that
need to be adopted to control will also likely be deliberated.
Max
Blumenthal, the Editor of “The Grayzone”, a US-based independent news website
that has been covering this gathering, told The Sunday Guardian that the said
group represents a group of “trans-Atlantic elites” from across the spectrum,
including military leaders, intelligence officials, tech leaders working for
the military, etc.
“They meet
under Chatham House Rule, which is fundamentally undemocratic as even elected
officials participate in this meeting and the public should know what the
people they elected are discussing with big companies and business leaders who
have incentive in wars and pandemics. The Ukraine defence minister is there, so
are individuals who want a regime change in Russia. These figures are very much
interested in destroying the Russian economy. The head of BP Oil is there who
did not like the Nord Stream line coming from Russia to Germany. These elites
are very upset with India because it is buying oil from Russia, refining it and
selling it in the international market which is helping Russia economically. I
can assume that by having India in the agenda they are deliberating on the
‘problem’ by India. The Bilderberg Meetings should be seen as a threat to
India’s sovereignty,” said Blumenthal, who is an award-winning journalist and
author of best sellers.
The
spokesperson of Bilderberg Meetings, while responding to The Sunday Guardian’s
questions, shared the following response:
Q: One of
the key topics for the four-day discussion is India. However, no representative
from India will be taking part in this event. Why so? Was it a conscious
decision to keep Indian stakeholders out of the conference where what is
discussed is unlikely to become public.
A: Since
its foundation in 1954, Bilderberg has always been a forum for Transatlantic
discussions. As such, the vast majority of participants comes from North
America or Europe.
Q: Who and
how is it determined regarding the members who can participate in this event?
A: The
annual Bilderberg Meetings is organised by the Foundation Bilderberg Meetings.
A Steering Committee governs this foundation and designates a Chair or
Co-chairs. Members are elected for a term of four years and can be re-elected.
The Chair’s key responsibilities are to chair the Steering Committee and,
together with the Steering Committee members, prepare the Meeting’s programme
as well as the selection of participants. As participation is for invitees
only, there is no application process. For us, the key question is whether
participants have an interesting perspective to contribute. The list of
participants changes every year.
Q: The
perception is that India’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine war will be
critically examined during this event. Can you confirm or deny this?
A: While
our participants tend to come from North America and Europe, the scope of our
topics tends to be truly global. As such, no matter whether a discussion is on
AI, energy, banking, industrial policy, trade or any other of our
topics—perspectives from major countries outside of North America and Europe
tend to be discussed too.
*
The website
of the said meeting states that participation is for invitees only, as curated
by the Steering Committee from leaders who distinguish themselves in the areas
of government, business, technology, labour and academia. The meeting is closed
to reporting journalists in order to encourage the highest level of openness
and dialogue. It further mentions that Bilderberg Meetings stays away from
public attention and that the annual contributions by Steering Committee
members cover the yearly costs of the small secretariat. The budget of the secretariat
is limited to staff and administrative costs. The hospitality costs of the
annual meeting are the responsibility of the Steering Committee member(s) of
the host country, it claims. The event is organized by the Bilderberg Meetings
Foundation.
Apart from
India, the other key topics that are being discussed are AI, Banking System,
China, Energy Transition, Europe, Fiscal Challenges, Industrial Policy and
Trade, NATO, Russia, Transnational Threats, Ukraine and US Leadership.
The maximum
number of participants (30) are from the US. The rest of the participants are
from Turkey, Britain, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, France, Spain,
Austria, Germany, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland,
Belgium and Greece. Seven participants have been classified as “international”.
Participants
under this category include Josep Borrell, Vice President, European Commission,
Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Paschal Donohoe,
President, Eurogroup, Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, European
Commission, Andrei Kolesnikov, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, Roberta Metsola, President, European Parliament, Didier
Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary
General, NATO, Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow in International and Public
Affairs, Brown University.
Also
participating in the meeting is Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic
Affairs, Carnegie Endowment and Avril D. Haines, Director of National
Intelligence, US.
.jpg)
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário