NATO almost certainly has an internally negotiated NATO-wide approach to the whole UKR RUS situation. And it may be that Germany’s decision runs counter to, or at least off-axis from, that internal position.
So it’s not that Germane needs “permission” from NATO or anyone else except Lithuania. But to the degree they’re singing off-key from the collective NATO playbook this week, that’s at least somewhat unhelpful. And if so, is likely to be seized upon and greatly exaggerated / amplified by Russian propagandists and their Western stooges as yet another wedge issue.
I’m not following this particular case closely enough to know for sure. But ISTM that’s about where the issue truly lies, as opposed to any make believe dissention or controversy.
The Russian Ruble is now worth exactly one US cent. If its value continues to decline at the rate it has for the past year, then the Russian Ruble will be worth nothing by the end of next year.
What happened in early 2022 with the Ruble/Yuan exchange rate? That flat line indicates that one or the other side (I’m assuming the Chinese) fixed the rate and took it off the exchanges to remove volatility.
Which would indicate that the Chinese have now allowed the Ruble to devalue rather dramatically over the last few months - albeit in stages. A power play to make Russian oil cheaper, perhaps?
The same thing that happened across the board - they invaded Ukraine
ETA: noticed it was about the flat line. China has pegged the yuan to the dollar for a long time. Not anymore but now Russia has pegged to the Chinese RMB for stability so the flat line indicates that
Yes, “breaks with NATO” is a misleadingly over-dramatic way of putting it. But in terms of precedent in modern German history (ultra-cautious about military activity independent of NATO), it’s a big step. Easy to see how the Russians would portray it, but they would anyway, however such a thing was managed.
FWIW that issue (stationing via bilateral agreement with Lithuania) is not something that even the vocal critics in Germany of German support of Ukraine/German support of containment of Russia have seen fit to seize on as a talking point. NATO seems not have made any disapproving noises about it either (and that would have been newsworthy in Germany). The article looks to me like an attempt to generate news out of a technicality. Neither Lithuania nor Germany are keen on picking a political quarrel with NATO. Speculation: Perhaps the bilateral agreement is perfectly OK with NATO leadership because it bypasses opposition by Hungary in NATO.
NATO had already given Germany the lead for the “Enhanced Forward Presence” battle group in Lithuania a while ago - which rather reinforces the thought that, however Germany and Lithuania have done this, it’s a distinction without a difference.
Given that the RMB fluctuates against any chosen western currency or any basket thereof, and given the Russia and China trade a total amount that’s material to the Russian economy, if not to the Chinese one, ISTM that Russia maintaining a peg to a moving target is going to cost them significant reserves one way or the other.
For sure, lots of us have forgotten how currencies worked in the bad old days of multiple disconnected blocs of hostile countries. Fundamentally untradeable currencies can have very odd behaviors versus the open market world we tend to assume exists. And for sure Russia is trying it’s damnednest to return to that era. China however has one foot in each camp and therefore will export some of its currency flux into Russia whether the Russians want that or not.
And then, twice in the span of a few months, changed that pegging, to judge from the two drops after the first flatline segment. That’s definitely not a sign of a healthy economy.
The Russians set upon a cargo ship that was going from Bulgaria to a Romanian port, shooting at it, then boarding it for inspection. Admittedly, the destination in Romania was close to the Ukraine border, but this idea that Russia is to be the Black Sea Police is troubling to various other users of that puddle.
