France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia’s sanction-busting “shadow fleet”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was “subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag”.
The French navy, with the assistance of allies including the UK, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had “confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag”.
Russia’s embassy in Paris said it had not been informed of the seizure.
For those who are talking about rules-based order and international law, please understand that those ideas are dead. You can’t pretend there is a morally-just world police while Gaza is being leveled, Venezuela was invaded, war in Ukraine has continued for years, and China bullies Taiwan and the Philippines.
If you haven’t listened to it yet, I highly recommend Mark Carney’s speech from earlier this week at Davos. World leaders are just now coming to terms with the new reality of “might makes right”.
Edit, just to be clear: along the lines of this new world order, France is entirely in the right here. They had the opportunity to seize this tanker and was powerful enough to do so. As far as motive, they aren’t happy with how Russia is treating Ukraine. That’s it. To make excusses such as “but international law” and “gotta follow the rules” is nothing short of pathetic drivel.
Laughing at all the vatniks complaining in the comments about those poor russian oligarchs having their assets seized. Cry me a fucking river.
so… stealing cargo ships is now okay.
i wonder what yall gonna think of this when russia and china start doing it.
Yeah you’re leaving about a tonne of relevant details and context out.
Like that I too can make idiotic assertions.
Ukraine bombed Russian oil refineries! How could they, they’re so evil, can you imagine them attacking European infrastructure?
See what I did there? I left out the little tid bit of Russia being a cruel dictatorship supported by oligarchs who invaded Ukraine for bullshit reasons and has committed genocide multiple times now, which is the reason for Ukraine fighting back.
Now you do you. Look at what you wrote and point out the list of issues that explains all you wrote, but that you conveniently left out.
Illt wait
Internternationally sanctioned.
If you agree to play by the rules then don’t be suprised when enforcement happens.
They chose to join this global economy and there are rules to follow.
The rules-based order is dead, and there is no world police. Countries just take what they think they can get away with. Otherwise, there would be aid flowing into Palestine, Venezuela wouldn’t have been attacked by the US, and everyone wouldn’t be fighting over Greenland.
unilaterally sanctioned* same applies to venezuela, cuba and others btw.
the “international community” isn’t composed solely of the western world, but that’s what it looks like from the global south.
Like how Russia invaded Ukraine and keeps committing war crimes?
When the US did this, everyone was quick to call it piracy. Which, to be fair, it practically was, although I can’t say I have any sympathy for Putin.
I wrote this on another post, but copying it here because it’s same shit, different user (or is it?)
Yeah you’re leaving about a tonne of relevant details and context out.
Like that I too can make idiotic assertions.
Ukraine bombed Russian oil refineries! How could they, they’re so evil, can you imagine them attacking European infrastructure?
See what I did there? I left out the little tid bit of Russia being a cruel dictatorship supported by oligarchs who invaded Ukraine for bullshit reasons and has committed genocide multiple times now, which is the reason for Ukraine fighting back.
Now you do you. Look at what you wrote and point out the list of issues that explains all you wrote, but that you conveniently left out.
Illt wait
Did you assume I was defending Putin on this?
Putin’s a piece of shit and I hope all his crap gets plundered and the proceeds transferred to the Ukrainian drone fund.
There’s a difference between seizing oil tankers because you want their oil, and seizing them because they’re funding an illegal and needlessly destructive war. The first is as explicitly piracy as you can get, the second might be justifiable as sanctions, though definitely in a grey area that most countries would have preferred to stay out of.
But I’m all for seizing the entire shadow fleet and sending the profits to Ukraine.
“we are stealing oil because of the rules”
There are literally dozens upon dozens of treaties and agreements signed by Russia which they are breaking. It’s fair no matter how you try to spin it in your own head.
you mean the ones western bureaucrats are openly saying don’t hold anymore?
coming up with the rules then saying the rules benefit only you is a sham anyway.
Do you enjoy submitting to bullies?
It’s Russia that threw the rules out of the window. The EU and Ukraine have been the most rules abiding powers here. The only ones, arguably. It’s hamstringing them, and en helping the aggressor that doesn’t respect any rules. Sometimes you just have to hit back. And this is still very mild.
the US is the biggest bully in the world for some decades now.
i don’t enjoy getting bombed and regime changed by the us, no.
I can’t help but notice you’re very careful not to say anything negative about Russia, despite their illegal invasion, their war crimes and their utterly brutal and inhuman tactics.
But do you and your children enjoy being bombed by Russia?
If you do, move to Ukraine.
