When the leaders of three nations meet without ANY advisors for two hours and nothing good can be said, things are very very bad.  War? If it comes it would be the most foolish of wars ever fought.

It would only splinter the world and societies further. None predicted at the beginning of WWI that monarchies would be destroyed. That a new era had arrived. None now predict that a war would lead to the demise of some nation states as we know them. None seem to see that it would destroy (for good or bad) the structure of the world economic system as we know it.  Ah....but fear does unite a people and economies prosper in war. Merkel & Holland, desperate to appease Putin and desperately looking to make money from Russia are trying to force a disgraceful deal through that let's Putin get away with it AGAIN and forces Ukraine to be subservient to Russian aggression AGAIN.  Forget Germany and France we know their history BUT where is the UK and USA in directing AND standing up for freedoms and democratic rights in Europe. Germany and France are so worried about being invaded and occupied by Russia they will seek any deal that is good for them, or so they think and they will try and spoil any deal where Ukraine receives real actual useful help to enable Ukraine to defend itself.

PUTIN AND RUSSIA HAVE TOLD THE GERMAN'S AND THE FRENCH THAT THEY MUST LEAVE UKRAINE IN IT'S CURRENT STATE OF MILITARY CAPABILITY or RUSSIA WILL HOLD THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RUSSIAN EXCUSE OF ESCALLATION. 

About Ukraine - It all started with the US spending five billion dollars to destabilise Ukraine. Then, Victoria Nuland distributed cookies in Kiev and McCain offered his support to the fascists and extremists. Then, the CIA sent its snipers to kill protesters and policemen. Then, Nuland declared "Fuck the EU". Then there was the coup and a legally elected Presidenf was ousted from power and was replaced by an illegitimate president backed by the US. The US by some kind of gymnastics made the western population believe that the new government that resulted in a bloody coup is more legitimate than a legally elected government. Then, the US congress prepared a bill to offer several billion dollars of assistance to the "legitimate" government that ousted the legally elected President by force. Then, Crimea voted to join Russia and became part of Russia. Then the proposed assistance of the US was reduced to one billion dollars. Then Eastern Ukraine voted to separate themselves fron Ukraine. The proposed assistance of the US was reduced to a couple of hundred thoysand dollars as Joe Biden announced. Then, the Director of the CIA visited Kiev and declared the whole population of Eastern Ukraine terrorist. Proshenko, who was elected President by less than 15% of the voters, lead a war against the so-called terrorists. He declared that the war against terror would be over in a couple of days. The war is still on after nine months. Then the illegitimate legitimate government used one of its plane to shoot down a commercial plane, the MH17. Meanwhile, sanctions were imposed the western countries for anything and everything. It is like applying sanctions on North Korea. Sony is hacked by its former employees, sanction North Korea. North Korea refusex to talk, sanction North Korea. North Korea talks, sanction North Korea. The same with Russia. And now the gas supply is reduced drastically and Merkel and Hollande rush to Moscow. One week ago they refused to go to Kazackstan. Now, John Kerry stands guard in Kiev, in Munich to make sure that the US f**king partners do not sleep with Russia. But Russia do not want Germany and France. It has China, India, Brazil, South Africa.Interesting to see the difference between Western reporting here and the Russian reporting.  The West still does as if rebels are responsible for the thousands of deaths and again only see their own viewpoint, while rebels or separatists see the army destroying and shelling all the time. They don't kill their own citizens in Donbass and yet it is talked about 'as if' the separatists are the only problem. Ukraine completely destroyed Donetsk Airport and still pretends the rebels invade, rather than 'contain' their own region.  Us involvement means total war as they cannot resolve anything without destruction. It gives Putin a reason to use his own troops and weapons instead of the Russian Imperial Movement and other mercenaries doing their own thing. That would mean serious stuff as Russia so far has done very little with its power. US in the meantime cannot oversee the situation as they never see or admit to their own Shadow, which is very dark as we all know.

(Bloomberg) -- Greek government bonds rose, with three-year yields falling the most in three weeks, after Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis backed away from a demand for a debt writedown.

Negotiations between euro-area officials and Greece’s newly-elected government remained tense, and gains made on Tuesday that were the biggest since 2012 were pared in the remainder of the week. Greece’s credit rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s after markets closed on Friday and an emergency meeting of euro-area finance chiefs is scheduled for Feb. 11 in Brussels.

“Nobody knows where this is going,” said Peter Schaffrik, London-based head of European rates strategy at Royal Bank of Canada. “We’ve had a lot of news but we haven’t really gone anywhere.” Compared with the end of last week, “the market is slightly less nervous, particularly because the issue of a unilateral default in Greece is off the table.”

Greek three-year note yields fell 115 basis points, or 1.15 percentage points, to 18 percent at the 5 p.m. London close on Friday. The 3.375 percent security due July 2017 climbed 1.835, or 18.35 euros per 1,000-euro ($1,132) face amount, to 73.02. The 10-year rate dropped 1.07 percentage points since Jan. 30 to 10.11 percent.

Greek bonds were whipsawed through the week as Varoufakis and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras toured Europe to try to cut a new deal on repaying a rescue package agreed to in 2012. Markets surged on Tuesday, following a meeting between the finance minister and bankers at which he outlined plans to swap some debt for new securities, rather than reducing the amount owed.

Greece and Germany are on the frontline in a fierce battle about the future of European economic policy, with Syriza determined to show that ditching austerity is a better recipe for economic recovery than relentless cuts, and Germany determined to make Athens stick to the deficit-cutting agenda – and pay back the €240bn (£180bn) in bailout loans it received from the international community.  As Varoufakis returned to Athens , thousands of people gathered on the streets to show solidarity in the party’s battle with Greece’s creditors.  The fresh outpouring of public concern, with protesters gathering in Syntagma Square, the centre of anti-government riots during repeated crises in recent years, came after the European Central Bank outraged policymakers by restricting access to emergency funds for Greece’s struggling banks.   In Berlin, Varoufakis promised to meet the alarmist warnings of some in the eurozone about the consequences of Syriza’s radical policies with “a frenzy of reasonableness”.   Just before the Berlin meeting the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had ratcheted up the pressure on the eurozone to find a solution to the crisis by inviting the new Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, to talks in Moscow in May.  Schäuble said Germany would “fully respect the mandate” handed to Varoufakis and his colleagues by the electorate in the general election last month, but Germany had its own democratic pressures.

"We dream but we take our dream seriously. More has been done in Greece in six days than many governments did in years."  Protesters are parading in the same streets that over the past six years have seen many other gatherings against financial crisis cutbacks imposed by successive governments.  One marcher, Jose Maria Jacobo, told Reuters news agency that people had to fight back against the political class.  "It is the only way..., to kick out all of those politicians who are taking everything from us. They even try to take our dignity away from us. But that they won't take that from us," he said.   But speaking in Barcelona, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Podemos had no chance of winning elections.   "I don't accept the gloomy Spain which some want to portray because they think that by doing so they will replace those who are governing and have had to face the most difficult crisis in decades. They will not succeed," he said.  Uncompromising message -- Many Spaniards are enraged over reports of political corruption and public spending cuts implemented by Mr Rajoy's People's Party and before that by the Socialists.  The two big traditional parties have described the party - less than a year old and whose names translates as "we can" - as populist.   Our correspondent says that since Podemos stormed onto the political scene in last May's European elections, it has moved from strength to strength with its uncompromising message against austerity and corruption.   But both left-wing and right-wing media have criticised Podemos, accusing it of having ties with Venezuela's left-wing leaders and alleging financial misconduct by some of its senior members.  The party's leaders have in response promised to publish their tax returns, with Mr Iglesias remaining defiant.   In the face of their hatred, we smile," is one of his regular pronouncements, according to the AFP news agency. After the Syriza triumph in the Greek elections he said that "hope had been born".  Spain has now officially come out of recession but nearly one in four workers remains unemployed.  Last year was the first time there has been full-year economic growth in the country since 2008, when a property bubble burst, putting millions of people out of work and pushing the country to the brink of a bail-out.

Searching for support and "handouts" (from the US) as usual ...

German Chancellor (Merkel) arrives in Washington late  this sunday for upcoming  meetings with President Obama that start Monday..."We think it's wise to have an (...) accord tied to achievements and bench marks,"  = this is a funny statement though.  Anyway,  here's what they will talk about ( this is the "public agenda" - background talks about further economic support from the FED not made public by neither of the participants - Germany needs help for sure):

 

UKRAINE

"One of the most pressing issues is the crisis in Ukraine," said Peter Wittig, Germany's ambassador to Washington. "All of us are concerned this is a spiraling military conflict. We want to explore the diplomatic options."  Merkel's visit comes as Obama considers providing modern weapons to Ukraine, which has been losing territory in the country's eastern regions to pro-Russian separatists armed with tanks and personnel carriers sporting Russia's most advanced armor.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday asked Western leaders at the Munich Security Conference to push for a quick cease-fire and defensive weapons capable of countering the separatists' armored assaults... Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Friday during a meeting in Moscow to draft a peace plan for Ukraine based on ideas proposed by Putin and Poroshenko, but previous agreements have fallen apart even as the conflict has resulted in more than 5,300 dead in Ukraine.  Merkel has opposed sending weapons to Ukraine. On Saturday, she said she "cannot imagine any situation in which improved equipment for the Ukrainian army leads to President Putin being so impressed that he believes he will lose militarily," according to the Associated Press.  Wittig, who briefed reporters in Washington in advance of Merkel's visit, said that if the West delivered weapons to Ukraine, "Moscow would probably reciprocate" by providing separatists with more weapons.  "How far are we willing to escalate that military spiral? I'm not sure that we are," Wittig said.

TRADE

Finally, the two leaders will discuss a thorny trade pact, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would unite the economies of the USA and the 28-nations of the European Union. The deal would eliminate most trade barriers for many products and financial services.

Backers say it could produce free-market prosperity, but the negotiations have also been controversial because the pact would increase competition. Greece's new leftist ruling party, Syriza, has said it opposes the plan.

THE ISLAMIC "STATE"

Obama and Merkel will also discuss a training center Germany is setting up in Erbil, in Kurdish-controlled Iraq, to train and provide arms to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting against the Islamic State, which has seized territory in Iraq and Syria. Merkel will also discuss German interest in pursuing other tracks of destabilizing the militant group, including counter-financing and supporting messages that de-legitimize the group's claims that its actions, including the murder by fire last month of a captured Jordanian pilot, are backed by Muslim religious ideals.
Source - USA Today