Indian Punchline | India's gaffe at Samarkand, 20 Sep

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Samarkand on September 16 after the SCO Summit turned into a media scandal. The Western media zeroed in on six words culled out of context in the PM's opening remarks -- "today's era is not of war" --  to triumphantly proclaim that India is finally distancing itself from Russia on Ukraine issue, as the US and European leaders have been incessantly demanding.

Of course, this motivated interpretation lacks empirical evidence and is, therefore, malicious. Besides, Modi also spoke with a rare interplay of emotions by underscoring the quintessence of the Indian-Russian relationship, as well as his two decade-long association with Putin.

The steamy part cooked up by the US media shows the desperation on the part of the "Collective West" to isolate Russia at a time when even western leaders have candidly admitted that the bulk of the non-western world does not identify with the western narrative on Ukraine and refuses to roll back their relationship with Russia. ...

oh
APsplainin | World opinion shifts against Russia as Ukraine worries grow, 23 Sep

Politio.com | China faces skeptics with UNGA pitch for global leader status, 23 Sep "concerns"

China's President Xi Jinping Zoomed into the U.N. General Assembly last year CROWING  about how his country had beaten Covid, opposed foreign military interventions[,] and led the way in advancing democracy and rule of law [trans. international norms?].

Since then, China has taken RUSSIA'S SIDE in the Ukraine war. It's menaced the democratic island of Taiwan and stamped out the vestiges of free rule in [British] Hong Kong. And its vaunted economy has sputtered due to its DRACONIAN zero-Covid strategy. No wonder DEMOCRACIES aren't so thrilled about Beijing MUCKING about The Global Order [trans. rules-based order?].
[...]
Instead, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will address the General Assembly -- though now RELEGATED to a WEEKEND TIME SLOT < wipes tears > -- to project an IMAGE [trans. icon?] of his boss [??] as a resolute global statesman with innovative solutions to the world's most intractable problems.

Expect Wang to lace his speech [24 Sep] with the usual bromides about "win-win cooperation," "inclusive growth" and a "people-centered approach" [trans. people before profit?] designed to portray Xi as a staunch defender of the U.N. system.

But that verbal SMOKESCREEN aims to mitigate international dismay about China's ALIGNMENT [trans. free trade?] with Russia's Ukraine INVASION, its abuses of Xinjiang [U*GHURS,] and its AGRESSIVE military intimidation of Taiwan [trans. G7 arms sales?].
[...]
Look for Wang to dole out some HONEY [trans. USD-denominated loans?] to the developing world while he SPRAYS VINEGAR  on what he referred to last month as U.S. "unilateralism and bullying."...

< wipes tears > memorable quotes
Express Tribune | Guterres to take up 'debt swaps' with IMF, WB, 11 Sep
IMF | Debt-for-Climate Swaps: Analysis, Design, and Implementation, 11 Aug
"partial debt relief operations conditional on debtor commitments to undertake ["]climate-related["] investments [capEx]" exchanged for creditors' ownership interest in public property
reference
What is a debt-for-equity swap?
selling the farm

CBS | Transcript: National security adviser Jake Sullivan on "Face the Nation", 25 Sep "busy man watching the world"

...MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin will carry out this annexation of eastern Ukraine within the next few days. If Russia is expanding its NUCLEAR UMBRELLA over this part of the country. Does that put the US in more direct conflict with Russia? And does a nuclear weapon being used there, p-put Russia in conflict directly with the US and NATO?
JAKE SULLIVAN: We have been crystal clear up to and including President Biden that we will not recognize the sham referenda, they in no way represent the will of the Ukrainian people. And we will treat this territory for what it is - Ukrainian territory, not Russian territory. And we will continue to support the Ukrainians as they seek to de[-]occupy this territory. So we've been clear, we're not going to stop or slow down our support to the Ukrainians, no matter what Putin tries to do with these-these fake elections and fake referenda and annexation. Now, when it comes to the question of nuclear use, President Putin's been waving around the nuclear card < wipes tears > at various points through this conflict the last few days are not the first time-
BRENNAN: -But he hasn't been as cornered as he is now.
SULLIVAN: It's true, and it is a matter that we have to take deadly seriously because it is a matter of paramount seriousness - the possible use of NUCLEAR WEAPONS for the first time since the Second World War [August 1945]. We have communicated directly, privately, at very high levels to the Kremlin, that any use of NUCLEAR WEAPONS will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the United States in our allies will respond decisively. And we have been clear and specific about what that will entail. We have, in public, been equally clear, as a matter of principle, that the United States will respond decisively if Russia uses NUCLEAR WEAPONS and that we will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to defend its country and defend its democracy.
BRENNAN: Russia has been talking about this power plant rather than NUCLEAR WEAPONS just for the past 24 hours. Where does that fall? Is this an escalating threat?
SULLIVAN: So, for your viewers, there is a nuclear power plant < wipes tears > that is in Russian occupied portions of Ukraine. It has been put into cold shutdown to make it less likely that there's some kind of catastrophic incident at the plant. It is actually still being operated by the Ukrainian operators who are essentially at GUNPOINT from the Russian occupying forces. And the Russians have been consistently implying that there may be some kind of accident at this plant. ...

Readovka | Zaporozh* nuclear power plants and thermal power plants cut off the supply of electricity to the Kherson region, 19 Sep
archived Casualty, Jake Sullivan on NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, 'strategic ambiguity', GET A ROOM, En Route Madrid, Jake Set Out Threats, Jake Sullivan Warns