Biden appears to confuse NATO with Ukraine in calling for Congress members to pass funding bill
President Biden on Saturday appeared to mix up NATO with Ukraine when calling on House members to come back to Washington, D.C., to vote on a bill that would fund Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “The idea that we’re going to walk away from Ukraine, the idea that we’re going to begin to let NATO split is totally against the interests of the United States of America, and it’s against our word we’ve given since all the way back to Eisenhower,” Biden told reports in Delaware Saturday. “So it’s about time we make sure Congress come home and pass the legislation funding NATO.” The Senate this week passed the bipartisan bill that would give $95.3 million in funding to the three allies for defense purposes, but the House of Representatives is on a two-week break and House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the House won’t “rush” to pass it. The 81-year-old’s mental fitness has been under scrutiny since Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on the president’s mishandling of classified documents last week said he had a “poor memory.” BIDEN’S EAST PALESTINE VISIT WAS A ‘DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT’: FRANK LAROSE “We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur wrote in the report explaining that the president would not face any charges. The Republican National Committee’s rapid response X, formerly Twitter, account RNC Research seized on the gaffe posting a clip and writing, “Ukraine isn’t in NATO — neither are Israel and Taiwan.” WHITE HOUSE SCOLDS PRESS ON ‘FALSE’ BIDEN HEALTH COVERAGE Biden, notorious for gaffes, also mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt last week, and while speaking at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference confused “red state and blue state” with “red state and green state” while giving his remarks. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “When I said — when I pushed these programs — I said I’m going to be the president of everybody we live in a red state or green state,” Biden said. Former President Trump, the Republican frontrunner, has also had his share of gaffes, most recently appearing to confuse opponent Nikki Haley for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin leaves hospital after six months in detention
Thaksin returned to Thailand in August after nearly 16 years of self-imposed exile. Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has left the hospital where he spent six months in detention following his return to the kingdom after more than 15 years of self-imposed exile. Thaksin, wearing a neck brace and a surgical mask, was seen early on Sunday in a vehicle leaving the Police General Hospital in central Bangkok. Thaksin was taken to his home in western Bangkok, where a banner with the words “Welcome home” and “We’ve been waiting for this day for so so long” was hanging at the front gate. Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said earlier this week that Thaksin, who was jailed for eight years on corruption charges before his sentence was reduced to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, would be released on parole. The exact details of Thaksin’s parole are unclear but the return of his Pheu Thai party to power in a coalition with the pro-military Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation has fuelled rumours that a backroom deal was struck to reduce his time in jail, which the government has denied. Thaksin, a towering but divisive presence in Thai politics for more than two decades, led Thailand between 2001 and 2006 when his government was toppled in a military coup. After convictions for abuse of power and other offences while in office, Thaksin spent nearly 16 years in self-imposed exile overseas before returning home in August to cheering crowds to serve his sentence. Within hours of his return, Thaksin was moved from prison to the police hospital to receive treatment for unspecified health issues. Even after he fled the country in 2008, Thaksin’s allies continued to be a major force in Thai politics, with his sister Yingluck Shinawatra serving as the country’s first female prime minister from 2011 until 2014. Thaksin’s parole caps a period of reconciliation between his populist movement and the country’s conservative, royalist establishment, which have been locked in a heated rivalry that has consumed Thai politics for decades. Thaksin’s populist platform appealed to rural Thais who had long felt neglected by the country’s ruling elites. The former telecoms tycoon was also accused of serious human rights abuses amid a violent conflict in the country’s mostly Muslim southern provinces and a “drugs war”, which killed thousands. Adblock test (Why?)
Farmers protest: Haryana extends mobile internet suspension in 7 districts till Feb 19
The ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts till February 19 in view of the ‘Delli Chalo’ call given by farmers’ organisations.
Weather update: IMD warns of heavy rain, snowfall in Himachal over next 2 days, check details
The IMD has issued a warning for heavy rains, snow, thunderstorms, and hail in isolated areas from February 18 to 20.
Race, gender debate brewing after Fani Willis’ hearing testimony: ‘High-profile Black woman’
A conversation about race and gender is beginning to brew as Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis attempts to maintain her post as the lead prosecutor in the election racketeering case against former President Trump. Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, previously said the allegations brought against her of having an “improper” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade were made because she is Black. Now, a little more than a month after making that claim, a handful of Willis’ proponents are echoing her position. Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, the presiding prelate of the Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia, told the New York Times he believes Willis wouldn’t be facing the allegations of misconduct if she were “not a woman and Black.” BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS AFTER WILD 2-DAY HEARING ON FANI WILLIS AFFAIR: ‘WHAT’S DONE IS DONE’ “If she was not a woman and Black, I don’t think she would have gone through this,” said Jackson, whom the outlet noted has prayed with and counseled Willis in private in recent weeks. “What this was all about was distraction and delay,” he added. “I think it’s time to move on.” Kamina Pinder, a law professor at Emory University, told the outlet she knows Black women face “unique challenges” when holding positions of power. “Everything she does is going to be scrutinized, so for her to do this is just bizarre,” Pinder told the outlet. “As a Black woman, I know there are unique challenges when you’re in a position of power, but that doesn’t excuse behavior that was dubious and unethical.” Similarly, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, a Democrat who was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, suggested Willis is a “bigger target” for opponents because she is a “high-profile Black woman.” FANI WILLIS RAISES EYEBROWS WITH WINK ON THE STAND, LABELS FORMER LOVER NATHAN WADE A ‘SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN’ “Obviously, it was in somebody’s interest to bring her down,” Braun told the Times earlier this week. “The fact that she’s a high-profile Black woman just means that she’s a bigger target.” An article from the Associated Press this week also pointed out the narrative that Willis is facing political turmoil due to her race. “It absolutely feels familiar. There is no secret that the common sentiment among Black women in positions of power (is that they) must over-perform to be seen as equals to their counterparts,” Jessica T. Ornsby, a family litigation attorney in the Washington, D.C., area, told the outlet. “Here, Ms. Willis is being scrutinized for things that are not directly related to her job performance, in ways we see other Black women regularly picked apart.” Court documents filed last month claimed Willis hired Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Trump and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case. After the allegations were made, Willis spoke on the matter at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, where she said the claims against her were based on her race. “They only attacked one,” she said at the time. “First thing they say, ‘Oh, she’s gonna play the race card now.’ … But no, God, isn’t it them that’s playing the race card when they only question one?” Fulton County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case. The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case. FANI WILLIS HEARING TESTIMONY ‘JARRING,’ ‘PURE COMEDY GOLD,’ SOCIAL MEDIA DECLARES Willis said last month that John Floyd and Anna Green Cross, both prosecutors assigned to the case, are both white and were not targeted. “Isn’t it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job I’ve been doing almost 30 years,” Willis questioned. Earlier this week, Willis took to the witness stand at an evidentiary hearing regarding her relationship with Wade. Willis’ testimony was marked with notable hostility on Thursday, with the prosecutor calling some of the allegations “dishonest” and “extremely offensive.” At one point, Willis held up a printed copy of the allegations against her in both hands and turned to the judge, yelling, “This is a lie!” Willis also called defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant’s interests “contrary to democracy.” Trump was indicted by Willis in August and pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Brianna Herlihy and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Trump sparks emotional reactions from crowd in surprise visit to sneaker convention
Former President Donald Trump traveled over the weekend to Pennsylvania, where he was greeted at Sneaker Con with mixed and emotional reactions from those in attendance. Trump’s surprise appearance at the event — known as “The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth,” according to the organizer’s website — came shortly before the former president travels to Michigan for a campaign rally. Taking the stage at the event in Philadelphia, Trump appeared before a crowd of emotional attendees, some of whom cheered on the president as others booed him during his speech. Trump spoke for roughly 10 minutes, appearing alongside a pair of gold, custom Trump-branded sneakers that are now being sold in limited supply for $399 a pair. TRUMP BLASTS ‘CLUBHOUSE POLITICIAN’ JUDGE AFTER BEING FINED $350M, DEFENDS THE ‘GREAT COMPANY’ HE BUILT “A lot of emotion. There’s a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said shortly after taking the podium. “They have lines going all around the block. They’ve never seen anything like this one.” “I just want to tell you, you know, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things and they came up with this,” Trump continued. “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years and I think it’s going to be a big success.” Trump also noted that the “influencers” have been “very positive” about the new shoes, which are available for pre-order and are being created by CIC Ventures, the same company that made the Trump trading cards. “They love it, and they love what we’ve done,” Trump said as he flashed the shoes to those in the audience. “That’s the real deal.” BIDEN ADMIN BRACES FOR POSSIBLE TRUMP WIN, INSTALLS ‘ROADBLOCKS’ TO STOP HIM FROM RESHAPING GOVERNMENT: REPORT Trump told those in the audience that the most important thing they can do is vote and vowed to “turn this country around fast.” At one point, several of those in the crowd began chanting, “USA, USA, USA.” Prior to Trump’s appearance at the annual event, which gathers “sneakerheads” from all different corners of the world and has been taking place since 2009, Sneaker Con faced backlash from Trump critics for allowing the former president a venue to offer remarks. Sneaker Con later addressed the backlash it had received through a statement shared on social media. Notably, organizers turned off the comments for the post on social media. “Sneaker Con’s mission is to support and promote sneaker culture through our worldwide live events and digital platforms. We are thankful and appreciative of the sneaker community, and recognize individuals who generate awareness and authentic sneaker related engagement towards our community. #sneakercon,” the statement read. President Biden’s campaign mocked Trump’s attendance at the event. “Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life,” said Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler in a statement. Trump’s appearance in the battleground state of Pennsylvania comes one day after he was barred from operating his business in New York for three years and was found liable for more than $350 million in damages in the civil fraud case brought against him, his family and the Trump Organization by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Jimmy Carter, 99, marks one year in home hospice care
Former President Carter has now been in hospice care for one year. The 39th president, who turned 99 in October, entered hospice care on Feb. 18, 2023. The Carter Center said the former president would spend his “remaining time” at his Georgia home in hospice care instead of continuing cancer treatments. “After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the center said at the time. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.” JIMMY CARTER, LONGEST LIVING US PRESIDENT, TURNS 99 On Saturday, his family told USA Today in a statement about the 99-year-old: “The Carter family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time. The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Carter Center for comment. The vast majority of patients spend less than three months in hospice, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Carter was diagnosed with cancer in early 2015, after doctors performed liver surgery, according to a statement from the Carter Center, which made it clear that his cancer had spread to other parts of his body. JIMMY CARTER HAD ONE OF THE ‘GREATEST SECOND ACTS’ IN AMERICAN HISTORY, CONSERVATIVE HISTORIAN SAYS In December 2015, Carter told his Sunday School class that he no longer had cancer. By May, Carter’s grandson Jason said his grandfather was still receiving updates on the Carter Center’s humanitarian work and enjoying treats like ice cream. “They’re just meeting with family right now, but they’re doing it in the best possible way: the two of them together at home,” Jason Carter told The Associated Press of his grandfather and grandmother, Rosalynn Carter, who was still alive at the time. Rosalynn Carter died last November at 96 years old after being admitted to hospice care. She was at their Georgia home at the time. Carter attended Rosalynn’s funeral. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Carter said in a statement at the time. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP They had been married for 77 years.
Rowdy anti-Israel group gathers outside Ted Cruz’s home for early morning protest: ‘Harassing my family’
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was confronted by a raucous crowd of anti-Israel protesters Saturday outside his Houston home for a second time in one week. In a post to social media Saturday morning, Cruz, who has been vocal about his support of Israel amid its war with Hamas militants, wrote, “For the [2nd] time this week, anti-Israel protestors have come to my house early in the morning, waking up the neighbors & harassing my family. None expressed concern about Hamas’ Oct 7 murder of over 1200 or mass rapes of women & children.” The senator added, “I’m proud to stand with Israel.” Though it is not immediately clear whether Cruz was at his home when the protesters arrived, the footage shared online, which was captured from Cruz’s front door, showed a little more than a dozen protesters holding signs and shouting anti-Israel chants. CRUZ DEMANDS DOJ LAUNCH CRIMINAL PROBE OF US NONPROFIT ALLEGEDLY HELPING TERRORISTS One sign featured an image of Cruz’s head above a red heart and the words “dead kids” listed below, while another individual held a sign that read, “STOP FUNDING GENOCIDE.” “Ted Cruz, you will see, Palestine will be free. Ted Cruz, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today,” the protesters, almost all of whom rattled bells back and forth, shouted from the sidewalk running along the front side of Cruz’s home. “Ted Cruz, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the group also chanted. Another chant by the group insisted Cruz “should be in jail” over his support for Israel. In a followup post to X, Cruz shared a Jewish solidarity anthem, writing, “Am Yisrael Chai!” Am Yisrael Chai, a centuries-old Hebrew phrase, translates to “The people of Israel live.” Cruz’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the protesters had previously gathered outside the senator’s Texas residence. SEN. TED CRUZ ‘ENTHUSIASTICALLY’ ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT: ‘THIS RACE IS OVER’ Since the Oct. 7 outbreak of the war between Israel-Hamas, which was kickstarted after Iran-backed Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and slaughtered more than 1,000 innocent Israelis, Cruz has been an ardent supporter of Israel’s efforts. In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland this week, Cruz led his Republican colleagues in outlining concerns about a U.S.-based nonprofit that raises money for UNRWA, the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians that critics have long said promoted an anti-Israel agenda in the Middle East and recently came under scrutiny for its alleged ties to Hamas. The senators urged the DOJ to open a criminal investigation into the nonprofit, “it’s principals, and its leadership for knowingly providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas.” In a statement to Fox News Digital at the time, Cruz said, “UNRWA has been providing material support to Hamas terrorists for decades, and UNRWA USA has been bankrolling that support. Foreigners who knowingly funded UNRWA would normally be subject to sanctions, but the Biden administration provided exemptions for those activities. However, the administration did not and indeed cannot exempt American citizens from criminal statutes prohibiting material support for terrorism.” He added, “Hamas’s October 7 atrocities have underlined the need to robustly enforce American anti-terrorism laws, and AG Garland should open a criminal investigation into UNRWA USA for potential violations of those laws.” CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP UNRWA USA did not comment specifically on the letter being sent to Garland, but pointed Fox News Digital to its Jan. 29 statement that noted the nonprofit was “horrified by the recent allegations against twelve UNRWA staff members.”
DR Congo accuses Rwanda of airport ‘drone attack’ in restive east
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused Rwanda of carrying out a drone attack that damaged a civilian aircraft at the airport in the strategic eastern city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, 20km (12 miles) from Goma, between M23 rebels – which Kinshasa says are backed by Kigali – and Congolese government forces. “On the night of Friday to Saturday, at 2-o-clock in the morning local time, there was a drone attack by the Rwandan army,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike Kaito, army spokesperson for North Kivu province. “It had obviously come from the Rwandan territory, violating the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he added in a video broadcast by the governorate. The drones “targeted aircraft of DRC armed forces”. However, army aircraft “were not hit”, he said, but “a civilian aircraft was hit and damaged”. The Rwandan government did not immediately respond to the allegations. An AFP correspondent and Goma residents reported hearing two loud explosions around the time of the blast. A security source told AFP about “two bombs” on Saturday and said experts were on site to check where they had been fired from. Despite the bomb reports, national and international traffic was normal, sources at the airport said. ‘Escalating violence’ Alain Uaykani, reporting for Al Jazeera from Goma on Saturday, said that if the drone attack targeted military craft, as the army has said, it shows that M23 rebels are capable of more advanced attacks than the Congolese government may have expected. The DRC, the United Nations and Western countries have said Rwanda is supporting the rebels in a bid to control vast mineral resources, an allegation Kigali has denied. The rebels have conquered vast swaths of North Kivu in the last two years. According to a confidential UN document seen by the AFP earlier this week, the Rwandan army is using sophisticated weapons, such as surface-to-air missiles, to support M23. A “suspected Rwandan Defence Force mobile surface-to-air missile” was fired at a UN observation drone last Wednesday without hitting it, the report said. The UN Security Council voiced concern this week at “escalating violence” in eastern DRC, and condemned the M23 offensive near Goma. Dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or wounded in the fighting over the last 10 days. ‘A new front’ The latest fighting has pushed tens of thousands of civilians to flee neighbouring towns towards Goma, which stands between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and is practically cut off from the country’s interior. “The security situation remains very volatile in the Sake area where for several days government forces with their allies are trying to remove the M23 rebels on several mountains that they occupied around this strategic city at the gate of Goma,” Uaykani reported from Goma. “While the government coalition is trying to block the advance of rebels in this part of Sake, since this morning security sources reported that the rebels are also fighting with the DRC army in the village of Kashuga, in the territory of Rutshuru, at the limit of territory with Walikale,” Uaykani reported. He said fighting in this part of the country is significant for the rebels as it has opened “a new front” for Walikale, which had never before been affected by the years-long conflict. “It’s also very significant because it’s in this territory that several international companies are based with larger mining activities in the region. For the past week, several outlying neighbourhoods of Goma have already been targeted by bombs, fired by the M23 according to the authorities,” he added. With multiple diplomatic efforts failing to quell the violence in DRC, the continent’s leaders are expected to discuss the conflict at the 37th African Union summit taking place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this weekend. Adblock test (Why?)
Why Navalny was hated in the Kremlin and in some Western circles
It doesn’t matter what caused the death of Russian politician Alexey Navalny; he was killed by Vladimir Putin’s regime. It was a slow execution that started with his poisoning with the Novichok chemical agent in 2020 and proceeded with sadistic torture in prison after his insanely daring move to return to Russia in January 2021. The official version about a blood clot suddenly killing the 47-year-old politician on Friday may or may not be true, but the blame for his death still remains squarely with the Russian president. Navalny was outstanding in every sense. Head and shoulders above all Russian and likely all contemporary European politicians in terms of charisma and bravery, he was a figure of hopewhot exuded immense optimism and displayed an irresistible sense of humour until his very last days in prison in the Arctic. He was a character akin to the Hummingbird in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, a charismatic politician trying to prevent the spilt of the newly independent India. Navalny was a highly inspiring and unifying personality that was capable of bringing together what was breaking apart in this current epoch of conflict and polarisation. With his anticorruption crusade that exposed the illicit riches of top regime figures in a series of brilliantly produced YouTube videos, he built a vast support base and Russia’s biggest regional opposition network. He brought together liberals, nationalists and left-wingers – everyone who was tired of the corrupt securitocracy that has ruled Russia for a quarter-century. Navalny took opposition politics out of Moscow and St Petersburg into distant regions and small towns. Internet-savvy and very well versed in contemporary culture, he brought about a generational shift in the ranks of Russian opposition. His following to a large extent comprised 20-somethings or even teens who have never experienced any other political regime than Putin’s. He embodied the hope that changes could be brought about by non-violent resistance in the style of the velvet revolutions that brought down the communists in 1989-91. Born to a Ukrainian father and having spent some of his happiest childhood days in Ukraine, Navalny could have also potentially helped mend the rift between the two neighbours currently locked in a bloody war. Although his death is squarely on Russia’s political leadership, the hope he represented was shattered by the renewed geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the US-led West. He was a thorn in the eye of the beneficiaries of this conflict – first and foremost among them being Putin himself. But Navalny and his movement were also an object of incessant bashing by anti-Russian troll farms and hawkish pro-Ukrainian figures linked to the military-industrial complex and securitocratic blobs in the capitals of NATO countries. Accusations thrown at Navalny boiled down to him being a Russian nationalist who would have done the same thing as Putin – but perhaps even more efficiently because he would have clamped down on corruption. In the beginning of his political career, Navalny indeed flirted with far-right politics, but he drifted away from it to straightforward pro-Western liberalism a long time ago. There is no straightforward answer to the question of how Navalny would have acted had he indeed become the Russian president instead of Putin. It is indeed difficult to say to what extent all that happened between Russia, Ukraine and the West was about personalities. It is important to remember Putin himself underwent an evolution from a West-backed nominee of the Russian liberal elite to a murderous authoritarian – a process in which the West’s frivolous and arrogant attitude to Russia’s core security interests played no small role. A few weeks into Russia’s full-out invasion of Ukraine two years ago, one of the main spokespeople for the Ukrainian government at the time, Oleksiy Arestovych, said that a Russian liberal-democrat president would have also invaded Ukraine in the same manner – such was the logic of geopolitical confrontation. That kind of thinking presumes that the US-led West was intent on humiliating Russia in the way no Russian leader would have ever accepted – delivering a strategic defeat upon it. That’s indeed something that many hawkish commentators in the West are calling for today. Navalny was first and foremost a Russian politician, which is why he made what felt like a suicidal choice to return to Russia after surviving the poisoning. That was the only way to remain politically relevant in Russia. He didn’t want to be anyone’s stooge. In the West, he would have been at best like General Charles de Gaulle in London during World War II – mistrusted and isolated. How would have he managed the insane xenophobic attacks on social platforms his exiled allies are being subjected to on a daily basis now? How would have he reacted to visa and travel restrictions that harm anti-Putin Russian exiles to a much greater extent than the supporters of the regime? Unlike de Gaulle, he would have had few chances of returning and playing a role as the geopolitical conflict was strengthening Putin’s regime and threatening to usher another half a century of cold war and iron curtains in Europe. In Russia, he thought he could at least gamble on the growing war fatigue and become an East European version of Nelson Mandela, waiting for the hour of freedom. Had he miraculously succeeded in coming to power, he would have still faced a very hostile West inclined towards defeating and humiliating Russia rather than finding a common language and an uneasy compromise. Yet, he was a very different man than Putin in that he was simply not the kind of politician who thrived on conflict. He was not a man from the current epoch of confrontation and polarisation. He perhaps belonged to the better future that Eastern Europe may still attain after years of misery. Would he have succeeded in finding compromise-leaning interlocutors in the West and sidelining trigger-happy hawks? He would have had a fair chance. This is why he was such an unloved figure in those circles. Navalny is