Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP headache: Ukrainian ambassador says Alex Salmond is RT’s ‘puppet’, SNP loose cannon rakes in the ‘roubles’ as SNP MPs try to make Salmond take the show off air, the lure of the limelight and the money will be too much for Salmond, no comrades where big bucks are concerned

Dear All

It seems that the Alex Salmond Show on RT isn’t getting glowing reviews off everyone; the Ukrainian ambassador has boldly declared that Alex Salmond is an RT ‘puppet’. If Alex Salmond is an RT ‘puppet’ what does that say about Tasmina Ahmed- Shiekh who has joined Salmond on his media quest for enlightment?

In what must be a brutal intervention, Ukrainian ambassador to UK Natalia Galibarenko has accused Alex Salmond of sacrificing his reputation. 

I think that if Natalia Galibarenko had watched the run up to the Scottish independence referendum that she would have realised that Scotland’s ‘jolly fat man’ Alex Salmond shredded his reputation then.

The SNP lied to the people of Scotland to win, they ran a despicable campaign which some called ‘anti English’ despite protestations of English people in the SNP ranks, the useful idiots as termed by others.

It is quite extraordinary for an ambassador to speak out in this way and we should take note of her concerns, in Putin’s Russia, all isn’t sunshine and roses. Although the Russians might think having an ex First Minister of Scotland is a coup, long term, the Russians will realise that Salmond’s day has long gone, both politics and media.

Oh to be known as “a puppet” on the Kremlin-backed RT television channel!

The Ukrainians have suffered under Russian military aggression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine_(2014%E2%80%93present)

The Russians had no business doing what they did there, and it is a blight on their standing within the international community, they did so out of fear, that Ukraine was getting too cosy with the West. It seems that in autumn 2013, Russia warned Ukraine that if it went ahead with a planned agreement on free trade with the EU, this led to a crisis.

Ms Galibarenko said:

“I can understand maybe that he made it (the show) for financial reasons. Obviously they proposed a lot of money, I can presume. But again I think reputation is something you shouldn’t sacrifice.”

Some people’s desire for money can be as big as their belly!

The ambassador also said she had spoken to SNP MPs, who did not support Salmond’s decision; she made it know that some of them were trying to persuade him to take the show off air. Presumably given Salmond’s status and his yoyo leadership in the SNP, they must be doing this quietly just in case he stands again when Nicola Sturgeon steps down.

She added:

“I think this (Russia Today) is the instrument of Russian propaganda. They are making fake news about the Ukraine and about European countries.”

A spokesperson for Slàinte Media, which produces The Alex Salmond Show, said:

“RT UK can speak for itself.  All licensed broadcasters in the UK are regulated by Ofcom and cannot, therefore, by definition operate as propaganda channels. As far as the Alex Salmond Show is concerned, if Ms Galibarenko has a complaint about its content then we will be delighted to hear from her”.

Then in a typical SNP style snide remark, the spokesperson said:

“That would involve her first watching the programme. It would appear from her reported remarks that she has yet to watch the show. That is the normal way of doing things not attempting to bring political pressure to bear on private companies producing programmes for a licensed broadcaster.”

So, Alex Salmond wanted international recognition, well he is getting it, the review appears to be less than glowing, and problematic for the SNP. Less we forget; Ms Galibarenko was in Edinburgh for the unveiling of a memorial to her compatriots, who perished in Holodomor – the act of genocide committed by Joseph Stalin’s Soviet regime that resulted in millions of deaths in the 1930s.

Stalin’s Russia murdered a huge amount of people in what is termed the purges, although the Berlin Wall has come down, communism has collapsed, the old guard of the KGB is still there controlling things behind the scenes! 

The Alex Salmondski Show is currently running on RT, how long that will last might depends on the Kermlin?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University