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Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations
President George W. Bush looked into the eyes of Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, on Monday and saw, he said, “a smart guy.” The two presidents spent more than an hour together here in their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Medvedev succeeded Vladimir V. Putin. Afterward, they said they had agreed on the need for Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions, but did not bridge their differences on Mr. Bush’s proposal to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. “I found him to be a smart guy who understood the issues very well,” Mr. Bush said. The exchange brought to mind Mr. Bush’s first meeting with Mr. Putin, at Brdo Castle in Slovenia in June 2001, when Mr. Bush famously said he had “looked the man in the eye” and “was able to get a sense of his soul.” Given Mr. Medvedev’s extraordinarily close relationship with Mr. Putin, who remains Russia’s prime minister, it was only natural for Mr. Bush to face questions about what he saw when he looked at his new Russian counterpart. (No, he did not say he saw Mr. Putin’s soul.) “You know,” Mr. Bush said, “I’m not going to sit here and psychoanalyze the man, but I will tell you that he’s very comfortable, he’s confident, and that I believe that when he tells me something, he means it.” The two men are here, on the lush and mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, for a gathering of leaders of industrialized nations, the so-called Group of 8 Summit. This is Mr. Medvedev’s first appearance at the Group of 8; Mr. Bush, who has attended seven such meetings, is here for his last. The two had met before, when Mr. Medvedev was a top adviser to Mr. Putin. On Monday, they seemed somewhat familiar; Mr. Medvedev repeatedly referred to Mr. Bush, who celebrated his 62nd birthday here on Sunday, as George, as in: “I congratulated George on his birthday, which is also a very important thing, irrespective of summits out there — irrespective of our will, these dates occur in our life.” To which Mr. Bush succinctly replied: “Everybody has a birthday.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/wo...8medvedev.html
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Prague Tuesday to sign a missile defence deal opposed by Moscow and to warn Russia to stop allegedly stoking separatist tensions in Georgia. Beginning a three-country European tour that will also take her to Georgia, Rice arrived to a backdrop of protesters who objected to the Czech government's decision to accept the siting of the US anti-missile radar system there. "We have said both Georgia and Russia need to avoid provocative behaviour but frankly some of the things the Russians did over the last couple of months added to tension in the region," Rice said, citing Russia's failure to consult with Georgia over a presidential order offering Abkhazia direct relations with Russia. "Georgia is an independent state. It has to be treated like one," she added.
Latent tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow over the separatist regions of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have flared up over the last week. "I want to make very clear that the US commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity is strong," the Secretary of State said. Rice is due in Georgia late Wednesday as part of her three-country mini-tour, which will also take in Bulgaria. In Tblisi, she will renew US support for Georgia's bid for NATO membership -- another bone of contention with Moscow -- and try to calm tensions over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia regularly accuses Russia of seeking to annex South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and derail its efforts to join the NATO military alliance. Russia in turn accuses Tbilisi of preparing to take back the breakaway regions by force. Rice said she would not be visiting Poland, where the US wants to install missile interceptors. The two countries have been unable to agree terms for the deal after 14 months of talks. "There are remaining issues but the United States has made a very generous offer" to the Poles who want to improve their air defences, Rice said.
In Prague however, she will sign the agreement over siting a US missile defence radar system in the former Soviet-bloc country, a development that Moscow has fiercely opposed. The United States wants to deploy the shield in the central European nations by 2011-2013 to ward off potential attacks by so-called "rogue" states such as Iran. Russia has denounced the plan as a threat to its own security. NATO endorsed the US plan at its April summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest. Concerning Russian anxiety about the anti-missile system in what used to be its backyard, Rice said Tuesday: "We want the system to be transparent to the Russians." The US has in the past suggested that Russian inspectors could visit the anti-missile sites as long as Prague and Warsaw agreed.
Prague has objected to a permanent Russian presence for monitoring the radar's operations, which is what Moscow is seeking. In Prague, protestors from Greenpeace unrolled a massive image of a target across the city's skyline Tuesday ahead Rice's arrival. "Do not make a target of us," proclaimed the banner at Letna hill overlooking the Czech capital at the foot of a giant metronome erected by the artist Vratislav Novak in 1991 following the collapse of the communist regime. Anti-rader actions have stepped up in recent months with a hunger strike by anti-base activists, occupation of the military site earmarked for the radar by Greenpeace members and demonstrations. Polls regularly show around two-thirds of Czech opposed to hosting the US radar. A survey by the CVVM agency published this month showed 68 percent opposed to the US radar.
Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...GTEoebK4-fLfKQ
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said that ministers cannot ignore growing signs of Russian hostility, including its support for espionage and its territorial ambitions. He spoke after tense talks between Gordon Brown and the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and fresh claims about Russian collusion in a London murder. Mr Brown and Mr Medvedev had their first meeting at the G8 summit in Japan this week, but failed to solve the key issues or to dispel the image of two countries whose diplomatic relations are sub-zero. Even as they met, British security officials confirmed that they believe that the killers of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident poisoned in London last year, were operating with the support of parts of the Russian regime. That sparked a sharp reply from Russian officials. A senior aide to Mr Medvedev accused British officials of trying to undermine the relationship with Russia. The aide said: "We are working on raising British-Russian relations out of a certain cul-de-sac. And as for various unattributed leaks, they demonstrate that unfortunately in Great Britain not everyone has such a constructive approach as we felt the Prime Minister himself has." Louise Christian, solicitor for Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina, later issued a statement calling on the British government to pursue Russia to the International Court of Justice. And Mrs Litvinenko herself said she was "proud of being British" and accused the Kremlin of orchestrating a campaign of harassment against British interests in Russia to block the extradition to Britain of Andrei Luguvoi, whom the UK accuses of Mr Litvinenko's murder. Dr Fox said the Litvinenko case was just one of several examples of unacceptable Russian behaviour. He said: "We all want to see improved relations with Russia, but we cannot overlook the Litvenenko murder, the $189 billion rearmament programme or the attempted annexation of large tracts of the Arctic. "Ultimately, we will have to judge Russia on its actions, not its rhetoric."
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ervatives.html
Bush Called Russia’s President a Smart Guy
President George W. Bush looked into the eyes of Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, on Monday and saw, he said, “a smart guy.” The two presidents spent more than an hour together here in their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Medvedev succeeded Vladimir V. Putin. Afterward, they said they had agreed on the need for Iran and North Korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions, but did not bridge their differences on Mr. Bush’s proposal to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. “I found him to be a smart guy who understood the issues very well,” Mr. Bush said. The exchange brought to mind Mr. Bush’s first meeting with Mr. Putin, at Brdo Castle in Slovenia in June 2001, when Mr. Bush famously said he had “looked the man in the eye” and “was able to get a sense of his soul.” Given Mr. Medvedev’s extraordinarily close relationship with Mr. Putin, who remains Russia’s prime minister, it was only natural for Mr. Bush to face questions about what he saw when he looked at his new Russian counterpart. (No, he did not say he saw Mr. Putin’s soul.) “You know,” Mr. Bush said, “I’m not going to sit here and psychoanalyze the man, but I will tell you that he’s very comfortable, he’s confident, and that I believe that when he tells me something, he means it.” The two men are here, on the lush and mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, for a gathering of leaders of industrialized nations, the so-called Group of 8 Summit. This is Mr. Medvedev’s first appearance at the Group of 8; Mr. Bush, who has attended seven such meetings, is here for his last. The two had met before, when Mr. Medvedev was a top adviser to Mr. Putin. On Monday, they seemed somewhat familiar; Mr. Medvedev repeatedly referred to Mr. Bush, who celebrated his 62nd birthday here on Sunday, as George, as in: “I congratulated George on his birthday, which is also a very important thing, irrespective of summits out there — irrespective of our will, these dates occur in our life.” To which Mr. Bush succinctly replied: “Everybody has a birthday.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/wo...8medvedev.html
Rice starts Europe tour with harsh words for Russia
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Prague Tuesday to sign a missile defence deal opposed by Moscow and to warn Russia to stop allegedly stoking separatist tensions in Georgia. Beginning a three-country European tour that will also take her to Georgia, Rice arrived to a backdrop of protesters who objected to the Czech government's decision to accept the siting of the US anti-missile radar system there. "We have said both Georgia and Russia need to avoid provocative behaviour but frankly some of the things the Russians did over the last couple of months added to tension in the region," Rice said, citing Russia's failure to consult with Georgia over a presidential order offering Abkhazia direct relations with Russia. "Georgia is an independent state. It has to be treated like one," she added.
Latent tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow over the separatist regions of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have flared up over the last week. "I want to make very clear that the US commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity is strong," the Secretary of State said. Rice is due in Georgia late Wednesday as part of her three-country mini-tour, which will also take in Bulgaria. In Tblisi, she will renew US support for Georgia's bid for NATO membership -- another bone of contention with Moscow -- and try to calm tensions over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia regularly accuses Russia of seeking to annex South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and derail its efforts to join the NATO military alliance. Russia in turn accuses Tbilisi of preparing to take back the breakaway regions by force. Rice said she would not be visiting Poland, where the US wants to install missile interceptors. The two countries have been unable to agree terms for the deal after 14 months of talks. "There are remaining issues but the United States has made a very generous offer" to the Poles who want to improve their air defences, Rice said.
In Prague however, she will sign the agreement over siting a US missile defence radar system in the former Soviet-bloc country, a development that Moscow has fiercely opposed. The United States wants to deploy the shield in the central European nations by 2011-2013 to ward off potential attacks by so-called "rogue" states such as Iran. Russia has denounced the plan as a threat to its own security. NATO endorsed the US plan at its April summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest. Concerning Russian anxiety about the anti-missile system in what used to be its backyard, Rice said Tuesday: "We want the system to be transparent to the Russians." The US has in the past suggested that Russian inspectors could visit the anti-missile sites as long as Prague and Warsaw agreed.
Prague has objected to a permanent Russian presence for monitoring the radar's operations, which is what Moscow is seeking. In Prague, protestors from Greenpeace unrolled a massive image of a target across the city's skyline Tuesday ahead Rice's arrival. "Do not make a target of us," proclaimed the banner at Letna hill overlooking the Czech capital at the foot of a giant metronome erected by the artist Vratislav Novak in 1991 following the collapse of the communist regime. Anti-rader actions have stepped up in recent months with a hunger strike by anti-base activists, occupation of the military site earmarked for the radar by Greenpeace members and demonstrations. Polls regularly show around two-thirds of Czech opposed to hosting the US radar. A survey by the CVVM agency published this month showed 68 percent opposed to the US radar.
Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...GTEoebK4-fLfKQ
Britain must get tougher with Russia, warn Conservatives
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said that ministers cannot ignore growing signs of Russian hostility, including its support for espionage and its territorial ambitions. He spoke after tense talks between Gordon Brown and the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and fresh claims about Russian collusion in a London murder. Mr Brown and Mr Medvedev had their first meeting at the G8 summit in Japan this week, but failed to solve the key issues or to dispel the image of two countries whose diplomatic relations are sub-zero. Even as they met, British security officials confirmed that they believe that the killers of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident poisoned in London last year, were operating with the support of parts of the Russian regime. That sparked a sharp reply from Russian officials. A senior aide to Mr Medvedev accused British officials of trying to undermine the relationship with Russia. The aide said: "We are working on raising British-Russian relations out of a certain cul-de-sac. And as for various unattributed leaks, they demonstrate that unfortunately in Great Britain not everyone has such a constructive approach as we felt the Prime Minister himself has." Louise Christian, solicitor for Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina, later issued a statement calling on the British government to pursue Russia to the International Court of Justice. And Mrs Litvinenko herself said she was "proud of being British" and accused the Kremlin of orchestrating a campaign of harassment against British interests in Russia to block the extradition to Britain of Andrei Luguvoi, whom the UK accuses of Mr Litvinenko's murder. Dr Fox said the Litvinenko case was just one of several examples of unacceptable Russian behaviour. He said: "We all want to see improved relations with Russia, but we cannot overlook the Litvenenko murder, the $189 billion rearmament programme or the attempted annexation of large tracts of the Arctic. "Ultimately, we will have to judge Russia on its actions, not its rhetoric."
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ervatives.html
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