The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Thanks for the medal though bro. Important thing is I've got a better medal than tovarish Skhara!

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Baku and Yerevan Proxies for Russia-US Struggle, Says Stratfor

American intelligence center Stratfor warns of a possible rekindling of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia as Baku funnels oil revenues into its military budget, increasing expenditures by five times, reports the news agency Regnum. Behind the Armenian-Azeri conflict is the struggle between the US and Russia, Stratfor says, as the greater powers use the South Caucasus nations as proxies in a regional power play. According to Stratfor analysts, after the 1994 "Deal of the Century" agreement signed between Baku and international oil companies, Azerbaijan saw the ground shifting on the Nagarno-Karabakh question. And following the building of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the country's western orientation grew in tandem with its income.

Azerbaijan is spending more and more on its army. In 2004, military expenditures were USD 175 million. By 2008, the total will be closer to USD 1 billion. Armenia, lacking the astronomical influx of soft money Baku is receiving, has upped military expenditures by 20 percent, from USD 125 million to USD 150 million. Analysts say that Armenia, failing to benefit from energy spending in the South Caucasus, is relying in large part on an influential Diaspora to push for more funds from the US.

"Though Armenia's neighbors avoid this politically and economically, they leave it a tiny chance for the trade development. Armenia has open relationships with Tehran. In March in 2007 the natural gas pipeline Iran-Armenia opened between these states-though the pipeline, together with the majority of the country's infrastructure, is owned by Russia," reads the Stratfor report.

Source: http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1...eco_1394_2.htm

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia Threatens with Missile Deployment to Kaliningrad



The AFP has reported that Russia has threatened to deploy missiles into strategic locations if the European Union and the United Nations allows President Bush to follow through with his plan for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

Russia has stated that it will scrap this plan if their ideas for the system are followed through with. Currently, Russia is working on an early warning system to detect missiles that have been shot off from anywhere around Russia. It has also proposed that the United States uses a missile defense system that is being worked on in Russia. It is currently located near Iran, and could give the best indication of a pending attack from Iran. The Russians have stated that it would be their job to control it.

To this point, President Bush has refused these offers and continues to push for a missile defense system to be placed in Eastern Europe. Vladimir Putin believes that the missile defense system could easily be used to attack Russia. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has issued a statement that Russia will deploy missiles to Kaliningrad if the plans continue to go through for the missile defense system. This will be done to protect Russia from any possible attack by the United States or any by European country.

Kaliningrad the capital of Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian state that is located on the Baltic Sea. It is separated from Russia by Lithuania, Belarus, and Latvia. It is the location of a large part of the Russian navy. Poland is very worried about this proposition from Russia since Kaliningrad is only located a matter of miles from the Polish border. Poland believes that this is a threat that needs to be taken to heart. Russia has also made statements that if the missiles are sent to Kaliningrad, they may become pointed at key European cities and other targets to ensure the future safety of Russia. There are roughly seven capital cities that would be within the range of a midrange missile.

There are many countries that believe that this is a bluff by the Russians. Since Kaliningrad is cut off from Russia, and surrounded by other countries, the missile site would be too soft of a target. There are other countries, though, that believe that it might be too late for some countries to attack the site if the missiles have already been fired. Currently, there has not been any answer from the White House about this potential threat from Russia. The White House may attempt to downplay these comments from Russia since Putin was just at the White House for an informal meeting with President Bush.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...eployment.html

No Cold War if U.S. keeps out of Europe, vows Russia's Ivanov

Russia's deputy prime minister said Wednesday the media could "forget the term Cold War" if the U.S. agreed to Russia's latest missile defense proposal to use a base in Russia instead of Central Europe.

"If the proposal [on a new radar in Russia] is accepted, we will have no reason to deploy more missiles in our European regions," including the Kaliningrad Region, a Russian exclave bordering on Lithuania and Poland, Sergei Ivanov told reporters.

"After that I will request that journalists forget such terms like 'Cold War'," Ivanov said.

President Vladimir Putin, during his recent two-day meeting with President George W. Bush at his father's house at Kennebunkport, Maine, proposed incorporating a new radar, currently being built in Southern Russia, into part of a missile defense system managed by the NATO-Russia Joint Permanent Council, of which Moscow and Washington are members. When asked whether Russia really could counteract the perceived threat from U.S. missile defense plans to deploy bases in Central Europe, Ivanov said: "We have found an asymmetric and appropriate response."

Ivanov also said Russia was ready to upgrade its early warning radar in Gabala, Azerbaijan, which was also proposed as an alternative to U.S. missile plans, but America has repeatedly called it obsolete. Ivanov said the radar could be installed with state of the art equipment, "The technology is completely new, it is already in use with our Space Forces."

All information from the new radar will be compatible with a "joint information system" aggregating antimissile data in two centers in Moscow and Brussels. The U.S. has said it wants to place a radar and a host of interceptor missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic to fend off what Washington sees as an impending missile threat from Iran and North Korea. Russia's future radar base is located near the town of Armavir, Krasnodar Territory - about 700 km (450 miles) to the northwest of the Iranian border and just about 100 km to the north of Sochi, the Russian alpine resort on the Black Sea, whose bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics will be decided tomorrow in Guatemala.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070704/68350442.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russian strategic aircraft fire missiles in Arctic exercise



The Russian Air Force said Thursday a group of four strategic missile aircraft achieved their objectives in a major Navy and Air Force exercise off Russia's Arctic coast.

"Four Tu-22M3 strategic missile aircraft made over 20 sorties, firing air-to-surface missiles and successfully hitting their targets in the Barents Sea," said Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, an Air Force spokesman. He said the exercise involved only young pilots who had not earlier trained with live missiles. The spokesman highlighted increasing NATO air surveillance activity in the area. "Right now, we see two to three Orions, or Atlantics, or RS-135s, every day where we have normally detected only one such [surveillance] plane," Drobyshevsky said.

The Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti that the exercise was ongoing, and said that information on Navy activities and broader results would be released soon. The Tu-22M3 (NATO codename Backfire-C) is a strategic aircraft carrying one to three Kh-22M (NATO codename Kitchen) air-to-surface missiles with a range of up to 500 km (over 300 miles).

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070712/68858323.html

Russian Navy chief says new Black Sea base complete by 2012



The construction of a new base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port of Novorossiisk will be completed by 2012, the Navy Commander said Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in 2003 setting up an alternative naval base for the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiisk after Ukraine demanded the base in Sevastopol be withdrawn by 2017.

"In five years, we will finish the construction of breakwaters and piers," Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Masorin said. "As a result, the base will be able to accommodate up to 100 ships of the Black Sea Fleet."

Russia has allocated 12.3 billion rubles (about $480 million) for the construction of the new base between 2007 and 2012 under a targeted federal program. Masorin said three piers had been constructed and the work was underway on building breakwaters. The construction of other infrastructure at the base, including facilities for coastal troops, aviation and logistics units, will continue beyond 2012, the admiral said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian leadership has been pushing for the withdrawal of Russia's naval base in Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea Autonomy by 2017, in compliance with a previous bilateral agreement.

"The Black Sea fleet must leave the Crimea by 2017. Period," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry quoted Anatoly Hrytsenko as saying in May. Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in 1997 stipulating that the Black Sea Fleet's main base in Sevastopol, on the Crimean Peninsula, be leased to Russia for 20 years, with the possibility of extending the term. The annual rent of about $100 million is deducted from Ukraine's debt for Russian energy supplies. In addition to the main base, the Black Sea Fleet maintains two airfields and a ship re-supply facility on the Crimean Peninsula. But Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Tuesday that the current rent could be increased in the future.

"Certainly, the rent for the Black Sea Fleet base in the Crimea will be changing because it is linked to other factors that determine the final amount," Yushchenko said in an interview with the Vremya Novostei newspaper.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070711/68787458.html

U.S. naval exercise starts in Ukraine amid protests



A major Ukrainian-U.S. naval exercise, involving staff officers and observers from 13 nations, started Monday in the Odessa Region, in the Black Sea, amid protests by local left-wing political groups. The Sea Breeze 2007, Ukraine's largest military training effort scheduled for 2007, is a multinational peacekeeping exercise led by the U.S. and Ukraine which has been held annually since 1997.

This year, it will involve a dozen ships and vessels, up to three fixed-wing and up to eight rotary-wing aircraft, a team of divers, an airborne search and rescue team, a Marine company, and several pieces of armor. The exercise will be based in the port of Odessa and neighboring Nikolaev, a Soviet-era naval shipbuilding center. Ukrainian communists and the leftist Progressive Socialist Party have threatened to obstruct the exercise, as they did in the Crimea last year when the U.S. warship delivering the hardware had to be moved elsewhere.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20070709/68637771.html

[Armenian]

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Russia Sets Its Sights on Naval Reform



Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (combined reports) - Russia may start construction of a new aircraft carrier by 2015, the Russian Navy commander said Monday. Presently, Russia has only one operational aircraft carrier, the Nikolai Kuznetsov, which was commissioned in the early 1990s and has recently re-entered service after a prolonged overhaul. "The ship [Kuznetsov] has been fully overhauled and will serve [in the Navy] for a long time, but not forever, which is why we are planning to design and build a new modern aircraft carrier," Admiral Vladimir Masorin said.

According to the Navy chief, the Nikolai Kuznetsov is currently dexployed with Russia's Northern Fleet and is ready to host the assigned aircraft, which includes 12 Su-33 Flanker D naval fighters, five Su-25UBP combat trainers and over 20 helicopters. Masorin said the main characteristics of the new aircraft carrier would be outlined by the end of the year in order to expedite work on the ship. He also hinted about the future structure of the Russian Navy, saying that Russia currently had about 300 surface ships, but they were mainly missile corvettes, patrol boats and minesweepers.

"We have an aircraft carrier, two nuclear-powered battle cruisers, three missile cruisers... strategic naval forces etc," Masorin said. "But if we mentioned aircraft carriers, we would want to maintain and use the capability that we already have for the time being." The Navy commander said that in 20 to 30 years, Russia would have the economic capacity to deploy an aircraft carrier group in the Northern Fleet and, potentially, a similar group in the Pacific Fleet. Russia is also set to build a new nuclear submarine base on the Kamchatka peninsula, Masorin told journalists.

"In the next two to three years we will build a contemporary submarine base for the Pacific fleet forces," he was quoted by news agencies as saying. The base will feature new strategic submarines such as the Borei nuclear missile carrier. Some 9 billion rubles (about $350 million) have been set aside by the federal budget to fund the project. Each submarine will carry 12 Bulava ballistic missiles, each capable of launching 10 nuclear warheads within a distance of 8,000 kilometers. The admiral noted that Russia has 19 active submarines and ships patrolling the seas.

Source: http://mnweekly.rian.ru/news/20070712/55261879.html

[KarotheGreat]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Whole the world shakes while Russia awakens and becomes the world leading power and cool articals Armenian

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia suspends arms pact, citing U.S. missile plan



MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin formally notified NATO governments on Saturday that Russia will suspend its obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, a key Cold War-era arms limitation agreement, in response to American plans to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe. The decision ratcheted up tensions over United States plans for a missile shield, which Russia opposes, but also reflected a trend of rising anti-Americanism and deep suspicion toward the West here as Russia's March presidential elections approach. Russia's suspension will take effect in 150 days, according to a copy of the president's decree posted on a Kremlin Web site. That delay leaves open the possibility of further negotiation on the 1990 treaty, which resulted in a huge wave of disarmament along the former East-West divide in Europe.

Despite a Foreign Ministry statement that Russia would reject any limitations on redeploying heavy weaponry on its Western border, the Kremlin's move is not expected to radically transform the security situation. But the decision is a strong indicator that the smiles and warm embraces between Presidents Bush and Putin just a few weekends ago at the so-called "lobster summit" in Maine did little to soften the Kremlin's pique over proposals to build two American missile defense bases in former Soviet satellite states, Poland and the Czech Republic. So on Saturday, Putin reached for a powerful diplomatic tool to fend off what he has described as American bullying and NATO and European encirclement, both economic and military, that the Kremlin believes encroaches into a Russian sphere of influence. White House officials expressed immediate disappointment after the announcement from Moscow, but pledged to continue to meet with their Russian counterparts to resolve the dispute.

"We're disappointed Russia has suspended its participation for now, but we'll continue to have discussions with them in the coming months on the best way to proceed in this area, that is in the interest of all parties involved and provides for security in Europe," said Gordon Johndroe, the National Security Council spokesman. Critics of the United States' handling of relations with Russia have warned that the Bush administration was creating an environment in which the Putin government, emboldened by a flood of oil dollars and seeking to re-establish its status in the world, could pick and choose among its treaty obligations. After all, the Bush administration has put less stock in official treaty relations than many predecessors. Under Bush, the United States pulled out of the Antiballistic Missile Treaty so it could pursue the goal of a global antimissile shield, the exact effort that has so angered Putin and his inner circle.

Indeed, the Saturday announcement from Moscow was not much of a surprise, given Putin's earlier warnings. Bush administration officials routinely point to other significant areas of cooperation — on halting nuclear proliferation, on battling terrorism and combating drug traffic — so White House officials reject assessments that relations with Russia are on the point of rupturing. But while the Saturday announcement was, at least, unsettling to officials in Washington and in NATO capitals, senior policy analysts said it is likely only to strengthen the position of Putin's leadership clique among Russian voters in the spring elections. Anti-American posturing has played well with the public, and it is encouraged in the state media and through such means as leaflets distributed by Kremlin-sponsored youth groups. One depicts American warplanes loading body bags at a Moscow airport, for example. Putin's decree explained the decision to indefinitely suspend Russia's treaty obligations as caused by "extraordinary circumstances" that "affect the security of the Russian Federation and require immediate measures."

A separate statement by the Foreign Ministry identified these circumstances as unrelated to the missile shield plans — though Putin has linked the issues in previous speeches. In the most notable case, during a state of the nation speech to Parliament on April 26, Putin threatened to suspend observance of the treaty in response to the United States' abrogation of the Antiballistic Missile Treaty and plans to deploy missile-shield elements in the Czech Republic and Poland. Still, Putin's threat in April, and his execution of it on Saturday, left some arms-control experts scratching their heads because the conventional forces treaty has no formal provision for a signatory nation to suspend observance. A nation can withdraw from the treaty without violating its terms, but only after notifying the other signatory countries 150 days in advance. The decree Putin signed on Saturday adhered to that time frame, but sought to apply it to suspension instead of withdrawal. The foreign ministry said this formulation complied with "international law."

The Kremlin on Saturday offered six reasons for suspending the treaty, many of which reflected a deep bitterness in Moscow about what is perceived here as a string of broken promises as NATO expanded into the former Warsaw Pact countries after the fall of communism. They included a claim that NATO expansion into Eastern Europe had beefed up the alliance's military capabilities in violation of the treaty, a charge that NATO denied. Also, the statement said the new NATO member states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are not signatories of the treaty but have alliance weapons deployed on their territories. Russia maintains that NATO committed in 1999 to refrain from opening bases in new member states, though now the United States is building facilities in Romania and Bulgaria. NATO says these are training sites. In a statement, NATO said member countries would convene a task force on Monday to formulate a response.

"NATO regrets this decision," James Appathurai, a NATO spokesman, said in a telephone interview. "The allies consider this treaty an important foundation of European security. This is a disappointing move in the wrong direction."

He said the treaty has no provision for suspension, only withdrawal. "Nobody is going to be splitting hairs here and requiring Russia withdraw," he added. He also denied that NATO's eastward expansion left the bloc in violation of the treaty. "All of this falls into a larger Russian concern of encirclement," he said. The European Union called the treaty suspension "regrettable." Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said in a telephone interview: "We appeal to everyone to start talking. This treaty is fundamental for the stability and security of Europe."

In Germany, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said Russia's decision "was a real cause of concern." Members of Germany's governing coalition have repeatedly criticized the American missile shield plan, saying it could lead to just such a move by Russia and, perhaps, incite a new Cold War. A statement posted by Russia's Foreign Ministry said flatly that Russia would halt inspections allowed under the treaty and claim the right to redeploy heavy weaponry along its western and southern borders, but would do so only in response to any possible NATO redeployment. It also suggested that the suspension was Russia's first official rejection of the arms limitations treaties of the Soviet Union. A deputy foreign minister, Sergei Kislyak, said Russia was not "shutting the door on dialogue" on the treaty, leaving open the possibility of a negotiated retreat from the position announced Saturday. However, Russian commentators with ties to the Kremlin were quick to praise the suspension.

"Today's decision is not propaganda," Gleb Pavlovsky, a Kremlin-linked political analyst, said in remarks carried by Interfax. It comes "against the backdrop of the world's rearmament near our borders," he said. "If today's message is ignored, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty will be next."

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/...e/15russia.php

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

which includes nuclear-capable Brazil

By the way, a Brazilian judge issued an arrest warrant for Berezovsky.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Behind the Gazprom-Total deal Beware Russians bearing gifts



ON THE eve of Bastille Day Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, handed a royal present to the newly elected president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, by allowing a national French company into Russia’s mightily tempting energy sector. After years of deliberations, Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy behemoth that doubles up as the Kremlin’s foreign-policy arm, has chosen France's Total to develop a giant offshore gas field in the Arctic.

There is little doubt that the deal was struck personally between Mr Putin and Mr Sarkozy. A day before it was announced the two presidents discussed it by phone. Mr Sarkozy must understand that it was not a gift made lightly. For the past five years Gazprom had pondered what to do with the $20 billion Shtokman project, rich enough to supply the entire world’s demand for gas for a year. It negotiated with several foreign firms and made them supply detailed bids; it announced a shortlist of companies which included Norway’s Statoil and Norsk Hydro and America’s Chevron, then last autumn, in a fit of energy nationalism, rejected them all in favour of working alone.

Now it has agreed to give Total a 25% stake in the infrastructure company that will develop the field and share the profit. A further 24% could still be doled out to Norwegian or American companies, while Gazprom will retain 51% of the infrastructure company and 100% of the actual reserves. So why a sudden turn-around, just when Russia’s relationship with the West is so cool? One obvious reason is that Gazprom needs foreign expertise and money to develop deposits which lie more than 300 metres under the surface of the Barents Sea, 600km off the coast of Murmansk. Gazprom has limited experience with offshore fields, particularly in such treacherous conditions.

Gazprom needs to compensate for falling production in its other giant fields in western Siberia. If it does not develop Shtokman fast (its target is 2013) the much-trumpeted Nord Stream pipeline now being built across the Baltic Sea to Germany will be empty. Nor would Gazprom’s ambition to get a share of the liquefied natural gas market in America—another destination for Shtokman gas—be fulfilled.

Yet this does not explain why Gazprom chose Total, which had been considered the least likely winner. The answer is politics. The decision fits in with the Kremlin’s tactic of striking bilateral energy deals within European countries and converting their national energy companies into fervent lobbyists for Moscow’s commercial and political interests. The expansion of Gazprom and other national champions into Western markets has long been a Kremlin ambition, but direct and often clumsy approaches have not worked. Now it has powerful agents in the European Union.

The deal with Total completes a set of joint ventures that Gazprom has built in Germany, Italy, Britain and now France. In Germany, Gazprom has a joint venture with BASF and a close relationship with Ruhrgas which owns about 7% of Gazprom and has a seat on its board. Germany’s former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, is the boss of a joint Russo-German consortium that is building the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany. He is one of the Kremlin’s most vocal advocates.

In Italy, Gazpom has a warm relationship with ENI and Enel. This year the two Italian companies (also after Mr Putin held a phone conversation with the country’s prime minister, Romano Prodi) got a bit of Russian gas reserves. ENI is Gazprom’s partner to build an extension of the Blue Stream pipeline across the Black Sea. And just as the relationship between Russia and Britain reached a nadir, BP agreed to form a joint venture and swap assets with Gazprom in exchange for receiving compensation for the loss of the Kovykta gas field. Gazprom may still give BP its 25% in Kovykta back, but it plainly expects favours in return.

The Kremlin’s deal with Total is more of the same but it has an additional political dimension. Mr Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was one of Mr Putin’s staunchest supporters in the EU. Many observers have suggested that Mr Sarkozy might take a tougher line. By offering a lucrative deal to Total, Mr Putin has made a pre-emptive strike and has suggested that Mr Sarkozy should emulate his predecessor in his relationship with Russia. The timing is particularly sensitive as the EU and Russia head towards a collision over Kosovo. As Mr Sarkozy celebrates the deal he helped to secure for Total, he may ponder what Moscow expects from him in return.

Source: http://www.economist.com/business/di...ory_id=9495268

Also from the economist:

The week ahead

ANGLO-RUSSIAN relations are frosty these days and a row over the death of Alexander Litvinenko last year threatens to make them icier yet. Mr Litvinenko, who was murdered with a radioactive substance in London, was a British citizen when he died. Britain's government want a Russian suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, extradited to face charges. Russia's rulers refuse, citing a constitutional ban on extradition. The row could see Britain expel Russian diplomats for spying, and a tit-for-tat expulsion of British diplomats from Moscow.

[...]

IS ANYONE worried by the prospect of Russia and China flexing their military muscles? The sight of several thousand Russian and Chinese soldiers taking part in 17 joint military exercises this week, in central Asia, may send a chill down the spines of observers in the West. In theory, at least, the aim is to find better ways to tackle terrorist threats in the region, and to improve co-operation between the two large countries and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But central Asia's oil wealth has given others pause to think about the interests of the two big regional powers.

[...]

Source: http://www.economist.com/world/inter...ory_id=9466446

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Moscow brands expulsion of diplomats from U.K. "Russophobic"




Russia condemned as "Russophobic" the planned expulsion of four diplomats from Britain over Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect in the murder of former security officer Alexander Litvinenko in London. Russian diplomats called the decision "immoral," warned of an inevitable political backlash, and pledged an appropriate retaliation after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced the move.

"We have chosen to expel four diplomats, four particular diplomats, in order to send a clear and proportionate signal to the Russian government about the seriousness of this case," Miliband told parliament. The move is a response to Russia's refusal to extradite agent-turned-businessman Andrei Lugovoi for trial in the U.K. The new foreign secretary also said negotiations between Russia and the European Union over facilitating the visa regime would be suspended and visa restrictions introduced for Russian officials. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Moscow clarified that the restrictions would not concern tourists or other ordinary citizens.

The Russian Foreign Ministry described Miliband's announcement as "a carefully choreographed action" that would inflict serious damage to bilateral relations. Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin also said Russia was ready to cooperate with Britain on the Litvinenko case. Lugovoi, who met Litvinenko on the day he fell ill in London, told journalists that London's decision to expel Russian diplomats was a clear attempt to politicize the case.

"These decisions show that the Litvinenko case was politically motivated from the very start," Lugovoi said, while also maintaining his innocence. "Nobody invited me to Britain - I faced the charges in absentia, and nobody gave me any chance to defend myself."

Litvinenko died in a London hospital in November 2006. British experts said they had discovered radioactive isotope polonium-210 in his body, but published no official autopsy results. In a deathbed note, purportedly written by Litvinenko, who received British citizenship shortly before his death, he blamed President Vladimir Putin for his murder, an allegation the Kremlin dismissed.

Early last week, British prosecutors said they had received Russia's official refusal to extradite Lugovoi, which cited the Russian Constitution as saying Russian citizens could not be handed over to other countries, and proposed trying Lugovoi in Russia if Britain provides sufficient evidence. But a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the country's authorities could not be sure a Russian trial would be unbiased. In his address to parliament, Miliband also urged Russia to consider changing its Constitution to make international cooperation in law more efficient, including in the extradition of criminal suspects.

Russia in turn wants Britain to extradite two of its own suspects, fugitive tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen emissary Akhmed Zakayev. Berezovsky is accused of fraud and a coup attempt, while Zakayev is facing terrorism charges. Both have been granted British passports. Russian diplomatic spokesman Kamynin said: "We have the impression that British authorities are trying to justify their refusal to cooperate with Russian law enforcement officials on the extradition of Zakayev and Berezovsky, against whom we have undeniable evidence of terrorism."

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070716/69063635.html

Army chief warns Poles: if you want U.S. shield, buy gas masks

Russia's highest-ranking military officer condemned Monday U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Europe, and jokingly warned Poles that they might need to prepare themselves by buying gas masks. When a journalist from Trybuna, a Polish daily, suggested that Poles might need to think about buying warm clothes to prepare for being sent to Siberia in the case of a Russian retaliation to the missile shield project, Army General Yury Baluyevsky, Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said it wasn't warm clothes they would need, but protective equipment.

"The decision to place [the shield] on Polish soil was taken by the Polish government. It seems to fully realize what kind of retaliation this may lead to... What they really should be concerned about is what will happen in the event that the shield works at all," Baluyevsky said.

"Intercepted missiles will disperse over your territory, and you will need to think not about warm clothes, but about acquiring gas masks and other protective equipment," he said. The chief of staff dismissed the Pentagon's justification for the shield plans.

"As for the arguments [in favor of the shield], they can be described very simply - non-existent," he said in the interview, which was re-published on the Russian Defense Ministry's website.

He said that even the architects of a Europe-based U.S. anti-missile solution had already dropped their assertion that North Korea ever posed a missile threat to U.S. or Europe, and that "talk of a hypothetical Iranian threat takes a leaf from the same book," adding that this claim was also likely to be dropped soon. When asked why Russia, with its powerful nuclear arsenal, is afraid of a handful of U.S. missiles in Poland, he said Russia was worried about the "third site" as an element of a much broader agenda.

"Of course a dozen such missiles as the Americans are planning to deploy in Poland - unproven and untested as they are - are not seen as a direct threat to Russia's deterrent capability," he said. "However, the U.S. doctrine treats missile defense as part of a broader 'strategic triad,' which also includes offensive strategic weapons."

"We are sure that U.S. missile defense capability, including a proposed European site, would develop, and its anti-Russian capability would grow in the future," Baluyevsky said. "In such an environment, we would be forced to take appropriate countermeasures."

He said Washington's decision to deploy a missile shield in Europe was "logical, but only under a logic that belongs to a past era."

"You have Russia and the United States, and both have to reduce their nuclear capabilities. What you want is to be able to deliver a first strike while minimizing your potential enemy's ability to do so. To achieve that, you need to encircle the enemy's territory with offensive and missile-defense bases. . . This is normal military logic. The only problem is that this is the logic of a past era - the Cold War, and standoffs between blocs in Europe."

"During that era, there were ideological grounds. . . Today, there is no such confrontation, but the ideas of that era seem to be alive and well. This is where the logic breaks," Baluyevsky said. During the interview, Baluyevsky took a global map of U.S. anti-missile sites and said that "all these sites are close to Russian borders, all are looking toward Russia. This is the reason why we have said our country is being militarily encircled."

When asked about Europe's apparent indecision over the shield, Baluyevsky praised the EU for its readiness to discuss all difficult issues.

"The issue affects all Europeans and must therefore be discussed on a multilateral basis," he said.

"It is dangerous to make decisions of such seriousness without even talking to your neighbors," he added. Baluyevsky denied that Russia's recent reaction to missile plans was "knee-jerk," and said that historically, cooperation between Russia and the West was always more effective than fighting. He declined to give his personal assessment of Poland's policies concerning the shield and other issues.

"Assessments of the actions of a foreign government is not my territory. The Poles have elected this government and only they are in a position to decide whether its course is satisfactory and whether the alliances this government makes are good. What makes me sad is the current relationship that we have with Poland - on the state as well as military level," he said.

"I think what is happening now in Russian-Polish relations will also become history, albeit one with an unpleasant aftertaste. I am optimistic; I believe that good sense will prevail eventually," Russia's top general said.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070716/69060328.html

Kissinger-led U.S. group attends closed debate at Putin home

A group of Russian and U.S. dignitaries gathered Friday at the presidential residence near Moscow behind closed doors in a bid to repair shattered ties. The panel called "Russia-USA: A Look Into the Future," led by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, declined to comment on the first Moscow session, but said it was a successful beginning to a series of high-level meetings.

"We discussed many issues. Our goal was not to get media coverage, score public relations points, or press home any propaganda messages. We came here to solve problems," Primakov said.

"We agreed to hold the next meeting in mid-December in Washington, D.C.," where the panelists will meet with President George W. Bush, he added. Kissinger thanked Putin for his hospitality and praised the Russian leader for his realistic and open approach.

"We appreciate the time that President Putin gave us and the frank manner in which he explained his point of view," he said. When asked whether U.S. unilateral interventionism was on the agenda, Kissinger said that "nuclear proliferation" and "nuclear threats," rather than U.S. policies, are the biggest danger to world peace.

"I do not think that [U.S.] expansion is a problem of the period. The problem of the period is how to avoid nuclear conflict and in this case we believe that Russia and America should have common objectives."

Addressing the panel's first meeting, Putin thanked its participants for their quick response to the idea to set up such a high-level group, first aired during his April meeting with Kissinger and Primakov, and urged them to keep the debate as close to the ground as possible.

"[Your findings] should not be brought to our foreign ministries to gather dust there. They should be treated as something of practical use," he said. He stressed that the idea was to set up a broad panel that would be open-minded when discussing issues.

"We cannot afford having a Russia-U.S. relationship that depends on the current political situation inside both our countries. We cannot allow our relationship to serve such narrow issues, as, for example, election campaigns in Russia or the U.S.," Putin said. Apart from Kissinger, the U.S. team includes former Secretary of State George Schultz; former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin; former Special Representative for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr.; former Senator Sam Nunn; and Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David O'Reilly. Apart from Primakov, the Russian team includes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; former Ambassador to the U.S. Yuly Vorontsov; Deputy Board Chairman of UES Russia Leonid Drachevsky; UC Rusal Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Livxxxxs, and former Soviet Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mikhail Moiseyev.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070713/68933469.html

Russian prosecutors formally refuse to extradite Lugovoi

Russia's prosecutors Thursday formally refused to extradite businessman Andrei Lugovoi, accused by the U.K. of murdering former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko. The Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement that the Constitution bars Russian nationals from being extradited for trial, and said its cooperation with British law enforcement officials would be in line with Russian law and international treaties.

Andrei Lugovoi, also a former security officer, was accused by the Crown Prosecution Service on May 22 of murdering Litvinenko, who had fled to the U.K. in 2000, claiming his life was in danger after refusing an order to assassinate his patron Boris Berezovsky, a powerful Russian tycoon who fell out with the Kremlin and fled to the U.K. in 2001, where he was granted political asylum. Though Litvinenko is thought to have been poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210, no official autopsy report has so far been made available. Lugovoi has vehemently denied the accusations against him claiming they are politically motivated, and in turn accused Litvinenko and Berezovsky of spying for MI6.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070705/68423395.html