The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[TomServo]

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

Armenian, I'm surprised you haven't posted the following yet. What do you think about this proposal?

RF Duma Vice Speaker: Russia, Armenia should form union state
03.04.2008 13:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia and Armenia should form a union state, said Vice Speaker of the Russian State Duma.

“If formation of a union with Belarus has slowed down, Russia should take up another direction. We should unite with Armenia, for example, or with any other friendly state,” said Lyubov Sliska, Duma Vice Speaker and member of United Russia faction, Regions.ru reports.

The idea of Russia-Belarus-Armenia federal state first emerged in 1997. About 1 million of signatures were collected in Armenia in support of the initiative at that time, however no progress followed.

[Armenian]

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

Armenian, I'm surprised you haven't posted the following yet. What do you think about this proposal?

Dude, I only noticed it several hours ago, give me a break. However, I admit I did not want to post it immediately because I wanted to assess the controversial proposition first. In other words, I wanted to think about it a little before I jumped on it. Personally speaking, I like the proposal, it makes perfect sense for Armenia. I also realize that such a move will scare the daylights out of perhaps a majority of Armenians worldwide. I remember back in the summer of 1997 I was in Yerevan for a month and several young people were collecting signatures for some union with Russia. They knocked on our door thinking that we were locals. However, the way they presented the proposal I thought they were seeking something like a neo-Soviet Union. I was rude to them. Now I see it was this agenda they were promoting. If I only knew back then what I know now...

[Armenian]

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

Russia to start flight tests of fifth-generation fighter in 2009

Russia plans to begin flight tests of a new fifth-generation fighter in 2009, the Russian industry and energy minister said on Thursday. "The development of a fifth-generation Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter is being carried out under the Sukhoi PAK FA project," Viktor Khristenko said in a report posted on the ministry's website. "The flight tests of the aircraft are scheduled to begin in 2009," he said. The new fighter aircraft, which will feature high maneuverability and stealth to ensure air superiority and precision in destroying ground and sea targets, will be built at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft-manufacturing plant in Russia's Far East. Some experts believe the PAK FA fighter has been designed to be comparable to both the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. It will eventually replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker fighters in the Russian Air Force and will be exported to other countries.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080403/102931062.html

[Armenian]

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

Putin says Russia will support Abkhazia and S. Ossetia

Russia will provide all the necessary support and assistance to Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said quoting President Vladimir Putin. Georgia is seeking to regain control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which proclaimed independence following the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Tbilisi accuses Moscow of encouraging separatism and interfering in its internal affairs. "The Russian president stressed that Russia is not unsympathetic to the aspirations and problems to the two republics' population, where many Russian nationals live," the ministry said.

Earlier the presidents of the two breakaway republics expressed in a statement to Putin their concerns over the "aggressive course by the Georgian authorities to destabilize the situation in the conflict zones, Georgia's militarization, the build up of offensive weapons and troops close to the borders of the [self-proclaimed] republics." The Russian president said that all Georgia's attempts to resolve the situation by applying pressure on Abkhazia and South Ossetia are senseless. "Any attempts to apply political, economic or especially military pressure on Abkhazia and South Ossetia are futile and counterproductive," the ministry said citing Putin. Sergei Bagapsh, the president of Abkhazia, said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Putin's statement would "guarantee security for our republics. This is how I understood it."

Two weeks ago the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, proposed that the president and the government consider the issue of whether to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Ex-Soviet breakaway regions have stepped up their drive for independence since Kosovo's declaration of independence on February 17. Abkhazia and South Ossetia, along with Moldova's Transdnestr, have since asked Russia's parliament, the United Nations and other organizations to recognize their independence. Peacekeeping in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone is currently carried out by collective CIS forces staffed with Russian service personnel. The Georgian-South Ossetian conflict area is controlled by joint forces also including Russian peacekeepers.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080403/102935645.html

Lukashenko says NATO expansion inevitable

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the admission of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO was inevitable, and that Belarus should strengthen its defense capacity accordingly. NATO members meeting at a summit in Romania have decided to postpone offering Georgia and Ukraine the chance to join the alliance's Membership Action Plan (MAP). NATO's secretary general later said however that the former Soviet republics would eventually be invited to join. "The issue of Ukraine and Georgia's membership of NATO is merely a matter of time," Lukashenko, dubbed 'Europe's last dictator' by Washington, told a news conference in Minsk. "We need to think about strengthening our defense capacity," he added.

"Our armed forces are all the Belarus-Russia Union State has in the west," he said, adding that Belarus, as a party to a military agreement with Russia, would defend the Union's western borders should the need arise. "The treaty with Russia is sacred thing, and we will implement it without fail. Russia also fulfills its commitments and provides us with a reliable shield, including nuclear, in line with this treaty," Lukashenko said. The U.S. and the European Union have accused Lukashenko of clamping down on dissent, stifling the media and rigging elections. Lukashenko, who was re-elected to a third term in 2006, and other senior Belarusian officials have been blacklisted from entering the U.S. and EU. Tensions between the U.S. and Belarus heightened after Washington imposed sanctions last November against Belarus's state-controlled petrochemical company Belneftekhim and froze the assets of its U.S. subsidiary. The U.S. ambassador to Belarus also 'temporarily' left Minsk last month following an official recommendation that she leave the country.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080403/102909522.html

[Armenian]

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

Gazprom Ranked the 19th of Biggest World Companies

Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom has been ranked the 19th in Global 2000 list of world biggest corporations compiled by the U.S. Forbes.
Global 2000 has been made up in view of the aggregate evaluation of the sales, profit, capitalization and assets of each company. Gazprom’s capitalization amounts to $306.79 billion, the worth of its assets is estimated at $201.72 billion and the sales reach $81.76 billion. Gazprom was just the 44th in 2007 list. Britain’s HSBC Holdings leads on the asset worth of $2.349 trillion, yielding in capitalization ($180.81 billion) to Gazprom. U.S. General Electric enjoys the second position. Its assets are evaluated at $795.34 billion and capitalization stands at $330.93 billion. The Bank of America is the third leader with the asset worth of $1.716 trillion and the capitalization of $176.53 billion. The list of ten leaders also includes JPMorgan Chase, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, ВР, Toyota Motor, ING Group, Berkshire Hathaway and Royal Bank of Scotland. Global 200 sets forth 29 companies of Russia, including LUKOIL, Sberbank, Rosneft, TNK-BP, Severstal, Baltika, AvtoVAZ, Polus Zoloto and VimpelCom.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p-12294/Gazprom_The_Forbes/

[Armenian]

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

I am now starting to doubt they actually been attacked by terroist to begin with. I don't wish to sound like those crazy theorist.

Angessa, those who think that 9/11 was carried out by a state-less Islamic terrorist group up in the desolate mountains of Afghanistan are the real conspiracy crazies. It is common knowledge in many parts of the world that the attacks on September 11, 2001 were carried out by interior elements of US government with foreign support. Naturally, we may never know the details of the operation. Most probably, however, the operations were carried out by sub-divisions, independent circles within the government, with the aid of the secret services of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Britain and Israel.

This operation had several very important longterm geostrategic goals as outlined below:

Draw US and Western troops into the Persian Gulf and Central Asia in order to establish permanent military presence there; exploit existing oil/gas reserves; attempt to control areas where untapped oil/gas reserves exist; attempt to control areas where oil/gas distribution networks exist; protect the Zionist state from Syria and Iran; make sure Iran never becomes a regional superpower; isolate and undermine the Russian Federation; and make the Chinese economy dependent on American controlled energy.

This geostrategic agenda is being diligently worked on today as a direct result of the 9/11 attacks.

I ask Americans: Majority of 9/11 terrorists were of Saudi Arabian decent; Osama Bin Laden (if alive) and the Al-Qaeda (and Taliban) are based in Pakistan; all Islamic terrorists, from Bosnia to Kashmir, have connections to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; Islamic fundamentalist schools (madrasas) are established and funded across the world by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan... So, knowing that Islamic terrorism is intimately and directly connected to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, why does the US have 150,000 troops in Iraq instead? Why is the US trying to provoke a war with Iran and Syria instead? And why is the US trying to undermine the Russian Federation throughout Eurasia instead?

Thus far, no one has been able to give me a sensible answer to these questions. However, the answers are somewhat obvious to those who understand the nature of international politics. Nonetheless, we all know that the world's most violent and fundamentalist Islamic nations are Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. These two nations today are America's most important allies in that part of the world and America's most important allies in the "fight against terrorism". From Bosnia to Chechnya, from Azerbaijan to Afghanistan, from the Kashmir to western China, Islamic terrorism has 'only' benefited Western interests, especially that of Washington DC.

The following two documentaries are excellent, I strongly suggest you watch them in their entirety:

The Great Conspiracy: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...13972926262623

The Ripple Effect: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

The following two links are to the recent documentary called Zeitgeist, I strongly suggest you watch this one as well:

Zeitgeist

Part-II: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=7

Part-III: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0


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Here is what your General Ivashov has to say about this topic:

International Terrorism Does Not Exist

General Leonid Ivashov (left) with journalist Christopher Bollyn from American Free Press

General Leonid Ivashov was the Chief of Staff of the Russian armed forces when the September 11, 2001, attacks took place. This military man, who lived the events from the inside, offers an analysis which is very different to that of his American colleagues. As he did during the Axis for Peace 2005 conference, he now explains that international terrorism does not exist and that the September 11 attacks were the result of a set-up. What we are seeing is a manipulation by the big powers; this terrorism would not exist without them. He affirms that, instead of faking a "world war on terror", the best way to reduce that kind of attacks is through respect for international law and peaceful cooperation among countries and their citizens.

As the current international situation shows, terrorism emerges where contradiction aggravate, where there is a change of social relations or a change of regime, where there is political, economic or social instability, where there is moral decadence, where cynicism and nihilism triumph, where vice is legalized and where crime spreads. It is globalization what creates the conditions for the emergence of these extremely dangerous phenomena. It is in this context that the new world geo-strategic map is being designed, that the resources of the planet are being re-distributed, that borders are disappearing, that international law is being torn into pieces, that cultural identities are being erased, that spiritual life becomes impoverished...

The analysis of the essence of the globalization process, the military and political doctrines of the United States and other countries, shows that terrorism contributes to a world dominance and the submissiveness of states to a global oligarchy. This means that terrorism is not something independent of world politics but simply an instrument, a means to install a unipolar world with a sole world headquarters, a pretext to erase national borders and to establish the rule of a new world elite. It is precisely this elite that constitutes the key element of world terrorism, its ideologist and its "godfather". The main target of the world elite is the historical, cultural, traditional and natural reality; the existing system of relations among states; the world national and state order of human civilization and national identity.

Today's international terrorism is a phenomenon that combines the use of terror by state and non-state political structures as a means to attain their political objectives through people's intimidation, psychological and social destabilization, the elimination of resistance from power organizations and the creation of appropriate conditions for the manipulation of the countries' policies and the behavior of people. Terrorism is the weapon used in a new type of war. At the same time, international terrorism, in complicity with the media, becomes the manager of global processes. It is precisely the symbiosis between media and terror, which allows modifying international politics and the exiting reality. In this context, if we analyze what happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States, we can arrive at the following conclusions:

1. The organizers of those attacks were the political and business circles interested in destabilizing the world order and who had the means necessary to finance the operation. The political conception of this action matured there where tensions emerged in the administration of financial and other types of resources. We have to look for the reasons of the attacks in the coincidence of interests of the big capital at global and transnational levels, in the circles that were not satisfied with the rhythm of the globalization process or its direction. Unlike traditional wars, whose conception is determined by generals and politicians, the oligarchs and politicians submitted to the former were the ones who did it this time.

2. Only secret services and their current chiefs x or those retired but still having influence inside the state organizations x have the ability to plan, organize and conduct an operation of such magnitude. Generally, secret services create, finance and control extremist organizations. Without the support of secret services, these organizations cannot exist x let alone carry out operations of such magnitude inside countries so well protected. Planning and carrying out an operation on this scale is extremely complex.

3. Osama bin Laden and "Al Qaeda" cannot be the organizers nor the performers of the September 11 attacks. They do not have the necessary organization, resources or leaders. Thus, a team of professionals had to be created and the Arab kamikazes are just extras to mask the operation.
The September 11 operation modified the course of events in the world in the direction chosen by transnational mafias and international oligarchs; that is, those who hope to control the planet's natural resources, the world information network and the financial flows. This operation also favored the US economic and political elite that also seeks world dominance. General Leonid Ivashov with journalist Christopher Bollyn from American Free Press

The use of the term "international terrorism" has the following goals:

Hiding the real objectives of the forces deployed all over the world in the struggle for dominance and control;

Turning the people's demands to a struggle of undefined goals against an invisible enemy;

Destroying basic international norms and changing concepts such as: aggression, state terror, dictatorship or movement of national liberation;

Depriving peoples of their legitimate right to fight against aggressions and to reject the work of foreign intelligence services;

Establishing the principle of renunciation to national interests, transforming objectives in the military field by giving priority to the war on terror, violating the logic of military alliances to the detriment of a joint defense and to favor the anti-terrorist coalition;

Solving economic problems through a tough military rule using the war on terror as a pretext. In order to fight in an efficient way against international terrorism it is necessary to take the following steps:

To confirm before the UN General Assembly the principles of the UN Charter and international law as principles that all states are obliged to respect;

To create a geo-strategic organization (perhaps inspired in the Cooperation Organization of Shanghai comprised of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) with a set of values different to that of the Atlantists;

to design a strategy of development of states, a system of international security, another financial and economic model (which would mean that the world would again rest on two pillars);

To associate (under the United Nations) the scientific elites in the design and promotion of the philosophical concepts of the Human Being of the 21st Century. To organize the interaction of all religious denominations in the world, on behalf of the stability of humanity's development, security and mutual support.

General Leonid Ivashov

General Leonid Ivashov is the vice-president of the Academy on geopolitical affairs. He was the chief of the department for General affairs in the Soviet Union's ministry of Defense, secretary of the Council of defense ministers of the Community of independant states (CIS), chief of the Military cooperation department at the Russian federation's Ministry of defense and Joint chief of staff of the Russian armies.

Source: http://www.rense.com/general69/ism.htm

Here is what the former Italian president has to say about this topic:

ITALIAN SAYS 9-11 SOLVED

It’s common knowledge, he reveals, CIA, Mossad behind terror attacks

Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy’s oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies. In what translates awkwardly into English, Cossiga told the newspaper Corriere della Sera: “All the [intelligence services] of America and Europe…know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the Mossad, with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part … in Iraq [and] Afghanistan.” Cossiga was elected president of the Italian Senate in July 1983 before winning a landslide election to become president of the country in 1985, and he remained until 1992. Cossiga’s tendency to be outspoken upset the Italian political establishment, and he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, Operation Gladio. This was a rogue intelligence network under NATO auspices that carried out bombings across Europe in the 1960s, 1970s and ’80s. Gladio’s specialty was to carry out what they termed “false flag” operations—terror attacks that were blamed on their domestic and geopolitical opposition. In March 2001, Gladio agent Vincenzo Vinciguerra stated, in sworn testimony, “You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force … the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security.” Cossiga first expressed his doubts about 9-11 in 2001, and is quoted by 9-11 researcherWebster Tarpley saying “The mastermind of the attack must have been a sophisticated mind, provided with ample means not only to recruit fanatic kamikazes, but also highly specialized personnel. I add one thing: it could not be accomplished without infiltrations in the radar and
flight security personnel.” Coming from a widely respected former head of state, Cossiga’s assertion that the 9-11 attacks were an inside job and that this is common knowledge among global intelligence agencies is illuminating.

Source: http://www.americanfreepress.net/htm...solved118.html

And this is an interesting video presentation regarding the attack on the Pentagon that you might enjoy (video also has a Russian version):

9/11 Pentagon Strike:

http://www.freedomunderground.org/me...e/pentagon.php

[Armenian]

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

Putin warns NATO against further expansion to Russia's borders

Any further expansion by NATO toward Russia's borders will be interpreted as a direct threat to the country's security, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. "The appearance on our borders of a powerful military bloc... will be considered by Russia as a direct threat to our country's security," Putin told a news conference after a NATO-Russia Council session on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Bucharest. NATO members decided on Thursday to postpone offering the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine the chance to join the alliance's Membership Action Plan (MAP). However, it was later announced that their bids would be reviewed in December. Their bids had received strong U.S. backing. The former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, all which border Russia, are currently members of NATO.

Despite his warning, Putin said that the discussions had been "constructive," and that Moscow's position on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty had been taken into account by NATO. Russia temporarily withdrew from the crucial arms control treaty in December amid concerns over NATO's ongoing eastward expansion, Washington's missile defense plans for Europe and NATO countries' reluctance to ratify the document. "My impression is that I was heard by our partners on the CFE problem. They are prepared either to ratify the existing treaty or discuss new arrangements. In any event, we have to do something together rather than taking unilateral steps ... such an approach has no future," he said. He also said he was happy that Russia's concerns over U.S. plans to deploy a missile base in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic had also been heard by NATO, and that Washington and Moscow would continue to discuss the issue.

"A positive moment in today's dialogue was that our national security concerns over the possible introduction of the missile shield proposed by our American partners were finally heard," he said. Putin added that he would continue to discuss the issue over the weekend with U.S. President George Bush in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The meeting is set to be the last between the two leaders, who are due to step down in May and January 2009, respectively. Putin also said a new Cold War was impossible as there were no more ideological divides in Europe. "No, this is impossible. No one is interested in this," he said. "No global players, Europe, the United States and Russia, are interested in returning to the past. This is unnecessary," he said However, he insisted that Russia would make no concessions to the West at the expense of its own security, saying, "Why should we be flexible if it's a question of a threat to our security?"

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080404/103749979.html

NATO Allies Oppose Bush on Georgia and Ukraine

President Bush threw the NATO summit meeting here off-script on Wednesday by lobbying hard to extend membership to Ukraine and Georgia, but he failed to rally support for the move among key allies. Mr. Bush’s position — that Ukraine and Georgia should be welcomed into a Membership Action Plan, or MAP, that prepares nations for NATO membership — directly contradicted German and French government positions stated earlier this week. It also risked upsetting efforts to get Russia to soften its opposition to positioning a missile defense array in Eastern Europe. Mr. Bush failed to win over a consensus of NATO members in a debate at a dinner of NATO leaders, a senior German official said Wednesday night, with at least seven countries lined up against him.

A senior American official, briefing reporters, said that no final decisions had been made at the dinner, and that all parties agreed on the importance of keeping the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s door open to Ukraine and Georgia. Mr. Bush, entering his last NATO summit meeting as president, was described by the official as wanting to “lay down a marker” for his legacy and not wanting to “lose faith” with the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples and the other former Soviet republics. As Mr. Bush did more often early in his presidency, he expressed his views candidly despite warnings from allies that he was complicating efforts to find diplomatic solutions. Normally, summit meetings like this are prescripted, but Mr. Bush’s comments added some extra interest while annoying Germany and France, which had said they would block the invitation to Ukraine and Georgia.

At the dinner on Wednesday, the German and French position was supported by Italy, Hungary and the Benelux countries, a senior German official said. Mr. Bush was said to have accepted that his position was not going to prevail, and officials were asked to find some construction overnight that would encourage Ukraine and Georgia without asking them to enter a membership plan now. The dinner meeting ran two hours over schedule. An hour and a half after it was supposed to end, Laura Bush, the first lady, left on her own, as did other spouses. “The debate was mostly among Europeans,” the senior administration official said, acknowledging that several allies had balked at President Bush’s stance. “It was quite split, but it was split in a good way.”

NATO members did appear to make progress on other issues on their agenda. They are set on inviting Croatia and Albania to join the alliance, while working to overcome Greek objections to extending membership to Macedonia, European and American officials said. France also offered to send a battalion of troops to eastern Afghanistan, a move that could free American forces to move south, where NATO troops are struggling to suppress the Taliban-led insurgency. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Bush gave a rousing speech in which he stated his positions and declared that “the terrorist threat is real, it is deadly and defeating this enemy is the top priority of NATO,” which is not the defined goal of every member of this collective security alliance.

Referring to democratic revolutions in both Ukraine and Georgia, he said: “Welcoming them into the Membership Action Plan would send a signal to their citizens that if they continue on the path to democracy and reform they will be welcomed into the institutions of Europe. It would send a signal throughout the region” — read Russia — “that these two nations are, and will remain, sovereign and independent states.” Some German officials described the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, as upset and even angry on Wednesday. She and Mr. Bush have talked repeatedly about the issue in the past two months. Mrs. Merkel had thought that a compromise was in the works, the officials said, with Washington supporting a warm statement welcoming the interest of Ukraine and Georgia in NATO and encouraging them to work toward entering the membership plan program.

Germany and France have said they believe that since neither Ukraine nor Georgia is stable enough to enter the program now, a membership plan would be an unnecessary offense to Russia, which firmly opposes the move. In fact, senior diplomats here said, the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, has threatened to cancel his planned first-ever visit to the NATO meeting on Friday if the two former Soviet states enter the program for eventual membership. Mrs. Merkel visited Moscow on March 8 and met Mr. Putin and his successor, Dmitri A. Medvedev. She told them that Russia would not be allowed a veto over NATO membership. But a senior German diplomat, Wolfgang Ischinger, said that offering membership to a divided Ukraine could destabilize the new government there, and that not enough diplomacy had taken place beforehand with Russia. Mr. Ischinger, Germany’s ambassador to London, noted that after the NATO summit meeting Mr. Bush and the two Russians would meet in Sochi, a Russian resort on the Black Sea. He said, “It’s the absence of this discussion that makes me wonder if NATO has done enough of its homework at this point on this front.”

The newer members of NATO from the old Eastern Europe support the American position. Romanian, Estonian and Latvian leaders emphasized that the Membership Action Plan program involved difficult requirements for NATO membership, including internal political and military reforms and guarantees of civil liberties, and could take a decade to fulfill. “MAP is more of a big stick than a big carrot,” said the Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, at a conference here of the German Marshall Fund. “It forces nations to reform even when they don’t want to do it.” The Latvian president, Valdis Zatlers, warned that postponing entry to the Membership Action Plan program delayed crucial internal debates. “No action plan, no action,” he said. “If we delay, we postpone the inevitable. We have to give MAP.”

Ronald D. Asmus, who was a crucial figure in the Clinton administration’s enlargement of NATO and now runs the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels office, said, “Bush’s speech set up a dramatic battle that will be fought out over the next two days and whose outcome will be important in shaping his legacy, and America’s diplomatic standing in the alliance.” Derek Chollet, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, said Mr. Bush’s speech was “a combination of valedictory and marker-laying.” Mr. Bush will probably lose the argument on Ukraine and Georgia, Mr. Chollet said. “But he doesn’t care so much, and he believes he’s on the right side of the issue.” Getting NATO support for more troops in Afghanistan and for a limited European missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic is probably more important to Mr. Bush before the meeting with Mr. Putin, Dr. Asmus and Mr. Chollet said.

In his speech, Mr. Bush urged the alliance to “maintain its resolve and finish the fight” in Afghanistan and to deploy more troops there to combat the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other threats around the world. With the war in Afghanistan now in its seventh year, and 47,000 NATO troops already there, Mr. Bush stressed the continuing threat of terrorism to the entire West. In addition to France’s commitment announced Wednesday, Poland and Romania will also send more troops, and Washington is sending 3,200 more marines. But a full accounting of any additional forces will not be clear until Thursday; Canada had said it would consider pulling its troops out of the dangerous southern region of Afghanistan unless other countries provided 1,000 more soldiers.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/wo...html?ref=world

[Angessa]

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

[QUOTE=Armenian;190194]
Thank you everyone for all that information/websites , it was very interesting and informative. The article about the Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, was the most very amazing. Since he actually a very creditable source and somone who cant be denied or accuse of lieing/crazy. I feel deeply sorry for all the innocent people who lost there lives on that day. That is horrible crime agianst humanity to do your own people,even the nazi would not go that far.

Many western people believe that Beslan school siege is the something and was committed by Russian government for reason to declare war. What do you all think about that? I think that foolish and ignorance. No war has come from the aftermath or great change. People are not frighten are scared, people are use to terroist attacks and take a lot more to frighten us. Terrorist attacks are uncommon here for car bombing or attempted one etc.

[skhara]

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

Many western people believe that Beslan school siege is the something and was committed by Russian government for reason to declare war. What do you all think about that? I think that foolish and ignorance. No war has come from the aftermath or great change. People are not frighten are scared, people are use to terroist attacks and take a lot more to frighten us. Terrorist attacks are uncommon here for car bombing or attempted one etc.

Maybe you are mixing it up with the apartment bombings in 99?

[skhara]

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

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080404/103759263.html

Russia to fly 20-30 strategic patrol missions every month

MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is set to drastically increase its number of strategic aviation patrol flights over the world's oceans to 20-30 a month, the Air Force commander said on Friday.

"We will be making 20-30 flights a month, not two or three, as was the case until recently," Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said.

He said that during their patrol missions Russian aircraft are accompanied by NATO F-15, F-16 and F-22 fighters, adding that the military alliance's planes do not always comply with international rules.

"They behave tactlessly, to put it mildly - they approach too close [in breach of international regulations]," the commander said.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by President Vladimir Putin. The move has been widely seen by the West as a sign of Russia's increasingly aggressive military stance.

Russian bombers have since carried out over 70 strategic patrol flights.

The Air Force command earlier said that all flights by Russian aircraft were performed by skilled pilots in strict compliance with international laws on the use of air space over neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states.