Russia on the march - again - Page 14

braindead · 06-18-2007, 02:39 AM

It´s always good to watch Hollywood picturing Russians - cosmonaut´s repairing Mir space station in fur hats and big hammer , common russian names in movies always seem to be Schtutchikoff etc.

rickusn · 06-18-2007, 20:59 PM

Russia withdrawing from CFE is just another step in its well-documented quest to reattain its former slave states and the rest of Europe that it demanded title to in 1945.

This grim outlook was the driving force behind the election of pro-US French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Not to mention the clamoring of the former slave states to join NATO.

Although as I stated before its doubtful the US will be able to stop Russia from conquering all of Europe or the world for that matter when it so chooses.

Any and all alliances will be of no avail when Russia launches its war to physically occupy permanently all of Europe this time around.

Always be aware of this.:

"The policy of Russia is changeless. Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy, world domination, is a fixed star."

You only have to visit any Russian discussion site especially the military issues ones to get a clear picture of Russian ambitions and there view of the US as "impotent".

And their "view" of the US is probably quite accurate.

The US $ could collapse at any time particulary if ALL oil purchases become pegged to a currency other than the $.

Thank God I already like vodka and have a modicum of understanding of the Russian language though far from fluent.

Ill have to work on that comrades.

My 12 year old daughter is entering her 3rd year of studying the language.

Czech ambassador: Russia fails to dispel NATO fears of its plans
By Prague Daily Monitor/ČTK / Published 18 June 2007
Vienna, June 15 (CTK) - The relatively cautious statements by Russia's Anatoli Antonov could not dispel the NATO states' fears that Russia could cease fulfilling the conditions set by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), Czech ambassador Ivan Pocuch told CTK Friday.

Pocuch, ambassador to international organisations based in Vienna, spoke at the close of a four-day extraordinary international conference on the future of CFE.

The conference was convoked at the request of Russia and it was attended by representatives from 30 CFE signatory states, including the Czech Republic.

"The conference definitively confirmed today our suspicion that the Russian delegation arrived in Vienna just for this particular result, and that it will use the failure as an argument for the planned freezing of the treaty," Pocuch said.

"The NATO countries could not prevent this unless they wanted to fundamentally change their policy," Pocuch told CTK.

Russia demanded at the conference that the NATO member states quickly ratify the treaty and that negotiations on its new version be launched.

Russia officially claims that the request is not connected with the planned U.S. bases in Central Europe.

It, however, asked for the conference to be convoked after Putin announced the moratorium on CFE fulfilment just in connection with the negative Russian reaction to the U.S. plans to build elements of its anti-missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland.

CFE was signed by the then NATO and Warsaw Pact member countries after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990. It was rewritten when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1999.

It sets upper limits to heavy conventional weapons, such as tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, combat planes and offensive helicopters. It is believed to be one of the most important valid disarmament agreements.

The Czech Republic on Wednesday dismissed the Russian accusation that it does not honour its commitments under CFE.

Feanor · 06-19-2007, 03:16 AM

Ok lets face the facts. Putin as an autocratic leader who has done little for the benefit of the average Russian citizen. He neds some way to demonstrate that he is doing things for Russia. In reality he has no interest in Russian power, he is simply the figure head of a corrupt regime that is pumping oil and natural gas dollars out of Russia.

MrFirst · 06-19-2007, 05:39 AM

I like your sense of humor, Rickusn.

Your daughter learns Russian? Really?

Ray · 06-19-2007, 11:24 AM

Here is what's up in the EU.

Must be music to Putin's ear.

So an economically weak nation with larger population will dictate terms is what is supposed to happen!

Quote:

We Aren't Idiots'

Mariusz Muszynski, the 43-year-old commissioner for Polish-German relations in the Polish Foreign Ministry discusses the Warsaw-Berlin impasse on the successor treaty to the failed EU constitution. He also accuses Germany of being more concerned with consolidating its own power than EU unity.

The Polish government has thrown a wrench into German Chancellor Angela Merkel's efforts to jump-start the European Union's long-stagnant constitutional process with its adamant rejection of the "double majority" voting system that is currently outlined in the EU treaty. Despite a weekend of shuttle diplomacy that saw Merkel trying to persuade Polish President Lech Kacyznksi to come on board, Poland appears prepared to veto the landmark agreement at the EU summit in Brussels this Thursday and Friday that will be hosted by Merkel.

Warsaw is demanding a replacement of the proposed decision-making system of the European Council, which allocates votes in proportion to the population of member states, with an alternative "square root" system, which would increase Poland's voting weight in relation to its more populous EU neighbors like Germany and France.

SPIEGEL: After his discussions with your government last week, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, "One gets the impression that Poland's leadership under the Kaczynski twins will not allow the Germans success in reviving the (EU) reforms." Is that true?

Muszynski: That is of course a misunderstanding. It is not true that Poland is unwilling to allow the German presidency of the European Council a success. We would welcome a success, because a success for the presidency of the European Council is also a success for the EU. It is also untrue that Poles reject reforms. In fact, the voting mechanisms in the Council of Ministers have nothing to do with the reforms. Our concerns regard the distribution of power within the EU and our ability to influence the EU's development. Reforms, on the contrary, are material areas. Why should Poland agree to a decrease in its influence? We aren't idiots. Anyone surprised by the fact that we would like to increase our influence should not be engaged in politics.

SPIEGEL: How would you explain the hard-line stance of your government that threatens to isolate it within Europe?

Muszynski: Everyone wants to be rich and beautiful. There is no reason here for isolation. The summit will also focus on other issues, some of which Poland has suggested. Supposedly we are also a full-fledged member of the EU, so we too have the right to suggest a topic for discussion. The disquiet triggered by the Germans has nothing to do with the EU reforms. The German government should take up a constructive attitude, because at the moment it seems only to be striving for power within the EU. But integration is a process of reforms -- and whatever happened to the discussion in this area?

SPIEGEL: How is it that Poland's population -- with an EU approval rating of 86 percent -- is so much friendlier towards the EU than the Polish government? Are there circumstances under which you could imagine abandoning the billions of euros your country is now receiving from Brussels?

Muszynski: The Polish government stands 100 percent behind the European Union. Achieving membership in the EU was surely one of Poland's greatest successes in recent years. What counts for society are the visible results. What matters for a government, though, are the details and the possibility of achieving those results. When a government's ability to act is restricted, popular support for the EU also declines. In calling for the influence that we are entitled to, we are representing and protecting the interests not just of Poles, but also of the EU within Poland. I would also remind you that we waived the reduction of membership contributions in order to join the EU. We are paying 100 percent of the contributions, and in certain areas we are only receiving EU subsidies at a level of 30 to 50 percent.

SPIEGEL: When Moscow boycotted Poland's meat exports to Russia on spurious grounds, Europe remained united and defended the Polish position. Many Europeans now feel that one should expect solidarity from Poland with regard to the EU constitution. Do you see that differently?

Muszynski: That was a duty that Brussels was obliged to fulfill. The regulation of collective trade policy lies exclusively under the jurisdiction of the EU. Please stop presenting Europe's duties in such a propagandistic manner by evoking them as generous favors. For almost one and a half years, Brussels remained silent as Poland was discriminated against. We know (EU) community law.

SPIEGEL: Outside of possible support from the Czech Republic, do you have another ally in your proposed reweighting of the EU Council's proportional voting system, the "square-root" revision? And why is this so important to you?

Muszynski: Only the course of the proceedings will reveal how many countries support the proposal. The question of the vote is very important to us. We too would like to have the chance to influence the future of the EU -- we too are Europeans, no less than the Germans. Recently, perhaps, we have even been better Europeans, given the growing German sentiment against European integration. The leadership of the Federal Republic is diverging from Helmut Kohl's pro-European policies. Rather than addressing issues of substance, the German presidency of the European Council expends most of its energy on expanding its own sphere of influence in the EU. In addition, sociological studies have consistently shown greater approval of the EU in Poland than in Germany.

SPIEGEL: Many Germans are saddened by the obvious deterioration of relations with Poland. What did Berlin do wrong, and what do you expect from the Germans?

Muszynski: Many Poles are just as saddened that the Germans have not treated them as equal partners. Still, relations between our countries are not bad. We are simply working through a process that is now bringing these relations closer to reality. The Germans must finally accept that we are a fully entitled member of the European community.

SPIEGEL: You don't think the Germans have accepted this?

Muszynski: We expect more consideration of Europe from the Germans, more actual reforms and less national egotism and flowery rhetoric. All that they have displayed is how to fight for one's own interests, by overstepping their budget deficit four times without any penalty, and by being the first to reject the EU guidelines for services within the European market. Now the Germans want to secure more power in the European Council, no matter what the price. We are supporters of a common foreign policy -- including policies for Eastern Europe -- a collective energy policy and a European army. We aspired to such a community when we joined the EU. The Germans have disappointed us. They could learn from our example how to act as Europeans. Germany is no longer the paragon of Europe.

Interview conducted by Erich Follath.

Translated from the German by Will Byrne.

Polish Diplomat Speaks out on Berlin-Warsaw Spat: 'We Aren't Idiots' - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

Ray · 06-19-2007, 11:45 AM

Another sore point in the Russia European equation.

Quote:

NATO, Russian tension over Georgia base

Georgian-Russian tension is helping to fuel a deterioration of Moscow's relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

From EurasiaNet.

By Jean-Christophe Peuch for EurasiaNet (19/06/07)

The two sides feuded over Russia's continuing presence at a military facility at Gudauta, located in the separatist territory of Abkhazia, during an extraordinary conference involving the 30 state-parties to the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. The 12-15 June meeting in Vienna was convened ostensibly to discuss Russian grievances. The Kremlin in recent months has agitated to alter the treaty, which was modified in 1999, in order to enhance Russia's strategic position the European theater.

NATO member states were steadfast and united during the meeting in rejecting Russia's wish to renegotiate. In addition to the Gudauta controversy, the two sides jousted over the ongoing presence of Russian troops in Moldova's separatist Transdniester region. Moscow reportedly is seeking a deal under which it would fulfill its commitment to withdraw troops from Georgia in return for the ability to maintain its military presence in Moldova. NATO, Georgia and Moldova rejected this.

In addition, Russia during the Vienna gathering insisted that NATO members ratify the 1999 modifications to the CFE pact. Those changes contain provisions for the accession of states that are currently not party to the pact, specifically the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which regained independence in 1991. Once ratified by NATO states, Moscow would insist that the Baltic States join the CFE compact. NATO members have withheld ratification of the 1999 addendum, known as the Istanbul Commitments due to Moscow's refusal to comply with so-called flank provisions, which mandate that Russian withdraw its forces from Georgia and Moldova.

The closed-door Vienna meeting ended with participants failing to endorse a Russian-drafted final statement, thus leaving open the question of whether Moscow would carry on with threats to freeze its commitments under the landmark Cold War-era arms reduction treaty.

In agreeing to the 1999 modifications to the CFE treaty, Moscow committed to withdrawing from four former Soviet bases on Georgian territory. Russia claims to have vacated one of the four bases, known as Gudauta, on 26 October 2001, 18 weeks behind schedule. Georgian officials dispute this, insisting that Moscow is maintains a military presence at the facility, which is located in the separatist territory of Abkhazia. Earlier in 2001, Russia handed over the Vaziani military airfield, outside Tbilisi, to the Georgian government of then-President Eduard Shevardnadze.

Negotiations on Russia's two remaining bases - located respectively in Akhalkalaki, in the predominantly Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, and in the Black Sea port of Batumi, the capital of the autonomous region of Ajara - dragged on for nearly five years. On 31 May 2005, both sides signed in Sochi a couple of agreements under which Russia finally pledged to vacate the two military facilities by the end of 2008. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In a 14 June address to the Permanent Council of the OSCE, made on the sidelines of the CFE Treaty Vienna conference, Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili commended Russia for pulling out "according to the agreed schedule." But he added that concerns linger over Gudauta, which is the only former base located in territory not directly controlled by Tbilisi. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Moscow initially insisted on assigning the facility to its Abkhaz-based peacekeeping forces, something the Georgians strongly opposed. Now, Russian officials claim Gudauta is mostly a sanatorium for retired army officers, and no longer hosts any combat military hardware.

Georgia dismisses Russia's depiction, saying that, in violation of the CFE pact, the base is still operational and represents a potential security threat. In particular, officials in Tbilisi say they fear Gudauta could be used by Abkhaz armed forces. "We know precisely how many troops are there, what kind of ammunition is there. There are both transport and combat helicopters on the ground," Bezhuashvili told reporters following his address to the OSCE Permanent Council.

Moscow last year admitted that four helicopters and about 130 Russian peacekeepers were located at the base. But it denied accusations that it had installed a S-300 missile air defense system to protect its airfield, which Tbilisi insists should be blown up. Georgia is demanding that OSCE-led inspection teams be authorized to visit the base to make an independent determination. Tbilisi also wants Russian officials to hand over all base documentation to OSCE representatives.

Once Tbilisi makes sure Gudauta has been effectively dismantled, Bezhuashvili said, "the Georgian case will be removed from the list of issues that are preventing ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty."

Russia argues that an OSCE inspection team already visited the base in July 2002 but could not officially document its closure because it had no mandate to do so. Georgia says that the OSCE mission in 2002 had a mandate only to determine a framework for future inspections. Georgia also insists that Russia is obliged to accept inspection teams at Gudauta under the CFE Treaty. Moscow counters that the Istanbul Commitments do not provide for international monitoring of its withdrawal from the base.

Anatoly Antonov, the chief Russian negotiator at the Vienna talks, said that "Moscow has met all those of the Istanbul commitments that are related to the CFE Treaty" and that all remaining issues should be negotiated through bilateral talks with Georgia, or Moldova. Tbilisi, meanwhile, points to a 1999 joint Russian-Georgian statement, saying it is an integral part of the Adapted CFE Treaty and is therefore creating a multilateral - not bilateral - international commitment.

In a bid to mollify the Russians, the US suggested that Gudauta be visited not by a formal inspection team, but by a "neutral and objective" fact-finding mission. Addressing reporters at the start of the Vienna conference, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried described the offer as one of several "constructive ideas" that could help lift the Russian objections and "that do not compromise our principled position."

Asked by EurasiaNet to comment on the US proposal, Army Gen. Vladimir Nikishin - who represented the Russian Defense Ministry at the Vienna talks, remained noncommittal. "We are not against such a mission provided it brings necessary, useful and - most importantly - fair results," Nikishin said.

Antonov in turn claimed no consensus exists among NATO countries on what exactly constitutes the Istanbul Commitments. Therefore, he said, prior to consenting to a Gudauta fact-finding mission, Russia wants all sides to agree on "terms of reference that clearly specify under which conditions the issue will be considered closed once and for all."

Neither side appears willing to compromise.

Reacting to Bezhuashvili's address to the OSCE Permanent Council, US Charge d'Affaires Kyle Scott insisted on the necessity of a multinational observer visit to Gudauta. "We should stop talking about it, we should do it," Scott said.

Another problem is that Georgia insists on being part of the Gudauta observer mission. "We have a legitimate right to be part of the group," Bezhuashvili told reporters in Vienna. Sukhumi, which is still formally at war with Tbilisi, has vetoed such a possibility.

Jean-Christophe Peuch is a Vienna-based freelance correspondent, who specializes in Caucasus- and Central Asia-related developments.

EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental, and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The website presents a variety of perspectives on contemporary developments, utilizing a network of correspondents based both in the West and in the region. The aim of EurasiaNet is to promote informed decision making among policy makers, as well as broadening interest in the region among the general public. EurasiaNet is operated by the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute.

ISN Security Watch - NATO, Russian tension over Georgia base

Quite an imbroglio.

Indeed it is to the interest of Russia to abandon the facilities in Georgia and go west by legitimising its presence in Moldova giving it greater flexibility in its defence against Europe.

Georgia is sure to be a real problem area and may turn out to be a real bone of contention that cannot be solved.

Given Putin's current belligerency, one wonders if Russia will bend.

MrFirst · 06-19-2007, 12:26 PM

Abkhazian army once has already kicked out the Georgians, they may repeat their campaign and deeper in Georgia, why not. A motive may be Georgian attack against South Ossetia for example. And then the west part of Georgia will be under threat - their sea ports, oil pipe-line, roads and so on.

MrFirst · 06-19-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

MiGs Will Defend Syria and Iran

Russia has begun to implement the contract signed by Rosoboronexport with Syria this year for the delivery of five MiG-31E fighter-interceptors. That means that Russia is renewing arms deliveries to the Middle East after a hiatus due to the war in Lebanon. Iran may be the big winner from the deal, since there exists an Iranian-Syrian mutual defense agreement, and Iran is financing Damascus's purchase.

Several sources in the military-industrial complex told Kommersant that OAO Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Plant has begun working on the five MiG-31E aircraft. At the beginning of the year, Rosoboronexport signed a contract with Damascus for them. Since production of the MiG-31 was halted in 1994, Syria is receiving planes from the reserve of the Russian Air Force that are being modified to the purchaser's specifications.

Vladimir Vypryazhkin, deputy general director of the state MiG Russian Aviation Construction Corp. told Kommersant yesterday that “export orders are starting to come in for the MiG-31.” He declined to identify the source of the orders, but noted that “We are offering the MiG-31E on a trade-in basis for countries that have the MiG-25 interceptor.”

Only Libya and Syria have MiG-25 fighter-interceptor and recognizance plane at present. India recently retired its MiG-25s.

Boris Aleshin, chairman of the Federal Industry Agency, confirmed that there is a contract for the MiG-31E. He also declined to identify the purchaser. Kommersant has learned that a lot of MiG-29M/M2 jets was sold to Syria as well. They are being sold abroad for the first time and are similar in their technical specifications to the MiG-35 model Russia is now offering India. The total value of the contract for the MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 aircraft is estimated at $1 billion.

Western experts think that one of the reasons for Syria's spending spree may be that it is buying weapons for not only for itself, or not for itself at all. Moscow and Damascus concluded a contract last year for the delivery of 36 Pantsir-S1E artillery missile systems. In May of this year, the authoritative British Jane's Defence Weekly reported that at least ten of those Pantsirs would be handed over to Iran by the end of 2008. According to that publication, Iran is the main sponsor of the deal and is paying Syria for its services as intermediary.

There is still no official conformation of the deal described, but the cooperation scheme between Syria and Iran is perfectly believable. Tehran and Damascus are linked by a number of agreements on mutual defense. A Syrian-Iranian strategic alliance was wrought in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. In recent years, Syria and Iran have signed a whole series of agreements on closely coordinated defense activities. In February 2005, for example, almost simultaneously with Russia's forgiveness of much of Syria's debt to it, Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otari and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref signed a mutual defense pact and, in July 2006, the defense ministers of the two countries, Hasan Turkmani and Mostafa Mohammad Najar, signed an agreement creating a high defense commission and one on military cooperation that envisaged Iranian financing of Syrian arms deals with Russia, Ukraine and China.

The sale of Russian jets to Syria will undoubtedly have repercussions in the West. Moscow is not likely to be concerned with American criticism at the moment, since the main problem in U.S.-Russian relations is the U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Now the two issues may be discussed together.

Iran's position on the missile defense system can be considered indirect confirmation that it is deriving some sort of benefit from the present deal. When Putin suggested to U.S. President George W. Bush that they counter the Iranian threat by using the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan together, Tehran unexpectedly announced that it does not consider Russia's proposal hostile and that it will not affect Russia's good relations with Iran.

http://www.kommersant.ru/

Taurkon · 06-19-2007, 16:03 PM

This certainly explains Israels interest in the F-22.

Feanor · 06-19-2007, 16:24 PM

Almost makes me happy. Russian weapons industry is realistically teh one economic vehicle that can turn our country from an resource exporter to an industrial power. If we had an intelligent leader.

Ray · 06-19-2007, 22:37 PM

Putin is not a stupid leader.

Yeltsin could be?

Gorbachev is iffy.

Feanor · 06-20-2007, 02:28 AM

Putin is not dumb by any means. He's just not interested in developing Russia as a nation. Instead, as I already once stated, he is using populist foreign policy moves to distract the population from the fact that the rich elite is turning russian resources into their personal fortunes. Once Russia runs out of major exportable resources then maybe we'll get an intelligent leader, who actually wants to help our country.

Garry · 06-20-2007, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

Another sore point in the Russia European equation.

Quite an imbroglio.

Indeed it is to the interest of Russia to abandon the facilities in Georgia and go west by legitimising its presence in Moldova giving it greater flexibility in its defence against Europe.

Georgia is sure to be a real problem area and may turn out to be a real bone of contention that cannot be solved.

Given Putin's current belligerency, one wonders if Russia will bend.

Russian policy with Georgia is quite stupid... threatening clearly did not work. So, Russia is now has to decide - go for further conflict or look for ways out....

Ray · 06-20-2007, 12:40 PM

It appears that they are enjoying going into Conflict

It serves their purpose I presume!

Ray · 06-20-2007, 12:45 PM

Feanor,

Putin is sticking to his Communist past and re-engineering the modern demands of a changed Russia. Can one man in a limited time change the earth shaking change Gorbachev did?!

Has he not been able to control the Russian mafia that was going bonkers?

Compare him with the other interesting personage you had before him!

I am not too conversant with modern Russia and therefore I look forward to your views on all issues that are being addressed by Russia and its pros and cons.

06-18-2007, 02:39 AM	#196 (permalink)
braindead Lost in Translation *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-30-06 Location: estonia Posts: 1,418 Country:	It´s always good to watch Hollywood picturing Russians - cosmonaut´s repairing Mir space station in fur hats and big hammer , common russian names in movies always seem to be Schtutchikoff etc. __________________ If i only were so smart yesterday as my wife is today

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06-18-2007, 20:59 PM	#197 (permalink)
rickusn *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-09-03 Posts: 1,317	Russia withdrawing from CFE is just another step in its well-documented quest to reattain its former slave states and the rest of Europe that it demanded title to in 1945. This grim outlook was the driving force behind the election of pro-US French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Not to mention the clamoring of the former slave states to join NATO. Although as I stated before its doubtful the US will be able to stop Russia from conquering all of Europe or the world for that matter when it so chooses. Any and all alliances will be of no avail when Russia launches its war to physically occupy permanently all of Europe this time around. Always be aware of this.: "The policy of Russia is changeless. Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy, world domination, is a fixed star." You only have to visit any Russian discussion site especially the military issues ones to get a clear picture of Russian ambitions and there view of the US as "impotent". And their "view" of the US is probably quite accurate. The US $ could collapse at any time particulary if ALL oil purchases become pegged to a currency other than the $. Thank God I already like vodka and have a modicum of understanding of the Russian language though far from fluent. Ill have to work on that comrades. My 12 year old daughter is entering her 3rd year of studying the language. Czech ambassador: Russia fails to dispel NATO fears of its plans By Prague Daily Monitor/ČTK / Published 18 June 2007 Vienna, June 15 (CTK) - The relatively cautious statements by Russia's Anatoli Antonov could not dispel the NATO states' fears that Russia could cease fulfilling the conditions set by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), Czech ambassador Ivan Pocuch told CTK Friday. Pocuch, ambassador to international organisations based in Vienna, spoke at the close of a four-day extraordinary international conference on the future of CFE. The conference was convoked at the request of Russia and it was attended by representatives from 30 CFE signatory states, including the Czech Republic. "The conference definitively confirmed today our suspicion that the Russian delegation arrived in Vienna just for this particular result, and that it will use the failure as an argument for the planned freezing of the treaty," Pocuch said. "The NATO countries could not prevent this unless they wanted to fundamentally change their policy," Pocuch told CTK. Russia demanded at the conference that the NATO member states quickly ratify the treaty and that negotiations on its new version be launched. Russia officially claims that the request is not connected with the planned U.S. bases in Central Europe. It, however, asked for the conference to be convoked after Putin announced the moratorium on CFE fulfilment just in connection with the negative Russian reaction to the U.S. plans to build elements of its anti-missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland. CFE was signed by the then NATO and Warsaw Pact member countries after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990. It was rewritten when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1999. It sets upper limits to heavy conventional weapons, such as tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, combat planes and offensive helicopters. It is believed to be one of the most important valid disarmament agreements. The Czech Republic on Wednesday dismissed the Russian accusation that it does not honour its commitments under CFE.

06-19-2007, 03:16 AM	#198 (permalink)
Feanor Banished Join Date: 06-12-07 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,385 Country:	Ok lets face the facts. Putin as an autocratic leader who has done little for the benefit of the average Russian citizen. He neds some way to demonstrate that he is doing things for Russia. In reality he has no interest in Russian power, he is simply the figure head of a corrupt regime that is pumping oil and natural gas dollars out of Russia.

06-19-2007, 05:39 AM	#199 (permalink)
MrFirst Contributor Join Date: 01-02-07 Location: Russia Posts: 641	I like your sense of humor, Rickusn. Your daughter learns Russian? Really?

06-19-2007, 12:26 PM	#202 (permalink)
MrFirst Contributor Join Date: 01-02-07 Location: Russia Posts: 641	Abkhazian army once has already kicked out the Georgians, they may repeat their campaign and deeper in Georgia, why not. A motive may be Georgian attack against South Ossetia for example. And then the west part of Georgia will be under threat - their sea ports, oil pipe-line, roads and so on.

06-19-2007, 16:03 PM	#204 (permalink)
Taurkon Regular Join Date: 12-05-06 Location: Calgary, Ab Posts: 102 Country:	This certainly explains Israels interest in the F-22.

06-19-2007, 16:24 PM	#205 (permalink)
Feanor Banished Join Date: 06-12-07 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,385 Country:	Almost makes me happy. Russian weapons industry is realistically teh one economic vehicle that can turn our country from an resource exporter to an industrial power. If we had an intelligent leader.

06-19-2007, 22:37 PM	#206 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,237 Country:	Putin is not a stupid leader. Yeltsin could be? Gorbachev is iffy.

06-20-2007, 02:28 AM	#207 (permalink)
Feanor Banished Join Date: 06-12-07 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,385 Country:	Putin is not dumb by any means. He's just not interested in developing Russia as a nation. Instead, as I already once stated, he is using populist foreign policy moves to distract the population from the fact that the rich elite is turning russian resources into their personal fortunes. Once Russia runs out of major exportable resources then maybe we'll get an intelligent leader, who actually wants to help our country.

06-20-2007, 12:40 PM	#209 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,237 Country:	It appears that they are enjoying going into Conflict It serves their purpose I presume!

06-20-2007, 12:45 PM	#210 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,237 Country:	Feanor, Putin is sticking to his Communist past and re-engineering the modern demands of a changed Russia. Can one man in a limited time change the earth shaking change Gorbachev did?! Has he not been able to control the Russian mafia that was going bonkers? Compare him with the other interesting personage you had before him! I am not too conversant with modern Russia and therefore I look forward to your views on all issues that are being addressed by Russia and its pros and cons.

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