Moscow Diary: Cold War echoes !

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Russia successfully tests new ICBM By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 51 minutes ago

Russia's military on Tuesday successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads — a weapon intended to replace aging Soviet-era missiles.

The RS-24 missile was launched from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its test warheads successfully hit designated targets on the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula some 4,340 miles east, Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk told The Associated Press.

Vovk said that the missile carried multiple test warheads, but refused to say how many. The Interfax news agency said the RS-24 is capable of carrying at least three warheads.

The Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement that the missile was launched from a mobile launcher.

It said the new missile was based on the Topol-M and built by the same design team — Moscow's Heat Technology Institute led by Yuri Solomonov. The RS-24 was first test-fired successfully in May.

"This missile is being created using scientific and technological solutions from the Topol-M missile which allows to significantly reduce time and cost of its development," the statement said.

Existing Topol-M missiles carry a single nuclear warhead and are capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles away.

The Strategic Missile Forces said the RS-24 missile is designed to replace Soviet-built missiles with multiple nuclear warheads, such as RS-18 and RS-20. Those missiles are known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan.

"The RS-24's deployment will strengthen the Strategic Missile Forces' capability to penetrate missile defense systems and strengthen the nuclear deterrent potential of Russia's strategic nuclear forces," the statement said. "The RS-24 will form the backbone of the Strategic Missile Forces and safely ensure the security of Russia and its allies through the mid-century."

President Vladimir Putin has used windfall oil revenues to modernize Russia's military arsenals amid increasing tensions with the West. The Kremlin has fiercely opposed U.S. plans to deploy missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying they threaten Russia's security.

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Russia successfully tests new ICBM - Yahoo! News

 

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It's hammer time
How Russia is turning back the clock for Armenian business

Armenia's controversial gold rush
By Kieran Cooke
Ararat, Armenia
As the international price of gold touches record highs, the rush is on to find and exploit deposits around the world. Old mines are being revived: new ones are opening up.


In the town of Ararat - about an hour's drive south of Yerevan, Armenia's capital - investors from Russia have moved in to take control of what is believed to be one of the biggest gold-mining operations in the country.

The move has prompted concerns within Armenia over increasing Russian control of vital national economic interests.

In the South Caucasus, one of the world's most volatile areas, it is also raising the spectre of renewed regional conflict.

In a series of deft investment moves in recent years, Russia has used financial resources generated from sales of its vast oil and gas reserves to regain control of a number of enterprises in what were, before the early 1990s, territories of the Soviet Union.


We know the foreigners are after the gold
Armen Gevorgyan, trader

Nowhere is this investment drive more evident than in Armenia. As a result of often secretive deals linked to the Armenian government's privatisation programme, Russian companies now control about 80% of the country's power generating facilities.

These even include a nuclear power plant at Metsamor, near Yerevan.

Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has a majority stake in Armenia's gas network. It is also believed to have taken a controlling interest recently in a gas pipeline, now under construction, that will link Armenia with Iran.

Russian companies own most of Armenia's telecommunications network, while the country's railway system is about to be sold to Russia.

'Economic backbone'

In former Soviet times, Armenia was a centre of military-linked electronic industries. The majority of these are also now owned by Moscow-based companies.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, talked of "the truly allied character of the Russian-Armenian relationship" at a meeting in August 2007.


But critics in Armenia accuse President Kocharian and his ministers of accumulating vast personal wealth while selling off the country's most precious assets to Moscow.

"The Russians own what is the economic backbone of Armenia," says an opposition newspaper.

"Moscow is in control of virtually all our strategic resources."

Now, in a complex and little-publicised deal, one of Armenia's biggest mining concerns, the Ararat Gold Recovery Company (AGRC), has been purchased by Madneuli Resources, a mining company based across Armenia's northern border in Georgia.

Madneuli is ultimately controlled by Industrial Investors, a powerful group of Russian financiers headed by Sergei Generalov, a former Russian energy minister turned business mogul.

Disputed terrain

AGRC has a gold processing facility at Ararat, overlooking the majestic, snow-capped mountain of the same name, where Noah and his Ark are said to have finally come to rest after the Flood.

However, AGRC's most valuable asset is a large, open-pit gold mine at Zod, in eastern Armenia, close to the border with Azerbaijan.

Mining experts say Zod has some of the richest gold deposits in the Caucasus region.


In the early 1990s, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bitter war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

More than 25,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict and hundreds of thousands of people on both sides became refugees.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which has proclaimed independence, is now in effect controlled by Armenia.

Azerbaijan has raised objections with both the Georgian and Russian authorities about the purchase of the Zod mine, describing it as unlawful.

Azerbaijan says a considerable amount of the Zod mine is in its territory, at present occupied by the Armenian military.

"Any activity in occupied territories without the permission of the Azeri authorities is illegal," says Araz Azimov, Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister.

While a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been in force for the past 13 years, there are still frequent outbreaks of fighting between the two sides. The border between the two countries remains sealed.

Recently, Azerbaijan is believed to have been using its new-found oil and gas wealth to beef up its armed forces.

Abandoned

The operations of AGRC have often been the subject of controversy. In the late 1990s, Azerbaijan protested when AGRC, at the time run by a Canadian company, started mining at Zod.

In 2002, AGRC was taken over by a company controlled by the family of Indian mining billionaire Aneel Agarwal. But its operations were closed down after the Armenian authorities accused the company of reneging on various licensing agreements.

The company was charged with tax fraud and environmental violations and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.


AGRC's Indian owners denied the charges: no details of court rulings have been released, but the company was put up for sale earlier this year.

At its headquarters in Ararat, the reprocessing facility is not working and the buildings look abandoned.

Locals are concerned that cyanide, used in the course of processing gold, has been polluting land and water.

They know little about what is going on. Poverty is still widespread in Armenia and jobs are scarce.

"People were promised jobs by the previous owners, but then Indian workers were brought in," says Armen Gevorgyan, a local trader.

"We know the foreigners are after the gold. If the new owners provide some work and decent wages, that's the most important thing for us."

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Business | Armenia's controversial gold rush

Published: 2008/01/09 00:02:45 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Russia warned over 'intimidation'

Mr Miliband said he was taking the reports very seriously
Miliband's reaction
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has warned Russia that "intimidation" of British Council officials is "completely unacceptable".
The council is "deeply concerned" about its staff's safety after its employees were interviewed by security services and a director was detained by police.

Mr Miliband said the Russian ambassador in London would meet the head of the diplomatic service over the issue.

"Any intimidation or questioning of officials is completely unacceptable."

The British Council says it is "deeply concerned" for the safety of its staff, after its employees in Russia were called in for interviews with the FSB security service - and some were visited by Interior Ministry officials at their homes late on Tuesday.

Litvinenko row

Meanwhile St Petersburg office director Stephen Kinnock was followed, stopped and released by authorities on Tuesday.

Mr Kinnock - son of former Labour leader Neil - was held by the side of the road on Tuesday night and accused of going up a one-way street the wrong way and of smelling of alcohol. The British Consul in St Petersburg came to pick him up an hour later.


Our main concern is the safety and security of both our Russian and UK staff
British Council


The St Petersburg British Council office is reported to have been closed on Wednesday because all Russian staff have been summoned by the Russian authorities.

The British Council has been at the centre of a row between Russia and the UK, part of an ongoing dispute over the death of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned in London. Russian authorities have ordered offices outside Moscow to shut, Britain has refused.

Mr Miliband said Tuesday had seen "productive" discussions between British diplomats and Russian authorities in Moscow.

But he said: "We've also heard last night and today very serious reports of intimidation and harassment of British Council officials, obviously we take that very seriously indeed."

'Completely legal'

He said he would meet the chief executive of the British Council to discuss the matter later and the Russian ambassador would meet the head of the British diplomatic service.

Mr Miliband argued that cultural exchange between the two countries was a good thing and that the council's work was "completely legal" and Britain would defend its staff's integrity.


And he said the only losers, should the offices shut, would be the Russian people and the reputation of the Russian government.

The British Council, which aims to promote cultural and educational ties, has been accused of violating Russian tax rules.

The row comes on top of ongoing tensions over the death of former KGB officer Mr Litvinenko in London in November 2006. He had been given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210.

Retaliatory measure

The UK wants Russia to hand over businessman Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko.

When Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats and Moscow followed suit. Russian officials have described the action against the British Council as a retaliatory measure.

On Wednesday, a British Council spokesman said Russian staff in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg were "summoned for interview by the FSB at their headquarters and subsequently visited in their homes late last night by officials of the Russian Ministry of the Interior".

They have been called to more interviews on Wednesday, he said.

"Our main concern is the safety and security of both our Russian and UK staff and we are deeply concerned by both these incidents," he added.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Russia warned over 'intimidation'

Published: 2008/01/16 12:34:08 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Russia actions 'stain reputation'

Mr Miliband said cultural activities should not be a "political football"
Council statement
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has described Russia's actions against the British Council as "reprehensible" and a "stain" on the country's reputation.
He said council staff had been grilled by Russian security services on issues including their family pets' health.

Such actions were "not worthy of a great country", he said, reading out EU and US messages of support for Britain.

The council has suspended work at two Russian offices, saying "intimidation" made it impossible to continue.

Tensions have been growing since Russia refused to allow Britain to extradite a Russian businessman on suspicion of murdering a former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in November 2006.

'Intimidation' campaign

The British Council found itself at the centre of the row when the Russian government ordered it to close its two offices outside Moscow, accusing it of tax violations.

The Russian allegations and demands had been rejected.


The interviews had little to do with their work and were clearly aimed at exerting undue pressure on innocent individuals
Martin Davidson
British Council chief executive


But on Thursday the council's chief executive Martin Davidson blamed "a campaign of intimidation against our staff" for his decision to suspend work at its St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg offices.

He said more than 20 Russian staff had been called to attend interviews with the FSB security service and ten more were visited at their homes late at night by Russian tax police.

Cultural ties

"The interviews had little to do with their work and were clearly aimed at exerting undue pressure on innocent individuals," he said.

"Our paramount consideration is the well-being of our staff and I feel we cannot continue our work without significant risk to them."

In a statement to MPs, Mr Miliband expressed "anger and dismay" at Russia's actions.


We saw similar actions during the Cold War but frankly thought they had been put behind us
David Miliband
Foreign Secretary


He said the council's Russian staff had been questioned by security services on everything from the British Council's institutional status to the "health and welfare of family pets".

"We saw similar actions during the Cold War but frankly thought they had been put behind us," he told MPs.

"I think the whole House will agree such actions are reprehensible, not worthy of a great country, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the legal framework under which the British Council operates, notably international law"

Reputation 'stained'

He said the Russian foreign minister had made it clear that its "attacks" on the British Council "were linked" to the Litvinenko case.

Measures announced last year - including visa restrictions for Russian officials travelling to the UK - "will continue to be administered rigorously", he said.


But he said cultural activities were "entirely separate" and should not become "a political football".

So he had decided not to take similar actions against Russian activities in the UK - such as masterpieces scheduled for show at the Royal Academy - and said the British Council would continue its work in Moscow.

He added: "Russia's actions against the British Council are a stain on Russian's reputation and standing."

'Soviet-era tactics'

For the Conservatives, shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "We join you in deploring the Soviet-era tactics employed against legitimate cultural contact, tactics which we trust will be counter-productive against the Russian point of view and are deeply offensive from the British point of view."

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey added: "The Russian government needs to understand that these bully-boy tactics make them look increasingly ridiculous in the eyes of the international community."

HAVE YOUR SAY It is unfortunate that the British Council which does much good in Russia has been caught in the political crossfire John Smith, Barnsley

In addition to the staff interviews, the British Council's St Petersburg director Stephen Kinnock was stopped and questioned by Russian police on Tuesday. He was released an hour later.

His father, British Council chairman Lord Kinnock, said the real motivation for the offensive against the council was "deliberate retaliation" for Britain's efforts to secure justice for a Russian murdered in London.

He told the House of Lords Russian nationals working for the council had endured "systematic bullying" and the view of the international community was that attacks on a widely respected cultural organisation for crude political purposes was "absolutely indefensible".

The tensions between London and Moscow dates back to the death of ex-KGB agent Mr Litvinenko, who was given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210 in London, in November 2006.

Russia has refused to hand over businessman and former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko. Britain expelled four Russian diplomats in response and Moscow followed suit.

Mr Lugovoi, who is now a member of the Russian parliament, says he has been framed and denies any involvement in Mr Litvinenko's murder.

Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe - of which Russia and the UK are both members - said his organisation could "provide a forum to sort out this issue of extradition".

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Russia actions 'stain reputation'

Published: 2008/01/17 15:41:24 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Mood for a fight in UK-Russia row
By Richard Galpin
BBC News, Moscow


The latest flare-up between Moscow and London over the future of the British Council in Russia was entirely predictable.
Both sides have dug themselves into heavily fortified positions over the past month from which they are refusing to shift.


It has become a test of wills and it is now a question of who will blink first.

Or alternatively, whether the Russian government will decide to use force to close the British Council's office in St Petersburg.

There was no way the Russians would tolerate such open defiance of a clear order issued last month for the St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg offices to shut down by the New Year.

The anger of the government was fully expressed in the abrupt summons of the British ambassador Sir Anthony Brenton to the foreign ministry in Moscow on Monday.

And then in the statement issued afterwards by the ministry, in which it described the British Council's failure to comply with the order as a "premeditated provocation aimed at inflaming tensions in Russian-British relations".

Punishment

So now the British Council faces a new raft of punitive measures.

No new expatriate staff will be able to work at either of the offices in St Petersburg or Yekaterinburg because of the new visa restrictions.

And the two expatriates currently based in St Petersburg (including Stephen Kinnock, the son of the former leader of the British Labour party Neil Kinnock) will have to leave Russia this year as their visas will not be renewed.

On top of this, there is the demand for the payment of taxes which have allegedly not been paid by the St Petersburg office, and the ominous threat to close down the British Council's headquarters in Russia here in Moscow.

If that were to happen, the British Council's involvement in Russia would be over.

'Threats'

Already its presence here has shrunk dramatically over the past two years.

It used to have a network of small regional offices across the country, mainly providing library services and other information.

But by the end of December all these had been handed over to local universities and education departments, partly because the council itself was restructuring, but also because of alleged pressure from the Russian authorities, who seemed instinctively suspicious of its activities.

Sources say local British Council staff in some regions had faced "quite nasty threats" from the security agencies, including the successor to the KGB, the FSB, which warned them they were working for an "illegal organisation" and therefore might suffer the consequences.

With these smaller regional offices wrapped up, then came the order in December for the two big remaining regional centres in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg to close down on the grounds that they had no legal basis to operate.

Political punch-bag

Western sources in Moscow had been warning for many weeks that a punch-up was looming over the rump of the British Council, spurred on, they said, by the FSB.

And it seemed clear that both sides were in the mood for fighting.


While ostensibly the issue centres on the legality of the remaining British Council operations in Russia, even the Russian foreign minister himself, Sergei Lavrov, admitted to the BBC last month that it was in fact a retaliatory jab at the British government.

Moscow, he said, wanted to get even for the sanctions imposed by London last summer.

These were implemented because the Russian government refuses to extradite the chief suspect for the murder in London of the former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko.

The suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, was elected to the Russian parliament or Duma last month.

British Council sources say they have been used as a political punch-bag in Russia before.

Three years ago the council's office in St Petersburg was raided by the tax authorities.

The council believes this was because Moscow was angry at London's refusal to extradite two outspoken opponents of President Vladimir Putin - Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky and Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev.

But this time it is the British Council's entire presence in Russia that is at stake and, at the moment, neither side seems willing to compromise.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Mood for a fight in UK-Russia row

Published: 2008/01/14 20:24:50 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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UK-Russia diplomatic row worsens

A diplomatic row between Russia and the UK has intensified after Britain reopened two regional cultural offices, defying a Moscow order to shut them.
Russia accused Britain of "intentional provocation" and said it would refuse new visas to British Council staff.

The UK ambassador, who was summoned by the Russian foreign ministry, said the offices will remain open.

They were ordered to shut last month in a continuing dispute over ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko's death in London.

The offices that reopened after the holiday break are in St Petersburg and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The ban does not apply to the British Council's Moscow office.

'Serious disagreement'

A statement on the Russian foreign ministry's website said: "Russia views such actions as an intentional provocation aimed at inflaming tensions in Russian-British relations.


Any Russian action against the British Council would be a breach of international law
Sir Tony Brenton
UK ambassador to Russia


"The Russian side will not issue visas to new employees sent to work in the [British] consular offices of St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg to carry out British Council work."

Emerging from his brief meeting in the Russian capital, British ambassador Sir Tony Brenton said he had told Vladimir Titov, the deputy foreign minister, a "serious disagreement" existed between the two countries.

Mr Titov had handed him "a long piece of paper setting out the Russian legal view on the work of the British Council", he said.

Escalating crisis

The diplomat said he had replied that "the British Council is working entirely legally, that it will continue therefore to work, that any Russian action against it would be a breach of international law".

He said he had told Mr Titov: "It's also the case that we have a huge number of other subjects where Russia and the UK need to work together and we need to be quite careful to prevent this situation infecting all the other pieces of business."


UK-RUSSIA ROW
Nov 2006: Alexander Litvinenko dies in London
May 2007: UK accuses ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi of murder
July: Russia refuses British request to extradite Mr Lugovoi
July: UK expels four Russian diplomats
July: Russia expels four British embassy staff
Dec: Russia orders British Council to shut two offices
Jan 2008: British Council re-opens both offices


BBC Moscow correspondent Richard Galpin says Russia has clearly been angered by the British Council defiance.

The escalating diplomatic crisis is now coming to a head and it is not clear if either side is willing to back down, he says.

The British Council, which aims to promote cultural and educational ties, has been accused of violating Russian tax rules.

Council chief executive Martin Davidson said it would continue talking to the Russians in the hope of continuing its "enormously valuable" work.

He told the BBC: "We know ordinary Russian people believe it is of real value to them, as well of course to us here in the UK, to have that relationship with Russia."

Opinion about the Council was divided on the streets of St Petersburg on Monday.

Tatyana Mokhova said: "I think they should continue working, because such offices are needed to develop culture in society."

But Sergey Ermoshkin said: "Any reasonable person understands that British intelligence is legally working under cover of such organisations."

The row came on top of ongoing tensions over the death of former KGB officer Litvinenko in London in November 2006. He had been given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210.

The UK wants Russia to hand over businessman Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko.

When Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats and Moscow followed suit.

Russian officials have described the action against the British Council as a retaliatory measure.

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Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | UK-Russia diplomatic row worsens

Published: 2008/01/14 20:27:01 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Russia to limit British Council

The Russian government has ordered the British Council to close down its two offices outside Moscow by the beginning of January.
The Russian foreign ministry said the council, which promotes British culture abroad, was operating illegally.

The British PM's office denied that the Council had acted illegally.

Russian officials have said the move was a retaliatory measure in the ongoing dispute over the London murder of Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko.

Relations between the UK and Russia have worsened since the former KGB agent was murdered in November 2006.

In July, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect in the murder.

Russia followed by expelling four British diplomats.

NGOs curbed

Russian foreign ministry officials said the British Council had violated Russian laws, including tax regulations.


But in an interview with the BBC, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explicitly linked the order to Britain's expulsion of Russian diplomats in July.

He said Russia had been left with no choice but to retaliate over the affair.

Both the British Council and the UK Foreign Office said the council was fully compliant with Russian tax laws and operates on the basis of an agreement signed in the 1990s.

The council announced three months ago that it was closing nine regional offices by the end of the year and transferring operations to Russian partners.

Those closures leave the headquarters in Moscow, plus offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

But a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown rejected the Russian allegations. "The British Council's activities in Russia are compliant with Russian and international law under the Vienna Convention and the 1994 cultural agreement between Britain and Russia," he said.

"The Council is fully entitled to operate in Russia, both in Moscow and elsewhere. We, the Council and its Russian partner organisations have every intention that its programme will continue," the spokesman said.

A British Council spokeswoman told the BBC that the council intends to continue its operations in Russia at the three remaining offices.

The council is a registered charity funded by the British government. Its stated purpose is to promote British culture and education and build relationships between people in the UK and other countries.

Moscow has acted to curb NGOs in recent years, accusing foreign governments of using them for political purposes.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia to limit British Council

Published: 2007/12/12 18:03:31 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Russia's new front in UK spat

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
BBC News, Moscow


You may have thought that relations between Britain and Russia could not get any worse.
I thought relations between Britain and Russia could not get any worse. I was wrong.

Russia has decided to raise the stakes again, and the victim is the poor old British Council.

You may have never heard of the British Council. Even if you have, you may have no idea what it does. Plenty of people do not.

Even the British Ambassador to Moscow seemed a bit confused as to whether the Russians were ordering the closure of the British Council or the British Consul.

Political point

What it does elsewhere, I am not sure, but in Russia, the British Council used to teach a lot of people English, and it offers rather fewer scholarships to study in Britain.

Closing down its offices outside Moscow sounds rather self-defeating, but then the Russian government has repeatedly shown itself willing to do things that hurt Russia in order to make a political point.


Should we change our constitution because we are ordered to by the British foreign secretary? No! We are not a colony of Great Britain
Russian MP

And the closing of the British Council is very much political.

No lesser figure than the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told me so himself.

The closure order was, he said, "retaliation" for the British government's decision to expel Russian diplomats from the UK in July.

That does not make sense.

In July, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats in response (call it retaliation if you like) to Russia's refusal to extradite a man named Andrei Lugovoi to stand trial in the UK.

Britain accuses him of taking part in the murder of a Russian exile, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in 2006.

But after Britain expelled the four Russians, Moscow wasted no time in retaliating.

It immediately expelled four British diplomats. It was tit-for-tat. Everybody thought that was it.

Yes, relations between Britain and Russia would remain frosty for a while, but both sides had made their point.

Neither wanted a full blown diplomatic war. Or so we all thought.

Deliberate slight

Now Moscow says it is ordering the closure of all but one of the British council offices in Russia. Why? And why now?

The answer seems to be that the diplomatic war is not over.

And at the moment, neither Britain nor Russia seems at all interested in making the first move to bring it to an end.


Has Britain done anything that could have provoked Russia? Yes, lots of things.

Mr Lavrov confirmed to me that Gordon Brown has still not bothered to pick up the phone to call Vladimir Putin since taking over as British prime minister.

It is a deliberate slight, and Russia is a proud country that does not take kindly to such treatment.

Britain's Ambassador to Moscow, Sir Anthony Brenton, has also given Russia reason to feel aggrieved.

First, he has continued to repeat loudly and publicly Britain's demand that Russia extradite Mr Lugovoi, despite the fact that Russia has made it extremely clear it cannot and will not do so.

"Should we change our constitution because we are ordered to by the British foreign secretary?" one Russian member of parliament barked at me last week. "No! We are not a colony of Great Britain."

No lectures, please

And this, for the Russians, is the crux of it.

Russia is a very big country, with an equally large inferiority complex.

It was clear from speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov that Russia still perceived the world as being out to get it.

It still feels deeply humiliated by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and even more so by the chaos of the 1990s when it was forced to beg from the West.

Russia is still a weak country, with a shambolic economy, decrepit infrastructure and a military where young conscripts are regularly beaten to death by their officers.

But now it has the steroid of oil revenues running through its veins, and that is making Russia feel strong again.

It will no longer be lectured to by the West, and certainly not by the likes of Foreign Secretary David Miliband or his representative in Moscow.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia's new front in UK spat

Published: 2007/12/13 09:14:19 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Putin vows 'arms race' response !


Russia's President Vladimir Putin says the world is engaged in a new arms race and Nato is failing to accommodate Russia's concerns.
In a state council address, Mr Putin condemned Nato's expansion and the US plan to include Poland and the Czech Republic in a missile defence shield.

"It is already clear that a new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world," Mr Putin said.

He said other countries were spending far more than Russia on new weapons.

But Russia would always respond to the challenges of a new arms race by developing more hi-tech weaponry, he said.

Military muscle

Referring to Nato's activities in Central and Eastern Europe, Mr Putin said "there are many discussions on these, but... we have still not seen any real steps towards finding a compromise".

"In effect, we are forced to retaliate, to take corresponding decisions. Russia has, and always will have, responses to these new challenges," he said.

In December, Russia said it was planning naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

It has also resumed long-range patrols by its bomber aircraft.

The practice was suspended after the collapse of the Soviet Union and was revived last August, as part of a more assertive foreign policy pursued by President Putin.

Higher oil prices have enabled Russia to reinvest in its armed forces, but its military capabilities remain far below what they were during the Soviet era, correspondents say.


Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Putin vows 'arms race' response

Published: 2008/02/08 12:37:50 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Russia condemns US satellite plan
US spy satellite plan 'a cover'
Russia has accused the US of using a plan to shoot down a broken spy satellite as a cover for testing an anti-satellite weapon.
The US said last week that it would use a missile to destroy the satellite, to stop it from crash landing.

Officials say the satellite contains hazardous fuel which could kill humans.

But Russia's defence ministry said the US planned to test its "anti-missile defence system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites".

The US says the satellite lost power and communications shortly after it was launched in December 2006 and is now uncontrollable.


The decision to destroy the American satellite does not look harmless as they try to claim
Russian defence ministry statement

It says the satellite is carrying more than 1,000lb (454kg) of hydrazine fuel in a tank which would survive re-entry, and the substance could be released as a toxic gas if the satellite crash landed.
The Pentagon said on Saturday that the window for the operation would begin on Wednesday, when the space shuttle Atlantis ended its current mission.

But Russia's defence ministry said the US had not given enough information on the reasons for the decision.

"Speculations about the danger of the satellite hide preparations for the classical testing of an anti-satellite weapon," a statement reported by Itar-Tass news agency said.


BROKEN SATELLITE
Owner: National Reconnaissance Office satellite
Mission: Classified
Launched: Dec 2006
Weight: 5,000lb (2,270 kg)
2,500lb could survive re-entry
Carrying hydrazine rocket fuel

"Such testing essentially means the creation of a new type of strategic weapons," it added.

"The decision to destroy the American satellite does not look harmless as they try to claim, especially at a time when the US has been evading negotiations on the limitation of an arms race in outer space," the statement continued.

The Russian defence ministry argued that various countries' spacecraft had crashed to Earth in the past, and many countries used toxic fuel in spacecraft, but this had never before merited such "extraordinary measures".

Toxic gas


The broken satellite had been predicted to reach the top of the Earth's atmosphere towards the end of February or early March and officials could not predict where it would land.

A US general said on Thursday that exposure to the hydrazine would have similar effects to inhaling chlorine or ammonia - a burning sensation in lungs and, if too close and too much, then possibly death.

He said that blowing the satellite up would disperse the hydrazine in space, leaving only small-scale satellite debris to fall harmlessly to Earth.

The Pentagon says it plans to shoot down the satellite using a modified missile from a US Navy ship in the Pacific.

Last year, China carried out a test using a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy a satellite in space, prompting international alarm and fears of a space arms race.

On Thursday, US General James Cartwright said there was no parallel with Beijing's actions as the Chinese satellite had been much further out from Earth, meaning its debris could be floating around for decades, endangering spacecraft.

He also denied claims that the main aim was to destroy secret parts.

Gen Cartwright said confidential components would be burned up in the atmosphere and, in any case, that would not be a reason for shooting down the satellite.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Americas | US spy satellite plan 'a cover'

Published: 2008/02/17 00:43:33 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Putin in Nato summit spotlight
By Richard Galpin
BBC News, Moscow
The Nato summit that begins on Wednesday in the Romanian capital Bucharest is already being billed as the biggest in the alliance's 59-year history.
But it will also have an unusual and important guest of honour: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Soviet Union and Nato were, of course, enemies during the Cold War, so it is still a significant moment when the Russian head of state agrees to turn up.

Mr Putin has only been to one previous summit and that was when the Nato-Russia Council was established in Rome in 2002. Since then relations have been steadily deteriorating.

But now, in his final few weeks as Russian president, Mr Putin may be seeking to soften his image as a confrontational leader on the world stage, as the man who stoked concerns that a deep chill was once again descending on relations between East and West.

That is probably why the Kremlin is talking up the likelihood of a symbolically important agreement which it expects to be signed during the talks between Mr Putin and Nato leaders on Friday.

Afghanistan initiative

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia will allow the shipment of non-military supplies across its territory to the Nato mission in Afghanistan.


It is not a purely magnanimous gesture by Moscow. It is also in Russia's own interest to see Afghanistan stabilised and hard-core Islamic groups neutralised.

But that anticipated bright spot at the summit may be eclipsed by the major areas of disagreement between Russia and Nato.

Chief among them is Nato's plan to keep expanding into Eastern Europe, a region which Moscow sees as its traditional sphere of influence.

On the agenda at the marble-lined palace in Bucharest will be the question of whether Ukraine and Georgia should be allowed to join Nato's Membership Action Plan, a step which would eventually lead to both countries becoming full members of the military alliance.

The mere suggestion of this is making Russia see red. One Russian analyst said it would be "a spit in the face" if Nato leaders agreed to it.

Mr Peskov put it more diplomatically: "The artificial integration of these countries into Nato would damage democracy," he said, "and lead to additional tension."

He went on to criticise Nato as a "child of the Cold War" which was still in search of a new identity in the vastly changed world of the 21st Century.

Eastward expansion

Privately even some Western diplomats in Moscow say they are dismayed by the American-led push to get Ukraine and Georgia into the Nato club right now, arguing it sends all the wrong signals to Russia during the transition between President Putin and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev.


They also say it will add to Russia's fear of being encircled by Nato member states. Ukraine and Georgia, which border Russia, would be just the latest in a long list of Eastern European countries to join Nato, including Estonia and Latvia, which also lie along Russia's long border.

But Moscow's strongly-worded opposition to the plan has succeeded in splitting Nato's 26 member states.

Germany is leading the rebellion and has other Western European countries, including France, on its side. The lack of consensus will probably lead to the crucial decision being delayed until the next summit, although President Bush, who will also be in Bucharest, continues to lobby hard.

Mr Bush's first stop on his way to the Nato summit was in Ukraine, where he said he strongly supported Kiev's bid.

The Nato Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, has also made it clear that Russia would not be allowed to veto the decision of independent states to join the alliance, saying it is only "a question of when" Ukraine and Georgia will join the Membership Action Plan.

If, as expected, the decision is delayed for at least a year, there is no prospect of a change in Russia's position under Dmitry Medvedev, who will be sworn in as president next month.

In his first major interview since being elected, Mr Medvedev told the Financial Times that allowing Ukraine and Georgia to join Nato could jeopardise European security. It was a clear sign that on the fundamental foreign policy issues Mr Medvedev will be following closely the course set by his mentor and predecessor, Vladimir Putin.


Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Putin in Nato summit spotlight

Published: 2008/04/02 07:52:47 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

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Bush, Putin begin farewell talks By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin opened suspenseful farewell talks Saturday as the White House dropped hopes they would resolve differences on U.S. missile defense plans, one of the most contentious issues in a long list of security disputes.

They opened their meeting with a warm handshake and smiles at Putin's heavily wooded retreat on the Black Sea. Putin took Bush to the second floor of his guesthouse to show off a tabletop display of the 2014 Winter Olympics that will be held here. "This is your yacht," he joked to Bush, pointing at a 3-inch white ship on a blue patch representing the water. Bush chuckled.

In a speech in Croatia before arriving, Bush raised a sensitive point by praising the spread of Western-style democracy across Eastern Europe to Russia's borders. It is matter of considerable concern to the Kremlin as it watches the rapidly growing NATO military alliance push against its door.

In the twilight of their presidencies, Bush and Putin met in hopes of reversing a years-long slide in relations and leaving their successors a broad strategy for more cooperation and less confrontation. The list of grievances between the two sides is formidable.

Bush and Putin and their wives met Saturday evening for an informal dinner. Bush had stripped off his necktie and Putin wore a turtleneck and casual jacket. Dmitry Medvedev, who takes over May 7 as Putin's hand-picked successor, also was invited. Bush and Putin will hold their final business meeting Sunday, scheduled for an hour, and then Bush and Medvedev will sit down for a half hour.

Bush and Putin will announce the results of their discussions at a climactic news conference promising a preview of the future of U.S.-Russia relations.

Known for their blunt talk and candor, the two leaders have never been afraid to hide their differences. Their meeting will close a seven-year relationship that got off to a strong start and was strengthen by cooperation after the Sept. 11 attacks, but then turned rocky on differences ranging from the Iraq war to Kosovo's independence. Putin has bristled at Bush's admonishment that Russia has retreated from democracy.

U.S. plans to build a long-range missile defense system in Europe won endorsement at NATO's summit this week, and the White House had hoped Putin would reluctantly accept it, recognizing that he could not stop it. The United States has offered a series of concessions to make it more palatable to Moscow. But apparently not enough.

"We're going to have to do more work after Sochi," White House press secretary Dana Perino said on Air Force One as Bush flew here from Croatia, one of NATO's two new members. Asked about prospects for a deal, she said, "That would be premature."

"No one has said that everything would be finalized and everyone would be satisfied with all the preparations because we haven't even started to work on the technical aspects of the system," she said. "But we think the dialogue is headed in the right direction and that this meeting will be able to push that along even further."

Bush and Putin are expected to sign a "strategic framework" to guide future relations, and U.S. officials hope the Russians, in the broad context of that statement, will say they are willing to cooperate on missile defense. That would be short of a Russian embrace of U.S. missile defense plans, but it appears to be the best the administration thinks it can achieve now.

Perino said the framework would deal with security cooperation, nonproliferation issues, counterterrorism and economic matters, and that the language would be broad. "I don't expect a lot of details," she said.

Before coming to Russia, Bush stopped in Croatia to celebrate NATO's expansion eastward in Europe. Croatia and Albania were invited to join NATO, while Macedonia's bid was put off. The two newest members will boost NATO's ranks to 28 nations committed to helping defend each other.

"Henceforth, should any danger threaten your people, America and the NATO alliance will stand with you and no one will be able to take your freedom away," Bush said to cheers from thousands packed into St. Mark's Square. The area has been used for the inauguration of every Croatian leader for the past 700 years and is considered the center of Croatian politics.

The U.S. desire to see NATO admit Ukraine and Georgia — and to keep the door open for others — angers Moscow. In a victory for Putin, the two former Soviet republics were turned away from NATO membership this week. But Bush and his aides have been quick to point out that alliance leaders vowed to eventually open the path to joining, possibly as early as December. Putin's victory, they say, may be short-lived.

Bush pointed out the success of U.S.-supported democratization in the volatile Balkans, where the effects of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia still roil relations between Washington and Moscow. Most recently, the United States and many of its European allies rallied around independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo. Russia, supporting Serbia, strongly opposed that, too.

Bush also discussed the importance of security and stability in the Balkans, noting that at their summit in Romania, NATO leaders offered "intensified dialogue" to Bosnia and Montenegro, two other states once part of Yugoslavia.

"The NATO alliance is open to all countries in the region," he said. "We hope that, soon, a free and prosperous Serbia will find its rightful place in the family of Europe and live at peace with its neighbors. With the changes under way in this region, Europe stands on the threshold of a new and hopeful history."

Croatia's former nationalism once made Washington wary, and it drew Bush administration ire by opposing the U.S.-led war in Iraq and refusing to allow U.S. soldiers exemption from war crimes prosecution. But Croatia's emergence as a stable nation in the turbulent region, the pro-Western government it elected in 2000 and its contribution to the fight in Afghanistan more recently has earned it U.S. support.

___
Associated Press writer Snjezana Vukic and Matthew Lee in Zagreb, Croatia, contributed to this report.
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Russia 'shot down Georgia drone'

Russia 'shot down Georgia drone'
A Russian fighter jet has shot down an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft over Georgia, Georgian authorities say.

Georgia's defence ministry told the BBC it had video footage showing a Russian MiG-29 aircraft shooting down the unarmed Georgian drone on Sunday.

A spokesman for Russia's air force told Reuters the claim was "nonsense".

Tensions are high between the two neighbours over Russian support for breakaway Georgian regions, and Georgian moves towards joining Nato.

The Georgian air force told Reuters news agency the video footage showed a Russian jet launching a missile at the Georgian plane as it flew over the breakaway Abkhazia region.

"It's absolutely illegal for a Russian MiG-29 to be there," Col David Nairashvili, the air force commander, told Reuters.

Last week, Georgia accused Russia of trying to annex the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by deciding to seek closer ties with them.

Russia has said the plan is aimed at protecting the rights and legal interests of Russian citizens, who make up the majority of the population in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russian and UN peacekeepers have been deployed in the two republics since the early 1990s, when violence broke out as both regions tried to break free from Georgian control.

Earlier this month, Nato decided not to grant Georgia's request to join its Membership Action Plan but promised it would eventually become a member of the alliance.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia 'shot down Georgia drone'

Published: 2008/04/21 13:57:49 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Russia warned over Georgia move !

Russia warned over Georgia move
Nato has warned Russia that its recent troop build-up in Georgia's two breakaway regions undermines its neighbour's territorial integrity.

Russia's moves in Abkhazia and South Ossetia were raising tensions in the area, a Nato spokesman said.

Moscow has accused Georgia of preparing to invade Abkhazia, and says it is also boosting Russian peacekeeping forces there and in South Ossetia.

Tbilisi has described the Russian move as "irresponsible".

"The steps that have been taken [by Russia] and the rhetoric have increased tensions and undermined Georgia's territorial integrity," Nato spokesman James Appathurai said.

He also urged both Moscow and Tbilisi to avoid harsh rhetoric.
US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe on Wednesday said Washington was "concerned abut reports from the region".

The European Union has appealed for caution, saying to increase troop numbers would be unwise given current tensions.

Over recent weeks Russia appears to have been significantly turning up the pressure in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

He says that many Western diplomats see these moves as part of a more assertive Russian policy in the wake of Western recognition of the independence of Kosovo in February.

The row over Moscow's support for separatist enclaves in Georgia now threatens to provoke a more serious strain between Russia and the West, our correspondent adds.

'Aggressors'

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that Moscow would take "retaliatory measures" if Georgia used force against its breakaway regions.


Russia said Georgia was massing 1,500 soldiers and police in the upper Kodori Gorge, the only part of Abkhazia which remains under government control.

In response, Moscow said it was increasing Russian peacekeepers in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Mr Lavrov said that Russia had to protect Russian-passport holders in the two regions.

Georgia denies any build-up of its own forces in the area, and says that Russia is taking provocative action.

"We think that this step, if they take it, will cause extreme destabilisation in the region," said Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze.

"From now on, we consider every [Russian] soldier or any unit of military equipment coming in [to Abkhazia and South Ossetia] as illegal, potential aggressors and potential generators of destabilisation."

Kosovo precedent

Russia has kept a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia and South Ossetia under an agreement made following the wars of the 1990s, when the regions broke away from Tbilisi and formed links with Moscow.

There are around 2,000 Russians posted in Abkhazia, and about 1,000 in South Ossetia.

Tensions between Russia and Georgia have flared up recently, despite Russia lifting economic sanctions against Georgia earlier this month.

Last week, Georgia accused a Russian plane of shooting down an unmanned Georgian spy plane - which Russian authorities insisted was shot down by Abkhaz rebels.

And on Tuesday, Georgia said it was blocking Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization.

Many in Abkhazia believe that Kosovo's announcement of independence from Serbia in February provides a precedent for it to be recognised as an individual state.

Although it has its own flag and postage stamps, it is not internationally recognised.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia warned over Georgia move

Published: 2008/04/30 15:50:40 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Russia 'to give' Lebanon war jets

Moscow is to give 10 MiG-29 fighter jets to Lebanon free of charge, says Russia's state news agency Interfax.

The head of the Russia's defence cooperation body, Mikhail Dmitriyev, said the consignment was "a form of military and technical assistance".

"We view the Lebanese army as the main guarantor of this nation's stability, therefore the armed forces of this country must be strengthened," he said.

Delivery of the jets to Lebanon will also be paid for by the Russians.

Mr Dmitriyev said the jets would be fully repaired and upgraded before being delivered.

He added that the two countries were also discussing a possible sale of Russian armour to Beirut, reported Reuters. Hr said this was possible because of Lebanon's recent stability.

Lebanon's military capability is greatly outweighed by Arab neighbour Syria, with which is has a history of sometimes strained relations, and the Jewish state Israel which lies to the south.

Lebanon and Israel have never signed a peace treaty and Israeli fighter jets continually violate Lebanese airspace in what the Israeli military describes as reconnaissance missions, but which are condemned by the United Nations.



Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Russia 'to give' Lebanon war jets

Published: 2008/12/17 16:26:40 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

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