NATO, you lover boy!

Pravda.ru

The Secretary General of NATO and Russia’s envoy to the alliance have voiced their differences on family relations in Central Asia.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s representative in the Russia-NATO council, lashed out at the Partnership for Peace program, saying it was a vehicle to drag new countries in NATO, and now it has outlived itself.The two officials were speaking with journalists in the Kazakh capital Astana, which hosts the security forum of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, NATO’s structure for relations with European and Asian non-members of the alliance.

“US is not intending to threaten Russia in any way” – US top military officia

russiatoday.ru

The US is reviewing its plans for the AMD shield in Eastern Europe, says Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen in his interview to RT.

M.M.: I am glad to be with you.RT: Chairman Michael Mullen thanks very much for being with us today.

RT: Do you think we can have an agreement on nuclear arms reduction to be signed by the two presidents while you are here?

M.M.: Well, the upcoming summit is a really critical meeting, obviously. The intent is to certainly reach that kind of agreement. It’s really up to the two presidents to make the final decision and to sign it. But I am encouraged by the progress that I am aware of from the negotiations viewpoint. I think it’s a very important undertaking.

Western countries make ridiculous statements about Russia’s military drills in Caucasus

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

The West is concerned about Russia’s military drills Kavkaz-2009 (Caucasus-2009) which started on June 29. The drills will end on July 6 and will embrace almost the entire territory of Russia’s south – from the Arkhangelsk region to Chechnya and Ingushetia republics. Many Western and Georgian experts say that the drills may trigger another war, like it happened in August of 2008.

The Washington Post wrote that Russia was conducting a similar military exercise last year. The completion of the event coincided with the beginning of the military actions. The newspaper is particularly concerned that the end of the drills coincides with Obama’s visit to Moscow.

Analysis: U.S. unprepared for nuke attack

by Shannon Bond

Federal officials responsible for coping with the aftermath of a possible nuclear attack in the United States are not fully confident of the government’s readiness to deal with such a disaster, they told a Senate hearing Thursday.

“A nuclear event is exponentially more challenging than anything else,” Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul McHale told the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

McHale rated the government’s preparation level at five on a scale of one to 10, in response to a question from committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.

Netanyahu to Putin: Stop selling missiles to Iran

European Friends of Iran

haaretz.com

Relations between Israel and Russia have grown tense over a significant change in Moscow’s attitude regarding the possible sale of S-300 air defense missiles to Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and asked him to prevent the arms deal from going through.

Ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev next week, Israel has began an international effort to pressure Russia not to complete the sale of the advanced air defense system.

Stratfor unveils another spooky story of Russia’s imminent supremacy in Europe

Ivan Tulyakov
Pravda.Ru

There is no such notion as a former intelligence officer. An intelligence officer always remains an intelligence officer. This notion becomes particularly clear when you read the so-called “analyses” from the US Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting) agency. The agency collects information to look into the future of various regions of the globe. Stratfor’s founding father, George Friedman, is a former professor of geopolitics.

The agency’s products – forecasts and predictions – are especially important for companies involved in global trade. Stratfor does not expose the names of its clients – it only says that it cooperates with both large corporations and private individuals.

Russian navy goes straight to the bottom?

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

Russia may start purchasing foreign warships abroad.

“We do not exclude a possibility to purchase foreign vessels from other countries,” Vladimir Vysotsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, stated June 24 at the opening of the International Naval Salon in St. Petersburg.

Russia has been either purchasing foreign warships or building the ones of its own with the participation of foreign specialists for a very long time. It happened during the Northern War of 1700-1721 against Sweden, when Dutch specialists built many of Russian vessels. It also happened so during the 19^th and the 20^th centuries, when Russia was forced to buy ships from other countries due to the nation’s lag in the technological development. Russia’s legendary cruiser Varyag, for instance, was built in the United States.

Russia makes subtle entrance to Africa while Washington busy with wars

Vladimir Anokhin
Pravda.Ru

Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev started his visit to Africa on June 24. Medvedev will travel to Nigeria, Namibia and Angola. Moscow is ready to help the African countries in the development of their natural resources – oil, gas and uranium – despite the economic crisis.

Russia does not conceal its strategic interests in Africa. The black continent can indeed become a new perspective and attractive market if armed conflicts reduce in number there.

Russia sick and tired of Europe’s criticism

english.pravda.ru

The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is closing in Strasbourg on Friday. This session may become the last one for the Russian delegation. Russia may be deprived of the voting right in Europe’s largest organization already this autumn or winter, the chairman of the Committee for International Affairs of Russia’s State Duma, Konstantin Kosachev said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly said before that Russia would be ready to leave the Council of Europe in case the organization introduces such a sanction. If it happens, Russian citizens will not be able to address to the European Court for Human Rights to appeal the decision of Russian courts and authorities. For the time being, Belarus is the only country in Europe which does not hold the PACE membership.

NATO must not be the base of European security, Russia believes

Cartoon : Steve Bell 2008

Pravda.ru

The Conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) opened in Austria. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the West to accept the suggestion from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the new European Security Treaty which would include the principles of disarmament and regulation of conflicts.

“It goes about the concept of security based on cooperation, which is a fundamental concept for the entireEuro-Atlantic region. Everyone recognized the concept long ago, but it has never been possible to materialize it. The idea of the new treaty gives us another chance,” Sergey Lavrov said at the conference in Vienna.

Stalin billboards appear in Russian city indicating recreation of Soviet past

Ten billboards depicting images of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin appeared on the streets of Voronezh to everyone’s surprise. The bright-colored billboards prepared for the 130^th anniversary of “the leader of all time and nations” show Stalin wearing his parade uniform. The slogan on the billboards says: “Victory will be ours.”

The Voronezh-based division of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation acknowledged that the billboards appeared on the streets of the city upon their initiative. The city authorities are now investigating whether the street advertisements shall be considered as inappropriate, The Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote.

The city authorities showed a reaction to Stalin’s images in the streets only after the billboards attracted the attention of the local media.

Russia launches first nuclear submarine since USSR’s collapse

Russia’s strategic nuclear-powered Yury Dolgoruki submarine has finally been launched. It is the first submarine, which Russia made after the collapse of the USSR. Russian shipbuilders can be both proud and ashamed of the new cruiser: the works on the submarine began 16 years ago.

The construction of the nuclear cruiser was very slow due to the lack of finance. When the submarine was finally assembled, it turned out that the Bulava rocket was not ready for it. Officials of Russia’s Defense Ministry say that the new rocket would be passed into service in 2009 or in 2010.

USA does not have a vestige of respect for Russia

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

It looks like the United States is going to stay in Kyrgyzstan to Russia’s great disappointment. The government of the former Soviet nation in Central Asia has changed its mind about the withdrawal of US troops from the airbase at Manas Airport.

The dispute about the fate of the US airbase at Kyrgyzstan’s Manas, which plays a very important role in terms of maintaining NATO troops in Afghanistan, continues. The government of the Asian nation previously decided to close the base and passed the adequate law on April 2 of this year.

However, it transpired yesterday that the US troops are not going anywhere. They will keep the base if it is going to be used solely for the delivery of cargoes to Afghanistan. The governments of Turkey and Afghanistan addressed to Kyrgyzstan with a suggestion, which the poor nation could not decline: a billion dollars of investments in the country’s economy in return to the promise to keep the Manas base.

Window to Europe a treat for Dutch

Aleksandra Kosharnitskaya, RT

What are the images that come to your mind when you hear the word “Amsterdam”?

It has taken more than a decade to complete the project. And the opening ceremony went off with the bang as guests of honor – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and President Medvedev among them – watched the grand “fireworks” finale of the celebrations (notably, fireworks are banned in the city, but the authorities made an exception for this occasion).

“Peter the Great would be happy with this,” the head of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, told the journalists who attended the event.

By bringing its most renowned museum to Amsterdam, Russia’s returning the favor.

BRIC group takes a shot at USD supremacy

Brazil and fellow up-and-coming economies Russia, India and China discussed how they could exert greater sway over the global financial system at their first summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg last week, but they surprised observers with toned-down talk about reducing the world’s reliance on the U.S. dollar.

Frustration at the dominant but unstable dollar as the world’s reserve currency had united the so-called BRIC grouping — an acronym coined to describe these four key emerging markets — in the first place, and motivated them to find a common base on which to capitalize on their own growing economic influence.

Brazil, China and Russia have all said they will purchase notes from the International Monetary Fund to begin diversifying their reserves away from the greenback.

Shaping the future, BRIC by BRIC

The time has come for Brazil, Russia, India and China to play a central role in a new global economy. That was the message of the debut summit of the so-called BRIC group, hosted in Yekaterinburg this week.

Hopes are high, and the leaders say their very first summit proved an even bigger success than they’d imagined.

“I think that the boost of development of the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – will continue to have a strong impact on the world’s economic development, industrial capacity and global security. The BRIC summit must create conditions for a much fairer world order and solve global problems” proposed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev’s family “prefers to buy Russian products”

In an interview with Channel One TV, President Dmintry Medvedev said his family prefers to buy Russian food since they believe there are more chemicals in imported products than in locally produced food.

Dmitry Medvedev: Good evening, Kirill. I think the time has come indeed to talk about the situation in agriculture. The time is right, and I think the place is not bad either. This is a good place to talk about agriculture’s prospects and problems.Kirill Kleimenov, Channel One Current Affairs program anchor, was interviewing the Russian President at Barvikha, the presidential residence in the Moscow Region.

Kirill Kleimenov: Good evening, Mr President. Thank you for finding the time to answer our questions. Our questions today are about agriculture – a very important subject, a big subject.

Sky above Moscow proves to be absolutely defenseless

Sergey Balmasov

Pravda.Ru

The sky above Moscow is defended weakly. Military experts say that the Russian capital is vulnerable against an air attack or a missile strike. Russia’s latest S-400 missile system will not be capable of improving the situation. The new upgraded missiles for the complex have not been designed yet.

The subject of Moscow’s air defense surfaced again at a news conference on June 16. Anatoly Kornukov, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, and Leonid Ivashov, the former chief of Russia’s Military Staff, believe that Moscow’s air defense system is outdated and therefore incapable of executing its goals. Mr. Ivashov

believes that Russia needs to either make huge investments in the development of its air defense system or move the capital to the east of the country.

Russia declassifies archive files about USSR’s top secret agent in NS-Germany

Russia’s External Intelligence Service declassified the archives about one of the most prominent Soviet intelligence officers in Nazi Germany – Willy Leman, a top secret Soviet agent nicknamed as Breitenbach. He was USSR’s only agent at Germany’s Gestapo. Leman warned Moscow of Germany’s intention to attack the Soviet Union, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The documents, which Leman provided to Soviet secret agents since 1941, said that Nazi Germany was preparing to attack the Soviet Union.

Der Spiegel: Georgia not a victim of “Russian aggression”

Robert Bridge, RT

The reputable German news magazine has sparked uproar in its latest issue by proclaiming that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili started the war by attacking South Ossetia on August 7, 2008.

In an email exchange with RT, the office of Heidi Tagliavini wrote: “Der Spiegel, in today’s edition (25/2009) published a two page article… which reflects on the work of IIFFMCG in a largely speculative and unsubstantiated way. In this context, I would like to state the following:

“Spiegel’s article is not based on information provided by… Ambassador Tagliavini, or any other authorized sources…. There has been no interview, background briefing or any other way of communication in order to provide information for the article.”

“BRIC countries are part of world financial crisis solution” – Brazilian FM

The growth of the economies of Russia, Brazil, India and China will help the world cope with the financial crisis, said Brazil’s Foreign Minister in an exclusive interview with RT.

Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim talked about the future goals of the BRIC organization, Brazil’s role in it, and the pros and cons of a new global currency.

Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100 sold out at Le Bourget

Hungary’s Malev and SuperJet International – a joint venture of Italy’s Alenia and Russia’s Sukhoi – signed the agreement of intent to purchase 30 Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100) aircraft, Interfax reports. The contract is evaluated at $1 billion.

Malev plans to purchase 98-seated SSJ-100s. The first airplane will be delivered to the company in 2011 and will receive six SuperJet airplanes every year afterwards.

“The new Sukhoi Superjet-100 can be used for both regional and medium-range flights, which coincides with the route network of the airline,” Malev’s General director Martin Gauss said. “We plan to restructure our fleet particularly because of our plans to increase our air transportation,” he added.

Russia to introduce visa regulations with Ukraine in case it joins NATO

A delegation of the North Atlantic Alliance with its chairman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the head arrived in Ukraine on June 16 with an official visit. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko invited the delegation within the scope of NATO’s decision to launch negotiations with Ukraine with a view to activate a political dialogue between the former Soviet state and the alliance. In the meantime, the visit raises serious concerns with the Russian administration. Russian officials said that Ukraine’s possible incorporation into the North Atlantic Alliance may result in the introduction of the visa entry between the two countries.

SCO conference: “It’s ‘The world without the West’ meeting”

The leaders have gathered to discuss security, economic development and other things, like finding their place in the global architecture of the new economic world, said British Times Moscow bureau editor Tony Halpin.

The danger of nuclear war is drawing near

North Korea, which threatens to unleash the war against the United States and its allies, probably prepares several new nuclear explosions. Two or three nuclear objects may appear in the north-west of North Korea, where the previous nuclear test was carried out, South Korean Yonhap news agency reported with reference to intelligence sources.

For the time being, there is no evidence to prove that the nation is working on a new explosion, sources say. Official spokespeople for US special services said that North Korea intended to respond with a third nuclear blast to UN’s new sanctions. Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, which made the UN Security Council toughen sanctions against the country on June 12.

Russia Rejects the Notion of a Joint Missile System in Europe

New York Times

www.nytimes.com

Michael Schwirtz contributed reporting from Moscow.

Responding to remarks by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, a top Russian diplomat said Thursday that Russia would not collaborate with the United States on missile defense unless Washington scrapped plans to deploy elements of the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

“We cannot partner in the creation of objects whose goal is to oppose the strategic deterrent forces of the Russian Federation,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei A. Nesterenko. “No one will do something that harms himself.”

“Only the United States’ rejection of plans to base in Europe the so-called third position area of the missile-defense shield could mark the beginning of a full-fledged dialogue on the question of cooperation and reaction to likely missile risk,” Mr. Nesterenko said. He added that Russia expected “it will be possible to find a common denominator.”

Russia identifies body fragments of Chechen terrorist Doku Umarov

The identification of the terrorists, who were killed near the settlement of Dattykh, the Ingushetia Republic, will be impossible without the DNA expertise. Doku Umarov, a Chechen terrorist leader, is said to be among the bodies. Experts have already taken blood samples from Umarov’s close relatives for the expertise, The Kommersant newspaper wrote.

Sunken S-2 Soviet Sub Found in Baltic Sea

After a decadelong search, a team of Baltic Sea divers has discovered the wreckage of a Soviet submarine that sank with dozens of sailors aboard during World War II, one of the divers said.

They found the S-2 submarine near the Aland Islands between Sweden and Finland in February but only announced it this week because they wanted to confirm the identity of the vessel, team member Marten Zetterstrom said.

He said all 50 crew members died when the vessel exploded in 1940, probably after hitting a mine. He declined to give the exact location.

“My feelings were mixed. There it was, this war machine that was built to take ships down. I was happy, sad, depressed and elated all at once,” Zetterstrom said.

The Wahhabi Rule Dagestan

By Yulia Latynina

themoscowtimes.com

Dagestani Interior Minister Adilgirei Magomedtagirov was killed by a sniper on Friday. He had been attending the wedding of the daughter of his friend, the chief of the local Interior Ministry’s economic crimes department. The wedding was held at The Marrakesh, the most popular restaurant in Makhachkala, where guests have to make reservations for the banquet hall three months in advance and where drunken shootouts happen at least once a month.

Contrary to official reports, which claimed that the sniper used a rifle typically used by special police forces, the shots were fired from a machine gun from the ninth floor of an adjacent building.

Abkhaz Future Free of Georgian Domination

By Yanal Kazan

themoscowtimes

Abkhazia must chart a course for tomorrow and beyond. A 21st-century Abkhaz state must be prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie before it.

It is essential that all Abkhaz at home and in the diaspora chart a course in rebuilding their homeland. They must transform their resources into an economic engine that creates jobs and wealth for their people. The diaspora, which has been living in exile for the entire 20th century, must play a significant role in transforming their society and contribute in building the new Abkhaz nation.