EU-DIGEST

For the complete report from the Moscow Times click on this link

Russia - Putin Labels Markets 'Unfair' - by Courtney Weaver

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described the effect foreign markets have on domestic share prices as "unfair" during a government meeting Monday, saying the values of the securities do not accurately reflect those of the companies themselves. Putin also spoke out against insider trading and again blamed the West for the country's economic difficulties, adding that those trading on domestic exchanges would be compensated for financial losses, Interfax reported. "Decisions concerning which securities to buy or sell on Russian markets are, for the most part, made abroad," Putin said, the news agency reported. "Moreover, the criteria by which these decisions are made have very little connection to the actual state of our economy or Russian companies." At the same time, he was careful to point out that the country did not want to exclude foreign investors. "No one is preparing to limit the activities of foreign capital in the Russian stock market — we welcome foreign investors," Putin said. "But at the same time, the task lies in properly building a large class of domestic investors as a powerful and capable financial institution of its own."The lack of domestic investors is clearly a problem and shares in Russian companies trade at levels below what might be expected given their fundamentals, said James Beadle, director of Pilgrim Asset Management. "On the face of it, Putin is completely correct — I think a lot of the market's reaction has had nothing to do with the Russian economy," Beadle said. "But Russia's situation has been, as we know, worse than most emerging markets.

Vladimir Milovidov, head of the Federal Financial Markets Service said, "I don't see any clear obstacles to the creation of such a system of compensation based on the idea of the Deposit Insurance Agency," Milovidov said, although he added that the question would require further consultation with various ministries and departments."

Labels: Economy, Putin, Russia

For the complete report from The Japan Times Online click on this link

Calmer tack with Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is pushing a proposal for a Euro-Atlantic security pact. This has apparently been prompted by the NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, formerly Russia's sphere of influence; the U.S. plan to use sites in the Czech Republic and Poland for missile defense; and Russia's own wish to mend relations with the West after it invaded Georgia and recognized the independence of the two breakaway enclaves South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Mr. Medvedev's eyes are clearly set on the new U.S. administration to be led by President-elect Barack Obama. Hours after Mr. Obama's election as the next U.S. president, Mr. Medvedev threatened to deploy Iskander missiles (300- to 500-km range) in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad between Poland and Lithuania. He later said Russia could cancel the deployment if Mr. Obama abandoned the missile-shield plan in Europe. Mr. Obama has not yet made clear his stance on the issue. While the United States says the missile shield is a defense against "rogue states" such as Iran, Russia suspects that the shield is designed to destroy its strategic missiles.

Help for Russia came from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a Russia-European Union summit in mid-November. He supported Mr. Medvedev's call for a new "security architecture," and both suggested that talks on the proposal be held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The French president also questioned the U.S. missile-shield plan, saying deployment "would bring nothing to security in Europe" and "complicate things."

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Nicolas Sarkozy, Russia, US

For the complete report from BBC NEWS click on this link

Venezuela welcomes Russian navy ships

Russian warships have arrived for joint exercises with Venezuela's navy, the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.The naval squadron, including a nuclear-powered cruiser, sailed into view at the port of La Guaira. The exercises will coincide with a two-day visit by Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, which starts on Wednesday. The Russian vessels are set to begin manoeuvres in port on Wednesday, the day Mr Medvedev is due to arrive in Caracas. President Medvedev is expected to visit the ships with his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, before he continues on to Cuba. The Russian president's aim is to show Washington that if the US does things in Europe near Russia's borders which Moscow does not like, then Russia can pursue its own policies in a region long seen by Washington as its backyard. More important for the Russian president during his talks is boosting bilateral trade between Russia and Latin America, which could reach euro 13bn(US$15bn this year.

Labels: Latin America, Navy, Russia, Trade, Venezuela

Putin grabs spotlight, vows Russia will thrive

For the complete report from the Associated Press click on this link

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used a meeting of his powerful political party to take center stage Thursday, casting himself as an indispensable leader even as the global financial meltdown threatens the achievements of his boom-time presidency. At the first congress of his United Russia party since May, when Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as Russia's president, Putin eclipsed his protege with a rousing speech to party faithful in a massive atrium off Red Square. He acknowledged that Russia could not escape the effects of the international economic turmoil, but said it was well insulated by the riches accrued during his eight-year presidency. He also expressed confidence Russia would do more than just weather the storm.

Labels: Putin, Russia

For the complete report from NPR click on this link

EU Leaders Urge New Approach To Russia

The Bush administration pushed hard to get former Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine on a path toward NATO membership earlier this year, but Europeans are divided on the issue and don't want to see Obama push the same idea at his first NATO summit in April. The EU ambassador to the U.S., John Bruton, says the United States and Europe will want to avoid antagonizing Russia while giving some reassurances to former Soviet bloc countries now in the EU and NATO.

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Russia

For the complete report from Alibaba.com click on this link

Russia More Than 90% There To Joining WTO - by Sharon Li

Russia is more than 90% on the way to joining the World Trade Organization, the European Union's trade chief said in a statement Friday. The E.U. and Russia held talks in Nice, France, this week. The E.U. has refused to support Russia joining the WTO until Russia removes export duties it has imposed on timber shipments. The duties are hurting E.U. paper companies in Finland and the Baltic region. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed this week to delay planned increases in the tariffs while negotiations continue.

Labels: EU, Russia, WTO

For the complete report from the FT.com click on this link

Russia - Medvedev backs plan for Europe security summit - by Tony Barber and Stefan Wagstyl

The European Union and Russia backed plans yesterday for a pan-European security summit next year to ease tensions raised by the Georgia crisis and a dispute over missile systems in eastern Europe. Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, and Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, said the summit could take place next June or July, bringing together the US, Russia and the EU's 27 member states under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The fate of the proposal is likely to hang on the stance taken by Barack Obama, the US president-elect, after he takes office in January and conducts a review of US national security and defence policy.

Labels: EU, Nicolas Sarkozy, Russia, US

For the complete report from the IstockAnalyst click on this link

Russia-Eu Trade Turnover Grows 26% to 138 Bln Euro in H1

Trade turnover between Russia and the European Union increased 26% to 137.7 billion euro in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period of 2007, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said in a report prepared for the 22nd EU-Russia Summit in Nice on November 14. EU exports to Russia grew 24% to 50.1 billion euro in the half, while imports from Russia increased 27.2% to 87.6 billion euro. The EU thus had a trade deficit with Russia of 37.5 billion euro in the half compared to 28.5 billion euro in January-June 2007. "Between 2000 and 2007, EU trade in goods with Russia nearly tripled in value. The share of Russia in the EU's total external trade in goods nearly doubled between 2000 and 2007. In the first half of 2008 the share rose further, with Russia accounting for nearly 8% of EU exports and more than 11% of EU imports. Russia was the EU's third most important trading partner, after the USA and China," the report says.

Labels: EU, Russia, Trade

For the complete report from RIA Novosti click on this link

Russia-EU cooperation pact talks may resume in November

Bernard Kouchner said in an interview with the Kommersant business daily that restoring ties between Russia and the EU was not a "two-day issue," although he added that the talks on the long overdue strategic cooperation agreement could still resume at a Russia-EU summit in Nice scheduled for November 14. Kouchner added that Moscow had on the whole complied with all the international commitments under the French-brokered peace plan to end the conflict in Georgia, although "a few disputable points remain." The first round of talks on a new wide-ranging deal between Russia and the EU was held in July. The agreement is set to replace the 1997 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was extended for a year when it expired in December 2007.

Labels: EU, Russia

For the complete report from the georgiandaily.com click on this link

German Ministry of Foreign affairs protests mingling in EU energy security - by Vladimir Socor

According to German media reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Berlin has protested to the U.S. Embassy over an op-ed article by the U.S. Ambassador in Sweden, who criticized the Russo-German Nord Stream gas pipeline project on the Baltic seabed and other aspects of Russian energy policy in Europe. German business leaders such as Eggert Voscherau of BASF (the world’s largest chemical concern and a partner in the Gazprom-led Nord Stream consortium) and left-leaning politicians such as Martin Schulz (the Social Democrats’ leader in the European Parliament) in turn complained that the United States was now publicly opposing Nord Stream and in doing so was “destabilizing Europe.” Former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the chairman of the Nord Stream consortium, portrayed Russia as a fully reliable energy supplier and dismissed the need for a diversification of Europe’s supplies. Note EU-Digest: Despite protests from Georgia and other former Eastern European block nations the EU and in particular its member states Germany, France and Italy seem to be on the right track to align themselves with Russia in developing a common energy policy within an overall cooperative economic treaty.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

For the complete report from EurActiv.com click on this link

EU contemplates 'common market' with Russia

French President and EU presidency holder Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday (21 October) unveiled a new cooperation strategy with Russia that would build stronger economic links between Europe and its largest Eastern European neighbor

Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Sarkozy called Russia "our neighbours" and surprised the audience by alluding to "a common economic space between Russia and the EU". The term recalls the early stages of EU history, which saw the development of a 'common market' that was subsequently renamed the 'single market' in the 1980s. Sarkozy's view of Russia sharing a common economic space marks another step in his attempt to forge a new relationship with Moscow based on trust and tighter integration.

At a recent meeting in Evian, the French president and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev voiced similar messages about the need to reconstruct Europe's security architecture

Labels: Economy, EU, Russia

For the complete report from AP click on this link

Russia, Iran, Qatar discuss OPEC-style gas cartel

Russia, Iran and Qatar took their first serious steps toward forming an OPEC-style cartel for natural gas on Tuesday, a prospect that has unnerved energy-importing nations in Europe and the United States. The three countries together account for 60 percent of the world's gas reserves, and Russia and Iran have both been accused of using their hold on energy supplies to bully neighboring countries. The European Union, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, criticized the proposal, saying "energy supplies have to be sold in a free market."

Note EU-Digest: The three countries do not control 60% of the gas supplies and the idea of a gas cartel makes little sense unless it includes at least the top ten suppliers of natural gas which are:

1. Russia … 656.2 billion cubic meters (19.9% of estimated world total)

2. United States … 490.8 billion cubic meters (14.9%)

3. Canada … 178.2 billion cubic meters (5.4%)

4. Iran … 101 billion cubic meters (3.1%)

5. Algeria … 84.4 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

6. United Kingdom … 84.2 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

7. Norway … 83.4 billion cubic meters (2.5%)

8. Netherlands … 77.3 billion cubic meters (2.3%)

9. Indonesia … 74 billion cubic meters (2.2%)

10. Turkmenistan … 72.3 billion cubic meters (2.2%).

Labels: Cartel, Gas Supplies, Iran, Quatar, Russia

For the complete report from the csmonitor.com click on this link

Russia - Crisis spares Russia's 'average Joe - by Fred Weir

While many Americans are watching as their pensions crash with the markets, across Russia it's a different story. Though their stock market crash has been longer and deeper than in almost any other country, most Russians remain relatively unaffected. Meanwhile, Russia's wealthiest man, aluminum king Oleg Deripaska, has reportedly lost $16 billion over the past month.While Russian industrial barons are falling like kingpins, the government has maintained a budget surplus thanks to oil revenues and sovereign debts paid off by former President Vladimir Putin. Additionally, the general population has also been largely protected due to outmoded financial practices and social beliefs that kept pensions separate from the stock market. The varied effects of the market crisis are likely to alter the underpinnings of Russian society, say many Russian economic analysts. "The Russian economy will survive this crisis, but will emerge greatly changed," says Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the independent Institute of Applied Politics.

Labels: Economy, Russia

For the complete report from the Earth Times click on this link

Russia should join EU, Berlusconi says

Russia should be allowed to join the European Union in the coming years, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday. "I consider Russia to be a Western nation. So my project is that the Russian Federation should become a member of the EU in the coming years," Berlusconi told Italian reporters on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.Asked whether the time had come for the EU to normalize its relations with Moscow, Berlusconi said: "I would go beyond that." Berlusconi has frequently touted his close friendship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Putin's two daughters have been spotted in the past spending their summer holidays at Berlusconi's villa in Sardinia.

Labels: Berlusconi, Economy, EU, Putin, Russia

For the complete report from M&C click on this link

Two Russian soldiers killed in attack in Ingushetia

Rebels in the Caucasus republic of Ingushetia attacked Saturday a Russian army convoy, killing two soldiers and wounding at least five, the military said. A military staff spokesman told the Interfax agency that at least 30 rebels took part in the attack on the convoy.Ingushetia, located in between the Russian republics of Chechnya and North Ossetia, is considered as extremely unsafe amid the fighting between rebels and security forces of the Moscow loyalist government in the capital Magas.

Labels: Russia

For the complete report of Forbes.com click on this link

Russia's Medvedev supports G-8 meeting on economy

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday he supports holding an emergency meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to discuss the global financial crisis. Medvedev said he had discussed the idea with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding that consultations between the G-8 members are going on, but no time or venue has been set for the summit yet. Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations will meet Friday to discuss the economic meltdown. One of the potential remedies expected to be discussed at the meeting in Washington is for governments to guarantee lending between banks. Medvedev told reporters it would make sense to invite other leading economic powers to join the G-8 meeting.

Labels: G7, G8, Russia, The US economic meltdown

For the complete report from the csmonitor.com click on this link

Russia - Putin: Ukraine gave military aid to Georgia in war with Russia - by Arthur Bright

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin charged Ukraine with supplying arms and manpower to Georgia during its recent war with Russia, and said if Ukraine's involvement was proven, it would be a "crime." Russian news and information agency RIA Novosti reports that Mr. Putin made the accusation Thursday during a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to sign a new contract on Russian natural gas exports to Ukraine.Sevastopol has been home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet since 1783. In 1997, Ukraine agreed to lease the port to the fleet until 2017, when the agreement would be up for renewal. Angered by Russia's actions in Georgia, Ukrainian leaders no longer want to renew the fleet's lease after 2017.But one of Russia's concerns about Ukraine looks to be allayed, at least for the time being. Although Yushchenko has campaigned for Ukraine's membership in NATO, The Wall Street Journal reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday that Germany would not support giving a membership "road map" to Ukraine or to Georgia this year.

Mrs. Merkel's rejection of a NATO track for Georgia and Ukraine, at a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in St. Petersburg, would effectively act as a veto. The Western military alliance operates by consensus.

Labels: Putin, Russia, Ukraine

For the cpomplete report of EL UNIVERSAL click on this link

Russian fleet to arrive in the Caribbean in November

A navy squadron of the Russian North Sea Fleet headed toward the Strait of Gibraltar to carry out maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sean and then sail to the Caribbean waters to hold joint exercises with Venezuela's navy, reported on Thursday the Russian Ministry of Defense. The squad, consisting of the atomic cruiser Piotr Veliki (Peter the Great), the frigate Admiral Chabanenko (an antisubmarine warfare vessel) and support vessels, sailed on September 22 from Severomorsk, a navy base in northern Russia, and will reach the Mediterranean on Sunday, said the Ministry in a statement published on its website, Efe reported.

Labels: Russia, Russian Navy, Venezuela

For the complete report from the EUobserver click on this link

Khodorkovsky: Georgia war could bring EU and Russia closer - by Philippa Runner

Russia's invasion of Georgia could be followed by a Kremlin effort to mend ties with the West. But the EU has to pull the Russian elite closer without losing sight of its own values, according to fallen oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovksy.

Mr Khodorkovksy praised France for handling the Georgia crisis with understanding for the "nuances" of Russia's post-imperial problems, urging the EU not to try and dominate Russia but not to lapse into value-free realpolitik either. "To live on the same continent, to deepen interdependence without sharing the same values is impossible. The only way is the mutual integration of our elites in respect of the basic rules enshrined in our national constitutions and European treaties."

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia

The Parliament

"EU observer mission denied access to key areas in Georgia

The EU begins is observer mission to Georgia today, says Deutsche Welle, despite Russian protests that the envoys won’t be allowed in any of the so-called buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The website says the EU had wanted to secure the complete withdrawal of forces from the two troubled regions, but this had been completely ruled out by Moscow.

It quotes French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, representing the EU under the French presidency. “This is all really very incomplete, as I and everyone else know. But in the first instance it was for us a matter of getting a date for a Russian withdrawal from the parts of Georgia that border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”"

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia

For the complete report from the NYTimes.com click on this link

Russia Flexes Muscles in Oil Deal With Chávez - by Ellen Barry

Russia continued its international muscle-flexing on Friday, strengthening its ties to Venezuela through a $1 billion military loan and a new oil consortium as it announced an upgrade of its own military focusing on nuclear deterrence and permanent combat readiness.After a military exercise on Friday in the southern city of Orenburg, near the border with Kazakhstan, the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, declared that by 2020 Russia would construct new types of warships, including nuclear submarines carrying cruise missiles and an unspecified air and space defense system.On Friday, Mr. Medvedev said the conflict also proved “the acuteness” of Russia’s need to modernize its military. Defense spending will increase by 26 percent next year, bringing it to 1.3 trillion rubles ( EURO 35 billion), its highest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Labels: Russia, Venezuela

Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk

"EU eastern states fear carbon plan empowers Russia

WARSAW, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Eastern members of the European Union said on Friday its tough plans to tackle global warming could force them to rely more on Russian gas and the bloc should be equally ambitious in ensuring their energy security.
The EU is pushing through measures aimed at cutting CO2 emissions by a fifth by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, in hopes of averting the worst effects of climate change."

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

For the complete report from the Asia Times Online click on this link

Russia and Turkey tango in the Black Sea

Amid the flurry of diplomatic activity in Moscow last week over the Caucasus, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took time off for an exceptionally important mission to Turkey, which might prove a turning point in the security and stability of the vast region that the two powers historically shared. Indeed, Russian diplomacy is swiftly moving even as the troops have begun returning from Georgia to their barracks. Moscow is weaving a complicated new web of regional alliances, drawing deeply into Russia's collective historical memory as a power in the Caucasus and the Black Sea.Moscow signaled the highest importance to consultations with Turkey. Lavrov summarily dropped all business at home and hurried to Istanbul on Tuesday on a working visit, essentially aimed at catching a few hours' urgent confidential conversation with his counterpart, Ali Babacan. Lavrov's mission underscored Russia's acute sense of its priorities in the current regional crisis in the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

The timing of Lavrov's consultations in Turkey was noteworthy. US Vice President Dick Cheney happened to be in the region, visiting Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia, drumming up anti-Russia animus. Turkey didn't figure in his itinerary. Moscow shrewdly estimated the need of political dynamism with regard to Turkey. Moscow has taken careful note that unlike the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union, Turkey's reaction to the conflict in the Caucasus has been manifestly subdued. Ankara briefly expressed its anxiety over the developments, but almost in pro-forma terms without taking sides.

Labels: Russia, Turkey

The European Union and Russia after Georgia

"The European Union and Russia after Georgia

RussiaThe lesson of the Georgia-Russia crisis for the European Union is to learn from past mistakes and develop a distinct, long-term foreign-policy strategy, says Paul Gillespie.

The European Union has taken a measured route between Vladimir Putin's Moscow and Dick Cheney's Washington in its combination of refusing to impose sanctions on Russia after its military and diplomatic actions in Georgia while firmly setting a test for Moscow over the next two months about its willingness to cooperate with other Europeans.

Instead of the widely canvassed divisions at the emergency summit on 1
September 2008, there was a surprising consensus about how to proceed between harder and softer positions. The crisis emphasises what is at stake in creating a more coherent EU foreign policy; the importance of doing so; and the marked contrast between European Union and United States approaches to European security."

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia

A New Cold War?:

"A New Cold War?
This new Russia is not what was hoped for, but common interests can still be found

By John F. Lehman
14.9.2008 0:00

A few months ago, Senator John McCain said some harsh things about Russia. Not many people agreed with his views. But it turns out that one important man did: Vladimir Putin.

Russia's recent activity in Georgia means that the next American president and our European friends will have one very big issue on the top of the transatlantic agenda. This is not the Russia everyone hoped would be an integral democratic partner of the West. But what does Moscow want? And what should NATO and the European Union do about it?"

Labels: Russia, US

International Herald Tribune

"U.S. and Europe worried about Russia, poll says

BERLIN: Americans and Europeans are united in concern over the growing political and economic power of Russia, but they cannot agree on how to respond to the Kremlin's new assertiveness, according to an annual survey by Transatlantic Trends that was published Wednesday.

The survey, by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paola in Italy, was conducted even before Georgia and Russia went to war in August, and it coincides with intense interest by Europeans in the U.S. presidential election."

Labels: EU, Europe, Russia

EUobserver:

"Europeans worry about Russia, increasingly support NATO

VALENTINA POP

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – European support for NATO and for closer ties with the US is increasing, while concerns about Russia as an energy provider and in relationship to its neighbours are on the rise, shows a survey released on Wednesday (10 September) by an American think-tank.

Some 57 percent of Europeans agreed that NATO is still essential to their country's security, an increase of four percentage points since 2007, according to the new poll published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States."

Labels: EU, Russia

For the complete report from the CNN.com click on hi link

Russia agrees Georgia withdrawal deadline

Moscow has agreed to withdraw its forces from Georgia outside of its two breakaway provinces within one month, the presidents of Russia and France said Monday following the latest efforts to end the region's territorial crisis.

Labels: France, Russia

For the complete report from the Los Angeles Times click on this link

Russia ships to join Venezuela naval exercises in Caribbean - Chris Kraul

The Venezuelan government announced today that four Russian naval vessels will participate in joint exercises in the Caribbean this year, a move that could heighten already strained relations between Washington and Moscow. Venezuela's naval intelligence chief, Adm. Salbatore Cammarata Bastidas, said in a statement that a task force including four Russian naval vessels and 1,000 Russian military personnel would take part in mid-November exercises with Venezuelan frigates, patrol boats, submarines and aircraft.

Labels: Russia, Venezuela

For the complete report from B92 click on this link

French FM Bernard Kouchner believes that sanctions against Russia could prove too costly for the EU. In an interview with Newsweek, he wondered, "What sanctions do you want against the country supplying you? You want us to cut off its atmospheric gases?" Russia supplies one third of Europe's oil and gas demand, and Kouchner said that a reaction to this dominance could be "solidarity among consumers". "One reaction could be a European gas-buying unit, meaning solidarity among consumers. That's a priority of the French EU presidency. We're working on it." But he rejected calls for economic sanctions to be introduced against Moscow.

Labels: EU, Russia

For the complete report from the FT-Com click on this link

US military trained Georgian commandos- by Charles Clover

The US military provided combat training to 80 Georgian special forces commandos only months prior to Georgia’s army assault in South Ossetia in August. The revelation, based on recruitment documents and interviews with US military trainers obtained by the Financial Times, could add fuel to accusations by Vlad­imir Putin, Russian prime minister, last month that the US had “orchestrated” the war in the Georgian enclave.

The training was provided by senior US soldiers and two military contractors. There is no evidence that the contractors or the Pentagon, which hired them, knew that the commandos they were training were likely be used in the assault on South Ossetia.

Labels: Georgia, Russia, US

OhmyNews International:

"The EU, Turkey and Russia: An Unlikely Troika
Examining the triangular ties between three great power brokers in Eurasia
Michael Werbowski (minou)

Russia's strategic comeback, or the Georgian crisis in the Caucasus, might be a blessing in disguise for Turkey, as a realignment of power in Russia's favor could hasten accession negotiations between Ankara and Brussels. Why? Because the European Union, for obvious trade and energy reasons (aside from defense ones), needs Turkey as a solid strategic partner now more than ever."

Labels: EU, Russia, Turkey

For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

Turkey Downplays Russian Trade Dispute; Medvedev Praises EU - by Mark Bentley

Turkey sought to play down a trade dispute with Russia, refusing to condemn its invasion of Georgia, as Russian President Dimitry Medvedev praised the European Union for declining to push for sanctions. Turkey, a NATO member, is determined to strengthen economic ties with Russia as it negotiates an end to Russian curbs on its exports, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said at a news conference in Istanbul today with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Babacan's comments followed the European Union's decision yesterday to take the symbolic step of suspending talks over expanded trade ties with Russia over the invasion of Georgia. EU leaders balked at imposing sanctions on Russia, acknowledging the 27-nation bloc's dependence on Russian oil and gas.``Russia is not only a neighbor and friend, at the same time it is a leading partner in energy and trade,'' Babacan said. ``We are also observing with pride the success of Turkish businessmen in the Russian Federation.''

Turkey, like the EU, relies on Russian energy to power its homes and businesses. Russia is the main supplier of gas to Turkey and is the country's largest trading partner.

Labels: EU, Russia, Turkey

For the complete report from the Asia Times Online click on this link

Russia: A useful enemy in US polls for Republicans - by Andrei Tsygankov

The United States presidential candidates increasingly present Russia as a threat in their campaigns. Republican Senator John McCain is clearly thriving on the recent Georgia-Russia war. Escalation in the Caucasus has been lobbied by McCain since at least 2003, and he is now exploiting the conflict to his full advantage. McCain worked to bring President Mikheil Saakashvili to power in Georgia, and the McCain-led International Republican Institute, an international wing of the National Endowment for Democracy, was involved in training and financing the revolutionary opposition to Saakashvili's political rival Eduard Shevardnadze.

After helping to bring Saakashvili to power, McCain became a leading voice in advocating Georgia's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Along with other anti-Russian politicians, McCain saw the alliance's purpose as containing Russia and promoting American domination in the Eurasian region, which has vast resources and geopolitical importance.

Labels: Russia, US elections

EZ READING MONEY MATTERS

"Russia Shows Europe Who Is Boss

Russian_bear_fixes_europe_2
September 2, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis

Emboldened by the umbrella of US nuclear imperial power, Europe has chosen to fight Russia rather than be friends with Russia. This unwise choice is rapidly moving Russia towards various interesting and obvious retaliatory choices."

Labels: EU, Russia

For the complete report from the Deutsche Welle click on this link

EU to Evaluate Ties with Russia, Postpone Partnership Talks

At an emergency summit, the EU condemned Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and voted to postpone the next round of strategic partnership talks with Russia pending the withdrawal of troops. EU leaders gathering for an emergency summit in Brussels vowed to be "vigilant" in their ties with Russia. The European Union expects "Russia to act responsibly, in line with all its commitments," according to a statement released on Monday."As long as the withdrawal of (Russian) troops has not been respected, all meetings on the partnership accord are postponed," European Commission Presidnet Jose Manuel Barroso said at the conclusion of the summit.

The leaders decided against imposing any sanctions. Several member states, most notably Poland and the Baltics, had been pressing for punitive measures against Russia, whereas Great Britain had argued strongly to suspend the partnership talks. "Let's not launch a Cold War. There's no need to flex our muscles. Demonstrations of force, verbal aggression, sanctions, counter-sanctions; these will not serve anyone," Sarkozy said.

Labels: EU, Russia

for the complete report from The NYTimes.com click on this link

The Food Chain - Russia’s Collective Farms - Hot Capitalist Property - Andrew E. Kramer

The fields around this little farming enclave are among the most fertile on earth. But like tens of million of acres of land in this country, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they literally went to seed.Now that may be changing. A decade after capitalism transformed Russian industry, an agricultural revolution is stirring the countryside, shaking up village life and sweeping aside the collective farms that resisted earlier reform efforts and remain the dominant form of agriculture.

Labels: Russia

International | Reuters:

"EU struggles for unity on Russia at emergency talks

By Mark John

BRUSSELS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - EU leaders meet in an extraordinary session on Monday to try to unite behind a strong response to Russia's actions in Georgia, but Moscow warned it would hit back at any threat to its interests at home or abroad.

The meeting in Brussels follows weeks of discussions between EU member states over how far to go to punish Russia for its military campaign in Georgia and its subsequent recognition of Georgian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states."

Labels: EU, Russia

For the complete report from the Denver Post click on this link

Don’t forget: Georgia started Russia skirmish - by Mary Idler

All the time, there are more stories about how Georgia has suffered in its war with Russia. We hear lots of voices calling for support for Georgia, advocating its admission to NATO. But we need to remember how this war started: Georgia attacked.

The war started with Georgian military attacks against Ossetian civilians and Russian peacekeepers. Even our ambassador to Russia says that Russia’s initial response to attacks against their peacekeepers was legitimate. Russia probably went too far in its defeat of the Georgian blitzkrieg. But why don’t we condemn Georgia for starting this war? What were our military advisers doing there? Georgia’s aggressive action, and its dramatic demonstration that its borders are contested, mean that is should be completely ineligible for membership in NATO.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia

For the complete report from the Deutsche Welle click on this link

Medvedev Says Russia Seeks Dialogue With EU

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has stressed that he wants a "constructive dialogue" with the European Union irrespective of the Georgia conflict. Berlin and Moscow aim to calm tensions in the Caucasus region. Medvedev told Brown that Russia welcomed the deployment of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers in the conflict regions of Georgia, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, Aug. 30. The Russian president also requested the OSCE send more observers to Georgia, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia

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France not to seek sanctions on Russia at EU summit on Monday

France will not seek to impose sanctions against Russia over the current Russia-Georgia conflict at the European Union summit scheduled for Monday in Brussels, French media cited a source from the Elysee as saying.

"We are now in dialogue with Moscow, not in the phase of sanctions," the source was quoted by AFP as saying on Friday. Time for sanctions "is certainly not coming," it said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country is now holding the rotating presidency of the European Union, called a special summit in Brussels to discuss the Russia-Georgia crisis and the future relationship between Russia and the EU.