Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010906/1/1eivn.html Friday September 7, 1:28 AM Russian FM blasts US foreign policy in book MOSCOW, Sept 6 (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov lambasted US foreign policy in a book presented to the press Thursday, accusing Washington of aiming at world supremacy and trying to supplant Russian influence in former Soviet republics. The United States wants to abandon the landmark 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty which bars it from building a proposed missile defense shield in order to obtain "military and technological supremacy without any external control," Ivanov wrote in his book titled "The new Russian diplomacy - Ten years of foreign policy," as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency. But should this be allowed, "the rules of the game will be set not by the evolution of foreign threats, but by the interests of the military and technological complex and the development of military technologies, or rather (we will have) a game without rules," the Russian foreign minister added. Ivanov questioned Washington's reasons for abandoning the ABM treaty. The accord bars the United States from building a missile defense shield, which it says is necessary to protect itself from threats coming from so-called "rogue states," such as Iran and North Korea. But, Ivanov wrote, "at present, these threats are purely hypothetical." Ivanov also accused the United States of exerting too great an influence in former Soviet republics other than Russia and of trying to talk them into entering NATO, something Moscow strenuously objects to. Washington wants to "supplant Russia in other former Soviet republics," the minister wrote. In his book, Ivanov also recalled that Russia's relations with the US administration of President George W. Bush were at first "fairly difficult," owing to "a series of unfriendly steps" taken by Washington. Last March, the United States expelled 50 Russian diplomats following a spy scandal. However, "these initial problems were more temporary than anything else and do not exclude the possibility of a cooperation" between Moscow and Washington, Ivanov added. He hoped that in the future Washington "will have to alter its policy towards Russia in a more moderate sense." He called on the United States to establish "pragmatic, constructive" relations with Russia, since both countries "bear a particular responsibility in ensuring peace and security" in the world. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
