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--- Begin Message --- -Caveat Lector-www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.CHENEY’S ROBUST APPROACH IS A SERIOUS GAMBLEBy Guy Dinmore in Washington, Neil Buckley in Moscow and Stefan Wagstyl in Vilnius
Financial Times, May 4 2006
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/c94f8bbe-dba8-11da-98a8-0000779e2340.htmlVice President Dick Cheney’s accusation on Thursday that Russia was using its energy resources as “blackmail” marked the first public salvo by the US in what could be a very fraught run-up to the G8 summit in St Petersburg in July, diplomats in Washington said.
Clearly US-Russian relations are under strain, but analysts differ over just how badly ties have deteriorated since President George W. Bush said famously in 2001 that he had looked into the eyes of Vladimir Putin and “got a sense of his soul”.There is also debate whether Mr Cheney, a veteran hardliner of the cold war with the Soviet Union, is pushing for a tougher policy on Russia than Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state and a specialist of the Soviet era.“Putin is no longer regarded by the Bush administration as a reliable partner,” a European diplomat commented. He and analysts involved in briefing the vice president’s office described Mr Cheney as “furious” with the Russian president over what the US sees as serious backsliding in democracy, its use of energy as a foreign policy weapon and its recent refusal to halt the sale to Iran of an air defence system.A senior US official in Lithuania – where Mr Cheney delivered his speech at a Vilnius summit of Europe’s new democracies – sought to portray his harsh comments as in line with a tougher trend that could be seen in Mr Bush’s similarly choreographed visit to Latvia and Georgia on the fringes of Russia a year ago, and continued by Ms Rice.“Russia is not the Soviet Union,” the official said. “Russia is not becoming the Soviet Union, but nevertheless we are concerned about the trend in Russia today... We don’t see a strengthening of institutions consistent to normal democratic societies.”The US was also clear that it wanted to work with Russia on issues of mutual concern, including Iran, non-proliferation, and the “war on terror”.Diplomats did not believe there was a significant divergence of views between Mr Cheney and Ms Rice over Russia. But there was disagreement among European envoys in Washington over the merits of antagonising Moscow just as the western coalition was seeking its support for a UN resolution that would require Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme.“The G8 summit is the lever,” the European diplomat commented, saying Mr Putin could expect a lot of pressure over Iran and energy supplies in the run-up to the July 15-17 meeting he is lavishly preparing for.Sherpas – the officials preparing for the summit – meet in Moscow this weekend to discuss the agenda. The US and others want an array of topics that will cast the spotlight on Russia’s behaviour – including Iran, support for the autocracy in Belarus, Russian troops in separatist enclaves in Georgia, the issue of Gazprom, and even Chechnya.Mr Cheney’s more robust approach is a serious gamble.Vyacheslav Nikonov, a political analyst close to the Kremlin, said Mr Cheney’s remarks would have “negative consequences for Russian-American relations”.“When making these kind of statements, you always have to keep in mind what the reaction from the other side will be, and it’s difficult for me to imagine that Russia is simply going to agree with these reproaches,” he said.Professor Peter Reddaway of George Washington University said more militant elements in the Russian foreign policy establishment were putting pressure on Mr Putin, whom he regards as more of a moderate by comparison. Powerful lobbies include the nuclear and arms exporters.“Putin is not fully in control of his own foreign policy with powerful constituencies he cannot offend,” prof Reddaway commented, describing the rise of a more assertive Russian foreign policy that sees the west’s dependency on Russia’s oil and gas as a tool for dictating terms.
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CHENEY AND KREMLIN TRADE ACCUSATIONS ON DEMOCRACYBy Matt Spetalnick
Reuters (UK), May 4, 2006VILNIUS (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney launched one of Washington's sharpest attacks on President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, accusing Russia of backsliding on democracy and using its energy supplies to blackmail neighbours.The Kremlin rejected Cheney's charges, saying his comments were completely incomprehensible."Russia has a choice to make," Cheney told Baltic and Black Sea leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, calling on Moscow to return to democratic reforms at a time of increasingly chilly relations between the two former Cold War rivals.Cheney criticised Moscow for playing power politics with its vast energy reserves at a time of record world prices and accused it of bullying neighbouring countries, many of which were dominated by the Kremlin in the Soviet era."No legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply manipulation or attempts to monopolise transportation," he said.Russia drew international criticism earlier this year when it briefly turned off its gas taps to Ukraine in a pricing dispute that disrupted supplies to Europe.Moscow has also warned Europe the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom, the world's top producer, could divert supplies to Asia if it is barred from the European market.KREMLIN HITS BACK"The speech of Mr. Cheney in our opinion is full of a subjective evaluation of us and of the processes that are going on in Russia. The remarks ... are completely incomprehensible for us," said Kremlin deputy spokesman Dmitry Peskov.Peskov said the West applied double standards when judging Russian business ventures and that Russia would scrupulously fulfil commitments to European consumers.Cheney's remarks are widely to antagonise Russia, which holds a veto in the U.N. Security Council where Washington intends to push for a resolution demanding Iran curb its nuclear ambitions. Russia opposes any sanctions.The remarks could also make for tense moments when Putin hosts his first summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialised nations in July. U.S. President George W. Bush has said he will confront Putin directly about democracy.Cheney said opponents of reform in Russia were "seeking to reverse the gains of the last decade" by restricting democratic rights and warned Putin that some of Moscow's actions could hurt relations with other countries.But he told the leaders of the Baltic and Black Sea nations: "None of us believes that Russia is fated to become an enemy."He said G8 members planned to make clear at the St. Petersburg summit that Moscow had "nothing to fear and everything to gain" from stable democracies on its borders.Cheney's hard line marked an intensification of U.S. and European Union criticism of Moscow for its record on democracy.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also referred to tensions with Russia at the Vilnius conference.Hammering Russia plays well with Bush's conservative base at home, where his approval ratings have hit a low of 32 percent. Cheney's ratings are even lower.Russia, which says Washington has stalled its entry to the World Trade Organisation, suspects the U.S. policy of promoting global democracy is really an instrument to set itself up as the dominant power in former Soviet states.In the past two years, peaceful revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia have brought pro-Western governments into office.Solana made clear Europe hoped Belarus, a key Russian ally, would follow suit. Cheney called Belarus the "last dictatorship in Europe" and urged the release of opposition leader Aleksander Milinkevich and other pro-democracy activists.(Additional reporting by Richard Balmforth in Moscow)
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