February 21, 2008

Angry Serbs Assault U.S. Embassy In Belgrade

Hundreds of protesters are attacking the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia's capital. Video footage captured one protester scaling the building to rip down the American flag, and fires can be seen in and around the compound.

"As long as we live, Kosovo is Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said at another rally in front of the former parliament building. That gathering was peaceful, and drew around 200,000 people.

At the embassy, Serbs were throwing rocks and other objects at riot police and attempting to break through the police presence to raid the building. Serbs angry over Kosovo's declaration of independence -- a decision supported by the White House and much of the EU -- chanted "Kosovo is ours! Kosovo is Serbia!" and "We'll never give up Kosovo, never!" according to various media reports. (See accounts from AP, Reuters, BBC News and the London Guardian.)

The State Department tried to downplay the situation, emphasizing that the embassy was probably closed at the time. According to CNN, U.S. officials are denying that protesters actually penetrated the building.

"It has been up and running. It's been functioning. They've been carrying out their diplomatic functions and activities," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack at the afternoon briefing. "The question is whether or not it was open to the public."

McCormack stressed that the White House is sympathetic to the concerns of Serbs, angry because they consider Kosovo part of their religious and cultural heritage. NATO forced an end to ethnic cleansing of mostly Muslim Albanians in the former Yugoslavia in the late 1990s. Since then, the mostly Albanian province of Kosovo and the mostly Orthodox Christian Serbia have existed in an uneasy peace.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, EU, Europe, Russia, U.N.
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February 20, 2008

Kosovo's Break From Serbia Splinters World Community

Russia's foreign minister has declared an EU mission to Kosovo illegal days after the Balkan state declared its independence from Serbia.

"To put it mildly, it is a bitter irony that this mission to ensure the supremacy of the law in Kosovo is being sent in breach of the highest international law," Sergei Lavrov said in a press briefing.

Russia and Serbia are in disagreement with the West's interpretation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999 at the end of the Balkan conflict. The resolution reaffirms "the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," but it also reaffirms "the call in previous resolutions for substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo."

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Chechnya, EU, Europe, Russia
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February 12, 2008

From Russia, With Contempt

Gazprom will continue to pump gas into Ukraine after negotiators resolved a dispute with Russia, but energy supplies might be the least of the former Soviet satellite's concerns.

Asked about Ukraine's bid for inclusion in NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, "I draw your attention to the consequences that would follow. It is terrible to even think that in response to this... Russia cannot theoretically exclude aiming our offensive missile systems at Ukraine."

Putin said Moscow would not interfere with Ukraine's affairs, but warned Kiev that if it agreed to host missile systems or NATO bases, Russia would point its weapons at Ukraine. Putin has made similar threats to Poland and the Czech Republic, where the U.S. is planning to install anti-ballistic weapons systems.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Military, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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February 11, 2008

AP: U.S. Navy Intercepted Russian Jets

AP is reporting that two U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers flying too close to the USS Nimitz over the weekend.

According to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, a Russian Tupolev 95 swooped to a low altitude close to the Nimitz, while another "circled about 50 nautical miles out."

The incident coincides with another confrontation involving Japanese naval vessels. Japan lodged a protest against Moscow, claiming a Russian bomber violated the island nation's airspace. According to AFP, Japanese officials said a Tupolev 95 flew over "Sofugan, 650 kilometres (406 miles) south of Tokyo, for about three minutes" early Saturday morning.

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Posted to: Asia, Japan, Military, Russia
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February 01, 2008

Poland OKs U.S. Missile Defense System

UPDATED.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed this afternoon "an agreement in principle" to host a U.S. missile defense shield, AP reports. He was in Washington today to discuss the matter with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We understand that there is a desire for defense modernization in Poland, and particularly for air defense modernization in Poland," Rice said at a joint press appearance following their meeting. "This is something that we support because it will make our ally, Poland, more capable, it will make Poland, as the foreign minister has said, more able to operate with us."

The offer to help Poland bolster its air force apparently helped secure the tentative deal. But there were more details to be ironed out, Sikorski said.

"We are not at the end of the road as regards negotiations. We are in the middle of the road," he said. "We have an agreement in principle."

The deal is sure to provoke strong reaction from Russia, which in May threatened to train its long-range weapons on Europe if Washington went ahead with plans to build a new anti-ballistic missile shield in that neighborhood.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, Russia
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December 28, 2007

Why We Fight

Before the Christmas break, we wrote that Americans' dwindling interest in the Iraq war might be perilous to the national interest, as Alasdair Roberts recently contended in Foreign Policy. Now the war on terrorism -- which even critics of President Bush must admit now includes Iraq -- is back in the headlines, thanks to yesterday's tragic events.

The view from Washington is that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a serious kneecap blow to U.S. foreign policy. To quickly review: President Pervez Musharraf, an ally by necessity, is increasingly unpopular at home and for good reason. (People who live under military dictatorships generally do not enjoy the experience.) Meanwhile, there's a virulent strain of anti-Western, Islamic fanaticism seeping through Pakistan at the moment, which means this White House's usually cherished principles of liberty and democracy do not apply.

The Bhutto-Musharraf power-sharing compromise was seen as the most feasible shot at calming Pakistan's restive populace. In Bhutto, Washington saw a more reliable and transparent ally in the war against extremism, in part because of her shady ethical past. She had something to prove.

Now that she's gone, we're back to where we were, and less than two weeks before Pakistan's elections no less. No doubt there is panic in the Beltway today, if only for the dearth of available options now.

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Posted at 3:06 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Campaigns, China, Democrats, Iraq, John McCain, Joseph Biden, Middle East, Pakistan, President Bush, Republicans, Ron Paul, Russia, Terrorism, WH 2008
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December 20, 2007

President Bush's Passive-Aggressive Holiday Greeting

Speaking at his final White House press conference of the year, President Bush congratulated Congress on its 11th-hour legislative achievements while making sure to backhand lawmakers for taking so long to get there.

"I thank the members of both parties for their hard work," Bush said, cheering the passage this week of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, a lending crisis fix, an energy efficiency package and new defense spending. "I am pleased we are able to end this year on a high note."

Returning later to the AMT bill, the president added, "Unfortunately, Congress passed this legislation after a lengthy delay. It is going to add to the time it takes to process tens of billions in refunds. We will work hard to minimize the impact of congressional delay."

And after thanking Congress for sending him new spending for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before the New Year, Bush noted that it was "approved at the last minute, nearly three months after the end of the fiscal year." He continued, "When Congress wastes so much time and leaves its work until the final days before Christmas, it is not a responsible way to run the government."

The president later denied that his relationship with the Democratic-led Congress was truly "antagonistic," but his annual pre-holiday address to the press corps encapsulated the testy and wearying push-pull the two branches have been engaged in all year.

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Posted at 12:18 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, CIA, Campaigns, Congress, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Iraq, Lebanon, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Russia, Syria, Vladimir Putin, WH 2008
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December 19, 2007

Time Gets It Right With Person Of The Year

After being mocked and ridiculed for its gimmicky 2006 pick, Time magazine reverted to heft with this year's choice: Russian President (for Life) Vladimir Putin.

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Posted at 12:33 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Campaigns, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Russia, U.K., WH 2008
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December 17, 2007

Iran Watch: You've Got Fuel

So, Russia has just delivered the first shipment of 80 tons of uranium fuel rods to Iran's disputed Bushehr nuclear reactor. Now what?

Wait-and-see time, apparently. It is not clear how close the Bushehr facility is to full production capacity. A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Agency said that Bushehr was 95-percent finished, according to the Los Angeles Times, but Iran has walked a tricky line between simultaneously exaggerating and denying its nuclear capacity for years.

Taking a question on Iran during a speech on the economy this morning, President Bush seemed to welcome news of the arrangement, but with a caveat.

"Interestingly enough, today Russia sent some enriched, or is in the process of sending enriched uranium to Iran to help on their civilian nuclear reactor. If that's the case, if the Russians are willing to do that -- which I support -- then the Iranians do not need to learn how to enrich," Bush said. "If the Iranians accept that uranium for a civilian nuclear power plant, then there's no need for them to learn how to enrich," he repeated.

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Iran, Israel, Middle East, North Korea, Palestinians, President Bush, Russia
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World Leaders Watch: The Economy, Stupid

To no one's surprise, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he accepts his top aide's offer of the prime minister's slot should Dmitry Medvedev win the presidency in March. Medvedev is Putin's longtime aide and handpicked successor for the presidency -- an office Putin is barred by law from seeking again.

"If the citizens of Russia show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him the new president, I would be ready to continue our joint work as prime minister without changing the distribution of authority between the positions," Putin said in an address to his United Russia party.

Putin sought to allay concerns that the coming election would amount to just moving the deck chairs, but few Russians are under the illusion that Putin's power would really be capped by the traditional bounds of the much-weaker prime minister's post. Nonetheless, Medvedev, who was formally nominated by United Russia today, is assured a decisive victory in the March 2 vote. Why hasn't Putin's authoritarian power-grabbing dented his popularity? The economy.

Russians can forgive Putin his flaws because their economy is rocketing -- even if Putin isn't exactly responsible for that trend. Here in the United States, the perception that the economy is flagging is threatening to upend next year's elections -- and President Bush's legacy. For the second time this month, Bush devoted a public address to the economy in an attempt to persuade the public that things weren't as dire as they seemed.

"My attitude was if you're paying taxes you ought to get tax relief," Bush told the Rotary Club in Fredericksburg, Va., recalling concerns about the economy after the 9/11 attacks. "If you think about where we were, coming out of 2001, and where we are today, you can't help but say the plan worked.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Campaigns, Congress, Economy, Media, President Bush, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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December 13, 2007

Kasparov Not Running For Russian President

UPDATED.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov accused the Kremlin of squashing his presidential campaign by making it impossible for him to meet election requirements.

The outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin said that he was being prevented from holding supporters meetings in Moscow. According to BBC News, "Under Russian election law, presidential contenders who are not affiliated to one of four major parties that won seats in parliament must provide the details of two million supporters across the country. Such contenders must also organise an 'initiative group' meeting of at least 500 supporters before a December deadline."

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Posted to: Russia, Vladimir Putin
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October 23, 2007

Bush Urges Action On Missile Defense Shield

Amid continued protests from Russia, President Bush today affirmed his support for a U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe to protect American interests and allies from potential strikes from Iran, even as Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested the U.S. might delay activating the shield.

"The need for missile defense in Europe is real and I believe it's urgent. Iran is pursuing the technology that could be used to produce nuclear weapons, and ballistic missiles of increasing range that could deliver them," Bush told students at the National Defense University in Washington. "Today, we have no way to defend Europe against the emerging Iranian threat, so we must deploy a missile defense system there that can."

Today's speech was the latest example of the increasingly forceful rhetoric from the Bush administration about the need for allies to stand with the United States against Iran and its nuclear program.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Iran, President Bush, Robert Gates, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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October 17, 2007

Bush: Who You Calling Lame?

Vowing to "sprint to the finish" during his remaining 15 months in office, President Bush went before the White House press corps this morning armed with a laundry list of complaints about Congress' performance on domestic matters. Reporters, on the other hand, came armed with a flood of questions focused mainly on the president's own foreign policy agenda.

"There's little time left in the year," Bush warned in his opening statement. "And Congress has little to show for all the time that has gone by." He listed eight areas where Congress has either failed to act or compromise with the White House: health care, intelligence, the budget, education, housing, trade, veterans care and the judiciary.

Specifically, Bush urged the Democratic leadership to compromise with the White House on two contentious bills -- the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the authorization of a controversial wiretapping program. The former has already earned a presidential veto, and the White House issued a fresh veto threat for the latter yesterday.

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Posted at 1:55 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, Health, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Palestinians, President Bush, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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October 16, 2007

Superpower Watch: Picking Sides, Choosing Teams

Once again, the Bush administration is reminded that while it would be preferable to have the world at its back as it attempts to stabilize the Middle East, it simply does not. Iran and Russia have sealed an agreement among the Caspian Sea nations that "under no circumstances will they allow [the use of their] territories by third countries to launch aggression or other military action against any of the member states." Doesn't take a genius to figure out which third country might top that list.

This declaration accomplishes several things, none of which bode well for Washington's push for Iran to come clean on its nuclear program.

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Posted at 1:36 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Robert Gates, Russia, Terrorism, U.N., Vladimir Putin
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October 15, 2007

Putin Delays Iran Visit After All

UPDATED.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be delaying his trip to Tehran amid concerns of an assassination plot, a news agency reported hours after Putin insisted he would arrive there tonight as scheduled.

According to AP, Iran's official news agency is reporting that "Putin will arrive in Tehran at the head of a delegation tomorrow morning." Neither government offered a detailed explanation.

Earlier today, Putin defiantly insisted that he would press on with the visit, despite intelligence that suicide bombers were targeting him in Tehran. "Of course I am going to Iran," Putin said after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany. "If I always listened to all the various threats and the recommendations of the special services I would never leave home."

Russia's Interfax news agency had reported that security sources were picking up intelligence on a potential terrorist plot against Putin during his visit. An Iranian official dismissed the report as "part of a psychological war waged by enemies to disrupt relations between Iran and Russia."

Putin is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a move akin to -- intentionally or not -- poking Washington in the eye.

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Posted at 5:24 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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October 01, 2007

Putin Hints At A Run For Prime Minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that he will lead the ticket of the country's dominant political party in parliamentary elections in December, thus making him eligible to become the prime minister.

Putin, whose second term as president ends next year, is forbidden by Russia's constitution from seeking a third term. However, today's announcement confirms what many have long suspected -- that Putin fully intends to remain deeply involved in Russian politics after his presidency has ended.

At the eighth congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party today, Putin told members: "As far as heading the government is concerned -- this is a quite realistic suggestion but it is still too early to think about it." He added two conditions: "United Russia must win the election and a decent, capable and modern person with whom I work as a team should be elected as president."

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Posted to: Russia, Vladimir Putin
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September 28, 2007

New Vote On Iran Sanctions Delayed

UPDATED.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not go out of her way to hide her disappointment at the latest setback in U.S. efforts to clamp down further on Iran.

"The international community has to have a greater sense of urgency about some of these issues," she said, speaking to reporters at the U.N. this afternoon. "We have two unanimous Security Council resolutions in place on Iran. We're working on a third, and using that track to try to invigorate the negotiations track." Rice conceded that there was already a "certain level of cooperation in Iran."

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Condoleezza Rice, EU, Europe, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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September 26, 2007

U.N. General Assembly: Like Last Year, Only Worse

The astute Brits at the Economist called it.

By granting so many interviews to curious American journalists and agreeing to take questions from college students at Columbia, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made sure that this year's meeting of the U.N. General Assembly would revolve around him. It helps that his BFF in these parts, Venezuelan firebrand Hugo Chavez, sat this one out, which means Ahmadinejad's "no gays in Iran" statement remains the craziest (and most sinister) thing said all week.

Ahmadinejad put on his "serious" face (no smiling) yesterday when he delivered his U.S.-centric speech before the General Assembly. The American delegation didn't bother to stick around for its entirety, such was its predictability. If this scenario reminds you of last year's meeting at the U.N., it should. The bottom line for the Security Council has been no nuclear material for Iran, period. Yesterday, Ahmadinejad ensured that the U.N. will act to shut him down, one way or another.

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Posted at 1:15 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, Chechnya, China, Condoleezza Rice, Hugo Chavez, IAEA, Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 25, 2007

Bush's Other Legacy On Display At U.N.

President Bush called on the U.N. General Assembly to renew its focus on human rights, as he reminded increasingly distant member nations of America's outsized role in humanitarian work around the globe.

Placing the spotlight on the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Bush told the audience, "The nations in this chamber have our differences. Yet there are some areas where we can all agree."

The president ticked off a laundry list of ills, some of them ancient, still plaguing the globe, from malaria to HIV/AIDS, starvation to closed markets, impositions on the freedom of speech and assembly, and "tyranny and violence."

The Universal Declaration is not being upheld, Bush said, "when innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear" or "when millions of children starve to death or die from a mosquito bite."

"Changing these underlying conditions is what the declaration calls the work of underlying freedom," he said.

Bush then turned his attention to the representatives of Myanmar.

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Posted to: Asia, Bill Clinton, Bush Administration, China, Climate Change, HIV/AIDS, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 18, 2007

In Case You Missed It...

... we're going to war with Iran. France is on board, too. (With us, not Iran.)

What?

The surreality of global relations this week is enough to make us wonder if we're trapped inside one of John Bolton's fevered dreams. Let's untangle this web of crazy carefully, lest all our heads collectively explode.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is now seeking to assure allies that his country will "negotiate, negotiate, negotiate" before resorting to the option of war with Iran. On Sunday, the socialist ignited a firestorm when he told an interviewer, "We must prepare for the worst," adding, "The worst, sir, is war."

Kouchner said that France was "preparing" itself for the prospect of war in the event efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program were unsuccessful.

En route to a meeting with his counterpart in Moscow today, Kouchner sought to dial back his earlier remarks. "I do not want it said that I'm a warmonger. My message was one of peace, serious and determined," he told traveling reporters. Later, he blamed the media for running wild with what he'd said on Sunday. "As usual with journalists, they take one phrase and you don't know what came after," he said on a Russian radio talk show.

That's fair. Then again, maybe France picked a really bad time to propose Germany dump its historical baggage and dive into the nukes business.

Continue reading "In Case You Missed It..."

Posted at 6:30 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, France, Germany, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Syria, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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September 14, 2007

Report: Germany Wavers, U.S. Revives Iran Planning

About a month ago, we wondered why White House officials were leaking word that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps was to be designated a terrorist organization. Looks like we may have an answer.

Reuters reports that the leak may have been a hawkish attempt to goad the State Department into taking a tougher line on Tehran. The White House alleges Iran is arming and funding Shiite insurgents in Iraq, compounding existing frustration over Iran's nuclear ambitions. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has mostly laughed off U.N. economic sanctions aimed at his uranium enrichment program.

Now, there are indications the sanctions process may have hit a roadblock.

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Posted at 11:41 AM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, EU, Europe, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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September 12, 2007

Putin's Pick Sparks Guessing Game

Russia analysts are scratching their heads over President Vladimir Putin's unexpected appointment of Viktor Zubkov as prime minister. The office of the prime minister may as well be symbolic for what little power it holds, yet Zubkov is a close friend of Putin's.

There's speculation that Zubkov's elevation from head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, which eyes money-laundering in the banking system, signals he is viewed as a possible successor. But that's an odd choice for Putin, as Zubkov is not very well-known and has no ties to the KGB (from which Putin hails) or other security-related services.

Putin named Zubkov as his pick almost immediately after the current PM, Mikhail Fradkov, resigned, thus triggering dissolution of the government. "Fradkov said he was resigning to give Mr Putin 'full freedom of decision including staff decisions'; most observers reckon that the president had that already," the Economist notes.

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Posted to: Russia, Vladimir Putin
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August 22, 2007

You, Too, Can Look Like Vladimir Putin

As semi-authoritarian world leaders' bodies go, Vladimir Putin's is tops. The 54-year-old Russian president boasts a torso as muscular as his hold over former Soviet bloc nations' energy supplies.

A Russian tabloid today published a helpful exercise guide that will help less well-endowed Russkies "get a body like Putin's," Reuters reports. We don't read Russian, but we're pretty sure this is the article. No clue either if Pootie-Poot eats his Wheaties, but the president is apparently a great judo practitioner and downhill skier.

Posted at 5:09 PM
Posted to: Russia, Vladimir Putin
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August 07, 2007

Moscow Denies Firing Missile Into Georgia

An unexploded missile landed in a field of corn and potatoes near the Georgian village of Tsitelubani late last night, escalating ongoing tensions between Russia and its neighbor to the south.

Georgia's interior minister told Reuters that Russia committed an "act of aggression," launching the missile from jets that crossed the border. The village is about 40 miles west of Tbilisi, close to disputed territory between the two countries.

The Kremlin denied any involvement in the botched air strike. A Russian air force commander told a news agency, "Russian planes did not undertake any flights in this region at any time on Monday. Georgia's sovereign border was not violated."

Posted at 8:58 AM
Posted to: Russia
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July 19, 2007

Russia-Britain Spy Probe Row More Than Just A Spat

Russia and Britain's diplomatic tit-for-tat is just the latest sign of escalating distrust between the former communist superpower and the West.

Moscow has expelled four British Embassy personnel in retaliation for Britain's decision on Monday to expel four Russian officials. That move was itself in retaliation for Russia's refusal to allow extradition of a former KGB officer who has been charged with a high-profile murder in London.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Russia's response.

"We are disappointed that the Russian government should have signalled no new cooperation in the course of the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi," he told reporters. "We obviously believe that the decision to expel four embassy staff is completely unjustified."

Miliband also reminded Russia that most of the world community was siding with the U.K. in this fight. The EU called on Russia to hand over Lugovoi, as did Washington.

"This is an issue of rule of law to our minds, not an issue of politics," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at a conference in Portugal. "It is a matter of Russia cooperating fully in what is simply an effort to solve what was a very terrible crime committed on British soil."

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Posted to: Russia, U.K., Vladimir Putin
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July 16, 2007

Four Russian Diplomats Expelled From U.K.

Angry with Moscow's lack of cooperation in a transcontinental murder probe, the British government plans to boot four yet-to-be-named Russian diplomats. BBC News reports that the targeted Russians may be intelligence officers.

Moscow has refused to hand over ex-KGB spy Andrei Lugovoi, who is suspected in the radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko last November. Litvinenko is also a former spy. After becoming a vocal critic of the Russian government, he fled to Britain and was granted asylum.

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Posted to: Europe, Russia, U.K.
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July 02, 2007

Real Differences Belie Bush & Putin's Cooperative Tone

UPDATED.

A month after it appeared that their relationship had deteriorated beyond the point of repair, U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin were all smiles during a summit meant to restore their former bond.

Seeking to assure their respective constituents that they were determined to hammer out their differences, the two leaders gave an upbeat assessment of their negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

"We spent a lot of time talking about the Iranian issue," Bush said in a joint press conference outside his family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. "I am concerned about the Iranians' attempt to develop the technologies and know-how to develop nuclear weapons. The president shares that."

"So far we have managed to work within the framework of the Security Council, and I think we will be successful on this track," Putin said. "I think all of this will contribute to further substantial intercourse on this issue."

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Posted to: Bush Administration, President Bush, Russia, Vladimir Putin
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June 05, 2007

Bush Not Cowed By Putin's Threats

If Vladimir Putin's vow to point missiles at Europe in response to a U.S. defense shield there are worrying President Bush, he isn't showing it. One day after Putin threatened a second Cold War with the West, Bush again expressed Washington's disappointment in Russia's transition to democracy.

Speaking before the Democracy and Security Conference in Prague, Bush told a receptive audience, "In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development."

Bush will not be alone when he airs his concerns about Russia's increasingly authoritarian government at the G-8 summit in Germany this week. As noted yesterday, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain's Tony Blair are also expected to seek face time with the Russian leader on that topic.

European leaders are also alarmed at Putin's threats, which may particularly chafe the former Eastern Bloc nations that have agreed to host the U.S. missile shield. Poland has signalled its OK for 10 U.S. missile blockers, and the Czech Republic has done the same for a U.S. radar.

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