Putin Gives Bush Stern Gesture

Russian Premier Vladimir Putin (R) sternly gestures while speaking with the U.S. President George W. Bush (L) in Beijing, on 8 August 2008.

Bush’s behavior towards the Russians has been anything but cordial or acceptable; as known from previous incidents.

Furthermore, as to other unacceptable incidents within the global community, this is becoming more of a unified consensus against Bush. Bush should be better known as the man who made a million mistakes, while being in the White House and still keeps doing them.

Majority of Russians consider United States a force for evil: US election 2008

29 May 2008

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow

Given that Vladimir Putin, their revered prime minister, once likened the United States to the Third Reich, it should come as little surprise that Russians were more suspicious of their Cold War adversary’s motives than any other nationality surveyed.

Just 16 per cent of those surveyed thought the United States a force for good in the world, compared with 56 percent who considered it a force for evil.

You don’t have to look far to see why.

Many Russians reckon that the United States played a crucial role in the financial collapse of the 1990s by pushing Boris Yeltsin’s government into making precipitous economic reforms.

The Iraq war and a relentless stream of anti-US rhetoric from Mr Putin, who regularly portrayed Washington as an imperialist aggressor, have only heightened that antagonism.

America’s plans to build a missile defence shield in central Europe and a Washington-led campaign to bring the ex-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine have also played on Russia’s traditional paranoia.

State television frequently points to both issues as evidence that the United States is conspiring to encircle and enfeeble Russia as part of a plot to steal its vast energy resources.

Arguably more surprisingly, the survey shows that John McCain enjoys more support in Russia than most of the G8. While he still trailed Barack Obama by seven per cent, 24 per cent of Russians said they could vote for him if they could — compared to just eight per cent of French respondents.

In Soviet times it was generally agreed that the Kremlin preferred to see a Republican in the White House. Conservatives were more straightforward to deal with because they acted from self-interest and were less concerned with human rights than their Democratic rivals, it was reckoned.

Mr McCain, however, has been roundly criticised in the Russian media for his antagonistic opinions towards Moscow. He has long called for Russia’s expulsion from the G8, has been scathing about Mr Putin and dismissed the country’s presidential elections in March as “rigged”.

While Mr Obama has hardly been fulsome about Russia, his criticism has been far more muted.

That his lead over his Republican rival is so slim probably has much to do with prejudice in a country where old-fashioned racism is still largely acceptable.

Many respondents, however, were equally dubious about both candidates with some 45 per cent saying they did not know who they would vote for or admitting they would vote for neither — a much higher proportion than the samples taken in other G8 countries.

That could have something to do with the aides the two candidates have chosen to advise them on foreign policy. Mr Obama’s team includes Michael McFaul, an academic who has been critical of Mr Putin and Zbigniew Brzezinski, a well known hawk on Russia.

Mr McCain, however, is advised on foreign policy by former secretaries of state James Baker and Henry Kissinger, both seen as more pragmatic on Russia.

The hands of both men were seen in a foreign policy speech by Mr McCain this week that took a softer line on Russia.

Whatever Mr McCain may have said about Russia in the past, he could well take a different tack were he to become president. Both George W Bush and Jacques Chirac, the former French president, were vocal in their criticism on Russia’s war in Chechnya while on the campaign trail — only to soften their positions when they took office.

“Most realise that every position outlined on the campaign trail is not necessarily fulfilled when the candidate becomes president,” said Lyudmilla Lebedeva, a director at the Institute for USA studies in Moscow.

A Siberian Vacancy

It is a wonder if there is a vacancy in Siberia for Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived at the Vnukovo-2 governmental airport outside Moscow on 16 April 2008.

Allegedly, Abbas came for talks with Russia's leaders, on a so-called, planned Russian hosted Middle East peace conference.

Allegedly, before leaving for Moscow, Abbas told journalists he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be discussing 'the international peace conference planned in Russia and its agenda.'

Another wonder, is how Abbas is going to visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when other news says, Putin left today for Libya and is said he will be there until Friday.

Bush wins NATO nod on missile defense

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) speaks with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (L) during the meeting on Afghanistan at the NATO summit in Bucharest April 3, 2008.

3 April 2008

By MATTHEW LEE

President Bush won NATO's endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called it a "breakthrough agreement" for the military alliance.

"Now it is clearly understood in the alliance that the challenges of the 21st century, the threats of the 21st century, make it necessary to have missile defense that can defend the countries of Europe," Rice told reporters at the NATO summit.

Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Bush from the NATO summit. Russia has fiercely opposed it.

Rice also noted that NATO has "also asked Russia to stop its criticism of the alliance effort and to join in the cooperative efforts that have been offered to it by the United States."

A NATO statement calls on the alliance to explore ways in which the planned U.S. project, to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, can be linked with future missile shields elsewhere. It says leaders should come up with recommendations to be considered at their next meeting in 2009.

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, left, prior to the start of the NATO Summit meeting on Afghanistan, in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 3, 2008.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The U.S. plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland and a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic.

At a news conference in Bucharest on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg announced that negotiations with the Americans have been successfully completed and that a deal would be signed in early May.

The Poles have yet to agree to the plan, but in Warsaw on Thursday, talks picked up between Polish and U.S. officials about it.

The backing from NATO and the announcement with the Czechs provides Bush with a powerful leg up in his negotiations with Moscow over the issue.

Bush is seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin twice this week — during the summit and Sunday in Sochi, Russia. White House officials have talked optimistically in recent days that the weekend meeting could break the missile defense logjam.

Rice said she was hopeful that Bush and Putin would agree on a broad framework for cooperation between the countries, but it was still unclear whether they would reach a deal on missile defense. The administration has worked to allay Russian leaders' fears that the system is a threat to them.

"We hope that we can move beyond that to an understanding that we will all have an interest in cooperation on missile defense," Rice said. "But we will see."

On Afghanistan, Bush did win a commitment of more troops to Afghanistan's most dangerous areas, although his national security adviser acknowledged more needs to be done.

"We are not at the level of what at this point in time our commanders looking forward say we need and that's why we said more to do," Stephen Hadley said at the briefing with Rice.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France will send as many as 1,000 troops to the eastern part of the country, freeing up some U.S. forces to move to the south. Canada had threatened to pull its soldiers out of the volatile south, the front line in the fight against a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida forces, unless it received 1,000 reinforcements from another ally.

On NATO expansion, Bush did suffer setback in his drive to have the alliance include Ukraine and Georgia, two former Soviet republics.

"NATO's door must remain open to other nations in Europe that share our love for liberty and demonstrate a commitment to reform and seek to strengthen their ties with the trans-Atlantic community," Bush said in brief remarks at an alliance meeting. "We must give other nations seeking membership a full and fair hearing."

Fellow NATO leaders, fearing a clash with Moscow, rejected Bush's appeal to allow the countries to get on a path toward membership. But Hadley said the president plans to make a new pitch before he leaves office in January. The United States expects to raise the matter at a meeting of NATO foreign minister in December, Hadley said.

The president expressed regret that NATO also declined to offer full membership at this meeting to Macedonia. The invitation was blocked by Greece, which says the country's name implies a territorial claim to a northern region of Greece, also called Macedonia.

"Macedonia's made difficult reforms at home," Bush said. "It is making major contributions to NATO missions abroad. The name issue needs to be resolved quickly so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible."

Albania and Croatia were invited to join the alliance, now currently at 26 members.

Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Bush from the summit. NATO leaders were adopting a statement that "ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations" and that the U.S.-led system would help protect allies.

The statement calls on all NATO members to explore ways in which the planned U.S. project can be linked with future missile shields elsewhere The plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland and a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic.

Russia charges the intent of the system would be to weaken its nuclear deterrent capabilities and upset the balance of power in Europe. Bush has denied that, saying the facilities are designed to protect Europe against a potential missile attack — or even just nuclear blackmail — by Iran. The dispute has become heated at times, with confrontational, Cold War-style rhetoric from Moscow.

Bush essentially has rejected Russia's suggestion that the U.S. substitute an early warning radar in Azerbaijan for the Europe-based system. But U.S. officials have been working to come up with a list of concessions and assurances that could resolve Moscow's fears, such as offering to let Russia share in the information the system collects and promising not to activate it without a verifiable threat.

U.K. Insults Putin: Along with Continuing Saga of the Dead British Spy

Russian expels 4 British diplomats

A British flag bearing a royal crest seen on the official car of the British Ambassador Anthony Brenton, as it stands in front of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Thursday, July 19, 2007. Russia said Thursday it was expelling four British diplomats in retaliation for a similar move by Britain, as a tension mounts between Moscow and London over the radiation poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko, a fierce Kremlin critic, died Nov. 23 after ingesting radioactive polonium-210, and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin on his deathbed. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

19 July 2007

By STEVE GUTTERMAN

MOSCOW -Russia said Thursday it will expel four British diplomats and suspend counterterrorism cooperation with London, the latest move in a mounting confrontation over the radiation poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko.

Britain had announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and restrictions on visas issued to Russian government officials after Moscow refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, accused of killing Litvinenko in London last November.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin announced the expulsions after summoning British Ambassador Anthony Brenton to the ministry and informing him.

Kamynin described Russia's response as "targeted, balanced and the minimum necessary." He contended that Russia was forced to respond, saying Britain had made a "conscious choice of worsening relations with our country."

Brenton relayed London's "continuing disappointment" with the Russian response.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Moscow to heed British demands and extradite Lugovoi — the first time America's senior diplomat has weighed in on the dispute.

"This is an issue of rule of law to our minds, not an issue of politics," Rice said at a news conference in Portugal, where she was attending a conference on Middle East peace. "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."

Kamynin also said Russia would stop issuing visas to British officials and seeking British visas for Russian officials until London provides more information on the restrictions it has imposed.

"Until the new procedure is explained, Russian officials will not request British visas. And analogous requests by British officials will not be considered," he said.

He also said Moscow would suspend cooperation against terror.

"To our regret, cooperation between Russia and Britain on issues of fighting terrorism becomes impossible," Kamynin said.

He did not elaborate, and the extent of current cooperation — with ties already damaged by Russian intelligence services' accusations of British spying — was unclear.

Natalia Leshchenko, an analyst at the Global Insight think tank, said on BBC TV that Britain and Russia do cooperate against terror, but suggested the suspension was mainly meant to tarnish the new government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the eyes of its own people.

"The cooperation itself is there and we can also say it can be exaggerated if needed to show that Gordon Brown acts against the British people. At least that's what they are saying to the Russian public at the moment," Leshchenko said.

Kamynin said the interests of tourists and businessmen would not be hurt. He said that on visa issues Russia would mirror Britain's actions from now on.

Brenton said he met with Kamynin's deputy, Alexander Grushko.

"He has given me certain messages to deliver back to the foreign office, which I will now do," Brenton said. "I have underlined to him our continuing disappointment at Russia's reaction so far to our request for the extradition of Mr. Lugovoi and our continuing hope that Russia will find a way to cooperate."

Litvinenko, a fierce Kremlin critic, died Nov. 23 after ingesting radioactive polonium-210. From his deathbed, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning.

Bush and Putin Goes Fishing