Georgia's Saakashvili signs South Ossetia ceasefire plan (click here)16:48
11/ 08/ 2008TBILISI, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has signed a ceasefire plan for South Ossetia, a RIA Novosti correspondent said on Monday.
The exact details of the document, drafted by the French and Finnish foreign ministers, are currently unavailable.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb are now expected to bring the document to Moscow, where they will discuss it with Russian authorities later on Monday.
Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, was cautious however, saying that, "The statement [on the ceasefire] was made to lull the public into a sense of security. But we are remaining vigilant. We, the military, must not relax," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier on Monday that Russia had almost completed its operation to force Georgia to accept peace in South Ossetia. He said that Russian forces had now taken control of Tskhinvali, the capital of the South Ossetian breakaway republic that was attacked by Georgia on Friday.
"We have completed the bulk of an operation to force Georgia to accept peace in South Ossetia. Russian peacekeepers have assumed control of Tskhinvali," Medvedev told Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov....Georgia was unable to maintain its sovereign borders because as a former Soviet state it became a hostile entity at the borders of Russia. Just that simple. Georgia did not believe in "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie."If Dimitry Medvedev hadn't allowed his country to be a 'satellite' of the Bush/Cheney oil ambitions then Georgia would still be intact. It was just a matter of time before Russia had had enough of the 'staging' of a war against ITS sovereignty.When the Cold War ended in 1991, who thought Georgie, Jr. would undo all the free world had worked toward over decades? The West needs to measure its intolerance of Russia. Georgie's ego and his Daddy's so called legacy will get in the way of prudent decision making. The ruins of The West lie in the balance.Russia is not seeking WW III, it is seeking the end of aggressions by Bush and Cheney in Europe against its western borders. Russia wanted to be a member of NATO, now the country is AGAIN treated as a bastard child by The West. When will peace ensue and prosperity by all begin? I think the answer to that inquiry is NEVER. At least as long as The West continues to justify their military strength based on irrational fears of Communism.
Yesterday, while reviewing the headlines, I realized the best option for Dimitry Medvedev would be to either surrender or leave the country through Batumi. The option of him leaving at Batumi is now out of the question. With occupation of all the borders of Georgia, there is no doubt it will fall back to Russian sovereignty.In less than four short days, Russia has been able to reoccupy Georgia without a single opposition. Whatever did Rice, Bush and Cheney believe they were going to accomplish with a missle shield placed at a Russian border? The aggression of The West needs to stop. It tends to forget, the two largest communist nations on Earth are opposed to it.Russia cuts sea links with Georgia (click here)SOCHI, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Sea links between Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi and Russia's Sochi have been cut, the deputy head of the Russian Black Sea port said on Monday.
Georgia launched major ground and air attacks to seize control of South Ossetia on Friday, prompting Russia to send in tanks and hundreds of troops. Around 2,000 civilians have since died in Tskhinvali, according to Russia. A total of 34,000 people are also reported to have fled across the Russian border.
"We have temporarily suspended sea links with the port of Batumi. According to the information at our disposal, the port of Batumi is closed," Simon Mamaladze said.
Russia resumed sea links with Georgia in late March 2008, two years after it halted air, post and sea links with the former Soviet republic.
Also on Monday, Russia suspended postal communication with Georgia...I suggest NATO seek peace with Russia. I do believe if they were a member of NATO, they would eagerly assist with Afghanistan. Otherwise, if escalations of tensions continue, we might even be looking at hostilities between China and India.
If Nicolas Sarkozy intends for peace to exist and PERSIST (click here), he needs to welcome Russia as a friend assaulted by a "W"rong headed American president and not 'an enemy' to the entire world. Russian 'acceptance' is long over do and with that reality comes cessation of continued teetering of chronic Neocon warring.
The ONLY way to defeat terrorists is to stop them at every opportunity. That won't happen so long as tensions are allowed to exist between countries for reasons of 'political' differences.
Hatred is a Neocon tool. The West needs to stop every opportunity for hate to manifest its ugly head in order to prevent nuclear proliferation and potential to global demise. The USA's priorities are a problem and the American people do not have the political will to stop their irrational ideation of spreading democracy in exchange for wealth.
Russia to demand urgent Russia-NATO Council meeting (click here)
13:59
11/ 08/ 2008
MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will demand an extraordinary Russia-NATO Council meeting on Tuesday over the situation in South Ossetia, Russia's envoy to the North Atlantic alliance said on Monday.
Georgia launched major ground and air attacks to seize control of South Ossetia on Friday, prompting Russia to send in tanks and hundreds of troops. Around 2,000 civilians have since died in Tskhinvali, according to Russia. A total of 34,000 people are also reported to have fled across the Russian border.
"Tomorrow, when Georgia's foreign minister arrives in Brussels and, possibly, the NATO Council is convened, Russia will demand an extraordinary meeting of the Russia-NATO Council to present our arguments and the truth about the methods of the Saakashvili regime and measures being taken by our peacekeepers," Dmitry Rogozin said.
A top Russian diplomat accused foreign media on Sunday of pro-Georgian bias in their coverage of the conflict between Georgia and Russia over breakaway South Ossetia.
"We want television screens in the West to be showing not only Russian tanks and saying Russia is at war in South Ossetia and with Georgia, but also to be showing the suffering of the Ossetian people, the murdered elderly people and children, the destroyed towns of South Ossetia, and [regional capital] Tskhinvali. This would be an objective way of presenting the material," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told a RIA Novosti news conference.
The aggression by the Bush/Cheney White House is more than obvious and it has dearly little to with Tehran. The missle shields were to be at Russia's western border while India was being equipped to a higher standard of nuclear potential. The 'ideation' Bush and Cheney were carrying out was to surround Russia and China with a 'kill zone.' Its the most hideous idea that ever existed in a USA administration.
China has been a friend in disarming North Korea. Russia has been instrumental with Iran and the Middle East while Georgie Bush played political volleys in the USA and maintained a 'helpless' stance in providing 'security' to any country including his own. What does The West think they are doing?
Russia and China have proven themselves to be worthy friends and allies to peace.
Moscow must answer U.S. shield with Cuban 'spy' site - analyst (click here)
MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia should respond to U.S. missile defense plans for Central Europe by reopening a 'spy' facility in Cuba to gather intelligence on the United States, a Russian analyst said on Wednesday.
The electronic monitoring and surveillance facility near Havana at Torrens, also known as the Lourdes facility, the largest Russian Sigint site abroad, was shut down in October 2001 by then- president Vladimir Putin.
"Cuba is a unique place to gather intelligence on the United States. I believe that the reopening of this station is both possible and necessary amid the threat that the Americans are creating for Russia," Alexander Pikayev, head of the disarmament and conflict resolution department at the Russian Academy of Sciences' World Economics and International Relations Institute, told a news conference at RIA Novosti.
"Russia has every right to respond," he added....
Poland says U.S. missile shield deal 'one step closer' (click here)
WARSAW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday that Warsaw and Washington had moved a step closer to an agreement on the placement of a U.S. missile base in Poland.
Sikorski met in Warsaw with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried earlier on Monday and said after the talks that the Polish and U.S. positions had taken "another step closer."He also called the talks, "The kind that take place between friends."Poland and the United States have been engaged in protracted talks over a U.S. request to place 10 interceptor missiles in northern Poland as part of a U.S. missile shield for Europe and North America against possible attacks from "rogue states," including Iran.
The U.S. is planning to link the missile base in Poland with an early warning radar in the Czech Republic. The Czech government has already agreed to the U.S. plans, pending approval by parliament....
Bushehr NPP could be launched later in 2008- Iran's vice president (click here)
TEHRAN, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - The Bushehr nuclear power plant currently being built by Russia in southern Iran may be launched later in 2008, an Iranian vice president said on Friday.
Russia is building the $1 billion Bushehr facility, Iran's first nuclear power plant, in the south of the country in accordance with a 1995 contract. The project is also subject to UN supervision as Iran is under international scrutiny over its compliance with its nuclear non-proliferation commitments.
"I think preparatory operations to launch the power plant will be started at Bushehr later this year," the IRNA news agency quoted Gholamreza Aqazadeh, who also heads the country's atomic energy organization, as saying.
Russia's nuclear power chief Sergei Kiriyenko said in early June that preparations for the launch of the Bushehr project, including nuclear fuel operations, would start in the fall. He said with confidence that the safety of nuclear fuel storage was not in doubt....
Czech, U.S. officials sign missile defense deal (click here)
WARSAW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg signed an agreement Tuesday on the deployment of a missile-tracking radar on Czech soil, the CTK news agency reported.
The two countries also have to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) covering the troops who would staff the base, but it has yet to be finalized.
As part of the missile defense system, the United States plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland, but talks with Warsaw have stalled.
The plans are fiercely opposed by Russia, which sees them as a threat to its national security and the international nuclear deterrence system.
"This is a very important system for Europe," Schwarzenberg said Friday. "Weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery are proliferating in the modern world. If there are no immediate threats today, they will emerge in the future."
He said that after Russia's lease of Azerbaijan's Gabala radar station expires, its possible use could become a subject of NATO discussions.
Russia has offered the United States the use of its radar stations in Armavir in southern Russia and Gabala in Azerbaijan as alternatives, but Washington said they could only be used as "supplements," if at all.
Venezuelan military build up cause for anxiety (click here)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The bizarre remarks and actions of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez continue to concern anyone who is interested in the peace and security of the Caribbean region.
Chavez has recently purchased US$4 billion worth of military equipment from Russia. These include: 24 Sukhoi combat aircraft with missiles, Main battle tanks, transport aircraft, air defence systems and Kalashnikov AK automatic assault rifles. This latest purchase follows a 2005-2006 agreement with Russia to buy over 50 combat helicopters, 12 Tor-M1 state-of-the-art defence anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile systems and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles....
Russian arms exports to exceed $8.5 bln in 2008 (click here)
16:12
05/ 08/ 2008
MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's military exports will exceed $8.5 billion in 2008, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
Russia has doubled annual arms exports since 2000 to $7 billion last year, becoming the world's second-largest exporter of conventional arms after the United States.
Military exports "are planned at $8.5 billion this year [2008], and I think we will fully meet the plan, and even exceed it," Mikhail Dmitriyev, head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, told a RIA Novosti news conference.
Russia exports weapons to about 80 countries. Among key buyers of Russian-made weaponry are China, India, Algeria, Venezuela, Iran, Malaysia and Serbia....
Olmert's resignation will not affect Mideast peace process (click here)
...Under Olmert, Israel resumed talks with the Palestinians and Syria, after a lengthy suspension. But then, any other Israeli leader would have done the same, because there is a time for war and a time for peace. Now is apparently a time for peace....
Syria's president to visit Russia on August 20 (click here)
11:05
11/ 08/ 2008
DAMASCUS, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Syrian President Bashar Assad will arrive in Russia on August 20 for a working visit, a spokesman for the Syrian information ministry said on Monday.
During his two-day visit, Assad will meet with Russian leaders to discuss bilateral relations and regional and world developments, in particular the peace process in the Middle East and the situation in Iraq.
Assad last visited Moscow in late 2006.
The Bush/Cheney White House has propagated NOTHING but fear. As a result Iran has lost its footing to a moderate government and has elected extremists to protect its single Shia sovereignty. Russia has been there to moderate and empower. In doing so, Russia now has alliances with countries that can provide strategic information and alliance with continued escalation of USA aggression.
Iran seeks closer ties with Syria in countering external threats (click here)
TEHRAN, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - Tension in the Mideast region requires active cooperation between Iran and Syria, the Iranian parliament speaker said Tuesday.
"Iran is committed to developing all-round cooperation with Syria. The sensitive situation that has evolved in the region requires a deepening of this cooperation, as well as consultations between our countries on a broad range of issues," Ali Larijani told visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.
The Iranian official said Damascus and Tehran had good potential for deepening bilateral ties in the political, trade and economic realms.
"Iran and Syria are two important countries in the Islamic world, which play a significant role in standing up to the threats faced by the followers of Islam," he said.
Moallem, attending the 15th Non-Aligned Movement ministerial meeting in Tehran, said Syria attached "great importance" to developing relations with the Islamic Republic....
The West is caught in a self-abuse cycle of Bush/Cheney wealth priorities. The West is weakened in its fight against terrorist networks in Afghanistan under the NATO alliance by the idiocy of the Republican War Machine that performs its 'wealth management' regardless of prudent foreign policy. Selling war machines are fun regardless of the destabilizing effect on international relationships.
Turkey set to create $1 bln missile shield in Ankara, Istanbul (click here)
16:12
11/ 08/ 2008
ANKARA, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Turkey plans to buy eight missile defense systems abroad to protect itself against possible missile attacks, an undersecretary for the Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Murat Bayar said two missile shields are to be deployed in and around Ankara and Istanbul by 2010, and that Turkey is currently negotiating a deal with four countries: Russia, the United States, China and Israel.
Experts say the most effective systems for Turkey would be the Russian-made S-300/400 or the U.S. Patriot missile defense systems. The United States deployed Patriots in Turkey during the war in the Persian Gulf and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Bayar said four systems would be bought initially and deployed to protect the Turkish capital.
"Systems that will be bought later will be deployed in other areas, depending on the threats encountered by the country," he said.
The cost of the Turkish air defense system has been put at $1 billion.
The West needs to stop their idiocy. They have DIRECTLY caused the invasion into Georgia and the escalation of a global war strategy by Russia due to indulgences of the Bush/Cheney Dreamscape. The incredible aspect to all this is that Russia has The West surrounded and completely compromised. NATO can't even win in 'Little Afghanistan' without redeployment of American troops from Iraq.
Putin is damn genius.
He has allowed the threat of the USA, based in the reality of an illegal invasion of Iraq, to take shape in countries that Bush/Cheney have 'oil designs' on. Putin has reaped what no other Russian premier could accomplish; the rewards of allowing American Greed to overshadow a world order now in collapse.
Russian Moves in the Americas (click here)
Russia's push into the region could force others into an arms race that no one wants or can afford.
By Jorge Castañeda NEWSWEEK
Published Aug 9, 2008
Aug. 18-25, 2008 issue
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's surprising announcement in early August that his country would seek to "re-establish" ties with the Soviet Union's old allies in Havana stirred up excitement in many foreign newsrooms, and raised eyebrows in a few foreign ministries around the world. Coming in the wake of a three-day visit to Cuba by a high-level Russian delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, and of reports about the possibility of the Russian military's using the Caribbean island as a fueling station for its Bear bombers, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the flurry of news evoked memories of the 1962 missile crisis and a new "threat" to the United States from across the Florida Straits....
