MADRID, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said that calls from the U.S. and other Western powers to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO are purely aimed at isolating Russia.
"Why does NATO need these countries? To fight against Iran? This is just ridiculous," Gorbachev told Spanish agency EFE....Russia stocks at 2-yr low, Medvedev sees rebound (click here)...RTS hitting a fresh trough of 1,309.49, a level not seen since June 2006. The index closed at 1,334.33, down 4.4 percent on the day.
For the year to date the index is now down 42 percent.
"There were three factors originally driving it: the oil price decline, the general fallout of financial market turmoil which has an effect on Russian banks, and continued political tension as a result of the conflict in Georgia," said Tom Mundy, strategist at Renaissance Capital....Translated from Russia, Medvedev means Bear. Medvedev, is literally the Russian Bear.
Siergiej ŁawrowFollow Russia's Example and Acknowledge the Realities (click here)
If the US and Poland are really interested in guaranteeing that the anti-missile base won't be directed against Russia, we are ready to consider their specific proposals. But we should be talking about guarantees, not about cosmetic political gestures, writes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov....
...We are not delighted with the EU's decision to postpone talks on the new Russia-EU partnership agreement. What matters is that a majority of the EU member states at the 1 September summit in Brussels showed a responsible attitude, being well aware of the importance of cooperation with Russia, where a lot has been achieved in recent years. We appreciate the efforts of the French presidency and of the French president personally, thanks to which the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan had been worked out. We have fulfilled all our obligations. By attacking South Ossetia and violating its international obligations, the Tbilisi regime itself gave up on Georgia's territorial integrity. We call our partners to follow Russia's example and acknowledge the new realities. We believe that the statements, made by some countries' leaders, about Russia's 'imperialist' and 'revisionist' policies are completely wrong. We have always sided with the weaker, even at the risk of making these or other hegemonic states angry. The moral rightness of our position is undisputed....
Four NATO warships leaving Black Sea (click here)
MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - NATO said Wednesday four of its warships were leaving the Black Sea in line with a previously drawn up schedule.
"The Standing NATO Maritime Group One [SNMG 1] successfully completed its planned visit and is leaving the Black Sea today," NATO said.
The ships had been in the Black Sea since August 21, arriving nine days after the conclusion of armed hostilities between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. Russia expressed concern over the fact that NATO ships were in the area, but the North Atlantic alliance responded that the exercises had been planned a year ago....
Russia Warns it May Target US Missiles in Europe (click here)
By VOA News 10 September 2008
R Raffaele's Georgia US report
Russian news reports say a top defense official has warned that Russia may point ballistic weapons at a U.S. missile defense system in Europe. News agencies Wednesday quote General Nikolai Solovtsyov as saying Russia may take the action if the United States moves forward with a missile defense plan in Poland and the Czech Republic.The United States and Poland signed a missile defense agreement in Warsaw last month. It allows the United States to deploy 10 defensive missiles in Poland. The United States also plans to set up guidance radar in the Czech Republic....
