Leavenworth Strategist

NATO Chief Proposes Linked US/Russian/NATO Defense

By ROBERT WIELAARD (AP)

BRUSSELS — The head of NATO called Friday for the U.S., Russia and NATO to link their missile defense systems against potential new nuclear threats from Asia and the Middle East, saying that the old foes must forget their lingering Cold War animosity.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen appealed for unity a day after the U.S. shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense shield that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia.

"We should explore the potential for linking the US, NATO and Russia missile defense systems at an appropriate time," Fogh Rasmussen said. "Both NATO and Russia have a wealth of experience in missile defense. We should now work to combine this experience to our mutual benefit."

Fogh Rasmussen said in a speech calling for a rethink of NATO-Russia relations that long-range ballistic missile technology in the hands of such countries as North Korea and Iran threatens the West and Russia in large part because it could lead to regional proliferation...

Russia rejects anti-piracy efforts under NATO, EU command - envoy

MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military ships will not be involved in anti-piracy operations under the command of NATO or the European Union, Russia's permanent envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.

Russia is a member of the coalition of 16 countries, which are currently involved in anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.

"As far as [the fight against] piracy is concerned, why should our ships be under foreign military command? We will not operate under the command of the European Union, we will not take part in NATO operations," Dmitry Rogozin told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Russia Allows Transit for Afghanistan-bound U.S. Troops

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2009 – An agreement signed in Moscow today permits the United States to transit troops and weapons across Russian territory en route to Afghanistan.

The pact, signed during President Barack Obama’s visit to the Kremlin, permits 4,500 flights per year through Russian airspace, and saves the U.S. government $133 million annually in transportation costs while boosting logistical efficiency, according to a White House statement.

“This is a substantial contribution by Russia to our international effort, and it will save the United States time and resources in giving our troops the support that they need,” Obama said during a news conference with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

Following today’s meeting between the two presidents, Obama told reporters that he and Medvedev agreed on the need to combat the threat of violent extremism, particularly from al-Qaida. Access to Russian transit routes substantially increases the efficiency of efforts against violent extremism in Afghanistan, the White House statement said...

NATO begins Georgia military exercises

By James Blitz in London (Financial Times)

About 1,000 troops and government officials on Wednesday began taking part in Nato-led military exercises in Georgia that Russia condemned as "muscle flexing", but which the western alliance insists are no threat to any state in the region.

The exercises take place a day after Georgia said ithad quelled a mutiny at an army base which it claimed was part of a Kremlin-orchestrated plot to disrupt the Nato event.

The exercises involve personnel from the 28 Nato members and from regional states that are not formally part of the alliance but co-operate with it under its "partnership for peace" programme.

They are being held at a former Russian air force base east of Tbilisi and a few kilometres from the Mukhrovani base, where the government said tank commanders had rebelled on Tuesday.

Although described by the media as a "war game", Nato officials say it falls short of that. A first phase of the exercise, involving 650 officials, involves simulating a "crisis response" at a Georgian army base east of Tbilisi...

NATO To Give Russia Early Warning

(The Norway Post) NATO members Norway, Poland and Turkey are to set up a radar system which will give Russia early warning about possible threats from abroad. In return, Russia will provide NATO with information of similar possible threats against NATO. 

A spokesman for the Polish defence department says the headquarter for the new radar system will be located in Warsaw.

According to the Polish newspaper Dziennik, the new radar network will gather information from the three nations' radar stations and inform Russia about possible threats from the air.

Russia's NATO envoy accuses alliance of interference in Georgia

April 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's NATO envoy claimed on Tuesday that plans by the alliance to hold military exercises in the former Soviet republic were an attempt at interference in Georgia's internal affairs.

The Cooperative Longbow/Lancer - 2009 drills are due to take place at Georgia's Vaziani military base from May 3 through June 3. Some 900 service personnel from 23 NATO member nations and the alliance's partners are to take part in the drills, to be held under NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

"NATO is trying to interfere in Georgia's affairs in this way," Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti, adding that the exercises were an expression of support for beleaguered Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and "a challenge" to the newly independent South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He also claimed that Russia would be forced to react.

The envoy also said that any attempt to encourage "the Saakashvili regime" showed gross disregard towards those people "sacrificed on the altar of his Napoleonic ambitions."

Russia rules out its military presence in Afghanistan

 

(INTERFAX) Russia does not intend to resume its military presence in Afghanistan, but it will assist the international military forces deployed in that country, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin in an interview with Interfax

            "Russian military presence in Afghanistan is impossible. There is a consensus in Russian society on this issue, taking into account the historical record," Borodavkin said.

            Talking about the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, Borodavkin said that, "in the current conditions, these troops in fact remain a force curbing the terrorist threat."

            "Their presence at this moment meets both interests of Afghanistan itself, as well as regional and in a wider context international security. Proceeding from this understanding, Russia intends to continue to provide political support to the international forces stationed in Afghanistan under a UN Security Council resolution," he said.

            Peace and stability in Afghanistan meet long-term interests of both Russia and the NATO member-states, which make up a majority at the ISAF, he said...

Russia links Afghanistan help to better NATO ties

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Russia could help NATO re-supply its forces in Afghanistan if the alliance restores contacts with Moscow that were put on hold over the war with Georgia, a senior Russian envoy was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Ambassadors from the alliance's 26 members and Russia will meet in a joint council on Monday for the first time since NATO suspended the sessions in protest at what it called Russia's "disproportionate" use of force against Georgia last August.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO, for the first time made an explicit link between the restoration of ties and giving the alliance transit routes across Russia and neighbouring states to ship supplies into Afghanistan.

NATO, Russia Meet for First Time After Georgia Invasion

(VOA News) By Lisa Bryant, Paris,19 December 2008

NATO and Russia held their first high-level talks Friday since Moscow invaded Georgia in August, sparking international criticism.

The lunchtime talks took place between NATO's secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin. NATO suspended its special relationship with Moscow - a framework known as the NATO-Russia Council - after the Georgian conflict four months ago. But earlier this month, NATO foreign ministers agreed to slowly resume dialogue with Russia...

Ex-Soviet military pact urges NATO cooperation

MOSCOW (AP) - The worsening situation in Afghanistan warrants more cooperation between NATO and a Russian-led military organization, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization said Friday.
The CSTO links Russia with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, serving as a tool for Moscow to preserve clout in its former Soviet backyard.
«The situation in Afghanistan is quite complex, and there is a trend toward its deterioration,» its head, Nikolai Bordyuzha, said at a briefing.
Russia in April agreed to allow NATO to transport non-lethal supplies overland to its forces in Afghanistan, and Russian officials said the deal still stands despite freezing of Russia-NATO ties over the Russian-Georgian war.
Bordyuzha said that transit of cargo for NATO troops could be one of the areas of cooperation between the alliance and the CSTO...

Russia, Venezuela Launch Naval Exercises

By VOA News
01 December 2008

Russia and Venezuela have begun a series of joint naval operations in the southern Caribbean Sea aimed at evaluating their nations' skills in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Military officials for both countries said the exercises, dubbed "VenRus 2008," will include navigation, rescue and other operations.

A fleet of about 1,600 Russian naval officers is participating in the exercise aboard several Russian warships, which left the port of La Guaira, near Caracas, Monday for the exercises. The vessels arrived in Venezuela late last month in Russia's first deployment in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

Russia-Georgia Rift Prompts Questions About NATO’s Future Role

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2008 – Russia’s attack on Georgia, the first invasion orchestrated by Moscow since the end of the Soviet Union, raises questions about NATO’s future role in the region, defense officials said.

“We have heretofore, since NATO began to enlarge in the '90s, operated in an environment where the presumption was that Russia was a partner for NATO, not an adversary,” Eric S. Edelman, undersecretary of defense for policy, said last week . “Unfortunately, Russia's behavior in the last month has now called that into question. And that's going to have to be reassessed,” he said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Gates Urges Cautious NATO Stance on Russia After Georgia Conflict

By THOM SHANKER (New York Times)

LONDON — With NATO divided over how to respond to a newly assertive Russia, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that he would urge alliance ministers meeting here to adopt a cautious and deliberate approach that would reassure newer members along the Russian border without provoking hostilities.

Mr. Gates has said he does not anticipate any armed Russian incursions into the territory of NATO member countries, but said Moscow was more likely to pursue strategies of “pressure and intimidation,” including restricting its supplies of oil and gas, on which Europe depends.

Venezuela Announces Early Plans for Military Exercises With Russia in Caribbean

NY Times- By SIMON ROMEROand CLIFFORD J. LEVY

CARACAS, Venezuela— Chafing at the reactivation in recent weeks of an American naval fleet in Latin American waters, President Hugo Chávez said Sunday that Venezuela could engage in naval exercises with Russian ships in the Caribbean before the end of the year.

Mr. Chávez’s words echoed news reports here over the weekend that four warships with as many as 1,000 sailors from Russia’s Pacific Fleet could take part in a training exercise in November off Venezuela’s coast. Salvatore Cammarata Bastidas, Venezuela’s chief of naval intelligence, said the exercises were aimed at strengthening military ties.

Continue reading "Venezuela Announces Early Plans for Military Exercises With Russia in Caribbean " »

Deutsche Welle- The EU is picking up the pace. Within four weeks, 200 EU observers are slated to go to Georgia. The nature of their duties is not yet clear, but a few obstacles can already be detected.

The EU wants to send at least 200 unarmed observers to Georgia by Oct. 1.

According to the European-Russian agreement from Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, Russia will withdraw its troops ten days later from all of Georgia – including the breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The EU now has a little less than four weeks to find enough suitable observers.

In Passau on Wednesday, Sept, 10, Angela Merkel announced that Germany could provide up to 40 observers. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has confirmed this in the meantime.

How many German observers will really set off to Tiflis and what their responsibilities there will be, however, is still unclear. The EU Foreign Ministers conference, which will meet this coming Monday, Sept. 15 in Brussels, must first formally seal the plan and then determine the details.

By VOA News  30 August 2008

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged the European Union to ignore Georgia's call for sanctions on Russia after Moscow's intervention in the Caucasus.

In an interview with Germany's ARD television Friday, Mr. Putin called on the 27-nation bloc to take what he called a rational and objective stance on the Georgian conflict. He blamed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for starting the conflict, and he criticized the United States for supporting the Georgian leadership.

By VOA News (13 August 2008)

A senior U.S. defense official says the United States has canceled a joint naval exercise with Russia, scheduled for this week.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said Tuesday that in the wake of the fighting in Georgia, there is no way the joint exercise can take place at this time.

The naval exercise was to have started Friday off the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok with Britain and France also taking part. There is no word whether they will still participate.

August 14, 2008
By RFE/RL

The first U.S. military plane bringing aid to Georgia landed in Tbilisi overnight, with U.S. officials promising many more to follow.

The military airlift is to be complemented by U.S. naval ships delivering aid to Georgian ports in the days to come.

The inflow of aid is intended to send two messages.

The first is clear and easy to read: Washington will help Georgia recover from its mauling at the hands of the Russian Army.

The second message is more subtle. The aid is being delivered by U.S. military forces in a sign that Washington is committed to Georgia's statehood and eventual NATO membership even if Russian forces are on Georgian soil.

(NY Times) By THOM SHANKER and NICHOLAS KULISH

WASHINGTON — The United States and Poland reached a long-stalled deal on Thursday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory, in the strongest reaction so far to Russia’s military operation in Georgia.

Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in Georgia, a close American ally. At a news conference on Friday, a senior Russian defense official, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to serve as host for the anti-missile system. Such an action “cannot go unpunished,” he said.

By Margaret Besheer (VOA)
United Nations
20 June 2008

Divisions within the U.N. Security Council on the subject of Kosovo were apparent yet again on Friday, when the secretary-general spoke about his plan to transfer some responsibilities from the U.N. mission in Pristina to the European Union. Serbia, and its powerful ally Russia, have rejected the U.N. chief's plan, but the United States, Britain and France support it. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council that following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in February and the entry into force last Sunday of its constitution, the U.N. mission's ability to operate there has come into serious question. The mission is known by its acronym UNMIK.

(RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday that Kiev's plans to join NATO run counter to the bilateral treaty on friendship, Russia's foreign minister said on Friday.

Medvedev also cautioned Viktor Yushchenko at a meeting near St. Petersburg against unilateral steps to expel Russia's Black Sea Fleet from naval facilities leased from Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting.

"Ukraine's membership in such an alliance [NATO] cannot be treated as friendly toward Russia," Lavrov said.

May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian president reaffirmed his country's aspiration to join NATO while on a three-day visit to Canada and thanked the Canadian parliament for its support of Kiev's bid.

Viktor Yushchenko addressed the Canadian parliament and held talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday aiming to boost support for the country's NATO bid, which he said posed no threat to any country.

Yushchenko said that NATO membership for Ukraine was motivated by the long years of repression his country suffered as part of Soviet Union, citing the 1932-33 famine or Holodmor, which claimed up to 10 million lives. Harper pledged to back a bill formally recognizing the Holodmor as a deliberate act of genocide.

RIA Novosti

16/05/2008 17:48 MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy will participate for the first time in a large-scale submarine rescue exercise conducted by NATO countries and their allies, a Navy spokesman said on Friday.

The Bold Monarch 2008 exercise will be staged near the Norwegian coast from May 26 to June 7.

"The purpose of the exercise is to ensure compatibility of rescue equipment used by the Russian Navy and the navies of NATO countries, and to demonstrate ability to coordinate cooperative efforts during escape and rescue missions," Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

By VOA News
30 April 2008

NATO says Russia is making worse its diplomatic and military tensions with Georgia by announcing a troop buildup in Georgian border regions.

The NATO assertion was made Wednesday in Brussels, at a meeting between alliance ministers and Russia's envoy. A NATO spokesman says ambassadors also voiced unanimous concern about Russian moves to establish legal ties with the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

(Deutsche Welle) The EU's foreign policy chief expressed concern after Russia decided to intensify its links to two separatist regions in Georgia. NATO's secretary general called on Moscow to reverse the measures.

"We are concerned about these unilateral decisions, we have always supported Georgia's territorial integrity," said Christina Gallach, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman, on Wednesday, April 16.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer went further, calling on Russia to roll back its plans.

"I am deeply concerned by the actions Russia has taken to establish legal links with the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement. "I urge the Russian Federation to reverse these measures, and call on the Georgian authorities to continue to show restraint," he added.

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia's U.N. envoy said on Monday that Moscow was not fully satisfied with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's stance on Kosovo but dismissed reports that his country had threatened to block Ban's re-election.

Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was asked by reporters if Moscow was happy with the actions and statements of the U.N. secretary-general regarding Kosovo, which was a Serbian province until it declared independence in February.

"No, we are not entirely happy," he said. "But we think that ... the secretary-general is subjected to all sorts of influences and has to take into account positions of various actors in this situation."

Ban has been cautious to avoid any public statements that could be interpreted as supporting either side in the dispute over Kosovo.

March 24 (RIA Novosti) - The parliamentary speaker of the breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia said Monday that the recognition of Abkhaz independence was directly linked to Georgia's accession to NATO.

"The sooner Georgia joins NATO, the sooner our independence will be recognized," Nugzar Ashuba said.

(Reuters) NATO said on Saturday it was nearing a deal to use Russian land and airspace to supply its security forces in Afghanistan, but Western diplomats denied any trade-off with Moscow to keep Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he was hopeful of increased cooperation with Russia. An alliance spokesman said NATO was negotiating accords on land and air corridors for its troops and equipment, which could be announced when President Vladimir Putin attends a NATO summit next month.

"I hope that Afghanistan might be an area where NATO and Russia can make strides to cooperate more closely together," de Hoop Scheffer told a security conference in Brussels.

Associated Press
Wednesday, March 12, 2008; A12

PARIS, March 11 -- Russia has approved the deployment of helicopters to bolster a European Union peacekeeping force along Chad's border with the western Darfur region of Sudan, the Russian defense minister said Tuesday.

The deployment would be the first direct Russian contribution to an E.U. military mission, an E.U. official said, though details of the plan were still being discussed and no timeline was announced. The E.U. force's mission to Chad is to help limit possible spillover from fighting in the Darfur region.

Times Online-

The US is to withdraw all non-essential staff and their families from Serbia amid growing anti-Western violence prompted by Kosovo's declaration of independence at the weekend.

After a riotous mob in the capital Belgrade forced their way into the American embassy and torched it last night - as well as vandalising the British, German, Croatian and Turkish embassies - Cameron Munter, the American ambassador, said the US would carry out an "ordered departure" of non-core personnel.

Serbia denounces declaration; Russia seeks U.N. Security Council action

The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Revelers fired guns in the air, waved red-and-black Albanian flags and set off fireworks in the skies over Kosovo Sunday after parliament proclaimed independence, defying Serbia and Russia, which condemned the declaration of the world's newest nation.

A decade after a bloody separatist war with Serbian forces that claimed 10,000 lives, lawmakers pronounced the territory the Republic of Kosovo and pledged to make it a "democratic, multiethnic state." Its leaders looked for swift recognition from the U.S. and key European powers — but also braced for a bitter showdown.

Serbia called the declaration illegal and its ally Russia denounced it, saying it threatened to touch off a new conflict in the Balkans. Russia called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, which met later on Sunday.

(Independent)

The Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has promised to pass a law outlawing Nato military bases on his country's territory just a day after Vladimir Putin had threatened to point nuclear missiles at Ukraine if the country joined the alliance.

Last month Mr Yushchenko and Ukraine's pro-Western Prime Minister Julia Timoshenko asked Nato to begin considering Ukrainian membership -- a move strongly criticised by Moscow.

After meeting the Ukrainian leader on Tuesday, Mr Putin said that Nato membership could well mean that Nato military bases would be placed in Ukraine, and that Russia would be forced to respond. "I am not only terrified to utter this, it is scary even to think it," said Mr Putin. "Russia would have to target its offensive rocket systems at Ukraine."

Combined Reports (The Moscow Times)

President Vladimir Putin will attend a NATO summit in April, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

The Bucharest meeting will be the first time a Russian leader has taken part in a NATO summit since Rome in 2002.

"President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to take part," Lavrov said during a speech in Geneva, RIA-Novosti reported. "This yet again testifies to the fact that Russia is open to dialogue on any issue."

Lavrov reiterated Russia's opposition to the further expansion of NATO, saying this process is "difficult to explain from the point of view of strengthening genuine European security."

Putin's decision to accept NATO's invitation came as a surprise, given his bristling criticism of the alliance. Most recently, Putin lashed out at NATO in a speech Friday to a session of the State Council. He noted that some NATO member states were increasing their defense expenditures and that "NATO is expanding, nearing the borders of the Russian Federation."

RIA Novosti

23/01/2008 18:38 BRUSSELS, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer proposed on Wednesday holding a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council at the beginning of April during a summit of the alliance in Bucharest, a spokesman said.

James Appathurai said that a letter with details of the meeting proposal had been sent through diplomatic channels to the Russian leadership, who had received it.

23/01/2008 15:42 MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is concerned over NATO's expansion, which is aimed at building up its military potential around Russian borders rather than strengthening European security, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Russia has been unnerved by NATO's eastward expansion and recent U.S. plans to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.

MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the country would have to take "appropriate measures" if Ukraine were to join NATO.

A Ukrainian government letter to the NATO chief, setting out the country's bid to join an action plan to gain membership of the Western military alliance, was published in Kiev last week.

By VOA News, 18 January 2008

Russian President Vladimir Putin has again expressed opposition to a unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence.

The Russian leader told reporters in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, international recognition of such a move would be illegal and immoral.

By STEVE GUTTERMAN 

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday named a prominent nationalist politician as Russia's ambassador to NATO at a time of severely strained ties between Moscow and the Western alliance.

The appointment of outspoken nationalist Dmitry Rogozin is the latest reflection of Putin's assertive stance toward the West, which he accuses of meddling in Russia's affairs and says must treat Moscow as an equal.

But while it may place a stronger spotlight on Russia's wrangling with NATO, it did not appear to signal a shift in Russian policy toward its former Cold War foe.

14/12/2007 11:03 VIENNA, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not provide data on its Armed Forces stipulated under the CFE treaty at an annual information exchange meeting on Friday, a Russian diplomatic source said.

The signatories to the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty will gather in Austrian capital, Vienna, to exchange documents containing data on the number of main battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed in Europe.

"Russia's moratorium on its participation in the CFE treaty makes this information exchange impossible for us," said a Russian source at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

RIA Novosti

06/12/2007 11:22 UN, December 6 (RIA Novosti) - The UN secretary general said on Thursday that international mediators in talks on Kosovo would submit a report on talks on the province's status on Friday, three days ahead of schedule.

The Contact Group troika of mediators - Russia, the United States and the European Union - concluded months of talks last week, and was due to report to Ban Ki-moon on negotiations geared towards a compromise between Belgrade and Pristina on December 10, a deadline set by the UN.

The secretary general said that rescheduling the report was not politically motivated, but due to his upcoming trip to an international global climate conference in Bali.

EU representative Wolfgang Ischinger told a news conference on Monday that the report would state that Belgrade and Pristina had failed to reach a compromise on the status for the Albanian-dominated province. The document will also list the proposals made by both the Serbian delegation and Kosovo Albanians.

EU Observers in Georgia Face Many Hurdles

Deutsche Welle- The EU is picking up the pace. Within four weeks, 200 EU observers are slated to go to Georgia. The nature of their duties is not yet clear, but a few obstacles can already be detected.

The EU wants to send at least 200 unarmed observers to Georgia by Oct. 1.

According to the European-Russian agreement from Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, Russia will withdraw its troops ten days later from all of Georgia – including the breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The EU now has a little less than four weeks to find enough suitable observers.

In Passau on Wednesday, Sept, 10, Angela Merkel announced that Germany could provide up to 40 observers. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has confirmed this in the meantime.

How many German observers will really set off to Tiflis and what their responsibilities there will be, however, is still unclear. The EU Foreign Ministers conference, which will meet this coming Monday, Sept. 15 in Brussels, must first formally seal the plan and then determine the details.

Putin Reaches Out to EU as Georgia Calls for Sanctions

By VOA News  30 August 2008

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged the European Union to ignore Georgia's call for sanctions on Russia after Moscow's intervention in the Caucasus.

In an interview with Germany's ARD television Friday, Mr. Putin called on the 27-nation bloc to take what he called a rational and objective stance on the Georgian conflict. He blamed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for starting the conflict, and he criticized the United States for supporting the Georgian leadership.

US Cancels Joint Naval Exercise with Russia

By VOA News (13 August 2008)

A senior U.S. defense official says the United States has canceled a joint naval exercise with Russia, scheduled for this week.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said Tuesday that in the wake of the fighting in Georgia, there is no way the joint exercise can take place at this time.

The naval exercise was to have started Friday off the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok with Britain and France also taking part. There is no word whether they will still participate.

U.S. Aid Arrives As Washington Stresses Commitment to Georgia

August 14, 2008
By RFE/RL

The first U.S. military plane bringing aid to Georgia landed in Tbilisi overnight, with U.S. officials promising many more to follow.

The military airlift is to be complemented by U.S. naval ships delivering aid to Georgian ports in the days to come.

The inflow of aid is intended to send two messages.

The first is clear and easy to read: Washington will help Georgia recover from its mauling at the hands of the Russian Army.

The second message is more subtle. The aid is being delivered by U.S. military forces in a sign that Washington is committed to Georgia's statehood and eventual NATO membership even if Russian forces are on Georgian soil.

Russia Lashes Out on (US-Polish) Missile Deal

(NY Times) By THOM SHANKER and NICHOLAS KULISH

WASHINGTON — The United States and Poland reached a long-stalled deal on Thursday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory, in the strongest reaction so far to Russia’s military operation in Georgia.

Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in Georgia, a close American ally. At a news conference on Friday, a senior Russian defense official, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to serve as host for the anti-missile system. Such an action “cannot go unpunished,” he said.

Russia, Serbia Oppose UN Chief's Plan to Diminish UN's Kosovo Presence

By Margaret Besheer (VOA)
United Nations
20 June 2008

Divisions within the U.N. Security Council on the subject of Kosovo were apparent yet again on Friday, when the secretary-general spoke about his plan to transfer some responsibilities from the U.N. mission in Pristina to the European Union. Serbia, and its powerful ally Russia, have rejected the U.N. chief's plan, but the United States, Britain and France support it. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council that following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in February and the entry into force last Sunday of its constitution, the U.N. mission's ability to operate there has come into serious question. The mission is known by its acronym UNMIK.

Russia warns Ukraine over NATO, Black Sea Fleet dispute

(RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday that Kiev's plans to join NATO run counter to the bilateral treaty on friendship, Russia's foreign minister said on Friday.

Medvedev also cautioned Viktor Yushchenko at a meeting near St. Petersburg against unilateral steps to expel Russia's Black Sea Fleet from naval facilities leased from Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting.

"Ukraine's membership in such an alliance [NATO] cannot be treated as friendly toward Russia," Lavrov said.

Ukraine reaffirms wish to join NATO, says no threat to Russia

May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian president reaffirmed his country's aspiration to join NATO while on a three-day visit to Canada and thanked the Canadian parliament for its support of Kiev's bid.

Viktor Yushchenko addressed the Canadian parliament and held talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday aiming to boost support for the country's NATO bid, which he said posed no threat to any country.

Yushchenko said that NATO membership for Ukraine was motivated by the long years of repression his country suffered as part of Soviet Union, citing the 1932-33 famine or Holodmor, which claimed up to 10 million lives. Harper pledged to back a bill formally recognizing the Holodmor as a deliberate act of genocide.

Russia to join large-scale NATO-led naval exercises

RIA Novosti

16/05/2008 17:48 MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy will participate for the first time in a large-scale submarine rescue exercise conducted by NATO countries and their allies, a Navy spokesman said on Friday.

The Bold Monarch 2008 exercise will be staged near the Norwegian coast from May 26 to June 7.

"The purpose of the exercise is to ensure compatibility of rescue equipment used by the Russian Navy and the navies of NATO countries, and to demonstrate ability to coordinate cooperative efforts during escape and rescue missions," Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

NATO says Russia Stoking Military, Diplomatic Tensions with Georgia

By VOA News
30 April 2008

NATO says Russia is making worse its diplomatic and military tensions with Georgia by announcing a troop buildup in Georgian border regions.

The NATO assertion was made Wednesday in Brussels, at a meeting between alliance ministers and Russia's envoy. A NATO spokesman says ambassadors also voiced unanimous concern about Russian moves to establish legal ties with the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

EU, NATO Concerned as Russia Boosts Ties to Separatists

(Deutsche Welle) The EU's foreign policy chief expressed concern after Russia decided to intensify its links to two separatist regions in Georgia. NATO's secretary general called on Moscow to reverse the measures.

"We are concerned about these unilateral decisions, we have always supported Georgia's territorial integrity," said Christina Gallach, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman, on Wednesday, April 16.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer went further, calling on Russia to roll back its plans.

"I am deeply concerned by the actions Russia has taken to establish legal links with the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement. "I urge the Russian Federation to reverse these measures, and call on the Georgian authorities to continue to show restraint," he added.

Russian envoy criticizes U.N. chief over Kosovo

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia's U.N. envoy said on Monday that Moscow was not fully satisfied with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's stance on Kosovo but dismissed reports that his country had threatened to block Ban's re-election.

Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was asked by reporters if Moscow was happy with the actions and statements of the U.N. secretary-general regarding Kosovo, which was a Serbian province until it declared independence in February.

"No, we are not entirely happy," he said. "But we think that ... the secretary-general is subjected to all sorts of influences and has to take into account positions of various actors in this situation."

Ban has been cautious to avoid any public statements that could be interpreted as supporting either side in the dispute over Kosovo.

Abkhazia's speaker links Georgia NATO bid to recognition

March 24 (RIA Novosti) - The parliamentary speaker of the breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia said Monday that the recognition of Abkhaz independence was directly linked to Georgia's accession to NATO.

"The sooner Georgia joins NATO, the sooner our independence will be recognized," Nugzar Ashuba said.

NATO says near deal on Russian Afghan help

(Reuters) NATO said on Saturday it was nearing a deal to use Russian land and airspace to supply its security forces in Afghanistan, but Western diplomats denied any trade-off with Moscow to keep Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he was hopeful of increased cooperation with Russia. An alliance spokesman said NATO was negotiating accords on land and air corridors for its troops and equipment, which could be announced when President Vladimir Putin attends a NATO summit next month.

"I hope that Afghanistan might be an area where NATO and Russia can make strides to cooperate more closely together," de Hoop Scheffer told a security conference in Brussels.

Russia to Aid Mission in Chad

Associated Press
Wednesday, March 12, 2008; A12

PARIS, March 11 -- Russia has approved the deployment of helicopters to bolster a European Union peacekeeping force along Chad's border with the western Darfur region of Sudan, the Russian defense minister said Tuesday.

The deployment would be the first direct Russian contribution to an E.U. military mission, an E.U. official said, though details of the plan were still being discussed and no timeline was announced. The E.U. force's mission to Chad is to help limit possible spillover from fighting in the Darfur region.

US pulls non-essential staff out of Belgrade

Times Online-

The US is to withdraw all non-essential staff and their families from Serbia amid growing anti-Western violence prompted by Kosovo's declaration of independence at the weekend.

After a riotous mob in the capital Belgrade forced their way into the American embassy and torched it last night - as well as vandalising the British, German, Croatian and Turkish embassies - Cameron Munter, the American ambassador, said the US would carry out an "ordered departure" of non-core personnel.

Kosovo Declares Independence

Serbia denounces declaration; Russia seeks U.N. Security Council action

The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Revelers fired guns in the air, waved red-and-black Albanian flags and set off fireworks in the skies over Kosovo Sunday after parliament proclaimed independence, defying Serbia and Russia, which condemned the declaration of the world's newest nation.

A decade after a bloody separatist war with Serbian forces that claimed 10,000 lives, lawmakers pronounced the territory the Republic of Kosovo and pledged to make it a "democratic, multiethnic state." Its leaders looked for swift recognition from the U.S. and key European powers — but also braced for a bitter showdown.

Serbia called the declaration illegal and its ally Russia denounced it, saying it threatened to touch off a new conflict in the Balkans. Russia called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, which met later on Sunday.

Ukraine to outlaw NATO bases

(Independent)

The Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has promised to pass a law outlawing Nato military bases on his country's territory just a day after Vladimir Putin had threatened to point nuclear missiles at Ukraine if the country joined the alliance.

Last month Mr Yushchenko and Ukraine's pro-Western Prime Minister Julia Timoshenko asked Nato to begin considering Ukrainian membership -- a move strongly criticised by Moscow.

After meeting the Ukrainian leader on Tuesday, Mr Putin said that Nato membership could well mean that Nato military bases would be placed in Ukraine, and that Russia would be forced to respond. "I am not only terrified to utter this, it is scary even to think it," said Mr Putin. "Russia would have to target its offensive rocket systems at Ukraine."

Putin Agrees to Go to NATO Summit

Combined Reports (The Moscow Times)

President Vladimir Putin will attend a NATO summit in April, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

The Bucharest meeting will be the first time a Russian leader has taken part in a NATO summit since Rome in 2002.

"President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to take part," Lavrov said during a speech in Geneva, RIA-Novosti reported. "This yet again testifies to the fact that Russia is open to dialogue on any issue."

Lavrov reiterated Russia's opposition to the further expansion of NATO, saying this process is "difficult to explain from the point of view of strengthening genuine European security."

Putin's decision to accept NATO's invitation came as a surprise, given his bristling criticism of the alliance. Most recently, Putin lashed out at NATO in a speech Friday to a session of the State Council. He noted that some NATO member states were increasing their defense expenditures and that "NATO is expanding, nearing the borders of the Russian Federation."

NATO chief proposes Russia-NATO summit in April

RIA Novosti

23/01/2008 18:38 BRUSSELS, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer proposed on Wednesday holding a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council at the beginning of April during a summit of the alliance in Bucharest, a spokesman said.

James Appathurai said that a letter with details of the meeting proposal had been sent through diplomatic channels to the Russian leadership, who had received it.

Russia concerned over NATO military buildup around its borders

23/01/2008 15:42 MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is concerned over NATO's expansion, which is aimed at building up its military potential around Russian borders rather than strengthening European security, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Russia has been unnerved by NATO's eastward expansion and recent U.S. plans to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Russia to respond 'appropriately' to Ukrainian NATO membership

MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the country would have to take "appropriate measures" if Ukraine were to join NATO.

A Ukrainian government letter to the NATO chief, setting out the country's bid to join an action plan to gain membership of the Western military alliance, was published in Kiev last week.

Putin Warns Against Unilateral Declaration of Kosovo Independence

By VOA News, 18 January 2008

Russian President Vladimir Putin has again expressed opposition to a unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence.

The Russian leader told reporters in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, international recognition of such a move would be illegal and immoral.

Putin Chooses Nationalist As NATO Envoy

By STEVE GUTTERMAN 

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday named a prominent nationalist politician as Russia's ambassador to NATO at a time of severely strained ties between Moscow and the Western alliance.

The appointment of outspoken nationalist Dmitry Rogozin is the latest reflection of Putin's assertive stance toward the West, which he accuses of meddling in Russia's affairs and says must treat Moscow as an equal.

But while it may place a stronger spotlight on Russia's wrangling with NATO, it did not appear to signal a shift in Russian policy toward its former Cold War foe.

Russia says no info exchange with NATO under arms treaty freeze

14/12/2007 11:03 VIENNA, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not provide data on its Armed Forces stipulated under the CFE treaty at an annual information exchange meeting on Friday, a Russian diplomatic source said.

The signatories to the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty will gather in Austrian capital, Vienna, to exchange documents containing data on the number of main battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed in Europe.

"Russia's moratorium on its participation in the CFE treaty makes this information exchange impossible for us," said a Russian source at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Kosovo troika set to report ahead of schedule

RIA Novosti

06/12/2007 11:22 UN, December 6 (RIA Novosti) - The UN secretary general said on Thursday that international mediators in talks on Kosovo would submit a report on talks on the province's status on Friday, three days ahead of schedule.

The Contact Group troika of mediators - Russia, the United States and the European Union - concluded months of talks last week, and was due to report to Ban Ki-moon on negotiations geared towards a compromise between Belgrade and Pristina on December 10, a deadline set by the UN.

The secretary general said that rescheduling the report was not politically motivated, but due to his upcoming trip to an international global climate conference in Bali.

EU representative Wolfgang Ischinger told a news conference on Monday that the report would state that Belgrade and Pristina had failed to reach a compromise on the status for the Albanian-dominated province. The document will also list the proposals made by both the Serbian delegation and Kosovo Albanians.