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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (39657)	8/24/2002 1:27:28 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Kim meeting tests Russia's balancing act By Robert Cottrell in Moscow news.ft.com Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator, in Vladivostok on Friday was short on dramatic conclusions but long on symbolism. It was Mr Putin's way of saying that North Korea remained a valued, if eccentric, neighbour - even if the US preferred to include it in President George W. Bush's "axis of evil", along with Iran and Iraq. Mr Putin pushed Russia's plan for rebuilding the main railway line across North Korea to link the Trans-Siberian railway with South Korea and offer exporters there a land route to Europe. He also offered Moscow's help in speeding a settlement between North and South Korea, and gave Mr Kim his views on various international issues. Russian commentators say Mr Kim mainly wanted advice on managing relations with the US. Russia is the only country to have close ties with Washington, Iran and Iraq. But it is not clear how long Russia can continue that balancing act, analysts say. In some practical areas, co-operation between the US and Russia continues to improve. On Friday the US State Department praised Russia's part in a dramatic joint operation on Thursday to remove 100 lbs of enriched uranium from a disused nuclear reactor in Serbia. The uranium was flown back to Russia where it is now being made safe. But in sensitive policy areas, problems are returning. One recent irritant has been Russia's proposal to build up to five more nuclear reactors in Iran. Then came Iraq's announcement last week that it was preparing to offer Russian companies engineering and construction contracts worth at least $40bn. On Friday Russia denied fresh claims that its aircraft were bombing alleged terrorist camps in neighbouring Georgia, a US ally. (maybe they are USA aircraft?? ...pb) Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, has drawn a sharp reaction for his comments this week that Russia was damaging its own interests by pursuing ties with Iraq, Iran and other controversial countries. A Russian deputy foreign minister, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, said Israel was to blame for the fact that the US opposed Russian nuclear sales to Iran. "Israel wishes its claims to be voiced by the Americans," he said. An official Russian news agency yesterday applauded the economic agreement proposed by Iraq, saying it "conformed with the foreign policy principle advocated by President Putin - 'yes to pragmatism, no to ideology'." But the news agency's commentary also presented the deal as a form of insurance for Russia, should President Saddam Hussein fall. "A contract concluded by private companies can be annulled or suspended [by a new regime], but it would be far more difficult to ignore an intergovernmental agreement." Sergei Ivanov, Russia's defence minister and a confidant of Mr Putin, said that if the US had "facts about the creation or storage of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq", it should "present those facts not only to Russia but to the international community". He would discuss Iraq with Mr Rumsfeld during talks planned for next month, he said.

To: maceng2 who wrote (39657)	8/24/2002 8:16:50 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

US says believes Russians bombed Georgia www1.chinadaily.com.cn Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe confirmed a Russian air attack on Georgian territory on Friday, in effect dismissing a Russian denial, a US official said. Georgian State Security Ministry spokesman Nika Laliashvili told Reuters in Tbilisi that a 65-year-old man was killed in the bombing and seven people were injured. Russia denied any responsibility for the killing, saying its planes had not flown over the area on Friday. But the US official, who asked not to be named, said, "We understand that OSCE border monitors have verified aerial bombing of an area south of Girvei in Georgia, causing civilian death and injuries." The planes were Russian, he added. US officials had no immediate comment on the tension between Russia and Georgia, whose relations have hit new lows in the past week as Moscow accused Georgia of turning a blind eye to Chechen guerrillas in the lawless Pankisi Gorge and refusing to hand over rebels arrested by Georgian forces. The State Department and the White House were consulting late on Friday on what to say about the incident, with the State Department initially inclined to criticize the bombing and to call for a reduction in tensions, one official said. The bombing is close to the Pankisi Gorge, an area of great interest to the United States because of suspicions that it is a refuge for militant Islamists. US-trained Georgian troops are due to launch large-scale war games close to the gorge on Sunday in parallel with operations by police and special forces in the gorge itself. US special forces advisers have been training the Georgian army since May to take on the Islamic militants. The US advisers will attend large-scale Georgian war games at the end of August in the Akhmeta region that includes Pankisi. Senior officials, including Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, have said troops will not enter the gorge. US Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was "shocked and dismayed" at the Russian bombing. "Russia needs to stop such activity immediately and apologize to the Georgian government for violating its airspace and engaging in activities that undermine peace and stability in the Caucasus," he said in a statement.