JANUARY 2006

    

Unification of Russia, Belarus to raise standard of living - Putin

24.01.2006, 19.42


ST PETERSBURG, January 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is confident that the unification of Russia and Belarus will raise the standard of living of citizens.

"Over the past few years, we've done much to select the optimal model of union construction," which takes into account similar trends and the specifics of national development, while working toward the main objective: the pooling of the potentials of the two countries, Putin said at the session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State on Tuesday.

The citizens of the two countries await consistent progress in Russian-Belarus integration, and practical decisions strengthening its basis and raising the standard of living in both countries," the Russian president said.

"We are facing serious and painstaking work to meet their expectations," he underlined.

"The issues of ensuring equitable rights of Russian and Belarussian citizens have ...
>> full

Jan 23 2006 8:25PM
Russia my withdraw from CFE treaty - Ivanov

BAKU. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Russia may withdraw from the adapted Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe given certain circumstances, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

"For now, I repeat, for now, we will implement all side agreements [of the CFE treaty]. As for the future, we will see," Ivanov told journalists in Baku on Monday.

"We have limits over which we will not go for now, as we are still observing the adapted CFE reaty," he said, "unlike other states that have signed the treaty, but have yet to ratify it. Negotiations on the possibility of establishing military bases in certain places are in progress. We see that," Ivanov said.

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11452946

Feb, 6, 2006

Georgia threatens force against Russian peacekeepers
Georgian authorities said they could treat Russian peacekeepers as occupation troops and take measures, including the use of force, to drive them out of the country, Givi Targamadze, the head of the parliamentary defense committee, told Rustavi-2 television channel, Echo of Moscow reported.

This would only happen if Georgia’s authorities decide that Russian peacekeepers must withdraw from the Tskhinval region and they disobey, Targamadze stressed.

Russian-Georgian relations took a turn for the worse last week, with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili issuing a decree on Georgia’s withdrawal from the CIS Council of Defense Ministers. The Georgian Interior Ministry said the country was preparing to join NATO, and it could not be a member of two different defense organizations.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov responded by saying that the security of the Commonwealth of Independent States would not be affected by Georgia’s pullout.

Georgian authorities also accused Russia and ...
>> full

  MSNBC.com

The Empire Strikes Back
A confident Kremlin is throwing its weight around.
By Owen Matthews and Stefan Theil
Newsweek International

Jan. 30, 2006 issue - No need to call in the Kremlinologists. Russia's latest messages to the West and its close neighbors are clear. First came the New Year's Day gas war, when Moscow cut gas supplies to Ukraine over a pricing dispute—and demonstrated to the world that it was ready and willing to use energy as a weapon. Then came an essay from Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov entitled "Russia Must Be Strong," full of nuclear swagger and warnings that foreign interference would not be tolerated in Russia's backyard. And now, as neighboring Belarus and Ukraine prepare for elections in March, Moscow is doing everything in its power to ensure that wayward former satellites return to its orbit.

Delusions of empire? Clearly, after years of weakness, a resurgent Russia is striking back. "Russia is ...
>> full

Civil.Ge
UNAG online Magazine
    Peacekeepers Slammed as Parliamentary Deadline Looms     Politics
    Civil Georgia / 2006-01-17 14:55:00     
      

As the deadline for parliamentary appraisal of the Russian peacekeepers’ performance is less than a month away, Tbilisi has intensified criticism of the Russian troops stationed in the South Ossetian conflict zone. But some Georgian officials have already cautiously warned about consequences this might trigger.

Parliamentary hearings about the performance of the Russian peacekeepers in the South Ossetian conflict zone will reportedly take place on February 7. After the testimonies delivered by the government members, parliamentarians will decide whether to demand peacekeepers' withdrawal.

This procedure is envisaged by the resolution passed by the Parliament on October 10, 2005. According to the resolution the government should report to the Parliament by February 10, 2006 about the peace process in the South Ossetian conflict zone. If the Parliament decides that no progress has been made, ...
>> full