JUNE 2005

Jun 17 2005 8:50PM
Tallinn shouldn't expect border treaty concessions from Moscow - senator

PSKOV. June 17 (Interfax) - The Estonian parliament, which is currently debating the ratification of the Russian-Estonian border treaties, should not expect any concessions on fundamental matters from Moscow, said Chairman of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov.

"There are principled matters which Moscow will never give up on. In particular, no more territorial claims are possible after the border treaty is signed. We also cannot agree that the voluntary incorporation of the Baltic countries in the Soviet Union in the face of the fascist threat was annexation and occupation," Margelov told Interfax.

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11312468

Jun 17 2005 6:38PM
Britain exaggerating alleged increase in Russian spy activities - Russia

MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - Statements about the increasing activities of Russian intelligence services in Britain made by MI5, the British counter-intelligence service, is reminiscent of Cold War times, said spokesman for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Boris Labusov.

"The steps towards fueling spy-mania, which are not founded by any arguments, cannot be qualified as anything other than a sign of recurrence of Cold War times," Labusov told Interfax on Friday.

In a notification posted on its official website, MI5 says, in particular, that "at least 20 foreign intelligence services are operating to some degree against UK interests. Of greatest concern are the Russians and Chinese. The number of Russian intelligence officers in London has not fallen since Soviet times."

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11312317

Jun 11 2005 6:42PM
Russia slams Moldova parliament's move on Transdniestria

MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - Russia expressed "serious anxiety" on Saturday at the Moldovan parliament's initiative to use "coercive methods" for resolving the conflict with its breakaway Transdniestria region.

Moldova's legislature on Friday passed a resolution demanding that Russia withdraw its troops and weapons from Transdniestria before the end of 2005.

"The desire of Moldovan parliamentarians for coercive methods to solve this regional conflict, ignoring the opinion of the Transdniestrians themselves and going beyond the limits of a civilized dialogue between the parties, is giving rise to serious anxiety," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in statement released in Moscow.

"The only way to achieve a Transdniestrian settlement is to work out at the negotiating table a reliably guaranteed special status for Transdniestria while maintaining the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova," he said.

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11310001

Georgia insists on clearing mines in territory of Russian base
11.06.2005, 20.34

TBILISI, June 11 (Itar-Tass) - Tbilisi intends to raise a question related to clearing mines at Russia’s bases in Georgia, said Gela Bezhuashvili, secretary of the Georgian Security Council.

Bezhuashvili told journalists on Saturday Tbilisi “will raise a question of the need to clear mines in the territories of Russia’s bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki.”

The Security Council secretary said, “There are sectors in the territory of Russia’s bases and Russian facilities in Georgia that should be cleared up. We should do everything possible to clear mines before the completion of the withdrawal of Russia’s bases from Georgia. This issue will be on the agenda of the talks with Russia.”

He explained, “It is necessary to clear mines in these territories in order to prevent accidents.”
http://itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2125814&PageNum=0

Moldova: Parliament Approves Kyiv's Plan For Transdniester
Friday, 10 June 2005
By Jan Maksymiuk
Moldova -- Transdn government HQ
The headquarters of the unrecognized Transdniester government in Tiraspol
With a vote of 96 deputies of the total of 101, the Moldovan parliament on 10 June passed a declaration endorsing the plan for the Transdniester conflict settlement that was proposed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko nearly two months ago (see "RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldovan Report," 6 June 2005).

Subsequently, in an appeal addressed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, Moldovan lawmakers called on Russia to withdraw its military contingent from the separatist region of Transdniester by the end of 2005 as well as to remove and/or destroy the armaments and ammunition stored in Russian-controlled depots in Transdniester. In yet another resolution, the Moldovan legislature appealed to the OSCE and the Council ...
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