Category: Russia

Fall-Out: Russia’s conflict with Georgia

 Georgia War Shows ‘Weak’ Russia, U.S. Official Says,(Washington Post)…Glenn Kessler

Russia’s conflict with Georgia is the sign of a “weak” Russian nation, not a newly assertive one, and Moscow now has put its place in the world order at risk, the top U.S. diplomat for relations with the country said in an interview yesterday.

 

    China’s Unease With Russian Actions Strains Ties
    (Wall Street Journal)…Gregory L. White, Andrew Higgins and Andrew Osborn
    Russia’s efforts to redraw the map of the Caucasus received a frosty reception from China, a further sign of how Moscow’s conflict with Georgia is scrambling diplomatic alignments in place since the end of the Cold War.

Russia, U.S. Missile Defense

Russian Bombers Could Be Deployed To Cuba
(Washington Post)…Peter Finn, July 22, 2008
Pg. 10

Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons could be deployed to Cuba in response to U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, a Russian newspaper reported Monday, citing an unnamed senior Russian air force official.

"While they are deploying the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, our strategic bombers will already be landing in Cuba," Izvestia quoted the source as saying.

The United States says it wants to deploy tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland as a defensive measure against missiles that might be fired from countries such as Iran. U.S. officials insist that the system presents no threat to Russia, which, they say, could easily overwhelm it by launching multiple missiles at the same time.