Re: A new Yalta in the making? Balts, beware!


"Eugene Holman" <holman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:holman-2907081342480001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I did a double-take when I read this.

Regards,
Eugene Holman


Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/28/europe/28russia.php

<quote>
Russian proposal calls for broader security pact
By Judy Dempsey
Monday, July 28, 2008

BERLIN: Russia, which under Vladimir Putin has shown increasing hostility
toward NATO and other post-World War II security organizations in Europe,
has put together a set of proposals that essentially sidelines these
groups in favor of a broader one.

The proposals, to be presented to NATO on Monday in Brussels, clearly have
no chance of being accepted by the United States and its allies in Europe.
But they reflect the Kremlin's latest efforts to reassert itself on the
world stage and to challenge longstanding diplomatic practices.

The Kremlin wants in particular to weaken the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, which Russia is a member of, and NATO, which it
is not. The Russian proposal would establish a broad security pact open to
other countries, including possibly China and India.

Dmitri Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, acknowledged that the alliance
would not quickly embrace the proposals, but he suggested that the Kremlin
was hoping to begin a dialogue.

"We do not expect immediate reaction on the part of our Western partners,
or booing, or on the contrary, applause," Rogozin wrote in reply to
questions about his proposals. "We are looking forward to teamwork and
practical search of constructive approaches."

Putin sent Rogozin, who has a reputation as a fierce Russian nationalist,
to the alliance this year in what was widely seen as an attempt to install
a provocative advocate for Russia's interests in Brussels. Putin is now
Russia's prime minister, and his protégé, Dmitri Medvedev, is president.

NATO will comment on Rogozin's proposals once it has received more
details, James Appathurai, a spokesman for the alliance, said Sunday.

The Kremlin has already promoted changes in the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. Among the organization's roles, OSCE monitors
elections in nations emerging from the former Soviet Union. Over the last
year, the Kremlin has criticized its election observer teams as biased.

The new Russian proposals indicate that now that Russia's economy has
revived after the chaos of the 1990s, the country is seeking new ways to
expand its influence.

"Moscow believes that the current security architecture in Europe is a
remnant of the cold war bloc ideology," said Andrew Monaghan, a Russia
expert at the NATO Defense College in Rome. "Russia sees itself as the
largest state straddling Europe and Asia which has the strength and
capacity to adopt a global purview. This includes protecting and
projecting its national interests and actively proposing solutions to
international problems."

At the heart of the proposals, Rogozin said, is a new European security
treaty that would be a legally binding document based on the United
Nations Charter.

He said Russia would also convene an international forum that would
include the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO, the
European Union, the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, which includes
Central Asian countries.

The main reason for a new security pact is that Europe can no longer cope
with the plethora of problems it faces, according to one of the proposals.
"Modern European security is overwhelmed with problems, ranging from NATO
enlargement to illegal migration, drug trafficking, organized crime and
terrorism," it says.
</quote>


************************
D.O.A.
(Dead On Arrival)

Usual russkie S.O.P.
(Standard Operating Procedure)

What is that you ask?

Simple:
Throw *** at the wall in the hope that
something might stick.

The Kremlin loooves ***.

Best - - Henry


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