http://www.wikio.co.uk/blog/search/Dmitri Medvedev Wikio Blogs - search: Dmitri Medvedev wikio wikio http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68904846 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that he sees good prospects of reaching a settlement in the Transdniestrian dispute, but stressed that it is very important to set the approach and ways of solving the conflict. The statement was made by Medvedev during a meeting with President Vladimir Voronin at the Bocharov Ruchei presidential residence in Sochi on August 25. The Russian president made the statement in the context of the events in South Ossetia, which showed how dangerous the frozen conflicts can be, as he said. He underlined that the Russian Federation is ready to continue its efforts towards finally solving the Transdniestrian crisis. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:02:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68904846 2008-08-25T15:02:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68880621 Foreign Confidential .... VOA reports Russian lawmakers are calling on Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to recognize two breakaway Georgian regions as independent states--a move that would likely further strain Moscow's relations with the West. All 130 members of Russia's upper house of parliament, or Federation Council, voted Monday to urge recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The lower house, or Duma, is expected to approve the same resolution. The speaker of the upper house, Sergei Mironov, says South Ossetia and Abkhazia have a right to independence. Russia has backed separatists in both regions since their break from Tbilisi in the early 1990s, but had stopped short of declaring them independent from Georgia. Georgia and Russia fought a war earlier this month after Georgia sent in troops on August 7 to try to re-take control of South Ossetia. On Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for European Union leaders to talk about the crisis in Georgia and re-examine relations with Russia. The 27 EU leaders will gather in Brussels on September 1. They will also consider an aid package for Georgia. France holds the rotating EU presidency. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:38:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68880621 Confidential Reporter 2008-08-25T10:38:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69454965 “..The past is not dead. In fact, it’s not even past. –William Faulkner Faulkner was right, and not only about America. Russia’s new president, 42-year-old Dmitri Medvedev, is its youngest leader since 1917, and the one least formed by the Soviet experience.. ..but he faces the same polarizing issue that confronted all of his predecessors since Stalin died [...] Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:25:46 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69454965 admin 2008-08-29T19:25:46Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69323440 Russia suffered a significant setback here on Thursday, as members of a regional security group in which the Kremlin plays an important role offered little support for Moscowâ��s military action in Georgia. Dmitri A. Medvedev, the Russian president, arrived in this sleepy Central Asian capital for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, with hopes that the six-member group would provide the strong international backing the Kremlin has so far lacked after its incursion into Georgia. Moscow has urged other nations to follow its lead and recognize Georgiaâ��s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Instead, the organization, which also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, took a neutral stance, urging Russia and Georgia to resolve their differences peacefully. â��The S.C.O. states express grave concern in connection with the recent tensions around the South Ossetia issue and urge the sides to solve existing problems peacefully, through dialogue, and to make efforts facilitating reconciliation and talks,â�� the summitâ��s final joint declaration said, using the initials of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Medvedev, attending his first major diplomatic event since the conflict in Georgia, put a positive spin on proceedings, saying that the organization had in fact supported Russia in its actions and sent a â��strong signal.â�� Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:34:18 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69323440 2008-08-28T19:34:18Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69121923 Russian president Dmitri Medvedev has recognised unilateral declarations of independence by both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, some 15 years after the republics broke away from Georgia. Very clearly it is a deplorable thing when the internationally recognised territorial integrity of a state is disregarded. The dismemberment of a state, or the attempted dismemberment of a state, cannot be applauded. However, whilst two wrongs do not make a right, it has been pointed out several times on this site that Kosovo formed a precedent which would encourage separatist regions to declare independence, and, specifically in the cases of several frozen conflicts in the former Soviet Union, would encourage Russia to respond by affording recognition of its own. Saakishvili’s attempt to bombard South Ossetians into accepting his government’s sovereignty provided a pretext for Russia to harden its support for independence in the two regions. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are illegal states which should not gain recognition. Equally Kosovo is an integral part of the sovereign state of Serbia and its recognition is illegal. Excellent columnist Jonathan Steele, in examining ‘lies and hysteria’ surrounding the South Ossetian war, draws the analogy further to examine just how hypocritical outrage from NATO members (and the US in particular) has been. “Suppose Serbia's leaders were suddenly to kill US peacekeepers, fire rockets at civilian houses in Pristina and storm the town, wouldn't the Americans be expected to expel the invaders, even if the UN still recognises Kosovo as legally part of Serbia?” Russia’s recognition of the breakaway republics is wrong and should be condemned. To couch this condemnation in hysterical terms, or to use either recognition or the war as a pretext for punitive measures against Russia, would be both deeply unjust and entirely counterproductive. The war and its aftermath should be a timely reminder that Russia too has strategic interests and cannot be indefinitely disrespected and ignored. It is worth quoting Steele’s conclusion in full. “Nato and Russia are boycotting each other for the moment. But business will soon resume as western leaders see this was a manufactured crisis rather than the start of a new cold war or some cataclysmic shift in international relations. When Nato's foreign ministers met last week, France and Germany made that point. The alliance promised reconstruction aid to Georgia but no support for rushing it into Nato. Earlier this year, France and Germany had the courage to defy Washington and say it was too early to invite Georgia. They were right then, and are even more so now.” Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:33:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69121923 Chekov 2008-08-27T09:33:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69019378 At their meeting in Sochi — planned home of the 2014 Winter Olympics and just a hop, skip and APC ride from Abkhazia — Russia’s president Dmitri Medvedev warned Moldova’s president not to repeat the “Georgian mistake.” Moldova, of course, claims Transnistria as part of its internationally recognized territory, but has never exercised actual control since [...] Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:24:39 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69019378 Doug Merrill 2008-08-26T13:24:39Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69055365 It seems that the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has signed a decree from the Duma which has recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This seems to make a settlement of the dispute more difficult - since Georgia will not accept the independence of those two regions. However, once issued, it is very difficult for entities to take back their declarations of independence. Just as Georgia seceded from the USSR in the past, so it seems that South Ossetia and Abkhazia will secede from Georgia. The Georgians and the NATO powers consider these independence declarations 'illegal'. However, it is far from clear what is legal and illegal in international law - since there is no clear fountain of law and no court system internationally respected by all parties in the international arena. The independence of Kosovo was considered illegal by Russia and Serbia, but yet it took place. In the end, the will of the Albanian majority in Kosovo to have their own independent state was honoured. Once they left Serbia, it has become impossible for Serbia to regain control of these territories. The same may well happen for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Their initial independence may have been considered illegal but, in the end, it may become recognised as a de facto reality - as seems to be the case with Kosovo. The US is currently taking the approach of condemning the assertion of South Ossetians and Abkhazians of their right to self-determination and views this as illegal. However, the initial creation of the US was itself illegal - since they had rebelled against the British Empire and seceded from it in a way that the then-British government saw as illegal. It took the Treaty of Paris in 1783 for Britain to recognise the US as an independent country. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:40:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69055365 Vino S 2008-08-26T18:40:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68896291 Both houses of Russia’s parliament have urged Dmitri Medvedev to recognize the independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, BBC Reports. Although voted unanimosly in favour by both houses of Russian Duma, the bill will have to be ratified by President Medvedev, before it comes into action. The choice is not as [...] Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:45:21 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68896291 Observer 2008-08-25T14:45:21Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69247002 A Putin insider explains Russia's new assertiveness as a reaction both to Western provocation and US politics Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:04:54 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69247002 2008-08-28T09:04:54Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69196591 Listen to this segment | the entire program Russia announced yesterday that it would recognize the independence of two breakaway Georgian provinces over which it fought a minor war earlier this month. President Bush denounced what he called an “irresponsible decision” on Russia’s part. NATO’s decision-making body, the [...] Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:46:30 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69196591 admin 2008-08-27T16:46:30Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69139255 As if the world wasn’t dangerous enough Russia is bearing it’s teeth in the face of growing opposition over it’s recent military and diplomatic actions: Russia’s relations with the west plunged to their most critical point in a generation yesterday when the Kremlin built on its military rout of Georgia by recognising the breakaway provinces of [...] Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:57:58 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69139255 Leon 2008-08-27T12:57:58Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69128213 Not, mind you, that I think it would be a good idea -- but if Russia is correct in recognizing breakaway areas of Georgia as independent, shouldn't the rest of the world recognize the independence of those who don't want... Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:19:41 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69128213 Greg 2008-08-27T10:19:41Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69076673 The Russian president mounts a p.r. offensive as Georgian media adviser finds a receptive ear in the blogosphere. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:27:44 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69076673 Mike Nizza 2008-08-26T22:27:44Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68909718 German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she does not expect Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to sign a Russian parliamentary resolution recognising two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states. She made the comments after talks in Stockholm with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Merkel added that signing the resolution would only add tension to an already critical situation. Stockholm is the first stop on Merkel's two-day tour, which will also take her to Estonia and Lithuania, focused on the European Union's relations with Russia. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68909718 2008-08-25T16:00:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68695888 The Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev , promised early this week that most Russian troops would be withdrawn by Friday, and throughout the day, soldiers were observed heading north toward the two enclaves. Russian tanks swept along Georgia’s main roadways, abandoning an important military camp and checkpoints outside the central city of Gori. By the night, the defense minister, Anatoly E. Serdyukov, had declared the pullback completed, saying that “the Russian side has fulfilled” the cease-fire. Even so, Russian soldiers maintained a series of armed checkpoints along Georgia’s main highway, leaving the Kremlin with the ability to cut off trade and traffic across the country and to isolate the capital, Tbilisi, from much of the nation. It also continued to occupy areas near a military base in Senaki, the western city of Zugdidi and the vital port of Poti on the Black Sea. Russian officials say 500 soldiers they refer to as peacekeepers will remain in Georgia near South Ossetia. In Washington on Friday, a State Department spokesman, Robert Wood, said that by establishing the buffer zones, the Russians “failed to live up to their obligations under the cease-fire agreement.” France expressed similar objections. In spurning a complete pullback, the Kremlin is sending a message that it has no regrets about marching into its much smaller neighbor, even if the conflict has stirred the sharpest tensions between Moscow and Washington since the end of the cold war. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/world/europe/23moscow.html'_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin --- Yup. They plan on being there for good. Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:25:48 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68695888 2008-08-23T07:25:48Z