Russia and Central Asia News Digest
Russian Foreign Minister Warns Against 'Pressuring' UN Inspectors
At a Jan. 16 joint press conference in Moscow with visiting Italian Foreign Minister F. Frattini, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov made a strong statement against "pressure" from "specific circles in Washington" being exerted on the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. In a press conference with IAEA Director General Mohamed El-Baradei the previous day, Ivanov had stressed that it was imperative for UN Security Council members to "render all necessary assistance" to the inspectors, who alone could "provide an exhaustive answer to the question of whether Iraq has forbidden types of weapons of mass destruction."
Ivanov reiterated this point with even more emphasis Jan. 16, stating that under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, "all countries are obliged to render the necessary assistance to the activity of the international inspectors."
"At the same time," Ivanov went on, "we are concerned about the growing pressure being exerted on the inspectors and inspection team leaders from specific circles in Washington. In some publications, as well as official statements, doubt is cast on the activity of the international inspectors. We hold that this line runs counter to the spirit and the letter of UNSC Resolution 1441. In unanimously passing Resolution 1441, the member countries assumed the responsibility to assist the international inspectors, not to pressure them. The international community expects objective, highly professional information from the international inspectors, who represent dozens of nations. We are obliged to trust the inspectors and to assist them. If someone has information, it must be handed over, so that the inspectors have the opportunity to verify it. We hope that the reports of H. Blix and M. El-Baradei to the Jan. 27 UNSC session will be heard, and that on the basis of these reports a further line of activity will be determined for the inspectors in Iraq, who should continue their work."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister to Baghdad
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, a leading specialist on relations with Iraq, has travelled to Baghdad to work on finding a "political and diplomatic solution to the Iraqi problem," announced the Foreign Ministry. At a Jan. 15 press conference, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Saltanov's visit was a continuation of the "constant contacts between Moscow and Baghdad on every aspect of the settlement of the situation around Iraq," currently aimed at contributing "to full compliance with all provisions of Resolution 1441."
Saltanov met Jan. 17 with Iraqi Vice President T. Ramadan and Foreign Minister N. Sabri. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the meeting emphasized Saltanov's urging the Iraqis to be forthcoming and make "active efforts" to satisfy the UN inspectors.
Saltanov also discussed bilateral Russian-Iraqi economic cooperation, including in the oil sector, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Jan. 17. Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Ivan Matlashov was in Baghdad at the same time as Saltanov, meeting with his Iraqi counterparts, with whom he signed three new contracts for Russian companies to develop oilfields in Iraq. Soyuzneft will develop a field in southern Iraq, while Stroystransneft explores new deposits in the Western Desert. At the same time, Russian media cite Iraqi officials and Russian oil industry sources, who say that the Russian firm Lukoil's contracts to develop the West Qurna fields, which Iraq cancelled in December, have been uncancelled and may proceed towards implementation. Matlashov tentatively confirmed this, saying "The door for Lukoil is open; we do not wish Iraq to give this contract to another company."
Iranian, Syrian Delegations in Moscow
Besides Russia's diplomacy involving Iraq, high-level officials from both Iran and Syria went to Russia the week of Jan. 13. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzade met Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov to discuss Iraq, Afghanistan, and regional security. Aminzade also met with Deputy Foreign Minister Saltanov, before the latter's departure for Iraq.
Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam of Syria was also in the Russian capital. Foreign Minister Ivanov said after his talks with Khaddam that Russia and Syria have coordinated their positions on Iraq, as well as the Mideast situation as a whole. Also, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko officially denied press reports that had appeared in Russia and Israel (attributed by gazeta.ru to Yakovenko himself), that Russia and Syria had signed an agreement to build two nuclear plants in Syria. According to some sources (not independently confirmed by EIR), the report appeared on the Foreign Ministry web site, but was removed before the Syrian delegation arrived.
Moscow Activates Diplomacy Around Korea
It was officially announced Jan. 14 that Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Losyukov would visit North Korea as a special emissary of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Losyukov departed on his mission two days later, after meeting with the ambassadors of several other Asian countries. He stopped in Beijing en route.
Speaking at a joint press conference with IAEA Director Mohamed El-Baradei on Jan. 15, Foreign Minister Ivanov called for committing "the whole arsenal of diplomatic means on a bilateral and multilateral basis" to find solutions for the rising tension around North Korea's nuclear program and U.S. demands. Baradei, on his part, said there needed to be "an honest broker or interlocutor" in the crisis, in which context, "I told Minister Ivanov that I personally believe Russia could take a leading role in defusing that crisis, and I am very heartened that Russia is sending an envoy to Pyongyang in the next couple of days, and I hope that will start the ball rolling."
The Russian Foreign Ministry web site also highlighted a statement by Ministry spokesman A. Yakovenko, in reply to a question from the RBC news agency, in which he praised proposals made by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in a recent Washington Post article on the Korea crisis. Yakovenko said that Carter's "well-argued ideas" were "consonant with our own, well-known package proposal for a rapid settlement on the Korean Peninsula." In particular, Yakovenko stressed how Carter had talked about returning to the principles of the 1994 U.S.-North Korea framework agreement.
Russia's plan calls for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, reviving the 1994 Agreed Framework freezing the nuclear program in exchange for energy aid, measures to assure North Korean security, and international economic assistance. China has offered to host reconciliation talks between North Korea and the United States.
Russia Proposes Threat-Reduction Treaty to Japan
In Moscow for talks pursuant to the Japanese-Russian Action Plan just adopted by Prime Minister Koizumi and President Putin (see INDEPTH), Japanese Defense Forces chief Shigeru Ishiba met with both Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. After their Jan. 14 talks, Sergei Ivanov told the press he had proposed signing a bilateral treaty on reducing military threats (another indication of a new willingness to leapfrog over the absence of a World War II peace treaty between the two nations), and had invited Japan to take part in a major Russian Far East military exercise later this year.
Russia Will Develop Its Own Anti-Missile Defense
"We will definitely develop theater missile defense systems, as well as air and space defenses," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the press Jan. 14, adding, "We have missile defense technology that nobody else has in the world." The remarks came not long after the U.S. had offered Russia participation in the United States' own anti-missile defense efforts.
U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty, which Ivanov reiterated Moscow considers a mistake, means Russia is under no restrictions on such a program. Ivanov said that the program would be restrained only by "common sense and technical feasibility, as well as economic realities." The systems of the U.S. and Russia "should not be aimed at each other," he said, and the U.S. plans "do not harm our national security, but some of its elements do prompt questions." Ivanov also held out the possibility of joint work on such systems, saying that "theoretically, we do not rule out cooperation with the United Sates, under certain conditions, in certain precise areas of such a system, if ever it is created."
Signs of New Dialogue Between Pope and Russian Orthodox Church Circles
An Austrian diplomatic source with inside knowledge of relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church, characterized the Christmas greeting from Moscow Patriarch Aleksi II to the Roman Catholics as "absolutely extraordinary," reflecting an unexpected, positive shift in strategic thinking in certain Russian Orthodox Church circles. Speaking in mid-January, the source pointed also to a remarkable one-hour interview given by Metropolitan Kirill, head of the External Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, to a German TV network earlier in the month. Among other things, Kirill called for the two churches to work together to intervene into the world situation, in the interest of peace and "promoting the spirituality of Mankind". In this context it should be noted that according, to Russian press reports, the new Vatican representative to the Russian Orthodox Church, Antonio Mennini, began his work by communicating a warm message from the Pope to Aleksi II. Mennini was appointed to his new post last November, after serving as Vatican representative to Bulgaria.
EIR Banking Analysis Carried in Russian Monthly
This month's issue of Valyutny Spekulyant (Currency Dealer) carries a five-page translation of John Hoefle's article, "Mergers, Derivatives Losses Reveal Bankruptcy of the U.S. Banking System," from EIR of Nov. 1, 2002. The tables and graphs are included, along with some original graphics and subheads like "Attack of the Zombies" (Hoefle's term for the walking dead U.S. banks).
At the end of 2002 Valyutny Spekulyant, which ran an interview with Lyndon LaRouche in 2001 and now carries translations of economic analysis from EIR in almost every issue, was the recipient of the "Financial Russia" prize for superior business journalism in Russia. The award is conferred by the Financial Press Club, which was founded five years ago to help serious journalists writing in the areas of business, economics and finance, who have more difficulty making a career, than do those who write about the private life of pop-singers, and so forth. Forty-three newspapers and magazines took part in the 2002 competition, of which four, including Valyutny Spekulyant were honored for excellence.
|