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Russia not seeking West clash, but will punch weight: Ivanov
Munich, Germany (AFP) Feb 10, 2008 Resource-rich Russia is not seeking confrontation with the West, but the resurgent country still intends to punch its weight on the world stage, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday. In a speech to the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy -- where President Vladimir Putin last year gave a speech blasting the United States -- Ivanov played down renewed tensions. "I am sure that everyone here clearly realises that the process of Russia's revival objectively combines our ambition to occupy an appropriate place in world politics and commitment to maintain our national interests," he said. "We do not intend to meet this challenge by establishing military blocs or engaging in open confrontation with our opponents," he said. Moscow and Washington are locked in disputes that echo their Cold War sparring, before Russia was temporarily floored by the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Bones of contention include Washington's plans to set up an anti-missile shield on Russia's European doorstep, which the United States says is needed to preempt attacks from "rogue states", chiefly Iran, but which Moscow has dubbed a security threat. Russia has said it could point missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic, which are expected to host bases for the shield. Moscow has also warned it will step up its weapons programme: Putin on Friday said Russia would respond to the "new challenge" with "new weapons that are qualitatively the same or better than those of other countries". Speaking on the same panel as Ivanov, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana signalled Western concerns. "I was not very happy with the speech of Mr. Putin on the subject of the arms race. I don't think it was very constructive," Solana said. Washington and Moscow have also fallen out over Russia's softly-softly approach to Iran's contested nuclear programme, and over US support for the independence for Kosovo, which the Kremlin deeply opposes. In Europe, concerns have been growing about Russia's energy market clout, but Ivanov downplayed the issue. "Getting richer, Russia will not pose a threat to the security of other countries. Yet our influence on global processes will continue to grow," he said. EU worries are currently focused on Moscow's battle of wills with pro-Western Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, as Russia threaten to cut its gas supplies over unpaid debts. However, Ivanov said: "Partners can rest assured that Russia has been strictly fulfilling and will continue to fulfil all its commitments regarding energy supplies". "Moreover, we do our best to develop our export potential and make it free from the political conditions in certain transit countries," he added. He pointed to a planned gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which would provide a direct link from Russia to Germany. The ex-communist Baltic Sea countries Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania vehemently oppose the plan by Russian state-owned energy titan Gazprom and Germany's EON and BASF. Among their fears is that an undersea route rather than a pipeline across their territory will enable Gazprom to cut off their supplies without its hurting West European countries. Gazprom has regularly been accused of turning off gas to help punish governments in Moscow's communist-era stamping ground that fail to toe the Kremlin's line. Russia is the world's top gas producer and second-ranked oil exporter, but Ivanov denied Moscow wanted to use its status as political springboard. "I would like to state straight away that we are not masterminding any kind of 'energy expansion'. We simply do our best to achieve maximum economic benefits in the existing situation," he said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Skipping The Nuke Dance North Of The 38th Parallel Part Two
Moscow (UPI) Feb 8, 2008 Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said President Bush did not mention North Korea in his State of the Union address to send a positive signal aimed at further dialogue. (United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.) |
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