President Medvedev's Interview to "Wall Street Journal"
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe’s common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC. READ MORE
Is NATO to Blame for Russia's Afghan Heroin Problem?
It had to be one of the weirdest displays the Russian president had ever seen. Laid out on a table were a mound of walnuts, a chess set, an old tire and an anatomically correct dummy — all stuffed with little baggies of imitation heroin. Titled "The Deadly Harvest," the exhibit was meant to show the clever ways smugglers have of getting Afghan heroin into Russia, which has become the world's largest consumer of opiates from Afghanistan since the U.S. began its war there in 2001. READ MORE
EU approves harsh new sanctions against Iran
The European Union and the United States apparently find it easier to take on the Iranian nuclear problem than the global financial crisis. On June 17, EU government chiefs agreed to new sanctions against Iran at a Brussels summit. U.S. President Barack Obama was no doubt pleased to hear the news, even though the U.S. and the EU had most likely coordinated the sanctions in advance. READ MORE
Poland Wants to Refuse of Russian Gas Partially
Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk intends to change a gas agreement with Russia, if it turns out that the part of needs could be covered by the gas produced from shale. This was stated by Prime Minister during the interview for Radiо Zet. According to his words, the agreement with Russia has not yet been ratified, so is it possible to make changes. However, the comments of Prime Minister can’t be accomplished, as it is impossible to estimate shale fields without extra tests. First results of drilling, starting in June, will be known only in a few months. And final results will be received only in two-three years. READ MORE
A Russian Made Disaster in Kyrgyzstan
The violence unleashed in Kyrgyzstan is being spun as ethnic rioting. The reality is a good deal more complex, and the blame can be laid directly at Russia's door. Russia's coup against the Bakiyev government which took power in the Tulip Revolution leveraged Uzbek separatists in the Osh Province to suppress Kyrgiz nationalist supporters of Bakiyev. READ MORE
For U.S. and Russia, Kyrgyz Crisis Poses Strategic Risk
The worsening ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan is hundreds of miles from U.S. and Russian bases in the central Asia country, but it poses thorny strategic dilemmas for both. READ MORE
Russia and China leaders to meet at security summit
The leaders of Russia and China will discuss global financial markets and tensions on the Korean peninsula during the annual summit of a regional security grouping on Thursday, a Kremlin source said. READ MORE
Moscow Objects to Patriots in Poland
US-Russian relations were dominated by the arrival and deployment of US soldiers with Patriot missiles in Poland near the Russian border. The Patriot deployment was agreed between Warsaw and Washington to offset possible Russian threats to station Iskander ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad in response to the deployment of US Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) interceptor missiles in Poland and the BMD radar in the Czech Republic. Last September, US President, Barack Obama, scrapped existing BMD plans for deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic and President, Dmitry Medvedev, announced that Iskander missiles would not be deployed in Kaliningrad. However, the plans to deploy Patriots in Poland did not change, apparently in order to calm Polish irritation over the BMD reversal and fear of Russia. READ MORE
Interview: German ties with Russia on the upswing as Medvedev visits
Deutsche Welle spoke with Alexander Rahr, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, about the state of Russo-German relations. READ MORE
Russia may exclude Israel from Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Israel may be excluded from the Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project as it has uncovered its own gas deposits. READ MORE
