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September 13 - Russia seeks stronger ties with Syria
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
This is one more example that Russia is playing a significant role in the middle-east conflict that eventually leads to the fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 38.
Russia announced Friday it was renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet in what signals an effort for a better foothold in the Mediterranean amid the rift with the United States over Georgia.
Syria was Moscow's strongest Middle East ally during the Cold War. The alliance largely waned after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, though Russia has continued some weapons sales to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad has increasingly reached out to Russia recently, including seeking weapons and offering broader military cooperation.
Friday's announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency said Friday that a vessel from Russia's Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries' naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar- Tass.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia after last month's brief war in Georgia. The rift has raised concerns Moscow might start reaching out to US rivals around the world to beef up military alliances. Russian bombers this month arrived in Venezuela for training exercises and the two countries are to hold joint exercises in the Caribbean in November.
The former first deputy commander the Russian Navy, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, said Tartus "is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221142460251&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
JPost.com » Middle East » Article
Sep 13, 2008 0:29 | Updated Sep 13, 2008 6:21
Russia seeks stronger ties with Syria
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT
Russia announced Friday it was renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet in what signals an effort for a better foothold in the Mediterranean amid the rift with the United States over Georgia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Photo: AP
Syria was Moscow's strongest Middle East ally during the Cold War. The alliance largely waned after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, though Russia has continued some weapons sales to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad has increasingly reached out to Russia recently, including seeking weapons and offering broader military cooperation.
Friday's announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency said Friday that a vessel from Russia's Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries' naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar-Tass.
The Tartus renovations could signal an intention to have a long-term Russian naval presence there. In late August, Russia's ambassador to Damascus, Igor Belyev, said that Russian ships already patrol the area, but "a new development is that the Russian presence in the Mediterranean will become permanent."
The Russian navy's closest access to the Mediterranean is through the Black Sea, where they have strong naval presence. But that area has seen an increase in NATO naval activity after the Georgia conflict, prompting Russian complaints that NATO has exceeded ship numbers permitted there under international agreements.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia after last month's brief war in Georgia. The rift has raised concerns Moscow might start reaching out to US rivals around the world to beef up military alliances. Russian bombers this month arrived in Venezuela for training exercises and the two countries are to hold joint exercises in the Caribbean in November.
Syrian media made no mention of the Russian announcement Friday, and Syrian officials could not be reached for comment. In Syria, military activities are rarely discussed or divulged by authorities who keep a tight lid on state security matters.
Russian military experts said Tartus would be a considerable boost for operations in the Mediterranean.
"It is much more advantageous to have such a facility than to return ships patrolling the Mediterranean to their home bases," former Black Sea Fleet commander Adm. Eduard Baltin said, according to the Russian Interfax-AVN service.
The former first deputy commander the Russian Navy, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, said Tartus "is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad."
The former Soviet Union had a maintenance and supply facility in Tartus under a 1971 agreement with Damascus, but the deal ended with the fall of the Communist regime in Moscow. Currently the facility at Tartus consists of three floating piers, one of which is currently operational, one floating repair shop, warehouses, barracks and other facilities, according to Russian press reports.
Security expert David Hartwell cautioned against reading too much into a connection between the Russia-Syria ties and the Georgia crisis.
"Talks about naval cooperation have been ongoing for several years. It would wrong to suggest this is a reaction to NATO's action in Georgia," said Hartwell, Middle East and North Africa editor for Jane's Country Risk in London.
The Tartus move may be as much aimed at placating Syria's appeals for greater cooperation. he said from London.
Assad made a visit to Moscow last month, and before the trip told the Russian business daily Kommersant that Syria was "ready to cooperate with Russia in any way," including discussing deploying missile defense systems on Syrian territory.
Assad also said Syria was ready to help Moscow respond to the planned US missile defense shield in Europe, although the Russians have not asked for such help, the newspaper said.
Syria's government later denied that Assad had made such an offer to host Russian missiles on Syrian land, or even discussed it with Russia - apparently wary of overly antagonizing the United States.
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/
General Debate of the 63rd Session (23 September - 1 October 2008)
This year's general debate will last six days to allow for the convening of two days of high-level plenary meetings devoted to the midterm review of the Almaty Programme of Action (2-3 October 2008).
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/russia.shtml
Russian Federation
H.E. M. Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs
27 September 2008
Video: English | Russian [RealPlayer - 15 min]
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/63/2008/ga080927pm1.rm?start=00:01:58&end=00:17:10
Statement: English [PDF]
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/pdf/russia_en.pdf
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Statement Summary
© UN Photo
Click for caption and to enlarge
SERGEY LAVROV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said a "painful blow" had been dealt to the unity of the anti-terrorist coalition by the war in Iraq, when, as it turned out, under the false pretext of the fight on terror, international law was violated. In a wholly artificial way, a deeper crisis was created, and it had not been resolved. Further, more and more questions were being raised about what was going on in Afghanistan, he said, and asked if there was an acceptable price to pay for civilian deaths in the global campaign against terror.
"Who would determine the criteria of proportionality for the use of force, and why are the international contingents unwilling to engage in combating the proliferating dug threat that causes ever-increasing suffering to the countries of Central Asia and Europe?" he asked. Those and other factors had led him to believe that the anti-terror coalition was in crisis. It seemed to lack collective arrangements, such as equality among members in decision-making.
Mechanisms designed for a unipolar world started to be used, he said, and the outcome had been a "privatization of the global effort". The illusion of a unipolar world confused many. In exchange for total loyalty, some expected a free pass to resolve their problems by any means. The "all permissive" syndrome that developed had raged out of control, boiling over on the night before 8 August, when the aggression was unleashed on South Ossetia. The Russian Federation had helped South Ossetia repel that aggression, and carried out its duty to protect its citizens, fulfilling its peacekeeping agreements.
Recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia by the Russian Federation was needed to ensure their security, he explained, adding that the "chauvinism of Georgian leaders" had begun long ago with a war driven by the slogan: " Georgia for Georgians". An end was put to that war, and peacekeeping negotiating mechanisms were put in place. However, the current Georgian leadership had undermined them by launching a "new and bloody war" on 8 August.
"This problem is now closed," he said, noting that the future of Abkhazia and South Ossetia had been secured by treaties between Moscow, and the respective [capital] cities of Sukhum and Tskhinval. Moreover, he said implementation of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, to which his Government was strongly committed, would stabilize the two republics, though he was concerned at attempts to "rewrite" that plan.
Today, there was a need to analyze the impact of the crisis on the region, he said. The world had changed yet again, and it was clear that solidarity expressed by all after 11 September 2001 should be revived and built on the rejection of "double standards" in the fight against infringements on international law –- either on the part of terrorists, belligerent political extremists or others. Attempts to settle conflict situations by breaking off international agreements could not be tolerated.
In South Ossetia, his Government had defended the right to life -- the most essential human right. The existing architecture in Europe had not passed the "strength test"; it had proven incapable of containing an aggressor, he said, proposing to look at the situation in a comprehensive way. The treaty on European security proposed by President Medvedev could be "a kind of ' Helsinki 2'", in that it meant to create a reliable security system in a legally binding form, to promote integrated management across a vast region.
Numerous challenges required the comprehensive strengthening of the United Nations, and he was, on the whole, satisfied by the reform process. He welcomed proposals to expand Security Council membership that did not divide States, but facilitated the search for mutually acceptable compromises. He reaffirmed a proposal to create a consultative council of religions, saying also that food, energy and security problems could be resolved by a new global partnership. The Russian Federation supported further developing partnerships among the present Group of Eight members and key States in all developing regions.
In rethinking the responsibility of rendering honestly the events of August, and calling up the memory of the Cold War era, he warned that principles of international law urging restraint from wars of aggression should be followed to ensure that truth did not once again become "the first victim of war".
[Source: GA/10757]
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13115391
European security architecture cracks in face of Caucasian crisis
28.09.2008, 05.40
THE UNITED NATIONS, September 28 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the Caucasian crisis should be analysed from the point of view of its consequences for the region and the world community.
"The existing European security architecture has failed to withstand the latest events in the Caucasus. Attempts to build this architecture according to the rules of a unipolar world made it incapable of curbing an aggressor and preventing the delivery of offensive weapons to it despite the existing code of conduct," Lavrov said at the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday.
In his speech in Berlin on June 5, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested drafting a Euro-Atlantic security treaty, a kind of Helsinki-2 final act.
"This work could be started at a pan-European summit in which all states and organizations operating in this territory will participate," Lavrov went on to say.
"The treaty is supposed to create a reliable collective security system that will provide equal security for all states and will in a legally-binding form fix the basic principles of interaction among all the participants with an aim to strengthen peace and stability," Sergei Lavrov said.
"The talk is about a process within the framework of which everybody would confirm their commitment to the underlying principles of international law such as non-use of force and peaceful settlement of conflicts, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs and the impossibility of strengthening ones own security at the expense of security of other states," Lavrov explained.
He also said it's necessary to think of mechanisms that would ensure more effective observation of these underlying principles.
"Such a treaty should organically fit in the legal framework of the United Nations Charter and the collective security treaty written down in it," the Russian foreign minister said.
Speaking about Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia Lavrov said:
"The bombardments of sleeping Tskhinval and the killings of peaceful civilians and peacekeepers put an end to Georgia's territorial integrity. "
"Russia helped South Ossetia to repel the aggression, it fulfilled its obligation to protect its citizens and lived up to its peacekeeping commitments," Lavrov went on to say.
"Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has become the only possible measure to ensure not only the security but also the survival of these peoples if we take into account the entire experience of chauvinistic attitude to them on the part of Georgian leaders that was started by the Georgian leader Zviyad Gamsakhurdiya. In 1991, he ordered to deport the Ossetians to Russia under the slogan "Georgia is for the Georgians", he deprived South Ossetia and Abkhazia of their autonomous status and then unleashed a war against them," the Russian foreign minister stressed.
"This problem is now closed. The future of the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is safely protected by Moscow's treaties with Sukhum and Tskhinval and the implementation of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan to which we are strongly committed should finally stabilize the situation around these two republics," Lavrov told the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13096149
The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoric
20.09.2008, 16.24
The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoriс, stated Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Martin in an interview with Dmitry Ankudinov, ITAR-TASS correspondent in Ireland.
Question: Mr. Minister, the coming visit of Mr. Sergey Lavrov is the first full-time visit to Republic of Ireland of a Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs for the last 10 years. What Minister is expecting of the visit?
Answer: I expect to have an in-depth discussion on many bilateral and international points of interest. The 29 September will mark the thirty fifth anniversary of resident diplomatic relations between our two countries and so this visit is timely. We will discuss the prospects for further developing our booming economic ties and upcoming senior level visits which will further strengthen our relations. EU-Russia relations will inevitably be discussed given the huge range of areas in which Ireland and the EU interact with Russia.
On international issues we will discuss issues relating to the neighborhoods of the EU and Russia, chief amongst them Georgia. The EU continues to work with all parties including Russia on the full implementation of the 8 September agreement and the 6 point plan there. In this context Ireland and the EU have reiterated their support for Georgian territorial integrity and sovereignty. Other international issues which will be discussed include Iran, the Middle-East, Chad/Sudan and the Western Balkans. As you can see, this meeting will be an excellent opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of topics and I am very much looking forward to it.
Q: How would Minister assess the current bilateral relations with Russia? What each of the counties could do in order to improve them?
A: Ireland's bilateral relationship with Russia is growing. Political relations are very good, as exemplified by the visit of FM Lavrov and the expected visit later this year by Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee. There have been many visits by Irish Ministers to Russia and I hope to visit myself at some point.
Economic links are going from strength to strength and in fact I have been told that Ireland is now the seventh largest provider of Foreign Direct Investment in Russia. There are also significant Russian investments in Ireland and we are hoping to see more such activity. People to people contacts are in full swing with a very active programme of cultural and educational exchange between the two countries.
A good deal of hard work has been put into building up the relationship on both sides and this is now starting to pay off. I am determined to explore new possibilities for cooperation which will lead to further growth in the relationship and I am sure that FM Lavrov is equally determined to lend his support to such endeavours.
Q: Taking into consideration some prospects of economic downturn in Ireland does Minister expect Russian investments to help the Celtic Tiger to live through this hard period of time? In what areas specifically they could help? In what spheres the current economic cooperation between Ireland and Russia deserves praise?
A: We in Ireland have noted the impressive transformation in the Russian economy with high levels of growth in recent years. This has resulted in growing interest by Irish companies in the Russian market. I was gratified to learn that Ireland now ranks 7th among foreign investors in Russia and of course there has been substantial Russian investment in Ireland, which I welcome.
Building on this relationship, our focus is on further developing partnerships between Irish and Russian companies. We are making particular efforts to encourage contacts with the Russian regions, where we think there are good opportunities for cooperation.
Sectors where our trade agencies see potential for cooperation include IT/ telecommunication; healthcare and pharmaceuticals; construction; engineering and the service sector.
The Irish economy remains flexible and resilient. Ireland's track record in attracting FDI, including our high skills base, responsive government and our corporation tax base are all proving attractive to potential Russian FDI. We believe that Ireland is an excellent location for Russian firms that are internationalising in the Information and Communications Technology Sectors and Financial Services, to locate their European Headquarter functions in order to service the Western European Market.
Q: What are the areas of common interest for the both countries in political terms?
A: Russia is an indispensable part of the international community and Ireland through the EU is working closely with it to address many of the most pressing international issues of concern such as the Middle-East, Iran, Sudan/Chad and developments in the Balkans and the Caucasus. FM Lavrov and I will be discussing many of these during our meeting, as already mentioned. Both Ireland and Russia share membership in important international organizations such as the UN, Council of Europe and the OSCE and we both thus share certain standards and values
Q: Some western politicians predict the beginning of a new "Cold War" trying to teach Russia what to do and what not to do in order to escape this. In Minister's point of view what Ireland and the EU as a whole could do from their side?
A: The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoric, wherever it comes from. Instead it views Russia as a vital partner with which it has a wide and productive relationship in many different sphere. This does not mean that there is agreement in all areas or that there are not some significant differences at times but the EU always considers that the overall relationship is an interdependent one and so one that neither side has the option of walking away from. Engagement and dialogue are therefore at the heart of the EU's policy towards Russia and this approach is the only way that may lead to better understanding between Russia and other international actors.
Q: What is Minister's position on the intention of a group of members of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe to reconsider of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation? In what way the parliamentarians from Ireland would be voting? What would be the appropriate steps for Russia in case the request would be supported by the majority of the votes cast?
A: I am aware that a group of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have submitted a request for the reconsideration of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, ahead of the Assembly's plenary session from 29 September to 3 October.
The Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly includes a range of different opinions and is drawn from all of the larger parties represented in the Irish parliament. Ireland would not wish to see Russia excluded from the Parliamentary Assembly. However, our long standing practice has been that, on matters they are asked to vote, the members of our national delegation make their own decisions, without consulting government. If, as seems probable, the credentials of the Russian delegation are put to the vote, each member of the delegation will decide individually how they will vote.
I do not know how the Irish representatives intend to vote. I do not think it would be sensible, at this stage, to speculate about what the outcome of the vote might be.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13096169&PageNum=2
Stability-2008 military exercises begin in Russia
22.09.2008, 07.02
MOSCOW, September 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Armed Forces began the Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises on Monday.
These war games will be held "in compliance with the combat readiness plan of the Russian Armed Forces from September 22 to October 21 under the command of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov," the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"Many federal bodies of the executive authorities, including the Interior Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Federal Security Service and Transport Ministry have developed a scenario of the exercises in cooperation with the Belarussian Defense Ministry," Serdyukov told reporters earlier.
He noted that the scenario of the strategic command staff exercises envisages "to train the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces, combat missions of troops to localize and fight armed conflicts, terrorist activity, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes in order to provide strategic deterrence and security of the Russia-Belarus Union State."
"The Russian strategic command staff exercises Stability-2008 and the Belarussian complex operative exercises Autumn-2008 are held to examine the combat capability of the power-wielding structures" of the countries in order to ensure security of the Union State, the press service of the Belarussian Defense Ministry said.
"The Stability-2008 exercises are a core of an operative and combat training" of the armed forces in Russia and Belarus, acting spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said. He emphasized that "the Stability-2008 war games include a range of operative, special and command staff exercises and training sessions at various scales that have the coordinated targets, missions and time limits." The Stability-2008 exercises, "which are being held in various regions of Russia and Belarus, have the common scenario."
"The Stability-2008 exercises will have two stages. The scenario of the drill envisages a gradually deteriorating situation when crisis situations are growing into armed conflicts," Drobyshevsky said.
"The Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises involve military command bodies, troops and military commissariats from the Moscow and Far East military districts, the Baltic, Northern and Pacific Fleets, the 11th Air Force/Air Defense Army, the 16th and 37th Air Force Armies, the 32nd Air Defense Corps, the Strategic Missile Troops and the Space Troops, units and organisations of the Russian logistic forces from the Russian Defense Ministry, operative groups from the federal executive authorities, as well as military command bodies and units from the Belarussian Armed Forces," Drobyshevsky said.
The Stability-2008 exercises will last until October 21.
Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars
This is one more example that Russia is playing a significant role in the middle-east conflict that eventually leads to the fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 38.
Russia announced Friday it was renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet in what signals an effort for a better foothold in the Mediterranean amid the rift with the United States over Georgia.
Syria was Moscow's strongest Middle East ally during the Cold War. The alliance largely waned after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, though Russia has continued some weapons sales to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad has increasingly reached out to Russia recently, including seeking weapons and offering broader military cooperation.
Friday's announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency said Friday that a vessel from Russia's Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries' naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar- Tass.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia after last month's brief war in Georgia. The rift has raised concerns Moscow might start reaching out to US rivals around the world to beef up military alliances. Russian bombers this month arrived in Venezuela for training exercises and the two countries are to hold joint exercises in the Caribbean in November.
The former first deputy commander the Russian Navy, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, said Tartus "is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221142460251&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
JPost.com » Middle East » Article
Sep 13, 2008 0:29 | Updated Sep 13, 2008 6:21
Russia seeks stronger ties with Syria
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT
Russia announced Friday it was renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet in what signals an effort for a better foothold in the Mediterranean amid the rift with the United States over Georgia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Photo: AP
Syria was Moscow's strongest Middle East ally during the Cold War. The alliance largely waned after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, though Russia has continued some weapons sales to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad has increasingly reached out to Russia recently, including seeking weapons and offering broader military cooperation.
Friday's announcement was the first tangible sign of any new cooperation. The Itar-Tass news agency said Friday that a vessel from Russia's Black Sea fleet had begun restoring facilities at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus for use by the Russian military.
The two countries' naval chiefs also met in Moscow on Friday and discussed "further strengthening mutual trust and mutual understanding between the two states' fleets," a Russian naval official, Igor Dygalo, told Itar-Tass.
The Tartus renovations could signal an intention to have a long-term Russian naval presence there. In late August, Russia's ambassador to Damascus, Igor Belyev, said that Russian ships already patrol the area, but "a new development is that the Russian presence in the Mediterranean will become permanent."
The Russian navy's closest access to the Mediterranean is through the Black Sea, where they have strong naval presence. But that area has seen an increase in NATO naval activity after the Georgia conflict, prompting Russian complaints that NATO has exceeded ship numbers permitted there under international agreements.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Russia after last month's brief war in Georgia. The rift has raised concerns Moscow might start reaching out to US rivals around the world to beef up military alliances. Russian bombers this month arrived in Venezuela for training exercises and the two countries are to hold joint exercises in the Caribbean in November.
Syrian media made no mention of the Russian announcement Friday, and Syrian officials could not be reached for comment. In Syria, military activities are rarely discussed or divulged by authorities who keep a tight lid on state security matters.
Russian military experts said Tartus would be a considerable boost for operations in the Mediterranean.
"It is much more advantageous to have such a facility than to return ships patrolling the Mediterranean to their home bases," former Black Sea Fleet commander Adm. Eduard Baltin said, according to the Russian Interfax-AVN service.
The former first deputy commander the Russian Navy, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, said Tartus "is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad."
The former Soviet Union had a maintenance and supply facility in Tartus under a 1971 agreement with Damascus, but the deal ended with the fall of the Communist regime in Moscow. Currently the facility at Tartus consists of three floating piers, one of which is currently operational, one floating repair shop, warehouses, barracks and other facilities, according to Russian press reports.
Security expert David Hartwell cautioned against reading too much into a connection between the Russia-Syria ties and the Georgia crisis.
"Talks about naval cooperation have been ongoing for several years. It would wrong to suggest this is a reaction to NATO's action in Georgia," said Hartwell, Middle East and North Africa editor for Jane's Country Risk in London.
The Tartus move may be as much aimed at placating Syria's appeals for greater cooperation. he said from London.
Assad made a visit to Moscow last month, and before the trip told the Russian business daily Kommersant that Syria was "ready to cooperate with Russia in any way," including discussing deploying missile defense systems on Syrian territory.
Assad also said Syria was ready to help Moscow respond to the planned US missile defense shield in Europe, although the Russians have not asked for such help, the newspaper said.
Syria's government later denied that Assad had made such an offer to host Russian missiles on Syrian land, or even discussed it with Russia - apparently wary of overly antagonizing the United States.
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/
General Debate of the 63rd Session (23 September - 1 October 2008)
This year's general debate will last six days to allow for the convening of two days of high-level plenary meetings devoted to the midterm review of the Almaty Programme of Action (2-3 October 2008).
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/russia.shtml
Russian Federation
H.E. M. Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs
27 September 2008
Video: English | Russian [RealPlayer - 15 min]
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/63/2008/ga080927pm1.rm?start=00:01:58&end=00:17:10
Statement: English [PDF]
http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/pdf/russia_en.pdf
Back to the list of speakers
Statement Summary
© UN Photo
Click for caption and to enlarge
SERGEY LAVROV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said a "painful blow" had been dealt to the unity of the anti-terrorist coalition by the war in Iraq, when, as it turned out, under the false pretext of the fight on terror, international law was violated. In a wholly artificial way, a deeper crisis was created, and it had not been resolved. Further, more and more questions were being raised about what was going on in Afghanistan, he said, and asked if there was an acceptable price to pay for civilian deaths in the global campaign against terror.
"Who would determine the criteria of proportionality for the use of force, and why are the international contingents unwilling to engage in combating the proliferating dug threat that causes ever-increasing suffering to the countries of Central Asia and Europe?" he asked. Those and other factors had led him to believe that the anti-terror coalition was in crisis. It seemed to lack collective arrangements, such as equality among members in decision-making.
Mechanisms designed for a unipolar world started to be used, he said, and the outcome had been a "privatization of the global effort". The illusion of a unipolar world confused many. In exchange for total loyalty, some expected a free pass to resolve their problems by any means. The "all permissive" syndrome that developed had raged out of control, boiling over on the night before 8 August, when the aggression was unleashed on South Ossetia. The Russian Federation had helped South Ossetia repel that aggression, and carried out its duty to protect its citizens, fulfilling its peacekeeping agreements.
Recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia by the Russian Federation was needed to ensure their security, he explained, adding that the "chauvinism of Georgian leaders" had begun long ago with a war driven by the slogan: " Georgia for Georgians". An end was put to that war, and peacekeeping negotiating mechanisms were put in place. However, the current Georgian leadership had undermined them by launching a "new and bloody war" on 8 August.
"This problem is now closed," he said, noting that the future of Abkhazia and South Ossetia had been secured by treaties between Moscow, and the respective [capital] cities of Sukhum and Tskhinval. Moreover, he said implementation of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, to which his Government was strongly committed, would stabilize the two republics, though he was concerned at attempts to "rewrite" that plan.
Today, there was a need to analyze the impact of the crisis on the region, he said. The world had changed yet again, and it was clear that solidarity expressed by all after 11 September 2001 should be revived and built on the rejection of "double standards" in the fight against infringements on international law –- either on the part of terrorists, belligerent political extremists or others. Attempts to settle conflict situations by breaking off international agreements could not be tolerated.
In South Ossetia, his Government had defended the right to life -- the most essential human right. The existing architecture in Europe had not passed the "strength test"; it had proven incapable of containing an aggressor, he said, proposing to look at the situation in a comprehensive way. The treaty on European security proposed by President Medvedev could be "a kind of ' Helsinki 2'", in that it meant to create a reliable security system in a legally binding form, to promote integrated management across a vast region.
Numerous challenges required the comprehensive strengthening of the United Nations, and he was, on the whole, satisfied by the reform process. He welcomed proposals to expand Security Council membership that did not divide States, but facilitated the search for mutually acceptable compromises. He reaffirmed a proposal to create a consultative council of religions, saying also that food, energy and security problems could be resolved by a new global partnership. The Russian Federation supported further developing partnerships among the present Group of Eight members and key States in all developing regions.
In rethinking the responsibility of rendering honestly the events of August, and calling up the memory of the Cold War era, he warned that principles of international law urging restraint from wars of aggression should be followed to ensure that truth did not once again become "the first victim of war".
[Source: GA/10757]
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13115391
European security architecture cracks in face of Caucasian crisis
28.09.2008, 05.40
THE UNITED NATIONS, September 28 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the Caucasian crisis should be analysed from the point of view of its consequences for the region and the world community.
"The existing European security architecture has failed to withstand the latest events in the Caucasus. Attempts to build this architecture according to the rules of a unipolar world made it incapable of curbing an aggressor and preventing the delivery of offensive weapons to it despite the existing code of conduct," Lavrov said at the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday.
In his speech in Berlin on June 5, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested drafting a Euro-Atlantic security treaty, a kind of Helsinki-2 final act.
"This work could be started at a pan-European summit in which all states and organizations operating in this territory will participate," Lavrov went on to say.
"The treaty is supposed to create a reliable collective security system that will provide equal security for all states and will in a legally-binding form fix the basic principles of interaction among all the participants with an aim to strengthen peace and stability," Sergei Lavrov said.
"The talk is about a process within the framework of which everybody would confirm their commitment to the underlying principles of international law such as non-use of force and peaceful settlement of conflicts, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs and the impossibility of strengthening ones own security at the expense of security of other states," Lavrov explained.
He also said it's necessary to think of mechanisms that would ensure more effective observation of these underlying principles.
"Such a treaty should organically fit in the legal framework of the United Nations Charter and the collective security treaty written down in it," the Russian foreign minister said.
Speaking about Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia Lavrov said:
"The bombardments of sleeping Tskhinval and the killings of peaceful civilians and peacekeepers put an end to Georgia's territorial integrity. "
"Russia helped South Ossetia to repel the aggression, it fulfilled its obligation to protect its citizens and lived up to its peacekeeping commitments," Lavrov went on to say.
"Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has become the only possible measure to ensure not only the security but also the survival of these peoples if we take into account the entire experience of chauvinistic attitude to them on the part of Georgian leaders that was started by the Georgian leader Zviyad Gamsakhurdiya. In 1991, he ordered to deport the Ossetians to Russia under the slogan "Georgia is for the Georgians", he deprived South Ossetia and Abkhazia of their autonomous status and then unleashed a war against them," the Russian foreign minister stressed.
"This problem is now closed. The future of the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is safely protected by Moscow's treaties with Sukhum and Tskhinval and the implementation of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan to which we are strongly committed should finally stabilize the situation around these two republics," Lavrov told the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13096149
The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoric
20.09.2008, 16.24
The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoriс, stated Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Martin in an interview with Dmitry Ankudinov, ITAR-TASS correspondent in Ireland.
Question: Mr. Minister, the coming visit of Mr. Sergey Lavrov is the first full-time visit to Republic of Ireland of a Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs for the last 10 years. What Minister is expecting of the visit?
Answer: I expect to have an in-depth discussion on many bilateral and international points of interest. The 29 September will mark the thirty fifth anniversary of resident diplomatic relations between our two countries and so this visit is timely. We will discuss the prospects for further developing our booming economic ties and upcoming senior level visits which will further strengthen our relations. EU-Russia relations will inevitably be discussed given the huge range of areas in which Ireland and the EU interact with Russia.
On international issues we will discuss issues relating to the neighborhoods of the EU and Russia, chief amongst them Georgia. The EU continues to work with all parties including Russia on the full implementation of the 8 September agreement and the 6 point plan there. In this context Ireland and the EU have reiterated their support for Georgian territorial integrity and sovereignty. Other international issues which will be discussed include Iran, the Middle-East, Chad/Sudan and the Western Balkans. As you can see, this meeting will be an excellent opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of topics and I am very much looking forward to it.
Q: How would Minister assess the current bilateral relations with Russia? What each of the counties could do in order to improve them?
A: Ireland's bilateral relationship with Russia is growing. Political relations are very good, as exemplified by the visit of FM Lavrov and the expected visit later this year by Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Duma Foreign Affairs Committee. There have been many visits by Irish Ministers to Russia and I hope to visit myself at some point.
Economic links are going from strength to strength and in fact I have been told that Ireland is now the seventh largest provider of Foreign Direct Investment in Russia. There are also significant Russian investments in Ireland and we are hoping to see more such activity. People to people contacts are in full swing with a very active programme of cultural and educational exchange between the two countries.
A good deal of hard work has been put into building up the relationship on both sides and this is now starting to pay off. I am determined to explore new possibilities for cooperation which will lead to further growth in the relationship and I am sure that FM Lavrov is equally determined to lend his support to such endeavours.
Q: Taking into consideration some prospects of economic downturn in Ireland does Minister expect Russian investments to help the Celtic Tiger to live through this hard period of time? In what areas specifically they could help? In what spheres the current economic cooperation between Ireland and Russia deserves praise?
A: We in Ireland have noted the impressive transformation in the Russian economy with high levels of growth in recent years. This has resulted in growing interest by Irish companies in the Russian market. I was gratified to learn that Ireland now ranks 7th among foreign investors in Russia and of course there has been substantial Russian investment in Ireland, which I welcome.
Building on this relationship, our focus is on further developing partnerships between Irish and Russian companies. We are making particular efforts to encourage contacts with the Russian regions, where we think there are good opportunities for cooperation.
Sectors where our trade agencies see potential for cooperation include IT/ telecommunication; healthcare and pharmaceuticals; construction; engineering and the service sector.
The Irish economy remains flexible and resilient. Ireland's track record in attracting FDI, including our high skills base, responsive government and our corporation tax base are all proving attractive to potential Russian FDI. We believe that Ireland is an excellent location for Russian firms that are internationalising in the Information and Communications Technology Sectors and Financial Services, to locate their European Headquarter functions in order to service the Western European Market.
Q: What are the areas of common interest for the both countries in political terms?
A: Russia is an indispensable part of the international community and Ireland through the EU is working closely with it to address many of the most pressing international issues of concern such as the Middle-East, Iran, Sudan/Chad and developments in the Balkans and the Caucasus. FM Lavrov and I will be discussing many of these during our meeting, as already mentioned. Both Ireland and Russia share membership in important international organizations such as the UN, Council of Europe and the OSCE and we both thus share certain standards and values
Q: Some western politicians predict the beginning of a new "Cold War" trying to teach Russia what to do and what not to do in order to escape this. In Minister's point of view what Ireland and the EU as a whole could do from their side?
A: The EU has no interest in cold war rhetoric, wherever it comes from. Instead it views Russia as a vital partner with which it has a wide and productive relationship in many different sphere. This does not mean that there is agreement in all areas or that there are not some significant differences at times but the EU always considers that the overall relationship is an interdependent one and so one that neither side has the option of walking away from. Engagement and dialogue are therefore at the heart of the EU's policy towards Russia and this approach is the only way that may lead to better understanding between Russia and other international actors.
Q: What is Minister's position on the intention of a group of members of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe to reconsider of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation? In what way the parliamentarians from Ireland would be voting? What would be the appropriate steps for Russia in case the request would be supported by the majority of the votes cast?
A: I am aware that a group of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have submitted a request for the reconsideration of the previously ratified credentials of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, ahead of the Assembly's plenary session from 29 September to 3 October.
The Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly includes a range of different opinions and is drawn from all of the larger parties represented in the Irish parliament. Ireland would not wish to see Russia excluded from the Parliamentary Assembly. However, our long standing practice has been that, on matters they are asked to vote, the members of our national delegation make their own decisions, without consulting government. If, as seems probable, the credentials of the Russian delegation are put to the vote, each member of the delegation will decide individually how they will vote.
I do not know how the Irish representatives intend to vote. I do not think it would be sensible, at this stage, to speculate about what the outcome of the vote might be.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13096169&PageNum=2
Stability-2008 military exercises begin in Russia
22.09.2008, 07.02
MOSCOW, September 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Armed Forces began the Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises on Monday.
These war games will be held "in compliance with the combat readiness plan of the Russian Armed Forces from September 22 to October 21 under the command of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov," the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"Many federal bodies of the executive authorities, including the Interior Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Federal Security Service and Transport Ministry have developed a scenario of the exercises in cooperation with the Belarussian Defense Ministry," Serdyukov told reporters earlier.
He noted that the scenario of the strategic command staff exercises envisages "to train the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces, combat missions of troops to localize and fight armed conflicts, terrorist activity, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes in order to provide strategic deterrence and security of the Russia-Belarus Union State."
"The Russian strategic command staff exercises Stability-2008 and the Belarussian complex operative exercises Autumn-2008 are held to examine the combat capability of the power-wielding structures" of the countries in order to ensure security of the Union State, the press service of the Belarussian Defense Ministry said.
"The Stability-2008 exercises are a core of an operative and combat training" of the armed forces in Russia and Belarus, acting spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said. He emphasized that "the Stability-2008 war games include a range of operative, special and command staff exercises and training sessions at various scales that have the coordinated targets, missions and time limits." The Stability-2008 exercises, "which are being held in various regions of Russia and Belarus, have the common scenario."
"The Stability-2008 exercises will have two stages. The scenario of the drill envisages a gradually deteriorating situation when crisis situations are growing into armed conflicts," Drobyshevsky said.
"The Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises involve military command bodies, troops and military commissariats from the Moscow and Far East military districts, the Baltic, Northern and Pacific Fleets, the 11th Air Force/Air Defense Army, the 16th and 37th Air Force Armies, the 32nd Air Defense Corps, the Strategic Missile Troops and the Space Troops, units and organisations of the Russian logistic forces from the Russian Defense Ministry, operative groups from the federal executive authorities, as well as military command bodies and units from the Belarussian Armed Forces," Drobyshevsky said.
The Stability-2008 exercises will last until October 21.
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