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Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Volume 12 Number 54
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Russia
RUSSIA, U.S. FAIL TO BRIDGE DIFFERENCES ON MISSILE DEFENSEOn March 18 in Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed Washington's proposed missile-defense system, which Russia describes as a threat, with Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russian and international media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17 and 18, 2008). Lavrov told a news conference that Russia still sees the U.S. project as a "risk" for his country. He added that the two sides "discussed contentious issues where we have not reached agreement." He stressed that the best way to deal with the controversy "is to not set up these...sites [in Poland and the Czech Republic] at all." Lavrov noted nonetheless that "in response to our concerns, while it still plans to complete the deployment [of the missile-defense system in Europe], the United States has made important and useful proposals to us, which we will examine, and which are made by the United States based on its desire to resolve our concerns." He added that "as for a future strategic offensive arms treaty, we have agreed that it should be a legally binding document, although there is still a lot of work to be done to fill this document with concrete content. We will continue working on it." Rice told reporters that "we have agreed that there should be a joint strategic framework document for the [U.S. and Russian] presidents to be able to record all of the elements of the U.S.-Russia relationship as we go forward into the future. We've agreed on the elements that will be included in that document and made some considerable progress on a number of them." She added nonetheless that "we have work to do." PM OBSERVERS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ON U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, told RFE/RL on March 18 that "the main purpose of this visit [by Secretary of State Rice and Defense Secretary Gates] was just to demonstrate to the international community, to the national leaders in both countries, that the dialogue is continuing, that both sides are interested in maintaining the negotiating process to prevent the [deterioration] of their mutual relationship, and to provide certain prospects for the improvement of Russian-American relations in the future." On March 19, the daily "Moskovsky komsomolets" noted that "the tone" of the latest high-level talks was "far more welcoming" than was the case in October. The daily quoted State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov as saying that "this meeting's significance lies not so much in the...visit itself as in the use of a new format for bilateral relations," which enables top-level officials to discuss vital issues otherwise dealt with by specialist negotiators. He argued that this format, which involves people with significant authority but without directly bringing in the heads of state, proved effective in the 1990s and may well do so again. Kosachyov added that he is "not expecting any sensational news or breakthroughs from this week's meeting, but I am somewhat optimistic about opportunities for using these new formats." PM OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS U.S. DID NOT INVITE HIM TO MEETING Prior to their meeting with their Russian counterparts on March 18, Secretary of State Rice and Defense Secretary Gates met for breakfast at the ambassador's residence with six political, social, and business leaders, the daily "Kommersant" and "The Moscow Times" reported on March 19 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 18, 2008). The guests were liberal Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky; former State Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov; Vladimir Milovidov, who is a former deputy energy minister turned Kremlin critic; Carnegie Moscow Center deputy head Dmitry Trenin; Olga Dergunova, a board member of the state-run Vneshtorgbank (VTB) and former head of Microsoft Russia; and "Newsweek Russia" columnist Mikhail Fishman. Yabloko later said in a statement that Yavlinsky urged Washington to switch from what he called its current "half partnership, half confrontation" approach to a "strategic partnership" with Moscow. Ryzhkov said afterward that he spoke of the "firm link" between Russia's domestic development and its foreign policy. "I said that the more authoritarian, closed, and chauvinistic our state becomes, the more confrontation we will see in foreign policy, and the larger will be the cost the Russian people will have to bear," he argued. Not included were several prominent Kremlin critics, including former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, and Union of Rightist Forces leader Nikita Belykh. An unnamed "embassy official" said that the meeting was with "civil society leaders" and not with the opposition. Tatyana Lokshina, a researcher with Human Rights Watch who attended Rice's meeting in October, said that she was neither informed about the latest meeting nor invited to it. Lokshina added that "I can't say why she didn't meet us this time, but, frankly, it's very disappointing. It sends a signal to the Russian government." Kasparov told AP that he and others in his Other Russia coalition were not invited. He charged that Rice did not meet with people who are actively working to unite Russia's opposition, and he called on Washington to be more critical of Putin's rule. PM FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS BUSHEHR 'ANCHOR' LINKING IRAN TO NONPROLIFERATION Foreign Minister Lavrov noted in an interview published in the state-run "Rossiiskaya gazeta" on March 19 that the Russian-built Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr serves to "anchor" Tehran into the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. On March 18, he said that Russia will soon announce whether it will conclude an agreement with NATO to enable the Atlantic alliance to use Russian territory and air space to deliver supplies to Afghanistan, mid.ru reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 2008). On March 19, newsru.com reported that there was strong negative reaction in Afghanistan to a report recently published in the Polish daily "Gazeta Wyborcza" that Russia is planning to send a military contingent to Afghanistan to support NATO's efforts there. President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, subsequently told Ekho Moskvy radio that the Polish report "does not correspond to reality." PM MEDVEDEV DISCUSSES GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS WITH THINK-TANK ANALYSTS President-elect Dmitry Medvedev met on March 18 with experts of the Modern Development Institute -- of which he is advisory board chairman -- to discuss the possible consequences for Russia of a global economic downturn, "Vremya novostei" and other Russian media reported on March 19. The meeting was closed and details of the discussion were not released, but a source close to Medvedev told the daily that it could result in concrete proposals and policies. "Vedomosti" referred to the institute as "Medvedev's expert center." Many leading bankers and economic analysts participated in the talks, which focused on ways of shoring up the banking system during the current global credit shortage. According to the report, presidential-administration head Sergei Sobyanin, presidential expert department head Arkady Dvorkovich, Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina, and Information Technologies and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman also participated in the meeting. RC YAVLINSKY CRITICIZED FOR MEETING WITH PUTIN Yabloko leader Yavlinsky has come under increasing fire from his own party as a result of a closed-door meeting he held with President Putin on March 10, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" and other Russian media reported on March 19. Daniil Kotsyubinsky, a Yabloko official from St. Petersburg, has called on Yavlinsky to resign as the party's leader "for entering into secret negotiations with the head of the political regime." Yavlinsky has refused to say what was discussed at the meeting, except to say that Putin promised to "look into" the case of Maksim Reznik, a Yabloko official from St. Petersburg who was arrested on March 3 on charges of assaulting a police officer that he says are politically motivated (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 12, 2008). Yavlinsky had already faced calls for his resignation following the party's failure to poll well in the December 2007 Duma elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 6, 2007). Yabloko official Sergei Mitrokhin told "Nezavisimaya gazeta" that any move to alter the party's leadership will not happen until the party's scheduled congress in June. Mitrokhin said that "Putin did not propose anything to Yavlinsky," although Yavlinsky himself has been more coy. Appearing on REN-TV after the meeting, Yavlinsky responded to the question by simply saying, "I don't know." Yavlinsky has not refuted widespread media reports that Putin offered him the post of deputy prime minister in the government that Putin is expected to head after Dmitry Medvedev becomes president in May. In a comment published in "Vedomosti" on March 19, analyst and economist Vladimir Milov argued that Reznik's arrest and Putin's meeting with Yavlinsky show that the Kremlin is really "afraid" of a possible liberal-democratic opposition coalition. Milov argued that Yavlinsky is in a perilous situation and "any back-door deals with the authorities while Reznik is sitting in jail will mean the end of his reputation." "The release of Maksim Reznik without any conditions cannot be a subject of negotiation," Milov wrote. "It is a matter of honor for Russia's democrats." RC INDEPENDENT MONITOR SLAMS RUSSIAN ELECTION COMMISSIONS Andrei Buzin, chairman of the Interregional Association of Voters and a member of the Moscow City Election Commission, published a commentary in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on March 18 that denounced Russia's elections as "a national spectacle." He noted a report from one official election monitor during the March 2 presidential poll that stated "at each polling station a special room had been set up for the observers where officials provided a buffet and six bottles of beer, a bottle of cognac, a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of red wine. I saw this at all three polling stations, all of which were located in schools." Voters also were regaled with cheap snacks, lotteries, and live music, Buzin wrote, arguing that the main duty of election commissions in Russia has become the creation of a "holiday" atmosphere during elections. "The system of election commissions in the Russian Federation has been turned into one of many lines protecting the state from the citizenry," he wrote. "The organization of voting itself is done by completely different agencies." Buzin said that when he told one election official about "gross violations" taking place at his polling station, the official said, "Have some tea!" Monitors were warned not to "spoil the electorate's mood." Buzin noted that the Central Election Commission considered the more than 200 complaints that were filed about the March 2 vote in fewer than five days before dismissing all of them as unfounded (see " Russia: How The Kremlin Manages To Get The Right Results," rferl.org, March 7, 2008). Buzin concludes that the "system of election commissions under the Central Election Commission is not fulfilling its basic function of defending the citizen's right to vote." RC SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS CLOSURE OF BALKAR ORGANIZATION... The Russian Supreme Court on March 18 annulled a January ruling by the Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR) ordering the closure of the Council of Elders of the Balkar People, and ordered that court to review the issue, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. The council formally appealed against its dissolution (see "RFE/RL Newsline," January 15 and 29, 2008). Russian Supreme Court Judge Viktor Knyshev rejected the argument by the KBR prosecutor's office that the council was an "extremist" organization; that argument served as the basis for the KBR Supreme Court's ruling. Djambulat Eteyev, chairman of the council's Executive Committee, argued that the KBR Supreme Court ruling was unfounded given that "we never violated a single Russian law." A second council leading member, Oyus Gurtuyev, told regnum.ru on March 18 that the council plans to convene a congress in May. LF ...AND REFUSES TO SUPPRESS INDEPENDENT INGUSHETIAN WEBSITE The Russian Supreme Court on March 18 rejected an appeal by the prosecutor's office of the Republic of Ingushetia to close the independent website ingushetiya.ru on the grounds of its "extremist" activities, Russian media reported. The Ingushetian Supreme Court earlier rejected an analogous appeal on the grounds that such a decision does not lie within its jurisdiction, given that the website is registered in the United States. LF FEDERATION COUNCIL DISMISSES INGUSHETIAN PARLIAMENT'S CALL FOR BAN ON REN-TV The newly elected parliament of the Republic of Ingushetia, whose deputies were reportedly handpicked in advance by President Murat Zyazikov (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," February 8, 2008, and "RFE/RL Newsline," March 4, 2008), appealed on March 18 to both chambers of the Russian parliament, the FSB, the Prosecutor-General's Office, and the Interior Ministry to suspend broadcasting to Ingushetia by the small, privately owned television channel REN-TV, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. REN-TV reportedly incurred Zyazikov's wrath by screening on March 17 a documentary sympathetic to the Ingushetian opposition. The parliament deputies branded REN-TV's coverage of developments in Ingushetia "provocative, libelous, tendentious...and intended to destabilize the situation." Sergei Mironov responded on March 18 that the Federation Council, of which he is chairman, is not empowered either to suspend, or to influence the content of REN-TV's broadcasting, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported, while Boris Reznik, who is deputy head of the State Duma's Information Policy Committee, said there are no grounds for suspending broadcasting by REN-TV, according to regnum.ru. Reznik advised the parliamentarians to focus their attention on trying to improve the situation in Ingushetia and to address any complaints about the media either to the Union of Journalists of Russia or to a court. REN-TV posted a statement on its website on March 18 affirming that Russian law extends throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, and describing the parliamentarians' appeal as "closer to a denunciation" that "would have the [functionaries of the] Agitation and Propaganda Department of the CPSU Central Committee turning in their graves," kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. LF
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