Russia poses threat to Czech Republic
The Czech Republic still has reason to be afraid of Russia, former Czech ambassador to Russia Lubos Dobrovsky (in office 1996-2000) says in the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) Wednesday.
"I am afraid that Russia poses a threat to the world peace. If the democratic world fails to find enough reasons to come to an agreement on its united position towards Russia, Moscow would be more and more often provoking its neighbours trying to deprive them of their independence," Dobrovsky says.
"Russia will again try to restore its political, military and economic influence in the region which it describes as its close neighbourhood," Dobrovsky says.
A former member of the Czechoslovak Charter 77 dissident movement Dobrovsky was Czechoslovak defence minister after the 1989 fall of communism.
Regarding the methods in which the democratic world could show its clearly negative reaction to Russia's foreign policy, Dobrovsky says questioning of Russia as the host of the next winter Olympic games is one of the ways.
"Or through a democratic position that Russia will not be a member of the World Trade Organisation unless it starts behaving in a more civilised manner. Or by denying Russian representatives an invitation to G7 group meetings," Dobrovsky says.
He says Russia certainly poses a direct threat to Czech security.
"Russian high-ranking military representatives have said clearly they would direct their missiles against the Czech Republic if a U.S. radar were stationed on Czech soil. I am not mentioning an economic danger the Czech Republic faces," Dobrovsky says.
As Czech ambassador to Russia, Dobrovsky vehemently advocated the Czech Republic's entry to NATO in the Russian press in 1999.
I'm sure that Vladi Paranoid was pleased to read that. lolHe resigned as Czech ambassador to Moscow under Social Democrat (CSSD) former foreign minister Jan Kavan due to his disputes with the ministry.
According to a public opinion poll published by HN today, 41 percent of Czechs are afraid that the Czech Republic's security could be threatened by Russia.
HN writes that two-thirds of Czechs believe that Russia is not a democratic country, according to the poll conducted by the STEM agency for HN.
Via ČeskéNoviny
ебать Путина
Russia rattles its depleted sabre in the Atlantic
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
The Kremlin has flexed its military might off the European coastline as Russian warships and nuclear bombers test fired missiles close to the Iberian peninsula during the first major military manouevres in the Atlantic since the Cold War.
The RAF and the Norwegian Air Force were forced to scramble fighter jets to shadow Russian long-range bombers headed for the Bay of Biscay where vessels from the Northern and Black Sea fleets have begun three days of exercises.
The manouevres are the latest indication of Soviet premier President Vladimir Putin's intent to project Russia's growing military prowess to the international community and to pander to growing nationalist sentiment at home.
The Russian Air Force said that two Tu160 bombers, known in the West as Blackjacks, would conduct tactical missile launches off the Spanish and Portugese coastlines. Both countries, Russia said, had been informed in advance.
Earlier, the guided missile cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, took part in a live fire exercise that a navy spokesman said was 100 per cent successful.
Although Russia gave warning of the exercises to Nato countries last year, the operation is likely to cause an element of disquiet in the West - albeit more for political than military reasons.
As East-West relations have soured, Mr Putin responded last year by ordering a resumption of long-range bomber patrols in international airspace for the first time since the Soviet era.
He also threatened to retrain part of Russia's considerable nuclear arsenal on European targets if a proposed US missile defence shield, to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic by 2012, is not scrapped.
Yet for all the posturing, Russia still carries a small stick militarily - big enough to impress ordinary Russians at a time when Mr Putin is plotting to retain power behind the scenes after elections this March but too puny to frighten the West just yet.
While the president has sharply increased defence spending and commissioned a new generation of nuclear missiles, Russia's defence budget is a tenth of the United States' and is also smaller than Britain.
The Atlantic exercises - described by a Russian navy source as "the biggest exercise of its kind in the area since Soviet times" - have also shown that Russia's conventional military hardware remain in a sorry state.
For unexplained reasons, a number of ships meant to participate stayed at home and those that did sail are in poor condition. The Moskva is 30 years old, while the Admiral Kuznetzov, Russia's rickety aircraft carrier, spends much of its time in dry docks undergoing repairs.
In a token gesture of East-West co-operation, the French navy has agreed to send an anti-submarine frigate to join the exercises. The Russian flotilla had earlier docked in Toulon.
Given Toulon's status of being a major French naval installation, I'm sure the Soviet Russian high command arranged this visit for purely altruistic reasons - a cultural exchange, so to speak.While Russia's military prowess may still be dubious, its growing status as an energy superpower is not. Russia and Serbia yesterday agreed a pipeline deal that will boost Moscow's energy control over Europe.
Last week a similar deal was agreed with Bulgaria.
Via The Telegraph
The Bush administration's Russian expert was too busy plotting the demise of Israel to comment.
