Word: bessmertnykh
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Last week his new Foreign Minister, Alexander Bessmertnykh, was at pains to deny that there is any backsliding in Soviet support for the anti-Saddam coalition. Of course there is. The more a state relies on repression at home, the more likely it is to regard intimidation and invasion as the norm abroad...
Gorbachev, who is more dependent on Western aid than ever now that perestroika has broken down, must feel the need to reassure the West. In one offering, he appointed Alexander Bessmertnykh, a smooth professional diplomat serving as ambassador to the U.S. since last May, to succeed Shevardnadze as Foreign Minister. Bessmertnykh is considered a liberal but not one with great political influence in the Kremlin. "He'll be a soothing hand to hold," said a U.S. official, "but he probably won't have much authority." The new minister quickly stressed the continuity of Moscow's policy: "It will be preserved...
Perhaps, but actions still speak louder than Bessmertnykh's words. The Soviet Union vetoed discussion of the Baltic crisis at a meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe last week. The recently signed treaty provides for discussion of "questions of urgent concern," but Moscow blocked that, claiming it would be interference in Soviet domestic affairs. That episode only demonstrated how a hard line at home is imitated in dealings with the rest of the world. "If the Soviet Union becomes a nasty, brutish place," says a U.S. official, "its foreign policy will reflect that...
...Wednesday Bush and Baker notified congressional leaders, ambassadors of allies and others that the attack was coming that night; former President Richard Nixon was told around noon. Baker called Alexander Bessmertnykh, the new Soviet Foreign Minister, in Moscow an hour before the assault. Bessmertnykh immediately told President Mikhail Gorbachev, who telephoned Bush to propose a final Soviet warning to its former ally to get out of Kuwait or else. Bush had no objection, so Gorbachev composed a letter that the Soviet ambassador to Baghdad was instructed to deliver to Saddam immediately. Too late. The ambassador could not find the Iraqi...
Popular Front activists put the minimum death toll at 120, but during a hastily called press conference in Moscow, First Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh claimed that 40 civilians and eight soldiers had been killed. The troops moved quickly to secure party headquarters and the republic's television studio, while military officials appealed over the radio for order. The Popular Front responded by calling for three days of mourning and a three-day strike in an effort to mobilize the public against the state of emergency. A fragile calm settled over the city, but neither side pretended that peace would...