Word: russia
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like.' KATYA KUSHNER, one of 100 airline passengers who signed a petition claiming that an Aeroflot pilot was intoxicated before takeoff; the Russian airline claims the pilot's blood tested negative for alcohol...
...Russia's interests in the situation are far from simple. Moscow clearly recognizes that Washington's needs in Afghanistan are an opportunity for Russia to press for greater accommodation of some of its top concerns. Russia expects the Obama Administration to scale back U.S. plans to deploy a missile-interceptor system on Russia's doorstep in Poland and the Czech Republic; it also expects the new team in Washington to abandon the Bush Administration's effort to press reluctant European allies to admit Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. But Russia also has a direct interest in the outcome in Afghanistan...
...while Russia can't afford for NATO to fail in Afghanistan, it would not be comfortable seeing the U.S. prevail, boosting its position in Moscow's traditional central Asian backyard - where the increasingly competitive geopolitics of energy supplies has ignited a new "great game" battle for influence between the rival powers. While it needs the Taliban to lose, Moscow doesn't necessarily want NATO to win, as such. Instead, it needs the outcome to strengthen Russia's own strategic position in its former Soviet sphere of influence. The Russians have made no secret of their desire to have a greater...
President Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin want to start their relationship with the Obama Administration on a new footing, one in which Russia is treated as an equal and a strategic partner. Moscow has underlined that it owes Washington no favors, and a cooperative relationship will come at a price. Much of this, of course, involves muscle-flexing: days after Obama was elected, Russia announced that it would deploy medium-range Iskander nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad, near the border with Poland, in response to Washington's planned missile shield. Just this week, Moscow quietly withdrew that threat...
...then there are the strongmen of the former Soviet republics of central Asia, for whom being caught in a battle for influence between Washington and Moscow has clear advantages. Bakiyev made clear that the Manas decision was a financial one - Russia was ponying up cash, and Washington hasn't been paying enough, as far as the Kyrgyz leader is concerned. But he gave the Americans six months to vacate the base, and, well, a lot can happen in six months. U.S. officials say negotiations on the base deal are ongoing. Given Russian indications - and the loopholes left by Bakiyev...