American-Russian alliance. News

UN chief Ban Ki-moon to visit Moscow March 19 before Mideast tour — UN spokesman

12:23 PM (MSK) March 10, 2010

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be in Moscow on March 19 for the Mideast quartet meeting before heading to Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General said on Tuesday.

The Israeli foreign ministry on Monday said Ban and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, were given permission to enter the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. As a rule, the UN Secretary General's plans are usually not revealed so far in advance due to security reasons.

"The Secretary-General is expected to visit Israel, the West Bank and Gaza following his attendance at the Quartet meeting scheduled on the 19th of March in Moscow. And we'll get back to you with more details when we have them," Martin Nesirki said at a briefing in New York.

Russia, along with the UN, the United States and European Union, comprises part of the Middle East Quartet of intermediaries for peace efforts. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton are scheduled to attend the March 19 meeting in Moscow.

Talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority came to a halt in December 2008, when Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip in a bid to put an end to the firing of homemade rockets at southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the enclave. The conflict left 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

Settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, has been the main obstacle to reviving peace talks.

Under the internationally agreed roadmap for Middle East peace, Israel is obliged to freeze all settlement construction activity, and remove unauthorized outposts built since 2001 from the Palestinian territories.

12:22 PM (MSK) March 10, 2010

Iran's Bushehr NPP to be launched this year - Lavrov

Iran's first nuclear power plant, Bushehr, will be launched in 2010, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

12:58 PM (MSK) March 9, 2010

Russia's European security initiative should get fair hearing - Merkel

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's European security initiative should be discussed in the OSCE framework, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.

12:55 PM (MSK) March 9, 2010

Russia says ready to establish nuclear fuel bank by yearend

Russia will provide by the end of 2010 the first batch of low-enriched uranium for an international nuclear fuel reserve bank under control of the UN nuclear watchdog, the head of Russia's state-run nuclear power corporation Rosatom said.

03:20 PM (MSK) March 8, 2010

Russia-China oil pipeline to be ready by yearend - minister

The construction of the Russia-China oil pipeline will be finished by the end of this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Sunday.

12:53 PM (MSK) March 5, 2010

China hopes to restart six-party talks with N. Korea soon

The stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear program could resume as early as in the next few months, China's top North Korean envoy said on Friday.

01:27 PM (MSK) March 4, 2010

Russia holds Black Sea drills 'under NATO's watchful eye'

The Russian Black Sea Fleet practiced an amphibious landing of troops on the coast of Abkhazia as a nearby NATO vessel observed, a Russian Navy source said on Wednesday.

12:04 PM (MSK) March 3, 2010

No dispute with Russia on Afghan anti-drug policy - U.S. diplomat

Despite minor disagreements, the U.S. and Russia are working "actively" to shape a common anti-drug policy in Afghanistan, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Wednesday.

12:03 PM (MSK) March 3, 2010

No signal on Iran sanctions for Russia's UN mission - envoy

The Russian permanent mission to the United Nations has not yet received any signal to start working on new sanctions against Iran, Russia's ambassador to the UN said on Wednesday.

11:40 AM (MSK) March 2, 2010

Iran sanctions possible, should be wise, balanced - Medvedev

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday he does not rule out sanctions against Iran but added that if used, they should be balanced and wise and not target civilians.

Geopolitics

Delay on Arms Pact Slows Reset of U.S.- Russia Relations

Peter Baker and Mark Landler

When President Obama got on the telephone with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia last month, he was under the impression that they were finally close to wrapping up a long-delayed arms control treaty that he had originally expected to sign in December.

But to Mr. Obama’s surprise, Mr. Medvedev was not ready to sign off on a deal and raised issues that required more discussion, American officials said. As he hung up, the officials said, a frustrated Mr. Obama realized that the two sides were not as close as he had thought and sent negotiators back to the table.

The fitful effort to fashion a treaty that would be a signature achievement of his presidency has demonstrated the hurdles Mr. Obama faces in his drive to reset relations with Russia after years of tension.

Security

Delay on Arms Pact Slows Reset of U.S.- Russia Relations

Peter Baker and Mark Landler

Business

Russia’s Kudrin Signals No Alternative to Dollar

John Fraher and Joseph Richter

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the dollar is in “good shape,” further affirming that there’s no substitute for the world’s reserve currency.

::News

UN chief Ban Ki-moon to visit Moscow March 19 before Mideast tour — UN spokesman