American-Russian alliance. Litvinenko case linked to Yukos probe

Litvinenko case linked to Yukos probe - Russian prosecutors

10:13 AM (MSK) December 28, 2006

Some of the former Yukos executives could be involved in the murder of Russian security service defector Alexander Litvinenko, Russia's top prosecutors said Wednesday. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said Leonid Nevzlin, a core shareholder of the bankrupt oil company, who lives in Israel and is on the international wanted list on fraud charges, could have ordered Litvinenko's poisoning with polonium-210.

"We are checking a version that people, who are on the international wanted list for grave crimes, including [former] Yukos co-chairman Leonid Nevzlin, could be behind these crimes," the office said, referring to Litvinenko's murder and an attempt on his business partner Dmitry Kovtun's life.

Litvinenko reportedly investigated Moscow's handling of the Yukos affair before he died in London November 23.

Nevzlin's lawyer said the statement is a new provocation against his client and an attempt to pin as many crimes as possible on him.

"The Prosecutor General's Office finds it easier to pin all crimes on those [Russians] who live abroad," Dmitry Kharitonov said.

Nevzlin, who has Israeli citizenship, has also been charged in Russia with involvement in a number of contract killings, and was put on the international wanted list in July 2004. The businessman denies the charges, and Israel has refused to extradite him to Russia.

Prosecutors said they will soon resume attempts to have those people extradited.

01:11 PM (MSD) September 3, 2010

Middle East peace talks begin in Washington

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has said he is looking «to find a historic compromise» that will bring peace to the Middle East for generations as he begins direct talks with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in Washington today.

The two leaders met Barack Obama yesterday, when the US president launched his initiative to forge a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians within a year, which he described as a «moment of opportunity that may not soon come again».

02:03 PM (MSD) September 2, 2010

U.S. criticizes Russia for arrests during rallies on Aug. 31

The United States reminds Russia that it must observe basic human freedoms, including the freedom of assembly, following mass arrests during unsanctioned opposition rallies in Russia in August 31, the U.S. Department of State said.

11:08 AM (MSD) September 2, 2010

Three more GLONASS satellites put into orbit

Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket put three GLONASS satellites into orbit on Thursday, a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said.

11:06 AM (MSD) September 1, 2010

Iraqi mission over, U.S. to address domestic problems - Obama

Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the United States will address domestic problems, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

12:35 PM (MSD) August 31, 2010

Barak to head to Moscow to prevent missile sale to Syria

Defense Minister Ehud Barak will travel to Russia next week amid Israeli concerns regarding the sale of advanced military technology to Syria and Iran.

12:16 PM (MSD) August 31, 2010

U.S. assistant secretary of state to visit Tajikistan, Russia

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake begins on Tuesday his visit to the Tajik and Russian capitals, Dushanbe and Moscow, the U.S. Department of State said.

12:11 PM (MSD) August 31, 2010

Washington says process of Bout's extradition remains unchanged

There is no change in an anticipated extradition of Russian businessman Viktor Bout, suspected by Washington of illegal arms trade, from Thailand to the United States, the U.S. Department of State said.

02:26 PM (MSD) August 30, 2010

Putin says 2012 polls important to him

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said the 2012 Russian presidential elections are of greater concern to him than to anybody else, in an interview with Kommersant newspaper.

Ever since Dmitry Medvedev replaced Putin as president in 2008, there has been widespread speculation that Putin plans to return as president at the 2012 elections.

08:57 AM (MSD) August 27, 2010

Washington says recently spoke with Moscow on Bout's extradition

Moscow recently spoke with Washington about alleged arms smuggler Viktor Bout, who is expected to be extradited from Thailand to the United States, the U.S. Department of State said.

Former Russian army officer Viktor Bout, 44, was arrested in March 2008 on a request from the United States, which accuses him of illegally trading arms. He has denied the accusations.

02:08 PM (MSD) August 26, 2010

U.S. still hopes for soonest extradition of alleged Russian arms dealer

A day after a reported failed attempt to snatch the suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to the U.S., a spokesman for the Department of State expressed hope that Thailand would complete the extradition process soon.

Geopolitics

WWII and the burden of memory

Konstantin Bogdanov

The Second World War formally ended on September 2, 1945 with Japan’s surrender. There is a popular saying that a war is over when the last soldiers killed are buried. With WWII, however, things aren’t so simple.

The Second World War was a beast born of WWI, known in Europe as the Great War. Some alternative historians see them as two phases in the same war, separated by a fragile truce. This seems logical: For thirty years, the world tried to destroy itself in trenches and gas chambers, at logging sites and in slums blighted by misery and unemployment. It measured the shapes of skulls and class distinctions, and meticulously calculated the percentage of Jewish or Japanese blood in people destined for death camps or internment camps.

Security

North-Atlantic post-soviet alliance

Vladimir Mukhin

The Commonwealth is entering a period of geopolitical struggle with NATO and the United States for control over the territory of the erstwhile Soviet Union and nearby countries. The Alliance mounted an energetic campaign to enlist the services of post- Soviet republics in performance of its own military-political missions in the region. Russia’s geopolitical interests are in danger. Outperformed at every turn, the international structures it established in the region (CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization or CSTO and Shanghai Cooperation Organization) become virtual.

Exercise Peace Mission’2010 of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is to be launched in Kazakhstan on September 10. There appear to be no particular reason to run the exercise save for the necessity to show that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is still there.

Business

Fears grow over global food supply

Javier Blas, Courtney Weaver, Simon Mundy

Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban on Thursday, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports.

The announcement by Vladimir Putin came as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation called an emergency meeting to discuss the wheat shortage, and riots in Mozambique left seven dead.

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Litvinenko case linked to Yukos probe - Russian prosecutors