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#30747 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:01 pm
Subject: Abkhazia Closes Border With Georgia After Market Bombings
rwrozoff
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http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12826132&PageNum=0


Itar-Tass
June 30, 2008


Two injured by one of explosions in Abkhazia capital


SUKHUMI - Two explosions were staged in the area of
the central marketplace of Sukhumi, the capital of
Abkhazia, a representative of the Abkhazian Interior
Ministry told Itar-Tass.

According to preliminary reports, two people were
injured and sent to a hospital.

The explosive device was put in a garbage can. No one
was killed or injured by the first explosion.

Six people were injured as a result of an explosion in
the area of the central marketplace of the city of
Gagry, Abkhazia, last Sunday.

Ten minutes later another unidentified explosive
device of smaller capacity was set off near the
building of the bank.

No one was killed on injured.

Abkhazian law enforcement agencies are of the opinion
that those explosions were, most probably, acts of
hooliganism.

At the same time, a number of Abkhazian mass media
organs circulated statements of senior officials of
the self-proclaimed republic, who accused the Georgian
authorities of having organised the explosions in
Gagry....
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.interfax.com/3/406859/news.aspx


Interfax
June 30, 2008



Abkhaz foreign minister accuses Tbilisi of Sukhumi
explosions


SUKHUMI - The Monday explosions in Sukhumi continue
the terrorist warfare of Georgia, Abkhaz Foreign
Minister Sergei Shamba told Interfax.

"I can tell you that these explosions are directly
related to the terrorist acts in Gagra. This is
another manifestation of the Georgian state policy,"
he said.

Abkhazia will analyze all possible reasons for the
Sukhumi explosions, but "evidence shows that  Georgian
secret services have planned them," he said.
------------------------------------------------------
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080630/112585911.html


Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 30, 2008


Abkhazia closes border with Georgia after market
bombing


SUKHUMI - The unrecognized republic of Abkhazia will
close its border with Georgia on Tuesday, Abkhaz
president Sergei Bagapsh said.

Six people were injured Monday as two blasts went off
at a market in Sukhumi, the capital of Georgia's
breakaway region of Abkhazia. Earlier reports that one
person had been killed were unconfirmed.

On Sunday, six people were injured after two bombs
went off in Abkhazia's Black Sea resort of Gagra.

"From tomorrow, the Georgian-Abkhaz border will
close," Sergei Bagapsh told journalists. He went on to
blame Georgia for the bombings.

"We know where it all comes from - from Georgia," the
president said. "Having tried everything, they
[Georgian authorities] have resorted to the most
disgraceful thing - terrorist attacks."
....
Abkhazia's foreign minister, Sergei Shamba, earlier
said the blast was caused by an explosive device and
investigators have found no criminal motives for the
attack.

"It is politically motivated," Shamba said. "Of
course, we will investigate different possibilities,
but no one has any doubt that the trail leads to
Georgia."

Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s
following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Between
10,000 and 30,000 people were killed in the subsequent
fighting.

The pro-Western Georgian government of Mikheil
Saakashvili has said it is determined to bring the
breakaway region back under its control.










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==============================

#30748 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:06 pm
Subject: Georgia: Lithuanian, Polish Presidents To Attend GUAM Summit
rwrozoff
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http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=18646


Civil Georgia
June 30, 2008


Polish, Lithuanian Presidents to Attend GUAM Summit


-The Lithuanian president’s press office reported that
Valdas Adamkus would raise GUAM activities “aimed at
strengthening the development of energy and transport
projects in the region” and GUAM's relations with the
UN, OSCE, EU and NATO.



Tbilisi - The Presidents of Poland Lech Kaczynski and
of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus will arrive in Georgia to
participate in a GUAM summit, which will open in
Batumi, Adjara Autonomous Republic, on July 1.

Ukrainian and Azerbaijani Presidents Viktor Yushchenko
and Ilham Aliyev will be in Batumi as well for the
summit. Moldovan Prime Minister, Zinaida Greceanii,
was initially expected to attend, but the country's
interior minister will now take her place.

GUAM is a grouping formally made up of Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. The latter, however,
has recently distanced itself from the organization.

In a newspaper interview in March, Moldovan President
Vladimir Voronin criticized GUAM and said that the
group had failed to bring any tangible results.

“When GUAM was being set up, it set different goals.

"There were discussions about the construction of the
Odessa-Brody-Gdansk oil pipeline. But when I looked at
the route [of the proposed pipeline], it bypassed
Moldova,” Voronin told the Russian daily Kommersant.

“On top of this, other strange things started to
happen last year. Talks about setting up [GUAM]
peacekeeping forces started. I asked why? And I was
told: we all have conflicts. So what? We already have
internationally recognized [Russian] peacekeeping
forces, so why do we need more? Thank God GUAM
decisions are taken on a consensus basis and we
refused to sign the document; the proposal was
thwarted.”

The Lithuanian president’s press office reported that
Valdas Adamkus would raise GUAM activities “aimed at
strengthening the development of energy and transport
projects in the region” and GUAM's relations with the
UN, OSCE, EU and NATO.



===========================
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==============================

#30749 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:13 pm
Subject: GUAM Summit To Discuss China-To-Baltic Transport Corridor
rwrozoff
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http://economics.apa.az/en/news.php?id=35529


Azeri Press Agency
June 30, 2008


GUAM Summit to discuss Viking link to
Poti-Baku-Aktau-Almaty
Rashad Suleymanov


-[T]he connection of the route to the TRACECA Corridor
will allow sending freight through Central Asia and
the Caspian to the Baltic Region and Central Europe.


Baku - On July 1, the GUAM summit (Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, Moldova) will discuss a mechanism for a
multimodal transportation agreement and the extension
of the Viking container train route to Eastern Asia
(Almaty-Kazakhstan) via the participating countries.

Sadraddin Mammadov, officer of the Transport Ministry
of Azerbaijan, told APA-Economics that the workgroup
of transport ministries have discussed issues brought
up at the meeting of GUAM Transport Coordination
Council held in Baku in April and coordinate inclusion
of these issues into the agenda of the summit.

He said the Poti-Baku-Aktau route will be extended to
Almaty and connected to Viking to access the Baltic
Sea.

According to him, Azerbaijan takes an interest in the
Viking route and this route lying from Lithuania to
China would increase the country’s transit capacity.

According to the intergovernmental agreement between
Ukraine and Lithuania, since 2003 the regular
operation of the combined transport train Viking has
started.

The train connects the Illichevsk port on the Black
Sea with the port of Klaipeda on the Baltic Sea
through the Klaipeda–Kiev–Illichevsk route.

Addressing Azerbaijani, Georgian, Turkmen, Uzbek and
Turkish railway administrations, Ukraine suggested
extending the route and launching a
Illichevsk-Poti-Batumi ferry line.

Experts say the connection of the route to the TRACECA
Corridor will allow sending freight through Central
Asia and the Caspian to the Baltic Region and Central
Europe.



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==============================

#30750 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:16 pm
Subject: Azerbaijani Troops To Be Kept In Iraq, Afghanistan
rwrozoff
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http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=51336


Azeri Press Agency
June 30, 2008


Khazar Ibrahim: “Azerbaijan will continue to
contribute to the international peace and stability”
Lachin Sultanova


Baku - “It is a great loss that our soldier has been
killed in Iraq, but Azerbaijan will continue to
contribute to international peace and stability”, said
Khazar Ibrahim, Press Secretary of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs at his weekly press-conference on
Monday, APA reports.

He said the Azerbaijani soldier was lost when he
served his call of duty. “Of course our soldiers and
officers don’t serve under the secure conditions.

"It is not possible. Azerbaijan mindfully sent its
peacekeepers to these regions – Iraq and Afghanistan -
as a responsible member of the international
community”.



===========================
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==============================

#30751 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:35 pm
Subject: Eastern Partnership: Driving Russia Out Of CIS
rwrozoff
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http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=51327


Azeri Press Agency
June 30, 2008


Eastern Partnership: Way or blind alley leading
Azerbaijan to the European Union?
Dr. Fakhri Karimli


-The New Eastern Partnership initiative was planned to
include 27 members of the European Union and the
above-mentioned post-Soviet countries [Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine].
-Belarus could join the initiative at the level of
experts and Russia could only be involved in the local
initiatives, for example in the solution of the
Kaliningrad problem.
-Moscow itself understood that the main aim of the
initiative was to save the above-mentioned countries
from the influence of Russia.
-According to the EU Commissioner for Foreign
Relations and Neighborhood Policy Benita
Ferrero-Waldner at least one billion euro per year
will be allocated for the “Black Sea Synergy” project.

“Because the organization intends to take advantage
from the opportunity created after Romania‘s and
Bulgaria’s joining the European Union which makes the
Union a part of the Black Sea region”.
-Supporting the Eastern Partnership project, France
thinks to win the sympathy of the EU post-socialist
members and to use it in the EU defense issues.
-[An] interesting aspect for Azerbaijan is the
connection between the Eastern Partnership and
Mediterranean Union....According to French foreign
minister Bernard Kouchner “there is no sin in the
enlargement toward both the South and the East at the
same time”.



Bucharest - Last month was remembered for a number of
important events for the European part of the former
USSR.

The Eastern Partnership initiative of the European
Union put forward by two Baltic countries – Poland and
Sweden - and offered to cover Ukraine, Moldova,
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia was news for most.

Actually, the prelude of Eastern Partnership
initiative happened earlier – on April 21.

At the meeting of the European Parliament, the
vice-president of the Christian Social Union of
Bavaria Ingo Friedrich initiated the establishment of
a  Eastern European Union that will be joined by
Ukraine, Moldova and the countries of the South
Caucasus.

Though it has been confirmed that the countries of
Eastern European Union are situated in the continent,
they should have chosen the “third way”, i.e. the
prospect of these states’ EU membership should at
least have been postponed temporarily.

Ingo Friedrich considers that EU has already fully
used its chances of extension and it would not be
right to leave European countries without prospects.

“Eastern European Union should be regarded as a
solution for the countries that will gradually near
the European Union,” he said.

Approximately a month later – on May 26 - Poland and
Sweden put forth a similar initiative at the meeting
of EU foreign ministers.

The New Eastern Partnership initiative was planned to
include 27 members of the European Union and the
above-mentioned post-Soviet countries.

In this respect it was planned to have discussions on
the abolition of visas, establishment of free trade
zones and signing strategic contracts, and to
implement projects concerning exchange of students,
protection of the environment and energy supplies.

Belarus could join the initiative at the level of
experts and Russia could only be involved in the local
initiatives, for example in the solution of the
Kaliningrad problem.

Unlike the Mediterranean Union authored by France and
mostly covering Muslim countries on the coast,
including Israel, the new organization would not have
a secretariat, would be coordinated by the European
Commission and financed by the budget of European
Neighborhood Policy for 2007-2013.

In fact, Moscow itself understood that the main aim of
the initiative was to save the above-mentioned
countries from the influence of Russia.

On the other hand, the Eastern Partnership should be
assessed as the member states’ refusal of EU
membership dreams.

First, it was reported that France supported the idea
and Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands took an
interest in the idea, but later it was known that the
initiative had unexpected new friends and enemies and
that it hit the interests of a number of countries.

This factor played a decisive role in the destiny of
the initiative.

In this respect, Spain, Italy and Portugal doubted the
initiative from the beginning, but unexpectedly
Romania and Bulgaria stated that they were against the
initiative.

The new organization competes with the European
Union’s Black Sea Synergy project put forth by these
countries.

Official of the Romanian foreign ministry Raduta
Matache said the Eastern Partnership could play just a
final role in the project.

“We have to be confident that the EU new initiative
will correctly reflect Romania’s legitimate interests
in the eastern neighborhood”.

According to the EU Commissioner for Foreign Relations
and Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner at
least one billion euro per year will be allocated for
the “Black Sea Synergy” project.

“Because the organization intends to take advantage
from the opportunity created after Romania‘s and
Bulgaria’s joining the European Union which makes the
Union a part of the Black Sea region”.

On the other hand, neither Ukraine, nor Moldova is
satisfied to give up EU membership.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement
which demands to open the prospects of EU membership
for the countries that have joined the initiative.

This position is supported by Poland, author of the
Eastern Partnership idea. The foreign minister of this
country, Radoslaw Sikorski, said that the Eastern
Partnership gives to its members a membership
opportunity unlike the Mediterranean Union supported
by France. “We have European neighbors in the East and
they have a right to apply for EU membership once”.

One more interesting aspect for Azerbaijan is the
connection between the Eastern Partnership and
Mediterranean Union.

As is known France intends to close Turkey’s way to
the EU through the second initiative and it is
accepted by the European countries not unambiguously.

Supporting the Eastern Partnership project, France
thinks to win the sympathy of the EU post-socialist
members and to use it in the EU defense issues.

Including the Eastern European issues in its agenda,
France intends to distract EU attention from Turkey’s
membership process.

According to French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner
“there is no sin in the enlargement toward both the
South and the East at the same time”.

On July 1, France will take over the EU Chairmanship.

It creates additional opportunities for the project’s
success.

At first Paris has to win the support of the EU “heavy
artillery” – Britain and Germany.

Experts said the French diplomacy needed to make
special efforts in Berlin.
....
However, the Czech Republic, succeeding France in the
EU chairmanship in 2009, seriously advocates for the
project.

Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra said the
project met Prague’s intentions. “There should be a
balance next year. This year is the year of
Mediterranean Sea. Therefore it should be a year of
the East next year”.

Anyway, the Eastern Partnership is a good opportunity
for Azerbaijan to avoid the traditional concept of the
European Neighborhood Policy joined by the “Soviet
European” countries and associated with the context of
North African countries.

The new initiative will provide these five countries
with significant integration into Europe even if
doesn’t specify their membership to the EU in future.



===========================
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==============================

#30752 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:46 pm
Subject: ‘GUAM Unites Eastern Europe’: US, EU, Japan Converge In CIS
rwrozoff
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http://news.trend.az/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1235021&lang=EN


Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)
June 30, 2008


Batumi Summit of GUAM to be Held under Motto of ‘GUAM
Unites East of Europe’
N. Kirtskhalia


Georgia, Batumi - The third summit of the Organization
for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM (
Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) will be held
on 1 July on Batumi under the political motto of GUAM
Unites the East of Europe.

According to the Foreign Ministry of Georgia, the
documents to be considered and signed in the summit on
1 July will be coordinated in Batumi in the meetings
of the experts and Council of the National
Coordinators of GUAM on 25 to 29 June. The joint
meeting of the relevant administrations (economic,
humanitarian and law enforcement) will be held in
Batumi on 30 June.

The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers and
enlarged plenary meetings will be held on 1 July in
Inturist hotel. The chairmanship of the organization
will be handed from Azerbaijan to Georgia in Batumi.

According to the early report, high-rank officials
from 25 countries and international organizations all
over the world are expected to attend the summit.

The meetings in the format of GUAM+ are expected to be
held with the representative of the US State
Department and foreign minister of the Czech Republic
and with Japan within the framework of the summit.

The meetings will be held on the level of the Council
of Foreign Ministers of GUAM and the meeting with the
Polish President Lech Kaczynski on the level of the
Council of Head of States.

GUAM heads of state, heads of the invited delegations
and GUAM Secretary General Valeriy Chechelashvili will
take part in the plenary meeting.

A Batumi Declaration, a Communique of the summit, GUAM
Declaration on Using Transport and Transit Potential
and program of Georgia’s chairmanship in GUAM are
expected to be signed during the summit.
------------------------------------------------------
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=51313


Azeri Press Agency
June 30, 2008


GUAM national coordinators gather in Batumi
Lachin Sultanova


Baku - National coordinators of the GUAM Organization
for Democracy and Economic Development have gathered
in Batumi, Georgia on Monday.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Araz Azimov has
also attended the meeting, Khazar Ibrahim, Press
Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told APA.


The national coordinators are discussing the agenda of
the GUAM summit to take place on Tuesday under the
motto “GUAM integrating Europe’s East”.

Experts of the member countries on the various fields
have already prepared the documents to be adopted at
the summit.

The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers will
take place on Tuesday before the summit of the Heads
of States.

High ranking officials from more than 25 countries and
international organizations will attend the summit.

The Batumi Summit Declaration, Joint Communiqué and
GUAM Declaration on the exploitation of the transport
and transit potential, as well as the program of
Georgian Chairmanship in the organization will be
adopted at the end of the summit.

Traditional GUAM+USA, GUAM+ European Union and GUAM+
Japan meetings are going to be held within the
framework of the summit.




===========================
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==============================

#30753 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:52 pm
Subject: Azerbaijan Will Settle Karabakh Conflict As It Chooses To
rwrozoff
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http://www.today.az/news/politics/46046.html


Today.AZ
June 30, 2008


Khazar Ibrahim: "It is Azerbaijan that will decide
which way to choose to restore its territorial
integrity"


-"Azerbaijan is a country which is developing and this
development influences all spheres.
"The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that
during the military parade. Azerbaijan will restore
its territorial integrity and will choose the way to
it itself."


The Azerbaijani government voiced its position and
noted that the conflict can only be settled in the
framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
during the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to
Baku, said the spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry Khazar Ibrahim at a traditional briefing.

He said Azerbaijan's position remains unchanged.

"As for the ways of resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, Azerbaijan has always made statements based
on realities. Azerbaijan is a country which is
developing and this development influences all
spheres.

"The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that
during the military parade. Azerbaijan will restore
its territorial integrity and will choose the way to
it itself", said Ibrahim.



===========================
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==============================

#30754 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:54 pm
Subject: Polish Military's Transfer Of Iraqi Province Cancelled
rwrozoff
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http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul85910.html


Polish Radio
June 30, 2008


Transfer of Qadisiya province to Iraqi forces delayed
due to bad weather


Weather conditions put on hold the handover of
security control in Iraq's Qadisiya province to Iraqi
forces.

According to the Polish command of the Multinational
Division Center-South, the ceremony was cancelled due
to a sandstorm which also forced the suspension of all
domestic flights in the region.

According to unofficial reports, however, it was
cancelled due to a high probability of a terrorist
attack.

Poland’s defence minister, Bogdan Klich, called such
reports “nonsense”.

The ceremony, with the participation of the Polish MOD
and heads of the coalition forces has been rescheduled
to a later as of yet unknown date.



===========================
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==============================

#30755 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:57 pm
Subject: Georgia: Poland To Push NATO Integration Of Ex-Soviet Republics
rwrozoff
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http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul85911.html


Polish Radio
June 30, 2008


Poland’s president pays another foreign visit


Lech Kaczynski is travelling to the Georgian city of
Batumi, where he will participate in the third summit
of International Organisation for Democracy and
Economic Development (GUAM), opening in Batumi, Adjara
Autonomous Republic, tomorrow.

GUAM is a grouping formally made of Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova for consultation purposes.

The topics to be discussed during the meeting include,
among others, the issue of energy securitya and the EU
and NATO aspirations of the eastern European countries
as well as the Polish-Swedish initiative of Eastern
Partnership.



===========================
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==============================

#30756 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:59 pm
Subject: Azerbaijan: Key Hub In US Trans-Eurasian Energy, Transport Plans
rwrozoff
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http://www.today.az/news/business/46039.html


Today.AZ
June 30, 2008


Heydar Babayev: "Azerbaijan is interested in expanding
ties with the United States and is ready to support
development of bilateral cooperation"


Azerbaijan's Economic Development Minister Heydar
Babayev received the special representative of US
State Department for Business and Commercial Affairs
Frank Mermoud.

The press service for the Economic Development
Ministry told Day.Az that Babayev said US businessmen
are successfully operating in various spheres of the
Azerbaijani economy, especially in oil and gas.

The Minister considers that US businessmen can raise
investments in the non-oil sector by expanding
cooperation with the Azerbaijan Investment Company and
Azerbaijan Export and Investments Promotion Foundation
(AZPROMO).

He noted that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding
ties with the United States and is ready to provide
any support to development of the bilateral
cooperation.

In turn, Mermoud announced that in the framework of
the visit to Azerbaijan he had meetings in the
Ministries of Finance and Transport and discussed the
possible participation of US Bechtel in the transport
projects of our country.

He noted that the US-Azerbaijan intergovernmental
commission on economic cooperation plays an important
role in the development of bilateral ties.

He said the next session of the commission will be
held in autumn this year.



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==============================

#30757 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:04 pm
Subject: Dutch Troops 'Acted Properly' In Killing 50 Afghan Civilians
rwrozoff
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http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5854275/Dutch-troops-not-prose\
cuted-for-Chora-offensive


Radio Netherlands
June 30, 2008


Dutch troops not prosecuted for Chora offensive


Dutch soldiers will not be prosecuted for excessive
violence during an offensive against the Taliban in
the Afghan province of Uruzgan a year ago.

More than fifty civilians were killed in the
controversial offensive in the Chora valley.

The Ministry of Justice has ruled that the soldiers
remained within the limits set by the rules of
engagement.

At the time, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the
offensive inaccurate and sloppy.

===========================
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==============================

#30758 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:13 pm
Subject: EU Promotes Balkans Model For Chechnya
rwrozoff
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http://www.interfax.com/3/406987/news.aspx


Interfax
June 30, 2008


EU thinks public dialogue must be promoted in Chechnya


MOSCOW - Andrej Benedejcic, ambassador of Slovenia
currently chairing the European Union, has spoken  for
a dialogue between all sides of Chechen civil society
to promote the republic's reconstruction.

"The EU believes that the process of the economic
revival in Chechnya should be accompanied by a
political dialogue, a dialogue in civic society, on
human rights and the operations of NGOs," he said at a
Monday press conference in Moscow.

He recognized apparent progress in the process of
rebuilding Chechnya and said that "certain stereotypes
concerning Chechnya should
be reconsidered."




===========================
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==============================

#30759 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:32 pm
Subject: Lithuania Approves Dual Citizenship For Residents Of All NATO, EU States
rwrozoff
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http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/eu_baltics/?doc=2818


Baltic Course (Latvia)
June 30, 2008


Lithuanian Seimas decided to leave double citizenship
for EU and NATO nationals
Petras Vaida


Vilnius - The Lithuanian Seimas has decided that those
persons who acquire the citizenship of [other] EU and
NATO member states will not be subject to losing their
Lithuanian citizenship. Some lawyers suspect that such
a provision may violate the Constitution.

On Monday, 78 MPs voted for this amendment to the law
on citizenship, four parliamentarians voted against
and nine MPs abstained from voting, reports ELTA.

The conclusions of the parliamentary legal department
underline that it is doubtful whether double
citizenship will not become a far too widespread
phenomenon due to the number of those Lithuanians who
have emigrated.

The Constitutional Court has explained that such a
situation violates the Constitution.






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==============================

#30760 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:56 pm
Subject: Pentagon, Georgia Expand Military Cooperation In Region, World
rwrozoff
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http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1235510&lang=EN


Trend News Agency
June 30, 2008


Georgian and American Defense Ministries Discuss Plans
for Future
N. Kirtzkhalia


Georgia, Tbilisi - Batu Kuteliya, the Georgian Deputy
Defense Minister, and Daniel Fata, the US Deputy
Assistant Defense Secretary on political issues of
NATO and Europe, examined plans for the future and
discussed an action plan at a meeting held on 30 June.

The Georgian Deputy Defense Minister told journalists
that the United States was a strategic partner of
Georgia and these countries had joint projects both on
the establishment of the Georgian army and on
peacemaking operations.

The meeting also focused on Euro-Atlantic organization
and its prospects. “The action plan was unified at the
Defense Ministry with the objective of achieving
positive results,” Kuteliya said.

Within the framework of bilateral consultations,
annual meetings are held in Georgia.

Similar consultations will be held in October 2008.

Kuteliya said that it was very important because
NATO’s ministerial meeting will be held in December,
where the decision should be taken to award Georgia
the MAP (Membership Action Program).



===========================
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==============================

#30761 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:24 pm
Subject: More US, NATO Troops Killed In Afghan Than Iraq War For Second Month
rwrozoff
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/30/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Deadly-Month.php


Associated Press
June 30, 2008


More troops die in Afghanistan than Iraq for 2nd
straight month


KABUL, Afghanistan - More U.S. and NATO troops have
been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq for the second
straight month.

An Associated Press count finds that attacks in
Afghanistan killed at least 44 international troops in
June.

About 30 international troops have died in Iraq this
month.

A record number of U.S. and NATO troops now patrol
Afghanistan's dangerous countryside, exposing more
soldiers than ever to danger. But Taliban attacks are
becoming increasingly complex and deadly.

Four attacks in June killed four soldiers each.

Previously, no single attack had killed more than
three international combatants since last August.



===========================
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==============================

#30762 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:53 pm
Subject: Prague: Arms Merchants Invited To Missile Defense Conference
rwrozoff
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http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=320935


Czech News Agency
June 30, 2008


Prague to host conference on anti-missile defence


-The Czechs and the USA have completed negotiations on
the main "radar treaty" and negotiations on the
complementing SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers'
status on Czech soil, are reportedly close to
completion.


Prague - A four-day conference on anti-missile defence
will be held next week in Prague with the
participation of U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
director Henry Obering as well as representatives of
Czech and U.S. industrial companies, the Czech Foreign
Ministry said.

There are also speculations that U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, scheduled to be in the Czech
Republic, will also appear at the conference, but this
has not been officially confirmed.

Rice is to be in Prague on the day when the conference
begins, on July 8. She will sign the main treaty on
the location of the U.S. radar in the Czech Republic.

The conference, staged by the French Association of
Aviation and Astronautics, is to be attended by
representatives of the firms dealing with anti-missile
defence such as Boeing and Raytheon that are to be in
charge of the Czech project.

Raytheon will conduct talks with Czech firms that are
interested in the construction of the radar base, too.


Jiri Hynek, president of the Association of Defence
Industry, said Czech firms could provide the
communication infrastructure such as radio
transmitters and satellite communication.

"I think we are able to manufacture everything but the
radar station," Hynek said.

In March, Czech firms were afraid that their
involvement would only be limited to auxiliary work
such as fencing off the construction site,
construction of the base buildings, removal of snow,
maintenance of roads and waste disposal.

The situation later changed and Czechs are to have the
opportunity to seek technologically more demanding
deals.

Hynek said it would be financially advantageous for
U.S. companies to use their Czech counterparts.

In January, a similar conference was held in Prague
which resulted in the plan that U.S. anti-missile
agency would found a consortium along with Czech
scientific centres that would focus on the research of
technologies related to the U.S. missile defence
system.

The Czechs and the USA have completed negotiations on
the main "radar treaty" and negotiations on the
complementing SOFA treaty, dealing with U.S. soldiers'
status on Czech soil, are reportedly close to
completion.


===========================
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==============================

#30763 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:07 pm
Subject: Balkans: Shadow Of The Munich Conference Hangs Over Europe
rwrozoff
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http://en.fondsk.ru/article.php?id=1455


Strategic Culture Foundation (Russia)
June 30, 2008


The Shadow of Munich Conference Over Europe
Pyotr Iskenderov


During the past several weeks, the public's attention
has been focused on various recent geopolitical
developments, and the expiration of Slovenia's
Presidency over the Council of the EU on July 1 is
going to remain almost unnoticed against the
background.

Yet this was the first time in EU history when such a
prominent role was played by a Slavic Balkan country,
and high expectations were associated with the fact in
the Balkan region.

The Slovenians did everything to foster the
expectations.

At the start of the term of Slovenia's Presidency last
January, its Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel made no
secret of his optimism about the resolution of Balkan
problems and, in particular, about the chances of
signing an agreement with Serbia.

At that time he even opined that the agreement would
possibly be signed within a month.

The Stabilization and Association Agreement was signed
only by the end of April amidst the elections campaign
in Serbia.

The signing helped to tilt the balance in favor of
Bris Tadic's pro-Western coalition.

The undisguised intervention into the domestic
politics of a sovereign country seems to be Slovenia's
sole achievement during the EU Presidency.

It failed to help other former Yugoslavian republics
and Albania gain admission to the EU or to do anything
to alleviate the Kosovo problem in a legitimate
framework.

Instead, new conflicts erupted in the Balkan region,
for example, in Macedonia.

Mr. Rupel does not seem upset – a few days ago he
declared proudly that the Balkan crisis was nearing
the end and that the situation in the region was on
the verge of improving despite all the challenges that
Slovenia had faced during the Presidency.

What positive developments could he have had in mind?

The unilateral proclamation of independence by Kosovo
on February 17 which left the EU and the rest of the
world divided?

Or, perhaps, the unprecedented tensions in Macedonia,
where the population once so convinced of the
advantages of independence now rushed to obtain
Bulgarian passports?

In the early XX century, Albanian nationalist leaders
offered Bulgaria to jointly rout Serbia and to have
the border between Bulgaria and Albania pass across
Macedonia. These days, one gets the impression that
Macedonians are deciding on which side of the border
to remain.

The June 1 snap parliamentary elections in Macedonia
took place amid unprecedented outbursts of Albanian
extremists' violence. Even Brussels had to express its
“disappointment”, though a EU police mission has been
deployed in Macedonia already for several years.

As for Serbia, the political situation in it is
unstable.

Dimitrij Rupel says that “progressive forces” are
leading in Serbia and its population regards the EU as
a friend, but this is not what public opinion surveys
actually indicates.

Over 2/3 of Serbs do not agree to sacrifice Kosovo for
a EU membership.

The country has been unable to form a viable
government for the two months after the elections, and
the political crisis is bound to continue.

The newly born coalition of Tadic's democrats and
socialists led by Ivica Dacic is a ridiculous
undertaking - the party of Slobodan Milosevic forged
an alliance with the democrats who overthrew its
leader in 2000. Socialists hope to thus return to
power, though this time as a minor partner in a
coalition. Such a coalition is not going to last long
even by Serbian standards.

One has to be totally unaware of what is actually
going on in the Balkan region to project a resolution
of the Yugoslavian crisis in the foreseeable future.

Since this is clearly not true of Dimitrij Rupel, he
must be simply following the political instructions
issued by Brussels bureaucrats.

What can the instructions be? The strange connivance
at the activity of Albanian extremists in Kosovo and
the [Albanian] paramilitary formations in Macedonia,
which is quite unnatural from the standpoint of
Europe's own interests, invokes certain historical
parallels.

When Nazism was rising in Germany in the mid-1930s and
starting to demand greater territories for the ”Aryan
race”, European countries attempted to resolve the
problem by appeasing the aggressor.

On September 30, 1938 British PM Arthur Neville
Chamberlain and French PM Edouard Daladier
greenlighted Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland,
the area of Czechoslovakia with large German
populations, hoping that this would satisfy Hitler's
appetite for aggression.

It is a noteworthy circumstance that, having visited
Hitler in his retreat at Berchtesgaden on September
15, 1938, Chamberlain agreed that the transfer of the
Sudetenland had to take place after a plebiscite, that
is, on the basis of the right of nations to
self-determination.

He elaborated further on the concept in London on
September 18 during the consultations with his French
counterpart. Great Britain and France concluded that
the territories had to be allocated to Germany since
their population was more than 50% German.

Poland actively joined the process of partitioning
Czechoslovakia. Already on October 1, 1938 it claimed
Teschen Silesia, but in less than a year Poland itself
fell victim to Germany which was getting increasingly
bold due to the inaction of the West.

Hearing how these days European capitals call for
“meeting the legitimate demands of the Albanians” of
Kosovo, Macedonia, and the southern regions of Serbia
and listening how the US puppeteers and their Balkan
puppets promise that the independence of Kosovo will
make it possible to turn the last page of the
Yugoslavian crisis, one simply can’t help recalling
the 1939 Munich Conference which legitimized the
partition of Czechoslovakia.

A countryman of Daladier, the President of the French
Senate's Commission for Foreign Affairs, Defense, and
Armed Forces Josselin de Rohan-Chabot said in a recent
interview that since 90% of the Kosovo population are
ethnic Albanians it is impossible to keep this
territory under the UN protectorate.

And a countryman of Chamberlain, former Ambassador of
Great Britain to Moscow Tony Brenton, sent a clear
message to Albanian separatists before Kosovo
independence was proclaimed by saying that as Kosovo
had been under the auspices of the UN already for
eight years, this could not go on indefinitely and if
the people wanted independence, it had to be given to
them.

Roughly at the same time Nenad Popovic, deputy head of
the Serbian government's Coordination Center for the
South Serbian Presevo, Medveda, and Bujanova told me
that there existed a center coordinating the Albanian
extremist activity in Kosovo, Macedonia, South Serbia,
and Montenegro.

He says that the campaigns launched by Albanian
extremists and terrorists in various parts of the
Balkan region are synchronous and well-organized, but,
unfortunately, the West ignores the peril.

In 1938, the West also ignored various perils. Later a
great price was paid for this.



===========================
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==============================

#30764 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:20 pm
Subject: EU Complements NATO Military Role: Romanian President, NATO Chief
rwrozoff
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http://www.financiarul.ro/2008/06/30/basescu-nato-and-eu-have-complementary-defe\
nce-policies/


Financiarul (Romania)
June 30, 2008


Basescu: NATO and EU have complementary defence
policies


-"Competition between the two defence capabilities is
not possible, because we are talking about the same
forces. The problem is how to distribute them and how
to plan them well," said Basescu.
In his turn, Scheffer voiced support for French
President Sarkozy's intentions to develop the ESDP
[European Security and Defence Policy] saying he
believes the two forces are complementary.



At the end of a meeting on Monday in Brussels with
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Romanian
President Traian Basescu stated that the European
Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) of the European
Union is not a competitor against the defence policy
of NATO, but it rather complements it.

"There will be no competition between a military force
of the EU and NATO.

"This is just a matter of planning. The EU has to
develop its own capabilities to guarantee security.

"At the same time, good cooperation between NATO and
the EU will guarantee the success of this development
that the European Union wants. Competition between the
two defence capabilities is not possible, because we
are talking about the same forces. The problem is how
to distribute them and how to plan them well," said
Basescu.

In his turn, Scheffer voiced support for French
President Sarkozy's intentions to develop the ESDP
saying he believes the two forces are complementary.

He said he is a staunch supporter of Sarkozy's idea
about the relationship between NATO and the EU, and
that he is sharing the ambition of Sarkozy to discuss
the future ESDP, including the European security and
defence identity.

He added that he would go further by stating that the
process conducted within the European Union is
important to have a sure connection with the process
going on within NATO that will be discussed at the
future NATO summit meeting in the spring of 2009.

He mentioned having discussed with French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner the NATO-EU partnership at a
seminar, adding that he considers a strong ESDP to be
in NATO's interest as well.


===========================
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==============================

#30765 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:29 pm
Subject: NATO Missiles Kill, Wound Pakistanis Near Khyber Pass
rwrozoff
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http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/0\
1-Jul-2008/Nato-missiles-hit-tribesmen


The Nation (Pakistan)
July 1, 2008


Nato missiles hit tribesmen
By Sher Khan Afridi


BARA (Khyber Agency) -  [A] mysterious missile hit the
base of one of the religious groups near Bara town of
the Khyber Agency in early hours on Monday, killing at
least nine persons and injuring around 15 others
including a woman.

All the killed were stated to be tribesmen from
scattered areas of Khyber Agency.

So far no one has claimed the responsibility for the
missile attack against the base of the religious group
but its spokesman blamed the NATO forces camping
across the border in Afghanistan, for the act.

The base of Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anel Munkar (Voice
and Virtue) headed by Haji Namdar at the fortress
having many portions like the house of Hakeem Shah at
Jan Khan Keley in the area, dominated by tribesmen
from Bar Qambarkhel clan of Afridi tribe, was hit by a
mysterious missile in the early hours of Monday. At
the time of the missile attack, its dwellers were
preparing themselves for offering prayers, the
spokesman remarked.
....
The spokesman of the Tanzeem Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi
Anel Munkar informed...that around 3.45 a.m. first
they sighted a flame in the air, which was later on
followed by a huge explosion. The flame, he added,
came from Afghanistan, where NATO forces are camping.

Based on these grounds, he blamed the NATO forces for
such an attack.

The mysterious missile targeted the house of Hakeem
Shah destroying its several portions. A number of
rooms and portions of the house were razed to the
ground whereas the remaining parts were damaged very
badly.
....
The spokesman claimed that six persons were killed and
seven others injured in the attack, whereas the local
tribesmen informed that nine persons were killed and
15 others injured.

The six killed persons were identified as Ibrahim and
Arif from the Zakhakhel tribe, Gul Wali, Mohammad
Nawaz, Faulad Khan and Sagheer Khan from Bar
Qambarkhel area of Bara.

Five of the injured were admitted to a Peshawar
hospital. whereas 10 of the injured were attended in
the Civil Hospital Dogra, Bara and were discharged
after giving them first aid. The injured who are still
under treatment included Shaukat, Sulaiman, Noor
Habib, Yaqoob and a woman.

The missile attack, the first-ever of its kind,
resulted in widespread unrest amongst the tribesmen
from all over the Khyber Agency
....

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==============================

#30766 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:34 pm
Subject: Georgia Is Waging Terrorist War: Abkhazia
rwrozoff
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http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/26805


Russia Today
June 30, 2008


Georgia is waging terrorist war – Abkhazia


-“These blasts are the work of Georgian special
services. I’ve been saying for several years that it’s
a country of terrorism. Their whole policy is based on
terror, but we are going to fight it, and the
situation will be under control...."



Following reports of a number of explosions in the
central marketplace in Sukhumi, the capital of
Abkhazia, the country’s authorities have called the
act part of 'Georgia's terrorist war on Abkhazia.'

The President Sergey Bagapsh says Georgia is ‘a
country of terror’ and blames its special forces for
the blasts.

According to Maksim Gvindzhia, Deputy Foreign Minister
of Abkhazia, seven people have been injured and taken
to the hospital.

He said some are believed to be critically injured,
and there are unconfirmed reports of fatalities, but,
Gvindzhia stressed they are as yet unconfirmed.

One Russian tourist is believed to be among the
injured.

The explosions, which occurred early in the morning
when the market was very crowded, are believed to have
been caused by bombs hidden in bins.

It's the second such incident in two days. Six women
were injured on Sunday in a blast in the city of
Gagra.

Abkhazia is blaming Georgia for the explosions. The
Abkhaz President, Sergey Bagapsh, has announced that
the breakaway republic will close its border with
Georgia on July 1.

“These blasts are the work of Georgian special
services. I’ve been saying for several years that it’s
a country of terrorism. Their whole policy is based on
terror, but we are going to fight it, and the
situation will be under control. I can’t promise you
that the same thing won’t happen tomorrow because
anything is possible, but we’re taking all measures to
find the terrorists.”

Meanwhile, Georgia say it's an internal issue.



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==============================

#30767 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:47 pm
Subject: Backed In Corner By US, NATO: Russia's Last Stand
rwrozoff
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http://www.bjreview.com.cn/world/txt/2008-06/28/content_130183.htm#


Beijing Review
June 28, 2008


What's Next for Russia?
As the United States proceeds with its missile defense
plan in Eastern Europe, Russia is left with few
options
By WU GANXIANG



-In recent years, Russia already has been cornered by
an expanded NATO, imbalanced strategic nuclear forces,
and the fast development of the U.S. anti-missile
technology and space-based weapons.
-The United States always makes justifications for its
military plans before it takes action, as evidenced by
the wars in Kosovo and Iraq. Given this factor, people
may hardly be convinced that Washington's main purpose
is to address the threats of Iran's ballistic
missiles....
-Russia may choose to invest in more advanced
strategic missiles, enhance its anti-missile
penetration capabilities and possibly deploy
high-precision conventional ballistic missiles
targeting U.S. anti-missile bases in Eastern Europe.
This option will help it effectively countervail the
United States and will be unlikely to cause widespread
instability.



In May 2007, the United States launched a plan to
deploy an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe,
including 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a
radar station in the Czech Republic. Although the
system allegedly is being built to counter the threat
of a ballistic missile-equipped Iran, the plan has met
with vehement opposition from Russia, which insists
that the system is directed against it.

Several rounds of high-level consultations have been
carried out between Russia and the United States to
settle the dispute.

At the G8 Summit last June, former Russian President
Vladimir Putin made a proposal to his U.S. counterpart
George W. Bush that the United States share data from
the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan with Russia
instead of building a new radar system in the Czech
Republic.

The two countries' ministers of foreign affairs and
defense met in Moscow last November in an attempt to
iron out their differences in America's deployment of
an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe and other
issues. More talks have been held between the two
countries this year. Despite all these negotiations,
no substantial agreements have been reached.

Long-term contention

The competition between the United States and the
former Soviet Union, now Russia, over missile defense
epitomizes the long battle for strategic balance
between the two countries.

During the Cold War, the strategic forces of the two
powers were largely in balance. As they sought to gain
a strategic advantage, both were engaged in a nuclear
arms race and vied to develop anti-missile
interception systems.

In order to avoid excessive costs inflicted by an
endless nuclear arms race, the two sides concluded a
number of treaties to restrict or reduce the number of
strategic weapons, including Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaty I (SALT I), SALT II, Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty, Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty and
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal has greatly
declined since the end of the Cold War. Its
conventional weapons are also no match for those of
the United States in both quality and quantity.

In this context, Russia is giving greater scope to the
role of strategic nuclear forces in national security.
A case in point is its efforts to improve and extend
the service life of old strategic nuclear missiles
such as SS-18s and SS-19s and to develop a new
silo-based SS-27 missile and a new sea-based Bulava
missile.

The United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty after
Bush took power in 2001. It set about investing
heavily in an integrated anti-missile system and
expanding global cooperation in the research and
deployment of the anti-missile system.

Against this backdrop, Russia accelerated its research
and deployment of new types of land-based and
sea-based nuclear strategic missiles. It also secretly
developed RS-24, a thermonuclear intercontinental
ballistic missile, and tested it twice in 2007 and
2008, respectively.

Putin has said on many occasions that Russia is
already in possession of a strategic nuclear missile
that can penetrate any defense system.

But no details about the missile's code and technology
are available to the public. There is reason to
believe that a more plausible scenario could be that
Russia has not gone that far due to budget limits and
technological difficulties. Russia successfully tested
a new reentry vehicle with its SS-25 or SS-19 missiles
in a large military exercise in 2004. To date, no
media reports have been made on the deployment of this
new type of strategic warhead.

As part of their nuclear arms race, the U.S.-Russia
contention over missile defense exhibited different
features in different periods. During the Cold War
when there was a balance of nuclear forces, the two
nations could contract bilateral agreements or
treaties on the development and deployment of
strategic nuclear forces and anti-missile systems and
barely risked installing strategic weapons and
equipment close to the other's border.

This was illustrated by the Cuban Missile Crisis in
1962, when Russia was forced to dismantle its missiles
in Cuba. Today, however, with indisputable strategic
advantages, the United States is reluctant to enter
into any agreements or treaties with Russia for fear
of accompanying constraints that might preclude it
from developing and deploying nuclear forces and
anti-missile systems at its own will.

Seeking a way out

In recent years, Russia already has been cornered by
an expanded NATO, imbalanced strategic nuclear forces,
and the fast development of the U.S. anti-missile
technology and space-based weapons. The present move
of the United States to deploy the system in Eastern
Europe has dealt another blow to Russia, which has
suffered from a shrinking strategic sphere of
influence.

Indeed, the deployment of an anti-missile system in
Eastern Europe cannot be described as large-scale by
any means at the present stage, but this could be just
the tip of the iceberg. More forces and a strengthened
anti-missile system from the United States are
expected if needs arise. Russia is even going so far
as to believe that the United States may deploy
strategic offensive weapons in its Eastern European
base in future.

Despite Washington's repeated claims that its missile
deployment in Eastern Europe aims to deal with threats
from Iran, everybody knows that Iran will not be able
to pose any serious threats to the United States with
its ballistic missile capabilities in the foreseeable
future.

The United States always makes justifications for its
military plans before it takes action, as evidenced by
the wars in Kosovo and Iraq. Given this factor, people
may hardly be convinced that Washington's main purpose
is to address the threats of Iran's ballistic
missiles, although deterring Iran could be part of its
agenda.

Judging from the ongoing situation, the United States
will stick to its deployment plan in Eastern Europe
despite Russia's strong opposition. In response to the
U.S. obstinacy, Russia has a few alternatives
regarding the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe
(CFE), the issue of further reducing its strategic
offensive weapons and non-proliferation. But it is
left with limited room to maneuver.

Russia declared a moratorium on the CFE Treaty last
July. Whether it will eventually back out of this
treaty makes no significant difference. On the issue
of reducing strategic offensive weapons, Russia is
placed in a dilemma. On the one hand, faced with the
development and deployment of the anti-missile system
in Eastern Europe by the United States, it needs to
expand its strategic nuclear arsenal for fear of
greater disequilibrium in terms of strategic forces.

For example, it suspended its implementation of SALT
II last year. On the other hand, Russia seeks to reach
new agreements with the United States on the reduction
of strategic weapons and decreasing the number of
strategic weapons of both countries to a level lower
than SALT II.

That's because its existing nuclear arsenal is hard to
sustain in light of its economic conditions.

Nevertheless, substantial negotiations are yet to be
started owing to America's reluctance to have
restraints imposed on its development of strategic
weapons.

Russia may choose to invest in more advanced strategic
missiles, enhance its anti-missile penetration
capabilities and possibly deploy high-precision
conventional ballistic missiles targeting U.S.
anti-missile bases in Eastern Europe. This option will
help it effectively countervail the United States and
will be unlikely to cause widespread instability.


===========================
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==============================

#30768 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 1:46 am
Subject: Push East, South: Most US Nuclear Arms In Europe In Turkey, Italy
rwrozoff
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http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=108576


Turkish Daily News
June 30, 2008


Incirlik becomes major host for American nuclear
weapons


-U.S. nuclear bombs in Europe are now kept at...six
bases; in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy and Turkey,
with the most at Incirlik air base in Turkey and
Aviano in Italy....
-The Adana spokesman for the Global Peace and Justice
Coalition, or BAK, Ali Diniguzel, pointed out that the
Incirlik base is a "war base," saying, "We have
organized many protests for this base of war to be
shut down and for the disarmament of the nuclear
warheads. We do not wish to see Adana and Turkey
becoming Hiroshima. We will not give up."


ISTANBUL - A U.S. decision to withdraw its last
nuclear weapons from Britain has made Turkey the
largest host of American nuclear weapons in Europe.

The shuffle in nuclear demographics was reported by
the Federation of American Scientists last Thursday.
According to a recent report by the American watchdog,
the total American nuclear arsenal in Europe as of
June 26 was now housed in six bases in five countries,
with an estimated 50-90 nuclear weapons, out of a
European total of 150-240, housed in the Incirlik Air
Base alone.

The withdrawal from Britain was not announced
officially, but was confirmed by several sources, the
report's author, nuclear weapons expert Hans
Kristensen, wrote. The U.S. Department of Defense
declined to comment. If true, the withdrawal means
U.S. nuclear bombs in Europe are now kept at just six
bases; in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy and Turkey,
with the most at Incirlik air base in Turkey and
Aviano in Italy, Kristensen wrote.

Following daily Taraf's headline in a report Saturday,
protests have been voiced by key organizations in
Turkey. Representatives wanted the bombs to be removed
from the country immediately, saying, they do not want
nuclear weapons in our country.

The Cukurova representative of the Association in
Support of Contemporary Living, or CYDD, Safak Evren,
told daily Cumhuriyet that the nuclear warheads are a
great danger to Turkey and its neighbors and need to
be removed immediately, saying, "We are like a colony.
This threat must be removed."

The Cukurova representative of the Confederation of
Revolutionary Workers' Unions, or DISK, Kemal Aslan,
said, "The nuclear threat in our country has occurred
against us, and it is our duty as the public to
everything we can against it."

‘We don't want Adana to become Hiroshima'

The Adana spokesman for the Global Peace and Justice
Coalition, or BAK, Ali Diniguzel, pointed out that the
Incirlik base is a "war base," saying, "We have
organized many protests for this base of war to be
shut down and for the disarmament of the nuclear
warheads. We do not wish to see Adana and Turkey
becoming Hiroshima. We will not give up."

The Adana metropolitan representative of the Turkish
Public Workers' Labor Union, or Kamu-Sen, Kamil Kose,
said in a free and independent state one could not
house nuclear warheads using economic pressures.

Emphasizing that Turkey was an honorable nation, Kose
said, "Nobody has the right to make our country feel
this threat. We request that these warheads are
removed from our country immediately."

The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and
Architects, or TMMOB, the Adana area spokesman for the
Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions, or KESK,
Huseyin Kozan, the Adana branch chairman of the Union
of Health and Social Service Workers, or SES, Mehmet
Antmen, and Adana Medical Chamber president, Rýza
Mete, also demanded that the nuclear warheads be
removed from Turkey and that the Incirlik base be shut
down.

Silent approval

Turkish officials, meanwhile, do not seem to complain
much compared to other European countries that voice
their uneasiness with America's storage of nuclear
weapons in their territories.

The issue was high on the agenda several years ago
when the United States was trying to relocate its
military bases, something that sparked tense
discussions mainly on the European continent, home to
a massive American troop presence remaining from the
post-World War II era.

Remaining silent in these discussions, Turkish
officials admitted the existence of American nuclear
weapons but said that it's an important asset for
Turkey to preserve its strategic importance in the
eyes of the U.S., which is Turkey's closest ally.




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==============================

#30769 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 2:21 am
Subject: NATO's Afghan War: First German Combat Deployment Since....
rwrozoff
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http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/06/30/Germans_send_first_fighting_unit_\
to_Afghanistan/UPI-88761214869901/


United Press International
June 30, 2008


Germans send first fighting unit to Afghanistan
By STEFAN NICOLA


BERLIN - Germany's first fighting division in northern
Afghanistan started operating Monday, with officials
in Berlin hoping the German death toll won't shoot
through the roof in the coming months.

Some 200 German elite soldiers Monday took over a
quick reaction force manned by Norway over the past
years. It's a mission that requires expertise and
courage and - this could be the big problem for the
German government - may result in more casualties for
Germany in Afghanistan.

Yet German officials, most notably Chancellor Angela
Merkel and Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, so far
have abstained from talking honestly about the Afghan
mission.

"The security situation has become more difficult" is
Jung's boldest statement about the danger German
soldiers are facing. Why? Mainly because Germany's
contribution to aid the international forces in
Afghanistan is seen very critically at home. Some 26
German soldiers have died in Afghanistan so far,
mostly because of roadside bombs and terror attacks.
Observers say a non-proportional increase of that
death toll would result in serious damage for any
party responsible for it.

Merkel and Jung thus have not yet talked about a
"fighting mission," but the quick reaction force is
just that: a unit tasked with securing International
Security Assistance Force missions and fighting
insurgents wherever need be - and that could be in
northern AND in southern Afghanistan.
....
Germany should "consider increasing the flexibility
and use of its forces," a high-ranking military
official said recently in Berlin, with a nod to the
caveats that several nations, most notably Germany,
have given their troops. The commanders in Afghanistan
these days "are taught to play defense, not offense,"
he said.

Germany recently...agreed to train more Afghan police
and send an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan,
bringing its total force in the country to 4,500.

Only 23 percent of Germans back that decision,
according to a recent poll.
....
The quick reaction force has to shoulder a "real
fighting mission," Egon Ramms, a high-ranking NATO
general with ISAF, recently told a German radio
station. "They certainly aren't there to drill wells,"
he said.

Every year, Germany has to prolong its Afghan
engagement, and the next decision awaits lawmakers in
September. The decision could be a bit rockier than in
recent years, given Germany's engagement and the still
fragile security in the country.

The Pentagon recently authored a report admitting that
the Taliban had "coalesced into a resilient
insurgency," The Wall Street Journal reported earlier
this week.

"The Taliban will challenge the control of the Afghan
government in rural areas, especially in the south and
east," the report warns. "The Taliban will also
probably attempt to increase its presence in the west
and north."

That would mean much more work for the German quick
reaction force....
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3451110,00.html


Deutsche Welle
June 30, 2008


Germany Takes Over Quick Reaction Force in Afghanistan

Some say the mission involves heightened danger and
the threat of attacks


The German army took over a rapid reaction force in
northern Afghanistan on Monday, June 30 marking the
first time the country has provided a combat unit for
the NATO-led international peacekeeping force.

The German military organized the so-called quick
reaction force or QRF in Mazar-i-Sharif in
Afghanistan's northern Balkh province in a ceremony on
Monday, June 30 amid reports of rising terrorism
threats and an attack on the German army in the
province of Kunduz, some 150 kilometers away.

Two soldiers sustained injuries when their armored
vehicle struck a mine while on patrol, the military
said in a statement.

The new deployment will see around 200 German soldiers
forming a QRF force at the behest of NATO to prevent
attacks in northern Afghanistan. Until now, Norway has
provided soldiers for a QRF in the region but now the
Scandinavians want to focus on rebuilding Afghanistan
and strengthening their civil reconstruction teams.

Heightened danger

Germany currently has 3,500 troops in Afghanistan. An
additional 1,000 troops are expected to join them in
autumn.

The QRF will be at the disposal of the regional
command of the NATO-led International Security and
Assistance Force (ISAF) in northern Afghanistan and
its main job will be to provide emergency help to NATO
troops. That will include defending against attacks by
a resurgent Taliban and other radical groups and could
involve offensive deployments against insurgents.

Equipped with armoured vehicles and tanks, the QRF is
expected to be mobile and quick. It will include
experts in deactivating mines and booby traps.

Though the commander of the German QRF, Gunnar
Bruegner said the deployment did not involve
heightened dangers, the departing head of the
Norwegian force said the German army had to be
prepared for more casualties.

The Norwegians did not lose a single soldier since the
force took up operations in early 2006 but Rune
Solberg said threat levels had significantly increased
recently in northern Afghanistan.

Reports of rising threats from the Taliban have been
fuelled by the approach taken by the new government in
neighboring Pakistan to negotiate with Taliban
militants. That stance, western experts, say have
emboldened Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung had warned
the QRF force when he saw it off at the beginning of
June of a dangerous deployment with "life-threatening
risks."

At the time, Jung said: "Every soldier who goes to
Afghanistan must be in a position to fight."

More troops needed

Sending troops into combat in Afghanistan remains a
sensitive topic in Germany with opinion polls showing
the majority of the population against the step.

NATO partners, particularly the United States, have
pressured Germany to send more troops to Afghanistan.
They also want more German soldiers sent to the
dangerous south to help fight a more powerful Taliban.


There are about 60,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan,
most of them part of the NATO-led ISAF force. Yet
despite the heavy NATO involvement, some 6,000 people
were killed in 2007, the deadliest year since the
Taliban was forced from power in 2001.

German NATO General Egon Ramms said last week he
urgently needs an additional 5,000 to 6,000 troops in
Afghanistan.





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==============================

#30770 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 2:23 am
Subject: France To Push EU In Complementing US Space War Plans
rwrozoff
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/68b2a614-46c8-11dd-876a-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=70662e7c\
-3027-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html


Financial Times
July 1, 2008


Paris calls for military angle to space policy
By Andrew Bounds in Brussels


-The Paris-based European Space Agency, which controls
the EU’s space programme and whose members include
Norway and Switzerland as well as 15 EU member states,
said it was working “hand-in-hand” on the new
strategy.
-The code will enshrine freedom of access to space for
peaceful purposes while respecting the “rights of
countries to legitimate defence”, according to the
French proposals.


The European Union should develop a military element
to its space activities to counter growing security
threats, according to proposals drawn up by France.

Paris, which on Tuesday takes over the EU presidency,
says Europe needs to counter threats from conventional
military powers such as China and Russia as well as
terrorism. To do so it needs to add a “political and
security dimension” to European space policy,
according to documents sent to EU governments ahead of
a meeting later this month in French Guiana, home to
the European launch pad.

“In Europe space policy has always been motivated by
scientific and technical reasons. The US, Russia,
China and so on are motivated by politics. Even so,
Europe is the second or third biggest space power in
the world. Using political drive as well, it would be
even more powerful,” said a European diplomat familiar
with the plans.

French ambitions range from setting up an EU spy
satellite system to joining a US manned mission to
Mars.

Paris wants to exploit synergies with existing
civilian space projects. For example, Galileo, the
3.4bn euro ($5.4bn, 2.7bn pound) rival to the
US-controlled global positioning system, is classed as
a transport project, although it could be used for
military operations. The same is true for the Global
Monitoring for Environment and Security system, which
shares data from satellites monitoring the climate and
is covered by EU environment policy.

The Paris-based European Space Agency, which controls
the EU’s space programme and whose members include
Norway and Switzerland as well as 15 EU member states,
said it was working “hand-in-hand” on the new
strategy.

Franco Banacina, ESA spokesman, said a board meeting
in November would map out “new programmes that take
into account new dimensions in which we will be
working like security and defence”. It wants to boost
its 2.8bn euro annual budget.
....
The code will enshrine freedom of access to space for
peaceful purposes while respecting the “rights of
countries to legitimate defence”, according to the
French proposals. A 40-year-old UN treaty is the only
framework governing space.

France would invite others to join the six countries –
France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Belgium and Spain –
that have already agreed to pool research for a new
ground station to handle spy satellite signals called
Musis.

The French plan may fall foul of Germany, which wants
to develop its own national space industry. As the
EU’s biggest paymaster it has been unenthusiastic
about plans to pool resources, diplomats say.



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==============================

#30771 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 2:24 am
Subject: NATO Wedge In CIS: Moldova Cold To Militarized GUAM
rwrozoff
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http://www.azi.md/news?ID=49970


Infotag (Moldova)
June 30 2008


Moldovan President not going for GUAM summit again


-Initially, the founder fathers viewed GUAM as an
economic association of countries of potential
participants in energy transportation projects.
Gradually, however, it began placing increasingly more
emphasis on a military-political component, in
particular on a project to create GUAM peacekeeper
forces.


Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin will not take part
in the summit of the Organization for Democracy and
Economic Development - GUAM [Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, and Moldova], which will be held in Batumi
(Georgia) on July 1, the presidential administration
told Infotag today.

At the Batumi summit, the GUAM member countries will
sign a Joint Declaration and adopt Action Plan for
2008-2009. Also, Azerbaijan will pass the GUAM
presidency over to Georgia.

The previous GUAM summit was held in June 2007 in
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Vladimir Voronin did
not attend it, having sent the then Prime Minister
Vasile Tarlev instead of him.

As a regional organization uniting Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, and Moldova, GUAM was established on
October 10, 1997 at the Strasbourg Summit of the
Council of Europe.

In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the organization but left
it in 2005 claiming it was too politicized and lacked
an economic component.

It was decided at a Kiev summit in 2006 to declare the
GUAM an international organization to bear a new name
- "The Organization for Democracy and Economic
Development GUAM".

Initially, the founder fathers viewed GUAM as an
economic association of countries the potential
participants in energy transportation projects.
Gradually, however, it began placing increasingly more
emphasis on a military-political component, in
particular on a project to create GUAM peacekeeper
forces.




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==============================

#30772 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:13 am
Subject: Czech Republic: US To Add Arms Ties To Missile, Troop Pacts
rwrozoff
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/30/content_8466226.htm


Xinhua News Agency
June 30, 2008


U.S. to fund Czech armament industry due to radar base



-Russia strongly opposes the deployment of the missile
defense system, saying the plan poses a threat to its
national security. Czech opposition parties and some
70 percent of Czech citizens also oppose the project.


PRAGUE - The United States is to offer dozens of
millions of crowns (1 U.S. dollar equals 15.241
crowns) to fund scientific research in the Czech
Republic, mainly in the armament industry, as part of
the radar base talks between the two countries, a
Czech newspaper reported Monday.

The United States is mostly interested in cooperation
with the Czech Republic in fields such as
nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics and defense
against biological weapons, the daily Hospodarske
Noviny quoted Vladimir Marik, head of the Department
of Cybernetics at Prague's Technical University, as
saying.

Washington is also interested in the Czech know-how on
laser technologies, including passive radio locators,
and the simulation of certain situations such as
terrorist attacks, Marik added.

Most of the projects are focused on the armament
industry, the newspaper said....

Assigned by the Government Council for Science and
Research, Marik has selected 77 top Czech research
centers that could cooperate with the United States,
the report said.

The United States had originally planned to release
some one-off subsidies for scientific research as a
compensation for the radar installation, but after
discovering the high level of research in the Czech
Republic, they would like to establish long-term
cooperation with Czech researchers, Marik said.
....
The United States plans to build a radar base at the
Brdy military base, 90 km southwest of Prague, and a
base with 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, as part
of its missile defense shield.

Russia strongly opposes the deployment of the missile
defense system, saying the plan poses a threat to its
national security. Czech opposition parties and some
70 percent of Czech citizens also oppose the project.



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==============================

#30773 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:15 am
Subject: Kazakhstan: SCO Plans Joint Military Exercises
rwrozoff
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http://www.interfax.com/3/407028/news.aspx


Interfax
June 30, 2008


Kazakh president ratifies bill on SCO joint military
exercises


ASTANA - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has
signed a bill ratifying the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) agreement on joint military
exercises, Nazarbayev's press office reported on
Monday.

The agreement was signed in Bishkek on June 27, 2007.

It aims to ensure a rapid reaction to challenges and
threats to SCO peace, security and stability,
coordinate the actions of SCO defense ministries and
provide the legal foundation for SCO military
exercises.






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==============================

#30774 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:17 am
Subject: After Iraqi Detour, US Signals Renewed South Asian Offensive
rwrozoff
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http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=57566


Pajhwok Afghan News
June 28, 2008


Time to refocus the war in Afghanistan: Obama


-Reiterating that Afghanistan would be his top
priority, Obama said amidst applause: "That's what we
will be working with and working on when I am
president of the United States. That's the choice in
this election."


NEW YORK - Addressing the first election meeting with
his political rival Hillary Clinton, the presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee, Friday asserted he
would focus on Afghanistan if elected as the US
President in the November elections.

"It's time to refocus our attention on the war we have
to win in Afghanistan," Obama told a cheering crowd in
the small little New Hampshire town of Unity. His
Democratic Party rival in the presidential race
Clinton also addressed the campaign event the first in
the series of many planned.

Throughout his campaign, Obama has maintained that it
is Afghan war that needs to be the top priority of the
United States and not the Iraq war as he believes that
the real safe heaven to terrorists is in this part of
the world. This was very much reflected in his speech
at Unity.

"It is time to go after the Al Qaida leadership where
it actually exists. It is time to bring this war in
Iraq to a close," Obama said.
....
Reiterating that Afghanistan would be his top
priority, Obama said amidst applause: "That's what we
will be working with and working on when I am
president of the United States. That's the choice in
this election."




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==============================

#30775 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:19 am
Subject: GUAM: Caspian Oil Via Ukraine To Baltics, Central Europe
rwrozoff
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http://economics.apa.az/en/news.php?id=35545


Azeri Press Agency
June 30, 2008


Azerbaijan to transmit experimental oil via
Odessa-Brody pipeline soon
Lachin Sultanova


Baku - The Odessa-Brody oil pipeline will be filled
with technological oil, APA reports, quoting the
Ukrainian President’s Press Service.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko announced [this] after
Azerbaijan-Ukraine negotiations in Baku.

Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan would transmit
experimental oil via the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline
soon and the project would be tested.

The President added that serious achievement had been
gained on the realization of the project and a
feasibility study was being prepared to create [a plan
for the] efficiency of the project in terms of
commerce.

“After coordination of all technical issues of the
determination of the transmission of Caspian oil to
the Black Sea region, we will take the first step”, he
said.

Yushchenko stated that the transmission of Caspian oil
via the Odessa-Brody pipeline had been coordinated.

The Ukrainian President added that proper measures had
been taken in the establishment of the Sarmatia joint
enterprise and stressed that there was not any problem
in the realization of the project.

The Presidents have discussed economic
cooperation...including energy during the
negotiations.


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==============================

#30776 From: Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...>
Date: Tue Jul 1, 2008 3:34 am
Subject: Pentagon, Georgia Discuss Afghanistan, Iraq, Caucasus Conflicts
rwrozoff
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http://www.mod.gov.ge/?l=E&id=977


Georgia Ministry of Defence
June 30, 2008


Delegation of the US Office of Security Defence in
Georgia


A three-person delegation of U.S. Defense Department
is paying an official visit to the Ministry of Defence
of Georgia.

The delegation is led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for European and NATO Policy Daniel Fata.

The main purpose of the visit is to intensify
bilateral cooperation in the defence sphere and to
discuss Georgia’s chances to be granted a MAP at the
NATO Ministerial in December.

The US delegation was received by the First Deputy
Defence Minister, Batu Kutelia, and Deputy Defence
Minister, Giorgi Muchaidze.

The meeting was attended by the Chief of the Joints
Staff, Brigadier General Zaza Gogava, Deputy of JS,
LTC Giga Tatishvili, head of the International
Relations and Euro-Atlantic Integration Department,
Nino Bakradze, the Director of the Georgia and Moldova
areas of the U.S. Defense Department, Mark Simakovsky,
and ECJ5, Col. Lee Gabel.

The US side was represented by the Chief of ODC, LTC
Robert Hamilton, and the US Defence and Army Attaché
to Georgia, Col. Matthew Brand, at the meeting as
well.

In the framework of the meeting were discussed NATO
integration perspectives and technical issues for the
Train and Equip Program for the 4th Brigade.

Georgian military servicemen’s participation in
multinational security operations in Afghanistan was
discussed. The topic of today’s meeting talks was the
current situation in conflict regions of Georgia.

After the closed-door meeting, Mr. Batu Kutelia and
Mr. Daniel Fata made some comments:

“The USA is Georgia’s strategic partner. We are
implementing significant joint projects regarding  the
Georgian Army's development and projects relating to
Iraqi and Afghan peacekeeping operations.

"We maintain the bilateral consultation framework,
which takes place every year.

"We agreed that the above-mentioned consultations will
take place on in the second week of October,  before
the NATO ministerial meeting in December about
granting the Membership Action Plan,” stated Batu
Kutelia.

“We discussed Georgia’s chances to be granted the NATO
Membership Action Plan....The wide range of bilateral
cooperation between Georgia and the USA was discussed
as well,” - declared Mr. Daniel Fata.

In the framework of the visit meetings are scheduled
with the State Minister of Georgia on European and
Euro-Atlantic Integration Issues, Giorgi Baramidze,
the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia,
Giga Bokeria, and the Secretary of the National
Security Councul, Kakha Lomaia.

The US delegation will leave Georgia on July 1st.




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