by Damozel | You've probably heard that George W. Bush is still president for yet awhile. Tragically, it is true. And he still has time to make things worse.
We have been repeatedly assured that there is no new Cold War. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that a certain coolness prevails between the Bush administration and Russia's successor to Putin, President Medvedev. (Memeorandum) He seems quite prepared to extend this coolness to Obama should the situation require it.
In a wide-ranging attack on the United States as it elected a new president, the Russian leader Dmitri A. Medvedev warned on Wednesday that Moscow might deploy short-range missiles in the Baltic region to counter a perceived threat from a proposed American missile defense shield in Eastern Europe....
In his speech a few hours earlier, Mr. Medvedev spoke of a “new configuration for the military forces of our country” that would include abandoning plans to dismantle some missile regiments and the stationing of missiles in Russia’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
“We earlier planned to take three missile regiments within the missile division stationed in Kozelsk off combat duty and discontinue the division itself by 2010. I have decided to refrain from these plans,” Mr. Medvedev said.
“The Iskander missile system will be deployed in Kaliningrad region to neutralize, when necessary, the missile shield,” Medvedev said.
“Radioelectronic equipment located in the western region” of Russia in the Kaliningrad region “will jam objects of the U.S. missile defense system,” Mr. Medvedev said.
“These are forced measures,” Mr. Medvedev said. “We have told our partners more than once that we want positive cooperation, we want to act together to combat common threats, that we want to act together. But they, unfortunately, don’t want to listen to us.” (NYT)
In short, he seems kind of exercised about the missile shield. Why, I hear you ask, do we even need it?
The United States say the missile shield is needed to intercept missiles from states including Iran and does not threaten Russia. But Russia says it regards the system as a threat and has warned that it would target such installations in lands that belonged to the Warsaw Pact. (NYT)
Russia's president is still incensed with Bush's intervention in the Georgia war.
Referring to the fighting in Georgia, he said: “The conflict in the Caucasus was used as a pretext for sending NATO warships to the Black Sea and then for the forceful foisting on Europe of America’s anti-missile system, which in its turn will entail retaliatory measures by Russia.”
The fighting in Georgia was “among other things, the result of the arrogant course of the U.S. administration which hates criticism and prefers unilateral decisions,” Medvedev said, according to news reports. (NYT)
Speaking only as a layperson, it looked to me as if Russia took advantage of the Georgian president's perhaps unwarranted action in South Ossetia and made it a pretext for moving into Georgian territory and encouraging the separatist regimes of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, neither of which wants to be part of Georgia. Whatever NATO's or Bush's motives, it's pretty clearly---at best---a case of "pot, meet kettle."
But it is at least quite clear that Medvedev is not feeling any love for the Bush administration. One assumes that the same would have been true if McCain had been elected. He stuck in his oar more than once when the Georgia conflict was being carried on. I have the impression that he has a bit of a blind spot where Saakashvili is concerned. Frankly, I agree with IOZ.
Anyway: what does this mean for Barack Obama?
[Medvedev's] remarks, in his first state of the nation address since assuming the presidency in May, were delivered within hours of the election of Barack Obama and offered a chilling glimpse into the potential issues and tensions confronting the new American leader when he takes office in January. His comments also seemed at odds with the broader groundswell of support for the American president-elect from many governments across the globe. (NYT)
In addressing his public, he coldly refrained from expressing his congratulations to the president-elect. He just said he hoped that "[o]ur partners — the new U.S. administration — will make a choice in favor of a full-fledged relationship with Russia.” (NYT) Later, he did send a telegram:
“Russian-American relations have historically been an important factor for stability in the world and have great importance and sometimes key significance for resolving many of today’s international and regional problems....I hope for a constructive dialogue with you based on trust and consideration of each other’s interests.
Yes, I hope so too. I also hope Russia will refrain from opportunistically invading its former satellites. Somehow I don't feel too sanguine on that point. But at least Barack seems likely to favor dialogue first before breaking out the rattling sabers and the hoary cold-war rhetoric.
Memeorandum has more here. Fox news has pictures!
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