There was an interesting article from the Christian Science Monotor (its posted on the Yahoo Chechnya page) . Bascally saying that western intellegence organizations (mainly Germanys) along with the CIA are working with Russian officials in suplling info about terrorists that opperate in Afganastan and Chechnya. Bascally its point was the Clinton was saying onething and doing another.

BERNSTEIN the lowlife GOYEM how was your pork dinner? Ready for your shower yet?YOU coward come and teach me my lesson you bloody fag.I told you that you can bring your friends with you. I will be at the Landing Strip every Thursday,just ask the doorman who I am.COWARD

Bernstein if you are bored go to the QUEER chatline and talk to some of your butt slamming buddies.GOOF

"Since the subsequent events did not impart extremism any fresh force - the bandits have in the main been routed and, broken up into small groups, are now conducting a guerilla warfare -"

In Chechnia yes, what about the rest of the region?

Washington has evidently decided
to implement Clinton's second thesis i.e., to deteriorate Russia's positions in the international arena and, above all,
in Europe.
with a little help from Putin

It does not take much to heat up public opinion in Western countries.
nor in Russia

Suffice it to recall the anti-Yugoslav
hysteria that the Western mass media whipped up over the ethnic purges in Kosovo, which, as it turned out later,were greatly exaggerated. But they became a pretext for NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia.
Is that what Serbia is called in Russia?-that of course puts a diferent emphasis on the conflict. To the rest of the world Yugoslavia has ceased to exist. Of course Nato had to whip up public opinion, after three failed UN missions- the idea of making another blunder didn't much appeal. Russia keeps it eye very firmly on public opinion regarding Chechnia- but is that a pretext or an afterthought?Tell me did russia have any alternative to going to war-Did Nato?

Anticipating..............

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm,


EU, Russia Working on Relationship

By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer

LUXEMBOURG (AP) - The European Union and Russia said Monday they made a start in
improving their shaky relationship on issues across the board, including economic relations
and Russia's war in Chechnya.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told reporters after a two-hour meeting with his 15 EU
counterparts that ``we are not avoiding a dialogue'' about Chechnya. He said Moscow was
eager to ``find a political settlement of this issue. We are not slamming the door.''

He said both sides ``reaffirmed our mutual desire to develop a strategic partnership between
Russia and the European Union.''

EU officials spoke in similar terms and said the election of
Vladimir Putin as Russian president has injected new stability in
EU-Russian relations that bodes well for a planned May 17
EU-Russia summit in Moscow.

The two sides agreed to step up the fight against organized crime.
EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said Moscow
also pledged to respect international property rights, bringing it ``in line with its future
obligations under the World Trade Organization.''

On Chechnya, Ivanov gave no details of a political settlement plan Putin mentioned at a
meeting in Moscow last week with senior EU officials.

However, Ivanov said the plan envisioned an eventual political settlement with Chechen
leaders who do not ``put forward unacceptable conditions and who recognize the territorial
integrity of the Russian federation.''

Russia has consistently rejected demands to end the fighting, saying the Chechen rebels are
terrorists. European critics say Russian troops indiscriminately kill civilians and execute and
torture Chechen rebels, allegations Russia denies.

Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, whose country holds the presidency of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is to go to Moscow and the
Caucasus this week.

Ahead of the meeting with Ivanov, the EU ministers issued a statement praising Putin for his
stated desire to seek ``a strategic partnership'' but insisted that can only happen on the basis of
``an open and frank dialogue'' on such issues as Chechnya.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the EU ministers agreed not to paint Russia
into a corner over Chechnya, yet would not drop demands for a negotiated end to the war and
access for human rights and humanitarian relief groups.

Fischer said while Russia ``must understand we are serious in our concern about democracy
and human rights in Chechnya, we have to work together to enable Russia to make a new
start.''

On Thursday, the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly lifted Russia's voting rights
and asked for a full suspension of Russia from the council unless peace talks begin
immediately.

Russia began seeking closer ties with the EU at the bloc's December summit in Helsinki,
Finland. It floated proposals for Russian-EU cooperation on a number of strategic issues,
including military cooperation with European defense structures that Russia hopes could be an
alternative to NATO.

And more:


Russian Duma to Vote on START-2 Pact on Friday

By Martin Nesirky

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's parliament agreed on Tuesday to
hold a long-awaited vote Friday on ratifying the START-2 nuclear
arms reduction treaty, opening the way for an early triumph for
President-elect Vladimir Putin.

Former President Boris Yeltsin had tried for years to secure
ratification of the 1993 pact, which would cut U.S. and Russian warheads from about 6,000
each to no more than 3,500 each by 2007. The U.S. Senate has already ratified the treaty.

The old Communist-dominated State Duma opposed the agreement, but the new lower
chamber elected in December is likely to back it in what would be a clear foreign and
domestic policy success for Yeltsin's younger successor.

``The treaty will be considered Friday,'' Speaker Gennady Seleznyov told reporters.

Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, once commander of the world's second largest nuclear
arsenal, and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will answer deputies' questions Thursday.

Party groups will then decide where they stand and deputies will
vote Friday, Seleznyov said.

Unlike in the old Duma, the pro-Putin Unity party and other
groups can outvote the opposition Communists and their allies.
Party leaders say the treaty could be endorsed by as many as 300
deputies in the 450-seat Duma. The Communists and Vladimir
Zhirinovsky's ultranationalists oppose the agreement.

``No One Will Touch Us''

``As long as we have missiles, no one will touch us,'' Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov
said, adding the treaty would ''completely destroy Russia's national security'' and ratification
should not be rushed.

``Many people will vote as they have been told,'' Zhirinovsky told reporters, adding a
trademark rhetorical flourish.

``It reminds me of the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact,'' he said, referring to the
doomed 1939 anti-aggression deal between the Nazis and Moscow.

``We signed it, drank champagne and then in two years it started. It's the
same again. War is inevitable.''

Dmitry Rogozin, who chairs the Duma international affairs committee,
said it was likely that the START-2 vote would be tempered by a
statement cajoling Washington into not violating Anti-Ballistic Missile
(ABM) treaty limits on missile defenses.

He said the Duma would probably adopt such a ``carrot and stick''
statement. It was not immediately clear what Russia would use as a stick
beyond threatening not to cut warheads.

The statement would certainly help appease START-2 opponents but a ratification Friday
would still show at an early stage that Putin can push measures through the Duma and boost
his image abroad even before his May 7 inauguration and ahead of his first trip to the West, to
London next week.

It would help Ivanov on a U.S. visit starting on April 24.

Hurdles Ahead

Assuming it is approved in the Duma, the treaty must be backed in the upper Federation
Council at its April 19 session and then signed by Putin. If all goes according to plan, Putin
will arrive in London with the treaty ratified in the Duma and Ivanov will start his U.S. trip
with the signed deal.

Ratification would pave the way for work to start on a new START-3 agreement, already
agreed in outline three years ago.

One reason that Russia dragged its feet on START-2 was opposition to plans by Washington
to deploy a defense system to intercept incoming nuclear missiles. President Clinton has yet to
decide whether to agree to deploy the system.

``I think the ratification of the START-2 treaty is one of the biggest, the most difficult and
the most important decisions in recent years. There is no reason to hurry,'' Zyuganov said,
noting that Clinton faced a possible decision in the middle of this year on the anti-missile
system.

Moscow regards ABM as a pillar of arms control. Washington says its limited national
defense system would target missiles from what it considers ``rogue'' states like Iran or North
Korea.

Despite this, Western and Russian defense experts detect signs that Moscow under
Putin may agree to some kind of compromise on ABM, partly to avoid a costly arms race.

To my Nemesister,
I completely agree with your new alias!!! The similar notion had gripped me as well, but I didn't possess the gall. I'm confident that you have the ability to articulate your own viewpoints without requiring assistance, but I would feel greatly obliged to join this epic struggle against the rabid wolves of nationalism on this message board.

Yours until a rational end,

Suleyman

If I remember correctly Start II came up before the duma right before the US bombed Iraq , then it was pushed asside. Then it came up right before the US bombed Serbia, it was pushed asside again. Hopefully Clinton won't bomb anyone else. As fas as "the treaty would completely distroy Russian security" thats kind of laughable since how many times can 3,500 missles blow up the world...a few.

Washington has evidently decided
to implement Clinton's second thesis i.e., to deteriorate Russia's positions in the international arena and, above all, in Europe.
with a little help from Putin
* Those two articles run pretty to the contrary.

Well later all.

You are most Welcome aboard, Suleyman.
I wasn't sure if I was Nemesis or Pandora for a while. :o)

Exactly, therefore Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

The media seems to have softened it stance on Putin. Why? Visits to USA and UK?
He is definately walking a tight rope.
Strong defiant Russian president one minute, calling for dialogue the next. Could there be a lot of realpolitik going on, on both sides?
But Putin has done this before....
His interview on joining Nato? He used the predictable decline from Nato leaders to his advantage. It appeared as if Nato wasn't playing ball.

Bandits are so desperate of good lies, they said that they attacked Russians OMON troops in Stavropol Region (Russia). Yeah right.
1. It would be FRONT PAGE NEWS of every newspaper in the world.
2. REAL annihalation of Chechen bandits and their supporters would start.

HOWEVER IT WOULD BE GREAT of bandits sneaked out of CHECHNYA, but were annihalted before able to do anything. That way it would give Russian army/military a wake up call (they need one now, they seem to give bandits a break), and it would probably shut WEST the hell up (though I rather enjoy their whining ..Euro Counsil gave Russia three weeks... whatever).

Ahh, ALLAHU Akhbar! or something.

the russians are ••••••• pussys for the way they are running that war,raping and killing innocent women and kids.a bunch of ••••• fucks,and to think i used to fear going to war with them.mexico would beat the •••• out them.russians are fuckheads,i have no respect for them,hope they all rot in hell.