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US-Russian nuclear arms reduction negotiators seem close to concluding a follow up strategic arms reduction treaty (START). The Russian press reports that Washington has agreed to serious concessions and that the new START treaty will be signed soon. The new verification measures will be less intrusive and “based on trust.” The US military control mission will be permanently removed from the Votkinsk missile factory in Udmurtia in the Urals. The US is reported to have agreed to allow Russia in the future to cipher telemetric data of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches. Both sides will be allowed 700 to...

WASHINGTON — Negotiations with Russia to replace an expired Cold War-era arms control treaty have bogged down and now appear unlikely to be concluded by the end of the year as the White House had hoped. As the two sides seek a breakthrough, President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, plan to discuss the nuclear negotiations in a meeting Friday on the sidelines of United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two leaders are not expected to seal a deal. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, say negotiations with...

The government has decided to undertake a major replacement of aging military equipment. In many cases, this is essential, because buying new gear basically halted (with a few exceptions, like ballistic missiles) during the 1990s. So most of the armed forces are using Cold War era gear manufactured in the 1970s and 80s. Fortunately, even older equipment was junked as the armed forces shrank 80 percent in the 1990s. According to the new government plan, in the next decade, at least a third of current gear will be replaced, and in some categories (usually high tech), over 80 percent. President...

Russia is to build up its navy over the coming decade, President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Monday, as he visited a Russian guided missile cruiser in Singapore. Speaking to sailors on board the Russian Pacific Fleet's Varyag, Medvedev said around half of Russia's military hardware would have to be renewed by 2020. "Yes, an expansion of our naval presence is planned. Russia can only consider itself a full naval power if it has a full fleet that carries out training and combat tasks," he said, according to official Russian news agencies. The Varyag, built in the 1980s under the Soviet...

It’s not necessarily much but it’s something. Russia has announced today that it will not activate Iran’s first nuclear power plant by the end of the year as planned. This comes on top of the joint call by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, and Barack Obama for Iran to agree an international deal over its nuclear programme. Russia is also postponing delivery of air defence missiles to Iran, a move that makes any Israeli air strike on Iran that much easier to pull off. Barack Obama has taken a lot of criticism for his wideranging, open-armed engagement with all sorts of...

SINGAPORE: A major pact within tantalizing reach, President Barack Obama aims to nudge forward an arms-control deal in talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum brought Obama to Singapore, but he is focusing on individual meetings Sunday with Medvedev and with Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of the world's largest Muslim nation and Obama's home as a boy. The US-Russia meeting takes place as the nations seek a successor to a Cold War-era agreement. Obama planned another milestone: joining a larger meeting that includes the leader of military-ruled Myanmar. Obama is sure to face criticism...

Russia's army will get new missiles and nuclear submarines from 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, stressing the need to replace the ageing military arsenal. "Next year, the army will get 30 ballistic missiles...five Iskander (missile) systems, some 300 new armoured vehicles, 30 helicopters, 28 fighter planes, three nuclear submarines, a ship, as well as 11 spacecraft," Medvedev said in his annual address to the nation. "These measures will allow our armed forces and our allies to deal with any threat," he told officials in a speech at the Kremlin. Much of Russia's military equipment dates back to Soviet...

From Kalingrad in Europe to Kamchatka in the Far East, the country covers 11 time zones. "We need to look at the possibility of cutting the number of time zones," Mr Medvedev said in his annual address to the nation, delivered at the Kremlin before an audience of Russia's political elite. "Of course we need to consider the consequences of such a decision," he added. In a wide-ranging speech focused almost entirely on domestic issues, Mr Medvedev also wondered aloud whether Russia really needed to continue changing the clocks twice a year for daylight saving. "Here we need to compare...

Cold War: The White House has announced our absence at ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, Russia has been practicing a nuclear invasion of an abandoned Poland. The Berlin Wall has been a famous backdrop for American presidents sounding the battle cry of liberty in the struggle against tyranny. It was there that John F. Kennedy expressed our solidarity with the encircled residents of that outpost of freedom with his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner." And it was there that Ronald Reagan, with a defiant "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," voiced our...

MOSCOW — Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, warned Friday that Russians had lost their sense of horror over Stalin’s purges, and called for the construction of museums and memorial centers devoted to the atrocities, as well as further efforts to unearth and identify the dead. Mr. Medvedev made the comments on his video blog, on the occasion of a holiday devoted to the memory of victims of repression. He warned that revisionist historians risked glossing over the darker passages of the Soviet past, citing a poll that showed that 90 percent of young people could not name victims of the...

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev criticised on Monday the pace of military-industrial modernisation, saying it is affecting the quality of Russian weapons and harming national prestige. "Considerable funds have been invested over the past few years to develop the military-industrial complex. So far the results are mediocre," Medvedev said on Russian television. "Unfortunately we carry on filling in holes and the objectives for technological modernisation have not been achieved," the Russian president added. "The quality of military production for the Russian army and foreign exports is causing justified concern from clients," added Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko, speaking at a meeting on...

Today Putin, Tomorrow a Prison Toilet 23 September 2009 By Yulia Latynina There is a rather wealthy fellow named Andrei Boiko who co-owns the Burevestnik Yacht Club on the Moscow River. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently paid a visit to the club. Boiko couldn’t have been happier. He showed the prime minister around, saying, “This is mine, and that over there is mine, too.” A week later, Boiko was in jail. Maybe Putin didn’t like the club members’ opulent lifestyle during the economic crisis. Or maybe someone in Putin’s retinue has his eye on Boiko’s business. Either way, it is...

Today Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev told students at Pittsburgh University that he did have input on the president's decision. What's important is Barack Obama listened to my position. Perhaps it was part of the basis for his decision. We are learning to listen to each other. This is a change from the previous administration. I think these are bold, courageous decisions, to change decisions of previous administrations concerning foreign policy. This was a complex decision. I tried to put myself in his shoes. It would not have been easy for me.

Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after midnight I was informed in a telephone call by President Barack Obama that (his) administration had decided to pull out from the planned missile defense shield installations" in the Czech Republic and Poland, the...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release September 23, 2009 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AND PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV OF RUSSIA AFTER BILATERAL MEETING Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York, New York 4:26 P.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, I want to welcome President Medvedev to the United States and New York. As you all know, I had the great pleasure of visiting him in Moscow, and he extended extraordinary hospitality to both myself and my family. More importantly, we got a lot of work done...

Israel promised Russia it would not launch an attack on Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview aired on Sunday in which he described such an assault as "the worst thing that can be imagined." Medvedev denied Moscow was backing Iran but said it had the right to supply defensive weapons and said sanctions against Tehran should only be used as a last resort. An attack would lead to "a humanitarian disaster, a vast number of refugees, Iran's wish to take revenge and not only upon Israel, to be honest, but upon other countries as well," "But my...

According to the Associated Press, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev wants to get outside of the DC beltway in his next trip to the USA: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he would like to meet with "dissidents" when he visits the U.S. next week. Russian news agencies quote him as telling a group of visiting foreign experts that "I believe there are dissidents in the United States." ITAR-Tass quotes him as saying: "Let them tell me what problems the United States has. That won't be bad, considering the Soviet experience." I think that this is a fantastic idea, when one considers...

Strategic Defense: With Iran on the verge of a deliverable nuke, the administration tells our allies in the dead of night that we will scuttle missile defense plans in Eastern Europe to please the Russians.Czechs are used to betrayal by their Western allies. It was at Munich in 1938 that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sealed their doom in exchange for a piece of paper promising "peace in our time." The fact that this further gutting of missile defense came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, is an eerie coincidence. "Just after...

Dmitry Medvedev says he would not rule out running again for president in 2012 elections, keeping up the uncertainty about the future political intentions of Russia's ruling duo. Mr Medvedev's refusal to dismiss the idea of a second term came amid frenzied speculation about the intentions of strongman prime minister Vladimir Putin, who many believe is plotting a return to the Kremlim. "Some time ago I did not intend to stand for president," Mr Medvedev said today, referring to his emergence from relative obscurity to sweep the 2008 polls. "But fate worked out that way and therefore I'm not going...

Security at risk from Russia addicts - Medvedev 08 Sep 2009 14:46:33 GMT Source: Reuters * Up to 2.5 million Russians are drug addicts * Drug use contributes to demographic problem * Students may face tests By Denis Dyomkin MOSCOW, Sept 8 (Reuters) - High drug use among Russia's youth is a threat to national security, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday. Russia is the world's top consumer of Afghan heroin, fuelling concerns in Moscow about the growth of the opium trade in Afghanistan. "The young age of drug users is a threat to the country's national security, a serious...

Medvedev: blaming Soviets for WWII a 'cynical lie' By STEVE GUTTERMAN (AP) – 6 hours ago MOSCOW — Russia's president defended Moscow's role in World War II before the 70th anniversary of its outbreak, saying in an interview broadcast Sunday that anyone who lays equal blame on the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany is telling a "cynical lie." Dmitry Medvedev's remarks were the latest salvo in Russia's bitter dispute with its neighbors over the war and its aftermath. The Kremlin has launched a campaign for universal acceptance of its portrayal of the Soviet Union as Europe's liberator. In Eastern Europe,...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel - and the United States for that matter - launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s open letter and Aug. 11 video blog attacking Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko turned out to be a PR windfall for Ukraine, judging from international reaction...Many outside of Russia – and some within -- sided with Ukraine and Yushchenko. "The language [of Medvedev] was reminiscent of [former Soviet leader] Leonid Brezhnev in its detachment from reality,” wrote Anders Aslund, author of “How Ukraine Became A Market Economy and Democracy,” in an Aug. 17 opinion piece published by the Financial Times.

It's really amazing how soon the Obama administration's chickens are coming home to roost. They made a big deal out of finding a "reset" button for U.S.-Russia relations. They wanted to reject what they saw as George W. Bush's truculence over the Russian invasion of Georgia last summer. So they went out of their way to send a message to Russia that they wanted a new beginning in their relations with Moscow. Well, they've gotten it. London's prestigious Financial Times reports that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent a tough "ultimatum" to Ukraine's leadership. Medvedev sent his blunt warning in...

The Russian economy risks hitting "a dead end" unless it sees rapid reform, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday, in his most damning assessment yet of the country's economic prospects. Speaking amid a severe economic crisis that has plunged the country into a deep slowdown, Medvedev did not spare his words in admitting Russia was largely to blame for its woes. He told Russian political party leaders in the southern city of Sochi that Russia was "treading water" by not implementing reform and needed to urgently change the structure of its export-dependent economy. Medvedev's stark analysis of the crisis contrasts...

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has strongly criticized Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his government, accusing them of everything from supporting Georgia in last year's war to suppressing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine. He also announced he is postponing sending a new ambassador to the former Soviet republic. In a "video blog" posted today on the Kremlin's website, the Russian president said he had outlined his views in an open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Dmitri Medvedev said bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine have hit an "unprecedentedly low" level and that tensions between the two countries...

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin has stated that the Moscow authorities are paying special attention to the forthcoming visit of President Dmitri Medvedev, who will come to Belgrade on October 20, the day when the Serbian capital was liberated in 1944 from the Fascist occupiers. While saying that Medvedev and Serbian President Boris Tadic have agreed in yesterday’s phone conversation to make this visit a landmark in the bilateral relations, the Russian Ambassador has specified that the talks will primarily touch upon the economic cooperation and issues relating to investments. In stressing that Russia will probably grant a credit...

Russia's new president is trying to show the world a more liberal face, but the body count of murdered human rights activists keeps rising. Being a political critic in Russia is getting more dangerous by the day, and now one prominent human rights organization in Chechnya has decided to close its office. Yet another Russian human rights activist has been silenced in yet another brutal attack. This week unknown gunmen shot anti-corruption activist Albert Pchelintsev in the mouth with rubber bullets, in front of his apartment in the Moscow suburb of Khimki. The 38 year old was seriously wounded in...

On July 26 President Dmitry Medvedev focused on foreign policy in his carefully staged interview for the NTV channel and duly praised his own successes in improving Russia's image as a "strong and modern country, pragmatic and restrained." He asserted that Russia "plays a decisive part in the global balance of power" and also acted as a "strong, predictable and comfortable partner for our neighbors." The Kremlin is used to creating a virtual reality by issuing authoritative pronouncements about going from strength to strength, but now this habitual self-deception does not quite work and the setbacks are catching up. The...

The abduction and murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova in the conflict-ridden Northern Caucasus has been the latest crime to shake Russia's embattled liberal community - and raise the question of whether today's Russia lives not just under an authoritarian regime, but a reign of terror against dissenters. While there are different theories as to the real perpetrators of this vile crime, none are particularly flattering to the Kremlin. On July 15, 50-year-old Estemirova, a teacher, journalist, and single mother of a 15-year-old daughter, was abducted outside her home in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Later that day, she...

WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS From Chavez to Medvedev -- to Obama? International News Analysis Today July 15, 2009 By Toby Westerman A war is being waged on the democratic process around the world, a war which poses ultimately a greater peril than the bombs and bullets from militant Islam.

The ninth meeting of the Russian-German Forum, Petersburg Dialogue, which was set up eight years ago under the initiative of then-president Vladimir Putin and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, took place in Munich on July 14-16. Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev and Germany’s Angela Merkel held a meeting within the scope of the forum to discuss issues of cooperation between the two countries. Germany has become Russia’s major partner in Europe during the recent years. To which extent are the Russian-German relations strong? Pravda.Ru interviewed one of the leading German experts on Russia, an expert with the German Council for Foreign Politics, Alexander Rar....

The Russian president has promised Muslim leaders to assist in developing Islamic education and building a mosque in Sochi and asked them to help in fighting extremism. Observers and media have commented on the first visit of the Russian leader to the central mosque in Moscow. Dmitry Medvedev, on July 15, came to the Moscow Congregational Mosque, which was built in 1904 and is under reconstruction now. After the work is complete, the mosque will be able to accommodate several thousand worshipers. So far, it is unclear how much time the reconstruction which is going on near the Olimpiysky national...

Russia's religious life is a multi-confessional one and Islam is a faith with a vast influence. So President Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with leaders of Russian Muslim organizations. The statement was made as Medvedev was paying a visit to the country's central Mosque in Moscow to see ongoing reconstruction work. After being shown around the historical part of the mosque and a section under construction, Medvedev met with muftis. Medvedev stressed the importance of Islam in the country's internal affairs. ”Russia is a multi-national and multi-confessional country. Russian Muslims have enough respect and influence. Muslim foundations are making...

L'AQUILA, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia could still deploy tactical missiles in its westernmost exclave if the U.S. goes ahead with its plans for a missile shield in Central Europe, the Russian president said on Friday. Dmitry Medvedev said Russia's position on U.S. missile defense in Central Europe had not changed. "We are ready to participate in the construction of a global missile defense by providing both intellectual input and our radars," Medvedev said after the G8 summit in Italy's L'Aquila. "We are glad that there is a readiness in the U.S. to review its plans." Russia opposes the...

WASHINGTON — The glow is off the rose. The euphoria is gone. The thrilled, awe-inspired crowds are no longer there. No, that's not a reflection on the recent Michael Jackson media madness. Instead, it's a summary of the Obama family outing to Russia, Italy and Africa. Other than a week's respite from the deepening U.S. financial crisis, the collapse of constitutional government in Honduras, and staged photo ops, the trip yielded little to give the American people hope that the O-Team comprehends the dangers we face in this world — or what to do about them. The trip to Chad...

MOSCOW — If Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families. After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts on Tuesday night to seclude himself in his Moscow hotel with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters. The first family enjoyed a relaxed evening at the O2 Lounge, the super-chic, super-pricey rooftop club at the new Ritz-Carlton, although no doubt the Secret Service first cleared the place of most if not all of the swaggering...

Senate Republicans see a new agreement forged between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as an opportunity to force Democrats’ hand on a major security issue: missile defense. Sixty-seven senators, or two-thirds of those present, must agree to ratify any deal seeking to reduce nuclear weapons between the two nations, giving Senate Republicans, who only control 40 seats, rare leverage. The high bar for ratifying treaties will put pressure on Obama to finish construction of a missile shield in Eastern Europe. At the very least, it will make it very difficult for the president to limit that shield in...

Obama's claim that "in 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonising other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over" will have drawn mirthless laughter in Moscow. That is precisely how many Russians see the US behaving around the world, particularly in the Middle East. If national sovereignty is paramount in Georgia, they routinely ask, why not in Serbia and Kosovo? The speech was not televised on the major Russian channels and the applause inside the lecture hall was polite. Russia is not vulnerable to Obamania....

The biggest achievement touted from the summit — and the only document the two men signed — was a nonbinding “joint understanding” setting target ranges for a new round of nuclear arms reductions. But a look at the fine print shows the deal is less than meets the eye, experts said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - In a slip of the tongue, U.S. President Barack Obama described Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday as president, echoing the widely held view that he remains Russia's most powerful man.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and first lady Michelle Obama look at a cat at Russian President's Dmitry Medvedev residence Gorki outside Moscow July 6, 2009. Visiting U.S. President Obama and Kremlin leader Medvedev agreed a target for cuts in nuclear arms and a deal to let U.S. troops fly across Russia at the start of a trip intended to mend strained ties. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) and U.S. President Barack Obama talk at the presidential residence Gorki outside Moscow, July 6, 2009. Visiting U.S. President Obama and Kremlin leader Medvedev agreed a target for cuts in nuclear arms...

It's always nice to see the leaders of the United States and Russia having a pleasant summit. But let's not fool ourselves into thinking the statements mean much. In July 2008, President Bush and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev had a meeting at the G8 summit: PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV: (As translated.) Well, indeed, we had this exchange today with George concerning various issues on the agenda of our relationship, including those of domestic importance, trade and investments, and internationally related matters, including those conflicts and crisis tendencies in the world. And true that on certain matters we do have differences originating from...

July 6, 2009 Barack Obama makes basic error over balance of power in Kremlin Tony Halpin. President Obama has made his first mistake in Russia even before he arrives in Moscow today. His attempt to cast Vladimir Putin as yesterday’s man and to drive a wedge between the Prime Minister and President Medvedev demonstrates a misreading of relations in the Kremlin. Mr Medvedev is in office but not in power and whether he becomes President in more than name depends on Mr Putin’s support and intentions. Mr Medvedev may represent a more accommodating face of Russia but this is only...

Here is complete video of the joint press conference held today in Moscow between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Obama announced that the two had agreed on a treaty that will reduce the Nuclear Arsenals of the two nations by up to one-third. . . . . (Watch Video)

US President Barack Obama made his first mistake in Russia even before he arrived last night. His attempt to cast Vladimir Putin as yesterday's man and to drive a wedge between the Russian Prime Minister and President Dmitry Medvedev demonstrates a misreading of relations in the Kremlin. Medvedev is in office but not in power and whether he becomes President in more than name depends on Putin's support and intentions. Medvedev may represent a more accommodating face of Russia but this is only because Putin wants him to. Obama declared on Friday: "I think that it's important that even as...

Obama, Medvedev Call for Cut to 1,500-1,675 Nuclear Warheads Title only - story to follow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview published Sunday that the United States must compromise on plans for a missile defense system in Europe to get a deal on cutting back nuclear warheads. U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Moscow Monday to meet Medvedev and discuss ways to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) before it expires on December 5. Russia says a deal on START is possible but has linked any agreement with Washington's plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe that Moscow says is a threat to its national...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has used an interview with a Russian opposition newspaper to support Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev's publicly declared aim of building a freer society in Russia. Medvedev, who was sworn in as Russian president in May 2008, has sought to strike a more liberal tone than his predecessor and mentor, ex-KGB spy Vladimir Putin, though officials say Russia's two leaders are united on all major issues. In an interview to be published in Novaya Gazeta newspaper on Monday, the first day of Obama's trip to Moscow, the U.S. leader said he supported Medvedev's statements on...

The Obama administration wants to push the re-set button on its relationship with Russia, but that may be tough given significant disagreements over policy. Festering disputes over missile defense and Russia’s war last year with Georgia won’t be resolved at the Monday’s summit between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, foreign policy experts have said over the past few days. They predict a meeting whether the two sides will smile at one another while trying to push serious disputes to the side for the time being. Andrew Kuchins, a director of the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies,...