Russia 'tired of West's lectures'

CNN ^ | February 13, 2005

[Tailgunner Joe]

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Russia is fed up with being lectured by the West on democracy but is willing to discuss the issue frankly at a summit with the United States this month, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Sunday.

Eight days after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Moscow must show its commitment to "the basics of democracy," Ivanov said Moscow was ready for an open exchange when presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin meet.

"We're ready to discuss any issues with the U.S. side, and not only to give answers but also ask questions," Ivanov told journalists at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

"Democracy is not a potato that you can transplant from one kitchen garden to another. I believe that in recent years democracy in Russia has been developing normally."

He added: "We are prepared to calmly move further in this direction, developing democracy and integrating into the global economic system, but while doing so we prefer to be masters of our own house."

Bush is due to meet Putin on February 24 in the Slovak capital Bratislava. Rice said this month that Russia should show the world it was committed to the rule of law, an independent judiciary and a free press.

[JasonC]

Russia is signing arms deals with the Iranians as we speak to provide them air defense and naval attack capabilities in case of war with us. They gave Iran nukes and plan to give them enriched uranium fuel in the very near future, over US objections. They are deliberately creating nuclear proliferation threats around the periphery for the express purpose of undermining US power in the world, by trying to make it ungovernable. If we gave Chechen terrorists 20 portable nukes tomorrow, it would be no more than sauce for the gander. If Putin died tomorrow the world would be a dramatically safer place. He is a profoundly reckless and evil man, and you are stupid to defend his actions.

[adam_az]

"To tell you the truth, I don't know why we keep beating up on Russia. Russia is much less of a threat than the Islamists. The Cold War is over. Give it a rest."

Russia is building Iran nukes.

Russia is selling Chavez 100,000 kalishnikovs which will be used by FARC to invade Colombia. He's selling them MiG fulcrums, too.

Russia is selling advanced anti aircraft weapons to Syria.

[GarySpFc]

Agreed. It is so much easier to have the KGB poison one of these "pro-democracy" upstarts with Dioxin anyway.

The only evidence you have for Russian involvement is your own paranoia. Give it a rest.

[GarySpFc]

The way Putin's been acting, they seem to be re-joining the "non-democratic regions of the world".

Go back and do a keyword search on Russia, and you will find Putin and Russia moving more towards democracy than dictatorship. However, your hatred is blinding you to the truth.

[Fruitbat]

"We are prepared to calmly move further in this direction, developing democracy and integrating into the global economic system, but while doing so we prefer to be masters of our own house."

And therein lies the problem.

[Destro]

ken21, your information is garbage. Israeli Jews are re-returing to Putin's Russia.

BBCIsrael faces Russian brain drain

[Cronos]

Yes, the Saudis cover their tracks better.

[Cronos]

Syria is another matter. That is dumb, plain, dumb, especially when those weapons are just as likely to end up in Chechnya as in Baghdad.

I doubt that -- Assad, for everything else he is, is still secular, the Syrian Christians are treated far, far better than Christians in Egypt and indeed anywhere else in theIslamci world.

[Frank_Discussion]

Oooh, the "H" word. Yes, trot that out. (sheesh)

Sorry, actions speak louder than words, and Vladimir Putin is not a friend of the USA. And he's more than happy to rearrange the government as he and his cadre see fit, that is a step backward.

I follow another "H" word as far as I am able: History. We didn't suspect of the first New Economic Plan, and it looks as if we are still naive.

[Atlantic Friend]

"The Russians are ignorant. They are selling weapons that could very easily be used against them soon."

You mean, unlike the F-15s and AWACS sold to Saudi Arabia and the F-16s sold to Pakistan recently ?

[ken21]

thanks.

apparently both are true.

i lived in an apartment building in tucson with 20 jewish families recently removed from russia by jewish groups.

they told me that they couldn't live in russia due to threats to them.

[Frank_Discussion]

ping

[Atlantic Friend]

Ah, but Adam, the word is still : Ignore Germany, punish France, forgive Russia... Russia, the oh-so-forgivable country.

[jb6]

Don't forget the M1A1s to Egypt and Jordan, the forced sale of M-16s through Israel to the PLO.

[Atlantic Friend]

Indeed, jb, you're absolutely right here. Egypt fields around 800 M1A1s, and is only a coup away from once again deployimg them against Western and Israeli interests.

Good Heavens, do you realize we DID find some common ground after all this time ?

[jb6]

You can always find common ground with another intelligent person. Why I've never had a good conversation with a communist or nazi, I don't consider them much higher on the Intel scale then pond scum.

[jb6]

By the way, have you ever read any of the articles printed in the government controlled press of Egypt? Islamic radical is a good term for them. And they were dancing in the streets in Cairo on 911.

[Lazamataz]

Russia 'tired of West's lectures'

So do what I did.

Cut class.

[Atlantic Friend]

No, I missed them - I can imagine the trends, though, given the sad state of the Arab press. I heard the Egyptian government used its radical press as some kind of pressure valve : for the rulers in Cairo, better a few hundred anti-semitic and anti-Western articles than a coup attempt, eh ?

Do you have a link to these government-controlled articles ?

[lawgirl]

Russia is not a real democracy- it is run by a bunch of self serving thugs.