Putin’s Fond Memories Of Cold War Freaking Out Rice
Washington Times:
MOSCOW — The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power grab may undermine Moscow’s commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday.
“In any country, if you don’t have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development,” Miss Rice told reporters after meeting with human rights activists.
“I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma,” said Miss Rice, referring to the Russian parliament.
Miss Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates were in Moscow to discuss the U.S. plan for a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe with the Russian leaders. On Friday, they received a chilly reception from Mr. Putin and senior Russian officials on U.S. proposals for cooperating on the shield that Russia vehemently opposes.
Miss Rice, a competitive figure skater in her teens, visited a group of young skaters at Moscow’s Central Army Sports Club yesterday, but refused to get on the ice. She stepped gingerly on a blue rug laid out on the ice when greeted warmly by the youths, ranging in age from 7 to 17.
While in Moscow, Miss Rice expressed concern about the state of U.S.-Turkish relations, appealing to the U.S. ally for restraint against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and in reaction to an Armenian genocide resolution in Congress. Two senior U.S. officials in the Moscow delegation — Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and Eric Edelman, defense undersecretary for policy — flew to Ankara for direct talks with senior Turkish officials.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to seek parliament’s approval this week for a military incursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels who attack Turkey from there. Meanwhile, the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives has moved a resolution terming mass killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the forbear of the Turkish republic, as genocide.
In Ankara, Mr. Fried told a Turkish television interviewer that the administration “will do everything we can so that this resolution will not come to the House floor.”
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Condi ran into a wall I am afraid
“But Ankara also needs to be very careful in how it chooses to react. It can express its disappointment and frustration, sure. But making threats against its leading ally could be very counterproductive. It is not wise to throw around talk about leaving NATO–membership in which, after all, is one of Turkey’s cornerstone arguments for why it should be considered part of the West.”
a turkish source
October 14th, 2007 at 5:14 amI thought that C.Rice was the vaulted Soviet Russian expert?
October 14th, 2007 at 6:22 amShe may be the most clueless Sec. of State since……..her sister, M.Albright.
Kind of hard to get anything accomplished when the Komissar of Russia nad your own Congress is doing all that they can to undermine everything that you try to do.
Putin is emerging as Stalin-lite. The US Congress is a kindergarten class on steroids. Kind of tough being a diplomat when you’re the only adult in the room.
Condi isn’t great, but she’s the George Marshal to Madeleign Albright’s Cyrus Vance.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:44 amRussians historically have embraced dictatorship because of the sense of security from change that it brings them. They love raw power over the nuances of the ebb and flow of shared power like our Republic is built on.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:42 am