Russia

Nuclear Talks With Russia "really close"

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By ecoscott | Jan 14, 2010
in

U.S. President Barack Obama is negotiating with Russia to reduce numbers of Nuclear WeaponsU.S. President Barack Obama is negotiating with Russia to reduce numbers of Nuclear WeaponsThe U.S. and Russia have been going through some major talks about nuclear issues over the past few months, and several times along the way other issues, like the Copenhagen summit or arguments about missile placements or Afghanistan have gotten in the way or delayed negotiations, but now a senior U.S. arms control official says that the two nations are “really close” to agreement.

What does “really close” actually mean? Well, that part we can’t be sure of. What we can be sure of is that this is getting a lot of press and is something that both countries want to do, so we can assume that they are certainly making progress and that something will happen in the near future. Good. Read more

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Russia Worried About U.S. Missles

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By ecoscott | Sep 29, 2009
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The Americans Waving Our Flag Around in EuropeThe Americans Waving Our Flag Around in EuropeThe Obama administration has changed the missile shield defense set up along the Eastern Bloc region of Europe- purportedly because Iran has changed the way it said it is preparing to defend itself against any possible attacks or hostility. With their recent missile tests just four days before diplomacy meeting efforts around nuclear arms, whatever we are doing better be right and better be fast.

As it stands, though, Russia is unhappy with what the U.S. is doing. “Suspicious” is the word Reuters uses, as in Russia is afraid that its own strategic nuclear weapons will be threatened by the new U.S. layout. Are they really bringing up Cold War stuff again? Read more

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The Military-Industrial Politics of an East European Missile Shield

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By ecoscott | Sep 17, 2009
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Soviet MissileSoviet MissileThe nexus of politics and the military has always been strong- whether a country bases its rule and influence on overwhelming or strategic military power, it is a factor that speaks to all aspects of both local and extended rule.

The most recent large-scale military stand-off to define the edges of politics was the cold war. Though considered over more than 20 years ago, the ripples of the animosity and weapons race still defines political interactions across the Atlantic Ocean. Russia and Europe are still growing out of the Western-Eastern European split economically and culturally, and countries around the world still self-identify, to a certain extent, on one side of the stand-off or other. Just the other day Venezuela’s Chavez raised more than a few American eyebrows by enlisting Russian backing and partnership. Read more

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Obama and the Russians

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By ecoscott | Jul 07, 2009
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So it’s going well.

Obama is in Russia, visiting with the two Russian leaders to discuss everything global. After commenting last week that Vladimir Putin needed to realize that the Cold War was over, I wasn’t sure how these meetings would go. While Putin is no longer President (he was from 2000-2008), he is now the Prime Minister, and he was able to basically hand-pick his successor, Medvedev.

Needless to say, Obama is meeting with Putin and it would seem that that is the conversation that really matters. (I wonder if Putin is on Twitter?..) Reuters in fact definitively referred to Prime Minister Putin “Russia’s most powerful politician.” Read more

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Cold War on a Warmer Planet

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By ecoscott | Jul 02, 2009
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Now this is politics. In the next few days, President Obama will journey to Russia. Almost 20 years after the cold war ended, tensions between the two countries are still there. In fact, Obama said yesterday that former Russian President Vladmir Putin, who “still has a lot of sway,” needs to be reminded that the Cold War is over.

So much sway that Obama will in fact meet with Putin, now Russian Prime Minister, as well as current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was more or less chosen by Putin.  "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated. ... Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new,” said Obama. Read more

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