What's the US going to do, not give them all the economic aid, that they were promised under Gorby?
Jim F.
On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 18:15:56 +0300 "ChrisD(RJ)"
<chrisd at russiajournal.com> writes:
> US threatens Russia over Iraq veto
>
> MOSCOW, March 12 (AFP) - Russia could suffer serious economic and
> geopolitical consequences if it vetoes a UN resolution authorising
> war
> against Iraq, the US ambassador to Moscow warned in a newspaper
> interview
> published on Wednesday.
>
> Alexander Vershbow told the Izvestia daily that Moscow could put at
> risk
> planned cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector,
> that
> would include massive US investment in the Russian oil industry.
>
> He also signalled that Russia's strategic partnership with the
> United States
>
> forged since the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as cooperation
> in
> anti-missile defence could be placed in doubt.
>
> "We could significantly widen our cooperation in the energy field,
> increase
> US investment in the Russian energy sector, develop new forms of
> security
> cooperation and work together in anti-missile defence. We could
> increase
> cooperation in the fight against terrorism," he said.
>
> The envoy pointed out that the United States wanted to work more
> closely
> with
> Russia's underfunded space program since Washington grounded its
> shuttle
> fleet in the wake of the Columbia disaster in February.
>
> Russia-NATO ties have just started to blossom since Moscow gained a
> voice in
>
> the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last May in a new council
> that
> cooperates on issues such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of
> mass
> destruction, arms control, crisis management and military
> cooperation, he
> added.
>
> "It will be a great pity if progress in these areas is halted, or
> actually
> reversed because of serious disagreements over Iraq," Vershbow said.
>
> The decision to use a Russian veto or abstain would prove critical
> for the
> future of US-Russian relations, the ambassador warned.
>
> "One step or the other will be interpreted entirely differently by
> the US
> people and Congress. Russia should carefully weigh up the
> consequences," he
> concluded.
>
> Since September 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin swung behind
> the US-led
>
> war on terror and made good relations with the United States a top
> strategic
>
> priority.
>
> But in recent weeks that policy has unravelled as Moscow has joined
> Germany
> and France in opposing a US attack on Iraq and said it would veto a
> new UN
> resolution that would give Baghdad until next Monday to show it is
> disarming
>
> or face war.
>
> The proposed US-Russian energy partnership is critical for Russia,
> with US
> energy companies potentially ready to pour billions of dollars into
> developing the vast untapped oil and natural gas fields in northern
> Russia.
>
> Washington has been seeking to reduce its reliance on Middle East
> oil, with
> the looming war in Iraq threatening to further destabilize an
> already tense
> region, and four Russian oil majors have floated a project to build
> a major
> Arctic export terminal aimed at simplifying oil export to the United
> States.
>
> The United States' support is also key for Russia's efforts to gain
> admittance to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
>
> A senior Russian foreign policy analyst, Sergei Karaganov, accused
> the US
> administration of "desperation" but conceded that threats to halt
> cooperation
> with Russia could lead to "unpleasant and painful" consequences for
> Russia.
>
> "There is unlikely to be a severe economic fallout," the head of the
> Council
>
> on Foreign and Defence Policy told the RIA Novosti news agency,
> adding that
> large-scale US investment plans in the oil sector have remained
> purely
> theoretical so far.
>
> "But cooperation with the United States is vital to defend and
> strengthen
> Russian interests in a whole range of global areas, which is why
> Russia
> needs
> to keep the most friendly relations possible with the United
> States," he
> added.
>
>
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