http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008174647_palinrussia12m0.html
Friday, September 12, 2008
Seattle Times
Are Russian ties a Palin priority?
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
<snip>
Her critics say that Palin has shied away from launching any major
initiatives in Russian diplomacy despite Alaska's historic ties with
Russia.
<snip>
Patricia Eckert, a trade specialist in the governor's office, said that
currently no trips are planned for Russia. "I am not aware of any plans
but that doesn't mean she wouldn't."
Opportunities abound for Alaska governors to engage in Russian
diplomacy, with the state host to several organizations focusing on
Arctic issues. Anchorage is the seat of the Northern Forum, an
18-year-old organization that represents the leaders of regional
governments in Russia, as well as Finland, Iceland and Canada, Japan,
China and South Korea.
Yet under Palin, the state government -- without consultation --
reduced its annual financial support to the Northern Forum to $15,000
from $75,000, according to Priscilla Wohl, the group's executive
director. That forced the forum's Anchorage office to go without pay
for two months.
Palin -- unlike the previous administrations of Gov. Frank Murkowski
and Gov. Tony Knowles -- also stopped sending representatives to
Northern Forum's annual meetings, including one last year for regional
governors held in the heart of Russia's oil territory.
"It was an opportunity for the Alaska governor to take a delegation of
business leaders to the largest oil-producing region in Russia, and she
would have been shaking hands with major leaders in Russia," Wohl said.
<end excerpt>
Michael