U.S. warns Russia over Yukos sale

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=01b494e2bc589d2c&cat=c08dd24cec417021

U.S. warns Russia over Yukos sale
Putin: 'Normal' for state to ensure its interests
From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott
Thursday, December 23, 2004 Posted: 2353 GMT (0753 HKT)





WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has criticized Russia's takeover of key parts of the embattled oil giant Yukos and warned the lack of transparency in the case could damage Russia's role in the global economy.

"We are disappointed in the way this case has been handled," deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Thursday.

"We certainly don't think it has been disposed of in a transparent manner."

On Thursday the Russian state oil firm Rosneft announced it purchased the Baikal Group, an unknown firm that was the winner of an auction on Sunday of Yuganskneftegaz, Yuko's main production division.

more...

This is a Big Wakeup call for Mossad and Bush and US Oil Corporations
Russia's Putin is taking over!!!

[movonne]

1. This is very interesting..

[Pegleg Thd]

2. Let's hope that

Putin ignores the bushitskas crying and goes against everything hellaburnin and cheney-ass want. It could be the best thing for all the people of the world.

[creeksneakers2]

3. I don't see how this is a good development

It looks like we are going back to the cold war. As much as I don't like Bush and the Fascists...I think they are still worlds better than a Russian dictator.

[VegasWolf]

4. I'm not convinced. This country is nothing like the country I

grew up in. Soon to come Patriot Act VIII.

[PassingFair]

6. The way we seem to be heading...

I'll take the communist dictatorship over the screaming, immoral, murderous, earth-gobbling theocracy that * has planned for us.

[MrPrax]

5. Loading Peas...

Into the Bush Admin's pea shooter...

Take that Russia!! And don't think we haven't noticed your joint-military exercises with China either...

And (holding breathe until blue)...we are gonna build a huge missile defense system and we're gonna...um...bring freedom to the world...

(Americans will never accept Russian oil in their gas tanks...unless it came from Communist Russia through Iranian pipelines when the Shah was in charge, of course...)

[anakie]

7. what is so strange about an unreconstructed Communist

taking over assets for the state. Bush would think himself so lucky.

[Tinoire]

8. You're not kidding. Check out our arrogance... US courts involved

US Grants Yukos Temporary Injunction, Russia Shrugs and Continues Sale

Russia to push on with Yukos sale

Yukos has won the injunction, but the auction looks set to go ahead
Russia has said it will auction off a key production unit of embattled oil company Yukos as planned this weekend despite a US court injunction.

Authorities aim to sell Yuganskneftegas on Sunday, 19 December, to pay Yukos' $27.5bn (£14.2bn) tax bill.

On Thursday, a US bankruptcy judge granted a temporary injunction blocking the Yuganskneftegas sale.

(snip)

Yukos sought bankruptcy protection under US Chapter 11 legislation on the grounds that the sale of Yuganskneftegas would seriously affect shareholder value and in the belief that the US judiciary was willing to protect the value of shareholders' investments.

But Russian officials said the Houston court had no jurisdiction in the case and called the ploy a "nonsense".

It argued that US bankruptcy law gives worldwide jurisdiction over a debtor company's property.

(snip)

In her ruling, Judge Clark wrote that investors in Russia, the US and elsewhere need to know that when they invest in foreign enterprises "they may do so without fear that their investments may be the subject of confiscatory action by agencies of the foreign government".

(snip)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4099673.stm

[Tinoire]

9. And to really back it up, PNAC issues new letter vs Russia

(Replace Putin with Bush, Russia with U.S. and the letter is perfect)


An Open Letter to the Heads of State and Government
Of the European Union and NATO
September 28, 2004

As citizens of the Euro-Atlantic community of democracies, we wish to express our sympathy and solidarity with the people of the Russian Federation in their struggle against terrorism. The mass murderers who seized School No. 1 in Beslan committed a heinous act of terrorism for which there can be no rationale or excuse. While other mass murderers have killed children and unarmed civilians, the calculated targeting of so many innocent children at school is an unprecedented act of barbarism that violates the values and norms of our community and which all civilized nations must condemn.

At the same time, we are deeply concerned that these tragic events are being used to further undermine democracy in Russia. Russia's democratic institutions have always been weak and fragile. Since becoming President in January 2000, Vladimir Putin has made them even weaker. He has systematically undercut the freedom and independence of the press, destroyed the checks and balances in the Russian federal system, arbitrarily imprisoned both real and imagined political rivals, removed legitimate candidates from electoral ballots, harassed and arrested NGO leaders, and weakened Russia's political parties. In the wake of the horrific crime in Beslan, President Putin has announced plans to further centralize power and to push through measures that will take Russia a step closer to authoritarian regime.

We are also worried about the deteriorating conduct of Russia in its foreign relations. President Putin's foreign policy is increasingly marked by a threatening attitude towards Russia's neighbors and Europe's energy security, the return of rhetoric of militarism and empire, and by a refusal to comply with Russia's international treaty obligations. In all aspects of Russian political life, the instruments of state power appear to be being rebuilt and the dominance of the security services to grow. We believe that this conduct cannot be accepted as the foundation of a true partnership between Russia and the democracies of NATO and the European Union.

These moves are only the latest evidence that the present Russian leadership is breaking away from the core democratic values of the Euro-Atlantic community. All too often in the past, the West has remained silent and restrained its criticism in the belief that President Putin's steps in the wrong direction were temporary and the hope that Russia would soon return to a democratic and pro-Western path. Western leaders continue to embrace President Putin in the face of growing evidence that the country is moving in the wrong direction and that his strategy for fighting terrorism is producing less and less freedom. We firmly believe dictatorship will not and cannot be the answer to Russia's problems and the very real threats it faces.

The leaders of the West must recognize that our current strategy towards Russia is failing. Our policies have failed to contribute to the democratic Russia we wished for and the people of this great country deserve after all the suffering they have endured. It is time for us to rethink how and to what extent we engage with Putin's Russia and to put ourselves unambiguously on the side of democratic forces in Russia. At this critical time in history when the West is pushing for democratic change around the world, including in the broader Middle East, it is imperative that we do not look the other way in assessing Moscow's behaviour or create a double standard for democracy in the countries which lie to Europe's East. We must speak the truth about what is happening in Russia. We owe it to the victims of Beslan and the tens of thousands of Russian democrats who are still fighting to preserve democracy and human freedom in their country.




Urban Ahlin Madeleine K. Albright Giuliano Amato

Uzi Arad Timothy Garton Ash Anders Aslund

Ronald D. Asmus Rafael L. Bardaji Wladyslaw Bartoszewski

Arnold Beichman Jeff Bergner Joseph R. Biden

Carl Bildt Max Boot Ellen Bork

Pascal Bruckner Mark Brzezinski Reinhard Buetikofer

Janusz Bugajski Michael Butler Martin Butora

Daniele Capezzone Per Carlsen Gunilla Carlsson

Ivo Daalder Massimo D'Alema Pavol Demes

Larry Diamond Peter Dimitrov Thomas Donnelly

Nicholas Eberstadt Uffe Elleman-Jensen Helga Flores Trejo

Francis Fukuyama Jeffrey Gedmin Bronislaw Geremek

Carl Gershmann Marc Ginsberg Andre Glucksmann

Phil Gordon Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg

Istvan Gyarmati Pierre Hassner Vaclav Havel

Richard C. Holbrooke Toomas Ilves Bruce Jackson

Donald Kagan Robert Kagan Craig Kennedy

Penn Kemble Glenys Kinnock Bernard Kouchner

Jerzy Kozminski Ivan Krastev William Kristol

Girts Valdis Kristovskis Ludger Kuehnhardt Mart Laar

Vytautas Landsbergis Stephen Larrabee

Mark Leonard Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger

Tod Lindberg Tom Malinowski

Will Marshall Margarita Mathiopoulos

Clifford May John McCain Michael McFaul

Matteo Mecacci Mark Medish Thomas O. Melia

Sarah E. Mendelson Michael Mertes Ilir Meta

Adam Michnik Richard Morningstar Joshua Muravchik

Klaus Naumann Dietmar Nietan James O'Brien

Janusz Onyszkiewicz Cem Ozdemir Can Paker

Mark Palmer Martin Peretz Friedbert Pflueger

Danielle Pletka Florentino Portero Samantha Ravich

Janusz Reiter Alex Rondos Jim Rosapepe

Jacques Rupnik Eberhard Sandschneider

Randy Scheunemann Christian Schmidt

Gary Schmitt Simon Serfaty Stephen Sestanovich

Radek Sikorski Stefano Silvestri Martin Simecka

Gary Smith Abraham Sofaer James Steinberg

Gary Titley Ivan Vejvoda Sasha Vondra

Celeste Wallander Ruth Wedgood Richard Weitz

Kenneth Weinstein Jennifer Windsor R. James Woolsey



http://www.newamericancentury.org/russia-20040928.htm

[hedda_foil]

10. Great find, Tinoire!

So, PNAC is now the in thing for so-called-dem foreign policy "leaders" like good ole Joe Biden and War-Mongerin' Madeleine.

Charming.

[Tinoire]

12. AntiCoup2000 (or 2004) found it / Did you see these stories?

:hi:

Re Biden and Albright- too bad no one asked us to lay a wager. What a surprise as you say...

I don't think that PNAC letter can be repasted enough in view of all the sudden oil-related grumblings about Russia. Did you see these articles? There's not yet much interest here but I have a very bad feeling about this...


Group says Russia now at 'not free' status

MOSCOW (AP) -- A U.S.-based organization that tracks the progress of political rights and civil liberties across the world said Monday that Russia had fallen to the status of "not free" - far behind the democratic nations Moscow sees as its peers.

"Russia's step backward into the 'Not Free' category is the culmination of a growing trend under President Vladimir Putin to concentrate political authority, harass and intimidate the media, and politicize the country's law-enforcement system," Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said in a statement.

"These moves mark a dangerous and disturbing drift toward authoritarianism in Russia, made more worrisome by President Putin's recent heavy-handed meddling in political developments in neighboring countries, such as Ukraine," the statement said.

Freedom House said that on balance, the world saw increased freedom in 2004: 26 countries showed gains while 11 showed decline. Of the world's 192 countries, it judged 46 percent free, 26 percent not free, and the rest partly free. Eight rated as the most repressive: Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan.

(snip)

Freedom House, a Washington-based, nonpartisan group, was founded nearly 60 years ago by Americans concerned about threats to democracy. It conducts advocacy, research and training to encourage and nurture democracy.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_DEMOCRACY_SURVEY?SITE=TXSAE&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
((Rumsfeld is Freedom House. I think that's all we need to know but the google is rather revealing: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-37,GGLD:en&q=%22Freedom+House%22+PNAC

and then we have Putin, into whose sould Bush so adoringly gazed, not quite falling for this crap...


Russia, China to conduct joint military drill 12/14/2004 -- 10:59(GMT+7)

Beijing (VNA) - Visiting Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and his Chinese counterpart Cao Gangchuan on Monday agreed to conduct a first-ever joint military drill next year. The same day, State President and Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Hu Jintao and his deputy on the committee Guo Baxiong also held talks with Minister Ivanov.

http://www.vnagency.com.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=34&NEWS_ID=131122

China, Russia to conduct first joint military drill
www.chinaview.cn 2004-12-14 07:28:15


Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan(R) gestures during a welcome ceremony with his visiting Russian counterpart in Beijing on December 13.


Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan (L) holds a welcome ceremony for visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in Beijing Dec. 13. China and Russia will conduct the first-ever joint military exercise next year. (Xinhua photo)

==

President: Sino-Russian strategic coordination reaches unprecedented level

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Sino-Russian strategic coordination has attained an unprecedentedly high level, said President Hu Jintao here Monday during his meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, according to Foreign Ministry sources.

Hu, also chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, said bilateral relations between China and Russia had entered a new phase of overall growth, since the two nations forged strategic partnership of coordination.

Cooperation in various sectors has been practical, in-depth andfruitful, he said, adding that growth of relations between the two armies have maintained good momentum.

China and Russia now face the same task of maintaining peace and stability and promoting common development, and it is in the fundamental interests of the people of every nation in the region to further deepen Sino-Russian bilateral strategic coordination, to tighten coordination and cooperation between the two countries and their armies within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and to join hands in combating terrorism and other evil forces, Hu said.

(snip)

Relations between the two armies are an important part of the partnership, he acknowledged, adding that Russia is willing to work with China to promote this relationship and to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large.

(snip)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/14/content_2330766.htm

[0007]

11. What a joke, LOL! The Bush administration admonishing Russia

for lack of Transparency. junior didn't look deep enough in those Russia blue eyes.

[lovuian]

13. Putin smiling Now who is the richest man in the world!!! not Bush Me!

And he will be the most powerful too. I heard he is taking over the Telecom industry too like Yukos. So this is a Big Heads up to American Corporations ... You are NOT PROTECTED you can be taken over with the snap of Putin's fingers and there ain't a damn thing you are going to do about it Same story in CHINA so you guys better invest in America where you are protected!!! :kick: