Russia and Central Asia News Digest
Glazyev: Opponents of War Should Move To Create New Monetary System
Economist Sergei Glazyev, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and State Duma deputy, was interviewed April 2 on Russian TV Channel 3. Glazyev continues to receive major attention from the Russian media, as the Communist Party (on whose slate he runs, although not a member) gets 31% in the polls, against 21% for the "party of power," United Russia ("Yedro"); elections are coming up in December.
In the interview, Glazyev rejected the widely repeated notion that "cheap oil" was the goal of the Anglo-American attack on Iraq. Rather, the fundamental issue is the crisis of the global financial system: in Glazyev's terms, "The war is being waged in order to preserve the dollar's role as world reserve currency." Asked if Russia should dump the dollar, Glazyev replied that Russia's gold and currency reserves, albeit substantial and growing, "are insufficient to shake the unjust architecture of the world financial system."
There are, however, steps to take. He proposed that Russia "meet Europe halfway," by shifting from the dollar into euros and rubles; Russia's trade with Europe, at least, need not be denominated in dollars. Also, Russia could agree with CIS members, with China, and India, to denominate their trade in national currencies, instead of the dollar. If the ruble were used, he pointed out, the "income from currency emission" could translate into the equivalent of over $20 billion, which could be used to finance the real economy in Russia.
Glazyev's most dramatic statement in the interview echoed the Schiller Institute's Bad Schwalbach Declaration, issued March 23. He said that countries using the dollar today are, in effect, financing the war against Iraq. "Therefore, if we want to stop the war, we should simply call on the countries that oppose this aggression, to agree to have their central banks jointly pose the question of shifting to a new world monetary system." This would not mean "burying the dollar," Glazyev elaborated, but a return to the situation before 1971, "when the Americans terminated the dollar's convertibility into gold and began to impose their currency on the entire world, by force."
Bad Schwalbach Declaration Circulates in Russian
The Russian translation of the Schiller Institute's Bad Schwalbach Declaration, "Stop the War!," is now posted in the Russian-language section of EIR's web site (www.larouchepub.com/russian/index.html). Schiller Institute contacts in Russia and Russian media were notified of the text's availability. Already, the Bad Schwalbach declaration has been posted on the "People of Russia" site, www.narod-ros.ru.
France, Germany, Russia: 'Occupying Powers' Must Provide Relief in Iraq
Presidents Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met April 11-12 in St. Petersburg, in the setting of the Russian-German St. Petersburg Dialogue, where Putin and Schroeder had each delivered a speech earlier in the day. The Russian President's press office issued a release on the most important points made by Putin at the press conference he gave jointly with Schroeder and Chirac. These were:
*The summit was not aimed at "split[ting] the international community," but seeking mutually acceptable solutions. Putin said that the three leaders did not convene for the purpose of criticizing "the actions of the occupying powers" in Iraqprincipally the U.S. and U.K.but that "nonetheless, according to the Geneva Convention, it is the coalition forces that bear the responsibility for dealing with humanitarian questions." Putin noted that other leaders were invited to the meeting and didn't come, adding that "we are prepared to continue to work, also in a broader format."
*Iraq's fate must be brought back before the United Nations, while remaining fundamentally "in the hands of the Iraqi people." Putin said that the UN-sponsored leadership selection process in Afghanistan, subsequently confirmed by elections, was a precedent. But, the release said, "the President of Russia is convinced that first the occupying forces' administration must solve the humanitarian problems."
*International weapons inspectors should return to Iraq, otherwise alleged discoveries of weapons of mass destruction cannot be legitimate. In any event, "nothing has been found yet." Putin's press release said, "Only one task, the disarmament of Iraq, justified the war. But WMD have not been found in Iraq, raising the question of what goals the anti-Iraq coalition did pursue."
In his earlier speech, Putin said that the results of the past three weeks of war were "regrettable." Noting the collaboration of Russia and Germany in attempting to reach a political settlement through the UN beforehand, Putin said that he and Schroeder agreed on the need for continued efforts "to preserve a stable, international law-based system, resting on the primacy of the UN."
In a Q&A session at the St. Petersburg Forum, Putin said he welcomed the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime, an undemocratic one, but that this should not have been done by force of arms. Eighty percent of the countries in the world, he said, do not measure up to so-called "Western standards" of democracy. "What, are we going to war with all of them?" How many countries are prepared to adopt these standards? "In the Mideast alone, besides Iraq, there are many countries. So, what do we have: Is it being proposed to go to war with all of them? Probably nobody is even thinking such an insane thought."
While the demise of the Iraqi regime might be called a plus, Putin said, "I repeat that the means employed, and the human losses, the humanitarian catastrophe and destruction, are clearly negative consequences."
Russian wire reports featured statements by Schroeder and Chirac similar to those of Putin about humanitarian relief. Chirac stated that the chief responsibility, in this regard, "lies with the American and British armed forces, as the occupying forces." As for a transition to peace in Iraq, Chirac said that "only the UN should play the central role, to ensure the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq; ... and only the UN can ensure stability in the region."
Both at the Forum and at the press conference, international press harped on: 1) U.S. statements that Russia should write off its Iraqi debt (Putin said this could be subject to negotiation, noting that Russia is third in the world, after France and Japan, in debt forgiveness for poor countries, although on April 12, he said Russia would not forgive it; Schroeder said that such discussions were premature, given the priority of humanitarian relief); 2) the allegation that the Russo-Franco-German meeting was a "New Yalta" split from the U.S. and Britain; and 3) "Who's next?" after Iraq, as an Anglo-American target. Russian wires especially quoted Schroeder's rejection of the idea of regime change in Syria, which is coming under pressure from Washington. RIA Novosti quoted the German Chancellor as saying that he doesn't believe this figures in "U.S. political ambitions." Chirac stated that he could see no other situation, comparable to Iraq, and therefore "the French leader considers the question of a possible political regime change by force in Syria to be unfounded."
Sergei Ivanov Cancels Meeting with Rumsfeld
On April 10, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov cancelled a three-day visit to the United States, scheduled to have begun on April 13, during which he would have been hosted by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Itar-TASS reported from Russian Defense Ministry sources that the meeting had been arranged before the U.S. attack on Iraq. The Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted that the cancellation followed National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's April 7 meeting with Ivanov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Kremlin Chief of Staff Voloshin, and President Putin himself, during which she "might have discovered more serious disagreements over Iraq than she expected."
Also noteworthy in this context, is that Russian press are paying attention to differentiation within the U.S. administration. Izvestia on April 8 wrote that Rice "is regarded as one of the major channels through which Russia is able to convey its concerns directly to the President," another such channel being Secretary of State Powell. "Neither Rice nor Powell," wrote this Russian paper, "would like to see the Pentagon people achieve complete control over the postwar settlement in Iraq." Former Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov, who continues to be a prominent voice in Russian policy on Iraq, likewise stressed in an April 6 interview with NTV that the United States has not yet made a final choice between the advocates of "unilateralism," and its opponents.
Russian official and quasi-official statements of recent days include the following:
*April 9: Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko denied rumors that Saddam Hussein had taken refuge in the Russian embassy in Baghdad, calling them "just another attempt to put our Baghdad embassy under threat."
*April 9: Boris Labusov, spokesman for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), denied as "complete fiction" the story that the SVR had tried to smuggle Saddam Hussein's secret service archives out of Iraq. Some media had attributed the April 6 shelling of a Russian diplomatic convoy leaving Iraq to such an attempt; the U.S. said the shelling was accidental.
*April 2: Speaking in Tambov, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Foreign Ministry is instructed to continue trying to bring resolution of the Iraq crisis back under the aegis of the United Nations.
*April 6: Primakov, in his NTV interview, denied that his February trip to Iraq had to do with spiriting intelligence archives out of the country; its purpose was to seek Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions, Primakov said. Primakov also stated his opposition to any headlong plunge into "anti-Americanism," noting that opposition from the Shiite population of Iraq and the lack of viable "Iraqi opposition" figures will force the United States to turn to the United Nations for help in Iraq, after all.
*April 9: A large anti-war demonstration in Moscow was led by Yedro, the so-called "party of power," which supports President Putin.
Russia Protests Attack on Its Diplomats in Iraq
The United States scrambled on April 7, in the face of strenuous Russian protests against the shelling of a convoy of Russian embassy personnel in Iraq the previous day. The Russians were attempting to evacuate embassy staff to Syria, and gave notice beforehand that the convoy would be travelling.
Ambassador Titorenko charged that U.S. troops deliberately fired on the convoy, which was clearly marked with Russian flags. He said he informed Moscow and the embassy staff remaining in Baghdad, that despite efforts of the Russian economic counsellor to signal those firing on the convoy, the shooting continued for 30-40 minutes. The economic counsellor suffered head wounds and four other staff were injured, including Ambassador Titorenko, who suffered a hand injury and reportedly barely escaped a bullet through the windshield. One Russian underwent emergency surgery for a stomach wound. The convoy did arrive in Syria, but four of the six vehicles in the convoy were shot up by M-16s, as the casings showed.
Primakov Details February Meeting with Saddam Hussein
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov went public April 11 with the nature of his mission to Baghdad at the end of February. He said he was doing this in order to refute rumors about his spiriting "intelligence archives" out of Iraq, but the statement otherwise was an occasion for Russia to reveal more of the efforts it undertook to avert the war.
Primakov said that President Putin summoned him to the Kremlin the night of March 16-17, asking him to take a personal message to Saddam Hussein. In a one-on-one meeting, Primakov said, "I told him the following: 'If you love your country and your people and want to protect your people from inevitable casualties, you should step down as President of Iraq.' I said that I understood how serious a proposal this was, and how much it would change Hussein's life. At the same time, I said that he should understand that it would be done for the Iraqi people." Primakov stressed that this was Putin's personal message. According to Primakov, Saddam Hussein listened without comment, then requested him to repeat the message in front of Vice Premier Tariq Aziz and the chairman of the Iraqi Parliament. Primakov added that if Saddam called for elections, "It would be possible to save Iraq from the looming catastrophe." Saddam Hussein replied that during the first Persian Gulf war he had already been urged to step down, but that the war had been inevitable anyway. "Then he slapped me on the shoulder and left."
Primakov said he had stressed the need for Iraq to cooperate with the international inspectors. "Here, Saddam Hussein did respond. After our conversation, Iraq began to destroy its forbidden missiles, which he had refused to do earlier."
"I want to tell this openly," said Primakov, "in order to show that Russia, and Vladimir Putin personally, did everything possible, up until the last minute, to prevent this terrible war." Major Arab countries were informed of the exchange by the Russian Foreign Ministry, he said. Their reaction was "positive." Several Mideast Foreign Ministers, as well as Amr Moussa of the Arab League, were prepared to go to Baghdad in support of the Russian initiative, but Saddam Hussein did not want them to come. "Now," said Primakov, "we don't know what this war will lead to, the preliminary outcome notwithstanding."
Russia Sends Navy Ships to Indian Ocean
A Russian fleet of 10 warships, including three nuclear submarines, is due to arrive in the Arabian Sea in late April, Russian press reported April 5. Defense Minister Sergei Ivaov announced that the deployment was planned to include joint exercises with the Indian Navy. Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote that the inclusion of the submarines was due to concerns that, by late April, the situation in Iraq could "change dramatically."
Lukoil Will Defend its Iraqi Oil Contracts in Court
On April 8, Vice President Leonid Fedun of LukOIL, Russia's largest oil company, said that LukOIL would go into international courts to block any attempt to cancel its contract for development of the West Qurna field in Iraq. "Nobody can develop this field without us in the next eight years," Fedun said. "If somebody decides to squeeze LukOIL out, we are going to appeal in the Geneva arbitration court, which will immediately impound this field. Trials of this sort can last for about six or eight years.... We are going to impound tankers with crude produced in Iraq, using the Geneva court."
Russian companies have invested over $1 billion into Iraqi oil development during the past seven years, second only to Saudi Arabia. The Russian press is full of speculation about imminent attempts by the U.S. to make Iraq "privatize" its oil resources, opening them to bidding by U.S. and British-based multis.
Russian Defense Minister in Seoul
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov met with South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-Kil in Seoul April 10, the day after the UN Security Council meeting on the North Korea crisis was blocked by China and Russia from passing any resolution against North Korea. Ivanov said, "It is important for North Korea to allow IAEA inspections, in cooperation with other countries. North Korea has a right to develop energy, including nuclear energy, just like other sovereign states," but there must be transparency. He also said "The U.S. and North Korea must talk in a bilateral or multilateral framework to find an exit from the nuclear crisis, cooperating with the UN and IAEA."
Ivanov said Pyongyang's logic in deciding to try to acquire a deterrenthe did not specifically refer to nuclear weaponswas based on the U.S. strategy towards Iraq. "The turn of events, including the war in Iraq, confirmed that prognosis," the Minister said, adding it was Pyongyang's logic rather than Moscow's.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Seoul was relieved that the Security Council had taken no action at the United Nations. Ivanov said that Russia, which has limited influence over North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was prepared to offer a security guarantee of its own to North Korea.
Indonesian President To Discuss Arms Purchases in Moscow
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will go ahead with her planned visit to Russia, the Jakarta Post reported April 12. Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda said April 10 that Megawati would leave on April 17 for a 10-day trip to Rumania, Russia, and Poland to discuss the developments in Iraq and bilateral issues. Iraq will be one of the items on the agenda of her meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hassan said after a Cabinet meeting that "our stance on Iraq is in line with Russia's stance."
Megawati's trip begins with a two-day stop in Rumania, followed by a four-day state visit to Russia from April 20, where she will visit St. Petersburg, before a two-day visit to Poland starting April 24.
One of the main objectives of the visit is to explore possible military cooperation or sales, as Indonesia still remains under a U.S. military embargo. Foreign Ministry sources said weapons purchases would be one of the seven or eight Memoranda of Understanding signed with Russia.
Megawati's visit will be the first by an Indonesian leader to Russia in 23 years.
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