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Maybe, just maybe, this week brought us one step closer to a better relationship between the United States and Russia.
Yesterday, after weeks of heated exchanges between Washington and Moscow over America’s plans for installing a missile defense system in eastern Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin came up with a surprise. Rather than base the system in the former Warsaw pact countries of Poland and the Czech Republic, Putin told Washington, put it in Azerbaijan. And, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, Putin indicated that he had already gotten the agreement of the former Soviet republic’s government.
Earlier in the week, both Putin had gone a bit over the top with saber rattling. U.S. President George Bush responded by asking for Russia’s cooperation on a missile defense system. He seems to have gotten his wish: Bush yesterday reportedly called Putin’s new idea “an interesting suggestion” and said the U.S. and Russia would begin talks on exploring it. Radio Free Europe posted an analysis this morning of the pros and cons of such a system.
In a diplomatic issue on the other side of Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a visit to three islands whose sovereignty is disputed by Japan. Lavrov went to the Kuril Islands, which are south of Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, to inspect the progress made on several economic development projects. According to the Vladivostok News, Japanese officials were not happy about the visit. The dispute over the Kuril Islands is one of the factors holding up better international air service to the Russian Far East.
In business news, French auto maker Peugeot is expected to sign an agreement this weekend to build cars in Russia. A company spokesman said the deal would cover both its Peugeot and Citroen brands.
And the Internet video site YouTube is getting a Russian media section. The English-language TV channel Russia Today said earlier this week that it is launching a channel on YouTube. According to the RIA Novosti news wire, Russia Today will post news, feature stories and documentaries. The move by Russia Today makes it the first Russian media company on YouTube; the BBC, NBC and Reuters all already have outlets there.
In environmental news, the deputy head of Russia’s environmental protection agency said his country will push for international recognition of Kamchatka’s Geyser Valley as a threatened natural world heritage site. The site, which is located in the Russian Far East, was virtually obliterated by mudflows on Sunday June 4. According to RIA Novosti, two mudslides buried nearly two-thirds of the valley, which has 90 erupting geysers.
And author Martin Cruz Smith is about to release a new mystery set in Russia. In the latest work by the author of Gorky Park, detective Arkady Renko will deal with the legacy of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The book also reportedly draws Renko into the current conflict in Chechnya. Stalin’s Ghost is due out June 12. You can read an excerpt here.
