East Europeans nervous as US courts Russia

[justjohn]

East Europeans nervous as US courts Russia


AP foreign, Thursday July 16 2009

VANESSA GERA

Associated Press Writer= WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Former eastern European leaders urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to remember their interests as he seeks better ties with Russia, warning U.S. credibility would be damaged if Washington abandons plans for a missile shield.

The Bush administration reached agreements last year to station interceptor missiles at a base in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic. Russia vehemently opposes the plan and Obama is skeptical of it and is undertaking a thorough review.

"Abandoning the program entirely or involving Russia too deeply in it without consulting Poland or the Czech Republic can undermine the credibility of the United States across the whole region," according to a letter signed by 22 people from countries once in the Soviet-controlled communist bloc but now NATO and EU members.

The signatories include former Polish President Lech Walesa and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

Russia says it will deploy missiles near Poland if the U.S. pushes ahead with the shield. Obama has tried to reassure Moscow that the system would pose no threat to Russia, and that it's intended to counter a ballistic missile threat from countries like Iran.

The letter said there is "nervousness in our capitals. We want to ensure that too narrow an understanding of Western interests does not lead to the wrong concession to Russia."

They said they welcome Obama's attempts to "reset" ties with Russia but warned they still feel bullied by their giant neighbor.

"Our hopes that relations with Russia would improve and that Moscow would finally fully accept our complete sovereignty and independence after joining NATO and the EU have not been fulfilled," they wrote. "Instead, Russia is back as a revisionist power pursuing a 19th-century agenda with 21st-century tactics and methods."

"It uses overt and covert means of economic warfare, ranging from energy blockades and politically motivated investments to bribery and media manipulation in order to advance its interests and to challenge the trans-Atlantic orientation of Central and Eastern Europe."

Other signatories include former presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland, Emil Constantinescu of Romania and Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia.



* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

[Eric]

What specifically do these leaders want? Do they want Russia to become a third-world country barely able to control what goes on in its own borders, let alone play a role in the international field? Do they truly want a unipolar world ruled entirely and solely by the United States?

If they want to hate Russia and blame Russia for everything that's wrong in their own countries, past, present, and future, then fine. But to expect that one country alone will control the world - that's absolute folly.