ID :
16632
Fri, 08/22/2008 - 16:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/16632
The shortlink copeid
Western nations bewildered at balance of power in Russia
difficult to deal with the two-headed government in Moscow — with Premier Vladimir Putin, still the dominant partner to President Dmitry Medvedev, occupying what is technically thesubservient role, a media report said Thursday.
American and European officials dealing with Russian government to resolve the Georgian conflict concede that it is Putin who maintains the real power. But they feel compelled to follow diplomatic protocol that requires them to focus their negotiating efforts on Medvedev, who succeeded Putin in May tobecome the head of state, the New York Times said in a report.
When French President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to Moscow earlier this month to mediate the crisis over Georgia, he found the new Russian President Medvedev to be calm, evensanguine about prospects for a solution, the daily said.
But the tone was wildly different when Sarkozy heard from president-turned-prime minister Vladimir V. Putin, the paper said quoting a private report that Sarkozy later delivered toPresident George Bush.
Putin, it was quoted as saying, was virulent indenouncing Georgian actions as atrocities.
Sarkozy's report, made in a telephone call to President Bush on August 13, has added to a sense of bewilderment in Washington about how to deal with what is now a two-headedgovernment in Moscow.
"This is a strange couple," a French official told the paper of Medvedev and Putin. American officials, the paper said, accept that they do not completely understand thebalance of power within the Russian leadership.
They tiptoe around the question of whether there really are significant policy differences between the Russian leaders, or whether the conflicting signals simply reflect themen's characters and temperaments, it said.
It is possible, they said, that the Russian leaders are very much in sync but playing a Kremlin version of "good cop-bad cop." But while it was Medvedev who signed the cease-fire agreement that calls for Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgia, it remains far from clear whether Moscow will comply fully with that accord, the Times said, adding that Russian military forces were still shoring up positions inside Georgiaon Wednesday.
Some American officials suggested that Medvedev might have been overruled by Putin, who may not share Medvedev's apparent concern about the impact of the war on Russia'sfinances, markets and trade relations.
Another sign that Medvedev's authority was limited emerged even before the Georgia crisis, after the Russian president joined leaders of other Group of eight industrialised nations in Japan to sign a statement criticising Zimbabwe for the sham election held after weeks ofviolence.
Within days, Russia then reversed course, using its veto at the U.N. Security Council to block actions that would have punished Zimbabwe for its stance, the paper noted. PTI DS KNO
American and European officials dealing with Russian government to resolve the Georgian conflict concede that it is Putin who maintains the real power. But they feel compelled to follow diplomatic protocol that requires them to focus their negotiating efforts on Medvedev, who succeeded Putin in May tobecome the head of state, the New York Times said in a report.
When French President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to Moscow earlier this month to mediate the crisis over Georgia, he found the new Russian President Medvedev to be calm, evensanguine about prospects for a solution, the daily said.
But the tone was wildly different when Sarkozy heard from president-turned-prime minister Vladimir V. Putin, the paper said quoting a private report that Sarkozy later delivered toPresident George Bush.
Putin, it was quoted as saying, was virulent indenouncing Georgian actions as atrocities.
Sarkozy's report, made in a telephone call to President Bush on August 13, has added to a sense of bewilderment in Washington about how to deal with what is now a two-headedgovernment in Moscow.
"This is a strange couple," a French official told the paper of Medvedev and Putin. American officials, the paper said, accept that they do not completely understand thebalance of power within the Russian leadership.
They tiptoe around the question of whether there really are significant policy differences between the Russian leaders, or whether the conflicting signals simply reflect themen's characters and temperaments, it said.
It is possible, they said, that the Russian leaders are very much in sync but playing a Kremlin version of "good cop-bad cop." But while it was Medvedev who signed the cease-fire agreement that calls for Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgia, it remains far from clear whether Moscow will comply fully with that accord, the Times said, adding that Russian military forces were still shoring up positions inside Georgiaon Wednesday.
Some American officials suggested that Medvedev might have been overruled by Putin, who may not share Medvedev's apparent concern about the impact of the war on Russia'sfinances, markets and trade relations.
Another sign that Medvedev's authority was limited emerged even before the Georgia crisis, after the Russian president joined leaders of other Group of eight industrialised nations in Japan to sign a statement criticising Zimbabwe for the sham election held after weeks ofviolence.
Within days, Russia then reversed course, using its veto at the U.N. Security Council to block actions that would have punished Zimbabwe for its stance, the paper noted. PTI DS KNO
