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Iraq-Jordan
Putin casts doubt on Iraq polls
2004-12-08
Russian President Vladimir Putin cast doubt on Tuesday over the viability of holding elections as planned next month in an Iraq under "total occupation". "I cannot imagine how elections can be organized in conditions of total occupation of the country by foreign troops," Putin said as he met Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi at the Kremlin.
Sort of like the Ukraine, eh?
Allawi was seeking in his talks with Putin to smooth diplomatic relations, following a similar mission to Germany on a European tour of powers that opposed last year's invasion. The premier said Moscow would be given a "leading role" in helping restore Iraq's shattered industries -- a clear signal Baghdad was ready to give Russia access to its lucrative oil industry.
Cheez, you'd think that would be enough to get Vlad to pipe down.
Officials in Moscow said Russia would try to win back oil contracts it signed under Saddam Hussein's regime in exchange for Moscow's promise to write off 90 percent of Iraq's eight billion dollar Soviet-era debt.
Posted by:Steve White

#10  TGA: I think that, despite those "sweet words" from Bush about Putin, he doesn't either.

Bush is an operator. I don't think he has any qualms about doing what he has to do to ensure America's long term national interests, which do coincide to a large extent with Europe's interests - except where Europe gets to free-ride and play the good cop against America's bad cop.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-12-08 4:12:24 PM  

#9  Ukrainians have had at least a partial eye towards the West for a long time & are rather different from Russians that way. However, under Stalin and Brezhnev, a lot of ethnic Ukrainians were moved elsewhere in the USSR and Russians were moved in. That's one reason there's a split in the populace there and in some other former Soviet states as well.
Posted by: rkb   2004-12-08 3:49:32 PM  

#8  Ukraine is turning into a real headache for Putin. He's losing out on his dream of a Greater Russia and... even more dangerous... he might in a not too distant day stare down his own people occupying Red Square to demand democracy. Putin's going down the authoritarian, dictatorial path and I wonder if Russians are willing to put up with it.
Ukraine is showing them they don't have to.
I think I frequently posted here that you can never trust Russia. I think that, despite those "sweet words" from Bush about Putin, he doesn't either. That's why Bush has been building that cordon of America friendly states at Russia's borders.
We might soon be very glad for it.
Posted by: True German Ally   2004-12-08 3:42:46 PM  

#7  tipper - good catch! Putty shouldn't mess with an RB vet, lol!
Posted by: .com   2004-12-08 2:02:03 PM  

#6  â€œI cannot imagine how elections can be organized in conditions of total occupation of the country by foreign troops,”
His imagination didn't seem to have much problem last August.
Posted by: tipper   2004-12-08 1:55:33 PM  

#5  In my book, over the last couple of months, Putin has gone from a run-of-the-mill ex-communist conman politician to a hysterically anti-US world leader just itching for a US upper cut. Is he on suicide watch?

Maybe Chirac's ill-timed quip to the eastern bloc EU candidates was really meant for Putin-
(paraphrase) they'd be better off if they'd just learn when to shut up?
Posted by: Jules 187   2004-12-08 11:52:42 AM  

#4  heh..I'm guessing that Allawi didn't give him everything he wants. The super cynical and pehaps paranoid side of me wonders what kind of deal Pukin and Er'dogman worked out last week. Afterall, after the debacle in the Ukraine, it's clear that democracy is as much a threat to Putin as it is to everyone else in that region. Yippy probably lays awake at night wondering how he can make those oil fields his own and crush the Kurds all in one move. I just hope they both don't have massive delusions that can write themselves a much better deal. Putin has to be aware that this is all going to come back to bite him really, really hard. Is it possible that he learned nothing from Stalin's deal with Hitler? A united Islamic Middle East would start eyeing Russia before the ink dried. Sleep with the Devil and you're gonna get burned.
Posted by: 2b   2004-12-08 6:58:34 AM  

#3  Next, Putin will be saying after the election, that all those soldiers carrying arms intimidated the patrons into voting!

"...We were forced out of our homes, to vote...!!!"
Posted by: smn   2004-12-08 4:02:57 AM  

#2  Russian President Vladimir Putin cast doubt on Tuesday over the viability of holding elections as planned next month in an Iraq under “total occupation”.

If I were Allawi, that would have been enough to put a halt to the meeting right then and there. How Iraq runs its own internal affairs isn't really any of Putin's business.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-12-08 2:29:34 AM  

#1  Funny, I cast doubt on the Russkie elections, and the Ukranian elections, and any other democratic farce Tsar Putty has anything to do with. KGB slut.

Yo, Allawi, while you were over there, didya tell Putty the debts are null and void - and since he's trying to give your neighbor Iran nukes, there won't be any more biz for the rusty Russkies... ever? Making deals with scum like Saddam shouldn't pay off, anyway.
Posted by: .com   2004-12-08 1:49:37 AM  

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