Yukos: Russia hits back at U.S.

[NNN0LHI]

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/11/01/yukos/

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia has hit back at U.S. criticism of prosecutors' handling of a legal case against oil giant Yukos, calling the State Department's remarks "disrespectful."

U.S. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday that the Kremlin should act to dispel concerns that the arrest of the boss of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was not politically motivated. His comments were echoed by Germany.

"They need to ensure that it's judged fairly and with full regard for due process of law applied in a non-selective fashion," Boucher said.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Yakovenko, speaking to First Channel television on Saturday, said: "This statement is a continuation of a notorious policy of double standards.

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http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1066565543291

Bush urged to take a fresh look into Russian soul

By Guy Dinmore in Washington
Published: October 31 2003 20:22 | Last Updated: October 31 2003 20:22

Confident of his ability to determine the character of a man, President George W. Bush struck up a close relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin the first time they met more than two years ago, declaring afterwards: "I was able to get a sense of his soul."

That bond was strengthened after the al-Qaeda attacks on the US mainland, when the Russian president gave strong backing to the "war on terror". But now there is deep concern among US business and political circles that Mr Bush has overlooked what they see as Russia's slide back towards authoritarianism.

"It's very important that Bush takes another look at that soul," said Stuart Eizenstat, a former US deputy treasury secretary and member of the international advisory board that assists the senior officers of the Yukos oil company.

The stakes were much higher than the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chief executive of Yukos, and would determine whether Russia continued on the path of strengthening democratic and economic reforms "or returns to a more statist, semi-totalitarian, autocratic direction", Mr Eizenstat told the Financial Times.

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[Nottingham]

1. Soul Searching!!! Well if Putin got a look at it Scary!!!

:evilfrown:

[XNASA]

2. Google " Russia + Euro + Iraq "

All kind of interesting stories pop up.

Have a gander for yourself.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

3. As usual the US indignation is fueled by GREED & OIL...

Yukos was trying to do an end-run around the state owned oil pipelines, which made him the darling of Western oil corporations and energy pigs. Putin effectively said, "fuck you," to the attempt and squashed the monetary hopes of many ready to rape the Southern Russia fields for US profit.

You always need to be wary when the "Prince of Darkness" (Richard Pearle) crawls out of his cesspool and renders an opinion on a subject (see posts from a couple of days ago regarding his call for Russia to be removed from the G8 because of the Yukos affair). I guess Pearle and his greedy friends lost some seed money when Yukos was snatched by Putin.

JB

[TahitiNut]

4. duplicate

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=194898

I'm locking this thread. Interested DUers are welcome to continue discussing this in the referenced thread.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
TahitiNut - DU moderator