Kremlin's Stance on Iraq Wins Plaudits

[hedgetrimmer]

~SNIP~
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer On a surface analysis, one year after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Russia would appear to have lost most of the influence it once wielded in Baghdad.

The Washington-backed Iraqi Governing Council has refused to honor the multibillion dollar oil contracts awarded to Russian companies by Saddam Hussein's regime, and has yet to agree to repay any of the country's $7 billion to $9 billion Soviet-era debts to Moscow.

Yet, looking back at March 2003, one cannot help but credit the Kremlin for its careful balancing act between the opponents and proponents of the U.S.-led military campaign -- a policy that several Moscow-based analysts say has allowed Russia to avoid antagonizing key players in the Middle East and worldwide.

"Looking back, one could say that this policy was well-balanced and correct," said Sergei Karaganov, head of the influential Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.


... more ...

link: http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2004/03/25/002.html

[tom_paine]

1. This sounds a bit Pravda-ish itself

Given that Comrade Putin has used the Bush Playbook even more ruthlessly and swiftly than the Busheviks themselves (because they can't yet), I supposed I am not trusting The Moscow Times. Even at the height of Russian "Liberty" (now apparently receeding), I;m not sure how much I ever trusted them in the first place, though Chris Floyd was often on the mark.