Radio Free Europe reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry is talking tough again, this time with a warning to Poland about that country's upcoming talks about a U.S. missile-defense system which would involve placing 10 interceptors in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic. The ministry wanted to "help our Polish partners recognize the strategic dangers with regard to U.S. plans to build the third leg of a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe."Hmm. "Strategic dangers" from who?
In related news, RFE says that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe "looks to be in for a difficult year" in light of Russia's bristly bad boy actions of late. "Relations between Moscow and the OSCE have been rocky since the birth of that organization more than three decades ago, in the midst of the Cold War. But with Russia now eager to earn respect as a rising world power, its stance on the international democracy watchdog has become, at times, downright hostile."
And finally, on January 10, President Putin issued named Dmitry Rogozin as the ambassador to NATO. Lovely. Rogozin is a staunch nationalist, career politician and the former leader of the Rodina (Motherland) Party. "Newsru.com observed that Rogozin is well-known for his strongly anti-Western rhetoric, particularly against two relatively new NATO members, Estonia and Latvia."
The daily Gazeta wrote on January 10 that "endorsed by both houses of the Russian parliament, Rogozin's nomination encountered certain resistance in Europe itself. Not every NATO country seemed to be happy with the new representative of the Russian Federation." AP suggested on January 10 that "the appointment of the controversial figure is the latest reflection of Putin's assertive stance toward the West, which he accuses of meddling in Russia's affairs and says must treat Moscow as an equal."
