July 1, 2009 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 1, 2009

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TODAY: Skepticism about re-set; opposition activist dies in prison; Russians largely unaware of events in Pikalyovo; Klebnikov family urge Obama to push for justice; government to act on Russian dipsomania

Ria-Novosti reports that Russian analysts are apparently more skeptical than their American counterparts about the nature of the ‘re-start’, with Russians considering the American changes ‘cosmetic’. Reuters conveys the thoughts of one Washington analyst who is scarcely more hopeful: ‘the prospects are gloomy for a dramatic turnaround in this relationship’‘Isolationist motifs in Moscow’s policies toward the West are palpable‘: a Moscow Times commentator looks at the Kremlin’s deep lack of trust towards rival nations.  In an article entitled ‘Russian-U.S. Relations: Reaching New Heights’, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit a ‘landmark’ and added that it is time for the two nations to ‘to make up lost ground’.  Reuters has a factbox on US-Russian issues.

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