Grigory Pasko: Medvedev May Visit the Lourve, But Doesn’t Sign the Contracts
At the same time as the two presidential couples – the French and the Russian – were attending an exhibition in the Louvre with the pompous name «Rus’ the holy», another exhibition was opening in a private gallery not too far from the Louvre – one of drawings dedicated to the shameful trial in the so-cal led «YUKOS case».
Appearing at the exhibition opening were the artists (in their number Sergei Kuznetsov and Katya Belyavskaya), lawyers ( in their number Elena Liptser), journalists (in their number Elsa Vidal from Reporters without Borders), philosophers (among them André Glucksmann)…
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Image: Drawing by Ekaterina Belyavskaya from the «YUKOS case» exhibition.
Quiet. Modest. They looked at the wonderful drawings. They mentioned the upcoming court session in Strasbourg on the claim by YUKOS shareholders. They discussed cultural news and what is being written in general in the mass information media of the two countries…
About the arrival of Medvedev they practically didn’t recall.
You will laugh, but they didn’t recall about him even in the Frenchpress and on television in the days of his stay there, in Paris.
Well, yes, on the first day they did note: he arrived. Then, on thesecond day, on the fifth-sixth pages of publications literally intwo-three paragraphs they would note something or other in connectionwith the visit.
And that’s it!
And this is understandable: French journalists know quite well who’s the president in Russia.
Andthat’s – not Medvedev. It is not by chance that Dmitry Anatolievichdidn’t sign the contract for the delivery of the «Mistral»helicopter-carriers: apparently, it was not willed by the seniorcomrade, the one who’ll sign it HIMSELF.
Because the pen for signing – is in the hands of the one in whose handsit’s supposed to be in. They’ll work out all the nuances of thisdubious deal – and he’ll sign it HIMSELF. With pomp, with press, withloud cries about patriotism and the strengthening of defense capability…
Russia, as can be seen, is of little interest to France.
And not only to France. Except maybe from the point of view of theconsumption of her hydrocarbons. (Hence the joining of «Nord Stream» bymany).
The west generally tends to be pragmatic.
It sometimes seems to me that some there are slightly irritated by thenecessity of having to waste time on empty meetings with Medvedev,instead of direct tête-à-tête dialogue with THE MOST AND THE GREATEST.
When she came, Burjanadze met with Putin.
When he came, Yanukovich met with him as well…
Without «our everything», does the sun even rise?
If he doesn’t give the «go-ahead» – are we going to sit in the dark?
