June 5, 2008 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – June 5, 2008

050608.jpgTODAY: Putin and Medvedev “work as a team”; EU to take a “fresh look” on relations; Russia threatens Ukraine over NATO; Medvedev emphasizes ecological responsibility; actions Abkhazia “could threaten Olympics”; Gorbechev says Lenin should be buried; more pressure on the media. A Duma speaker says President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin work as a team, and are not competing for power. The EU’s external relations commissioner says Medvedev’s emphasis on human rights and democracy will allow the European Union to “take a fresh look” at relations with Russia, but speculated that Moscow’s recent actions in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia might threaten the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The State Duma has reportedly recommended that the Kremlin consider pulling out of a friendship treaty with Ukraine if it takes further steps to join NATO. The country has reversed its stance on the Kyoto Protocol by pledging budget funds for clean energy and calling for limits on greenhouse gas emissions. “I cannot neglect the necessity of overhauling the system of ecological responsibility,” said Medvedev.