RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – April 26, 2010
TODAY: Russia detains former Kyrgyz police official; US and Russia call for WW2 style mutual trust; Belarus angry over free Russian naval bases; Ukrainians protest new gas-for-base deal; Russian wins London Marathon; United Russia seeks ban for Zhirinovsky; violence against children; sambo, scramble for Russian art.
In an unambiguous show of support for the new Kyrgyz government, Russian security forces have detained the top police official of the ousted Kyrgyz government and sent him to pre-trial detention in Bishkek, says Reuters. ‘Both purposeful and adrift, Russian and U.S. foreign policies could soon collide in Kyrgyzstan‘ over their military bases, speculates a Moscow Times reporter, whilst the U.S. and Russian presidents have issued a joint statement, marking an anniversary of their WW2 accord, calling for ‘mutual trust and shared commitment to victory‘. Meanwhile, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko is unhappy that Russia’s bases in his country are not paid for, particularly following the recent deal with Ukraine trading an extended Sevastopol naval base lease for reduced gas prices, and may snub the May meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in protest. ‘Several thousand‘ Ukrainians protested on Saturday in a rally against the Sevastopol deal, reports The Independent. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who presided over the event, called for the protesters to issue ‘a clear and systematic rebuff‘ to the ratification of the agreement, which begins this week. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told a Polish delegation that a thorough investigation into the plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 96 others would ‘define the level of trust between Russia and Poland in future years‘.