April 29, 2009 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – April 29, 2009

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TODAY: meat import ban contested by US; 35,000 army officers face dismissal this year; Lavrov concerned by EU moves towards ex-USSR states; crack down on internet users; Soviet damages; Bolshoi star dies

Russia has extended a ban on importing meats from the US due to fears about swine flu, and has dismissed the US claim that it cannot be transmitted by meat, as Americans ‘protecting the interests of their exporters’, Reuters reports.  The US is optimistic it can persuade Kyrgyzstan to go back on its $2 billion agreement with Russia to close a military base considered important for US operations in Afghanistan.  An accumulation of subsidiary problems between Moscow and Washington may well mar agreements on the principle issues, Amitai Etzioni suggests in the Moscow Times.