Boeing has announced a proposal to construct a mobile interceptor missile that would alleviate Russian fears of a US missile defense site in Eastern Europe. ‘People have lost any respect for their own state‘ says Kiev journalist Yulia Mostovaya, quoted in an Economist article which considers why Medvedev’s poison letter has not caused uproar in Ukraine. An analyst suggests that Viktor Yushchenko may use the hostility as fodder for an anti-Kremlin ticket at the upcoming elections.
Criminal charges will be brought against Ingushetia Interior Ministry officials ‘accused of performing their duties improperly‘. Abkhazia has promised a ‘proportionate response’ to Georgian authorities’ holding of a tanker delivering fuel and another vessel apparently containing scrap metal. A fire which broke out at the headquarters of ‘Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights’ could have been the result of arson, says the foundation’s head. Akhmed Gisaev of Memorial has apparently left Chechnya under fear for his life.
In a meeting with United Russia, Mededev has warned the party that its predominance ‘won’t last forever’, implying a loosening of the party’s grip on the regions? Extremism laws have been extended to incorporate ownership of ‘a flag with a cross’ as an example of dangerous material – hide those Georgian flags.
PHOTO: A Rossia television image from August 20, 2009, of a suspected Arctic Sea hijacker being led to a bus on the Cape Verde island of Sal. (Rossia / AP)