October 13, 2009 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – October 13, 2009

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TODAY: Clinton in town looking for answers on Iran, will meet Lavrov and Medvedev; Rogozin refuses to be out-twittered; United Russia confirmed to have powered through regional elections.  New book ‘Without Putin’ by Mikhail Kasyanov sheds light on Khodorkovsky case; St Petersburg hopes to extend outwards (but not upwards?)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to lean on Russia to support sanctions against Iran should international talks regarding the country’s nuclear program prove unsuccessful.  Encouraging signs are reported in Ria-Novosti, with Foreign Minister Lavrov hoping that talks will be ‘fruitful’.  The Washington Post quotes one analyst who suggests, ‘things do not look as good today as they did a week ago’, with no guarantees from the Kremlin.  The head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces has said that Russia would deploy multiple-warhead missiles in December, coinciding with the expiration of the START treaty.  Russia’s security chief has accused Georgia of backing terrorist operations in the North Caucasus.  American prosecutors apparently met with Federal Security Service to verify the possible terrorist connections of a defunct charity.  Never one for mincing words, Dmitry Rogozin has opened a Twitter account, upon learning that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has one.