Shaking my head, I chuckled reading this.
President-elect Obama spoke to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday as the future American leader had another round of phone calls with counterparts in other nations.
A Kremlin statement said Obama and Medvedev "expressed the determination to create constructive and positive interaction for the good of global stability and development" and agreed that their countries had a common responsibility to address "serious problems of a global nature."
To that end, according to the Kremlin statement, Medvedev and Obama believe an "early bilateral meeting" should be arranged.
Looks like Vladimir Putin will be pulling strings in two counties, no? Medvedev is a figure-head and should be treated as such. Any official work with Medvedev outside of diplomatic protocol is both foolish and a waste of time. From what I can read of this, I'm guessing Putin is trying to stir the pot between Administrations and cause American confusion - an enviroment he thrives in.
But Chirs, some might say, Medvedev is the head of state! Its a mirage. What I would like to see any president-elect to address regarding Russia is the newest "reform" from the Kremlin:
Dropping the clearest hint yet that Mr Putin, now prime minister, plans a swift return, senior government sources told the respected newspaper Vedomosti that Dmitry Medvedev could step down next year.
Mr Medvedev is first expected to usher through constitutional changes that would allow Mr Putin to return to his old job for 12 more years.
In a regime as opaque and closed as Russia's, the report bore all the signs of a deliberate Kremlin leak designed to prepare the Russian public for Mr Putin's return, analysts said.
Commentators suggested that the story represented the unofficial beginning of a campaign to see Mr Putin serve a third term, a move that would undoubtedly cause dismay in the West.
The first hint that a power grab was underway came on Wednesday when Mr Medvedev used his first State of the Nation address to call for presidential terms to be extended.
Under the current Russian constitution, the president is only to allowed to serve two consecutive four-year terms. Mr Medvedev suggested that each term be extended to six years.
The proposal, while not unexpected, marks a watershed in Russian politics. If accepted by the country's pliant parliament, it would mark the first amendment to the Russian constitution since it was drafted in 1993.
A fear of breaking that taboo partly explains the convoluted and often bizarre steps that Mr Putin has taken to retain control of Russia.
Forced by the constitution to stand down as president in May after serving eight years in power, Mr Putin immediately became Russia's most powerful prime minister since the post was first established.
Desperate to abide by the wording if not the spirit of the constitution, the ex-KGB spy shoehorned Mr Medvedev, his meekly loyal protege, into the Kremlin, a decision rubberstamped by the Russian people in an election that European observers were prevented from monitoring.
But even before Mr Putin stepped down, many commentators predicted he would be back, either in 2012 or sooner if Mr Medvedev were to resign early.
Several commentators predicted last year that Mr Medvedev would be used as a cipher to change the constitution and make unpopular reforms before being asked to resign to make way for Mr Putin, whose reputation would remain unblemished.
Obama is clearly out of his element right now when it comes to Russia, and this is very dangerous. Russia is a country coming apart at the seems since the fall of the Soviet Union. Its made up of a mish-mash of a thousand different ethnicities as old as Old Muscovy. The satelite states have already broken off, and more are clamoring for freedom from the Mongolian border down to the Tatar region and the Cacusses. The West has encouraged this movement by sponsoring NATO membership for countries like Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuenia, Gerogia and others. The Muslim population is Russia is exploding, especially in Moscow (the last laugh of the Ottamans). Its no secret why the one part of the world that supports George W. Bush an a robust, masculine foriegn policy is Eastern Europe, and given their subjegatioon during the 20th century its no wonder. For Putin, the only way to keep Russia together is through a Fascist state. Putin is really a Reactionary Nationalist, and the means of reclaiming Russian glory and her Emprie he feels entitled too is through a Fascist state. The reaosn places like Poland and the Czech Republic support having American missles in their country is because it gaurentees their security. Its not so much whether the missle sheild works, but the fact that its there secures these countries from the humiliation served on George last summer. Bush's diplomacy in Eastern Europe has been a shinning success in isolating Russia and protecting democracies that are working, functional, and flourishing. Word is out now that Obama can't even get his position on Poland straight!
But yeah, Obama will hold talks with Dimitry Medvedev. I wonder what he will see in his eyes? For the sake of America, I certainly pray that he sees the strings of a dictator behind those eyes. Somehow I doubt it, since we need to be nicer to our enemies, we need to understand them more, and we need them to like us dontchaknow.
Hope and Change.
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