Russia had a short answer for US President George W. Bush's top national security advisers who came to ask for detente in the simmering argument over a planned US missile shield at Russia's doorstep: "Nyet." Or maybe, "Not yet."
The US and Russia got no closer to settling their public differences over US plans that Russia sees as a potential threat and a turf battle for influence in states once under the Soviet thumb.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would take a closer look at US proposals meant to allay Russian fears, but added that the best way to end the disagreement would be to scrap the plan for placing missile interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar system in the Czech Republic.
"We've leaned very far forward in this in an effort to provide reassurance," but the US plans to go ahead, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Tuesday following two days of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials.
During a brief greeting witnessed by reporters on Monday, Putin did not mention US plans for the missile shield, a marked contrast from his vehement opposition when he met in October with Gates and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who returned to explore whether US concessions had softened Putin's stance.
On Monday, Gates gave as an example the US suggestion that Russia be allowed to monitor the activities in Poland and the Czech Republic. He said the Russians initially thought this meant they would be limited to monitoring through their diplomatic presence in the Polish and Czech capitals. Gates said that was clarified to mean the Russians would be permitted a physical -- but likely not continuous -- presence at the missile defense sites, and that the Russians appeared to regard this more favorably.
At first the Polish and Czech governments objected to having Russian monitors on their soil. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that his government would be open to discussing an arrangement.
The US proposed the visit to give a formal framework to numerous issues in which the US and Russia have common or overlapping interests. Gates and Rice carried a document that lays out areas of agreement reached under Putin and Bush.
Russia said yesterday that the US had failed to deliver the document.
"In spite of promises yesterday, written proposals from the American side have not yet been received by us," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.
Gates and Rice left Moscow yesterday.
Also See: Russia to restart air links with Georgia after 17-month halt
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS