Russia 111206 Basic Political Developments
Qatar vs Russia: When size does not matter
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- Russian icebreaking tanker set to deliver fuel to Alaska town
- SK to investigate lawfulness of children foreign adoption
- SK opens criminal case over RF adopted son murder in US
Qatar vs Russia: When size does not matterhttp://rt.com/news/qatar-russia-syria-usa-115/ Published: 6 December, 2011, 10:16 Edited: 6 December, 2011, 10:16 Russia is downgrading its relations with Qatar following an attack on its envoy in Doha. The assault is being linked to Moscow's criticism of Qatar's backing for the US position on the unrest in Syria. A little country with gigantic ambitions – Qatar, with a population of less than two million people, has embarked on an aggressive plan to shape the Arab world. By playing in tune with Washington’s policies in the region, Qatar has gained a diplomatic weight it never had before.
Qatar became the first Gulf nation to close its embassy in Syria in July. Qatar is also reportedly funneling weapons to Syrian rebels, as it did in Libya. The country’s cheerleading role in revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa has earned Qatar praise and applause from the West, with this plaudit coming from US President Barack Obama: “Qatar has not only supported [us] diplomatically, but has also supported [us] militarily, and we are very appreciative.” And this, from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “The partnership between our two countries is a model.” America has gone from branding Qatar’s Al Jazeera “a terrorist channel,” to openly praising the international television news station, with US Senator John McCain declaring, “Al Jazeera has played a key and leading role.” But Qatar has come under increasing criticism from Russia for its aggressive involvement in the affairs of other countries in the region. Last week at Doha airport, the Russian Ambassador to Qatar, along with two Russian embassy officials, was physically assaulted by Qatari customs and security officers when they made an attempt to confiscate a diplomatic bag. It is this incident which has led to Moscow downgrading formal relations with Qatar. “They get a sense that anything that they do to really stick a finger in the eye of Russia or any other BRICS country will be applauded in certain circles in the West, and rewarded,” Jeffrey Steinberg explained. “I think it’s all about that sense that they are on the front edge, and Russia is not falling in line around the Syria issue.” The incident took place on the same day as Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized Qatar for supplying weapons to Libyan rebels in violation of a UN arms embargo. The US, which has a military base in the country, has Qatar’s full backing for its Middle East ventures. With Syria now in play, Washington is betting high on Doha.
Tiny Qatar, empowered by the US, is now playing big, striving to punch above its weight to shape the turbulent region in its favor. And the incident at the airport with Russian diplomats showed what happens when someone gets in its way. Russian icebreaking tanker set to deliver fuel to Alaska townhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/06/us-alaska-nome-fuel-idUSTRE7B503A20111206 8:30pm EST By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A Russian tanker with icebreaking capability will make an emergency fuel delivery to Nome, Alaska, after a massive winter storm turned back a barge carrying the city's last regularly scheduled fuel delivery. The Sitnasuak Native Corporation said it had signed a contract to have a vessel owned by the Russian company RIMSCO deliver 1.5 million gallons of fuel to Nome by year's end. The operation, if successful, will allow Nome residents to avoid a serious fuel shortage later this winter resulting from the missed barge delivery, said Jason Evans, Sitnasuak's chairman. Nome, a city of about 3,600, lacks outside road access and depends on ships and aircraft for supplies. Fuel prices are already high -- averaging about $5.40 for a gallon of gasoline -- but a shortage later in the winter could have added several dollars to that per-gallon price. Sitnasuak, which owns one of two local Nome fuel distribution companies, had missed the year's final scheduled barge delivery of fuel. A barge carrying 1.6 million gallons of gasoline, diesel fuel and heating fuel failed to reach the port of Nome because of bad weather and sea-ice chunks blown into the harbor by hurricane-force winds in a storm last month that was considered the strongest in western Alaska since 1974. With the barge delivery canceled, Sitnasuak had been considering flying in fuel later in the year, an expensive option. Delivery by the Russian vessel is more expensive than the traditional barging method, but is substantially less than flying in fuel, Evans said. Sitnasuak said its contract is with Vitus Marine LLC, an Alaska shipper that came up with the idea of using a RIMSCO ice-breaking fuel vessel, Evans said. "We were reaching out to everyone and anyone that had any sort of possible scenario to get fuel to Nome," Evans said. If successful, it will be the first marine delivery of petroleum products to western Alaska conducted in winter, Sitnasuak said. The RIMSCO ship, called the Renda, will carry fuel from Inchon, South Korea, to Nome, Evans said. It is expected to take 20 to 25 days for the ship to make the journey from the port at Vladivostok to Inchon and then on to Nome, Evans said. The U.S. Coast Guard has pledged to help the Renda make the voyage and will use the icebreaking cutter Healy to help clear a path for the tanker if necessary, Evans said. The fact that a Russian ship will be delivering Korean fuel to oil-rich Alaska "does have some irony to it, Evans said. "But certainly we live in a global economy nowadays." Sitnasuak is owned by 2,400 Inupiat Eskimos who live in Nome or have family ties to the area. (Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Johnston) 10:08 06/12/2011ALL NEWS
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/290239.html MOSCOW, December 6 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian Investigative Committee will investigate the lawfulness of the foreign adoption procedure of Russian children, who died abroad, spokesman of the Russian Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. “The Investigative Committee intends to investigate the lawfulness of the foreign adoption procedure of Russian children, who died or were exposed to violence abroad,” he said. “If the violations of Russian public officials, who should protect the interests of children in their adoption, are found, the Investigative Committee will take the most decisive measures to bring the guilty officials to responsibility under the law,” he said. The Investigative Committee will use the information of the Russian presidential children’s ombudsman and his envoys in the regions to find these crimes. 09:57 06/12/2011ALL NEWS
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/290226.html MOSCOW, December 6 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over the murder of a Russian adopted son Ilia Kargintsev in the United States, spokesman of the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. “The main investigation department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over the murder of an underage Russian citizen Isaac Jonathan Dexter (Ilia Kargintsev) in the US under Article 105 Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code,” he said.
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