Max Peck / January 25, 2008, 3:30 PM / Global Political Relations / #2
Not too long ago, the pro-Western governments of Ukraine and Georgia jockeyed for a position in the NATO alliance, which they hoped would grant them mutual protection from some of the most powerful nations in the world. In the past year, Kosovo (a small province of Serbia, located in Eastern Europe) has stepped up to claim a seat on the NATO committee, coupled with sovereign independence from Serbia.
So what exactly does Russia disapprove of? The most publicized reason for President Putin’s distain lies in his country’s growing discord with NATO itself. NATO has allowed the US to install missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, both of which Russian officials contend are set up to weaken Russia’s political power (the US claims that they are set up to protect against Iran). On top of that, last month government officials in Moscow suspended their country’s participation in 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, which limits the deployment of heavy weapons across the country. Russia has demanded a ratification of the bill, although they haven’t been specific about what they want changed (I speculate here that much of the reason lies simply in breaking ties with NATO, and is a perfect example of the dangerous passive-aggressiveness of global political relations).
Putin-appointed spokesman Dmitry Rogozin said that Kosovo’s terms offered to Serbia were “shameful and defective,” and maintained that absolutely none of Russia’s peacekeeping troops would be deployed to the Serbian area to quell the inevitable breakout of violence. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership is likely to declare its independence in a matter of weeks.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/WireStory?id=4184617&page=1 (Associated Press)
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