TODAY: Russia keeps its voting rights in Council of Europe; Lavrov says Russia wants unbiased discussions about human rights; French Foreign Minister argues Russia flouting ceasefire; Israeli diplomat makes swift exit; UK Foreign Secretary visit to ease tensions?; Scientology 1- Russia nil.At a meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Sergei Lavrov has asserted that the Kremlin has not avoided discussing human rights issues with other European states, 'but that dialogue should not be politicized, it should be concrete'.  According to Bloomberg, Kouchner has said that Russia is not honoring the terms of the 'Sarkozy-Medvedev' ceasefire agreement.   Ex-Georgian parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze has blamed President Mikheil Saakashvili for last year's conflict with Russia and has affirmed ...

TODAY: Russia and NATO hold first military talks since Georgia incursion; differences remain; OSCE skeptical about security proposals; issues emerge for imminent Obama visit; the Romanovs returnNATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said that Russia and NATO have resumed cooperation on broad security threats, but 'on Georgia, there are still fundamental differences'.  Fears of an incursion in Georgia are building as Russia begins its Caucasus 2009 war games.  According to the Washington Post, the military exercises are 'a reminder of the volatility of the region'.  Russia's attitude to Georgia has been met with sharp criticism from Western leaders.  At a ministerial meeting of the OSCE, opinion was unconvinced about Moscow's ...

TODAY: EU to resume Russia discussions; Britain ready to open relations with Russia once again; Russian passports in Ukraine?; Medvedev responds to US sanctions. The result of an EU delegation meeting with Russian foreign ministers is that the EU will discuss options for resuming partnership talks with Moscow when it meets for a summit in Nice next month. It is ‘inevitable’ that negotiations will resume, says French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner. Kouchner has also been quoted this week as saying, ‘We all know that they are handing out Russian passports’ in Ukraine’s Crimea region. The UK is ready to ‘re-engage’ with Russia, according to Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, who is in Russia resurrecting the Russian-British Steering Committee on Trade and Investment, which hasn't met since 2002. President Dmitry Medvedev’s reaction to ...

The Irish TimesJASON CORCORAN in Moscow Saturday, October 11, 2008EU MONITORS in Georgia have confirmed that Russian forces have dismantled 17 checkpoints, one signals post and one military base in zones adjacent to breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.But, while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday Russian troops have completed their withdrawal from the areas in line with yesterday's deadline,French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner complained that Russia still occupies three disputed pockets of land - Akhalgori and Perevi in South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia - areas that were under Georgian control before hostilities broke out.Col Dorcha Lee, a former army officer and veteran of UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, the Middle East and Serbia who heads the Irish group in the 200-strong European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) admits that their work is difficult and breaking ...

The Irish TimesJASON CORCORAN in Moscow Saturday, October 11, 2008EU MONITORS in Georgia have confirmed that Russian forces have dismantled 17 checkpoints, one signals post and one military base in zones adjacent to breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.But, while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday Russian troops have completed their withdrawal from the areas in line with yesterday's deadline,French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner complained that Russia still occupies three disputed pockets of land - Akhalgori and Perevi in South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia - areas that were under Georgian control before hostilities broke out.Col Dorcha Lee, a former army officer and veteran of UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, the Middle East and Serbia who heads the Irish group in the 200-strong European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) admits that their work is difficult and breaking ...

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (C), France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering (R) are pictured prior to an emergency summit of European Union leaders on the crisis in Georgia at the headquarters of the European Council on September 1, 2008 in Brussels. (AFP/Getty) European Union leaders met in Brussels today for an emergency summit to "re-examine" relations with Russia, and determine a proper response to the unilateral invasion of Georgia. As may be expected with nearly any EU decision regarding Russia, there is once again important differences among member states and (again) a question over unity. In a staggering display of bureaucracy rivaled only by the UN, the EU leaders issued a soft joint draft statement remarking that "With the crisis in Georgia, relations between the EU and Russia have reached a crossroads. (...) ...

World’s Largest Gold Refiner Runs Out of Krugerrands (Update1) By Claudia Carpenter

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — Rand Refinery Ltd., the world’s largest gold refinery, ran out of South African Krugerrands after an “unusually large” order from a buyer in Switzerland.

The order was for 5,000 ounces and it will take until Sept. 3 for inventories to be replenished, said Johan Botha, a spokesman for Rand Refinery in Germiston, east of Johannesburg. He declined to identify the buyer.

Coins and bars of precious metals are attracting investors as a haven against a sliding dollar and conflict between Russia and its neighbor Georgia. The U.S. Mint suspended sales of one- ounce “American Eagle” gold coins, Johnson Matthey Plc stopped taking orders for 100-ounce silver bars at its Salt Lake City refinery and Heraeus Holding GmbH has a delivery waiting list of as long as two weeks for orders of gold bars in Europe.

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It seems abundantly clear that no one in Moscow is particularly concerned by these kind of pronouncements or feeble diplomacy, but here goes what French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is saying: "We cannot accept these violations of international law, of accords for security and cooperation in Europe, of United Nations resolutions, and the taking ... of a territory by the army of a neighboring country," Kouchner said. Asked about his own earlier comments warning of a risk of ethnic cleansing by Russian forces in the territories, Kouchner responded: "I hope that didn't happen overnight. But there has already been evidence that the armies are pushing away the Ossetians who favored Georgia, and in a certain way, yes, an ethnic cleansing is taking place." "This is going to get worse, and it's an extremely dangerous situation," he said.

Russia's Micex Index fell for a fourth day on Wednesday, on concern that the government's decision to recognize Georgia's breakaway regions will deepen a rift with the West and shake investor confidence. OAO Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank, reached its lowest level in almost two years amid speculation losses in the value of its government ruble-denominated bonds will erode its capital. The ruble-denominated Micex Index lost 1.1 percent to 1,278.72 at 2:22 p.m. in Moscow, after earlier climbing as much as 2.4 percent on a rally in oil prices. The dollar-denominated RTS Index dropped 0.7 percent to 1,567.53, extending its third- quarter decline to 32 percent. UBS AG today cut its price estimates for 74 Russian stocks, citing Medvedev's decision to recognise the two Georgian regions which are in rebellion. Moves in the RTS Index are growing more disconnected from oil as ...