TODAY: Iran uranium plan waiting to be concluded; Russia backs Serbia on Kosovo; Lavrov exit denied; Ingushetian cabinet out.  Ex-US Yukos unit to launch mammoth lawsuit; picketed journalist gets unlikely defender; UN says Russia should improve immigration policies; grave problem for MoscowThe Washington Post reports that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced that an agreement between Tehran and six world powers to allow Russia to help enrich uranium for an Iranian reactor awaits finalizing.  ITAR-TASS says that the Foreign Ministry has denied rumors that Lavrov may resign.  The Foreign Minister has rebuffed questions about who truly runs Russia, Putin or Medvedev, at a press conference, where he answered, 'you should not pit the Kremlin against ...

Very intriguing news brief from Reuters, as the cops in Minsk find themselves stamping out anti-Russia protests:Thousands of Russian soldiers have started to arrive in Belarus for joint exercises that will continue until Sept. 29. Riot police moved in to disperse the meeting minutes after protesters unfurled banners saying "Russian army go home" and "No Russian occupation". "This is our response to the beginning of the exercises, to the entry of Russian troops onto the territory of Belarus. Belarus should not be with Russia, but with Europe," protester Dmitry Bondarenko told journalists.

TODAY: Biden in Georgia expresses support for freedom and territorial integrity; Russia-NATO Council meeting pragmatic.  Body of missing Russian activist  Andrei Kulagin found, second murder in a week.  Nobel laureates plead for justice for Estemirova; Russia says no to UN probe into her death. Mikheil Saakashvili wasted no words in condemning Russia in his meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden.  Biden pledged his support by sending out an 'unequivocal, clear message to all who will listen and some who don't want to', in an apparent tacit reference to the Kremlin.  'We refuse to recognise that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not part of Georgia', Biden told the BBC.  Resurrected discussions of the expulsion ...

TODAY: Medvedev gives positive signs to US on START; Ingushetia President critically ill after assassination attempt; Surkov backs multiparty cooperation; political art unwelcome at the Kremlin  Russia has announced that it is ready to 'reduce by several times the number of nuclear delivery vehicles compared with the START-1 pact', as negotiations with the US proceed.  This pledge is contingent upon Washington allaying Russia's fears about missile defense in Europe.  Sergei Lavrov has asserted that the US is clear about Russia's position on this issue.  Medvedev hopes for 'more confidence in relations'.  On the potential problems awaiting Barack Obama in Moscow, a Moscow Times commentator argues that,  'If Obama takes a value-based approach, ...

Over the weekend I had read the reports about the bitter "milk war" going on between Russia and Belarus, which is actually just one of many food-related trade disputes we've seen in recent months (see also the confusing ban on U.S. pork imports).  Most surprisingly, the Belarusian delegation refused to attend the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a relatively new regional grouping consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  Thanks to the Belarusian boycott of the summit, the CSTO was unable to sign the agreement to found a new NATO-like rapid reaction force to jointly respond to threats in the region (though the Uzbeks also refused to sign).  The Russians are naturally quite upset about the disobedience of Europe's last dictator - and at least one official let his/her tongue slip, threatening to ...

TODAY: 'Milk war' steps up a notch; Lukashenko absent from security summit in Moscow; rapid reaction force agreed upon at CSTO meeting; Kremlin hopes for larger role in Afghanistan resolution; third killing in North Caucasus in week of violence; US says WTO bid for three needs to be examinedBelarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has vexed President Medvedev by boycotting a meeting of the CSTO, the post-Soviet security bloc, without personally informing him.  Tensions have been high recently due to trade disagreements on dairy products.  Russia has emphasized that the milk import ban is a technical matter and has been over-politicized by Belarus.  Belarussian experts will arrive in Moscow today to continue discussions over the issue, which it hopes will be settled within ...

TODAY: Talks on Russia joining WTO require work; South Ossetia election sees Georgia tensions simmer; no 'begging' for Belarus; Moscow opposition march broken up by police; Russian dolls President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso have agreed on the need for a 'serious response' to North Korea and Moscow will apparently back sanctions.  The European Union, the United States and Russia will hold in-depth ministerial talks this week on the Kremlin's hopes to join the World Trade Organization.  According to Washington, 'a great deal of work remains, particularly by the Russian Federation, in order to take the accession process forward'. 'The statement itself is very unfortunate': UN Secretary-General Ban ...

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Gedmin, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has a few suggestions:

The U.S. and the EU need to consider two issues in their relations with Belarus. It's only through a coordinated approach that we'll make progress towards reform.

The first issue has to do with democratic development. The heady days of the 1990s, when it appeared that freedom was on the march around the world, have given way to a decade of democracy recession. The most troubling developments have taken place in Russia and its periphery.

Democratization in countries such as Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine will almost certainly help to curb Russia's imperial appetite. Faced with neighboring democracies, Russia would be forced to take greater stock of its affairs at home. Garry Kasparov, the chess champion turned Putin opponent, thinks

...

TODAY: Diplomat accuses US of overplaying threat from Iran; what did Putin tell Bill Clinton?; Russia-Belarus tensions flare on loan; Amnesty slams human rights standards; reclaiming Soviet-confiscated art Russia will not object to a new UN Security Council resolution over North Korea but will continue to oppose sanctions.  According to the Guardian, senior diplomat Alexander Sternik has criticized the US for grossly exaggerating the nuclear threat posed by nations such as Iran.  The Moscow Times reports that at a private meeting in January, Prime Minister Putin offered assurances to ex-US President Bill Clinton that Medvedev is not his puppet and that the Kremlin and Washington would be able to come to an agreement on missile defense.  Poland is apparently pushing the US to ...

TODAY: United candidate on course to win yesterday's Sochi vote; dirty tricks rumors abound in election analysis; 'fast start' on US nuclear arms deal; military spy chief dismissed; Alexei Kudrin receives US court subpoenaThe Washington Post reports that acting Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov has won the Sochi election with more than 76% of the vote.  The Moscow Times does not declare a winner, but looks at exit poll predictions of a United victory and examines turnout, saying attendance reached 39%.  'These aren't real elections', Communist Party candidate Yuri Dzaganiya has told the Guardian.   'The secret services are completely involved in this election', says Boris Nemstov, according to the BBC.  The Washington Post reports on a documentary denouncing Nemtsov broadcast in the run up to ...