BBC Monitoring Quotes From Russian Press Tuesday 16 October 2007
The following is a selection of quotes from articles published in the 16 October editions of Russian newspapers, as available to the BBC at 2300 gmt on 15 October:
Putin’s foreign visits
Rossiyskaya Gazeta (state-owned daily) – “While Russian-German intergovernmental consultations were taking place in Wiesbaden yesterday, the whole world was preoccupied by a totally different question – whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will go to Iran after Germany or whether the second Caspian summit will be thwarted…
Putin was not hiding the fact that in his contacts with the Iranian leadership he regularly discussed the situation concerning Iran’s nuclear programme. This time will not, of course, be an exception. The Russian president proposed that the entire international community stock up on patience. This is after all the way problems have been settled with the North Korean leadership…
Vladimir Putin has not forgotten about the future of the Russian- German dialogue, the time after Putin has stopped being the head of Russia. There is nothing to be afraid of. The President is certain that the future authorities will be consistent not only with regard to domestic policy but also with regard to contacts with Berlin.”
[from article by Vladimir Kuzmin headlined "Dialogue with a St Petersburg accent"]
“The current meeting in Wiesbaden was especially significant because this was the last time President Vladimir Putin was taking part in it as head of state…
At the talks the Russian side wanted to discuss strategic partnership between Moscow and Berlin. However, the Germans were more inclined to talk about Russian-European relations. Moscow was thus given to understand that Germany could not conduct a strategic dialogue with Russia on its own, without other European countries. Nevertheless, the different approaches did not get in the way of the two sides signing important documents on economic matters and scientific research…
Difficult international conflicts are currently on the agenda for the Russian-German dialogue. Firstly, the positions of Moscow and Berlin differ significantly over Kosovo. Secondly, the Iran problem has become a stumbling block for our countries…
Finally, Merkel made it clear that she was not going to defend Moscow’s position in the dispute over America’s missile defence system in Europe. She wants to maintain strategic relations with the United States even though they may hurt relations with Russia…
It is clear that regardless of who becomes the new head of Russia, he will not treat Germany the same way Vladimir Putin has treated it.”
[from article by Alexander Rahr of the German Council on Foreign Relations headlined "Berlin is wasting an opportunity"]
“President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran may prove rather successful. In Tehran Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to reach an agreement with the Iranian authorities so that they stop developing the military part of their nuclear programme…
The main question is whether Putin will manage to secure any guarantees from Tehran on that account. The fact is that until now the Iranian authorities have kept giving empty promises. It is possible that this time they will again reduce the meeting to nothing but talking. By the way, certain forces in the West would like this to be the case. They do not want Russia to win ‘the cup’ at the talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Given such a background, the rumours about a possible attempt on Putin’s life in Iran do cause a lot of questions. I am not ruling out the possibility that such an attempt is indeed being prepared. However, it is not possible to reject out of hand the possibility that the rumours about a possible attack on the president were spread by forces in the West which are not interested in Putin’s successful talks in Tehran…
The Russian president’s talks in Tehran will not change anything in Russian-American relations. They are already deteriorating because of the total absence of trust between Russia and the West towards each other. The West is now in a state of weakness because of Iraq and it is trying to counterattack Russia in order to prevent its position from weakening further.”
[from article by Chairman of the Foreign and Defence Policy Council Sergey Karaganov headlined "Diplomacy prize"]
Komsomolskaya Pravda (popular tabloid) – “[Mikhail Leontyev, the editor-in-chief of the Profil magazine] It is very likely that the USA is behind the ‘assassination attempt’ reports. Washington is least of all interested in stronger ties between Russia and Iran. Besides, it will become more difficult for the USA to plan strikes against Iran after Putin has visited Tehran.”
[from article by Larisa Kaftan headlined "Putin ignored the assassination threat"]
Moskovskiy Komsomolets (popular Moscow daily) – “Putin’s appearance did not betray any signs of concern.”
[from article by Natalya Galimova headlined "Merkel sneezed at the gathering"]
“Reports of preparations for an assassination attempt against Putin have been appearing since 2000, from both our own security agencies and foreign ones… However, in the majority of cases, the announcements were made only a long time after terrorist acts had been foiled. How do experts explain the present announcement? Our sources close to the special services have not ruled out the possibility that this was intended as a message to the Iranian security agencies. Those responsible for Putin’s safety on the Russian side, having received some ‘food for thought’, deliberately arranged a leak so that their colleagues in Iran ‘do not let their guard down’…
One other version has been suggested – that the noise was made about a possible assassination attempt in order to divert the attention of the West from the trip to ‘a pariah country’. However, this is not totally logical. What would stop the West discussing the assassination threat and having a go at the contacts with the pariah?”
[from article by Irina Rinayeva headlined "Tehran-2007"]
Trud (left-leaning daily) – “The news that a group of terrorist suicide bombers was preparing an attempt on Vladimir Putin’s life in Iran produced an earth-shattering effect in the land of Hessen. However, the stir caused no changes in the president’s working schedule…
Putin, who is called ‘a tough statesman’ in Germany, knows how to appreciate a good attitude towards himself and sometimes shows himself flexible. However, he does not change his general stand on the most important issues.”
[from article by Gennadiy Charodeyev headlined "Dostoyevskiy had been here and lost all he had"]
Gazeta (general daily) – “[On energy] Germany has again been offered the role of Europe’s Trojan horse. However, a Russian- German compromise is obviously not viable. Russia will never give European companies access to strategic fields or pipelines. The EU will not cede the controlling interest in its supranational energy market.”
[from article by Konstantin Smirnov headlined "Russia trying to get into the European Union"]
Novyye Izvestiya (liberal daily) – “At yesterday’s St Petersburg Dialogue forum in Germany the Russian president again promised to leave the office of the head of state in 2008.”
[from article by Aleksandr Kolesnichenko headlined "Of course I will go to Iran"]
Originally published by Quotes package from BBC Monitoring, in English 15 Oct 07.
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