Ssh--be vewy, vewy qwiet--the wussian waydar might heaw us! Hahahahaha!
Posted on 10/16/2007 10:09:13 AM PDT by dennisw
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran. He also said countries bordering the Caspian Sea must jointly back any oil pipeline projects in the region.
At a summit of the five nations that border the inland Caspian Sea, Putin said none of the nations' territory should be used by any outside countries for use of military force against any nation in the region. It was a clear reference to long-standing rumors that the U.S. was planning to use Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, as a staging ground for any possible military action against Iran.
"We are saying that no Caspian nation should offer its territory to third powers for use of force or military aggression against any Caspian state," Putin said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also underlined the need for solidarity.
"The Caspian Sea is an inland sea and it only belongs to the Caspian states, therefore only they are entitled to have their ships and military forces here," he said.
A State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said the United States is not planning military action against Iran.
"We are pursuing a diplomatic course with respect to Iran that includes with respect to its nuclear program as well as with respect to its support for terrorism and other issues that are out there," he said.
Putin refused to set a date for the start-up of Iran's first nuclear power plant, to be built by Russia.
"I only gave promises to my mom when I was a small boy," Putin told Iranian reporters, when asked whether he could promise that the plant that Russia is building would be launched before his term ends next May.
At the same time, he said, "We are not going to renounce our obligations."
Putin's careful stance suggested that Russia is seeking to preserve solid ties with Iran without angering the West. A clear pledge by Putin to quickly finish the plant would embolden Iran and could complicate international talks on the nuclear standoff.
Putin, whose trip to Tehran is the first by a Kremlin leader since World War II, warned that energy pipeline projects crossing the Caspian could only be implemented if all five nations that border the sea support them.
Putin did not name a specific country, but his statement underlined Moscow's strong opposition to U.S.-backed efforts to build pipelines to deliver hydrocarbons to the West, bypassing Russia.
"Projects that may inflict serious environmental damage to the region cannot be implemented without prior discussion by all five Caspian nations," he said.
Other nations bordering the Caspian Sea and in attendance at the summit are: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
The legal status of the Caspian — believed to contain the world's third-largest energy reserves — has been in limbo since the 1991 Soviet collapse, leading to tension and conflicting claims to seabed oil deposits.
Iran, which shared the Caspian's resources equally with the Soviet Union, insists that each coastal nation receive an equal portion of the seabed. Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan want the division based on the length of each nation's shoreline, which would give Iran a smaller share.
Putin's visit took place despite warnings of a possible assassination plot and amid hopes that personal diplomacy could help offer a solution to an international standoff on Iran's nuclear program.
Putin has warned the U.S. and other nations against trying to coerce Iran into reining in its nuclear program and insists peaceful dialogue is the only way to deal with Tehran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand that it suspend uranium enrichment.
"Threatening someone, in this case the Iranian leadership and Iranian people, will lead nowhere," Putin said Monday during his trip to Germany. "They are not afraid, believe me."
Iran's rejection of the council's demand and its previous clandestine atomic work has fed suspicions in the U.S. and other countries that Tehran is working to enrich uranium to a purity usable in nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is only wants lesser-enriched uranium to fuel nuclear reactors that would generate electricity.
Putin's visit to Tehran is being closely watched for any possible shifts in Russia's carefully hedged stance in the nuclear standoff.
The Russian president underlined his disagreements with Washington last week, saying he saw no "objective data" to prove Western claims that Iran is trying to construct nuclear weapons.
Putin emphasized Monday that he would negotiate in Tehran on behalf of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members — United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany, a group that has led efforts to resolve the stalemate with Tehran.
Did you see news footage of Putin’s visit here during the summer with he and Bush standing outside for the photo op? Bush was going on and on about what a “great friend” Putin is and all that B.S. and Putin just kept staring at him like he was nuts and with a “Don’t touch me I’ve got a knife in my boot” look.
No. I missed that.
I did see the photo op on Putin, Bush, the head of Red China and some other foreign dignitaries. They were all dressed up in traditional Chinese robes. Bush as usual was grinning from ear to ear, but Putin had an expression in face like “this is ridiculous, do I have to wear this dress?”
Too bad Putin is on the wrong side. We could use somebody like him who had OUR political philosphies.
“Too bad Putin is on the wrong side. We could use somebody like him who had OUR political philosphies.”
Bush took Putin fishing while he was here. Why do I think Reagan would have taken him to his ranch, put him on his wildest horse and said something like, “Careful..that one almost killed my best hand last year!” All with that winning smile he had!
I loved Reagan - he was the best - a Giant.
America misses him - VERY MUCH.
Deep sigh...
LOL, ROFLMAO!
I visualized that, and it floored me. LOL
Hey Pooty, you should finish your statement...”until Iran pays off the debt it owes Russia”
Yeah, both mental midgets with a Napoleonic complex.
I’m not seeing whatever President Bush saw in this guy.
“Knock those two regimes out of the picture and the world could look forward to a thousand years of peace.”
I’ll say peaceful. We’ll all be dead. ;)
Yo Putin
No offense, but a dictator who poisons those who oppose him with polonium, slowly re-institutes Soviet-style government control on everything, and has had 15 journalists die mysteriously under his term doesn’t really have a whole lot of room to tell other nations not to attack people.
From the US with love
This just confirms that its going to have to be Israels job to do the dirty work! :-)
Thanks for the heads-up asswipe, I’m sure we’ll be able to find you cowering under some Muslim’s skirt when the bombs start to fall. What a jerk this guy is!
Not too shabby MissG8
Spasibo (Thank you) ;)
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