Russia: Mr. Lavrov Goes to Washington
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a high-profile visit to Washington, DC, where he met with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to the daily "Izvestia," Lavrov went to the shores of the Potomac not at the very best moment for bilateral relations, given the commencement of NATO exercises in Georgia, and the controversy around two Russian representatives to NATO. Russia's permanent representative in the alliance Dmitry Rogozin earlier said that the Russian side will not participate in the ministerial meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which is scheduled to be held in Brussels on May 18-19. Yet it seemed that the Russian side achieved its planned objectives - following his meeting with Secretary Clinton, Lavrov told the journalists: "We hope that soon all possible obstacles to the resumption of the NATO-Russia Council will be completely eliminated- and these constraints are entirely artificial in nature."
As before, the Russian political establishment is trying to determine if the current administration will be more pragmatic on the missile defense issue. To that end, Lavrov said: "Our American partners have confirmed that they are studying Russian-proposed revisions on that issue." According to Lavrov, last year's crisis in the Caucasus and the current global financial and economic crisis sums up the 20-year period after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet Union. Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, the Russian Foreign Minister said that these events "set the limits of what is possible for inertial policy pursued all these years, including the political and psychological inertia of Russia's containment policy. Now we know what can happen if the notorious triumfalizm and faith in the victory of the Western world revolution are pursued to their conclusion."
Lavrov stated that the Soviet and American models of social and economic development - socialism and liberal capitalism, developed to their pure and often absurd form - each in its time, proved to be a failure. "It is now clear that we need a middle ground, something balanced, something not so categorical and uncompromising," said Lavrov. In his own words, the current economic development is undergoing "a paradigm shift - back to a socially oriented economy and sustainable development, requiring a greater role for nation -states." All this, according to Lavrov, creates a "brilliant set of conditions" to "draw the last line for the period of the Cold War and the subsequent misunderstanding between United States and Russia. To miss such an opportunity would be very unfortunate."
May 9 marks the 64th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. From 1945 till the end of the USSR in 1991, Soviet Union marked that date with massive military parades across the entire country. Following the collapse of the state and until the election of Vladimir Putin as President in 2000, the celebrations were more muted, with less emphasis on the showcase of Soviet past and present military strength. After 2000, the military parades were once again in vogue, eagerly embraced by all generations of Russian citizens. More than nine thousand troops, 100 military vehicles and 69 helicopters and planes took part in the Saturday march on Red Square, the main Victory parade in the country. This was largest show of force since the Soviet times, and became a kind of a rehearsal before the V-day festivities in 2010. Similar parades and marches were held in all major cities and most countries of the former USSR.
Opening the parade on Red Square, the President and Commander-in-Chief Dmitry Medvedev, stressed that the lessons of the Great Victory over fascism are relevant today, when once again there are those who "engage in military adventurism." The head of state assured that any aggression against the citizens of Russia will get a decent response, and that the future of Russia is a peaceful, successful and happy. Addressing the veterans, the President stressed that one of the major concerns of the state is to ensure their welfare: "The power of spirit and devotion to the homeland have helped you, dear soldiers, to overcome the difficult and long road to victory. You turned the course of world history. You gave life and liberty to the future generations, to all of us. That is why none of the current problems will prevent us from fulfilling our moral obligations to you." He added that WW2 has taught people to fight until ultimate victory, to be strong in the face of difficulties: "Protecting the homeland is our sacred duty, it is a moral basis for all generations. And today, the heirs of the heroes of that war are keeping and enhancing victorious traditions. Among them are those who in real battle have proven high fighting efficiency of modern Russian army."
Russian military showcased its latest tactical and conventional weapons on parade, such as GAZ-233014 "Tiger" armored car (Russian answer to American Hummer), BTR-80 and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, T-90 main battle tanks, anti-tank missile system "Sprut", self-propelled artillery howitzers "Msta-M", tactical missile systems "Iskander-M", portable air defense systems "Buk", anti-aircraft missile systems S-300 "Favorit" and S-400 "Triumph", as well as mobile ground missile complex "Topol." Moldova, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Belarus also celebrated May 9 victory with parades, attended by the heads of state and Presidents Voronin, Yushchenko, Berdimuhammedov and Lukashenko, respectively.
