Georgian War Lays Bare Bush Policy's Failures

(NEWSER) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "positive signals" coming from Barack Obama's camp could lead to warmer relations between the two countries, Reuters reports. “If these are not just words, if they get transformed into a practical policy, then of course our reaction will be adequate and our American partners will feel this at once,” said Putin, in a marked contrast to heated rhetoric during the Georgia crisis. More»

New fury at Russia's formal recognition of breakaway states

(NEWSER) - The West is preparing to crank up diplomatic pressure on Russia after its challenging move formally recognizing breakaway Ossetia and Abkhazia in the wake of its invasion of Georgia. The US, Europe and NATO have condemned the action, but Russia remains defiant. "We are not afraid of anything, including a new cold war," said Russian President Dmitri Medvedev after formally recognizing Georgia's restive states. "If Europeans want a worsening in relations, they will get it of course." More»

Increased engagement with the bear will avert more crises: Meier

(NEWSER) - The kneejerk impulse to punish Russia for its Georgia incursion by withdrawing NATO civilities is exactly wrong, Andrew Meier writes in the Los Angeles Times. The only way the West can get leverage, given the case of nerves the Russians have over NATO’s expansion into former Soviet states, is to invite them into the club, too. More»

Tbilisi says Russia-backed revolt was set to topple government

(NEWSER) - A revolt has broken out at an army base near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which the government is calling a Russian-backed military coup, the Guardian reports. The Georgian defense minister says the soldiers were being confined in their barracks, and at least one person has been arrested. The Georgians say that the plot was timed to disrupt NATO military exercises in Georgia, which begin tomorrow. More»

West should stop meddling with nuclear giant: Qaddafi

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama would be wise to harken back to the no-meddling Monroe Doctrine and stop the West’s “addiction to interfering in the affairs of other countries,” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi writes in the Washington Times. He blames NATO expansion to Russia’s border for moving the nuclear power to beef up its arsenal. “Intimidating Russia threatens the world, again, with nuclear war,” he writes. More»