CHICAGO, Nov. 8, 2008
Obama, Russia's Medvedev Chat On Phone
Moscow Registers Agreement That Early Bilateral Meeting Should Be Arranged
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A Kremlin statement said that, during a phone call expressing determination to create "constructive and positive interaction" between the two nations, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that an early meeting between the two should be arranged. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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A Kremlin statement said Obama and Medvedev "expressed the determination to create constructive and positive interaction for the good of global stability and development" and agreed that their countries had a common responsibility to address "serious problems of a global nature."
To that end, according to the Kremlin statement, Medvedev and Obama believe an "early bilateral meeting" should be arranged.
Obama's office did not issue a statement describing the call. A Kremlin spokesman declined to elaborate or say when such a meeting could take place.
A Bush administration plan for setting up a missile shield close to Russia's borders has been a sore point with the Kremlin and has served as another dent in its battered relationship with the U.S.
On Wednesday, the day after Obama's election, Medvedev threatened to move short-range missiles to Russia's borders with NATO allies even as the U.S. offered new proposals on nuclear arms reductions as well as missile defense. Allowing Russian observers at planned missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic were among them, U.S. officials said.
During the presidential campaign, Obama expressed skepticism about the system, saying that it would require much more vigorous testing to ensure it would work and justify the billions of dollars it would cost.
Obama foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said Saturday that Obama had "a good conversation" with Polish President Lech Kaczynski about the American-Polish alliance but that Obama had made no commitment on the missile shield plan.
"His position is as it was throughout the campaign, that he supports deploying a missile defense system when the technology is proved to be workable," McDonough said.
That was in contrast to a statement issued by the Polish president. Kaczynski said Obama "emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership of Poland and the United States and expressed hope in the continuation of political and military cooperation between our countries. He also said that the missile defense project would continue."
President George W. Bush wanted construction of a European missile shield - installations would be in Poland and the Czech Republic - to begin before he left office in January with a completion date of 2012. Experts in the Defense Department believe more interceptor testing is required, according to reports over the summer. Additional tests could delay the program for years.
In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters Saturday that he had spoken by telephone with Obama and that they discussed their desire to meet each other and work together, though no concrete plans were made.
"We had a very, very cordial conversation," Zapatero said.
On another international matter, Obama's office had little to say in response to a statement by Khaled Mashaal, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, that he is ready to talk to Obama "with an open mind." The exiled militant leader told Sky News from Damascus, Syria, that the election of an American president with African roots is "a big change."
McDonough said, "President-elect Obama said throughout the campaign that he will only talk with Hamas if it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel's right to exist, and agrees to abide by past agreements."
The Bush administration has boycotted Hamas, as has most of the international community, because Hamas refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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did you really think Obama would be able to help you with your grocery bill? Like the woman that stated "Obama is gonna pay for my Mortgage and my gas!!".....get a clue.
Posted by yourpointis at 09:34 AM : Nov 09, 2008
people as stupid and uneducated as that woman should not even be given food. People like that are weakening the gene pool- Reply to this comment
- Georgia was trying to get the world into another 3rd world war.Thank God her so called allies realised that Russia is no Iraq and they backed off.Her allies could only beg Russia to stop.
I see the Georgia-Russia war as another example of the west soft stand when it comes to dealing wih a country with much more military power.When Iraq invaded Kuwait an ally of the west, the west did not wait a second to attack Iraq but when Georgia got into trouble the west were afraid of Russia and realised the only way to stop the war was to through diplomacy.
Where were the red-neck neocons who have been advocating for a war with Russia? It was a shame that they could not master the courage to use their so called military weapons to defend their ally.
This is another reason why all nations must give up nuclear weapons in order to prevent nations attacking others otherwise every country should try to obtain one for that is the surest way to stop other countries invading others as we have seen in Vietnam,Panama,Nicaragua,the Koreas,Iraq,Lebanon, and soon to be Iran and Syria.
My prayer is that President-elect Obama will use diplomacy in resolving the major problems of the world and give the world a little peace instead of resorting to military confrontations. - Reply to this comment
- Where is Obama''s talk with Chavez? They can compare notes on ''sharing the wealth''. Chavez needs Obama to cut back on drilling in the U.S. to push his oil prices up. In return, Chavez can help Obama curtail free speech ala ''fairness doctrine.''
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- BO will have the same courtesy of lock-down on real time events that Kennedy had....don''t think for a second you''re going to know what stupid things he''s said or done...what compromises he''s made to our security...what weakness he has displayed behind our backs...until the next attack. Then it will be Bush''s fault. The media has his back over your back...get that straight. Reporting unbiased news went out the window when Ayers kicked off BO''s political career....and nothing has changed.
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- Ryan Grist, a former British Army captain, and Stephen Young, a former RAF wing commander, are said to have concluded that, before the Russian bombardment began, Georgian rockets and artillery were hitting civilian areas in the breakaway region of South Ossetia every 15 or 20 seconds....
http://article.wn.com/vie
w/2008/11/08/Georgia_fired_first_shot_sa
y_UK_monitors/
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Posted by formrusmcsgt at 06:08 AM : Nov 09, 2008
-Tnx for the truth never mentioned by the ready-2-shoot-minded Bush Administration!
Posted by trishab56 at 09:28 AM : Nov 09, 2008
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Not sure why you didn''t hear about Georgia attacking it''s breakaway region in a last-ditch effort to bring them back in the nation (similar to our own Civil War).
Can you imagine if a nation with the firepower had intruded on our own Civil War in the day...The Confederacy would probably own Washington D.C.
Goes both ways. - Reply to this comment
- Posted by FromTexwLove at 07:21 AM : Nov 09, 2008
My apologies to you. Grab a beer and turn on the Cowboys game. - Reply to this comment
- Barrack is a Havard Law School graduate, the president and the editor of the Harvard Law Review. He entered politics in the Chicago wards. He knocked the wheels off of the Clinton machine and the Republican party in a national election.
If Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin think that Obama is some starry-eyed libel who will gush and make stupid statements like "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul" (ala G.W.Bush) they may want to rethink that position.
He''s not as stupid as George Bush, or Nancy Pelosi. You can bet he will not push an issue to a vote unless he is sure that he has the votes to pass it.
And if you stupid rednecks think that the only difference between you and Obama is that he was able to get the "lucky" breaks, then go pull another beer from the refrigerator and turn on the Skins game. - Reply to this comment
- Mr.Medvedev was appointed as President of Russia.
Posted by refbatch at 05:13 AM : Nov 09, 2008
Mr. Medvedev was elected, not appointed. - Reply to this comment
- For all the looney, red-meat neocons who were screaming for us to send troops to halt Russia''s "agression":
Two former British military officers are expected to give crucial evidence against Georgia when an international inquiry is convened to establish who started the country''s bloody five-day war with Russia in August. Ryan Grist, a former British Army captain, and Stephen Young, a former RAF wing commander, are said to have concluded that, before the Russian bombardment began, Georgian rockets and artillery were hitting civilian areas in the breakaway region of South Ossetia every 15 or 20 seconds....
http://article.wn.com/view/2008/11/08/Georgia_fired_first_shot_say_UK_monitors/ - Reply to this comment
- Mr.Medvedev was appointed as President of Russia.
Nothing is changed after his come to the power, only quantity of dissidents.
Now Kremlin removes not welcome people just by hands of criminals on street - it is clean hand''s new technology of assasination and reprisal.
Any discussion about human rights in Russia is pesecuted esp.about women''s human rights.
Women in Russia have no more rights then animals:police arrests them for rape or for Kremlin needs and no justice to defend their rights.
What kinds of discrimination Mr.Obama will establish in USA - maybe also persecution of freedom of speech etc. - Reply to this comment
- How to get real vision of the situation when journalists only try to earn for their clan''s interests.
US journalists in Moscow only spend good time with prostitutes , get presents from Kremlin mafia and shut up everybody who brings real clear information for them about Russia.They have very long term prospective "partnership" with "moscow mayor family" - so they don''t want to trouble their moscow owner.
The problem is that europe has the same ilness with shutting of freedom of speech.
In general,Media time is over.
Who is Mr.Barack Obama and who is Mr.Dmitry Medvedev we will not know till good prepared world collapse when they will take their masks away.
Maybe both *** are not moslem''s servants - if it is so the civilization will develope in best way.
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- John Kennedy told the Russians they couldn''''t have nukes in our backyard and thats ok, then why does Bush think that it''''s ok to put them in Russia''''s backyard?Yes If I were a Russian I would be Leary too, considering Bush''''s record on invading and attacking other countries.Bush is a warmonger and that is a fact, I await the day he is brought up on war crime charges.
Posted by tincup356 at 06:06 PM : Nov 08, 2008
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We aren''t putting ''nukes'' anywhere. We are putting in ANTI MISSILE DEFENSE systems in. If they don''t plan on attacking their neighbors, what is the problem? - Reply to this comment
- Bush needs to rush back to Texas and stock up on AK-47s before the stores run out of them! I hope Congress does not pass anything he pushes in the remaining 2 months.
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- Well I hope Obama discuss''s who is really in charge in Russia, and what Russsia''s intentions are in assisting Venezuala''s Hugo Chavez develop nuclear capability.
- Reply to this comment
- ...and while Barack Hussein Obama and Medvedev chatted on the phone, Putin listened in on another line and rung his hands a''''la Snidely Whiplash...
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Posted by rangerdahl at 12:23 AM : Nov 09, 2008
Wonder where the butler was. I mean, I wonder what Nancy Pelosi was doing. Beware, she is dangerous to America. - Reply to this comment
- ...and while Barack Hussein Obama and Medvedev chatted on the phone, Putin listened in on another line and rung his hands a''la Snidely Whiplash...
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- Reagan elected: market goes up, by the end of the two mandates the deficit is sky high
Bush (senior) elected: market goes up after "read my lips", 4 years later deficit is stratospheric
Clinton elected: market plunges, 8 years later the US is prosperous and has healthy surplus
Bush (junior) elected: market goes up, 8 years later, not only is the surplus long gone, the deficit has gone syderal and the market has plunged
Obama elected: market continues to sink, 4 years later... well we''''ll see, won''''t we? But if there is a pattern there, maybe this is a hopeful sign...
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Posted by mumu11 at 11:26 PM : Nov 08, 2008
Interesting scenario. But it ignores the effects of congress. Congress passes most of the laws and the budgets. I am concerned that the current congress is not a good one. Nancy Pelosi is already trying to beat Obama to the punch in meetings with the automakers. She scares me with her partisan predjudice and power plays. - Reply to this comment
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How about the retirement funds lost in this economic meltdown. People have lost their homes and all their savings.
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A President needs to know what the issues are, know how to negotiate and find quality people to work with and beside him with the skill sets needed in each particular area.
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Posted by DaisyJingles at 10:38 PM : Nov 08, 2008
The financial meltdown is a true disaster to me and my retirement age friends. But we know the source of the problem. Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and Nancy Pelosi passed and defended legislation that demanded fannie Mae to make "sub prime" loans to peole who could not afford them. Faced with this business need, Wall Street created an insurance company (AIG) to protect them. When too many mortgages began to fail the insurance company defaulted on its protection. The meltdown resulted because banks had to re-evaluate their inventory and no longer had money to loan.
The are bipartisan facts. I state them so Obama and his supporters can be wary of the kind of help they are likely to receive from the current congress. Its no wonder they have the lowest rating of any congress ever. And that is a bipartisan fact too.
Im not here supporting McCain, Bush or any of the Repubs. Im here spreading truth so we can fix the mess we are in. - Reply to this comment
- Reagan elected: market goes up, by the end of the two mandates the deficit is sky high
Bush (senior) elected: market goes up after "read my lips", 4 years later deficit is stratospheric
Clinton elected: market plunges, 8 years later the US is prosperous and has healthy surplus
Bush (junior) elected: market goes up, 8 years later, not only is the surplus long gone, the deficit has gone syderal and the market has plunged
Obama elected: market continues to sink, 4 years later... well we''ll see, won''t we? But if there is a pattern there, maybe this is a hopeful sign... - Reply to this comment
- bob5ford: Dream on
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