CSTO, NATO, SCO, Slavic Military & War.

[pastir]

Used to be much lower.

But there shouldn`t be any illusions. Croatia will end up in NATO and relativley soon.

[slavorad]

The way things are going, can't say I blame you.

[Raven]

obviously

with downfall of NATO, Greater Croatia going to oblivion, too.

[balkannj]

U.S. troops, planes to be stationed in Bulgaria to guard NATO summit

SOFIA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Up to 500 U.S. soldiers and 18 U.S. military planes are to arrive in Bulgaria to patrol the sky over the Romanian capital Bucharest during the NATO summit taking place in the Romanian capital, local press reported Thursday.

The Bulgarian government voted Thursday during its weekly meeting to allow the additional U.S. forces to remain in the country until April 22.

The U.S. troops and equipment are going to take part in the work of securing the Bucharest NATO meeting between March 31 and April 6.

They will be able to fly over, land and refuel on Bulgarian territory, and to perform any other activity related to the logistic missions of the summit.

During the rest of their stay in Bulgaria, the U.S. troops are going to participate in joint drills for working out planned actions and the compatibility level among the Alliance's armed forces.

[soldier7799]

Puppets!The bulgarian govornment are fuckin puppets!I want to shoot them all!

[CHORNYVOLK]

Criticism of Russian democracy is excuse for NATO expansion

Britain's Foreign Office presented its annual human rights report two weeks after the U.S. State Department did the same. The authors of the two reports say Russia does not respect human rights and is taking very few measures to improve the situation.
Russian political analysts say the publication of the lists of "undemocratic" countries is an element of the propaganda directed against Russia ahead of possible NATO expansion.
Yevgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute of Political Analysis, said the list is an instrument of propaganda and an element of the neoconservative policy advocated by some Western ideologists.
"We should abandon liberal romanticism and admit that we are fighting a tough battle for influence," he told the popular daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The publication of the reports could be part of preparations for the NATO summit, to be convened in Bucharest in April to discuss the bloc's expansion. It would facilitate the approval of an expansion decision if Russia were seen as an undemocratic country, a new "evil empire" threatening its new democratic neighbors.
Mikhail Vinogradov, head of the Center for Current Politics, said human rights are regularly used as a chip in political bargaining.
"Human rights issues are often used as an instrument of pressure, which is a two-edged sword," he said. "Russia has recently spoken about human rights violations in the United States."
Experts agree that if Russia decides to improve relations with Britain, it will start saying these stereotypes are not true and that Russia is ready for change. However, this is unlikely to happen, because the Russian political elite feels quite comfortable and well protected from criticism.
Alexei Malashenko of the Carnegie Moscow Center said: "This is a way of reiterating attitudes to Russia, because practice shows that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Besides, the British are more concerned over oil prices than the situation in Russian society. And the political elite doesn't care for this opinion."
Alexei Makarkin, deputy director general of the Moscow-based Center of Political Technologies, said: "These rankings influence only the countries that want to become integrated into Europe, or those that need serious financial assistance from the West. Russia doesn't need either."

[aleks]

good article

[CHORNYVOLK]

NATO urges Russia to lift moratorium on CFE arms reduction pact
13:03 | 29/ 03/ 2008



MOSCOW, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - NATO has issued a statement urging Russia to consider United States proposals on the CFE arms reduction treaty, and warning that Moscow's moratorium on the pact could undermine European security.

Russia imposed a unilateral moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty in December 2007, amid concerns over U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe and NATO's ongoing expansion. Moscow has said it will resume its participation if NATO countries ratify the document.

The NATO statement released on Friday said: "We urge the Russian Federation to end its 'suspension', and to work with us to reach agreement on the basis of the parallel actions package so we can together preserve the benefits of this landmark regime."

The package on measures to allay Russia's concerns on the treaty was proposed by Washington in fall last year, and supported by all other NATO members.

"All Allies are committed to this far-reaching package, which includes resolution of Russia's commitments related to the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, and are ready to join with Russia in its implementation," the statement said.

The trans-Atlantic military alliance earlier said its member nations would not ratify the adapted CFE until after Russia withdraws its military bases from ex-Soviet republics Georgia and Moldova.

"Russia's 'suspension' risks eroding the integrity of the CFE regime and undermines the cooperative approach to security which has been a core of the NATO-Russia relationship and European security for nearly two decades," NATO said.

The Russian and U.S. leaders are set to discuss the CFE treaty along with controversial U.S. plans to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic when they meet in Romania and Sochi next month.

George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had accepted Vladimir Putin's invitation to visit his holiday residence in Sochi on the Black Sea on April 6 after the April 2-4 NATO summit in Romania.

[CHORNYVOLK]

Same bullshit as before.West wants Russian withdrawal before they sign up for the treaty that Russia is already honouring. They need to be told to go sit on it and rotate.

[balkannj]

www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=03&dd=31&nav_id=48963

31 March 2008

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George Bush leaves Monday for a European visit including a NATO summit in Romania.

He will also have talks about U.S. missile-defense plans with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bush's first stop will be in Ukraine. The president has said he believes NATO should open the membership process for Ukraine and Georgia, but Moscow has made clear it does not want NATO expanding to Russia's borders.

Putin's successor, President-elect Dmitry Medvedev, says granting NATO membership to the two former Soviet states could threaten European security.

At the NATO summit in Bucharest, alliance leaders are expected to offer membership to Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia. They also plan to talk about expanding the number of troops NATO has in Afghanistan.

The United States and Britain have demanded that their NATO partners make a bigger contribution to the Afghan mission.

Bush also has accepted President Putin's invitation to visit the Black Sea resort of Sochi later in the week, for talks on the proposed U.S. radar and missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The White House has said Mr. Bush will try to assure the Kremlin leader that the future weapons system is no threat to Russia, but is meant to protect Europe from possible attack by such rogue states as Iran.

[CHORNYVOLK]

Yankz wil get no help in Iraq or Afghanistan if they do

[CHORNYVOLK]

Thousands of Ukrainians rally against Bush visit, NATO bid
16:27 | 31/ 03/ 2008



KIEV, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Thousands of people gathered on Kiev's main square on Monday to protest against the U.S. president's visit, and the Ukrainian leadership's drive for NATO membership.

George W. Bush will arrive in the city on Monday evening for talks with President Viktor Yushchenko expected to focus on Ukraine's plans to join the Western military alliance, before leaving for Bucharest on Tuesday afternoon for a NATO summit.

"We are now on our way to the United States Embassy with a resolution and message for the American people, asking them to pacify their hawks - Bush and [State Secretary] Condoleezza Rice," a protest organizer who asked to remain anonymous told RIA Novosti.

Activists on Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) are displaying banners with the slogans "NATO is worse than the Gestapo" and "Put Bush's bloody dictatorship under an international tribunal."

The organizer said between eight and nine thousand people are expected to take part in today's protest, which will run until April 4, the final day of the NATO summit.

During the April 2-4 meeting, NATO members will consider whether to let Croatia, Albania and Macedonia into the alliance. Bush has made clear his support for Ukraine's membership plans, and is likely to raise the issue at the summit, which will be his last as U.S. leader.

However, European NATO members, in particular France and Germany, have voiced doubts over allowing Kiev into the alliance, saying it would create dangerous tensions with Ukraine's neighbor Russia. Moscow has warned it could target missiles at Ukraine if the country joins NATO.

Protesters in Kiev have set up about a dozen tents on Independence Square, which was the focus of "orange revolution" protests that helped pro-Western Yushchenko into power in 2004.

Ukraine's drive toward NATO membership has triggered domestic parliamentary opposition protests amid widespread antipathy toward the alliance. A survey published earlier this month said only 11% of Ukrainians supported the idea of NATO membership, while almost 36% were strongly opposed.

The ex-Soviet republic requested to join the Membership Action Plan, a precursor to full membership in the Western military alliance, in January.

The protest organizer said; "If Ukraine is not accepted into the Membership Action Plan, we will remove the tents. But if Ukraine joins the plan, we will toughen the measures."

The protesters will gather on Tuesday morning in front of the presidential administration, where Bush will be meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart for closed-door talks.

[medo]

What I find utterly disgusting in the issue of Ukraine joining NATO is the fact that the western leaders and politicians nonchalantly disregard the opinion of the Ukrainian people and pursue their own plans to suck in Ukraine into their military organization. At the same time the absolute majority of the Ukrainians not only do not want to join the military organization but also have very strong negative attitude towards the aggressive block with conquering ambitions.

It is this indifference, demonstrated by the western politicians, towards the Ukrainian people that makes me particularly mad and frustrated like it carries an implicit message -> hey Ukrainians, we don't care about your wishes, we don't care about your opinion, we don't care about your concerns. We want you in NATO, we want Ukraine in Afghanistan to do our dirty job, we want Ukraine as a new place where we shall install our rockets pointed to Russia. We shall do it with or without your consent!

[pastir]

Good.

[slavfighter91]

Ukraina already??? this is madness now they reached a country that has border with russia..now russia Must force Georgian and Ukrainian government to stay loyal or threaten them with invasion or bombardment..since a NATO state in the south would cost even more lives on our side.