Eu - Russia relations

 
In an extraordinary move, President Medvedev has announced that he will not be sending an Ambassador to the Ukraine. In an open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, he has accused his neighbours of attempting to sever economic ties with Russia, of glorifying Nazism, and even complaining a bit too much about the Holomodor, the famine engineered by Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33.
 

In Vienna, in 1961, at their one Presidential meeting, the young John F. Kennedy was overwhelmed and humiliated by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. He was lambasted for his lack of support for states seeking to free themselves from the grip of the colonial powers, and strongly warned about the folly of surrounding the Soviet Union with military bases. The US president had been warned by his advisors against the meeting, and immediately afterwards, Paul Nitze, the US assistant Secretary of Defence, described the meeting as "just a disaster".

Russia and Germany plan to step up investment cooperation, Dmitry Medvedev said at a joint news conference with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel following bilateral talks.

Yesterday, President Medvedev met with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Italy.

They agreed that both their respective governments would back the full implementation of the UN sanctions against North Korea.

Russian and Lithuanian customs officials have reached an agreement to resolve a dispute over vehicle inspections, both sides said Thursday — after Russia’s agricultural watchdog banned imports of dairy products from four Lithuanian producers.
As many as 2000 trucks have been waiting on the Lithuanian-Russian border in lines that have stretched dozens of kilometers since August, when Russian customs officials tightened inspections on Lithuanian trucks after finding numerous customs violations.

Ukrainian membership of NATO, much discussed and speculated upon until the Russian invasion of Georgia, is now on hold. It would very likely be better for all concerned if it is postponed indefinitely. Former Ukrainian Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatseniuk has clearly stated that his country's membership of NATO is not currently on the agenda. "No one has proposed us to become a NATO member”, he has said, "Ukraine is not ready to join NATO today, moreover, NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine today ".

In failing to act in a unified manner, and with certain member states consistently acting only in their own best interests, Europe's relationships with Russia are being choreographed by the Kremlin. With economic relationships centring on oil and gas, Russia plays to its strengths, whilst Europe's potential strengths, its size and wealth, are thrown away as the Union languishes in disunity.

A few days ago, the Kremlin reported on the meeting between President Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Munich.

Yesterday, 3rd August,  President Medvedev signed an executive order appointing Lieutenant General Andrei Shvaichenko to the position of commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces and releasing him from his previous duties as chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Strategic Missile Forces.
The same executive order released Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov from the post of commander of the Strategic Missile Forces and retired him from military service.