Reply With QuoteGood news.
Suck it ultranationalists.
Russia Approves Ulyanovsk NATO Hub
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120629/174312840.htmlThe Russian government has given approval for the United States and its NATO allies to use a Russian air base in the Volga city of Ulyanovsk as a hub for transits to and from Afghanistan.
The decree is dated June 25.
Moscow announced plans to create a NATO transit hub in Ulyanovsk in March. The decision sparked protests in the city, the birthplace of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.
Veteran Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov has called the deal "humiliating" for Russia.
But both NATO and Russian officials have sought to allay fears the hub would turn out to be a fully-fledged base.
"We have no intention to establish a base in Russia," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a video link-up with RIA Novosti in March. "This is a pragmatic arrangement which allows us to transport non-lethal weapons and troops to benefit our operation in Afghanistan."
"There never has been and never will be a NATO military base in Ulyanovsk," Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement in April, adding that the hub would see the "transit of exclusively non-lethal cargoes."
Good news.
Suck it ultranationalists.
So this must be the deal the West must have agreed to with Russia : "You want your neat little NATO hub ? Hands off Syria, mkay ?"
No.Originally Posted by TG211
It's a mutually beneficial agreement for both parities, an unstable Afghanistan threatens Russian interests in Central Asia and the United States gets a hub and an alternative supply route so it doesn't have to rely so much on Pakistan and its weak-ass security.
evil imperialistic forces are marking stains in beloved motherland ground with theyr airplanes and trucks!
A simple "thank you" is beneath you, yes?
As well as everyone who isn't a member of Nashi or does not have a severe case of the Putinism of the head. Not saying that I personally approve or disapprove of this decision, just pointing out that stating that the only ones opposed to this are "ultranationalists" (whatever that means) is incorrect.
Yeah and who made it unstable again ? Mutually beneficial my ass. If US pulls out, the mess to clean falls on Russia. And it will be a costly mess. And if somehow US manages to subdue Afghan well they have a foothold to central asia. Either way, Russia losses.
The people who supplied the Mujahideen and injected huge doses of Islamism ?
I think both sides have done a little bit in terms of destabilizing Afghanistan, kinda bigoted to point your finger at Russia and blame them for the situation in Afghanistan. If the USSR had been successful in Afghanistan and the US never became involved, it would have probably been almost (almost, just look at Chechnya and how that ended up post Soviet) similar to the way China rules over Tibet. But those were the cold war days, now its all about Freedom vs Terrorism. If anything Russia has always been more on the side of pacifying Afghanistan than just letting it become a haven for terrorists and rampant radicalism. Really both sides NEED to get along in order to help the current situation, not point fingers at each other and play the blame game.
X2,
Regardless of who was or was not responsible, the Islamists hate us equally.
Russians being pragmatic. There will be a quid pro quo because that is diplomacy. They will be favours in return - perhaps a withdrawal of support for those seeking to embarass Russia elsewhere, a gesture in the UN over a Russian proposal, after all, Russian favour cannot be seen to be too easily won abroad or at home.
Plus - who controls the hub ? whose goods and services wil be purchased and whose local economy stands to benefit ?
Wish to G-d we had known what we now know 30 years ago - we'd have PAID the Russians to stay in Afghanistan. At least the Afghanis would have had a decent education system, universal sufferage and better infrastructure in place by now.
You, Sir, are an intelligent man.
Respect.
Good grief, NATO really has expanded into Russia now.
Maybe the days of NATO and other powerblocks are over. Maybe we will see a new bloc appear out of this, complete with the ability to put the Islamists Bloc into persective. Now if only we can make a beer with no hangover.
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