A Greek Tragedy in Two Acts
Hubris:
Putin Loses His Smile After Lecture from Bush On Democracy
An unsmiling, visibly irritated Mr Putin squirmed as he listened to Mr Bush tell a press conference he had been told that Washington had "concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling" the "universal principles" of democracy. "Democracies always reflect a country's customs and culture, and I know that," Mr Bush said. "Yet democracies have certain things in common; they have a rule of law, and protection of minorities, a free press, and a viable political opposition."
Mr Putin had wanted to talk about the two countries' joint efforts to combat terrorism but was forced instead to defend his domestic reforms and his commitment to democracy.
Nemesis:
Iran Signs Nuclear Fuel Deal With Russia
Iran and Russia ignored U.S. objections and signed a nuclear fuel agreement Sunday that is key to bringing Tehran's first reactor online by mid-2006.
The long-delayed deal, signed at the heavily guarded Bushehr nuclear facility in southern Iran, dramatized President Bush's failure to persuade the Russians to curtail support for the Iranian nuclear program during his summit with Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Slovakia.
Putin Loses His Smile After Lecture from Bush On Democracy
An unsmiling, visibly irritated Mr Putin squirmed as he listened to Mr Bush tell a press conference he had been told that Washington had "concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling" the "universal principles" of democracy. "Democracies always reflect a country's customs and culture, and I know that," Mr Bush said. "Yet democracies have certain things in common; they have a rule of law, and protection of minorities, a free press, and a viable political opposition."
Mr Putin had wanted to talk about the two countries' joint efforts to combat terrorism but was forced instead to defend his domestic reforms and his commitment to democracy.
Nemesis:
Iran Signs Nuclear Fuel Deal With Russia
Iran and Russia ignored U.S. objections and signed a nuclear fuel agreement Sunday that is key to bringing Tehran's first reactor online by mid-2006.
The long-delayed deal, signed at the heavily guarded Bushehr nuclear facility in southern Iran, dramatized President Bush's failure to persuade the Russians to curtail support for the Iranian nuclear program during his summit with Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Slovakia.
posted by Management at 6:09 PM
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Iran Signs Nuclear Fuel Deal With Russia
Sun Feb 27, 6:19 PM ET
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
BUSHEHR, Iran - Iran (news - web sites) and Russia ignored U.S. objections and signed a nuclear fuel agreement Sunday that is key to bringing Tehran's first reactor online by mid-2006.
The long-delayed deal, signed at the heavily guarded Bushehr nuclear facility in southern Iran, dramatized President Bush (news - web sites)'s failure to persuade the Russians to curtail support for the Iranian nuclear program during his summit with Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) on Thursday in Slovakia.
Under the deal, Russia will provide nuclear fuel to Iran, then take back the spent fuel, a step meant as a safeguard to ensure it cannot be diverted into a weapons program. Iran has also agreed to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to monitor Bushehr and the fuel deliveries.
Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh and Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev signed the agreement. The signing, which was delayed by a day, came after the two senior officials toured the $800 million complex.
"Today, a very important development occurred, and that was the protocol on returning nuclear fuel, which we signed together. In the next few weeks many Russian technicians will arrive in Bushehr" to finish the plant, Rumyantsev said.
Both officials refused to discuss the details of shipping the nuclear fuel to Iran and the spent fuel back to Russia, but they insisted that the agreement conforms to international nuclear regulations.
"Iran observes all the regulations on the prohibition of the spread of nuclear weapons," Rumyantsev said.
The White House declined comment, as did the State Department.
Washington accuses Tehran of covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies. Thursday's summit between Bush and Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia, had touched on American concerns over Russian support for Iran's nuclear program.
Putin has said he is sure Iran's intentions are merely to generate energy, not create weapons, and that Russian cooperation with Tehran would continue.
Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said the Bush-Putin talks did not affect the agreement.
"Our talks (with the Russians) have been successful," Saeedi said.
Although Russia agreed to provide the fuel needed to run the Bushehr plant, it wanted the spent fuel back to prevent any possibility Tehran would extract plutonium from it — which could be used to make an atomic bomb. Experts have estimated the plant could produce enough plutonium for 30 rudimentary atomic bombs a year.
Aghazadeh, the Iranian nuclear agency chief, said in the next 10 months, more experts and technicians would complete work on installation and assembly operations.
"Three months after that, there will be a test of the power plant and within six months after that, the 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant will produce electricity," he said, meaning the plant would be operating next year.
Russia will deliver the fuel when the Bushehr plant "is ready for work and loading," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told the Interfax news agency Sunday.
Ahead of the signing, Aghazadeh showed Rumyantsev the nuclear fuel storage house as well as the main part of the plant and the reactor.
"What I saw was much better and more than I had expected. Assembling operations in the past three to four months have been expedited," Rumyantsev said. "I can't say the situation is excellent, but it's very good."
The Bushehr plant, accessible only by a private road, overlooks the Persian Gulf, and its cream-colored dome is visible miles away. Soldiers maintain a 24-hour watch on roads leading up to the plant, manning anti-aircraft guns and supported by radar stations.
Iranian efforts to enrich uranium so it can produce enough of its own fuel to generate power have been a bigger concern in the international community than buying fuel from abroad because the enrichment process can be taken further to be used for warheads.
Britain, France and Germany are trying to secure an Iranian commitment to scrap enrichment plans in exchange for economic aid, technical support and backing for Tehran's efforts to join mainstream international organizations. Iran has suspended enrichment-related activities during the talks with the Europeans, which both sides have said were difficult, but insists the freeze will be brief.
Bush has expressed support for the European efforts. But documents being circulated among IAEA board members in Vienna, Austria, ahead of Monday's board meeting indicated Washington would try to increase pressure on Tehran by the next agency board meeting in June should the European talks fail. Those documents were seen by The Associated Press.
Putin Loses His Smile After Lecture from Bush On Democracy
by Andrew Osborn
President George Bush subjected Russia's Vladimir Putin to a public lecture on the fundamentals of democracy yesterday, injecting a chill into a relationship that has - until now - been characterised by bonhomie.
Meeting in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, Mr Bush emerged from a three-hour meeting with the Russian President joking and smiling and full of warm words. But his frequent references to "Vladimir" and the "fella" were peppered with targeted criticism of the state of democracy in Russia with which the more hawkish members of his administration are said to have lost patience.
An unsmiling, visibly irritated Mr Putin squirmed as he listened to Mr Bush tell a press conference he had been told that Washington had "concerns about Russia's commitment in fulfilling" the "universal principles" of democracy. "Democracies always reflect a country's customs and culture, and I know that," Mr Bush said. "Yet democracies have certain things in common; they have a rule of law, and protection of minorities, a free press, and a viable political opposition."
Mr Putin had wanted to talk about the two countries' joint efforts to combat terrorism but was forced instead to defend his domestic reforms and his commitment to democracy.
For a man who is seldom subjected to such face-to-face criticism and is famously cool under pressure, he looked at times as if he was about to lose his composure. "I respect some of his [Mr Bush's ideas] a lot and take them into account. Others I won't. [Such issues] should not be pushed to the foreground. New problems should not be created that could jeopardise our relationship. We want to develop the relationship."
Russian officials tried to play down the tension by suggesting the two men's relationship had matured to a level where they could now tell each other things they did not want to hear.
The two men could not, however, have looked more different.
Mr Bush looked satisfied that he had obliged Mr Putin to justify his views on democracy and claimed a statement from the Russian leader vowing not to roll it back was the meeting's most important moment.
Mr Putin said: "Russia chose democracy 14 years ago without any outside pressure. It made this choice for itself, in its own interests and for its people and its citizens. It was a definitive choice and there is no turning back." A return to totalitarianism was impossible, he added.
However he indulged in none of the informal small talk beloved of Mr Bush and looked relieved to exit the stage with a stiff handshake, his face taut with pressure. In Russian official circles, the meeting is likely to be seen as a humiliation.
Mr Bush also used an earlier speech to revel in the success of revolutions in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia, revolutions which Moscow opposed. Mr Bush said he hoped for similar progress in Belarus and Moldova. Agreements did emerge. These were to prevent Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, to safeguard nuclear facilities in both countries, to regulate the sale of shoulder-fired missiles and to accelerate Russia's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
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