C
Captain Compassion
Guest
RUSSIA TO CUT ESTONIA FUEL TRANSIT AMID STATUE ROW
Budapest Business Journal, 3 May 2007
http://www.bbj.hu/main/news_25910_russia+to+cut+estonia+fuel+transit+amid+statue+row.html
Russia halted deliveries of oil products to Estonia on Wednesday in a
move that coincided with protests in Moscow over the Baltic state's
relocation of a Soviet war memorial.
The cut-off was likely to revive Western fears the Kremlin is using
its energy might as a political weapon against ex-Soviet neighbors.
Russia's state rail monopoly said it planned to carry out maintenance
on the rail link to Estonia, disrupting supplies. Coal exporters said
Russian railways had also halted exports of steam coal via Estonia for
this month, totaling up to 900,000 tons, citing a shortage of railway
wagons. They said Russian rail monopoly RzHD told them they must use
their own rail wagons, not RzHD's, but it has not been possible with
such short notice to find alternative wagons. Moscow and Tallinn have
been trading barbs since Estonia last week moved a bronze statue of a
Red Army soldier - revered in Russia as a symbol of its huge
sacrifices in World War Two - from its spot in the centre of the
capital.
Estonia said the statue was a public order menace and focus for
Estonian and Russian nationalists. Many Estonians see the statue as a
reminder of 50 years of Soviet rule. Germany, holder of the European
Union's rotating presidency, said it was deeply concerned about the
row and by rolling protests by pro-Kremlin youth groups outside
Estonia's embassy in Moscow that diplomats there say amounts to a
blockade. The European Commission said it would send a delegation to
raise the matter with Moscow. Russia's foreign ministry said Estonia
was to blame for the protests. The protests, in their sixth day,
escalated sharply on Wednesday when a group of demonstrators stormed a
news conference shortly before Estonia's ambassador arrived. The
ambassador's bodyguards sprayed gas to disperse the protesters.
Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip spoke to German Chancellor Angela
Merkel about the protests in Moscow, his office said. "This is a
well-coordinated and flagrant intervention with the internal affairs
of Estonia," Ansip told parliament. "We have turned to the European
Union and we ask them to take immediate action. Attacking one member
state means an attack against the entire European Union," he added.
The dispute is likely to cast a cloud over an EU-Russia summit to be
held in Russia on May 18.
Russia sends a quarter of its oil products exports - including fuel
oil, diesel and gasoline - by rail to Estonia, from where it is
re-exported to northern Europe. A spokeswoman for Russian railways
denied there was any political motive to the disruption, but traders
said it was linked to the row with Estonia. "It was bound to happen,
given the recent political dispute," said a trader with a Russian
major. Russia has a track record of turning off the energy taps during
disputes with neighbors, though in each case it has cited technical or
commercial reasons. US Vice President Dick Cheney has accused the
Kremlin of using energy as a tool of "intimidation and blackmail." In
one of several cases, in 2005 Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine,
led by pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko. The cut-off briefly
disrupted deliveries to European customers.
Earlier on Wednesday, about 25 demonstrators shouting "shame on
Estonia!" and "fascism will not be allowed!" burst into the hall where
Estonian ambassador Marina Kaljurand was expected to speak to
reporters. At Estonia's embassy, another group of protesters mobbed
the Swedish ambassador's car and ripped off the flag as he tried to
drive off after visiting his Estonian counterpart, Swedish diplomats
said. Sweden's foreign ministry said it would be issuing Moscow with a
"strong protest" over the incident. A spokesman for Estonia's embassy
said the protests had forced it to close its consulate and it was
advising diplomats not to visit from Estonia. Russia's foreign
ministry said it would meet its commitments to safeguard the embassy.
But chief spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Russia was not to blame for
the protests. "Passions have been brought to the boil and we believe
the blame for that rests entirely with the Estonian side," he said.
Germany's ambassador to Moscow has made known the European Union's
misgivings over the growing diplomatic row between Russian and
Estonia, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said Wednesday. The ambassador
had presented a demarche in person in the name of the EU presidency,
currently held by Germany, the spokesman said. The European Commission
also expressed "deep concern" over the steadily worsening situation,
in which Estonia's embassy in Moscow has come under virtual siege.
Merkel had said Germany would do its best to ensure Russia adhered to
diplomatic norms, Kateriin Leini, a spokeswoman for the Estonian
government, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The European Commission
expressed its concern and urged the Russian government to fulfil its
obligations to protect foreign embassy staff. (chinadaily.com.cn,
eux.tv)
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
Budapest Business Journal, 3 May 2007
http://www.bbj.hu/main/news_25910_russia+to+cut+estonia+fuel+transit+amid+statue+row.html
Russia halted deliveries of oil products to Estonia on Wednesday in a
move that coincided with protests in Moscow over the Baltic state's
relocation of a Soviet war memorial.
The cut-off was likely to revive Western fears the Kremlin is using
its energy might as a political weapon against ex-Soviet neighbors.
Russia's state rail monopoly said it planned to carry out maintenance
on the rail link to Estonia, disrupting supplies. Coal exporters said
Russian railways had also halted exports of steam coal via Estonia for
this month, totaling up to 900,000 tons, citing a shortage of railway
wagons. They said Russian rail monopoly RzHD told them they must use
their own rail wagons, not RzHD's, but it has not been possible with
such short notice to find alternative wagons. Moscow and Tallinn have
been trading barbs since Estonia last week moved a bronze statue of a
Red Army soldier - revered in Russia as a symbol of its huge
sacrifices in World War Two - from its spot in the centre of the
capital.
Estonia said the statue was a public order menace and focus for
Estonian and Russian nationalists. Many Estonians see the statue as a
reminder of 50 years of Soviet rule. Germany, holder of the European
Union's rotating presidency, said it was deeply concerned about the
row and by rolling protests by pro-Kremlin youth groups outside
Estonia's embassy in Moscow that diplomats there say amounts to a
blockade. The European Commission said it would send a delegation to
raise the matter with Moscow. Russia's foreign ministry said Estonia
was to blame for the protests. The protests, in their sixth day,
escalated sharply on Wednesday when a group of demonstrators stormed a
news conference shortly before Estonia's ambassador arrived. The
ambassador's bodyguards sprayed gas to disperse the protesters.
Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip spoke to German Chancellor Angela
Merkel about the protests in Moscow, his office said. "This is a
well-coordinated and flagrant intervention with the internal affairs
of Estonia," Ansip told parliament. "We have turned to the European
Union and we ask them to take immediate action. Attacking one member
state means an attack against the entire European Union," he added.
The dispute is likely to cast a cloud over an EU-Russia summit to be
held in Russia on May 18.
Russia sends a quarter of its oil products exports - including fuel
oil, diesel and gasoline - by rail to Estonia, from where it is
re-exported to northern Europe. A spokeswoman for Russian railways
denied there was any political motive to the disruption, but traders
said it was linked to the row with Estonia. "It was bound to happen,
given the recent political dispute," said a trader with a Russian
major. Russia has a track record of turning off the energy taps during
disputes with neighbors, though in each case it has cited technical or
commercial reasons. US Vice President Dick Cheney has accused the
Kremlin of using energy as a tool of "intimidation and blackmail." In
one of several cases, in 2005 Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine,
led by pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko. The cut-off briefly
disrupted deliveries to European customers.
Earlier on Wednesday, about 25 demonstrators shouting "shame on
Estonia!" and "fascism will not be allowed!" burst into the hall where
Estonian ambassador Marina Kaljurand was expected to speak to
reporters. At Estonia's embassy, another group of protesters mobbed
the Swedish ambassador's car and ripped off the flag as he tried to
drive off after visiting his Estonian counterpart, Swedish diplomats
said. Sweden's foreign ministry said it would be issuing Moscow with a
"strong protest" over the incident. A spokesman for Estonia's embassy
said the protests had forced it to close its consulate and it was
advising diplomats not to visit from Estonia. Russia's foreign
ministry said it would meet its commitments to safeguard the embassy.
But chief spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Russia was not to blame for
the protests. "Passions have been brought to the boil and we believe
the blame for that rests entirely with the Estonian side," he said.
Germany's ambassador to Moscow has made known the European Union's
misgivings over the growing diplomatic row between Russian and
Estonia, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said Wednesday. The ambassador
had presented a demarche in person in the name of the EU presidency,
currently held by Germany, the spokesman said. The European Commission
also expressed "deep concern" over the steadily worsening situation,
in which Estonia's embassy in Moscow has come under virtual siege.
Merkel had said Germany would do its best to ensure Russia adhered to
diplomatic norms, Kateriin Leini, a spokeswoman for the Estonian
government, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The European Commission
expressed its concern and urged the Russian government to fulfil its
obligations to protect foreign embassy staff. (chinadaily.com.cn,
eux.tv)
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
