The president of Russia's Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has accused the United States of working to destroy Russia. According to Interfax news agency, Kadyrov says the US is trying to undermine the country by creating conflicts and tension in some regions of the North Caucasus. I like to call things by their proper names. The center is in America. And it is America that is working to undermine the sovereign Russian state. It's not the terrorists, not the Islamic radicals. It has nothing to do with Islam. They [the US] have invented this system. They are creating problems for Russia, they want to undermine Russia,” Kadyrov said in an interview posted on the official website of the Chechen president and Cabinet on Wednesday. The Chechen President has added that the US failed to undermine Russia through Chechnya and are now trying to do it through Dagestan and Ingushetia. “They have such a system: all kinds of public organizations that were set up to spread rumors and gossip, to stir people, as they know that it is possible to create problems for Russia in the Caucasus only on religious grounds. They are training and using top experts. Take the Arabs that are moving here – Yaser, Makhdan – they have been here for 14 years already. They speak Russian better than I do but do not know a single word in Chechen. They were perfectly trained. They don't take part in combat. They are intelligence officers. They are being provided for, they are guarded and financed. They have been sent to Russia to take part in subversive operations,” Kadyrov said. The situation in the North Caucasus remains complicated, with hundreds of terrorist-related crimes already committed in 2009. On Tuesday, President Medvedev chaired a Russian Security Council meeting in the region, devoted to fighting terrorism.
Greece said it won’t accept the British Museum’s conditions for allowing the Elgin Marbles, a collection of disputed ancient artworks, to go on display at the New Acropolis Museum. Culture Minister Antonis Samaras said the museum’s loan condition -- that Greece acknowledge the fifth-century B.C. antiquities as the property of the British Museum -- would be unacceptable to any Greek government. “Accepting this is tantamount to legitimizing the snatching of the marbles and the carving up of the monument 207 years ago,” Samaras said in an e-mailed statement. He said Greece would be willing to loan other antiquities to the British Museum “to fill the gap when the marbles are returned to the country they belong.” Successive U.K. governments have declared that the marbles will not be returned. The British Museum’s director, Neil MacGregor, said in a 2007 interview that objects in the collection could in theory be loaned for three or six months, though this would be impossible while the Greek government refuses to acknowledge that his trustees are the legal owners of the stones. The fifth-century B.C. frieze depicts gods, giants, people and centaurs in the annual Panathenaic procession.
President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias said on Thursday that he expected good news soon regarding the opening of a crossing point in Limnitis. Speaking after his 32nd meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, in the context of direct talks to solve the Cyprus problem, President Christofias said ''we had a good meeting today, we moved forward concerning Limnitis.'' ''We are not far from an agreement and I expect soon to have good news,'' he added. President Christofias said that during their meeting they expressed their views regarding territorial issues and that at their next meeting on Monday they will continue discussions on that issue and exchange views. He added that they moved forward on issues concerning the economy, noting that this chapter would be set aside and talks would move on to issues concerning territory. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. President Christofias and Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since Septmeber 2008, with an aim to reunite the island.
Cyprus said on Wednesday it would press on with offshore oil exploration, despite strong objections from Turkey, and would open new fields for hydrocarbon research by early next year. Industry Minister Antonis Paschalides told Reuters in an interview that Turkey's decision to send warships to the area last year had not deterred investors eager to search for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean. The first exploration deal was clinched with U.S. company Noble Energy, which has already found a large gas reservoir off nearby Israel. "The first round has been completed," he said. "We expect that around the end of this year, the beginning of next, we can proceed with the second licensing round." In 2007, Cyprus launched its first licensing round for hydrocarbons in 11 offshore blocks, most in deepwater locations, despite objections from Turkey, which invaded the north of Cyprus in 1974. Paschalides said Cyprus would continue to block EU aspirant Turkey's energy negotiations with Brussels as a result of this dispute and intended to open more areas for exploration in future. "How can Turkey stake claims and want to get into Europe, want to open the energy chapter, yet question the sovereign rights of an EU member state?," he said. "What will Turkey do? Go and attack U.S. research vessels?"
Lawyers say the winner of a landmark case that makes governments responsible for protecting women from domestic abuse is living in hiding, terrified that her ex-husband will hunt her down and kill her. In 2002, Nahide Opuz's ex-husband, Huseyin Opuz, shot and killed her mother in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir. Prior to that, he ran over the two women once with a car, and in a separate assault, stabbed Nahide Opuz seven times with a knife. Police detained the assailant after both incidents and then released him after fining him. Huseyin Opuz remains free after serving six years for the killing of his mother-in-law. Nahide Opuz won a case in the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday against the government of Turkey. The judges unanimously ruled that Turkish authorities failed to protect her and her mother from domestic violence. Nahide Opuz has refused requests for interviews, her lawyers said, because she was terrified she could be attacked again. "She is constantly on the run, she is changing her location," Mesut Bestas, her attorney, told CNN. "She is really happy about the decision. She said if this decision is going to contribute to women's rights, she will be happy." A court spokesman said this was the first time the court ruled a government had violated Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which prohibits discrimination in connection with a domestic abuse case. The Turkish government has three months to consider if it will appeal the European Court decision, said Burak Ozugergin, a spokesman for Turkey's foreign ministry. The ruling awards some 36,000 euros to Nahide Opuz. It also potentially puts the onus on governments to be more proactive in protecting women from domestic abuse and honor killings.
As the European Union's police mission in Kosovo finds its footing and the strength of the lightly armed Kosovo Security Force grows, NATO "can have a transition to the concept of a deterrent presence," allowing local forces to take responsibility, said German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung. "That would mean, in the first phase, that we would go from roughly 15,000 to 10,000 towards the end of the year," he added. NATO's peacekeeping mission, KFOR, has been in Kosovo since the alliance's air campaign against Serbia ended 10 years ago. Pressure to reduce its presence mounted in March when Spanish Defense Minister Charme Chacon told his country's 500 troops that they would soon be coming home. Spain is one of the few NATO countries that have not recognized Kosovo's independence, declared last year, making it difficult to support nation-building efforts. Other nations have also been calling for KFOR to be scaled back amidst pressure to move more troops to other areas of conflict like Afghanistan or the Gulf of Aden. The ministers are also scheduled to debate sending a new anti-piracy mission to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. The current NATO mission there was hastily organized in March and is set to sail home at the end of June.
Turkey's chief EU negotiator said on Thursday that if Turkey was going to release any regulations concerning the seminary issue, such action would not have any connection with the demands of the European Union (EU), USA and the Arab world. Speaking to reporters at the Turkish-Arab Economy Forum, Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU Talks Egemen Bagis said that the seminary issue should be considered as a domestic matter of Turkey. "If we are going to adopt any regulations regarding the seminary issue, this will have no connection with the EU process or the demands of Europe, USA or the Arab world. I think this should be considered as a domestic matter of Turkey," Bagis said. Noting that nearly 2,500 citizens of Greek-Orthodox origin lived in Turkey currently, Bagis said, "If our citizens have problems regarding their religious or educational needs, we will examine them and we will try to find solutions". "This is a matter that should be discussed in line with our Constitution. Turkey can discuss this issue and reach a decision, however, taking this action upon the demand of USA or Europe would be an injustice to our own citizens. I think it is not rational to relate this issue with Turkey's EU process either," Bagis said. Bagis also said that the seminary matter should not be associated with the Cyprus issue and it should be considered as a matter of human rights. (DO-CE)