APS Diplomat News Service articles from April 2004

APS Diplomat News Service archives from April 2004

Russia Under A Tzar-Like Putin Concentrates On The Economy & Hits OPEC On Oil Prices.
April 5, 2004... *** Collapse Of Of Arab Summit Plans On March 27 Was Followed By Al Ahram's Declaration: *** 'The Greater ME Initiative Moves From The Premise That The World Is Divided Into 2 State Categories: The Subject Of History Qualified To...

Russian Concern Over High Oil Prices.
April 5, 2004... On the eve of OPEC's March 31 ministerial meeting, the Russian energy ministry issued a statement saying: "We would welcome OPEC's decision (that) would calm down the market and bring the prices into the corridor acceptable both for producers...

Higher Duties For Russian Oil Exports.
April 5, 2004... Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on March 22 said Moscow will raise export duties for Russian oil companies and clamp down on tax avoidance schemes that cost the country billions of dollars in unpaid taxes. The move is to claw back some of the...

Khodorkovsky's Offer To Putin.
April 5, 2004... Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed Russian oil tycoon, got a 3,000-word article published on March 29 by the daily business newspaper Vedomosti in which he indirectly offered a deal with Putin. He lamented the decline of liberal democracy in...

North Africa Becomes Centre For Washington's Arab Democratisation Process:.
April 12, 2004... *** Chaos Could Ensue In The Gaza Strip If The PA Failed To Prepare For Israeli Pullout *** Sharon Hopes His April 14 Meeting With Bush Will Result In US OK For His Plan; The Palestinians Say This Is A Ruse To Take Most Of The West Bank...

The Libyan Model.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2004... In December 2003, after nine months of secret talks with the US and UK a days after Saddam was captured by American forces, Libyan ruler Qadhafi announced he was getting rid of WMD and switching to the Western camp. Then US and UK politicians...

NED's Work On The GMEI.
April 12, 2004... The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, whose first success in chipping away at the "evil empire" by backing the anti-communist Solidarity movement in Poland, now is focusing on the Middle East. It was at this...

Trying To Convince The Iraqis.
April 12, 2004... In the 11 months since US-led forces took Baghdad, the coalition has tried to persuade the Iraqi people that the invasion and ensuing promise of democracy are in their best interests. Many in Iraq still refuse to believe it, as the savage March...

Turkey Beats Inflation & Grows Closer To Meet EU Terms; But Europeans Have Doubts.
April 19, 2004... *** After Meeting Mubarak Apr 12 & Sharon Apr 14, Bush Promised Most WB Land To Israel & Tried To Kill The Palestinians' Right Of Return, Saying If They Want A State They Must Finish The Terrorists; But He's The 1st US President To Refer To The...

The Cyprus Position.(Brief Article)
April 19, 2004... The President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, said earlier this month he would vote against the UN plan for the island's re-unification. But Akel, the Communist Party which is the largest political group on the Greek side of the land, wants to...

Saudis Ponder Arab Force To Stabilise Iraq Vs GCC Concentration On Internal Insurgency.
April 26, 2004... *** The April 22 Riyadh Blast Means The Saudi Civil War Has Taken New Turn *** The Arabs Are Warned That, If They Fail To Help In Stabilising Iraq, Sharon Will Put Them In A Far More Embarrassing Position *** Conservatives In USA Are...

The UN Role & The GMEI Issue.
April 26, 2004... From the Arab standpoint, concerning Iraq, all will depend on the role the UN will have. The Riyadh source tells APS that, if the US makes "the mistake" of getting the UN role to be defined "in a way that would reduce it to a mere rubber stamp...

The Second Option - Concentrating On Internal Front.
April 26, 2004... The Saudi leadership is divided on the Iraq issue. A hardline faction represented by the Interior Minister, Prince Nayef Ibn Abdel Aziz, insists that Saudi Arabia and the other members of the GCC should keep away from Iraq and concentrate on...