• Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany, on Russia and United States • Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, on the Sharm el-Sheik peace-summit • Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on State of the Union address Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany, on Russia and United States There is
• Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany, on Russia and United States
• Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, on the Sharm el-Sheik peace-summit
• Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on State of the Union address
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany, on Russia and United States
There is plenty to suggest that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov must be longing to have Colin Powell back after this weekend.
The Russian met in Ankara with his new colleague from Washington, Condoleezza Rice, and — despite the “open and friendly atmosphere” that Lavrov routinely speaks of — she brought up a whole series of unpleasant points: the Yukos affair, press freedom and the dubious state of Russian democracy in general.
If there were any doubts, they have now been dispelled — President George W. Bush is not sparing Russia in the missionary campaign for democracy that he is determined to conduct in his second term.
Bush’s meeting with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin in Bratislava Feb. 24 … promises to be interesting.
The two presidents will have to clarify how much or little remains of their alliance within the anti-terror alliance.
In Ankara, Rice set the tone: the United States is not prepared to be silent about things it doesn’t like in the interests of a “strategic partnership” that is in any case vague. …
Bush and Rice distrust Putin, and they are now making little secret of it.”
Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, on the Sharm el-Sheik peace summit
The world’s sights today shift to Egypt where the first summit meeting between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in years is held. When Egypt made the invitation to host the parley, the world reacted with applause, hoping that the summit, at the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik, will infuse life into the regional peace process.
The summit coincides with a renewed American commitment to reviving Middle East peacemaking. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is currently on her first tour in the Middle East since taking the job. President George W. Bush and senior officials in his administration have pledged tangible support for helping Palestinian and Israeli leaders make peace. This marks a reversal of the U.S. aloofness of Bush’s first term. The United States is ready to monitor a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire likely to be announced in today’s conference.
In the lead-up to Sharm el-Sheik, Israel unveiled a host of confidence-building measures, including the release of some prisoners and handover of five West Bank towns. These measures have to be expanded.
Chances are high that today’s gathering will herald a new stage for regional peace hopes. It remains to be seen how these hopes will be fulfilled on the ground.
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on State of the Union address
All (Bush’s) goals hinge on the out-come of the war in Iraq. To ensure his place in history, he should take a long hard look at reality.
Second-term U.S. presidents are said to want to make sure their names go down in history. We believe this partly explains Bush’s stated resolve to bring “democracy” to the Middle East.
Fixing Social Security is another major task. Bush’s proposal to introduce “voluntary personal retirement accounts” to this 1930s system suggested his eagerness to stick to the neoconservative philosophy of small government.
But no matter how much he may stress domestic reforms, their future will be affected by developments in Iraq.
The longer U.S. troops remain, the more military expenditures will bloat, which in turn will effectively nullify Bush’s pledge to slash the federal deficit by half during his presidency. …
Bush’s words are lofty when he voices his ideals, but the realization of these ideals depends on whether he can properly conclude and reach a settlement in the Iraq war, which he initiated.
