The latest: Russia Urges Diplomatic Solution to Middle East Conflict, Ready to Send Peacekeepers

19.07.2006
Russia Urges Diplomatic Solution to Middle East Conflict, Ready to Send Peacekeepers
Diplomacy is the only way of settling the Middle East conflict, Russia’s defense minister said Wednesday. “The only way of resolving the Middle East conflict is by political and diplomatic means,” Sergei Ivanov told journalists in reply to a question on whether Russian peacekeepers might be sent to the area. “I do not see any other option.”

19.07.2006
Russia to Consider Economic Sanctions if Iran Fails to Respond — Lavrov
If Iran fails to respond to demands from the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Russia will be ready to discuss economic sanctions at the UN Security Council, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

19.07.2006
Russia Urges Integration of Hamas, Hezbollah Into Peaceful Politics
Hezbollah and Hamas should be integrated into peaceful politics, and third countries should not be blamed for the current Middle East crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

19.07.2006
Chechen Rebels Dismiss Russian Amnesty, Vow New Attacks
The leader of the Chechen rebels dismissed a Russian amnesty offer on Wednesday, saying attacks outside his home region would be his rebels’ answer to Moscow.

19.07.2006
Israel Beginning “Real War” in Middle East — Expert
While it looks like the war in the Middle East will continue, Russian academician and former Prime Minister Yevgeniy Primakov, a leading specialist on the Middle East, speaks about its possible consequences.

19.07.2006
Putin’s First Car to Adorn G8 Summit Museum
An old Ukrainian-made “Zaporozets,” which belonged to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be exhibited in St. Petersburg’s Konstantinopol’skiy Palace — the museum where the Group of Eight summit took place.

19.07.2006
Chechen President Urges Third Term for Putin
Chechen President Alu Alkhanov has proposed removing the provision banning the same person from being elected to the Russian presidency for more than two terms, from the Russian Constitution, German Vog, the Chechen presidential aide said Wednesday.

19.07.2006
Girl Survives Lightning Strike That Evaporated Gold Cross Pendant on Her Neck
A 16-year-old girl has survived a direct lightning strike. The gold cross pendant on a chain melted and evaporated from the girl’s neck.

19.07.2006
Leading HR Groups Demand Release of Activists Detained in Turkmenistan
Leading human rights groups have assailed Turkmenistan’s authoritarian leadership over the detention of three activists last month, expressing grave concerns regarding their treatment and calling for their immediate release.

19.07.2006
Kyrgyz Special Forces Arrest Uzbek Terrorist Suspects
Kyrgyz security forces have arrested five men accused of participating in organizing unrest in the Uzbek town of Andizhan last year, officials said on Wednesday.

19.07.2006
Russia Prepared to Conduct Nuclear Tests — Defense Minister
Russia is not conducting nuclear tests but remains prepared to do so at any time, the defense minister says.

19.07.2006
Gay Pride Parade Banned in Riga
Lawmakers in post-Soviet Latvia banned a gay pride march in Riga, scheduled for July 22. The government said it feared the march would result in violence on Riga streets, after local neo-Nazi groups and nationalists had threatened to distrupt the celebrations.

19.07.2006
Russia Offers Amnesty to Chechen Separatists
The head of Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, Nikolai Patrushev, has offered amnesty to Chechen separatists who lay down their weapons.

19.07.2006
Russia’s Health Ministry Lifts Gay Blood Ban
Russia’s Health Ministry has announced a plan to allow gay Russians to donate blood. Local gay rights activists hailed the move as being “the first positive news for gays from the Russian justice since 1993 when male homosexuality was decriminalized.”

19.07.2006
Hungarian Schoolchildren Offered Trip to Moscow for Best Knowledge of 1956 Uprising
Schoolchildren with the best knowledge of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, which was crushed by Soviet tanks, will win a trip to Moscow, Hungary’s education ministry said on Monday.

19.07.2006
Russia’s Failure to Identify Chechen Warlord Fuels New Speculations About Basayev’s Death
Russian investigators have failed to identify the alleged body of Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, because they do not have his fingerprints on file.

19.07.2006
Ukraine’s Pro-Yushchenko Bloc Moves Into Opposition
Ukraine’s new, pro-Russian parliamentary majority stepped closer to power Tuesday after pro-western President Viktor Yushchenko’s bloc dropped its challenges, paving the way for an awkward and potentially unfriendly co-habitation.