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Russia Wednesday marked the 67th anniversary of the end of WorldWar II, and this year s Soviet-style military parade on Red Squarewas held under the watchful eye of President Vladimir Putin, backin the Kremlin for a third term. Addressing the newly inaugurated president as "ComradeCommander-in-Chief," Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov declaredthe troops amassed on Red Square ready for the parade. Putin, flanked by his handpicked predecessor and newly confirmedPrime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, then watched as more than 14,000troops and military hardware passed by. In a brief speech, the president said the lessons of the SecondWorld War remain relevant. He said only strict adherence to international norms and respectfor national sovereignty can guarantee that tragedies of past warswill not be repeated. He also asserted the country's moral right todefend its international position because, in his words, Russiatook Nazism s main blow upon itself, [then] crushed the enemy andbrought about the liberation of the peoples of the world. In one of his first acts following his inauguration Monday, Putinsigned a decree stating that U.S.-Russian relations must be basedon equality, non-interference in internal affairs and respect formutual interests." He also called for "firm guarantees" that aplanned NATO missile shield would not be aimed against Russia. But what does Putin s return to power mean for the "reset" ofU.S.-Russian relations announced by the administration of U.S.President Barack Obama in early 2009? Masha Lipman of the Carnegie Moscow Center said the reset has had"undoubted achievements," including a new strategic arms reductiontreaty and an agreement allowing supplies for U.S. troops inAfghanistan to transit Russia. But, she said, with Putin back in the Kremlin it is unlikely theU.S.-Russian relationship will move from cooperation on a limitednumber of specific issues towards a "constructive partnership." "[Putin] has a sense that he shares with a majority in Russia thatAmerica would take advantage of Russia at every opportunity, thatAmerica is there to weaken Russia, do harm to Russia, take it forgranted," she said. "And I don't think with Putin in power thisdistrust can be overcome." Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, alsosaid Putin strongly distrusts the United States, but added that hisforeign policy, across the board, is likely to be "conservative." "Putin sees the world as an extremely dangerous, unpredictable,chaotic and uncontrollable place, in which any action can haveincomprehensible and uncontrollable consequences," he said,indicating that he thinks caution will be the Russian president swatchword. Pavel Baev, a research professor at the Peace Research Institute inOslo, Norway, said a mounting showdown between the government andRussian opposition could exacerbate tensions with the United Statesand other Western countries. "This sort of development objectively puts Putin on the course of akind of self-isolation [and] greater tension with the West,because, for the West, opposition forces in Russia [are] somethingvery sympathetic," he said. "For Putin, it is a mortal enemy withwhich he can fight, with which he will fight, tooth and nail. Putinwill have to use every instrument at his disposal, includingpresenting the whole thing as a plot by the West and the UnitedStates in particular." Tuesday the U.S. State Department said it was troubled by images ofRussian riot police mistreating protestors during Sunday s largeanti-government demonstration and by the subsequent arrests ofopposition activists. The State Department said it is alsoconcerned by reports of violence perpetrated against lawenforcement by a small group of protesters. U.S. and Russian leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines ofthe Group of Eight summit that U.S. President Barack Obama willhost at his presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, laterthis month. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Capacitive Touchscreen Tablet PC , Quad Core Processor Tablets Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Dual Core Tablet PC.
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