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 Ukraine
UKRAINE News:
20080613
 John
McCain -  Rick
Davis -  Foreign
-  Money
-  Politician
-  Law
- Ukraine
-  Russia
-  US
-  2008
Election
"Alleged
Russia Ties Entangle McCain Campaign Manager." ...
"[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential
campaign is blasting a New
York Times report suggesting that the candidate may have known since
2005 that his campaign manager's [lobbying] firm worked for a Kremlin[citadel
in Moscow, Russia's capital]-backed politician." ... "The McCain campaign
is strongly denying the paper's reporting that in 2005, a White House National
Security Council staffer called John McCain's Senate office to complain
that Rick Davis' lobbying firm was "undercutting American policy on Ukraine"
by representing a Kremlin-backed politician [Ukrainian politician Viktor
Yanukovich]." ... "If the account of the NSC [National Security Council]
staffer's call is true, it suggests McCain should have known about the
work by Davis' business -- but installed him as campaign manager anyway."
... "The story also raises the possibility that Davis' firm may have violated
the anti-espionage Foreign Agents Registration Act, by failing to register
work for Yanukovich with the [United States] U.S. government." -By
Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
20080612
John
McCain - Rick
Davis -  Paul
J Manafort Jr - Foreign
- Money
- Politicians
- Russia
- Ukraine
-  Military
-  Intelligence
- Legislation
-  History
-  Germany
- US
-  New
York - 2008
Election
"Lawmakers
Seek to Close Foreign Lobbyist Loopholes." ... "Loopholes
that lobbyists for foreign clients sometimes use to keep their activities
under wraps would be closed under legislation that two Democratic senators
are expected to offer on Thursday." ... "“The idea you could lobby an American
citizen and that it would not be disclosed is really very troubling,” [New
York Democratic Senator Charles] Mr. Schumer said in a telephone interview."
... "The issue of foreign lobbying has flared up in the current presidential
campaign because of past dealings abroad by several former lobbyists working
for Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee." ... "For instance,
a lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, has worked
in recent years for a Ukraine politician, Viktor Yanukovich. Both Mr. McCain
and the [Republican President] Bush administration supported the opponent
of Mr. Yanukovich, who had close ties to Vladimir V. Putin, then the president
of Russia and now prime minister." ... "During this time, however, Mr.
Davis’s firm, Davis Manafort, never registered as a lobbyist for Mr. Yanukovich
even though Paul Manafort, Mr. Davis’s business partner, had met with the
United States ambassador in Kiev [Ukraine's capital] on Mr. Yanukovich’s
behalf." ... "In a related development, Mr. McCain may have first become
aware of Davis Manafort’s activities in Ukraine as far back as 2005. At
that time, a staff member at the National Security Council called Mr. McCain’s
Senate office to complain that Mr. Davis’s lobbying firm was undercutting
American foreign policy in Ukraine, said a person with direct knowledge
of the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity." ... "Such a call
might mean that Mr. McCain has been long aware of Mr. Davis’s foreign clients."
... "The current law governing foreign lobbying, the Foreign Agents Registration
Act, requires those representing a foreign government or foreign officials
in the United States to inform the Department of Justice. The act does
not cover meetings abroad with United States officials." ... "The law was
enacted in the late 1930s in an effort to flush out Nazi propagandists
working in the United States. As a result, several experts have said, the
law is outdated and fails to reflect the current global nature of lobbying.
" -By Barry Meier -NYTimes
John
McCain - Rick
Davis - Paul
J Manafort Jr - Foreign
- Money
- Politicians
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Military
- Intelligence
- Legislation
- History
- Germany
- US
- New
York - 2008
Election
"Lawmakers
Seek to Close Foreign Lobbyist Loopholes." ... "Loopholes
that lobbyists for foreign clients sometimes use to keep their activities
under wraps would be closed under legislation that two Democratic senators
are expected to offer on Thursday." ... "“The idea you could lobby an American
citizen and that it would not be disclosed is really very troubling,” [New
York Democratic Senator Charles] Mr. Schumer said in a telephone interview."
... "The issue of foreign lobbying has flared up in the current presidential
campaign because of past dealings abroad by several former lobbyists working
for Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee." ... "For instance,
a lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, has worked
in recent years for a Ukraine politician, Viktor Yanukovich. Both Mr. McCain
and the [Republican President] Bush administration supported the opponent
of Mr. Yanukovich, who had close ties to Vladimir V. Putin, then the president
of Russia and now prime minister." ... "During this time, however, Mr.
Davis’s firm, Davis Manafort, never registered as a lobbyist for Mr. Yanukovich
even though Paul Manafort, Mr. Davis’s business partner, had met with the
United States ambassador in Kiev [Ukraine's capital] on Mr. Yanukovich’s
behalf." ... "In a related development, Mr. McCain may have first become
aware of Davis Manafort’s activities in Ukraine as far back as 2005. At
that time, a staff member at the National Security Council called Mr. McCain’s
Senate office to complain that Mr. Davis’s lobbying firm was undercutting
American foreign policy in Ukraine, said a person with direct knowledge
of the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity." ... "Such a call
might mean that Mr. McCain has been long aware of Mr. Davis’s foreign clients."
... "The current law governing foreign lobbying, the Foreign Agents Registration
Act, requires those representing a foreign government or foreign officials
in the United States to inform the Department of Justice. The act does
not cover meetings abroad with United States officials." ... "The law was
enacted in the late 1930s in an effort to flush out Nazi propagandists
working in the United States. As a result, several experts have said, the
law is outdated and fails to reflect the current global nature of lobbying.
" -By Barry Meier -NYTimes
20080525
-
John
McCain - Rick
Davis -
 Criminal
-  Government
- Money
- Politics
- Foreign
- Military
-  Satellite
- Imagery
-  Technology
-  Israel
- Ukraine
- Russia
-  Switzerland
-  Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election - "Lobbying
labyrinth in McCain camp." ... "Rick Davis, the manager
of [Arizona Republican] Senator John McCain's [2008 Election] presidential
campaign, is a typical Washington insider in many ways, having long worked
as both a lobbyist and a political operative along the intersection of
politics, policy and money." ... "Take Davis's involvement with one of
his lesser-known lobbying clients, an Israeli company, Imagesat, which
sells satellite imagery. Along with lobbying for it, Davis became a consultant
to a private investment firm that had a financial
stake in it. That connection opened the door for him to get in on the ground
floor of other investments made by the firm, Pegasus Capital Advisors."
... "... Davis's business partner, Paul Manafort
[of the Davis Manafort lobbying firm], has met with the United States ambassador
in Ukrain e, a time when he was advising Viktor Yanukovich,
that country's onetime prime minister, a State Department official said.
Yanukovich's party was opposed by both the [Republican President] Bush
administration and McCain because it was closely tied to Vladimir Putin
[Russia's former President]." ... "Davis Manafort
received $120,000 from late 2004 to mid-2005 to lobby for Imagesat on both
defense and domestic security issues. Davis and Christian Ferry,
now McCain's deputy campaign manager, were the two lobbyists on the project,
the records show." ... "Along with his work as a lobbyist, Davis at the
time was also drawing a salary as the part-time president of the Reform
Institute, a Washington group that McCain helped found to reduce "the influence
of special interests" in politics and government." ... "In November 2005,
Pegasus bought a stake in a company called Traxys, which trades in industrial
metals." ... "In January 2006, just two months later, the subject of metals
trading came up in association with a social meeting Davis helped arrange
near Davos, Switzerland. At that meeting, first reported by The Washington
Post, McCain met the Russian aluminum magnate, Oleg Deripaska, who has
been barred from entering the United States apparently because of alleged
criminal ties." (1, 2)
-By Barry Meier with contributions by Kate Zernike
and Andrew E. Kramer -NYTimes
via -IHT.com
20080125
-
John
McCain - Rick
Davis - Russian
- Crime
- Money
- Politics
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
-
 Canada
-  Britain
- Lawsuits
-  Ga
-  NH
-  Virginia
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - US
- International
- "Aide
Helped Controversial Russian Meet McCain: Davis,
Then a Lobbyist, Has Spurred Debate in Reform-Focused Campaign." ... "A
top political adviser in [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign helped
arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire
whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are
so controversial that the U.S. [United States] government revoked his visa."
... "Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the
encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in
[World Economic Summit at Davos] Switzerland during an international economic
conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking
to do business with the billionaire." ... "With a net worth of more than
$13 billion, Deripaska is one of the richest men in Russia and a close
ally of President Vladimir Putin." ... "When Deripaska met McCain, Davis
was part of Davis Manafort, a lobbying firm that was being paid to provide
political advice to pro-Russian and oligarch-funded candidates in Ukraine,
according to interviews and news accounts." ... "Davis, who has been a
political adviser to McCain on and off since 1999, was part of a lobbying
firm that worked not only for Ukrainian politicians but also for telecommunications
firms, a lottery services provider and freight companies." ... "Davis's
firm provided political advice to a pro-Russian party in Ukraine during
the parliamentary elections of 2006." ... "He [Oleg Deripaska] has been
accused of shady business practices in lawsuits in the United States and
Britain, and his multiple-entry U.S. visa was yanked by the State Department
in the summer of 2006." ... "The first gathering that brought McCain and
Deripaska together occurred in January 2006, when McCain was part of a
congressional delegation trip. He and a small group of senators, including
[Georgia Republican Senator] Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.[Republican-Georgia])
and [New Hampshire Republican Senator] John E. Sununu (R-N.H.[Republican-New
Hampshire]), met for a drink near Davos, Switzerland, at an apartment where
they were greeted by Davis and Deripaska. The group then went to a dinner
at the ski chalet of Peter Munk, founder of Barrick Gold, the world's largest
gold-mining company, based in Toronto [Canada]. Participants at the buffet
dinner said Munk complimented his sometime business partner Deripaska during
his brief remarks to the 40 or so guests." ... "Later that month, Deripaska
wrote to Davis and his partner, GOP political consultant Paul J. Manafort,
to thank them for arranging the meeting. "Thank you so much for setting
up everything in Klosters so spectacularly," he wrote. "It was very interesting
to meet Senators McCain, Chambliss and Sununu in such an intimate setting.""
... "The letter was sent to Davis at the Reform Institute, a Virginia-based
nonprofit group that McCain helped start to promote many of his trademark
reform efforts, including increasing the transparency of lobbying and campaign
financing." ... "Davis was the institute's president from January 2003
until December 2005. During that time, he was also a registered lobbyist
at Davis Manafort. The institute was located at the Davis Manafort offices
until January 2006." ... "Seven months later, in August 2006, Davis was
present again at a social gathering that was also attended by McCain and
Deripaska, this time in Montenegro, another Eastern European country in
which Davis's firm was working." (1,
2,
3)
-By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and John Solomon with contributions
by Peter Baker -WashingtonPost
20060104
-
Russia
- Ukraine
- Business
- Politics
-
 EU
- "Russia
and Ukraine reach gas agreement." ... "Russia and
Ukraine reached a gas agreement on Wednesday after a damaging pricing dispute
in which Moscow cut off supplies via the Kiev pipeline, hitting supplies
to European consumers." ... "Alexei Miller, chief executive of Gazprom,
the Russian energy company, said the five year deal, effective from January
1, would be based on a price of $230 per 1,000 cubic metres and would "ensure
stable supplies to Europe"." ... "About a quarter of Europe's gas comes
from Russia and up to 90 per cent of that travels through Ukraine." -Contributed
to by Robert Anderson, Neil Buckley, and Sarah Laitner -FT.com
via -MSN
20051230
-
Ukraine
- Russia
- EU
- "Ukraine
rejects Moscow gas loan offer." ... "President Viktor
Yushchenko of Ukraine last night rejected an offer of a $3.6bn (£2bn)
loan from Russia to pay for a big increase in gas prices by Gazprom, the
Russian energy company." ... "The move has provoked the biggest rift between
the two neighbours since last year's "Orange Revolution" in Kiev. Mr Yushchenko
has turned Ukraine towards the European Union and Nato and wrenched it
out of Russia's orbit." ... "The dispute could cause shortages in western
Europe if Russia carries out a threat to reduce the gas it pumps into the
huge export pipeline that crosses Ukraine from January 1. By doing so,
however, Russia would risk damaging its claim to be a reliable energy supplier,
just as it takes over the presidency of the Group of Eight industrialised
nations with energy security as a main theme." -By
Neil Buckley -FT.com
-
Ukraine
- "Turkmenistan
agrees to export 40 bln cu m gas to Ukraine in 2006."
-AFXNews via -Forbes
20051229
-
Russia
- Political
- Business-
"Russia
threatens to cut off Ukraine's gas." ... "Ukraine's
natural gas company declared Thursday that it has enough gas in storage
to see the country through the winter if Russia halts shipments in a standoff
over prices." ... "Russia's state-run natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, which
provides about a third of the gas used in Ukraine, says it will stop selling
gas to the country on Jan. 1 unless it agrees to a fourfold price increase."
... "Ukraine currently pays $50 (U.S.) per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. Gazprom
is demanding that the price in 2006 rise to $220 to $230, saying that is
more in line with world markets." -By Henry Meyer
-AP via -GlobeAndMail
20051110
-
 Azerbaijan
-  Georgia
-  People
- "Cautious
protest in Azerbaijan: An opposition protest of election
results occurred peacefully Wednesday. Another is planned for Saturday."
... "Thousands of protesters marched Wednesday to demand a replay of Sunday's
parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, which international observers have
judged badly tainted by voter coercion and ballot-fixing." ... ""I want
to live in a democratic country. It's our last chance," said Samir Hussein,
a businessman who joined 15,000 opposition supporters who marched peacefully,
as 500 or more riot police looked on, through a Baku suburb. "If we lose
our chance today, we will never get freedom."" ... "Azeri opposition leaders
are hoping to harness popular outrage over the flawed election to force
authorities into staging the voting again - with more democratic conditions.
Roses and orange banners betrayed the source of their inspiration: the
peaceful revolutions that brought democratic change to Georgia and Ukraine
in the past two years, following similar official attempts to rig results."
-By Daria Vaisman with contributions by Fred Weir
-CSMonitor
20050422
-
-
- "NATO
acts to open door for Ukraine." ... "NATO acted officially
on Thursday to open discussions with Ukraine, a former partner of Russia,
to become a member of the Atlantic military alliance, while Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice met with opposition leaders favoring the ouster
of the Russian-backed regime in Belarus." ... "Rice, who previously had
declared that Belarus was the last dictatorship in Europe, warned bluntly
that it should not conduct a "sham election" next year because its conduct
would be "watched by the international community," much as the election
in Ukraine last year had been watched and deemed fraudulent, helping to
lead to its revolution." -By Steven R. Weisman
-NYTimes via -IHT.com
20040420
-
-
- 
- 
- 
- 
-
- "Powell
urges coalition leaders to keep troops in Iraq."
... "Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the U.S.-led coalition
in Iraq remains strong despite decisions by Spain and Honduras to pull
out their troops. Later, the Dominican Republic announced that it also
would withdraw its troops." ... "Powell told reporters that leaders of
13 coalition countries with whom he spoke by telephone Monday and Tuesday
"all expressed steadfast support" for their respective troop commitments."
... "Among the leaders Powell spoke with was Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai." ... "In addition to Surakiart, Powell spoke with leaders
of El Salvador, Dominica, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria,
Holland, Romania, the Philippines and Ukraine." -By
George Gedda -AP
via -SFGate.com
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