Pour la Russie, l'Europe est, depuis des siècles, un pôle d'attraction qui a déterminé et qui continue de déterminer son identité civilisée. Pour l'Europe, la Russie est, à la fois, un défenseur et une menace, défenseur contre les hordes tataro-mongoles

Moscow and Minsk seem to have come to terms. Moscow has increased gas tariffs, and given Belarus a blessing of transition. It has also raised export duties for the oil pumped into Belarus and through it.

To begin with, I would like to sum up some developments. It has become obvious that the United States has lost Iraq, and that the situation there is quickly sliding down into a civil war, which will involve adjacent countries.