11 May 2004 00:50
Russian pundit says country`s future not yet assured
There is a risk that Russia will be left behind by the developed world and join the ranks of failed states, Sergey
Karaganov, the deputy director of the Europe Institute, said today. Karaganov was speaking in an interview slot on Ekho
Moskvy radio.
"Incidentally, we find ourselves on the fence between the two. If we just stake our future on [natural]
resources and resurrecting old industrial sectors, and if we bury our head in the sand as we usually do, for example
over the demographic situation, we could end up in the group of countries that have been left behind once and for all.
We haven't yet made it past the line at which we will definitely be a state in the future," Karaganov
said.
Karaganov also said that Russia's desire to be a great power had positive and negative aspects. He said that
"a mass army is not needed at all". "Only the most backward African states need them," he said.
"If we are going to restore our might in this way, then Russia has no future as a great power," he said.
Karaganov also talked about Russian hostages in Iraq. He that the Russian government could order its citizens to
leave Iraq but it would be very difficult to enforce this order. He said that people working in Iraq were aware of the
risks there. Karaganov also said that the Russian Foreign Ministry had already advised Russians not to travel to
Iraq.
Karaganov said that there were many different organizations providing security services in Iraq. He added that the
coalition forces in Iraq had a moral responsibility to protect people there but no legal responsibility.
Karaganov also mentioned briefly the scandal surrounding the treatment of prisoners in Iraq. He said that man was a
dangerous animal and his worst traits came to the surface in war. However, he thought that the number of people
committing abuses in Iraq was relatively low.
[Ekho Moskvy radio] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
