[I don’t trust Tony Blair. And I trust Putin even less. Both are Socialists. Note how Putin wants to strengthen the “Soviet States” and expects Britain’s help – which he will no doubt get.

I was saying a time ago, the real reason I believe the Socialists want Debt relief in Africa is not to “help the poor” as they claim, but to hurt the capitalists – in this case the Western Bankers. And here we see Putin… coming out in “support” of Tony Blair on this one!

Mandela… an old Communist himself… was the first one to propose the idea of doubling the aid to Africa to $50 billion per annum!

This is not about “helping the poor” – it is about stealing from, and hurting the West. These Socialists pretend to be all innocent… and furry… and cuddly… but they’re just a bunch of conniving liars. Jan]

VLADIMIR Putin has backed Tony Blair’s plans for the G8 nations to relieve African poverty and tackle climate change after the British Prime Minister conducted a charm offensive in the Russian capital.

Mr Blair sought to repair London’s frayed relations with Moscow by paying tribute to the heroism of the Red Army and the Russian people in resisting the Nazis.

In making amends for what was seen as a snub when he did not attend VE-Day commemorations in Red Square last month, he was rewarded with support for his proposals for debt write-offs in Africa at the G8 summit next month.

Mr Putin even found time to criticise the failure of the US to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as he helped increase momentum for a British-led deal on climate change.

After two hours of talks, Mr Putin declared: “We fully support the ideas put forward by the Prime Minister regarding the agenda for the upcoming G8 summit.

“As far as Africa is concerned … the issue of financial assistance and the write-off of debt, these processes should be carried out in parallel with the development of democracy in these states and the enhancement of proper institutions.”

Mr Putin made clear that he expected Britain in return to support his own plans to revitalise former Soviet states when Russia takes over the presidency of the G8 next year.

He added: “For Britain it is important to address the situation in African countries.

“It is equally important for us to address the situation in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries … We do not always have easy relations with the CIS countries but they want our support and the support of the international community.”

Mr Putin mentioned Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Georgia as in need of particular G8 attention for economic and democratic reforms, but rejected comparisons between Africa and the former Soviet states.

“We all know that African countries used to have a tradition of eating their adversaries. We do not have such a tradition or practice and I believe a comparison between Africa and Russia is not quite just.”

The two leaders seemed determined to put behind them a difficult 18 months that followed Mr Putin’s pointed remarks in London on the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and Britain’s act of providing a haven for the tycoon Boris Berezhovsky and the Chechen rebel Akhmed Zakayev, both sought by Russia.

Mr Blair and Mr Putin agreed to meet in London in October for talks. Mr Blair expressed confidence that his aims for the G8 summit were on course. “There is a real prospect of progress on Africa and on climate change. There is obviously still a lot of hard negotiation to do,” he said.

Mr Blair’s reception in Paris, where he was expected after the Moscow visit, was set to be far icier, after the Prime Minister accused Jacques Chirac of living in the past, and the French President refused to hold a joint press conference.

Mr Blair and Mr Chirac’s confrontation comes as the fallout from the French and Dutch rejections of the European Union constitution begins to threaten EU policies across the board.

Ministers shelved plans to press on with the treaty ratification process, Britain intends to use its EU presidency to demand a radical overhaul of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), and several member states have begun questioning the pace of EU enlargement before Turkish membership talks.

Mr Chirac’s move over the press briefing was an unprecedented rebuff for a visiting prime minister. But Mr Blair eschewed diplomatic niceties by directly attacking the French leader’s intransigence.

He accused Mr Chirac, by focusing attention on Britain’s pound stg. 3billion ($7billion) annual EU rebate, of closing his ears to the message from his voters when they rejected the constitution.

The Times

Source: The Australian
URL: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/s…/p>