USSRussia

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Russia promises 'protection' to occupied parts of Georgia

Moscow - Russia has strengthened its relations with Georgia's two breakaway regions, even as the Bush administration intensified its warnings that Russia was ''on a one-way path to self-imposed isolation and international irrelevance.''

The treaties also allow Russia to build military bases and to station additional troops in the two territories. Those steps, if carried out, would violate the European-brokered cease-fire

[I'm sure Russia's real worried about what Europe thinks: it's dependent on Russia for its energy]

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Russia threatens to seize swathe of Arctic

Moscow - President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia should unilaterally claim part of the Arctic, stepping up the race for the disputed energy-rich region.

"We must finalise and adopt a federal law on the southern border of Russia's Arctic zone," Mr Medvedev told a meeting of the Security Council, in remarks carried by Interfax news agency. "This is our responsibility, and simply our direct duty, to our descendents," he said.

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