La questione "Bering".

[ulver81 (POL)]

Dopo l'accordo fantoccio siglato da Shevarnadze nel 1990, uno dei peggiori politicanti dell'Urss agonizzante di quei tempi, ecco tornare alla ribalta una questione spinosa:



Russia: Igor Ivanov Criticized for Alleged Role in Bering Sea Agreement

BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union, 2007-07-09




Text of an article by Igor Pravdin, "Geography// Triangle of Discord", published in the Russian newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets on 5 July:
Why Did Russia Give Away the Bering Sea?
Russian scientists recently made an important discovery: it turns out that the Lomonosov Ridge is an integral part of our country's continental shelf. Consequently, Russia has the right to claim this territory. Thus, the area taken up by the Russian Federation may be immediately increased by the size of two Frances.
Of course, we still have to prove our claims at the UN. It is unlikely that neighbouring countries will cede such a huge expanse that easily, even if it is underwater. What is clear: on the continental shelf there are significant deposits of oil, gas, diamonds, gold, platinum... There is something to fight for. But Russian scientists and diplomats are firmly convinced they can win: the proof that the Lomonosov Ridge belongs to Russia is irrefutable.
We can only rejoice for our country - we will finally acquire some natural resources. Since prior to this, we mainly just lost them. And not only in the form of oil, gas and timber uncontrollably exported abroad, but also in the form of small territories.
Few people know that 17 years ago, on 1 June 1990, the Soviet Union let the United States have more than 47 thousand (!) of its square metres free of charge. The Americans got not only the rich fishing districts of the Bering Sea but also a significant section of the continental shelf, including promising sections of the Navarinskoye and Aleutskoye oil and gas basins. This occurred as a result of the conclusion of the Shevardnadze-Baker agreement.
History of the Matter
Until 1867, the Bering Sea was seen as part of the Russian Empire. Our land surrounded it on all sides: Chukotka and Kamchatka in the West and Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the East and South. But in 1867, Aleksandr II sold some of the Russian colonies to the North American States. The deal was worth 7.2 million dollars. The agreement was officially drawn up by the convention of 18 (30) March 1867.
In line with the convention, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands became American forever. The sea border between the two countries was established along the meridian corresponding to 168 degrees longitude West. This line was fairly relative -it was designated in the Bering Sea as a general "south-west direction".
Such a situation was preserved for more than one hundred years - until the 1970s. In 1976-1977, states which had coastal territory started to actively establish 200-mile fishing zones (1 mile = 1.7 kilometres) which then started to be considered their exclusive economic territories. The USSR and America introduced their own 200- mile sea borders on 1 March 1977. The issue of the Bering Sea also arose at that time - there needed to be a demarcation where the two zones were superimposed on one another.
It was decided to adopt as a basis the line established by the 1867 convention. But it immediately became clear that the Soviet and American sides had different views on how the boundary should be "drawn". Russian geographers suggested drawing it along the loxodrome (lines between two points on a plane) while the shrewd Yankees wanted to draw it along the orthodrome (lines between two points on a sphere). As a result of which, the Americans would gain an "extra" piece of sea area of 15 thousand square miles, which was rich in fish resources.
In connection with this, the USSR government made a verbal declaration on 24 February 1977: "...in the section passing to the United States, the USSR fishing fleet catches around 150 thousand tonnes of fish, including: 100 of pollock, 20-30 of herring, five of cod, four-five of halibut and three thousand tonnes of plaice. Taking the above into account, the Soviet side expects the American side to take into account the size of catches lost by our vessels in this region when allocating general fishing quotas for Soviet fishing vessels".
For several years (until 1981), America meticulously granted fishing quotas in the disputed triangle of the Bering Sea to Soviet fishing vessels. But then, in connection with the introduction of sanctions against the USSR connected with the Afghan events, the compensation ceased. Extremely cool relations set in between the two countries and the question of the division of the Bering Sea was frozen.
What Price Our Motherland?
They returned to it only in 1990. A troubled time began in the country, but relations with its former "probable opponent" improved rapidly. With all the noise about glasnost and perestroika, the Americans started to push forward the idea of a definitive division of the Barents Sea. On the instructions of the then foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, an agreement was prepared On the Demarcation Line for the Sea Space between the USSR and the United States. Igor Ivanov, who was at that time a high-ranking employee in the Foreign Ministry, more or less, Shevardnadze's right-hand man, was in charge of it. On the American side, Secretary of State James Baker dealt with the issue personally. The agreement was initially disadvantageous to the Soviet Union - its 200-mile zone "was cut" in individual sections to 170-180 miles and the American zone was correspondingly increased - to 220-230 miles. Nevertheless, the document was signed on 1 June 1990.
What did the Shevardnadze-Baker agreement bring to the USSR and America?
Our country basically lost. In addition to region A, handed over to the Americans back in 1977, a section 7.7 thousand square metres in area was ceded to them - the eastern special B district. In exchange, the USSR gained region D - less than two thousand square kilometres. A region as vast as the open section of the Bering Sea (V) - 46.3 thousand square kilometres - went to America. The USSR gained region G in return - just 4.6 thousand square kilometres.
Simple arithmetic shows that the Americans won from this exchange, and quite a lot. Firstly, they gained sea territories rich in fish for their use. According to data from the Russian FSB border service's news and analysis administration, at least 150 thousand tonnes can be caught in these sections every year. Their value is in excess of 80 million US dollars. Multiply that by 17 years and you get 1.36 billion bucks. And those are just the direct losses from fish "not caught".
But, secondly, there are also more substantial losses. The Americans achieved a shift of the border in their favour in the region of the rich and promising Navariskoye and Aleutskoye oil and gas fields. And these are now strategic losses. After all, reserves of gas in the Navarinskiy Basin alone comprise over 1.2 billion cubic metres, according to the estimates of the Americans themselves.
The USSR lost very rich natural larders and the United States gained (and moreover practically for nothing!) significant fish resources and great oil and gas fields. You may recall: Tsar Aleksandr II, who is still remembered for the sale of Alaska, ceded a completely wild and unpromising (at that time or course) territory for 7.2 million dollars. A huge sum! Our diplomats, without a second's hesitation, gave away vast amounts of Russian territory just like that. In general terms, friendship, chewing gum, Gorbachev...
The question arises: how could this happen? Apparently, neither Eduard Shevardnadze nor Igor Ivanov are small children, they are experienced diplomats and politicians... They could not help but realize that this agreement was not to the country's advantage. But nevertheless, they entered into it. Why? This question still remains open.
The Americans, of course, immediately ratified the agreement. The USSR Supreme Soviet fortunately refused to do so. Shevardnadze and Secretary of State Baker then exchanged notes, on the basis of which a temporary procedure for the operation of the document was introduced. It is still continuing to this day, for more than 17 years now.
America considers the contentious territory its own and is actively assimilating it - in both the economic and the military sphere. This district is literally crammed full of Yankee warships. And if our schooners from force of habit enter the waters "given away", they are immediately impounded. This happened repeatedly in 1999-2001. The American coast guard detained Russian shipping boats for allegedly violating the 200-mile economic zone. Although there was not actually any violation: the agreement was not ratified on the Russian side and, consequently, was not recognized.
Portrait of a Minister in the Interior
There are a lot of strange things in the Shevardnadze-Baker agreement. But what is "strange" ceases to seem so if you carefully size up the figure who prepared it - Igor Ivanov. "Strange things" have accompanied his entire career.
Igor Ivanov was born in Moscow on 23 September 1945. He graduated from the Moris Thorez MGPIIYa [Moscow State Pedagogical Institute for Foreign Languages] with a degree in "Foreign Languages and Literature". He is fluent in Spanish and English.
He started his career at the USSR Academy of Sciences' Institute for the International Workers' Movement, but several years later changed his academic career for a diplomatic one: he gained the post of second secretary at the first European department of the USSR Foreign Ministry in 1973. A little earlier, he had succeeded in marrying Yekaterina Kozyreva, the daughter of a major Foreign Ministry official. After four years, the young diplomat got an appointment in Spain, first as a senior engineer at the trade mission, then as first secretary to the USSR embassy. Igor Sergeyevich's career developed rapidly: adviser, adviser-envoy...
Ivanov returned to Moscow in 1984 and started his ascension of the career ladder in the Foreign Ministry apparatus. He soon became a ministerial aide, deputy head, then first deputy and finally, head of the Foreign Ministry general secretariat. Note, that at this time his father-in-law, Semen Kozyrev, occupied the post of deputy foreign minister responsible for personnel.
There is also another interesting fact to which should be noted. The rapid take-off in Ivanov's career occurred during the era of Eduard Shevardnadze's ministerial rule. Here it should be recalled that Igor Sergeyevich's mother - whose maiden name is Yelena Sagirashvili - is from the small town of Tianeti not far from Tbilisi. And Georgians never forget their own...
In 1991, Igor Ivanov returned to Spain - already a fully-fledged ambassador. He spent two years on the Pyrenean Peninsula and then again left for a promotion in the Foreign Ministry central apparatus: he became Russian first deputy foreign minister in 1993 and minister in 1998. Ivanov stayed in this high post until March 2004 and then he moved smoothly to the chair of secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, where he still is today.
Finance and Romance
Generally speaking, whatever way you look at it, this is a glittering diplomatic career, one that you can only dream of. And even the fact that a powerful father-in-law probably helped the young man in his ascent, does not seem unusual: it is not the first case and is far from the last. Something else is strange. According to generally accepted Foreign Ministry practice, a diplomat does not usually stay in one foreign country for more than four years. Igor Ivanov, if you add it up, served in responsible posts in Spain for a much longer total.
Over this time, it is difficult not to acquire the necessary connections, moreover, not only among diplomats, politicians and officials but also among local businessmen. This evidently proved useful later under conditions of the emerging Russian capitalism.
According to rumours, which circulate persistently, including on the Internet, Ivanov's wife Yekaterina Kozyreva has a relationship with certain Spanish commercial enterprises - a casino, retail and entertainment centres etc. Of course, this is not officially reported anywhere.
Of course, no one can ban the wife of a diplomat from engaging in commerce. Such are the times we live in... But who will believe that her husband has nothing to do with it? And if he is a high-ranking official then several questions may arise as well. There are other strange things too.
In the summer of 2003, the Russian Federation Comptroller's Commission organized an audit of the foreign Ministry's financial activities. And it immediately made serious reprimands. The statement by N. I. Loktionov, the auditor of the Comptroller's Commission, speaks directly of having uncovered "the most flagrant infringements by the Russian Foreign Ministry of the federal law and other legislative and regulatory acts of the Russian Federation and the non-targeted and ineffective expenditure of funds".
In particular, consular duties levied on the territory of the Russian Federation should be paid into public funds, in their entirety. But in 2002, more than 441 million roubles (two-thirds of the total sum of state duty) were found in the Russian Foreign Ministry's central reserve accounts. The minister, of course, knew nothing about it.
And what does it cost to refurbish a sauna at the official Meshchereno residence! An entire palace could have been renovated for what was spent on it, and ten Finnish steam rooms could have been built!
Another case concerns the "advantageous" leasing of a residence. At one time, this elite home was provided by Gorbachev to Foreign Minister Shevardnadze as his permanent residence. And Ivanov, of course, again knew nothing about this lease.
However, when the results of the audit got into the hands of journalists, Igor Sergeyevich started to act heatedly. He immediately sent a letter to Sergey Stepashin, the head of the Comptroller's Commission, with the categorical demand that "an official investigation be carried out" and that it be explained how documents compromising his department had turned up in the media.
Catch Fish...
Of course, none of these facts taken separately have anything directly to do with the notorious Shevardnadze-Baker agreement. But together they may testify to certain qualities of the former foreign minister. Ivanov could not actually help but have something to do with the documents on the agreement. And he should have understood what advantage the Americans would gain from the agreement and what losses our country would incur. But he did nothing to prevent its signing. Although he occupied a significant post and had direct access to Shevardnadze. Or did he not want to spoil his glittering career?
Just think, some 47 thousand square kilometres ... Our country is big, a lot will still be left. We can continue the work. The Japanese, for example, lay claim to the Kuril Islands and the Estonians to part of Pskov Oblast...
Shevardnadze has not been in business for a long time now, he is living the life of an ordinary pensioner. Igor Ivanov has also moved to a calmer post. And the Americans continue to catch fish in our former territorial waters and are preparing to extract shelf oil and gas for subsequent sale to the Japanese. And all of this is in line with the Shevardnadze-Baker agreement. (c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved

[RUS]

un piccolo riassunto?

[ulver81 (POL)]

un piccolo riassunto?

In parole povere: il signor Ivanov non è più disposto a tollerare la supremazia e l'esclusività nell'area dello stretto di Bering da parte degli yankee, sia per quanto riguarda la pesca, sia per quanto riguarda lo sfruttamento di materie prime ed energetiche (di cui quell'area ne è ricchissima)....L'ultimo accordo riguardo quell'area risale al 1990, accordo che favorì e non poco (guarda caso) gli Stati Uniti (Shevardnadze-Baker agreement)....Rientra tutto dunque, nelle questioni legate a quel che sarà la futura guerra energetica: i giacimenti di gas dell'area artica.E ovviamente Putin espone le proprie rivendicazioni grazie ad uno studio compiuto da alcuni scienziati, in quanto la dorsale subacquea di Lomonosov (vero e proprio paradiso energetico) sarebbe legata al continente eurasiatico e dunque, ai russi spetterebbe la priorità.

[RUS]

In parole povere: il signor Ivanov non è più disposto a tollerare la supremazia e l'esclusività nell'area dello stretto di Bering da parte degli yankee, sia per quanto riguarda la pesca, sia per quanto riguarda lo sfruttamento di materie prime ed energetiche (di cui quell'area ne è ricchissima)....L'ultimo accordo riguardo quell'area risale al 1990, accordo che favorì e non poco (guarda caso) gli Stati Uniti (Shevardnadze-Baker agreement)....Rientra tutto dunque, nelle questioni legate a quel che sarà la futura guerra energetica: i giacimenti di gas dell'area artica.

Imperativo.

[ulver81 (POL)]

Le aree rivendicate dalla Russia: