Comments on Putin's Visit to the Czech Republic and Hungary

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in Budapest on 28 February Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcoming ceremony for Putin today at Budapest's Alexander Palace Comments: This is a very progressive move by President Putin. It is about time to forge goodwill with the badly injured repressed Czech Republic and Hungary. It is a very important first step in amending the relationship and it does take time to thaw the ice. Another thing to remember is that the imprisoned oil tycoon, Mikhail Khorodovsky served an innovative concept and business entrepreneurial spirit and with initial starter in Siberia oil and works with China, the government should be respectful for his works and genius in stimulating international trade activities. Russia: Putin Romances Central Europe's 'Southern Tier' By Daisy Sindelar Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in Budapest on 28 February (epa) Russian President Vladimir Putin is making his first official visits to Hungary and the Czech Republic. Although its former Soviet satellites continue to view Moscow with caution, Russia enjoys far warmer ties with Budapest and Prague than it does with the so-called "northern tier" -- Poland and the Baltic countries. Putin is expected to spend much of his time shoring up Russia's reputation as a stable energy provider, following its controversial gas shutoff to Ukraine in early January. PRAGUE, 1 March 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Reconciliation appears to be the dominant theme of the Russian president's Central European tour. Putin's trip to Hungary is the first by a Russian leader since 1992. It also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the uprising in which thousands of Hungarians were killed by Soviet troops. Speaking alongside President Laszlo Solyom, Putin on 28 February acknowledged the pain and anger that many Hungarians still feel about the events of 1956. But, he suggested, it is a time for looking forward rather than to the past. "Today's modern Russia is not the same as the Soviet Union used to be," Putin said. "I have to say, sincerely, that we all feel in our souls the moral responsibility for those events." Looking To The Future The best way to ease old tensions, Putin seemed to suggest, was by forging new partnerships -- particularly in the energy sector, the heart of Russia's political focus during its chairmanship this year of the G-8 group of major industrialized nations. 'There's what they call the "northern tier" -- Poland and the Baltic countries. And there's the "southern tier" -- the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary -- which is much less critical of Putin's policies, both domestic and external.' Putin has been eager to reassure consumer nations that Russia remains a stable energy supplier despite its decision in early January to cut off natural gas shipments to Ukraine following a price dispute. Hungary, which receives almost 80 percent of its gas from Russia, was among the countries to suffer most from the cutoff. But Putin said there was "no doubt" Russia would continue as Europe's dominant energy supplier, and said Moscow is exploring the possibility of setting up storage supply centers in Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said that plan and others could make Hungary a hub of Russian gas supplies to Europe. "We have agreed on the project of building a new gas pipeline under the Black Sea to Turkey, and we are now looking into extending this project into Southern Europe," Gyurcsany said. "We see Hungary as playing an important role to increase the reliability of the gas supply to Europe." Putin In Prague Putin travels on today to the Czech Republic, where he is also hoping to restore Russian credibility and clout. In 1968, Soviet-led forces crushed Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring reform movement. Russian-Czech relations deteriorated even further in the 1990s, when former Warsaw Pact nations renounced communism and began their move toward NATO and the European Union. In recent years, however, the Czech Republic -- led by its conservative president, Vaclav Klaus -- has moved to build bridges with Russia. Petr Kratochvil, the deputy director of the Institute of International Relations in Prague, says the warmer ties can be attributed to two factors. "This is connected, of course, on the one hand with Putin's rise to power and his renewed attention to East Central Europe, including the Czech Republic," Kratochvil says. "And on the other hand, it is also connected with overcoming the quite tense period in the 1990s, which was connected with NATO enlargement, with the question of the Czech debt, with the Kosovo campaign, which of course was very much criticized in Russia." A Friendly Agenda Putin and Klaus are likely to discuss potential agreements on bilateral trade, energy, and possible cooperation in the nuclear energy field. More divisive issues such as Chechnya and upcoming elections in Ukraine and Belarus are far less likely to be on the agenda. Some Czech lawmakers have protested the Russian visit, criticizing Putin's KGB background and the government's apparent retreat from democratic reforms. The Czech newspaper "Mlada fronta Dnes" today published a letter coauthored by former Czech President Vaclav Havel calling on the world not to overlook Russia's policies in Chechnya. Kratochvil says many average Czechs continue to view Moscow with suspicion. But he says Russian officials have come to view the Czech government as a compatible partner in a sometimes hostile region. "All of them somehow perceived East Central Europe as being divided into these two groups," Kratochvil says. "There's what they call the 'northern tier' -- Poland and the Baltic countries. And there's the 'southern tier' -- the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary -- which is much less critical of Putin's policies, both domestic and external." As if to prove the point, the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, traveled on 28 February to Ukraine, where he reaffirmed his country's support for Kyiv's pro-Western ambitions. Meeting with his counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, Kaczynski pledged to act as a personal "spokesman" of Ukraine's ambitions to follow the path of its western neighbors in joining NATO and the EU.