Russia: Iceland’s new best friend?
Iceland’s request for a Russian loan is making the West jittery, says our International Affairs editor Armen Georgian.
Europe and the US are uneasy at Iceland’s financial embrace of Russia, but they can hardly protest. “We haven’t got much help from our very good friends in the Western hemisphere,” remarked Iceland’s central bank chief David Oddsson.
The match makes economic sense. Four billion euros will be “a very, very big help”, according to Oddsson. Russia can afford it thanks to its large currency reserves. It’s showing that it’s in a strong financial position even though the global crisis has hammered the rouble and the Russian stock market.
The most interesting dimension, though, is political. If a deal is struck, Moscow would be bailing out a NATO member for the first time. That’s worrying for Washington, which had a base in Iceland for decades and still views the country as key to security in the North Atlantic. But Iceland had an ambiguous position even during the Cold War, buying oil from the Soviet Union. Now Russia is looking to reactivate an old relationship.
Of course, Iceland is far from becoming a “Cuba of the North,” and it is nothing like the US-baiting government of Venezuela that Moscow is courting. But Russia is clearly open to new partnerships that could undermine American influence. With the US preoccupied with its finances and the presidential election, the time to forge those partnerships is now.
14/10/2008 10:20:43 Alert a moderator
UK siezes Icelandic assets using Anti - Terrorist Laws
By Anonyme - USA - Seattle
This is interesting - it looks like speculators really did some damage to Iceland - both in assailing their currency and in the massive, Enronesque, fraud that is a hallmark of the "new World Order." - so now, Britain is abandoning the rule of law. The potential damage to long standing alliances and long term impact is huge! Keeping in mind that there will be massive losses due to British firms not meeting obligations - is this a precident the UK *really* wants to set? Looking at howkey Iceland is to any potential missile defense - perhaps it is worth he cost of a week or two in Iraq to salvage a long time partner's economy?
Russia has become the lender of last resort. But make sure you can pay the "vig." I doubt hiding behind laws and courts, or grabbing property with "anti - terrorist" regulations will hold the bear at bay!