Russia-cspp-2012-friday
Bill Densmore's brief notes of the Friday Nov. 16, 2013 opening plenary at U.S.-Russia CSPP gathering in Washington, D.C.,
CSPP event organizers thread diplomatic needle in considering how U.S.-Russian "civil-society" collaborations can continue
Laurans Ayvazian, director of the CSPP program at the Eurasia Foundation reported that the Voice of America and Forbes online were reporting on the two-day gathering and that as a result, it is "putting U.S.-Russia cooperation on the map in the news."
As he spoke, the U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to consider the so-called Magnitsky bill:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-usa-russia-idUSBRE8AF0RA20121116
"We may be moving into an unknown period here because if the Magneski bill passes,
Russia has promised to react, strongly," said Ayvazian. "You all know what the Magnitsky bill is about and what it is designed to do . . . it is a piece of US legislation that is designed to respond to what is perceived as the Russian government's failure to prosecute .... in the death of a lawyer."
Ayvazian said he took it as a good sign that a representative of the Russian government had been present at Thursday's opening day of the CSPP gathering. "We are encouraged by that," he said. "We are looking to see where U.S.-Russian cooperation can continue to fit."
- UPDATE: The U.S. House approved the Magneski bill.
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