About The Associated Press

The Associated Press 212-621-1500
Associated Press
The Associated Press

Contact Us | Video | RSS | Mobile

Daily Photo Galleries

Wednesday - May 22, 2013

Tuesday - May 21, 2013

Monday - May 20, 2013

MOSCOW — What happened to the “reset”?

U.S.-Russian ties have again plunged into acrimony amid disputes ranging from disagreement on Syria to Russian President Vladimir Putin's clampdown on dissent.

A U.S. bill intended to lift Cold War-era trade restrictions but containing sanctions against Russian officials accused of rights abuses has become the latest flash point, with Moscow venting its outrage and threatening a quid pro quo.

While U.S.-Russian ties have not yet plunged to the lows seen during George W. Bush's presidency, a senior Russian lawmaker warned on Friday that the legislation approved by the Senate could be a prologue to an even deeper crisis.

Alexei Pushkov, the Kremlin-connected head of the Foreign Affairs committee in the lower house of Russia's parliament, said that Moscow was particularly annoyed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's pledge this week to oppose Russia's efforts to create alliances of post-Soviet nations as an attempt to “re-Sovietize the region.”

“If the U.S. administration wants to have a kind of geopolitical contest with the Russian Federation on the post-Soviet space, I think that the (trade) law will be just the first step in a new crisis, and a serious crisis between Moscow and Washington,” Pushkov said.

1. Highmark faces lawsuit that alleges it conspires to inflate premiums
2. College students unite to rally against institutional investment in fossil fuels
3. Loyalty programs devise new ways to woo shoppers
4. UPMC will cut 100 transcribers’ jobs
5. Profit drops 29 percent in first quarter at American Eagle Outfitters
6. Retired UPMC surgeon sues surgical device maker over patents
7. New Heinz owners to focus on cutting $14B in debt
8. PPG Corning bankruptcy plan receives preliminary approval
9. Pa. jobless rate declines as fewer look for work
10. Dick’s earnings rise 13 percent, but sales disappoint
11. UPMC hiring growth to slow

Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.