As noted above in connection with the Soviet Union's current stance on verification of arms control agreements -- namely its apparent commitment to intrusive on-site inspection -- the Soviet military has been at pains to appear less secretive than in the past.
The Center regards these Bush Administration initiatives as all the more unwarranted in light of the fact that the Soviet Union's performance in connection with the Iraqi crisis has been considerably less exemplary than the U.S. government has suggested publicly.
We grasped the connection between the two Soviet natural gas pipelines into Western Europe and Moscow's looming economic crisis, then provided the insight and information to the State Department and the White House, which moved to block the pipeline project and thus deal Moscow a crippling financial blow.
In this connection, the Center also reiterates its recommendation that the Soviet Union be required to transfer collateral (such as gold or diamonds) to the U.S. government to protect against future defaults on government guaranteed transactions.
The Tsarnaev family's connection with Russia is complex because of the intricate patchwork of ethnicities that comprises Russia and the former Soviet Union.