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AFP. 14 March 2002. Powell vows to fight chicken battle with Russia with Cold War intensity. WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged this week to fight a growing row with Russia over a ban on the import of US poultry with the same determination he fought the Cold War with the former Soviet Union, according remarks released on Thursday. In a speech to a group of Hispanic Americans late Wednesday, Powell, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, also vowed that the United States would win the "chicken war." "Twelve years ago, when I was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, I worried about exchanging missiles with Russia," Powell said, noting the change in emphasis in US foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. "But now the issue is chickens," he said, adding that the ban on poultry could cost US farmers hundreds of millions of dollars. "I want to assure you that with the same dedication and willingness to fight that I brought to the task 12 years ago as a soldier, we will win the chicken war," Powell said, to laughter and applause from the audience. "I want to assure you." Russia banned all imports of US poultry on health grounds from March 10, citing concerns over the use of antibiotics in the US poultry industry. The move, which has been the subject of at least two telephone conversations between Powell and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov, has raised Washington's ire --and on Wednesday President George W. Bush entered the fray, insisting the flap was a serious matter between the two countries. "We have made it pretty darned clear to them that I think we really ought to get this chicken issue resolved and get those chickens moving from the United States into the Russian market," Bush told a news conference. Intense negotiations on the matter have been underway in Moscow all week after Russian officials said they had been forced to enact the ban after discovering several samples of US chicken meat infected with salmonella. But the embargo has been widely viewed as retaliation following Washington's decision earlier this month to slap tariffs of up to 30 percent on US steel imports, including from Russia. Russia warned on Monday that there would be no quick resolution to the dispute with Deputy Russian Agriculture Minister Sergei Dankvert saying the problem would take at least two months to resolve. US poultry sales to Russia, worth between 600 million and 800 million dollars (690-920 million euros) a year, make up about 40 percent of all US poultry exports. In turn, the three-year US steel tariffs could cost Russian steel exporters 400 million dollars a year in lost revenues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
