"Low stakes"
New developments, twist and turns and allegations to Bout’s ties to political leaders and intelligence agencies continue to develop. This has turned into an extremely important, high profile and high priority case for not only the U.S and Russia but also for Thailand as well. The outcome of Viktor Bout’s extradition case could have a major and long lasting impact on political, economic as well as trade relations between the three countries. There has been warnings and threats from Russian politicians that diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S. could suffer if Bout is indeed extradited.
Just three months ago President Obama took Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to his favorite ‘burger joint’ in Arlington, Virgina for a lunch meting. More importantly Russian President Medvedev recently signed the nuclear non-proliferation New START treaty in Washington, D.C. Ties between the U.S. and Russia have been ‘reset’ and have become much more open and friendlier. Many feel that Bout’s extradition to the U.S. could sour these new friendlier ties between the two countries.
Vladimir Kozin, Russian deputy director of the ministry’s information and press department, wrote in an opinion article in the Moscow Times at the end of August, warning that “the ballyhoo created by Washington over him [Mr Bout] may inevitably affect Russian-US relations to the detriment of the US effort to “reset them”. In an effort to try and keep things balanced and counter criticisms from Russian diplomats, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stressed that the case was not politically motivated.
At the end of August, as reported by the Bangkok Post, Prime Minister Abhisit was asked about concerns that ties between Thailand and Russia or between Thailand and the US could turn sour over the Bout case. Mr Abhisit said “the Foreign Ministry would explain the case to both countries and improve understanding. He admitted that this might take time."
Abhisit expressed his concerns about the outcome of this case last Thursday in the Moscow Times. When the Prime Minister was asked whether he was concerned about the outcome, he replied,
“Definitely.” He then added, “a decision for one side means the other party is bound to be dissatisfied, but we have to try to follow the rules and spend time making them understand and minimizing the impact.”
