…GETS NO RESPECT FROM DEFENSE…

Once again, the Defense Ministry failed to brief the Foreign Ministry on progress in the negotiations Defense Minister Pavel Grachev held with NATO, the Foreign Ministry’s chief military expert, Col. General Boris Gromov said. "It is very likely that Grachev received instructions at the highest level, from the president, and did not feel obliged to discuss their progress with professionals," Gromov said. A former deputy defense minister who became a critic of Grachev, Gromov now holds the rank of Deputy Foreign Minister.

…Blames President.