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July 2, 2008: The Russian Duma approves the so-called 123 Agreement, wherein the U.S. provides aid to help Russia dismantle its nuclear, chemical and other weapons. July 7, 2008: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Toyako, Japan. July 8, 2008: The U.S. and the Czech Republic agree on the installation of a radar station in the Czech Republic, linked to a wider missile defense system in Eastern Europe. The next day President Medvedev states that he is “extremely disappointed” with the U.S. decision. July 15, 2008: The U.S. government criticizes Moscow for having violated Georgian airspace while sending fighter jets over South Ossetia on July 10. July 22, 2008: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits Moscow to meet President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. Chavez calls for a “strategic alliance” with Russia aimed at the U.S. July 23, 2008: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore. Aug. 7-8, 2008: In response to Georgian attacks on Ossetian separatists, Russian troops invade and occupy South Ossetia and from there launch attacks into Georgia proper. Aug. 13-14, 2008: President Bush sends a small contingent of U.S. troops to Georgia to oversee a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission. Aug. 14, 2008: The U.S. and Poland agree to a deal in which Poland would accept 10 missile defense interceptors, part of a wider regionally-based missile defense system. Aug. 14-15, 2008: Secretary of State Rice travels to France to launch talks aimed at bringing about a cease-fire in Georgia. She then travels to Tbilisi to demonstrate U.S. support for Georgian President Saakashvili. Aug. 20, 2008: In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal Foreign Minister Lavrov writes, “the U.S. will have to choose between its virtual Georgia project and its much broader partnership with Russia.” Aug. 24, 2008: A U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrives at the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi to dispense humanitarian aid to that country. Two more U.S. ships will follow. Aug. 25, 2008: President Medvedev warns that Russia would be prepared to sever all ties with NATO in response to that alliances’ suspension of cooperation with Russia. U.S.-Russia Relations 50 October 2008 Aug. 26, 2008: Russia recognizes the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Aug. 28, 2008: Prime Minister Putin gives a lengthy interview on the U.S. network CNN, in which he blames people in the U.S. for creating and fanning the Russia-Georgia conflict. Aug. 28, 2008: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit opens in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Sept. 3, 2008: The White House announces that it will extend a $1 billion economic aid package to Georgia. Sept. 4, 2008: Vice President Dick Cheney arrives in Tbilisi to demonstrate U.S. support for Georgia and President Saakashvili. Sept. 5, 2008: The flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean fleet, the USS Mount Whitney, arrives at the Georgia port of Poti to deliver more humanitarian aid to the city that was bombed and shelled by Russian forces in August. Sept. 18, 2008: Secretary Rice says the U.S. and her allies must stand up to “bullying” by Moscow, and that Russia is becoming “increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad.” Sept. 22, 2008: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen calls for continued engagement with Russia, in spite of differences in Georgia and elsewhere. Sept. 24, 2008: Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Lavrov meet in New York to discuss strategic issues. The two focus on Georgia and Iran. Sept. 25, 2008: Daniel Fried, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European Affairs, warns that Moscow will see a “very strong reaction” from Washington and its allies if Russia does not meet an October 10 deadline to withdraw troops from security zones around Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Sept. 26, 2008: At the UN, the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus that of Germany, agree on a draft resolution on Iran’s nuclear program calling for Iranian compliance with earlier agreements. Sept. 28-30, 2008: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visits Moscow to discuss economic and energy cooperation with Russia in the Far East.