'No surprises' for Russia in WikiLeaks revelations - 

Foreign Ministry

There is nothing new or unexpected for Russia in the cables leaked by the WikiLeaks website, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Sazonov said on Thursday.

"As for the assessments of Russia, Russian-U.S. relations, there are no surprises in these assessments for us," he said.

Much of what has been made public is routine diplomatic correspondence between the State Department and U.S. embassies, he said, adding, however, that "some passages arouse bewilderment and regret."

Russia is committed to the "positive development of bilateral relations with the United States," Sazonov said.

Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said on Tuesday the cables will not affect Moscow's relations with other countries, including the United States.

According to one document leaked from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "plays Robin" to his strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's "Batman." Another document called Medvedev "pale and hesitant" in comparison to the "alpha-dog" Putin.

The site also released a secret cable from a meeting in Paris in February between U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and then French Foreign Minister Herve Morin. In it Gates describes Russia in blunt terms: "Russian democracy has disappeared and the government is an oligarchy run by the security services."

Other documents allege that corruption in Russia is widespread and involves the Kremlin and other leading officials.

MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti)

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