CSTO, NATO, SCO, Slavic Military & War.

[TsarSamuil]

CSTO to form major military force in Central Asia

Interfax ^ | 09:08 GMT, May 29, 2009

MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are jointly forming a major military grouping in Central Asia capable of rebuffing large-scale aggression, spokesman for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Vitaly Strugovets said.

"The CSTO's Central Asian grouping is intended to fight so-called large wars, not to deal with local conflicts the collective rapid deployment forces are meant for," he said.

The grouping will encompass tank, artillery and air units of five states, as well as Russia and Kazakhstan's Caspian naval forces, Strugovets told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

The Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, which have existed in the region for nearly six years and which are comprised of 11 battalions, will become permanent readiness units in the new grouping, he said.

"The issue of forming the grouping, discussed for several years now, has effectively been finalized and draft agreements to form them have been prepared. They are being negotiated with CSTO countries," Strugovets said.

[TsarSamuil]

China's military to launch official Web site

China's secretive military to launch official Web site in bid to show more openness

TINI TRAN
AP News
Jul 23, 2009 03:57 EST

China's Defense Ministry will launch its first official Web site next month in what state media said Thursday was an effort by the secretive military to be more transparent.

China has long been tightlipped about its military strength and capacity, drawing criticism from other countries wary of the Asian giant's growing power and skyrocketing military spending, although Beijing says it is purely for defense.

The Web site — in English and Chinese — will run on a trial basis starting Aug. 1, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the world's largest with 2.3 million members, the official China Daily said.

Its editors say they hope to make it as informative as the U.S. Defense Department's Web site, the newspaper reported.

The Web site appears aimed at reassuring Asian and Western nations that the PLA is becoming more accessible to the outside world, dxperts told the China Daily.

"As more attention is being given to online information, the Chinese army has moved one step forward in its public diplomacy," Professor Li Xiguang, dean of Tsinghua University's journalism school, was quoted as saying.

The Web site's launch "is a major step for the PLA to open up to the outside world," Sr. Col. Huang Xueping, deputy director of the ministry's information office, said in an interview with the newspaper. The office was only set up last year.

The site will "cover a large amount of information," featuring regular activities and background of the Chinese military.

China's military spending has jumped by double-digit percentages for nearly two decades. This year, Beijing announced a 14.9 percent rise in military spending to 480.68 billion yuan ($70.27 billion), though it was a smaller increase than previous years.

That spending puts it on par with Japan, Russia and Britain, but it is still dwarfed by the U.S., which spends nearly 10 times as much.

In recent years, China has been increasing its international military ties as it attempts to modernize its army. Earlier this year, Chinese warships were sent to patrol waters off Somalia as part of the international effort against piracy.

But China's military growth has also been the source of friction, with multiple confrontations at sea this year between Chinese vessels and U.S. naval ships, including a collision between a Chinese submarine and a U.S. sonar device.

In March, the U.S. Defense Department released a report saying Beijing's rapidly growing military power was shifting the military balance in the region and could be used to enforce its claim in disputed territories. While tensions have eased between the two sides, it warned that "much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used."

The military is also planning to establish more information offices nationwide and hold more press conferences, spokesman Huang said.

The first batch of military press officers, selected from the different armed forces, graduated in March from a boot camp on public relations, the China Daily reported.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia trumps U.S. with new Central Asia army base.

By Simon Shuster – Sat Aug 1, 10:14 am ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan allowed Russia to open a second military base on its territory on Saturday, expanding Moscow's military reach to balance against the U.S. presence in the Central Asian country.

The struggle for influence in the region intensified last month -- days after U.S. President Barack Obama completed his visit to Moscow -- as senior Russian officials traveled to Bishkek to press for the creation of a new Russian base.

The pressure from Moscow came after Kyrgyzstan allowed the United States to keep its air base at Manas, which is vital for supplying U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan had said in February that it was closing down the U.S. air base after receiving a promise of $2 billion in crisis aid from Russia earlier in the year. But Washington responded with a payment of $180 million to keep the base open.

On Saturday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev laid out the framework for the new base's creation in an agreement that will be valid for 49 years with a possible 25-year extension.

The agreement, posted on the Kyrgyz president's Web site, said up to one battalion of Russian troops and a training center for Russian and Kyrgyz personnel will be housed at the base.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who traveled to Bishkek with Medvedev, suggested that these parameters may change when a more detailed agreement is hammered out by November 1.

"The total numbers will be decided by military specialists based on what is needed to ensure security in the region," Lavrov said, Interfax reported.

He added that the two sides had agreed on "the expansion of the Russian military presence mainly in the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan."

Russia's existing base lies in the town of Kant in Kyrgyzstan's far north, near the border with Kazakhstan. The U.S. air base in Manas is also in the north of the country, near the capital, Bishkek.

Saturday's agreement comes three days after Medvedev endorsed Bakiyev's re-election last week in a poll that caused opposition protests and was condemned by Western observers as undemocratic.

KEY VICTORY

Getting Bishkek to reverse its February decision to close the Manas air base was a crucial victory for Washington, which is seeking to more than double its presence in Afghanistan by year's end to fight the Taliban insurgency.

Manas serves as a key refueling point for aircraft used in Afghanistan, and supply routes through Pakistan have proven less secure due to persistent militant attacks.

Moscow has denied being behind the initial decision to close Manas, though it has made no secret of seeking to check U.S. interests in the former Soviet Union, which it regards as its sphere of influence.

During Obama's first visit to Moscow as president last month, defense issues were at the top of the agenda, and a deal was reached to let U.S. troops and military hardware fly across Russia to Afghanistan.

Medvedev and Bakiyev signed the deal in the Kyrgyz resort of Cholpon Ata during an informal summit of the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), whose members also include Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia.

Lavrov said the new military training facility would be available to all members of the CSTO, which is also known by its Russian acronym as ODKB.

[TsarSamuil]

Medvedev proposes changes to defense laws

RussiaToday.com
10 August, 2009, 19:32

Changes to Russia's defense laws are on the cards, a year after the country sent in the army to defend South Ossetia when it was attacked.

President Medvedev has sent a bill to lawmakers to redefine the circumstances under which Russian troops can be used outside national territory, in accordance with international law.

They include rebuffing an attack on Russian servicemen deployed abroad, and preventing or repelling an assault on another state.

The Russian military would also be called in to protect its citizens living outside their home country, as well as other measures to crackdown on piracy.

According to Vladimir Kozin, an independent political analyst, Russia has no choice but to improve its defense legislation in situations where Tbilisi’s revenge is highly possible, or when sea piracy has risen to dangerous levels.

“The amount of military hardware being poured in Georgia is twice as much as before last year’s events,” Kozin said. “So we have to be vigilant and prepared for an extraordinary situation, which is imminent.”

He clarified that Russia does not have a specific clause in its national legislation that would empower the president and supreme commander to use the country’s military force operationally on short notice.

“That was the reason to amend Article 10 in the Defense Law, and a new article will probably appear in the Constitution of Russian Federation,” he added.

[TsarSamuil]

Poland’s land forces commander resigns.

TheNews.pl ^ | 20.08.2009

UPDATE - As the commander of the land forces resigns, President Lech Kaczynski said the readiness of Poland’s armed forces to carry out their missions abroad requires “an immediate and serious debate”.

General Waldemar Skrzypczak resigned as commander of Poland’s army, Thursday afternoon, after accusing the Defence Ministry of “serious incompetence” which has contributed to the growing casualty rate of Polish troops in Afghanistan.

Earlier, President Lech Kaczynski said after a meeting with Defence Minister Bogdan Klich to discuss the general’s remarks, that an urgent improvement at the level of process and equipment for the armed forces is not only in the interest of soldiers. "We need very concrete actions, one by one, to improve the situation. It's not just about the safety of our troops. It's also about the prestige of the Republic of Poland," said President Kaczynski.

Minister Klich said after the meeting that it was agreed that there would be no call for the dismissal of General Skrzypczak, though the commander had apologised for his remarks.

General Skrzypczak immediately issued a statement that he had not apologised, stood by his remarks and offered his resignation.

The general’s outburst came after the death of Captain Daniel Ambrozinski - the tenth Polish soldier to be killed in Afghanistan - who was shot by Taliban forces last week.

In a newspaper interview, General Skrzypczak criticized government bureaucracy for neglecting army equipment requirements, such as unmanned aircraft and helicopters, which could monitor movements on the ground as troops make patrols.

The Polish armed forces commander said that he had requested such equipment two years ago but this had fallen on deaf ears at the Defence Ministry.

Earlier this week, the government announced plans to upgrade equipment for the armed forces and cut red tape. "The government has approved a draft bill on supplies needed for defence and the state's security," read a a statement issued on Tuesday.

Poland has 2,000 troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

[TsarSamuil]

Lawmakers OK Kremlin bill on military force abroad.

Kremlin bill on using military force abroad wins preliminary approval in parliament.

VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
AP News
Sep 09, 2009 12:38 EST

A Kremlin bill expanding the legal reasons for using military force abroad won a quick preliminary approval in the lower house of parliament Wednesday.

The motion was seen by some as a sign that the Kremlin was taking a tougher posture in relations with ex-Soviet neighbors after last year's war with Georgia.

The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted unanimously to approve President Dmitry Medvedev's bill in the first of three required readings. It is expected to sail swiftly through two other readings in the State Duma before being rubber-stamped by the upper house.

The bill would allow the president to send troops outside the nation's border to fend off attacks on the Russian military, deter aggression against another state, protect Russian citizens, combat pirates and protect shipping.

The current legislation only envisages sending troops abroad to fight terrorists and fulfill Russia's obligations in line with international treaties. Medvedev said last month that the war with Georgia highlighted the need for the bill expanding deployment rules.

Russia said it sent forces into Georgia to protect civilians and its own military personnel from a Georgian invasion of the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgia countered that Russia triggered the hostilities by sending a military convoy into South Ossetia.

Viktor Zavarzin, the head of the Duma's defense affairs committee, said during Wednesday's debate that the new bill was necessary for Russia to mount a quick military response to security threats. "Modern wars will be waged quickly, so a long decision-making procedure on using military force abroad may hurt Russia's interests," he said.

The new bill has been met with unease in other ex-Soviet nations, particularly in Ukraine, whose ties with Moscow have grown increasingly tense recently.

Medvedev last month accused Ukraine's Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko of conducting a hostile policy toward Russia and sharply criticized him for supplying Georgia with weapons. The unusually blunt Medvedev's statement was widely seen as the Kremlin's attempt to interfere in Ukraine's presidential vote set for January.

Russia's navy is based in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol under a lease agreement until 2017, and some observers speculated that Moscow could use frictions about the base's operations as a pretext for using force.

Outspoken ultranationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who serves as the Duma's deputy speaker, told the house that the new legislation should send a strong warning to other nations.

"Let people in some foreign capitals know ... that in case of any threat to our citizens the president will have to protect them wherever they are," Zhirinovsky said. "They may wake up to see our paratroopers along with artillery and aviation in use. Nothing will go unpunished any more."

[TsarSamuil]

FUCKING YANKS...

Fire in Russian military unit destroys top secret documents.

MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) - Top secret documents were destroyed in a fire that broke out on Sunday in a military unit in western Russia's city of Tambov, killing five and injuring seven servicemen, a security agency source said.

The fire in the staff of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate unit occurred in the morning and embraced an area of 400 square meters (4,300 sq. feet). Two officers and three soldiers were killed. Two servicemen are in intensive care.

"The fire seriously affected the secret unit where documents of special government importance were kept," the source said, adding that the Russian defense minister ordered his first deputy, Col.-Gen. Alexander Kolmakov, to fly to the site.

"Damage is assessed as very serious," the source said.

A probe into the causes of the fire that was extinguished by 17 firefighting crews is underway.

[TsarSamuil]

Ex-Soviet states to set up 3 joint regional air defense networks.

ASTRAKHAN (South Russia), September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Several members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are involved in creating three joint regional air defense structures as part of the CIS integrated air defense network.

Members of the Coordinating Committee on Air Defense under the CIS Defense Ministers' Council met in Astrakhan on Wednesday and discussed setting up East European, Caucasus, and Central Asian air defense networks.

The CIS integrated air defense network was set up by 10 CIS member countries on February 10, 1995. The main purpose of the network is to secure member-states' airspace, including through early warning of missile attacks and coordination of joint efforts to neutralize potential aerial threats.

The network currently comprises 46 units equipped with S-200 and S-300 air defense missile systems, 23 fighter units equipped with MiG-29, MiG-31 and Su-27 aircraft, 22 electronic support units and two electronic warfare detachments.

The East European network will be set up by Russia and Belarus in line with an agreement signed in February on the joint protection of the Russia-Belarus Union State's airspace and the creation of an integrated regional air defense network.

It will comprise five Air Force units, 10 anti-aircraft units, five technical service and support units and one electronic warfare unit, and will be placed under the command of a Russian or Belarusian Air Force or Air Defense Force senior commander.

Belarus has several Russian-made S-300 air defense battalions on combat duty, and has long been negotiating the purchase of advanced S-400 systems from Russia, which should be available in 2010.

The Caucasus air defense network will be set up by Russia and Armenia. The draft agreement is still in the works and needs additional negotiations to ensure "clear principles of the deployment and command of air defense forces."

"The draft document will be ready by the end of 2009," said Col. Nikolai Babayan, chief of Armenia's Air Defense Forces.

Unlike the East European and Central Asian commands, the airspace of the Caucasus network will not be continuous as Georgia and Azerbaijan separate Russia and Armenia.

Maj. Gen. Okas Saparov, deputy commander of Kazakhstan's Air Defense Forces, said that a working group has been formed to discuss setting up a joint Central Asian regional air defense network, which will involve Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

"Most of the issues dealing with drafting up an agreement [on a joint air defense network] have been resolved," Saparov said.

Kazakhstan signed a contract with Russia in March on the purchase of S-300 air defense missile systems, while Russia operates an airbase in the city of Kant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

[TsarSamuil]

Communist China celebrates 60 years, have military parades, watch new equipment for SCO!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9KZX5zAeM&feature=channel_page

A TRANSFORMED ARMY

Wearing green, white and blue ceremonial or camouflage uniforms, more than 3,000 Chinese servicemen and women, goose-stepped past the Tian'anmen Square, drawing applause from spectators.

A number of officers and soldiers in the parade are from troops that participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Invasion in the 1930s and 1940s, and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in the 1950s.

A total of 52 types of new weapon systems, all Chinese made, including new generation tanks, missiles and warplanes, were displayed. Ninety percent of the weapons were paraded for the first time.

Among the most eye-catching weapons paraded were five types of missiles of the Second Artillery Force (SAF), China's core strategic deterrent, including the "trump card" nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles.

The gigantic weapons in camouflage colors rolled by on long-bed trucks, triggering cheers from spectators.

The SAF's land-based cruise missiles also made their debut at the once-in-a-decade military parade. The conventional cruise missile is able to perform long-range low altitude precision strikes. Also on rare public display were the SAF's three types of conventional missiles.


Lol Empire State building in NY, rednecks can only get more paranoid

[TsarSamuil]

Post-Soviet states to hold military drills in Kazakhstan.

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Over 7,000 service personnel from member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will take part in large-scale regional security drills in Kazakhstan, the Russian military said on Thursday.

The exercise of the CSTO collective rapid reaction force will be held at Kazakhstan's Matybulak training grounds on October 2-15, and involve units from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

"Kazakhstan has never hosted military exercises on such a large scale with the simultaneous involvement of over 7,000 troops," a Russian Airborne Troops spokesman said.

"All the participants in the exercises - operational commands, military contingents and special force units - have arrived at the training grounds," the official said.

According to the CSTO Secretariat, the exercise is aimed at practicing the deployment of the collective rapid reaction force in crisis situations on the territory of CSTO member states.

The CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, Belarus and Uzbekistan refused to join the collective rapid reaction force structure.

Analysts say the creation of a powerful military contingent in Central Asia reflects Moscow's drive to make the CSTO a pro-Russian military bloc, rivaling NATO forces in Europe.

Russia's security strategy until 2020, recently approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, envisions the CSTO as "a key mechanism to counter regional military challenges and threats."

[TsarSamuil]

Afghan tensions help Russia promote CSTO.

RussiaToday.com
15 October, 2009, 15:47

Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported that the Russia-oriented military bloc CSTO is now one step closer to international recognition equal to that of NATO.

The report was based on the fact that the United Nations formally accepted for consideration a new memorandum on cooperation that allowed the CSTO to take part in conflict settlement all over the world. This gives further signs that the bloc – which until recently was more of a virtual nature – will be formally recognized.

The news came as members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization held a major military exercise in Kazakhstan. The exercise, which started on October 2, is entering its final stage this week and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev left for Kazakhstan on Thursday to attend it.

The other factor on the background is NATO’s clear indication that it was interested in Russia’s participation in the Afghanistan operation as well as the completion of the so called “northern corridor” – the transport route from Europe to Northern Afghanistan via former Soviet republics. This was the first statement made by NATO after a year of strained relations that came after the brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008.

Now, Russia is hinting that the base for the “northern corridor” is ready – and it is called CSTO. The bloc includes all nations that border Afghanistan in the North and it already has some experience in providing security in the region.

Besides, one year ago, the United Nations signed a cooperation declaration in September 2008. The document drew a lot of criticism from Moscow back then. Russia said that the document was signed without being presented to all UN member states and the UN apparatus provided no explanation as to why the paper was made secret.

Nevertheless, soon after the agreement between NATO and the UN was signed, the CSTO nations started to work on a similar declaration. This September, Russia raised the question of cooperation with CSTO at the UN General Assembly Session in New York. The memorandum, submitted to the UN states that the two sides will together stand against new challenges and threats, such as terrorism, drug and arms trafficking and international organized crime. The CSTO also wants assistance in creating a peacekeeping force within it so it can take part in peacekeeping missions under UN command.

No date was set for the memorandum’s approval.

Despite such an extreme early stage of cooperation between the CSTO and the UN, Russian observers were optimistic about its potential. Aleksander Pikayev, the head of the Department for Disarmament and Conflict Settlement with the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told RT that he expected the UN to eventually sign the memorandum. Pikayev went on to say that after CSTO enters an agreement with UN it might start some form of partnership with NATO if the situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, expressed even more optimism. Though admitting that the process will take some time, the editor said that the UN and NATO will only benefit from cooperation with the CSTO. “I think that the CSTO, as a regional organization, is gradually drawing more and more attention because it unites the countries in one of the hottest regions in the world today,” he said. “It must be noted that the CSTO in recent months is gradually drawing attention from NATO,” he added.

“Compared to the previous situation, when NATO did not want even to hear about the OSCE, now many officials and experts say that the CSTO can be a very useful partner. NATO has to solve very complicated tasks precisely in the Central and South Asia – connected with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the CSTO is the organization almost completely focused on this region,” Lukyanov said. He also holds that the recognition from the side of NATO and the UN will benefit the CSTO:

“The CSTO needs partner relations with NATO as proof that the CSTO is a real structure. Now, Russia tries to turn the CSTO into a working military-political alliance and it does not work well, as there are tensions between the alliance’s members, but if NATO looks at the CSTO as a real partner, I think it would bring more interest from the side of other participants.”

[TsarSamuil]

Russian parliament passes bill on using troops abroad.

MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of the Russian parliament passed on Friday amendments to a law on defense which expands the use of the Russian Armed Forces abroad in certain situations.

President Dmitry Medvedev submitted the amendments to parliament in August, just after the first anniversary of Russia's five-day war with Georgia.

The amendments stipulate that Russian troops can be used abroad to repel an attack on Russian military units or other troops deployed outside the country, to repel or prevent an armed attack on another state asking Russia for military assistance, to defend Russian citizens abroad from an armed attack, to combat sea piracy and to ensure safety of commercial shipping.

Russia's current 2006 legislation only allows the president to send troops to fight terrorism on foreign soil. Experts have said the law lacks clearly defined terms of "wartime" and a "combat situation," which complicates the deployment of army units outside the country.

Russia sent in troops last summer to repel Georgia's offensive on South Ossetia, where Moscow had maintained peacekeepers since a bloody post-Soviet conflict in the early 1990s. Russia was condemned internationally over its "excessive" use of force and subsequent recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

In line with the new document, the Russian president will be entitled to make a decision on using armed forces abroad based on a prior approval by the upper house of the Russian parliament. The president would also be able to determine the strength of the troops to be used abroad and their deployment areas, to set the goals facing them and determine the timeframe of their deployment.

[TsarSamuil]

Women Discharged from Bulgarian Army.

Standartnews
Angel Bogdanov

All women shall be discharged from the Bulgarian army, said Lt. Gen. Ivan Dobrev, chief commander of the Bulgarian land forces.
"Only a limited number of positions in the armed forces will remain available for women," he added.

The number of women in the army should not exceed ten percent, the general went on. At present, 22% of the professional soldiers in Bulgaria are women.

Gen. Dobrev will put forward amendments to the Defense Act, which to limit the number of women in the army.

[TsarSamuil]

Medvedev puts Russian military on fast track.

Robert Bridge, RT
Published 12 November, 2009, 19:56
Edited 13 November, 2009, 09:57

President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday dedicated part of his annual parliamentary speech to beefing up the Russian military - and without delay.

In the 100-minute marathon speech built around the idea of “modernization and change,” the Russian president surprised observers with an ambitious shopping list of military hardware that he said must be operational in the Russian military by 2010.

"Next year,” Medvedev said, in comments that probably had defense contractors sweating, “we need to supply to the army over 30 ground-based and sea-based ballistic missiles, five Iskander missile systems, some 300 armored vehicles, 30 helicopters, 28 fighter aircraft, three nuclear submarines, and one Korvet combat ship."

The Russian president said the rapid rearmament program was necessary for creating an army “that will not allow anybody to threaten us and our allies" and give Russian forces “superiority over any enemy.”

But many are asking: why now, and why the rush?

One year ago today, President Medvedev warned that Russia would deploy short-range Iskander missile systems in its Kaliningrad exclave that shares a border with Poland, “to neutralize, if necessary, [America’s] anti-ballistic missile system in Europe.”

The Iskander-M (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) missile system has a range of at least 400 km (250 miles) and can reportedly carry conventional and nuclear warheads.

But Russia’s emergency deployment plans were abruptly cancelled after US President Barack Obama announced he would shelve the missile defense brainchild of former US President George W. Bush and substitute it with a “sea-based missile defense system.”

Moscow has been requesting details on the new system, but so far it only has this bit of data from US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to chew on: “In the first phase, to be completed by 2011, we will deploy proven, sea-based SM-2 interceptor missiles – weapons that are growing in capability – in the areas where we see the greatest threat to Europe,” Gates wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times.

“The second phase, which will become operational around 2015, will involve putting upgraded SM-3s on the ground in Southern and Central Europe,” Gates continued. “All told, every phase of this plan will include scores of SM-3 missiles, as opposed to the old plan of just 10 ground-based interceptors.”

Gates gave no hint as to where the system would be built, or if Russia would cooperate in the construction and oversight of the missile defense system once it is operational.

Understandably, any chance of renegotiating the START-1 treaty, which expires on Dec. 5, 2009, hinges on America’s willingness to build a missile defense system together with Russia, or at least one that does not keep Russian generals awake at night (as Obama's "watered-down" version will probably do).

“The US has dropped its missile defense plans [for Central Europe], and developed an alternative system that would not create problems in its first phase,” Sergey Lavrov told RT and other media in an exclusive interview. “But we would like more details on further stages.”

So is it mere coincidence that Medvedev has chosen this particular moment – with Russian and US diplomats working overtime in Geneva to forge a replacement for the Start-1 treaty before its Dec. 5 deadline – to announce a major rearmament program, and one that places overwhelming emphasis on sea-based weapons – similar to the US missile defense plan?

“Russia certainly sees some US actions – like giving Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets to Poland – as threatening,” Dmitry Babich, political commentator with Russia Profile journal, told RT.

Moreover, Russia is concerned with its nuclear capabilities becoming worthless if the US continues with its missile defense system, he added.

“Symbolically, it was the beginning of a dangerous process,” Babich said. “Russia understands that it needed to put its foot down now before the system encircled it.”

Babich disagreed that Medvedev’s rearmament announcement was a bad omen for the START-1 talks, arguing that perhaps Russia is looking for "more leverage in the ongoing talks" that are continuing under a shroud of secrecy.
A policy of pragmatism

In laying out his foreign policy plans, Medvedev said that Russia would stick to the pragmatic path, and keep the moat gate open when foreign investment and technology comes knocking.

“Our relations with other countries should also help us to achieve this goal of modernizing Russia,” Medvedev said. “We don’t need to be arrogant. We are interested in foreign investment in modern technologies from abroad. And we know our partners want to be closer to Russia in order to carry out their priority tasks. Therefore, our foreign policy should be purely pragmatic."

Then, the Russian president possibly added a new page to political philosophy when he stressed that foreign policy should work to improve conditions at home.

“The way to access the effectiveness [of a foreign policy] is very simple: does it help to improve the living standards of our country?” he asked.

Medvedev then said that Russia continues to advocate a multi-polar world, and international organizations, specifically the UN, for addressing global issues.

“We support multi-polarity,” the Russian president announced. “And I think the world is becoming increasingly clear about this… We need to find collective solutions, and there is a universal mechanism for this – the United Nations.”
NATO

Russia should accept its share of responsibility for guaranteeing European security, Medvedev argued, stressing that this was not at odds with NATO’s efforts.

“In terms of global security, our main efforts should be concentrated on providing European security,” he said, adding that “legal treaties dealing indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic region should become our imperative.”

Medvedev again stressed that Russia was not working against NATO, but he did remind the audience that Russia was not a member of the military pact, whose purpose, many argue, has become tenuous since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Occasionally, people criticize us and say that we’ve invented all of these things against NATO,” he said. “This is not so. Our foreign policy is not against someone. But we are not members of NATO as well, and there are a number of other countries that are not NATO members but still all questions concerning European security need to be taken now, therefore we need a new effective forum for this.”

The Russian president then reminded the gathered assembly in the Kremlin palace the consequences of an organization that is not geared to handle particular challenges, especially in Russia’s sphere of influence.

“Had we had such an effective organization able to stop an aggressor,” Medvedev said, “Georgia would not have had the insolence to start a war in South Ossetia.”

[TsarSamuil]

Belarus, Armenia discuss cooperation in CSTO.

13.11.2009 15:55

MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) – The security councils of Belarus and Armenia intend to continue cooperation in line with the Belarusian-Armenian cooperation memorandum, which was signed earlier. The matter was discussed at the Yerevan meeting of Deputy State Secretary of the Belarus Security Council Stanislav Zasya and Secretary of the Armenia National Security Council Artur Bagdasaryan, BelTA learned from representatives of the State Secretariat of the Belarus Security Council.

The sides discussed a large number of matters relating to cooperation within the CSTO framework as well as cooperation between the security councils of Belarus and Armenia. Artur Bagdasaryan stated that Belarusian-Armenian cooperation within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is vigorously developing. A delegation led by Deputy State Secretary of the Belarus Security Council Stanislav Zasya is in Armenia on a three-day working visit.