Russia Spends Up On Rearmament, Eyes News Missiles, US Not Worried

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Russia to deploy new warheads after treaty ends: report
Russia will deploy a new multiple-warhead, nuclear-capable missile after a key US-Russian arms control treaty expires in December, a top general said Tuesday, quoted by news agencies. "After December 5, that is after the expiration of the START-1 treaty, a regiment with one command centre and one rocket division armed with RS-24 complexes with detachable warheads will be placed on a state of combat readiness," General Nikolai Solovtsov was quoted as saying. At least four warheads would be placed on the RS-24 missiles to be deployed, said Solovtsov, the commander of Russia's strategic missile forces. Solovtsov had announced last year that RS-24 missiles would be deployed in December 2009 at a base northeast of Moscow. In his comments Tuesday however, he linked the date of the RS-24 deployment to the December 5 expiration of START-1, a landmark 1991 treaty that limited the number of warheads and missiles in the US and Russian arsenals. With the treaty set to expire, Moscow has been urging Washington to replace it with a new and broader agreement that would also address Russian concerns about missile defence. Russia in recent years has stepped up testing of its RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which it says are designed to counter defence systems like the planned US missile shield. US plans to place missile defence facilities in Eastern Europe have angered Russia, which views them as a threat to its security.

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) March 17, 2009
President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday announced a "large-scale" rearmament and renewal of Russia's nuclear arsenal, accusing NATO of pushing ahead with expansion near Russian borders.

Meeting defence chiefs in Moscow, Medvedev said he was determined to implement reforms to streamline Russia's bloated military and stressed Moscow continued to face several security threats needing robust defense capacity.

"From 2011, a large-scale rearmament of the army and navy will begin," Medvedev said.

He called for a renewal of Russia's nuclear weapons arsenal and added that NATO was pursuing a drive to expand the alliance's physical presence near Russia's borders.

"Analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows that a serious conflict potential remains in some regions," Medvedev said.

He listed local crises and international terrorism as security threats and also stated: "Attempts to expand the military infrastructure of NATO near the borders of our country are continuing.

"The primary task is to increase the combat readiness of our forces, first of all our strategic nuclear forces. They must be able to fulfil all tasks necessary to ensure Russia's security," Medvedev said.

And while he praised Russia's military thrust into Georgia last year in defence of the rebel region of South Ossetia, he also said the conflict had shown up the military's failings.

The comments came despite signs of a warming in US-Russian relations since the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January.

Medvedev, who took office last May and has struggled to escape the shadow of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is due to meet Obama for the first time next month in London.

Some analysts believe the Obama administration is backing away from policies that angered Moscow under the presidency of George W. Bush.

Those policies included strong US support for expanding the NATO alliance to include the ex-Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine and a plan to build US missile defence facilities in Eastern Europe.

But even though Medvedev and others have expressed hope for an improvement in US-Russian ties, there was a combative tone to Tuesday's meeting, intended to sum up military developments in the last year and to plan ahead.

Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said: "US efforts have been aimed at gaining access to raw materials, energy and other resources" in the former Soviet Union, while Washington had "actively supported processes aimed at pushing Russia from its traditional sphere of interests."

The head of Russia's strategic missile forces, Nikolai Solovtsov, told news agencies that Russia would start deploying its next-generation RS-24 missiles after the December 5 expiry of the START-1 treaty with the United States.

Moscow hopes to replace the treaty with a new accord.

Russia says its nuclear-capable, multiple-warhead RS-24 missiles are capable of overcoming defences such as the US missile shield.

In recent years Russia has been attempting to streamline its military, which currently numbers over one million personnel and has been burdened by corruption and bureaucracy.

Moscow-based defence expert Alexander Golts said he detected a contradiction in Medvedev's rhetoric, arguing that demonising NATO is at odds with Russia's stated goal of a slimmed down, efficient military.

"There are real threats, notably instability in Central Asia, but Russia can resist them alongside NATO. In Afghanistan it is clear NATO is also helping to defend Russia," said Golts.

Another independent expert, Pavel Felgenhauer, said it was unclear if the Kremlin had the stomach for military reforms likely to involve mass lay-offs in the current economic crisis.

"There's a lot of opposition in the ranks and this opposition will grow," Felgenhauer said. "It's unclear if the Kremlin will stay the course."

At Tuesday's meeting the defence minister, Serdyukov, said non-combat deaths in the military remained high at 471 last year, describing an "unhealthy moral and psychological atmosphere in certain military formations."

Serdyukov also said the vast majority of weapons in the Russian military were out of date. "The share of contemporary arms and military technology is around 10 percent," he said.

earlier related report
Russian arms build-up no threat to US, officials say
US officials on Tuesday said Russia's plans to renew its military and nuclear arsenal were not cause for alarm and dismissed Moscow's criticism of the NATO alliance.

Russia was "perfectly entitled to a robust self-defense," Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell told a news conference.

"I have not heard any alarm in this building about any proposed Russian build-up of its military," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday announced a "large-scale" rearmament for the army and navy and improvements to the country's nuclear missiles, while also accusing NATO of pushing ahead with expansion near Russian borders.

The White House dismissed Moscow's portrayal of NATO and said the transatlantic alliance continues to cooperate with Russia on important issues such as terrorist threats and nuclear proliferation.

"NATO is a collective defense organization. I think to suggest that it poses an offensive military threat is simply wrong," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"It looked like the comments of the president of Russia were largely for domestic consumption," he added.

At the Pentagon, Morrell said Defense Secretary Robert Gates has spoken previously about how Russia's aging population means Moscow will have trouble recruiting enough young soldiers and will likely reduce its large military force, Morrell said.

"And as a result, we've noticed that the Russian government is investing heavily in its strategic (nuclear) arsenal. That's a fact of life.

"I think we are always mindful of how people are arming themselves around the world, and we encourage everybody to be as transparent as possible so there's no misunderstanding about intentions," he said.

The US and Russian militaries had forged a positive working relationship and the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, was in regular talks with his Russian counterpart, Morrell said.

"As long as we have a good dialogue and a good understanding of what we are both developing our militaries for, I don't see that it poses a problem or a threat that we should be concerned with," he said.

Meeting defense chiefs in Moscow, Medvedev said he was determined to implement reforms to streamline Russia's bloated military and stressed Moscow continued to face several security threats needing robust defense capacity.

The Russian president's comments, accusing NATO of expanding in Russia's region, came despite signs of a warming in US-Russia relations since the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January.

On Monday, the US Defense Department made light of Russia's possible use of air bases in Venezuela or Cuba for its strategic bombers.

"That would be quite a long way for those old planes to fly," Morrell told AFP.

Russian air force general Anatoly Zhikharev on Saturday said that Russia could seek the short-term use of bases in Cuba and Venezuela.

The bases could be used for stops on long-distance bomber patrols, which Russia resumed in August 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.