Looks like Venezuela may become to Russia what Israel is to the US

Russia offers Chavez $1 billion for weapons

By Michael Schwirtz

MOSCOW: The Kremlin has decided to offer a $1 billion loan for arms purchases to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is currently on a two-day swing through Russia aimed at bolstering an already solid relationship that has caused increasing discomfort in the West.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday, Mr. Chavez, who is on his second visit to Russia in two months, traveled on Friday to the southern city of Orenburg near the border with Kazakhstan for a meeting with President Dmitry A. Medvedev. The two leaders held talks on enhancing economic cooperation and trade in both commercial goods and military technologies, according to a Kremlin statement.

The $1 billion dollar loan is to be allocated for programs related to military-technical cooperation, the statement said. A Kremlin spokesman would not elaborate on the details of the deal. Between 2005 and 2007 Venezuela has signed 12 contracts for weapons purchases from Russia for a total of more than $4.4 billion, the Kremlin statement said.

The move is the latest gesture of military friendship between Russia and Venezuela, two counties that have increasingly positioned themselves as mavericks vis-a-vis the West. The Kremlin says its economic and political stability have allowed it to broaden the scope of its military and economic cooperation beyond what it calls its traditional sphere of influence.

Moscow is also frustrated with what it considers aggressive military posturing from the West, particularly the United States. Washington's plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as its support of NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, have set Russia on edge.

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In turn, Russia has sought to expand its military footprint in recent years, inching closer and closer to American shores. Russian bombers have flown sorties close to Alaska and its naval vessels have been pushing deeper into the Atlantic.

Latin America, and Venezuela in particular, has become has become a major theater for this expansion.

Earlier this month a pair of Russian Tu-160 long range bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons received a warm welcome when they landed in Venezuela. Russia has also dispatched squadron from the Russian Navy's North Sea Fleet to the Caribbean to take part in joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy sometime in November.

"Latin America, of course, is becoming an obvious link in the chain making up a multipolar world," Mr. Putin said during his meeting with Mr. Chavez. "We will allocate more and more attention to this vector of our economics and foreign policy." Russia has already delivered Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, Mi-17 transport helicopters, and thousands of Kalashnikov assault rifles to Venezuela. There are also plans to build a factory in the country that will manufacture these weapons under license.

Ties between the two countries appear to have been strengthened following Russia's five-day war with Georgia last month, which caused relations between Moscow and the West to plummet to their lowest point since the Cold War.

At his meeting with Mr. Medvedev on Friday, Mr. Chavez expressed "firm support" for Russia's unilateral recognition of independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two Georgian separatist enclaves, Interfax reported. Only Nicaragua has officially followed Moscow's recognition, which prompted broad international criticism.

Mr. Chavez's remarks fell short of official recognition of the republics, despite speculation that he would use his visit to offer it.

Original article posted here.

More on the Israeli Georgia connection

Israeli Arms Sales to Georgia Raise New Concerns

by Peter Hirschberg

JERUSALEM - With the eruption of fighting between Russia and Georgia, Israel has found itself in an awkward position as a result of its arms sales to Georgia, caught between its friendly relations with Georgia and its fear that the continued sale of weaponry will spark Russian retribution in the form of increased arms sales to Iran and Syria. After fighting broke out late last week between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Israel's foreign ministry over the weekend recommended suspending the sale of all weapons and defense-related equipment to Georgia, the daily Ha'aretz newspaper reported. The paper quoted an unnamed senior official saying that Israel needed "to be very careful and sensitive these days. The Russians are selling many arms to Iran and Syria, and there is no need to offer them an excuse to sell even more advanced weapons." Israel's immediate concern is that Russia will proceed with the sale of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, which would help it defend its nuclear installations from aerial attack. Israel, like the U.S., believes that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing a bomb, and Israeli leaders have refused to rule out the possibility of a preemptive strike aimed at derailing Iran's nuclear aspirations. Israel recently conducted a major aerial exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece that was widely viewed as a rehearsal for a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations. But with the U.S. and Europe resorting to diplomatic pressure in the form of sanctions to deter Iran, Israel is loathe to anger Russia, which until now has opposed harsher sanctions on Tehran. Israel's relations with Georgia have been close, partly because there is a large Georgian Jewish community in Israel. In recent years, ties have also taken on a military dimension, with military industries in Israel supplying Georgia with some $200 million worth of equipment since 2000. This has included remotely piloted planes, rockets, night-vision equipment, other electronic systems, and training by former senior Israeli officers. "Israel should be proud of its military, which trained Georgian soldiers," Georgian Minister Temur Yakobashvili, who is Jewish, told Israel's Army Radio in Hebrew shortly after the fighting erupted. Israel is not a major supplier of arms to Georgia, with the U.S. and France supplying Tbilisi with most of its weaponry. But the arms transfers have attracted media attention partly because of the role played by some high-profile Israeli figures, including former Tel Aviv mayor Roni Milo, who conducted business in Georgia on behalf of Israel Military Industries. According to media reports, Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, a senior commander in the 2006 Lebanon war who resigned after the release of a highly critical report on the way the war was conducted, served as an adviser to Georgian security forces. Further attention was drawn to the Israel-Georgia arms trade earlier this year when a Russian jet shot down an Israeli-made drone being operated by the Georgians. Even though weapons transfers were modest in scope, Russian diplomats began increasingly relaying to Israel their annoyance over its military aid to Georgia, including the special forces training provided by security experts. Israel decided about a year ago to limit military exports to defensive equipment and training. New contracts weren't approved as the arms sales were scaled back. Georgia's request for 200 advanced Israeli-made Merkava tanks, for example, was turned down. There were reports in Israel that the sale of the tanks didn't go through because of a disagreement over the commission that was to be paid as part of the deal. But Amos Yaron, the former director-general of the defense ministry, insisted it had to do with "security-diplomatic considerations" – a clear reference to the sensitivity of the arms sales to Georgia. Israel, Yaron added, didn't want "to harm Russian interests too much." Asked about the motivation to initially engage in the sale of weaponry to Georgia despite concerns it might anger Russia, Yaron replied: "We did see that there was potential for a conflagration in the region but Georgia is a friendly state, it's supported by the U.S., and so it was difficult to refuse." Original article posted here.

Good job, Israel. Fucking up your ally. Try peace next time.

War in Georgia: The Israeli connection

For past seven years, Israeli companies have been helping Gerogian army to preparer for war against Russia through arms deals, training of infantry units and security advice

Arie Egozi

The fighting which broke out over the weekend between Russia and Georgia has brought Israel's intensive involvement in the region into the limelight. This involvement includes the sale of advanced weapons to Georgia and the training of the Georgian army's infantry forces.

The Defense Ministry held a special meeting Sunday to discuss the various arms deals held by Israelis in Georgia, but no change in policy has been announced as of yet.

Advice
Foreign Ministry warns Israelis against traveling to Georgia / Roee Nahmias
Ministry ups travel warning due to ongoing military conflict with Russia, asks Israelis already in Georgia to contact embassy in Tbilsi or ministry's situation room in Israel.

"The subject is closely monitored," said sources in the Defense Ministry. "We are not operating in any way which may counter Israeli interests. We have turned down many requests involving arms sales to Georgia; and the ones which have been approves have been duly scrutinized. So far, we have placed no limitations on the sale of protective measures."

Israel began selling arms to Georgia about seven years ago following an initiative by Georgian citizens who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople.

"They contacted defense industry officials and arms dealers and told them that Georgia had relatively large budgets and could be interested in purchasing Israeli weapons," says a source involved in arms exports.

The military cooperation between the countries developed swiftly. The fact that Georgia's defense minister, Davit Kezerashvili, is a former Israeli who is fluent in Hebrew contributed to this cooperation.

"His door was always open to the Israelis who came and offered his country arms systems made in Israel," the source said. "Compared to countries in Eastern Europe, the deals in this country were conducted fast, mainly due to the defense minister's personal involvement."

Among the Israelis who took advantage of the opportunity and began doing business in Georgia were former Minister Roni Milo and his brother Shlomo, former director-general of the Military Industries, Brigadier-General (Res.) Gal Hirsch and Major-General (Res.) Yisrael Ziv.

Roni Milo conducted business in Georgia for Elbit Systems and the Military Industries, and with his help Israel's defense industries managed to sell to Georgia remote-piloted vehicles (RPVs), automatic turrets for armored vehicles, antiaircraft systems, communication systems, shells and rockets.

According to Israeli sources, Gal Hirsch gave the Georgian army advice on the establishment of elite units such as Sayeret Matkal and on rearmament, and gave various courses in the fields of combat intelligence and fighting in built-up areas.

'Don't anger the Russians'

The Israelis operating in Georgia attempted to convince the Israeli Aerospace Industries to sell various systems to the Georgian air force, but were turned down. The reason for the refusal was "special" relations created between the Aerospace Industries and Russia in terms of improving fighter jets produced in the former USSR and the fear that selling weapons to Georgia would anger the Russians and prompt them to cancel the deals.


Israelis' activity in Georgia and the deals they struck there were all authorized by the Defense Ministry. Israel viewed Georgia as a friendly state to which there is no reason not to sell arms systems similar to those Israel exports to other countries in the world.


As the tension between Russia and Georgia grew, however, increasing voices were heard in Israel – particularly in the Foreign Ministry – calling on the Defense Ministry to be more selective in the approval of the deals with Georgia for fear that they would anger Russia.


"It was clear that too many unmistakable Israeli systems in the possesion of the Georgian army would be like a red cloth in the face of a raging bull as far as Russia is concerned," explained a source in the defense establishment.


For inctance, the Russians viewed the operation of the Elbit System's RPVs as a real provocation.


"It was clear that the Russians were angry," says a defense establishment source, "and that the interception of three of these RPVs in the past three months was an expression of this anger. Not everyone in Israel understood the sensitive nerve Israel touched when it supplied such an advanced arms system to a country whose relations with Russia are highly tense."

In May it was eventually decide to approve future deals with Georgia only for the sale of non-offensive weapon systems, such as intelligence, communications and computer systems, and not to approve deals for the sale of rifles, aircraft, sells, etc.

A senior source in the Military Industry said Saturday that despite some reporters, the activity of Georgia's military industry was extremely limited.

"We conducted a small job for them several years ago," he said. "The rest of the deals remained on paper."

Dov Pikulin, one of the owners of the Authentico company specializing in trips and journeys to the area, says however that "the Israeli is the main investor in the Georgian economy. Everyone is there, directly or indirectly."

Georgian minister: Israel should be proud

"The Israelis should be proud of themselves for the Israeli training and education received by the Georgian soldiers," Georgian Minister Temur Yakobashvili said Saturday.

Yakobashvili is a Jew and is fluent in Hebrew. "We are now in a fight against the great Russia," he said, "and our hope is to receive assistance from the White House, because Georgia cannot survive on its own.

"It's important that the entire world understands that what is happening in Georgia now will affect the entire world order. It's not just Georgia's business, but the entire world's business."

One of the Georgian parliament members did not settle Saturday for the call for American aid, urging Israel to help stop the Russian offensive as well: "We need help from the UN and from our friends, headed by the United States and Israel. Today Georgia is in danger – tomorrow all the democratic countries in the region and in the entire world will be in danger too."

Original article posted here.

The latest example of following the Moron's advice: risk of losing one's country and suffering humiliating military defeat. When will they learn?

Georgia and Russia Nearing All-Out War

Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

A Russian mobile artillery unit fires toward a Georgian position outside the South-Ossetian settlement of Dzhava on Saturday. More Photos >

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ, ANNE BARNARD and C. J. CHIVERS

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Russian Bombardment in Georgia

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The Times's Ellen Barry on Today's Developments in Georgia (mp3)

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Gleb Garanich/Reuters

The Georgian city of Gori after Russian air attacks on Saturday. More Photos »

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Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Georgian soldiers near a bombed building in Gori on Saturday. More Photos >

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David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters

A Georgian man mourned a dead relative in the town of Gori, which was hit by Russian bombs, according to residents. More Photos >

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NTV, via Agence France-Presse

Soldiers from South Ossetia, a breakaway Georgia enclave, on Thursday near Tskhinvali, where heavy fire was reported. More Photos >

GORI, Georgia — The conflict between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia moved toward all-out war on Saturday as Russia prepared to land ground troops on Georgia’s coast and broadened its bombing campaign both within Georgia and in the disputed territory of Abkhazia.

The fighting that began when Georgian forces tried to retake the capital of the South Ossetia, a pro-Russian region that won de facto autonomy from Georgia in the early 1990s, appeared to be developing into the worst clashes between Russia and a foreign military since the 1980s war in Afghanistan.

Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, declared that Georgia was in a state of war, ordering government offices to work around the clock, and said that Russia was planning a full-scale invasion of his country.

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived Saturday evening in Vladikavkaz, a city in southern Russia just over the border that is a military staging area, Russian news agencies reported.

The fighting had wide international implications, as both Russian and Georgian officials placed it squarely in the context of renewed cold war-style tensions and an East-West struggle for influence on Russia’s borders.

Georgian officials said their only way out of the conflict was for the United States to step in, but with American military intervention unlikely, they were hoping for the West to exert diplomatic pressure to stop the Russian attacks.

President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia said Russia was acting to restore peace in the Caucasus and protect its citizens and peacekeepers who had come under Georgian attack in South Ossetia.

Attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, President Bush directly called on Russia on Saturday to stop bombing Georgian territory, expressing strong support for Georgia in a direct challenge to Russia’s leaders.

“Georgia is a sovereign nation, and its territorial integrity must be respected,” Mr. Bush said in a hastily arranged appearance at his hotel in Beijing. “We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for the end of the Russian bombings.”

He said the United States was working with European allies to seek an international mediation in the simmering conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. He noted that administration officials had been in contact with officials in both countries “at all levels of government,” though neither side has so far showed a willingness to compromise.

Mr. Bush referred particularly to attacks spreading beyond South Ossetia, a reference to the Russian airstrikes in parts of Georgia itself. “The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia,” he said. “They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis. The violence is endangering regional peace, civilian lives are being lost, and others are in danger.”

He discussed the fighting with Mr. Putin during a social lunch at the Great Hall of the People on Friday and again at the opening ceremonies. The White House would did not disclose the details of what they said.

Pentagon officials said late Friday that the Georgian government had officially requested assistance in airlifting home the approximately 2,000 Georgian troops now in Iraq. The request was under review, and standard procedures would indicate that the United States Government would honor the request, officials said.

Alexander Lomaya, secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, said the conflict arose because Russia sought to “thwart its neighbors’ movement toward Western society and Western values.”

“Russia has clearly decided to redraw the borders of the Eastern Europe map of the post-cold war situation,” Mr. Lomaya said. “If the world is not able to stop Russia here, then Russian tanks and Russian paratroopers can appear in every European capital.”

He said only Western intervention could prevent all-out war.

“We still believe that a unified and consolidated Western pressure and Western opinion can bring some fruit,” he said.

In the early 1990s, he said, Russia began cultivating separatist movements along the outer limits of its territory — in Moldova, Georgia and the Baltic states — in an attempt to consolidate its sphere of influence.

In a news conference, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia said Georgian attacks on Russian citizens “amounted to ethnic cleansing,” and reserved some of his harshest language for Georgia’s allies, referring at one point to “Mr. Saakashvili and his Western friends.”

“Those who have been supplying arms to Georgia, they should feel part of the blame for the loss of life,” he said. Foreign leaders “who have been appeasing Mr. Saakashvili’s intentions, and helped create the feeling of impunity inside the Georgian, should think twice about whether this is right.”

But he said Moscow had been working intensively with foreign governments, in particular the United States. “We have been appreciative of the American efforts to pacify the hawks in Tbilisi. Apparently these efforts have not succeeded,” he said. “Quite a number of officials in Washington were really shocked when all this happened.”

Georgian officials said that Russian warplanes had attacked the major Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that carries oil to the West from Asia, but that the pipeline had not been struck.

Russian warplanes struck two apartment buildings in the city of Gori and clogged roads out of the area with fleeing refugees. Refugees also flowed out of the pro-Russian enclave of South Ossetia into Russia, where officials said 30,000 people had taken shelter.

Russia acknowledged that Georgian forces had shot down two Russian warplanes, while a senior Georgian official said the Georgians had destroyed 10 Russian jets.

Russian armored vehicles continued to stream into South Ossetia, and Russian officials said that 1,500 civilians had been killed in South Ossetia and that 12 Russian troops had died.

A Georgian government spokesman said that 60 civilians had been killed in Gori in the two apartment buildings, which were located near a tank base. Each side’s figures were impossible to confirm independently.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 100 planeloads of airborne troops would be brought to southern Russia and marched into the “zone of hostilities.” Georgian officials said at least 2,500 Russian troops were already in South Ossetia.

A column more than 60 miles long, with 650 armored vehicles, entered South Ossetia overnight, Russian television reported.

On Saturday, Russia notified Western governments that it was moving elements of its Black Sea fleet to Ochamchire, a small port in the disputed enclave, a senior Western official said.

A senior Georgian security official said that Russian ships were moving toward Georgia’s Black Sea Cost in order to land ground troops, and that 12 Russian jets were bombing the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia, another breakaway region that hugs the Black Sea.

The de facto government of pro-Russian Abkhazia asked United Nations peacekeepers to depart from their posts in the Kodori Gorge, a small mountainous area that Georgia had reclaimed by force in 2006. The peacekeepers withdrew, and aerial bombardments of the gorge began soon after, the official said.

“The record is crystal clear,” said the official, Mr. Lomaya, secretary of the country’s National Security Council. “Russia has launched a full-scale military operation, on air, land and sea. We have entered a totally new realm — politically, legally and diplomatically.”

Mr. Lomaya said that 50 Russian warplanes had flown over Georgia on Saturday, a tenfold increase over the number of sorties seen Friday.

Russian authorities said their forces had retaken the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, from Georgian control during the morning hours , while Georgian officials said they had withdrawn from the area voluntarily.

Twelve Russian troops were killed, according to Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a Colonel General in the Ministry of Defense. Mr. Nogovitsyn was asked whether Russia was in a state of war with Georgia, but he denied that. Russian officials said their forces had entered Tskhinvali to aid Russian peacekeepers based there who had come under sustained fire from Georgian troops on Thursday.

Shota Utiashvili, an official at the Georgian Interior Ministry, called the attack on Gori a “major escalation,” and said he expected attacks to increase over the course of Saturday.

In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, wounded fighters and civilians began to arrive in hospitals, most with shrapnel or mortar wounds. Several dozen names had been posted outside the hospital.

Michael Schwirtz reported from Gori, and Anne Barnard from Moscow. Reporting was contributed by Ellen Barry from Moscow; Andrew E. Kramer from Tblisi, Georgia; Matt Siegel from Vladikavkaz, Russia; and Steven Lee Myers from Beijing.

Original article posted here.

US losing even on defense contracts.

Russia forces USA out from its traditional arms markets

Russia forces the USA out from the traditional arms market. Russia has won a 4-billion-dollar contract with Saudi Arabia in a competition with the USA and France. This achievement of the Russian defense complex can be explained by both the high quality of the national military hardware defense equipment and the blunders of its Western competitors. However, Russia should not rest on its laurels: the current state of the nation’s defense industry is not good enough. It is not ruled out that the contract with Saudi Arabia may repeat the unfortunate fate of MiG supplies to Algeria.

Russia has entered the market area which has traditionally been under the USA’s control. In this case it goes about Saudi Arabia. Rumors of Russia’s intention to sign a multi-billion-dollar contract with the country appeared in November of 2007 when then-President Vladimir Putin met with the Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. On the eve of the meeting Putin toured Arab states, and visited Arab capital Riyadh where none of Russian and Soviet leaders had been before.

The West considered it a newspaper hoax, because Saudi Arabia was totally dependant on arms supplies from the West – presumably from the USA. More importantly, the country has not voiced a desire to change the supplier. However, Russia and Saudi Arabia preferred not to reveal details of their talks on the contract, which continued for about six months.

Now it is known that the contract is evaluated at four billion dollars. The Saudi king got interested in the wide range of Russia’s defense equipment: from aircraft and armored vehicles and missile complexes. It became known that a half of the contract accounts for 100 Mil helicopters (mainly, Mi-17 and Mi-35). Half a billion dollars accounts for 150 T-90C tanks. The contract also includes 20 middle-haul air defense systems Buk-M2E and several hundreds of BMP-3 infantry combat vehicles.

Why did Riyadh prefer Russia to the USA in terms of the military hardware? Saudi Arabia has been under strong influence of the USA and the UK for decades. It was caused by the struggle between the USSR and the West for influence areas, including the Middle East. Saudi kings saw a threat to their power from the USSR that tried to develop socialist regimes in Arab states. The state of affairs is different now. The Soviet Union broke up, which gave Saudi Arabia an opportunity to negotiate and cooperate with Russia.

Speak the truth and shame the devil on Pravda.ru forum

It is worthy of note that Russian weapons have been attractive to foreign buyers from the point of view of price and quality combination. Russia used to make arms shipments to other Gulf States such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait before. Experts say that Russian military vehicles showed better technical qualities than their Western analogues, which made Saudi Arabia evince great interest in Russian products.

However, the better quality of Russia’s defense equipment in comparison with US analogues was demonstrated during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. At that time most countries, including those possessing Soviet arms, joined the anti-Iraqi coalition. Syrian T-72 tanks successfully covered longer distances than USA Abrams tanks that broke down because of overheating and sand. That is only one of such episodes.

It is clear that such incidents did not make US arms more authoritative. In addition, last year the US Senate deprecated the deal with Saudi Arabia, according to which it was to obtain a set of high-precision bombs. The US administration believed that the bombs could fall into terrorists’ hands. Thus, Riyadh tried to find another supplier. They arranged the supply of helicopters and tanks with the French, but France demanded to extend the contract and to include Navy ships in it. However, Saudi Arabia did not like such impudence and apparently decided to punish France by signing a contract with Russia.

The contract evidences Russia’s success, but now the USA has nothing to worry about. Russia’s deal with Saudi Arabia is just a pinprick to them. For the time being, the Russian defense industry is a goose that lays golden eggs, but they are of poor quality. Russia should not forget that Saudi Arabia will not stand such treatment and in case of malfunction it will come back to the USA.

It is important for Russia at this juncture to save the reputation of a credible supplier. Urgent measures are necessary to improve the state of the Russian defense industry. In fact, it is the only branch of Russia’s industry that produces competitive goods on the world market. Young people do not want to engage in the defense industry because of low salaries.

Original article posted here.

Getting back to a normalized state of cold war

Well, at least SOMEONE has benefitted from the "War on Terror"

Russian Armed Forces more mobile, combat ready - Putin

MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Armed Forces have become more mobile and combat ready in recent years, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"The country's missile-nuclear potential has been reinforced with Topol-M missiles," Putin said during an official ceremony involving recently-decorated military top brass.

"Permanent strategic aviation patrols have also been restored," he added.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by President Putin.

"The naval task force has carried out successful expeditions in the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans. New tactics were practiced at Shanghai Cooperation Organization exercises, at the CIS united air defense tests and during Russian-Belarusian military command war-games," said the Russian leader, who is nearing the end of his second and final term as president.

Putin also said the country's Armed Forces faced new and more complicated tasks, including a military education reform.

"The talk is about a new long-term program of military development until 2020 taking into account modern challenges and threats to Russia's national interests," he said.

In a speech on February 8, President Putin blamed the West for unleashing a new international arms race.

Original article posted here.

The New Cold War that weazl has been talking about is officially launched

Russia forced into ‘new arms race’

By Catherine Belton in Moscow

Russia will develop a new generation of high-tech weapons in retaliation for Nato expansion and the US deployment of missile defence systems on its border, Vladimir Putin said on Friday as he lashed out against a “new arms race”.

In a speech just weeks before March 2 presidential elections in which his handpicked successor is expected to sweep to victory, the Russian president launched a blistering attack on the west’s foreign policy. He said Nato and the US had failed to respond to Moscow’s security concerns and had used consultations merely as “diplomatic cover for implementing their own plans”.

“In effect we are being forced to retaliate,” he said in a speech to Russia’s influential State Council, a gathering of political and business leaders. “Russia has, and always will have, responses to these new challenges,” he said to applause.

“Over the next several years, Russia should start the production of new types of weapons systems, which are in no way inferior to what other states have, and in some cases are superior.”

Mr Putin’s speech looked at first glance a testament to his eight years in power as he laid out how stability had been restored from the chaos of the 1990s. It was billed as setting Russia’s growth strategy until 2020. But he made no mention of his expected successor, Dmitry Medvedev, as he laid out broad policy goals for further economic growth over the next 12 years as if he were to remain in power.

Mr Medvedev, who is expected to remain under Mr Putin’s shadow for the first years of his presidency, has several times delayed speeches on his own programme for the economy.

Mr Putin’s broadsides against the west dominated the tone of the speech – just as the final years of his presidency have been dominated by a deepening chill in Russia’s relations with the west.

“Nato itself is expanding. It's approaching our borders. We drew down our bases in Cuba and in Vietnam. What did we get? New American bases in Romania, Bulgaria. A new third missile defence region in Poland.

“We are categorically being told these actions aren't directed at Russia, and therefore our concerns are completely unfounded. That's not a constructive response.

“It’s already clear that a new arms race is being unleashed across the world ... It’s not our fault, we didn’t start it,” he said.

He claimed growing foreign interest in Russia was being fuelled by a “mounting struggle for resources”, while attempts by foreign governments to interfere in Russian politics were “immoral and illegal”.

“We see how under the guise of declarations for freedom and open society the sovereignty of countries and entire regions is being destroyed,” he said in a clear nod to the US campaign in Iraq. “Many conflicts, foreign policy acts and diplomatic démarches smell of oil and gas.”

Nikolai Petrov, an analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Centre in Moscow, said the speech, peppered with ideology and calls for the population to unite against enemies trying to weaken Russia, was aimed at the Russian electorate ahead of the poll. Mr Petrov said it was also a clear sign to all that Mr Putin intended to remain in charge. “They are saying Putin is an epoch, and the epoch of Putin won’t end with elections.”

Mr Putin later met Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, in the highest-level talks between the two countries since 2004. Both sides sought to mend relations frayed by US plans to deploy missile interceptors in Poland and by Warsaw’s veto under its previous prime minister of the start of talks between Russia and the EU.

Mr Tusk said after the meeting that it was clear “both sides were bored with the cold atmosphere”.

Original article posted here.

And you don't think it's a new Cold War?

Putin suspends European arms pact

Putin had ordered the moratorium in July amid a row with the US over it missile shield plans [AFP] Russia has suspended its participation in a treaty that limits its military force in Europe dating back to the Cold war. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, signed a law suspending Russia's commitment to the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, the Kremlin announced on Friday. A day earlier, the US and the EU had urged Russia not to freeze its compliance to CFE. "The EU regards the treaty as the cornerstone of European security," Luis Amado, the Portuguese foreign minister, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said in Madrid. He said Europe was "deeply concerned ... about the future viability of the treaty should Russia cease to implement treaty operations". Putin's move comes on the final day of campaigning ahead of Russia's parliamentary elections. No redeployment planned The suspension will come into force on December 12, but a senior defence ministry official said the decision would not trigger any immediate redeployment of Russian forces. "The entry into force of the moratorium does not mean that Russia will immediately start redeploying troops on its flanks," the unnamed official was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. "But we reserve the right to move our forces on our territory where we consider them necessary." Putin had ordered the moratorium in July amid a row over US plans to install an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe. Arms control Criticising CFE, the speaker of the upper house of Russia's parliament and a Putin ally, described provisions of the treaty as "colonial". "Under this agreement, we cannot move a single tank on our own territory," Sergei Mironov was quoted by Interfax as saying. "Russia fulfilled the CFE provisions in good faith while Nato bases sprang up in Romania, Bulgaria and the United States prepared to install its anti-missile defence system along Russia's border." Mironov has said Russia could return to the treaty, although Western diplomats have questioned how such a return could be achieved. The 1990 arms control treaty set limits on the deployment of heavy conventional weapons by Nato and Warsaw Pact countries, to ease tensions along the border between the old Eastern bloc and Western Europe. The treaty was revised in 1999 after the break-up of the Soviet Union and Russia ratified the updated treaty in 2004. But the US and other Nato refused to follow suit, saying Moscow first must fulfil obligations to withdraw forces from Georgia and from Moldova's separatist region of Trans-Dniester. Nato members, led by the US, say they cannot ratify the pact because Moscow has not fully complied with a related commitment to withdraw its military presence from ex-Soviet Georgia and Moldova. Original article posted here.

George Bush's policies stimulating economic development. Just in perhaps the wrong countries.

Russia's arms exports could exceed $5.5 bn in 2007

By IANS

Moscow, Nov 26 (RIA Novosti) Russia may set a new record in sales of military equipment to foreign countries, with exports estimated at over $5.5 billion in 2007, state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Monday.

'Last year, we reached a record level of $5.3 billion. This year, we are planning to set a new record and increase arms exports to $5.5 billion,' company general director Sergei Chemezov said in an interview with Nezavisimaya gazeta daily.

Russia has almost doubled annual weapons exports since 2000, and some experts estimate this year's sales could far exceed the projected figures.

Mikhail Petukhov, deputy head of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, said on Nov 11 at the Dubai Air Show that overall exports, including supplies of spare parts under previous contracts, could total about $7 billion.

'The existing portfolio of orders and the growth trend allow us to hope for arms exports at a level of around $7 billion in 2007,' Petukhov said.

Russia exports weapons to about 80 countries. Among Rosoboronexport's key buyers are China, India, Algeria, Venezuela, Iran, Malaysia and Serbia.

Original article posted here.

The warming of the New Cold War

Putin warns NATO against border build-up

President Vladimir Putin warned NATO against "muscle-flexing" on Russia's border Tuesday and ordered top generals to raise the combat readiness of the country's nuclear missiles.

Meanwhile, the armed forces chief of staff, General Yury Baluyevsky, also confirmed that Russia would suspend adherence to a key Cold War arms treaty on December 12, news agencies reported.

"In violation of previous agreements, certain member countries of the NATO alliance are increasing their resources next to our borders," Putin told a meeting of defence chiefs in Moscow in comments broadcast on state television.

"Russia cannot remain indifferent to the clear muscle-flexing," he said.

The Kremlin leader, who earlier this year threatened to target nuclear missiles at Europe, said he wanted the atomic arsenal put on a higher level of readiness.

"One of the most important tasks remains raising the combat readiness of the strategic nuclear forces. They should be ready to deliver a quick and adequate reply to any aggressor," Interfax quoted him as saying.

Baluyevsky told the meeting of top brass that Russia would "certainly" suspend its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty on December 12.

"We will certainly fulfil this ruling exactly on time," Baluyevsky was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying, following a vote in parliament to suspend application of the CFE.

However, Putin left the door open to Russia resuming participation, saying Moscow will "re-examine the possibility of renewing its obligations after our partners join the adapted treaty and, more importantly, implement it."

The 1990 CFE treaty places strict limitations on the deployment of tanks and other military hardware across Europe.

Russia says it cannot stick to the CFE rules until members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ratify an updated version of the accord.

NATO has said it will do so only when Russia pulls its forces out of two ex-Soviet republics -- Georgia and Moldova.

The treaty's demise highlights deteriorating relations between Moscow and countries of the Atlantic alliance as Putin's administration pushes to reassert Russia on the international stage.

Putin ordered the CFE moratorium on July 13 amid a row over US plans to install an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe. Last Friday, the senate voted unanimous approval of the decree.

NATO criticised the decision as "regrettable."

Earlier this month, Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Kolmakov said that plans were being considered for boosting troop deployments on Russia's western flank, something impossible under the CFE.

Russia has also this year renewed long-distance strategic bomber patrols and to withdraw from other bedrock disarmament treaties dating from the Cold War.

Adding to the tension is the growing unease in the West with wide-ranging limitations imposed by Putin on democratic reforms and what critics call Russia's aggressive use of massive energy resources.

Moscow accuses Washington of interfering in Russia's backyard and attempting to rule the world as the sole superpower.

Original article posted here.

I guess the Moron won't be invading Moscow soon

Russia continues military upgrade while US bogged down in quagmire

Russia unveils pilotless 'stealth' bomber

file image of the SKAT...

Russia unveiled on Thursday the mock-up of a pilotless bomber plane that its constructors say will be even better than the famous US stealth fighter at evading enemy radars and anti-aircraft fire.

NTV television showed a full-sized model of the bat-like plane known as Skat, which means "stingray," at an airshow just outside Moscow -- the first public glimpse of the project run by Russia's MiG corporation.

The aircraft has a flattened, swept-back profile reminiscent of the US air force's stealth aircraft, with a bubble-like cockpit area, although the plane will not have a pilot, NTV reported.

According to the report, the Skat's constructors claim the stealth technology will make it even less vulnerable than the US version to radar detection.

"Many firms are trying to work in this area, but few so far have achieved results. Today we have begun real work on building an assault craft," the director of MiG's Mikoyan design bureau, Vladimir Barkovsky, said on NTV television.

RIA Novosti news agency quoted Barkovsky saying that the Skat will be able to attack land and sea targets, particularly enemy anti-aircraft sites, even if coming under heavy fire.

It will weigh 10 tonnes, be able to carry up to two tonnes of ordnance and have a range of 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles), RIA Novosti reported.

Original article posted here.

A deal to watch out for

Iran to buy Sukhoi 30s, fuel tankers, from Russia?

Tehran and the Russian arms export giant Rosoboronexport will shortly sign a mammoth arms deal. Tehran will buy 250 Su-30MKM warplanes and 20 IL-78 MKI fuel tankers, in a deal running into tens of billions of dollars, reports indicate. Iran will get delivery of the first aircraft before the end of 2007.

However, neither Moscow nor Tehran has confirmed that any such deal is on the cards. If it does go through, this transaction will be Russia's single largest arms deal in 30 years. On the other side, it will give Iran a long-range aerial attack capability, bringing targets across the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon, within its reach.

The Su-30 has an operating limit of four-and-a-half hours, with a maximum range of 3,000 km. Aerial fuel tankers can extend its operating sustainability to 10 hours and its range to 8,000 km, at altitudes of 10km to 13km. This will make the Iranian air force the second largest in the region, next only to Israel. The reports also indicated that Iranian aircrews were already training on the new Sukhoi aircraft, and will be ready to start flying them early next year.

Moscow has apparently agreed to sell Tehran the same Sukhoi model as India received earlier this year. However, this seems extremely unlikely, as India's Su-30s are equipped with Israeli avionics. Russia began delivering the same craft in June 2007 to Malaysia, which also sought Israeli avionics, but Tel Aviv refused point blank. Besides, some of the plane's systems are made by Thales of France, and the contract will have to be cleared with Paris as well.

The Su-30 MKM has a two-member crew. The first pilot flies the aircraft, controls weapons and manoeuvres the plane. The co-pilot employs BVR air-to-air and air-to-ground guided weapons in long-range engagements, sweeps the arena for enemy craft or missiles and is the command-and-control in group missions. The closest western plane to the Su-30 MKM is the American F-15E fighter-bomber.

Original article posted here.

In the midst of American decline, Russia unafraid of rising rhetoric and action

Putin calls for Russian leadership in military aviation

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pushed Russia's military aviation industry as a global leader, just days after announcing the resumption of Cold War-era strategic bomber flights.

"Russia has the task of retaining its leadership in fighting, military technology," Putin said at the opening of the Maks 2007 airshow in the town of Zhukovsky, a major test flight centre just southeast of the Russian capital.

"Russia has new economic potential and will in the future continue to pay particular attention to developing these technologies," Putin said, adding that the pilots taking part in the airshow were "the best in the world."

Maks 2007 is a "celebration of aviation in our country" that will also serve as a useful platform for signing export contracts for supplying foreign countries, he continued.

Flanked by the head of Russia's air force, government ministers and foreign guests including Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Putin then viewed a display of aircraft built by jetmakers Sukhoi, MiG and Tupolev.

The planes, most of them fighter jets, thundered and twirled through the hazy summer sky above the Zhukovsky airfield as an announcer called out the speed of the planes and the names of the pilots.

A Russian military aircraft takes part in the opening ceremony of the International Aviation and Space salon "MAKS-2007" in Zhukovsky airfield, outside Moscow. President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pushed Russia's military aviation industry as a global leader, just days after announcing the resumption of Cold War-era strategic bomber flights.(AFP/Viktor Korotayev) More Military Pictures

The head of Russia's state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, later told reporters that Russia had a "strong second place" in the military aviation market after the United States.

Chemezov also said that all the companies owned by Rosoboronexport, which has giant industrial holdings across Russia, would be floated on stock exchanges by 2012.

The Maks 2007 airshow followed Putin's announcement last week that Russia would resume its Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers on long-range flights well beyond its borders.

The resumption was consistent with Putin's efforts to boost Moscow's status internationally, but raised fears in Western capitals of a return to Cold War rivalry with Washington.

The strategic bombers were not on display at Maks 2007, but four new military jets -- the MiG-35, MiG-29K, Su-35 and Su-32 -- were to be showcased at the event, which had 787 exhibitors from 39 countries, officials said.

The Maks airshow was a measure "of the commercial progress of Russian military-technical cooperation with foreign countries," Chemezov was quoted as saying in a statement.

On the sidelines of the airshow, Chemezov signed a deal worth 330 million dollars (244 million euros) with Indonesia to supply six Sukhoi fighter jets in the biggest ever defence contract between the two countries, officials said.

Rosoboronexport said that it had already signed contracts worth 2.5 billion dollars this year for military aircraft and that it was supplying the air forces of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Venezuela.

Russian arms exports have surged since the industrial slump that followed the Soviet collapse in 1991. Russia's moves to regain Soviet-era markets in Asia, the Middle East and South America have raised hackles in Washington.

But William Hobbins, commander of US air forces in Europe, who also attended the airshow on Tuesday, praised Russia's military aircraft production and said air force cooperation between the two countries was strong.

"I will not discuss the political side but I will tell you that the military-to-military relationships are better than they've ever been," Hobbins said at a press conference.

Original article posted here.

Russia arming Syria. Irsael's unipolar world crumbling

Russia delivers air defence units to Syria: Report

MOSCOW: Russia has begun delivery of modern air defence units to Syria while rejecting speculation that some of the weapons could be forwarded secretly to Iran, a newspaper reported on Friday.

"The first part of the delivery to Syria has started," the centrist daily Nezavissimaya Gazeta reported, quoting information from a domestic military information agency.

A spokesman for Russia's arms export agency Rosoboronexport, however, declined to comment on the newspaper report.

The report acknowledged that the delivery of the weapons, the Pantsyr-S1E self-propelled short-range missile air defence system, was particularly sensitive in light of Israeli claims last year that Russian arms sold to Syria had ended up in the hands of militant group Hezbollah.

Israel fought a brief war with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon in July 2006 and afterwards accused Russia of indirectly supplying Hezbollah with relatively sophisticated anti-tank weapons, an accusation Moscow denied.

Nezavissimaya Gazeta quoted an official involved in Russian arms export policy as describing concerns that Russian air defense weapons could be re-exported to Iran as "silly rumours".

"This is not possible," Vitaly Shlykov, a member of the state committee on foreign and defence policy, was quoted as saying. "One of the conditions for every deal is the prohibition on transfer of the weaponry to a third country."

Officially, the contract was for the sale of 50 Pantsyr units for about 900 million dollars (670 million euros). Media reports have put the number of units sold to Syria at around 36.

In May, the London-based arms specialist magazine Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Syria had agreed to send Iran at least 10 of the Pantsyr units.

That report was categorically denied by a range of top Russian officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/Russia_delivers_air_defence_units_to_Syria_Report/articleshow/2287976.cms

Russia flexing, while Washington wanes. The consquences of cracking empires

Russia said flying more missions near US territory

Russian bombers are flying more missions than normal near U.S. territory, including Alaska, demonstrating their long-range strike capability, U.S. and Canadian officials said on Monday.

Russian aircraft carrying cruise missiles ran an aviation exercise near Alaska two weeks ago, according to Canadian Col. Andre Dupuis, an officer at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a U.S.-Canadian operation responsible for protecting both countries' airspace.

"They didn't do it to practice alone. They're making a point, doing it outside of their normal training cycle," he told Reuters. "They maintain capability."

Russian bombers were also tracked last week flying a course toward Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.

Some analysts and defense officials say the flights likely reflect Moscow's desire to display its military muscle to remind Washington of Russia's capabilities and express dismay over U.S. plans to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe.

One defense official called the Russian flights "a little bit of chest pounding, trying to let people know Russia's back in the game."

"Over the last probably three months or so the Russians have been flying their bomber force maybe a little bit more than we've seen in the past, certainly they're ranging farther than they have in the past," said U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.

"We've had a couple times where we've intercepted them out over international waters, near Alaska."

Relations between Washington and Moscow have been strained, partly by U.S. plans to put missile defense assets in former Soviet-allied territory.

Since meeting with U.S. officials to discuss the missile shield plans earlier this year, Moscow has issued a series of statements about building its military power.

In July, President Vladimir Putin told his top military and security officials that Russia needed to boost its armed forces and intelligence potential in the face of new security threats, including U.S. military plans in Europe.

Russia's navy chief has also said his country should have a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, mirroring the Soviet Union's military ambitions.

The head of long-range aviation in Russia's air force last week described the bomber flight over Guam as a revival of the long-haul missions to U.S.-patrolled areas common during the Cold War.

But Renuart downplayed concern about the increase in Russian military flights.

"I think clearly there's a political dynamic that's occurring right now with Russia. They're exercising I think some of their military capabilities coincident with some of the statements that have been made in the government," he said.

"But it's not provocative in any way. They follow the international rules. They've been very professional in how they've flown the flights, so I don't see anything reckless in it."

Renuart also said Russia's military generally warns its U.S. counterparts in advance of training exercises.

"A couple times, it's been a bit of a surprise," he said.

Original article posted here.

More moves in the global geopolitical resource war Part 2

US Hegemony Spawns Russian-Chinese Military Alliance

by Paul Craig Roberts

This week the Russian and Chinese militaries are conducting a joint military exercise involving large numbers of troops and combat vehicles. The former Soviet Republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgkyzstan, and Kazakstan are participating. Other countries appear ready to join the military alliance. This new potent military alliance is a real world response to neoconservative delusions about US hegemony. Neocons believe that the US is supreme in the world and can dictate its course. The neoconservative idiots have actually written papers, read by Russians and Chinese, about why the US must use its military superiority to assert hegemony over Russia and China. Cynics believe that the neocons are just shills, like Bush and Cheney, for the military-security complex and are paid to restart the cold war for the sake of the profits of the armaments industry. But the fact is that the neocons actually believe their delusions about American hegemony. Russia and China have now witnessed enough of the Bush administration's unprovoked aggression in the world to take neocon intentions seriously. As the US has proven that it cannot occupy the Iraqi city of Baghdad despite 5 years of efforts, it most certainly cannot occupy Russia or China. That means the conflict toward which the neocons are driving will be a nuclear conflict. In an attempt to gain the advantage in a nuclear conflict, the neocons are positioning US anti-ballistic missiles on Soviet borders in Poland and the Czech Republic. This is an idiotic provocation as the Russians can eliminate anti-ballistic missiles with cruise missiles. Neocons are people who desire war, but know nothing about it. Thus, the US failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reagan and Gorbachev ended the cold war. However, US administrations after Reagan's have broken the agreements and understandings. The US gratuitously brought NATO and anti-ballistic missiles to Russia's borders. The Bush regime has initiated a propaganda war against the Russian government of Vladimir Putin. These are gratuitous acts of aggression. Both the Russian and Chinese governments are trying to devote resources to their economic development, not to their militaries. Yet, both are being forced by America's aggressive posture to revamp their militaries. Americans need to understand what the neocon Bush regime cannot: a nuclear exchange between the US, Russia, and China would establish the hegemony of the cockroach. In a mere 6.5 years the Bush regime has destroyed the world's good will toward the US. Today, America's influence in the world is limited to its payments of tens of millions of dollars to bribed heads of foreign governments, such as Egypt's and Pakistan's. The Bush regime even thinks that as it has bought and paid for Musharraf, he will stand aside and permit Bush to make air strikes inside Pakistan. Is Bush blind to the danger that he will cause an Islamic revolution within Pakistan that will depose the US puppet and present the Middle East with an Islamic state armed with nuclear weapons? Considering the instabilities and dangers that abound, the aggressive posture of the Bush regime goes far beyond recklessness. The Bush regime is the most irresponsibly aggressive regime the world has seen since Hitler's. Original article posted here.

Russia ever more unafraid, US ever more impotent

Russian bombers resume Cold War sorties

Flights to Guam intended to showcase Moscow’s resurgent military prowess

MOSCOW - Russian bombers have flown to the island of Guam — home to a major U.S. military base — for the first time since the Cold War in an exercise intended to show the Kremlin’s resurgent military power, an air force general said Thursday.

Two Tu-95 bombers reached Guam, a U.S. territory, this week, and their crews smiled at the pilots of the U.S. fighter jets that scrambled to intercept them, said Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov.

“Whenever we saw U.S. planes during our flights over the ocean, we greeted them,” Androsov said. “On Wednesday, we renewed the tradition when our young pilots flew by Guam in two planes. We exchanged smiles with our counterparts who flew up from a U.S. carrier and returned home.”

The flight to the Pacific island was part of a three-day exercise that saw Russian strategic bombers making 40 sorties and launching eight cruise missiles, said Androsov, who commands Russia’s long-range bomber force.

The incident coincided with a weeklong exercise by the U.S. military off Guam involving more than 22,000 troops, dozens of ships and hundreds of aircraft. U.S. officials have said that the war games, which began Tuesday, were not connected in any way to world events or targeted at any country.

During the Cold War, Soviet bombers routinely flew far over the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans — the areas from where they would launch nuclear-tipped cruise missiles at the United States in case of war. The maneuvers came to a halt after the post-Soviet economic meltdown, but booming oil prices have allowed Russia to pour money into military budgets.

Chilly relations
The Kremlin also has taken an increasingly assertive posture on the international stage amid increasingly chilly relations with the United States and NATO.

In recent years, the military has sent strategic bombers to areas off Norway and Iceland, as well as the regions across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Last month, two Russian Tu-95 bombers briefly entered British airspace but turned back after British fighter jets intercepted them. Norwegian F-16s were also scrambled when two Tu-95s headed south along the Norwegian coast in international airspace.

Russia’s top naval officer, meanwhile, said earlier this month that the navy could revive a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, as in Soviet times.

Original article posted here.

I guess someone doesn't trust Washington anymore

Venezuela's Chavez to finalise Russian submarines deal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to finalise a deal on buying up to nine Russian submarines during a visit here later this month, a Russian newspaper reported on Thursday.

Caracas has already ordered five 636-type diesel submarines and four of a new model of diesel submarine, the 677E Amur, the Kommersant broadsheet said, quoting unnamed sources in the ship-building and arms export sectors.

Chavez may have to settle for the older 636 submarines for the time being as the new 677E Amur has not yet been presented to Russia's own navy, a source at the arms export agency Rosoboronexport said.

"To start off with they were insisting on only the Amurs but were then persuaded to take the 636 vessels," the source told Kommersant.

The paper said Chavez planned to visit Russia on June 29, less than a year after a visit last July, the paper said.

If it goes ahead, the deal is likely to become a "new irritant in relations between Moscow and Washington," the paper commented.

Venezuela has become a major buyer of Russian arms in recent years, angering the United States, which worries about Chavez's anti-American tone.

Since 2005 Caracas has spent 3.4 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) on arms from Russia, including 24 fighter planes, 35 military helicopters, air defence systems and 100,000 kalashnikov rifles, the paper said.

Venezuela wants the submarines in order to overcome a possible US naval blockade, the paper said.

The deal "could become a new irritant in relations between Moscow and Washington," Kommersant said.

Between 2004 and 2006 Russia supplied eight of the 636 submarines to China and is now building two such submarines for Algeria, Kommersant added.

Original article posted here.