Russia: Talks with NATO over missile system deadlocked

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and chief negotiator with the NATO on the deployment of a missile system in Europe

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225567.html

Russia says its negotiations with the NATO over the deployment of a missile system belonging to the Western military alliance within Europe have reached ‘a dead end.’

On Monday, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and chief negotiator with the NATO on the deployment of the missile system, called the missile system a threat to Russia's security.

Antonov pointed out that Moscow may pull out of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed with Washington in 2010.

“New challenges emerge, including missile and nuclear proliferation … That’s why Russia’s military doctrine envisages the use of nuclear weapons in specific cases,” he said.

“I do not rule out that under certain circumstances we will have to boost, not cut, our nuclear arsenal,” the Russian deputy defense minister added.

Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had accused Washington and NATO of pointing the missile system at his country.

US-led NATO has claimed that the missile system is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russian concerns.

However, Moscow says it wants legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed at Russia.

Russia test fires long-range missile

Russian missiles. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/217980.html

Russia has successfully test fired its long-range ballistic missile with a new warhead aimed at developing a domestic missile shield capable of encountering US-NATO missile threats.

On Tuesday, Russia tested its long-range ballistic missile RS-18, known as Stilet (Stileto) to the West, from its Baiknonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

According to a statement by the Russian defense ministry, the missile hit its target on the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific

This is while tension is on the rise between Moscow and Washington over a US-NATO missile system in Europe which excludes Russia's participation.

The US claims that its missile system is designed to avert possible missile attacks by either Iran or North Korea, the two major countries that have fiercely resisted US interference in their respective counties.

However, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he is not convinced with Washington's claims and wants legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed at Russia.

The US, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran.

Tehran has categorically refuted Western allegations, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.

'Russia boosts littoral defense in Syria'

A model supersonic cruise missile (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213298.html

Russia has reportedly laid the groundwork for heightened defensive precautions along the Syrian coastline amid the potential of a Western-led military attack against the Middle Eastern nation.

On Thursday, an unnamed Russian military source said that Moscow had delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

"This weapon allows coverage of the entire coastline of Syria from possible attack from the sea," the source noted.

In November, Russian sources said Moscow was sending its warships to Syrian waters to block any attack led by the Western military alliance of NATO against the country under the guise of 'humanitarian intervention.'

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both in favor of and against President Bashar al-Assad.

Hundreds of people, including many members of the security forces, have been killed in the unrest.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deadly violence, saying that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

The opposition and Western countries, however, accuse the Syrian security forces of being behind the killings. Damascus strongly rejects the claim, asserting that the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the US and the European Union to put an end to their threats against Syria.

In October, Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning the Syrian government.

Moscow said the resolution could have led to a Western military intervention in Syria similar to the one in Libya, where, it said, NATO had overstepped its UNSC mandate

West warned against anti-Iran agitation

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/213296.html

The Chinese and Russian governments have called on Western countries to show restraint over Iran, warning them against escalating tensions with the country.

"We hope the countries involved will keep calm, rational and restrained to avoid emotional actions,” that can aggravate the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by Xinhua as saying at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The remarks came after British Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered the closure of Iran's embassy in London following a Tuesday protest rally staged by Iranian students outside the British embassy in Tehran.

The student rally followed approval by Iran's Majlis (parliament) of a bill aimed at downgrading ties with the UK and in protest at Britain's hostile policies towards the Islamic Republic.

Also on Thursday and in an apparent reaction to the rallies, foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions against 180 more Iranian individuals and companies, but failed to bring into force an embargo against the country's oil sector. The ministers, however, claimed that they would keep working on developing additional restrictive means, which would directly affect Iran's oil industry.

Hong added that China had "taken note of" the aggressive responses to the student protests.

Russia has also cautioned Western countries against further souring their relations with Iran.

"We speak out categorically against cranking up a spiral of tension and confrontation on issues linked with Iran. We believe that this ... is fraught with severe consequences," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.

"The increasing tensions in relations with Tehran is essentially blocking the renewal of talks" between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US -- plus Germany (P5+1) over Tehran's nuclear program, Lukashevich added.

On November 21, the United States, Britain, and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors after a November 8 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tehran's nuclear program, which had alleged diversion in the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.

The report has been dismissed by Tehran as "unbalanced, unprofessional, and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly the United States.”

The US, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to push for the imposition of sanctions on Tehran as well as to call for the launch of a military attack against the country.

Iran, however, refutes such allegations as 'baseless' and maintains that, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has every right to acquire and develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence of diversion in Tehran's civilian nuclear program.

Russia activates military radar facility

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212829.html

Russia has officially activated an early warning military radar facility in response to a planned US missile system in Europe.

On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev inaugurated the facility in the western exclave of Kaliningrad, the Associated Press reported.

"I hope that our partners will perceive this move as the first signal of our country's readiness to respond in kind to the threats, which the missile defense system poses for our forces," Medvedev said, referring to US missile system in Europe.

Medvedev added that in case a cooperation agreement was made, the massive radar could be integrated in a joint NATO-Russia missile shield.

The opening of the radar facility comes days ahead of parliamentary elections.

Earlier, Russia threatened to block NATO's routes to Afghanistan, if the Western military alliance continued to disregard Moscow's concerns regarding the US-led missile shield for Europe.

The US and NATO have also refused to sign a written guarantee requested by Russia, claiming their system does not target Moscow.

The Russian government has long opposed NATO's disputed plan of deploying an anti-missile shield in Europe, arguing that the would-be system in its "backyard” is not to secure Washington's European allies, but is effectively aimed at Russia.

NATO claims that the anti-missile shield is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russia's concerns.

West must end Syria threats: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212798.html

The Russian foreign minister has called on the US and the European Union to put an end to their threats against Syria, urging Washington and the European bloc to exercise diplomacy on Damascus.

“Right now, the most important thing is to stop acting by means of ultimatums and try to move toward political dialogue,” AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.

He further criticized a proposal by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to impose a complete arms embargo on Syria.

On Monday, the UNHRC accused Syria of committing crimes against humanity and called for an arms embargo against the Middle Eastern country.

In addition, the Arab League on Sunday approved unprecedented sanctions against Syria.

The sanctions include cutting transactions with the Syrian Central Bank and an embargo on the investments for projects in Syria.

“We are going to view another embargo, this one against Syria, based on the experience that we gained from the Libyan example,” Lavrov said.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both in favor of and against President Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, saying that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

President Assad has warned against any foreign attack against Syria, saying the military action will cause instability in the whole Middle East.

Russia threatens to block NATO routes

Trucks carrying NATO supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/212755.html

Russia has threatened to block NATO's supply routes to Afghanistan, should the Western military alliance continue to disregard Moscow's concerns about the US-led defense shield for Europe, a report says.

Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitri Rogozin warned that Moscow will review its cooperation with the Western military alliance on Afghanistan if the NATO fails to address Russia's objections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that direct actions will be taken if his country's concerns are not addressed.

Medvedev envisioned possible missile attacks on Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey as a means to disable the counter-missile batteries, if the United States fails to acknowledge the concerns of the Russian defense officials.

He also warned that the country will deploy nuclear weapons to European borders in response to the move.

Russia's threats to suspend the NATO supply lines to Afghanistan coincides with a similar punitive measure taken by Pakistan on Saturday in retaliation to the US-led alliance's recent airstrikes on Pakistani military forces, which killed 24 soldiers.

NATO started using safer routes in Russia to deliver its supplies to its forces since Washington and Moscow reset diplomatic relations in 2009.

The Russian government has long opposed the NATO's disputed plan of deploying an anti-missile shield in Europe, arguing that the would-be system in its "backyard” is not to secure Washington's European allies, but is effectively aimed at Russia.

NATO claims that the anti-missile shield is planned to thwart possible attacks from 'rogue' states, and it will go ahead with the plan despite Russia's concerns.

Russia will hit US missile sites if no deal

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and President Vladimir Putin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/211689.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will target US missile defense sites in Europe if Washington goes ahead with the planned shield despite Moscow's concerns.

Medvedev said on Wednesday that he will deploy strike systems in the west and south of Russia, and deploy Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region in order to counter the risk posed by the European missile defense system, Russia Today reported.

“By my order the Defense Ministry will run in a warning system radar station in Kaliningrad without delay,” the Russian president said.

“In the event of unfavorable developments (in regards to European missile defense), Russia reserves the right to halt further steps in the disarmament sphere and, respectively, weapons control,” Medvedev said.

He added, “Besides, given the inseparable interconnection between the strategic offensive and defensive weapons, grounds may appear for our country's withdrawal from the START treaty.”

The new START treaty, signed by Russian President Medvedev and US President Barack Obama in the Czech capital of Prague in April 2010, replaced START 1, which expired in December 2009.

New START went into force on February 5, 2011. The arms reduction pact would limit Washington and Moscow to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each.

Russia fears that the plans for missile shields in Europe, including in Romania and Poland, would undermine its nuclear deterrence, and thus has been seeking legally binding guarantees to check it.

During a meeting in Lisbon in late November 2010, Russia agreed to cooperate with NATO on the US-backed pan-European missile system.

Russia's agreement with NATO, however, raised eyebrows as Moscow had traditionally been fiercely opposed to the missile system.

Moscow has called for the shared control of the system but Washington refuses to share the responsibility for protecting NATO member-states with a third party.

Yanukovych sworn in as Ukraine president

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119459§ionid=351020606


Viktor Yanukovych has sworn in as Ukraine's new president, amid speculations that he will seek closer ties with Moscow.

"I, Viktor Yanukovych, elected president of Ukraine by the will of the people, swear the oath of loyalty to Ukraine," he said at a ceremony in parliament attended by a host of foreign dignitaries.

"I vow to defend through my actions the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the rights and freedoms of its citizens," he said.

As the supporters of Yanukovych's electoral rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko left their seats empty, the new president vowed to tackle Ukraine's economic problems and lead the country out of the crisis.

Tymoshenko has accused Yanukovych of winning the election through fraud and refused to attend the ceremony in the parliament.

"Yanukovich, who came to power by lies, is not our president and he will not last long," she declared in a fiery televised broadcast on Monday.

The 49-year-old premier added that she would not "under any circumstance create a coalition with Yanukovich."

The newly sworn in president has called on Tymoshenko to resign gracefully after her narrow defeat by a margin of some 3.5 percent in the February 7 presidential elections. But the charismatic prime minister has refused to budge.

Russian defense pact with Abkhazia upsets NATO

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118915§ionid=351020602


The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has hit back at Moscow for signing a deal with Abkhazia for the construction of a military base in the Black Sea enclave.

The alliance swiftly urged the Kremlin to reverse what it called its “invalid” agreement, saying it violates restrictions on military forces set in a 2008 peace accord.

"The North Atlantic Council has condemned the decision by the Russian Federation to recognize the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and calls on it to revoke this decision," the alliance spokeswoman Carmen Romero said.

“[NATO] continues to call on Russia to respect its engagements under the (2008) ceasefire accord concluded under EU mediation," she added.

Abkhazia's leader Sergei Bagapsh signed the agreement with the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin on Wednesday.

The pact will build on previous agreements that allow Russia to maintain troops and border guards in the region.

According to the Russian RIA-Novosti news agency, the agreement allows Russian forces "to defend the sovereignty and safety of the Republic jointly with the armed forces of Abkhazia."

The deal, which will be in force for 49 years, determines the legal status of Russian personnel and base property.

Tbilisi has condemned the pact as part of what it calls Moscow's strategy of occupation.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the agreement will help Abkhazia develop as an independent state.

Moscow recognized the Republic of Abkhazia in August 2008 after crushing a military assault by Georgia's US-allied government on the other autonomous region of South Ossetia. Several other countries later followed suit.