Vladimir Putin signalled the return of the arms race yesterday when he boasted of developing new nuclear weapons and warned the United States not to ignore Russia’s objections to a missile defence shield in Europe.
The Russian President announced a “grandiose plan” to restore Russia’s armed forces, which he appeared to link to the US invasion of Iraq. He described the invasion as an attempt to seize control of oil supplies and warned that Russia could defend its energy reserves against external threats.
He set out his plans during a live, televised question-and-answer session with ordinary Russians. A mechanic from Siberia raised a comment, allegedly made by Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State, that it was “unjust” for Russia to have exclusive control of the region’s oil reserves.
Mr Putin replied: “I know that such ideas occupy the minds of certain politicians. This is a kind of political erotica, which perhaps can give some people pleasure but is unlikely to yield any results. The best example of that are events in Iraq — a small country that can hardly defend itself and which possesses huge oil reserves. And we see what’s going on there. Thank God, Russia is not Iraq. It is strong enough to protect its interests within its national territory and, by the way, in other regions of the world.”
The three-hour broadcast included footage of the latest version of Russia’s Topol-M ballistic missile being test-fired from the Plesetsk space centre in northern Russia. State television claimed that it hit a target thousands of miles away in the Pacific. When Mr Putin congratulated the group of officers who had fired the missile on their achievement they shouted in reply: “We serve our fatherland!”
He then promised a massive programme over the next few years to modernise Russia’s military. Its armed forces fell into decline during the economic chaos of the 1990s that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now Russia is flush with oil revenues and its economy is booming and a hawkish Mr Putin made clear that he was determined to restore its military prestige.
He said: “We will develop missile technology including completely new strategic \ complexes, completely new. Work is continuing successfully. We have plans that are not only big but grandiose, and they are fully realistic. Our armed forces will be more compact but more effective and better ensure Russia defence.”
The President gave no details of the new atomic weapons, but promised to introduce new missiles, bomber aircraft and submarines to bolster what he called the “nuclear triad” of Russia’s military capabilities. He said: “We will pay attention not only to developing the nuclear triad but other weapons as well. I hope that by 2012 to 2015 we will see a new generation of jet fighters completed and sent into active duty.” Russia would also modernise its fleet of Bear strategic nuclear bombers. Mr Putin ordered the fleet to resume round-the-clock patrols in August for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Britain and other Nato countries have scrambled fighter jets repeatedly since then to shadow the bombers near their airspace.
Mr Putin made it clear that Russia would deploy weapons to counter the proposed defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. He said that US officials were examining Russian proposals to end the stand-off, but warned: “If a decision is made without taking Russia’s opinion into account, then we will certainly take steps in response to ensure the security of Russian citizens.”
He urged the US to set a date for withdrawing its forces from Iraq, saying that the war was at a “dead end”. He said: “One can wipe off a political map some tyrannical regime . . . but it’s pointless to fight with a people.”
The US offered to delay switching on the missile defence shield to help to convince Russia that Washington’s “Son of Star Wars” plan does not threaten Moscow. The shield is due to be operational by 2013. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, and Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, made the offer during a visit to Moscow this week.
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