DATE=1/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / SECURITY (L)
NUMBER=2-258085
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia has published a new national security
doctrine that was signed into law by Acting President
Vladimir Putin on Monday. V-O-A Moscow correspondent
Eve Conant reports the new security concept makes it
easier for Russia's leaders to use nuclear weapons to
counter what the country views as a growing military
threat.
TEXT: Russia's new security doctrine states it would
allow leaders to use all possible forces, including
nuclear weapons, to "repel armed aggression" - a vague
expression that implies that even a conventional
weapons attack could be met with a nuclear response.
Under Russia's early 1997 doctrine, nuclear weapons
could only be deployed in cases where Russia's
national sovereignty was threatened. The 21-page
document reflects Russia's growing concern over issues
such as NATO's eastward expansion, terrorism, Russia's
economic decline and its deteriorating conventional
forces.
Analysts say the doctrine shows that Russia feels its
nuclear deterrent is the only leverage the country
still has after years of post-Soviet economic and
political turmoil. The document states that Russia is
threatened not only by NATO and a weak United Nations,
but also by the possibility of separatism in its 89
regions - with the bloody campaign in Chechnya as a
prime example. The doctrine says other countries are
trying to weaken Russia's political structure, economy
and military.
Viktor Kremenyuk of Moscow's U-S-A-Canada Institute
says Russia is afraid that its weak and demoralized
military would not be able to safeguard the country
against outside attacks.
/// Kremenyuk Act ///
Especially following the war in Kosovo, Russia
feels that in the area of conventional forces,
it has become much weaker than the West. If
during the Cold War there was a rough military
balance in Europe, right now, of course, the
NATO forces are four or five times stronger than
the Russian forces. So Russians feel that if
the need arises they'll have to compensate their
weakness in the conventional area with small
nuclear weapons.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Kremenyuk says the doctrine, called the "Concept
of National Security," shows that Russia's new acting
president, Vladimir Putin, is much more willing that
his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, to rely on nuclear
weapons and military strategy. But he says the
doctrine is also a way to show the West how much
Russia dislikes the growing status of the United
States as the world's only superpower.
Moscow's preferred global balance is for what
officials have called a "multipolar" world with
different power blocs, not just what it views as a
United States that acts as a global policeman who can
bypass international law. Viktor Kremenyuk says the
new document should be a warning to the West.
/// Kremenyuk Act ///
Somehow, the relations are sliding more and more
into a new type of confrontation. Russians want
maybe just to demonstrate a red flag to people
in the West that they will not hesitate in at
least retargeting their nuclear missiles and
again threaten major western cities. So Western
politicians will have to think twice before they
start a really heavy anti-Russian barrage in
their politics.
/// End Act ///
Russia's new security doctrine says the country is
still a world power, but that what it calls "a number
of states" are trying to marginalize it - a move that
it says could destabilize the international situation.
The document calls for Russia to build a socially
oriented market economy and to battle organized crime
and corruption. It says a strong economy is the only
way Russia can guarantee its strategic interests.
(Signed)
NEB/EC/GE/ENE/JP
14-Jan-2000 14:37 PM EDT (14-Jan-2000 1937 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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