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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


February 2004 Russia Special Weapons News



  • Korean nuclear problem won`t be resolved this year: diplomat IRNA 29 Feb 2004 -- "The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula will not be settled this year because of political factors," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
  • QATAR/RUSSIA VOA 29 Feb 2004 -- Officials in the Gulf state of Qatar are calling for Russia to explain why two Qatari athletes were arrested in Moscow last week. A dispute is growing between the two countries over Qatar's detention of two Russian men suspected of involvement in the car bombing assassination of a former Chechen leader.
  • RF, Iran put off deal on spent nuclear fuel for technical reasons IRNA 28 Feb 2004 -- Moscow and Tehran have so far not signed an agreement on the return of spent nuclear fuel from Iran to Russia `only for technical reasons`, Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said.
  • Georgia: Bush Urges Russia To Withdraw Its Forces RFE/RL 26 Feb 2004 -- Georgia: Bush Urges Russia To Withdraw Its Forces
  • Pak-Russia anti-terrorism talks fruitful: Russian diplomat IRNA 26 Feb 2004 -- A senior Russian diplomat here on Thursday said Pakistan and Russian officials held "fruitful" discussions on the cooperation against terrorism this week.
  • Russia vows to continue nuclear cooperation with Iran PLA Daily 26 Feb 2004 -- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko Wednesday reiterated Russia's promise to continue cooperating with Iran in the field of nuclear energy.
  • RUSSIA / QATAR VOA 26 Feb 2004 -- Russia has protested the arrest of two of its security service agents in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The men were detained for allegedly killing a former president of the breakaway region of Chechnya two-weeks ago.
  • QATAR/CHECHNYA VOA 26 Feb 2004 -- The Gulf state of Qatar has charged two Russian men with murder in the assassination of a former Chechen leader two-weeks ago.
  • Russia supports Iran`s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy IRNA 25 Feb 2004 -- Russia supports Iran`s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, and intends to continue cooperation with it in this field, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko stated on Wednesday.
  • Pakistan, Russia set to boost defense ties IRNA 25 Feb 2004 -- Pakistan said on Wednesday it is set to reinvigorate relations with Russia and expand bilateral relations in all fields particularly defense and communications.
  • China, Russia urge all sides to show flexibility and sincerity in six-party talks PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Chinese and Russian officials here Monday urged all sides of the six-party talks "to show flexibility and sincerity" and "avoid confrontations" when holding discussions on concrete problems.
  • Russian, US, Japanese delegations arrive for six-party talks PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Russian, US and Japanese delegations successively arrived in Beijing Monday to attend the forthcoming six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue.
  • Russia to play active role at upcoming six-party talks on DPRK PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- Russia intends to play an active role in the six-party talks to be held soon in Beijing on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
  • Russia expects final document on DPRK nuclear issue at six-party talks PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- Russia hopes that the imminent second round of six-party talks on nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will produce a draft final document formulating the key demands of the parties concerned, a high-ranking official said Sunday.
  • Putin urges enhancement of Russian army's combat capability PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday stressed the need to improve the Russian army's combat capability to ensure national security.
  • Moscow-Tehran atomic energy cooperation positive: Asefi IRNA 22 Feb 2004 -- Atomic energy cooperation between Moscow and Teheran is positive, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a Sunday press conference.
  • Putin vows to build missile defense system with new strategic weapons PLA Daily 19 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country may begin building its own missile defense system and the military will be equipped with new strategic weapons.
  • Russia's military exercise fires four missiles, one failed PLA Daily 19 Feb 2004 -- Russia launched four missiles Wednesday as part of its ongoing military exercise, but one of them was self-destructed after veering off course.
  • Russia: War Games Misfire, But Public Officials, State Media So Far Largely Silent RFE/RL 18 Feb 2004 -- Military war games designed to highlight Russia's ballistic missile capability have turned into a major embarrassment. Yesterday, two submarine-fired intercontinental missiles failed to launch, as Russian President Vladimir Putin looked on. Today, another missile self-destructed as it veered off course shortly after being fired. Accounts of the mishaps are filtering into the Russian press and are once again raising questions about the state of the Russian military. The authorities, following past practice, are so far keeping silent.
  • Putin inspects Russia's naval exercise PLA Daily 18 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday went out to the Barents Sea aboard a nuclear submarine to inspect an ongoing naval exercise, which is said to be the largest of its kind since the Soviet era.
  • Russia: Are War Games Meant To Send A Message, Or Simply To Flex Aging Equipment? RFE/RL 17 Feb 2004 -- The Russian military has launched war games billed as the largest military exercise since Soviet times. The drills even involve the test firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Is this a case of pre-election fireworks or an important strategic maneuver?
  • RUSSIA/MILITARY VOA 17 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is observing major military exercises that are to include the test-firing of ballistic missiles. Russian officials say the exercises are aimed at testing Russia's military readiness, but some analysts suggest they are a public relations move before the March presidential election.
  • Russia defies US pressures to halt cooperation with Iran IRNA 17 Feb 2004 -- Russia will never yield to US pressures to stop nuclear cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, said a Russian atomic energy official here Tuesday.
  • Russia stresses continuation of nuclear cooperation with Iran IRNA 17 Feb 2004 -- Russian minister of atomic energy reiterated here Tuesday Moscow`s intention to continue nuclear cooperation with Tehran.
  • Delay of atomic energy minister`s visit to Iran purely technical IRNA 14 Feb 204 -- The decision to postpone the Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev`s visit to Iran has no political background and the reasons for the decision are purely technical.
  • RUSSIA/IRAN VOA 13 Feb 2004 -- The Russian minister in charge of atomic energy says he believes outstanding issues regarding the transfer of nuclear fuel to Iran starting next year can be settled soon. The minister has postponed a trip to Iran to sign an agreement, but, according to the Itar-Tass news agency, the decision was not political.
  • QATAR/BLAST VOA 13 Feb 2004 -- A former Chechen leader who has been linked to the al-Qaida terror network was killed Friday in a car explosion in the Gulf state of Qatar.
  • Russia to launch nuclear deterrence exercise: Putin PLA Daily 13 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will hold a large-scale exercise for its nuclear deterrence forces soon.
  • Russian military plane crashes, no casualties PLA Daily 13 Feb 2004 -- A Russian Su-24 warplane crashed inthe country's Far East region Thursday morning, but the two pilotssurvived and no casualties on the ground was reported, Interfax news agency reported.
  • Russia seeking acceptable solution on WW2 peace treaty with Japan:diplomat PLA Daily 12 Feb 2004 -- A senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday that his country would continue searching for an "acceptable" solution to the still outstanding World War II peace treaty with Japan.
  • Iran, Russia study nuclear cooperation IRNA 12 Feb 2004 -- The Russian Federation Minister of Nuclear Energy Alexander Rumyantsev and Iran`s Ambassador to Moscow Gholamreza Shafei here Wednesday reviewed cooperation on peaceful use of nuclear energy.
  • Russia: Security Services Looking For Broader Powers In Wake Of Subway Bombing RFE/RL 11 Feb 2004 -- In the wake of last week's bombing on the Moscow subway, which killed at least 39 people, Russian security services are demanding broader powers and harsher punishments to more effectively fight terrorism. They point to the controversial USA Patriot Act of 2001 as an example of the type of national security reforms they, too, are seeking.
  • RUSSIA / US VOA 11 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is urging President Bush to step up joint efforts in the fight against terrorism, which he has called the plague of the 21st Century.
  • Russia holds strategic military exercises PLA Daily 11 Feb 2004 -- The Russian armed forces are conducting strategic military exercises, First Deputy Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Yury Baluyevsky said Tuesday.
  • Russia: Moscow Says CFE Treaty May Be Outdated RFE/RL 09 Feb 2004 -- Russia told an international conference on 7 February it doubts the value of the 1989 treaty on limiting the size of conventional weapons in Europe.
  • RUSSIA BLAST VOA 09 Feb 2004 -- Residents of Moscow observed a day of mourning for the victims of last week's deadly subway bombing that killed 39 people and wounded well over 100.
  • UN/CHERNOBYL DISASTER VOA 08 Feb 2004 -- senior United Nations official says millions of victims of Chernobyl, the world's biggest peacetime nuclear disaster, remain forgotten and neglected. Radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine, which exploded on April 26, 1986, contaminated vast areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
  • RUSSIA/SUBWAY BLAST VOA 08 Feb 2004 -- Russia's security service says it still has no leads in the Moscow subway bombing on Friday that killed 39 people and wounded more than 100. Security continues to be tightened around the city
  • RUSSIA / BOMB VOA 07 Feb 2004 -- Police in Moscow are searching for clues in the apparent suicide bombing of a crowded subway train. Thirty-nine people were killed in the blast.
  • RUSSIA/AZERBAIJAN VOA 07 Feb 2004 -- The new president of Azerbaijan says his three-day visit to Moscow has allowed him to strengthen ties and reach trade agreements with Russia. Ilkham Aliyev met with President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials during his stay.
  • Russia: Moscow Subway Blast Kills At Least 39, But Circumstances Remain Unclear RFE/RL 06 Feb 2004 -- An explosion in the Moscow subway today killed at least 39 people and injured more than 100 others. Russian officials say the blast was a terrorist attack, apparently caused by a bomb. But investigators say the explosion could also have been accidental. The blast is the latest in a series of attacks in the Russian capital that have been blamed on Chechen rebels and is raising anew the issue of safety on Moscow's public transportation system.
  • At Least 39 Killed In Moscow Metro Blast RFE/RL 06 Feb 2004 -- An explosion on the Moscow metro during the morning rush hour has killed at least 39 people and injured more than 100 others.
  • MOSCOW BLAST VOA 06 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Chechen separatists of blowing up a Moscow underground commuter train Friday morning, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 100 others. The separatist leader's spokesman has denied the charge.
  • RUSSIA BLAST VOA 05 Feb 2004 -- Two people are dead following another explosion in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, near Chechnya.
  • RUSSIA / AZERBAIJAN VOA 05 Feb 2004 -- Azerbaijan's newly elected president, Ilkam Aliyev, is visiting Moscow for three days of talks ranging from problems in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to trade.
  • Russia expects no breakthrough in upcoming DPRK nuclear talks PLA Daily 04 Feb 2004 -- A senior Russian official said Tuesday that Russia does not expect any breakthrough at the new round of six-party talks this month over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nu clear issue.
  • Russia hints shorter term for pullout of troops from Georgia PLA Daily 03 Feb 2004 -- A senior official from Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday that it is possible to withdraw Russian military bases from Georgia in nine years, shorter than the 11 years that Moscow has insisted.
  • Russia, Spain to hold first joint maneuvers in 2004 PLA Daily 03 Feb 2004 -- Russia and Spain plan to hold their first joint military exercise this year, Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo said in an interview published by Russian newspaper Izvestia on Monday.
  • RUSSIA KOREA VOA 03 Feb 2004 -- Russia's lead official on talks with North Korea says he does not expect any breakthroughs in a new round of six-nation talks this month aimed at ending the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.
  • Iran, Russia don`t disagree in atomic energy cooperation IRNA 01 Feb 2004 -- Iran and Russia do not have major differences in the atomic energy cooperation, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi said on Sunday, referring to the forthcoming visit of Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev to Teheran.



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