Medvedev: Russia To Rearm Fleet, Army From 2011

Medvedev: Russia To Rearm Fleet, Army From 2011
Mar 17, 2009

MOSCOW (AFP)--President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was still seeking to expand its physical presence near Russian borders and ordered a "large-scale" Russian rearmament from 2011.

"From 2011 a large-scale rearmament of the army and navy will begin," Medvedev was quoted by news agencies as saying at a meeting of military chiefs in Moscow.

He called for a renewal of Russia's nuclear weapons arsenal and said NATO was pursuing military expansion near Russia's borders.

"Analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows that a serious conflict potential remains in some regions," Medvedev said.

He listed local crises and international terrorism as persistent security threats and also stated: "Attempts to expand the military infrastructure of NATO near the borders of our country are continuing.

"The primary task is to increase the combat readiness of our forces, first of all our strategic nuclear forces. They must be able to fulfill all tasks necessary to ensure Russia's security," Medvedev said.

The comments came despite statements by the Russian leadership suggesting a thaw in relations with the U.S. following the end of the George W. Bush administration and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Some analysts have detected a softening of U.S. support for NATO enlargement to ex-Soviet countries on Russia's borders such as Georgia and Ukraine.

The Obama administration has said it is weighing what to do about a Bush-era project to build missile defense facilities in eastern Europe that has angered Moscow.

Russia, the world's largest country and one of a handful of nuclear-armed states, is attempting to slim down and improve its military, which currently numbers about 1 million personnel.

At Tuesday's meeting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said a host of non- core activity, from guest house management to weapons repair and food production, would be transferred from the Defense Ministry to a state-owned civilian company, Oboronservis.