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2001 Russia Nuclear and Missile
Proliferation News

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

December

• 25 December 2001 Russian Strategic Missile forces to be cut by a third by 2006 - Col Aleksandr Vovk, aide to the Russian strategic missile forces commander, reported that the Russian strategic missile forces will be cut by approximately 1/3 to an estimated 500 missile launchers. In addition, Col Vovk stated that the new Topol-M missile launchers will continue to be brought into service.( 25 Dec 2001 BBC Worldwide Monitoring

November

October

September

August

July

• Russia Missile Reax, Voice of America, 15 July 2001 -- Russian officials have criticized the United States for testing a key component of its nuclear missile shield, which Russia strongly opposes.

  June

  May

• State Department Noon Briefing, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 29 May 2001 -- Will Secretary Powell, when he meets Mr. Ivanov, mention the offer, you know, as expressed by The New York Times about missile defense, changing the ABM, buying the missile SS-300; is that correct?
• US/Russia/Talks, Voice of America, 20 May 2001 -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov ending a visit to Washington says he is unconvinced by Bush administration arguments for deploying a missile-defense system.
• US / Russia, Voice of America, 18 May 2001 -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet for the first time next month in Slovenia and explore ways to overcome differences over U-S plans to build a national missile defense system.
• Moscow Plans Deployment of More Topol-M Missiles, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 95, Part I, 18 May 2001 -- General Vladimir Yakovlev, the commander of Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces, said on 17 May that Moscow plans to deploy a fourth set of Topol-M ICBMs by the end of 2001
• Moscow Unimpressed By U.S.-U.K. Plan To Modify Iraq Sanctions Regime, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 95, Part I, 18 May 2001 -- Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ordzhonikidze told Interfax on 17 May that "it is clearly premature to speak of Russian support" for an American-British proposal to modify the United Nations sanctions regime against Iraq
• Russia Launches U.S. Satellite, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 93, Part I, 16 May 2001 -- A Russian Proton rocket carried an American Panamsat communications satellite into orbit
• U.S. Ideas On NMD Described As 'Laughable', RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 92, Part I, 15 May 2001 -- Marshal Igor Sergeev told RIA-Novosti on 14 May that American ideas about missile defense are "laughable" but warned that Washington almost certainly will ignore Russia's views on the matter and go ahead
• Moscow Hopes To Build More Reactors In Iran, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 91, Part I, 14 May 2001 -- addition to completing the construction of a nuclear power station in Bushehr, the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry hopes to build up to five more such plants
• Nikolaev Leads Russian Opposition To Bush Missile Defense Initiative, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 19, 14 May 2001 -- General Andrei Nikolaev, the head of the Duma Defense Committee, has taken the lead in attacking the U.S. missile-defense initiative proposed by President George W. Bush
• Military Loses Contact With Its Satellites, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 19, 14 May 2001 -- A fire in the Kaluga command center has interrupted the Russian Defense Ministry's Space Forces communications with its "Oko" early warning military satellites
• U.S., Russia Consult On Missile Defense, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 91, Part I, 14 May 2001 -- First Deputy Defense Minister Anatolii Kvashnin met with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz on 11 May to discuss American plans to introduce an antiballistic missile system
• Moscow Says Increased U.S., U.K. Flights Over Iraq 'Obstacles' To Peace', RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 91, Part I, 14 May 2001 -- Yakovenko said on 11 May that the increasing number of American and British patrol flights over the no-fly zones of Iraq are making the situation there more difficult and represents "obstacles on the way" to the regulation of the Iraqi situation
• Moscow Loses Control of Military Satellites After Fire, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 90, Part I, 11 May 2001 -- A major fire at a ground relay station near Kaluga resulted in the loss of contact with four military satellites
• Russia / U-S Missiles, Voice of America, 11 May 2001 -- Russia says it remains unconvinced by American arguments in favor of U-S plans for a missile defense system.
• Russia / U-S Missile Defense, Voice of America, 10 May 2001 -- A U-S delegation is to discuss American plans for a missile defense shield with Russian officials Friday in Moscow.
• Pentagon Spokesman's Briefing - Russian Early Warning System, U.S. Department of Defense, 10 May 2001 -- Q: Is there any concern here about the reliability of the Russian early warning system either actually or potentially, given the fire in the Space Command there and the loss of control of their military satellites?
• Russia Now Without A Spy Satellite In Orbit, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 89, Part I, 10 May 2001 -- Russia does not now have a military photo-reconnaissance satellite in orbit
• Defense Minister Muzzles Generals On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 89, Part I, 10 May 2001 -- Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has forbidden Russian generals to make any public comments on U.S. plans to build a national missile defense system
• A Looming Proliferation Threat, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 18, 9 May 2001 -- Falling salaries among Russian scientists working on nuclear weapons and missiles represent a looming proliferation threat, according to a study by an American think-tank.
• Foreign Ministry Ready To Discuss U.S. NMD Plans...As Karaganov Urges Avoiding Confrontation And Humiliation...But Rogov Calls For 'Exhaustive' Talks, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 18, 9 May 2001 -- Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov provided the first official Russian reaction to the National Missile Defense (NMD) proposals by U.S. President George W. Bush
• Putin Creates Chemical Weapons Disarmament Body, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 87, Part I, 7 May 2001 -- President Putin on 4 May issued a decree creating a state commission for chemical disarmament
• Low Salaries May Lead Nuclear Scientists To Work Abroad, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 86, Part I, 4 May 2001 -- A study prepared by Valentin Tikhonov for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that was released this week said that nuclear and missile scientists now earn so little from their regular jobs that they must take part time positions
• State Department Noon Briefing - Topol Missiles, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 04 May 2001 -- Q: The Armenians - recently they give some bases nearby the Turkish border which the Russians they established some S-300 missile - this area. Isn't that a violation of the conventional arms agreement in Europe?
• Russia / US Missiles, Voice of America, 02 May 2001 -- Russia's foreign minister says his government is ready to discuss U-S defense concerns, but he says Russia remains adamant that the Anti-Ballistic Missile, or A-B-M, treaty signed by the two countries in 1972 must stay intact.
• Putin, Bush Agree To Discussions On NMD, Disarmament, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 84, Part I, 2 May 2001 -- U.S. President George W. Bush telephoned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on 1 May to assure him that Washington will not make any unilateral decisions on missile defenses

  April

• Moscow Downgrades Nuclear Force Command, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 83, Part I, 30 April 2001 -- Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov appointed Nikolai Solovtsov to head the nuclear rocket forces on 27 April, but pointedly noted that he will hold the rank of commander rather than commander in chief of that service as his predecessors had
• White House Daily Briefing - Missile Defense, The White House, Office of the Secretary, 30 April 2001 -- Q: What will be (the President's) message to Russia?
• Russia Seen Having Edge In 'Star Wars' Competition, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 82, Part I, 27 April 2001 -- Writing in "Itogi," No. 16, journalist Oleg Odnokolenko said Moscow should trade its agreement to changes in the ABM treaty for the right to fit its Topol missiles with MIRVs
• Russia Tests Nuclear Fuel Made From Military Plutonium, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 79, Part I, 24 April 2001 -- Vitalii Sadovnikov, the director of the Mayak nuclear research facility in the Urals, told ITAR-TASS on 23 April that his facility has successfully tested the first nuclear fuel rod made from plutonium taken from decommissioned nuclear warheads
• Russia Needs More Assistance To Destroy Weapons, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 74, Part I, 17 April 2001 -- Atomic Energy Minister Valentin Ivanov said on 16 April that Western countries have provided Russia with only $600 million of the $2 billion needed to destroy weapons-grade plutonium
• Kremlin Steps Up Its Campaign Against NMD, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 15, 16 March 2001 -- Speaking at a Putin-convened international conference against the militarization of space, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgii Mammedov said that Moscow seeks the adoption of an international agreement banning the deployment of military systems in space
• Russians Believe U.S. NMD Plans Threaten Russian Security, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 72, Part I, 12 April 2001 -- A poll conducted by the ROMIR agency and reported by ITAR-TASS on 11 April found that 46.5 percent of Russians believe that NMD deployment by the United States would pose "a considerable threat" to Russian national security
• Putin Warns Against Weapons In Outer Space, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 72, Part I, 12 April 2001 -- In a letter read by Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov to an international conference in Moscow on the peaceful use of outer space, President Putin said that "we have a duty to safeguard peace in outer space," because "the experience of international space activity shows the need for care in this field"

  March

• Bush / Russia Arms, Voice of America, 29 March 2001 -- President Bush says his administration is reviewing U-S programs aimed at helping Russia to dismantle Soviet-era nuclear weapons and safeguard nuclear material and expertise.
• Russian Missile Seen Supporting European Defense, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 60, Part I, 27 March 2001 -- The Antei 2500 could serve as the foundation for a European anti-missile defense system
• NMD Seen Eliminating Russia's Superpower Status, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 58, Part I, 23 March 2001 -- Writing in "Literaturnaya gazeta," No. 12, commentator Mikhail Urusov said that one of the reasons Moscow is so concerned by U.S. plans to build a national missile defense is that it would make "Russia's sole remaining superpower attributes all but worthless."
• Russian Analysts Now Calm About U.S. NMD Statements, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 55, Part I, 20 March 2001 -- An unsigned article in "Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie," No. 9, said Russian military and security analysts have concluded that Moscow should react calmly to American statements about NMD because the U.S. is not going to be in a position to build it in the near future.
• Weapons Sale To Iran Seen Backfiring, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 11, 19 March 2001 -- Even as President Vladimir Putin was arranging to sell more weapons to visiting Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, Russian commentators were suggesting that these weapons sales may backfire by offending the United States and Israel and even creating direct risks to Russian national security.
• Russia / Iran, Voice of America, 15 March 2001 -- This week, Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi is in Moscow to sign a pact of cooperation and an arms deal with the Russians.
• Moscow Increases Spending On Destruction of Chemical Weapons, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 52, Part I, 15 March 2001 -- Deputy Foreign Minister Grigorii Berdennikov said on 14 March that Moscow will spend six times more in 2001 than it did in 2000 on the destruction of chemical weapons
• Moscow Rejects U.S. Criticism of Iran Ties, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 51, Part I, 14 March 2001 -- Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on 13 March that "relations between Russia and Iran are not directed against third countries"
• Ivashov Says Moscow Won't Exit ABM Accord Immediately Even If U.S. Does, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 50, Part I, 13 March 2001 -- Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, who heads the Russian Defense Ministry's Department for International Military Cooperation, said Moscow has no plans to pull out of the ABM treaty immediately even if it sees evidence that the United States is doing so
• Iran Russia, Voice of America, 13 March 2001 -- Russian arms manufacturers are preparing for weapons sales to Iran.
• Iran / Russia, Voice of America, 12 March 2001 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says his government will resume selling weapons to Iran and continue to assist Iran in developing nuclear energy.
• Russia - Iran, Voice of America, 11 March 2001 -- Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is preparing to discuss regional and bi-lateral issues with officials in Moscow.
• Russia To Begin Destruction of Chemical Weapons, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 46, Part I, 7 March 2001 -- Acknowledging that Russia has not destroyed the amount of chemical weapons required under its earlier agreement with the United States, Russian officials said on 6 March that they will begin doing so this year
• Former FSB Head Says NMD Works To Russia's Advantage, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 9, 6 March 2001 -- Nikolai Kovalev, who used to head the FSB and now chairs the Duma Security Committee, said U.S. plans to build a national missile defense system (NMD) meet the strategic interests of Russia
• Moscow Criticizes U.S. Again On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 44, Part I, 5 March 2001 -- On the 40th anniversary of the Soviet Union's successful anti-missile test on 4 March 1961, Russian officials criticized the U.S. for thinking that it could set up a national missile defense (NMD) system beyond the capacity of Russia to counter
• Russia Ready To Sell India Nuclear Submarine, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 44, Part I, 5 March 2001 -- The deputy director of "Rosoboroneksport", Viktor Komarin told "Vremya Novostei" on 15 February that Russia is ready to sell the Indian navy a Russian-built nuclear submarine
• A Dual Position On 'Dual' Technologies, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 2, No. 8, 5 March 2001 -- President Vladimir Putin told a Russian Security Council session that Russia will impose tight controls over the export of dangerous technologies, implying that not all Russian agencies had done so effectively up to now
• Kokoshin Calls For New Anti-Proliferation Mechanism, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 43, Part I, 2 March 2001 -- Andrei Kokoshin, the director of the Institute of Problems of International Security at the Academy of Sciences and a Duma member, told Interfax on 1 March that Russia must work with other countries to develop a political mechanism for preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
• State Dept. Announces U.S. Assistance in Mir Homecoming, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 02 March 2001 -- The U.S. government will assist the government of the Russian Federation in its plan to bring the Mir space station back to Earth in mid-March, according to a State Department news release March 2.
• Conflict Over 'Mir' Continues, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 42, Part I, 1 March 2001 -- Rosaviakosmos head Yurii Koptev said on 28 February that Russia has taken all necessary procedures for decommissioning and deorbiting the "Mir" spacecraft
• U.S. NMD Unlikely To Be Effective Anytime Soon, General Says, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 42, Part I, 1 March 2001 -- Major General Vladimir Belous, the director of the Moscow Center for International and Strategic Studies, told ITAR- TASS on 28 February that for the next 10 to 15 years the American national missile defense (NMD) system will have "more of a political than a military significance" for Russia

  February

• A Different View On NMD: It Could Help Russia, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 40, Part I, 27 February 2001 -- Former FSB Director Nikolai Kovalev, who now serves on the Duma Defense Committee, told Interfax on 26 February that he believes that the U.S. intention to create an NMD system could actually serve the interests of Russia's strategic security
• Moscow Seen Admitting Proliferation Problems, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 39, Part I, 26 February 2001 -- An article in "Kommersant-Daily" on 23 February said that President Putin has acknowledged that some Russian agencies are not doing what they need to do to prevent proliferation
• Bush/Russia, Voice of America, 23 February 2001 -- President Bush is welcoming Russia's proposal for a missile defense system, saying Moscow recognizes the new threats of the post-cold war era.
• Putin Pushes Export Controls To Prevent Proliferation, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 38, Part I, 23 February 2001 -- President Putin told the Russian Security Council on 22 February that improving the country's export control system is "the most important issue of ensuring the country's security"
• Moscow May Put Missiles In Cuba, Sell Advanced Weapons To China If No Accord On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 38, Part I, 23 February 2001 -- Yevgenii Maslin, a retired general who supervised the Defense Ministry's nuclear program in the 1990s, said in Moscow on 22 February that if there is no agreement between Moscow and Washington on National Missile Defense, the Russian government may send missiles to Cuba
• U.S.-Russia Friction Noted; Moscow As Nexus of Missile Defense Debate, Foreign Media Reaction Reports, 22 February 2001 -- Foreign media commentary on Russia's counterproposal to U.S. plans for NMD
• Russia To Begin Construction of Second Reactor In Iran, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 37, 22 February 2001 -- Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Yevgenii Reshetnikov said on 21 February that Russia will begin this year the construction of a second reactor at the Iranian nuclear power plant at Bushehr
• Duma Votes To Halt Deorbiting of 'Mir', RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 37, Part I, 22 February 2001 -- On a vote of 298 for, three against with one abstention, the Duma passed a resolution calling on President Putin to halt the government's decision to let the 'Mir' space station crash into the Pacific Ocean in March
• Moscow Welcomes U.S. Response To Non-Strategic Missile Defense Plan, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 37, Part I, 22 February 2001 -- Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on 21 February after his meeting with his Irish counterpart Brian Cowan that Moscow welcomes the "constructive approach" of the U.S. toward Russian proposals to build a European non- strategic missile defense system
• State Department Noon Briefing - Russia, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 22 February 2001 -- Q: Two questions on the upcoming meeting with Ivanov. Will Secretary Powell bring up the - I guess at this point it's unclear what the status of this agreement not to have any future contracts in arming Iran. Will this come up? It was at one point called the Gore-Chernomyrdin Agreement. I guess that's no longer applicable.
• State Department Noon Briefing - Russian Missile Defense Proposal, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 21 February 2001 -- Q: What is the US view of the Russian missile defense plan that was presented? Do we think this is a serious proposal, or is it just something attempting to block our own -
• Russia Missile Defense, Voice of America, 20 February 2001 -- Russia has proposed to NATO that a European missile-defense system be developed as an alternative to U-S plans for a national missile shield.
• US / Russia / Missiles, Voice of America, 20 February 2001 -- The Pentagon says it wants to examine a new European missile defense proposal presented to NATO by Russia.
• Russia Stages Multiple Missile Tests, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 34, Part I, 19 February 2001 -- Russian forces on 16 February fired test rockets from Russia's Plesetsk range, a submarine in the Barents Sea, and a Tu-95MS bomber
• Moscow Seeks UN Accord On Non-Proliferation of Rockets, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 34, Part I, 19 February 2001 -- Russian officials said on 16 February that Moscow plans to raise at the UN the issue of creating a global system to prevent the proliferation of rockets and rocket technologies
• Russia NATO, Voice of America, 19 February 2001 -- NATO Secretary-General George Robertson is to arrive in Moscow (Monday) for talks that are to include NATO's eastward expansion and a proposed U-S missile defense system.
• Russia / Missiles, Voice of America, 16 February 2001 -- Russia has test-fired both land and sea based intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
• Kursk Disaster Linked To Torpedo Explosions, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 33, Part I, 16 February 2001 -- The government commission investigating the August 2000 Kursk submarine disaster has found that torpedo explosions were responsible for the sinking
• Moscow Criticizes Rumsfeld Statement...But Hopes For Dialogue On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 33, Part I, 16 February 2001 -- Major General Vladimir Belous, the head of Moscow's Center of International and Strategic Studies, told ITAR-TASS on 15 February that a statement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that Moscow is violating the anti-proliferation regime recalls "Cold War" times
• 15 February 2001: Russia hosts second Global Control System conference. The GCS hopes to created a system of incentives for states to not proliferation ballistic missile technologies or other systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. (March 2001 Arms Control Associatin
• Defense Minister Condemns U.S. On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 32, Part I, 15 February 2001 -- Defense Minister Igor Sergeev said on 14 February that American plans to build a national missile defense and to "destroy" the 1972 ABM treaty will make the world "unsafe"
• No Cooperation With Kyiv On Military Rockets, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 31, Part I, 14 February 2001 -- Security Council Secretary Ivanov said on Russian television on 12 February that Moscow has ruled out any cooperation between Russia and Ukraine in the production of rockets capable of delivering nuclear weapons
• Russia/U-S/Germany, Voice of America, 13 February 2001 -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says he will hold his first meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell next week.
• Moscow Seeks Help To Destroy Chemical Weapons, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 29, Part I, 12 February 2001 -- A spokesman for the Munitions Agency told AP on 9 February that the Russian government will begin to destroy its chemical weapons stocks "in the second half of this year" but need additional Western funding to go forward
• Moscow Upset By CIA STUDY...Pleased By Bush Call For Defense Review, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 29, Part I, 12 February 2001 -- The Foreign Ministry on 9 February released a statement saying that a statement by CIA Director George Tenet is "surprising" in its effort "to present Russia as a culprit in the propagation of weapons of mass destruction" and to suggest that Moscow is always acting against American interests
• Deputies, Analysts Criticize CIA Assessment of Russia, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 28, Part I, 9 February 2001 -- State Duma Deputy Chairman (Yabloko) Vladimir Lukin said that Tenet's statement is "of a political rather than an analytical nature" and that the two countries do not have the strongly opposed interests Tenet suggested.
• Moscow Promises Not To Sell Weapons-Grade Plutonium Abroad...And Recommits To Destroying Chemical Weapons, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 28, Part I, 9 February 2001 -- First Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Valentin Ivanov said that Russia will not sell weapons-grade plutonium abroad but instead will seek international assistance to denature and store it
• U.S.-Russia Cooperation On NMD Proposed, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 27, Part I, 8 February 2001 -- Major General Vladimir Belous, a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, told ITAR-TASS on 7 February that the two countries could work together to create defenses against missiles launched by third countries
• State Department Noon Briefing - NMD, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 07 February 2001 -- Q: British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook this morning was talking at some length about how Britain would like to see a full dialogue with Russia before the United States takes a final decision on this, and I understand that Secretary Powell assured him of that yesterday. Could you give us any details at all about how you intend to proceed with this dialogue, given the particular prominence it had with Strobe Talbott and the last administration?
• Security Council Secretary Warns of New Arms Race, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 24, Part I, 5 February 2001 -- In a speech to a NATO security conference in Munich on 4 February, Sergei Ivanov said that "the destruction of the ABM treaty will result in the annihilation of the whole structure of strategic stability and create the prerequisites for a new arms race including in outer space
• Russia/U-S defense, Voice of America, 04 February 2001 -- Russia has sharply denounced U-S plans to develop and deploy a national missile defense, saying such a system could lead to a new arms race in outer space.
• Ivanov-Nuclear Shield, Voice of America, 01 February 2001 -- Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, has called for a dialogue with the new Bush Administration on its plans to build a national missile-defense shield.

  January

• Russian Military Warns Against Scrapping ABM, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 21, Part I, 31 January 2001 -- Defense Minister Igor Sergeev said on 30 January that the American withdrawal from the ABM Treaty "will result in a new arms race, including the most dangerous - a race in rocket technologies"
• Putin Says U.S. Delay On NMD A Moscow Victory, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 19, Part I, 29 January 2001 -- In a speech to the staff of the Foreign Ministry on 26 January carried in full on strana.ru, President Vladimir Putin said that "the fact that Washington has so far put off its decision on deploying a national missile defense (NMD) system confirms that if one acts with purposefulness and with thought...it is possible to achieve real positive results."
• Russia To Increase Defense Spending If U.S. Deploys NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 17, Part I, 25 January 2001 -- Russia will double its expenditures on defense if the United States goes ahead with a national missile defense system
• Moscow Plans Response If U.S. Withdraws From ABM Limits...But Hopes For U.S.-Russia Nuclear Cooperation, RFE/RL NEWSLINE, Vol. 5, No. 16, Part I, 24 January 2001 -- Defense Minister Igor Sergeev said in an interview published in the 23 January "Parlamentskaya gazeta" that there is no basis to American arguments in favor of scrapping the ABM Treaty, but that if Washington leaves the treaty, Russia will respond
• Karaganov Sees Shift In U.S. Approach To Russia, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 15, Part I, 23 January 2001 -- Sergei Karaganov, the head of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, told "Segodnya" in an interview printed on 20 January that the new Bush administration will devote less attention to Russia
• Russian Analysts Offer Mixed Assessments of Bush, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 14, Part I, 22 January 2001 -- Long-time Moscow U.S. watcher and former head of the USA and Canada Institute there Georgii Arbatov said that he does not expect any surprises from the Bush administration
• Triumf Air Defense Missiles To Go On Duty Soon, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 13, Part I, 19 January 2001 -- Air Force Commander General Anatolii Kornukov told "Krasnaya zvezda" on 18 January quoted that the Russian military will install Triumf missile systems near Moscow during the first six months of 2001
• Russia, France Agree On NMD, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 12, Part I, 18 January 2001 -- Security Council Secretary Ivanov said that he and visiting French Defense Minister Alain Richard agreed on the importance of maintaining the 1972 ABM treaty
• Moscow Begins Work On Second Iranian Reactor, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 11, Part I, 17 January 2001 -- Atomic Power Minister Yevgenii Adamov told ITAR-TASS on 16 January that Russia has begun work on building a second reactor for Iran's nuclear power station at Bushehr.
• West To Help Moscow Reprocess Plutonium, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 9, Part I, 15 January 2001 -- The Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry on 12 January announced that the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan are prepared to provide Moscow with $500 million to reprocess Russian weapons-grade plutonium
• Are Russian Advisers Coming?, RFE/RL Iran Report, Vol. 4, No. 1, 8 January 2001 -- Although several of Iran's suppliers are having legal difficulties, Moscow appears prepared to fulfill Tehran's arms supply desires.
• 'No Military Need' For Nuclear Weapons In Kaliningrad, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 7, Part I, 11 January 2001 -- Yevgeny Maslin, the former chief of the 12th nuclear department of the Russian Defense Ministry, told ITAR-TASS on 10 January that "Russia has no military need to keep tactical nuclear weapons in the Kaliningrad region."
• Russia/Nuclear, Voice of America, 06 January 2001 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed recent reports that Russia may have moved tactical nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad, Russia's Baltic enclave.
• State Department Noon Briefing - Russian Weapons in Kaliningrad, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 05 January 2001 -- Q: On Russia, the first day that it was revealed that the Russians might be moving the tactical weapons into Kaliningrad, it was statements made from this podium --
• Moscow Denies Moving Nuclear Weapons Into Kaliningrad, RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 2, Part I, 4 January 2001 -- The Russian Defense Ministry and the Baltic Fleet on 3 January denied a report in the "Washington Times" on the same day which said that Moscow is transferring tactical nuclear weapons into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad
• Pentagon Spokesman's Regular Briefing - Russian Weapons in Kaliningrad, U.S. Department of Defense, 04 January 2001 -- Q: [During the Bush Administration] might [the Russians] have taken Navy tactical nuclear weapons off of their ships and put them into headquarters of the Baltic fleet, which is Kaliningrad? Or does this - might this be something that's been around for a few years?
• Defense Minister Unhappy With Bush Team On NMD, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 1, No. 24, 2 January 2001 -- Defense Minister Sergeev said on 26 December that he is concerned by the impression given by several of U.S. President-elect George W. Bush's foreign policy advisors that NMD deployment is "a purely technical problem,"
• Putin Seeks Closer Ties With Iran, Iraq...As Defense Minister Pushes Weapons Sales In Tehran, RFE/RL Security Watch, Vol. 1, No. 24, 2 January 2001 -- President Vladimir Putin said that Russia,"as a member of the G-8" should cooperate with the international community on Iran and Iraq but that it must not ever forget its "own national interests."

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