|
|
|
|
Russia torn
By
Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - As US
President George W Bush comes up with strong statements
on Iran and Syria, Russia has moved to boost its
ties with both Middle Eastern nations. On Monday,
Bush urged Iran to halt its nuclear program and
told Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon.
Yet despite US concerns, and in an apparent affront
to Washington, Russia insists on pursuing its
nuclear-energy cooperation with Tehran, and its security
ties with Damascus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told
the visiting secretary of the Iranian National
Security Council, Hasan Rouhani, at a meeting in Moscow
on Friday that Russia would continue
nuclear-energy collaboration with Tehran. Putin also accepted
an invitation to visit Tehran this year.
Moreover, Russian officials
indicated that an important agreement with Iran on the
return of spent nuclear fuel would be signed
this week, clearing the way for Moscow to supply
fuel to Iran's first nuclear power plant.
The agreement under which Russia is to provide the
Bushehr power plant with fuel will be signed this Saturday,
the Russian Nuclear Energy Agency has said.
Russian nuclear-fuel supplies to Iran could start one or
two months after the signing of the agreement.
The inking of the accord, which obliges
Iran to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, is
due to take place during the visit of the head of
the Russian Nuclear Energy Agency, Alexander
Rumyantsev, to Tehran this week.
Iran
has remained
a sore point in Russia-US relations, with the
United States pursuing its efforts to persuade Russia to
interrupt its controversial nuclear cooperation
with Tehran. Moscow and Tehran have dismissed the
US concerns, but Russia has said it will not ship
nuclear fuel to Iran until the two countries sign
an agreement under which all spent fuel would be
returned to Russia - a measure aimed to prevent it
from being used for weapons.
Under US and
Israeli pressure, Moscow is demanding that all of
the fuel provided for the reactor is sent back to
Russia, and has called for a guarantee that the
fuel is delivered safely across Iran. Nonetheless,
signing of the agreement has been delayed on many
occasions by what Moscow and Tehran say are
technical details.
Russia has an US$800
million contract to build a reactor block at
Bushehr, which is expected to be finished at the
end of 2005 or the start of 2006. Last December,
Rumyantsev announced that Russia could build up to
seven new nuclear power plants in Iran at a total
cost of about $10 billion.
Iran's
nuclear program has come under international
scrutiny after US accusations that it is secretly
building nuclear weapons. Iran and Russia have
denied this, affirming that the program will be
used for peaceful and civil purposes, such as
generating power.
The announcement of the
fuel deal comes just weeks after the US
administration said it could not rule out the use
of military force if Tehran failed to drop its
perceived attempts to develop a nuclear weapons
capability. Nonetheless, Russia's top officials
pledged to go ahead with nuclear project in Iran
regardless.
Syria ties irk US
Apart from the controversy surrounding
Iran, Moscow has been involved in another Middle
Eastern debate. Russia is negotiating the sale of
a short-range air-defense missile system to Syria,
the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed. "Talks
are under way with Syria to sell it the
Strelets short-range air-defense system, the delivery of
which is not restricted by any international
agreements," the ministry said in a statement.
Strelets is a weapon system that weighs
roughly 100 kilograms and can fire four to eight
Igla-S missiles. The statement said the system was
designed to be vehicle-mounted and could not be
used in a "man-portable modification". The
ministry denied reports that Russia planned to
sell Iskander tactical missile systems or any
man-portable missile systems to Syria.
Jerusalem is concerned that easily
transported missiles could end up in the hands of
terrorists. The US is also opposed to the sale,
concerned that the missiles could find their way
into Iraq to be used against US troops there.
The official Russian Information
Agency (RIA) on February 17 described media hype over
the missile sales as an attempt to prevent the
signing of an agreement on stricter US and Russian
control over man-portable air defense systems
(MANPADs) planned for this week.
Last month,
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad traveled to
Russia and urged the Kremlin to play a major role
in the Middle East peace process. Assad also
reiterated that Syria needed missiles only to
protect itself from Israeli air raids.
Upset by a series of franchised
coups in the former Soviet states, Russia
presumably opted to send a signal to Washington. It's
hardly a coincidence that Moscow's overtures
toward Tehran and Damascus came on the eve of
the Bush-Putin summit scheduled for this Thursday.
In recent months - to Russia's immense
displeasure - Washington has moved to meddle in
what Moscow used to view as its "near abroad",
notably Ukraine. The Russian insistence on
developing nuclear energy in collaboration with
Tehran and security ties with Damascus seemingly
means to indicate that Moscow's patience over
perceived US meddling in the former Soviet states
is wearing thin.
However, the wisdom of
Moscow's tactics remains a matter of debate. By
reaffirming ties with Iran and Syria, Russia risks
alienating the West, a major market for its
hydrocarbon exports. On the other hand, Iran
appears to be Russia's competition, rather than
partner, in terms of the global energy game. As
the Russian economy remains firmly based on the
inflow of petrodollars, courting competitors and
alienating customers could prove
counterproductive.
Sergei Blagov covers
Russia and post-Soviet states, with special attention
to Asia-related issues. He has contributed
to Asia Times Online since1996. Between
1983 and 1997, he was based in Southeast Asia.
In 2001 and 2002, Nova Science Publishers, New
York, published two of his books on Vietnamese
history.
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us
for information on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
Asian Sex Gazette Central Asian Sex News
|
|
|
