| MOSCOW, October 3. The presentations yesterday by Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov at a conference
on the development and modernization of the military pinpoint the Inconsistency
of military and political plans and the technical aspects of conducting
military reform, said the Vice-Chairman for the State Duma Defence Committee
and Vice Chairman of the Yabloko political party Alexei
Arbatov today, according to the Yabloko press service. He said that
'political, military-political and technical plans are not in synch and
even contradict one another.'
Arbatov also said that the political aspects of Putin's speech, specifically
where Putin proposes a type of military reform that is independent of
a small group of specialists, corresponds to the necessary requirements
of the day.'
Regarding Ivanov's report on military-political issues, Arbatov pointed
to the resounding conclusions that current military powers or military
alliances do not for the time being present a threat to Russia's security
and the significantly reduced role and priority for Russia of opposing
the US and its allies. He also said that it was stated several times that
the military together with its special sub-units must prepare for new
types of localized anti-partisan and counter-terrorist operations.
At the same time, Arbatov believes that the purely military aspect of
Ivanov's report was prepared under the authority of the General Staff
and contradicts everything that had been previously stated. 'We already
heard this type of statement 10 and 20 years ago,' added Arbatov. Arbatov
said that it was evident from the statements that as in the past the US
and NATO are considered to represent the main threat to Russia. The General
Staff is predicting a global nuclear war and anticipates large-scale military
actions, said Arbatov. Therefore, Arbatov doubts the statement of the
General Staff about the advancement of military reforms. In reality, a
lot of work still needs to be done before military reforms can proceed.
See also:
The
Russian Army
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