Medvedev's Press Statement following Negotiations with Sarkozy
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Moscow wants the US to remove all its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe, Russia's envoy in NATO Dmitry Rogozin said during a video conference in Brussels. He said that Moscow wants to see real progress in this field. At the same time he said that Russia is not going to remove its tactical weapons on the borders with the European countries in return. The Russian diplomat also said that in the near future the Russian government would decide on supplying combat helicopters to NATO forces in Afghanistan. NATO's General Secretary Anders Rasmussen submitted a request to Moscow to that effect in late 2009. A regular session of NATO-Russia's Council will be held in Brussels on May 5
“We have been ready to negotiate with NATO experts for a long time. If the alliance’s offer of missile defense cooperation is confirmed, we are ready to start clarifying positions on Monday,” Rogozin said. In his opinion, experts may start their deliberations at the May 19 meeting of the Russia-NATO Council. Rasmussen said in Tallinn that a common missile defense system would be much more efficient, and Russia could contribute to the project
Progress towards a “global zero” is impossible without building a modern, proliferation-resistant architecture of international cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, based, in particular, on strict compliance with NPT verification mechanisms as well as on the multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle. We are also quite active in this area. Improving the efficiency of the IAEA verification activities is an important aspect of strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We believe that the Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement is an efficient instrument to provide more opportunities for the Agency in this area. In the future, the Additional Protocol, together with the Safeguards Agreement, should become a universally accepted standard to verify the compliance of states with their NPT non-proliferation obligations and an essential new standard in the field of nuclear exports
Moscow is worried about declining public support in Europe for the war. "(Russia) is losing 30,000 lives a year to the Afghan drug trade, and a million people are addicts," Rogozin said. "This is an undeclared war against our country." "We are obviously very dissatisfied with the lack of attention from NATO and the United States to our complaints about this problem." For years, the allies tried to eradicate poppy crops, but that resulted in a boost to the insurgency as impoverished poppy farmers joined the Taliban. Gen. Stanley McChrystal's new policy of trying to win the support of the population means that these farmers are now left alone, enabling them to tend crops that produce 90 percent of the world's heroin
Russia is the first country to wish for better control of conventional forces in Europe, said Moscow’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin. The comment comes as Russia sends a letter on the issue to NATO Secretary General. The letter describes Russia’s attitude to the CFE treaty, a key Cold War arms control document. In 2007, Moscow suspended its participation in the treaty in response to the failure of new NATO members to ratify its adapted version. The issue was discussed during the visit of Anders Fogh Rasmussen to Moscow in December last year. It appears there was an inconsistency between Russia’s attitude and the way this attitude is perceived by NATO partners, Rogozin said
Russia's NATO envoy has expressed cautious optimism about the new U.S. approach to a European missile shield, which could use a Russian radar as part of an integrated system. "We can only welcome the statement made by Adm. Stavridis, but the question remains - whose finger will be on the missile button? Who is going to have the final word on the use of the missile defense system?" Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview published on Thursday in Russia's Izvestia paper. "I think that the Americans, for a variety of reasons, would not allow anyone to touch this button. And that leaves a lot of room for pondering," he said. Rogozin speculated that Stavridis most likely wanted to alleviate Russia's concerns over security guarantees under the new phased-in approach for European missile defense, which could involve Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria
Russia needs guarantees that the mobile BMD assets deployed, for example, on the ships sailing the Mediterranean sea would not turn into new problems for us in the future. A battle ship equipped with interceptor missiles and means of remote surveillance is capable of weighing the anchor and sailing up to Russian coastline. In the end, instead of missiles charged in Polish mines we would get the same missiles but already sailing around on the deck of an American battle ship in Polish territorial waters. There is small choice in rotten apples. I would very much like to believe our American colleagues and put out of my head any second thoughts of the true nature of the ballistic missile defence. But as Ronald Reagan would say in such a case: “Trust, but verify”
Russia`s Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin has offered the Alliance to invite the head of the group investigating the conflict in South Ossetia, Heidi Tagliavini, and listen to her report on the war causes at a session of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council(EAPC). Rogozin told Tass today the offer was voiced at a work session of the Council at the level of ambassador yesterday, on Wednesday October 14. According to him, NATO Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero promised to consider the proposal. "We can even say that the issue was supported by the Georgian side, as the Georgian ambassador stated that Georgia was not afraid of that offer"
The question will likely remain unanswered: What role did the United States, the sole remaining superpower, play in the Georgian conflict? For years, the government of former President George W. Bush provided Georgia with extensive military aid, which included sending about 150 military trainers to the country.
Nevertheless, a number of commission members are curious to know what John Tefft, the US ambassador in Tbilisi and a former advisor at the National War College in Washington, knew about Saakashvili's marching orders
This outrageous action basically runs counter to statements by NATO’s leadership on its readiness to normalize ties with Russia. It is obvious to us that the forces behind this provocation are not interested in giving an impetus to the current trend towards improving relations. They are hectically seeking pretexts for obstructing the mutually advantageous development of Russia-NATO and Russia-Europe dialogue. And they are completely unscrupulous in their bid.
Russian MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Commentary on NATO Spokesman’s Remarks Concerning Agreements between Russia, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Joint Efforts to Guard Borders
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Important Issues
November 23, 2011
Statement by Dmitry Medvedev in connection with the situation concerning the NATO countries’ missile defence system in Europe
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November 17, 2011
Deputy PermRep Mr. Nikolay Korchunov's meeting with Group of Think-Tankers from Russia, November 17th 2011
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January 27, 2011
Press-Conference by Dmitry Rogozin on January 26th following the first Ambassadorial NATO-Russia Council in 2011 [audio]
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November 23, 2010
The STANDEX (Stand-off Explosive Detection) Project of the NATO-Russia Council (PDF, 3,7 Mb)
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Documents
February 23, 2011
About the Special Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for the Interaction with NATO in Missile Defence, 18 Feb 2011
February 21, 2011
Instruction about the Inter-Agency Working Group under the Administration of the President of Russia for the Interaction with NATO in Missile Defence, 18 Feb 2011
August 18, 2008
Statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
June 5, 2008
Dmitry Medvedev's Speech at Meeting with German Political, Parliamentary and Civic Leaders
April 4, 2008
Chairman’s statement: Meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of Heads of State and Government held in Bucharest
All documents
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