"We have to respond adequately": Shoigu accused the United States of intent to change the regime of arms control

In the current tense situation in the world, the United States is trying to manipulate international law and is trying to change the existing arms control system in its direction. Including to impede the activities of Russia in the framework of the existing Treaty on Open Skies (DON). This statement was made by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting of the defense ministry board.

According to the minister, the international situation is currently characterized by increased competition between world centers of power, growing uncertainty factors, bursts of instability and violence in different regions of the planet, as well as an increase in conflict potential in areas of Russia's traditional interests.

“At the same time, the US is positioning itself as a superpower, manipulating international law, persistently seeking to change the existing conventional arms control regime in Europe in its favor, as well as to make it difficult for Russia to use its rights under the Open Skies Treaty,” Shoigu said.

Against this background, the Minister paid special attention to the ongoing development of the NATO forward-based system in the Baltic States, Eastern and Southern Europe. In addition, in recent years, the scale and intensity of the exercises have increased more than twice, in which Ukraine and Georgia, which are not members of the North Atlantic Alliance, are becoming more and more active.

“Such actions violate the existing security system in the world,” Shoigu said.

“In this situation, we are forced to respond adequately, combining strategic deterrence measures with a planned increase in the combat capabilities of the formations and military units,” the Defense Minister noted.

The Minister reported on the work being carried out by the Ministry to improve the combat strength of the troops and their home system. Thus, the share of modern weapons has already been brought up in units and subunits of the Western Military District (ZVO) to 54%, the Southern (SOR) - up to 60%, and the Eastern (VVO) - up to 51%.

At the same time, Shoigu told about a number of events planned for 2019. In particular, an anti-aircraft missile regiment of a mobile reserve will be formed in ZVO, which will allow a 40% increase in the effectiveness of covering objects in the Baltic operational direction. And in the VVO, a mixed aviation division and an anti-aircraft missile brigade will be created, which will increase the effectiveness of the air defense system in the Amur-Sakhalin area by 15%.

It is also planned to hold joint exercises of the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus "Union Shield - 2019" and special maneuvers with the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the CSTO "Interaction-2019". In this regard, the Minister of Defense recalled that these exercises are planned, exclusively defensive in nature and are not directed against third countries.

“Wherever possible, tension is created”

According to the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Krasov, the United States for many years does not disdain to violate agreements, including international ones. A striking example of this is Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF).

“The sanctions list is probably ending, and new delusional ideas appear that are not aimed at ensuring world security, but at sowing chaos and instability. Than, in fact, the administration of the US presidents differed, ”said the parliamentarian.

At the same time, the interlocutor of RT stressed that in the current situation, Moscow’s actions are exclusively defensive in nature, since it’s not Russia that is deploying its strike forces near the borders of the United States and NATO - everything is exactly the opposite.

“They are conducting exercises, slamming weapons near the borders of Russia. The overflights of reconnaissance aviation near our borders have become more frequent. What kind of threat from Russia and our “activity” can we talk about? There is only the activity of the United States and NATO, which carry instability around the world. Russia takes defensive measures on its territory, and all other Western claims are counterproductive and unfounded, ”Krasov added.

In turn, the Director of the Center for Military-Political Studies of MGIMO, Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexei Podberezkin, in a conversation with RT, stated that the United States always, when signing agreements limiting weapons and military activities, proceeded from the promise that these treaties were -technical character.

“That is, they must limit and impede the development of certain programs (first of all, the USSR and Russia) and facilitate the United States some programs. This is their fundamental approach regardless of the types and systems of weapons. This fully applies to the INF Treaty, and strategic armaments, and the Open Skies Treaty, which, in principle, was an American initiative, ”the expert noted.

The political analyst recalled that at one time Washington was publicizing on an agreement on an open sky (the signatories of which allow the parties to the treaty to perform regulated flights of each other’s territories), proving that he has nothing to hide and that Moscow is allegedly afraid of this treaty.

“At the initiative of the United States, we went to conclude a treaty and now we believe that it can be useful. Because if you have any doubts and you cannot completely dispel them, then you can use legal flights of special planes that are designed to control the ground from the air. To such flights, the Americans suddenly cooled, began to invent some restrictions on the marks of these planes, on the areas of flights, and so on, ”Poberezkin noted.

Recall that in recent years, with the appearance of new inspection planes Tu-214ON for Russia, mutual accusations of Moscow and Washington for violating the Open Skies Treaty have become frequent. And in August 2018, the United States imposed restrictions on cooperation under this agreement, including a ban on upgrading American inspection aircraft prior to the provision of documents to the congress, which confirm “Russia's implementation of DON”. At the same time, Washington refuses to allow the Russian Tu-214ON aircraft to observation flights within the framework of the treaty, although experts from 22 other delegations confirmed its compliance with the requirements of the agreement.

According to Podberezkin, this approach once again confirms: the principled position of the United States is that Washington does not want any agreements. And those agreements that were concluded in the past and were the result of compromises, the United States wants to "remake it for themselves."

“They don’t want to conclude new agreements, since any such agreement operates contrary to the American strategy of force coercion. Therefore, wherever possible, tensions are created - in all fields, even where there is no special need. And the Open Skies Treaty is one of the examples of how Americans behave, ”the expert concluded.

We add that, despite the difficult situation around the DON, this week the first observation flight of the American reconnaissance aircraft over the territory of the Russian Federation will take place this week from November 2017. Boeing OC-135B with specialists of the joint mission of the United States and the UK will fly from the airfield of Khabarovsk and will pass along a pre-agreed route. Moreover, the Russian specialists on board the aircraft will monitor the strict observance of flight parameters and the application of the monitoring equipment stipulated by the contract.