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March 17, 2009

Russia Plans Rearmament
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=22E8DD8:A6F02AD83191E160D53BA215BBE69D7521A4E82C900CD027&
 
President Dmitri Medvedev announces plans in response to NATO efforts to
expand near country's borders 
President Dmitry Medvedev addresses top military brass in Moscow, 17 Mar
2009Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has announced plans for a
large-scale rearmament in response to what he says are NATO efforts to
expand near Russia's borders. Mr. Medvedev spoke Tuesday in Moscow at a
meeting of military chiefs. Russian news reports quote him as saying the
rearmament - set to begin in 2011 - will focus on strategic nuclear
forces. He said Russia has the resources to fund the buildup, despite
the ongoing global financial crisis. Russia has characterized efforts by
former U.S. President George W. Bush to win NATO membership for Ukraine
and Georgia as a direct threat to its national security. Moscow has also
called U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Poland and the
Czech Republic a similar threat. Tuesday's announcement came despite
recent talk in Moscow and Washington of improving U.S.-Russian
relations. Monday, a panel of former U.S. lawmakers and diplomats
recommended that the United States seek closer cooperation with Russia
to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons and to deal with threats from
Iran. The panel said both Moscow and Washington will gain from bilateral
cooperation. For its part, Moscow has said it would suspend plans to
deploy short-range missiles in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad if
President Barack Obama reconsiders plans to deploy U.S. missiles in
Eastern Europe. U.S. officials say the proposed missile defense system
is aimed at protecting European allies against threats from countries
such as Iran.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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