Georgetown Security Law Brief

Obama has plans to cut US nuclear arsenal, if Russia reciprocates

06/19/13:  The New York Times reports President Obama plans to use a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to outline plans for further reductions in the American nuclear arsenal if Russia agrees to pare back its weapons at the same time, administration officials said Tuesday. Resuming a drive toward disarmament that he had largely shunted aside over the past two years, Mr. Obama will propose trimming the number of strategic warheads that each of the two big nuclear powers still maintains by up to a third, taking them below the 1,550 permitted in the treaty he signed with Russia in his first term, a senior administration official said. That would leave each country with just over 1,000 weapons. Mr. Obama will also declare that he will work with NATO allies to develop proposals for major cuts in tactical nuclear weapons, which are not covered by the existing treaty. Russia, which has far more tactical nuclear weapons deployed than the United States and Europe do, has firmly resisted such cuts. There are fears that its tactical weapons are in parts of Russia where they risk being seized by terrorist groups. Mr. Obama will also announce that he will host a final nuclear security summit meeting in the United States just before he leaves office.

Obama, Putin find agreement on nuclear weapons

06/18/13:  The Washington Times reports President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did find common ground on reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons. After a meeting Monday evening at this week’s G-8 Summit in Northern Ireland, the two men announced that they would sign a new nuclear security agreement to replace a 1992 deal that expired Monday. The bilateral deal represents a renewed commitment to secure vulnerable nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, and the White House described it as “a new framework for cooperative threat reduction.” The agreement will replace 1992’s Cooperative Threat Reduction Program — better known as Nunn-Lugar in honor of the two senators who sponsored it, Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar — passed into law in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War and designed to reduce existing nuclear weapons stockpiles. It provided funding for former Soviet states to dismantle their nuclear arms and also assigned American personnel to watch over those weapons as they were taken apart.

Group of 8 leaders press Russia on Syria

06/18/13:  The New York Times reports senior officials at a meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized countries here struggled on Tuesday to draft a statement on the war in Syria acceptable to both Russia — the main international backer of President Bashar al-Assad — and to countries that want to see a rapid transition of power in Damascus. Tensions over how to deal with the widening conflict and growing humanitarian crisis in Syria have dominated the two-day meeting in Northern Ireland that ends Tuesday. The summit meeting’s host, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, had indicated that he was hoping the gathering would yield a joint declaration as the basis for talks expected to take place in Geneva under the auspices of the United States and Russia. Mr. Putin has supported Mr. Assad both diplomatically and with weapons. As the line-by-line discussion of the summit declaration continued on Tuesday, there was a growing likelihood that Russia would sign up to a communiqué with the other seven nations but only in return for softer language about a political transition. The summit statement was also expected to announce initiatives on tackling global tax avoidance and on clamping down on the legal ruses used by multinational companies to reduce their tax liabilities. Britain is also seeking an agreement on preventing ransom payments in kidnappings, which it believes is now a major source of terrorist funding.

Lavrov: Iran ready to stop 20-percent enrichment

06/18/13:  The Miami Herald reports Russia's foreign minister says Iran is willing to halt its 20-percent enrichment of uranium, which has been a key concession sought in international negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. That is the highest level of enrichment acknowledged by Iran and one that experts say could be turned into warhead grade in a matter of months. In an interview with the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA that was released by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, Sergey Lavrov said that "for the first time in many years" there are encouraging signs in international efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute. He said Iran has confirmed that it is ready to halt production of uranium enriched to 20 percent. He did not give details, but said the sextet of international negotiators should make "substantial reciprocal steps."

Split over Syria becomes clearer as Group of 8 meets

06/17/13:  The New York Times reports Ahead of a meeting of leaders of industrialized nations that is likely to be dominated by the crisis in Syria, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said Monday that he found some elements of the Syrian opposition worrying, but that he sought to keep open the option of arming those who want a democratic future. Even before leaders had arrived for the two-day meeting, differences were evident on Sunday when President Vladimir V. Putin, who has supported the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, warned against arming the rebels there. On Monday, the subject is likely to provoke more tension during a summit meeting that is also expected to start discussions on closer trade ties between the European Union and the United States. Leaders also plan to discuss international moves to clamp down on tax evasion and the questionable practices companies use to reduce their tax payments. The United States has said that it will supply some rebels with direct military aid, and Britain and France succeeded in getting the European Union to allow its ban on supplying arms to the country to expire, despite the reservations of many countries within the 27-member bloc.

Russia faults proof of use of chemicals in Syrian war

06/15/13:  The New York Times reports the Russian government on Saturday stepped up its attack on the accusation by the United States that Syria had used chemical weapons in its civil war, saying that evidence cited by the Americans was unreliable because the samples were not properly handled by experts until they reached a laboratory. The criticism, by Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov at a news conference in Moscow, laid out Russia’s most specific argument to date supporting its contention that the evidence was faulty. The remarks came a day after President Obama spoke with the leaders of four of the United States’ closest allies — Britain, France, Germany and Italy — about the charge of chemical weapons use by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. The United States said last week that it would begin sending weapons to the Syrian rebels because of the evidence of chemical arms, but the European allies have expressed differing views and pressed for urgent discussions on how to respond, including at a Group of 8 summit meeting in Northern Ireland beginning on Monday. Russia has reacted furiously to the announcement by the United States, saying the allegations are not reliable and accusing American officials of creating a pretense for military intervention, based on intelligence assessments similar to the later-disproven reports of unconventional weapons in Iraq that preceded the invasion there.

Syria no-fly zone: Russia's Sergei Lavrov opposed

06/15/13:  The BBC reports Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said any attempt to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria using US fighter jets and missiles operating from Jordan would violate international law. The US has moved Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan, officially as part of an annual exercise. Russia opposes any foreign military intervention in the Syrian conflict. The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which began in 2011, has left an estimated 93,000 people dead. "There have been leaks from Western media regarding the serious consideration to create a no-fly zone over Syria through the deployment of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles and F-16 jets in Jordan," said Mr Lavrov, speaking at a joint news conference in Moscow with his Italian counterpart. "You don't have to be a great expert to understand that this will violate international law," he said. Mr Lavrov also said evidence presented by the US of chemical weapons use in Syria apparently did not meet reliability criteria set out by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Coroner asks for public inquiry into spy's death

06/06/13:  The Miami Herald reports a coroner overseeing a British inquest into the 2006 poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko said Wednesday he has asked for a new public inquiry to be held so that crucial evidence can be scrutinized. The call came after widespread concerns that the existing inquest would be effectively powerless to determine what happened to Litvinenko, a Kremlin critic who died after he was poisoned in London with radioactive polonium-210. Britain's government has barred the inquest from considering sensitive evidence, including documents relating to Russia's alleged role in Litvinenko's death, citing national security concerns. Litvinenko's widow and a group of British media companies, including The Guardian and The Financial Times have, joined coroner Robert Owen in calling for a separate inquiry, saying that is now the best option for finding out the truth about the former agent's death. The government said Wednesday it would consider the request, but there was no indication that the key evidence will be provided in a new inquiry.

US, Russia and UN seek common ground for Syria talks

06/05/13:  The New York Times reports senior United States, Russian and United Nations officials started talks here on Wednesday to try to find enough common ground among themselves and among parties to the Syria’s civil war to convene a second international conference that could halt the carnage and start a process of political transition.  Wendy R. Sherman, the United States under secretary of state for political affairs, and two Russian deputy foreign ministers, Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov, joined the United Nations special representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi and Jeff Feltman, the United Nation’s under secretary general for political affairs, with no sign of agreement on either the timing, the agenda or who would participate. Their talks were initially expected to last only through Wednesday morning but after a late start could run later in the day if required, diplomats in Geneva said. Confirmation by France and Britain in the past 24 hours that nerve gas had been used in Syria lent urgency to talks overshadowed by fears of an arms race as rival powers try to bolster the factions they support in the conflict and a warning by United Nations human rights investigators that more arms can only reduce the chances of peace and kill more civilians. At the same time, battlefield developments showed the highly fluid and combustible nature of the war. Rebel forces said Wednesday that government troops, supported by units from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, had retaken the strategic town of Qusayr after a siege lasting weeks.

Russia to send nuclear submarines to southern seas

06/01/13:  Reuters reports Russia plans to resume nuclear submarine patrols in the southern seas after a hiatus of more than 20 years following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Saturday, in another example of efforts to revive Moscow's military. The plan to send Borei-class submarines, designed to carry 16 long-range nuclear missiles, to the southern hemisphere follows President Vladimir Putin's decision in March to deploy a naval unit in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis starting this year. The official said the patrols would be phased in over several years. The Yuri Dolgoruky, the first of eight Borei-class submarines that Russia hopes to launch by 2020, entered service this year. Both the Borei-class submarines and the Bulava ballistic missiles they carry were designed in the 1990s, when the science and defense industries were severely underfunded. Russia sees the Bulava as the backbone of its future nuclear deterrence, but the program has been set back by several botched launches over the past few years.

Assad says Syria has received advanced missiles from Russia

05/30/13:  The New York Times reports President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in a television interview to be broadcast on Thursday that Russia has delivered S-300 air defense missiles to his country, weapons that Israel has said present a threat to its security and against which it is willing to use force.  “Syria has received the first shipment of Russian antiaircraft S-300 rockets,” Mr. Assad said in the interview, to be aired on Al Manar, the television channel of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which in recent weeks has dramatically increased its military intervention in Syria on the side of Mr. Assad’s government. “The rest of the shipment will arrive later today.” Russian officials had said earlier this week that the country would deliver the weapons to Syria, a move that Mr. Assad’s opponents said was a sign that neither Russia nor the Syrian government was serious about proposed negotiations to end the Syrian civil war that Russia and the United States are trying to organize for as early as next month. The interview with Mr. Assad was taped on Tuesday, according to the Beirut news director of Iran’s English-language Press TV. That same day, Israel’s defense minister declared categorically that no missiles had yet been delivered. Both the Syrian government and the opposition have hardened their positions in recent days, casting doubt on the future of the proposed talks as each side declared a starting point that is thoroughly unacceptable to the other.

Russian arms 'to deter foreign intervention in Syria'

05/28/13:  The BBC reports Russia says it will go ahead with deliveries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, and that the arms will help deter foreign intervention. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the missiles were a "stabilising factor" that could dissuade "some hotheads" from entering the conflict. Russia also criticised an EU decision not to renew an arms embargo on Syria. Meanwhile, the BBC has heard evidence that 200 people were killed in a massacre in western Syria this month. Opposition activists said they had documented the civilian deaths in al-Bayda and Baniyas after government troops and militias entered the towns. Mr Ryabkov said the contract for the S-300 missile systems had been signed several years ago. "We consider these supplies a stabilising factor and believe such steps will deter some hotheads from considering scenarios that would turn the conflict international with the involvement of outside forces," he was quoted as telling journalists. Russia's envoy to Nato, Aleksandr Grushko, said Moscow was acting "fully within the framework of international law", in delivering the arms. "We are not doing anything that could change the situation in Syria," he said. "The arms that we supply are defensive weapons." The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the Russian statement could be seen as an escalation. He says there had been reports that Moscow was holding back on delivering the arms, in exchange for an Israeli commitment not to carry out further air raids over Syria.

Russia says decision to end arms embargo on Syria damages peace plans

05/28/13:  The New York Times reports a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday that the European Union’s decision to lift the arms embargo on Syria endangered the prospects for a peace conference next month backed by Washington and Moscow.  The decision, which may allow new flows of weapons to Syrian rebel forces, “is a reflection of ‘double standards’ and could inflict direct damage to the prospects for convening the international conference,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov of Russia said, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry. “You cannot declare the wish to stop the bloodshed, on one hand, and continue to pump armaments into Syria, on the other hand,” Mr. Ryabkov told journalists later, according to the Interfax news service. He rejected the notion that Russian support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria constitutes interference on behalf of one side in the conflict, saying that Russia is selling arms to “legitimate authorities.” He defended a plan to provide the Syrian government with Russian-made S-300 missile batteries, saying the new weapons would be a “stabilizing factor” that could avert a Western-led intervention.

Russia says US missile defense offer insufficient

05/28/13:  The Miami Herald reports a senior Russian diplomat says Washington's latest moves aimed at easing Moscow's concern about NATO's US-led missile defense plans are insufficient. Monday's statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov followed an exchange of letters by President Barack Obama and Russia's President Vladimir Putin that mentioned the missile defense dispute, a longtime irritant in bilateral ties. Russian media said Obama offered to provide Russia with more information about the missile defense plans. The Kremlin has dismissed US assurances that the shield is a defense against Iranian missiles and sought legally binding guarantees that it wouldn't be aimed against Russia. Ryabkov told Voice of Russia radio that the latest US proposals on missile defense are "concrete" and "serious," but Moscow still sees them as insufficient and wants more specific technical guarantees.

 

'Terrorist attack' in Moscow prevented

05/20/13:  The BBC reports Russian counter-terrorism agents have carried out a raid on a group planning a terrorist act in Moscow killing two suspects, officials say. Local media quoted the National Anti-Terrorism Committee as saying the group was located in a house in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, east of the capital. A third suspect was held in the raid. One agent was slightly hurt. The suspects are said to be Russian citizens who had undergone training in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

In Litvinenko case, secrecy wins out over inquiry

05/20/13:  The New York Times reports ever since Alexander V. Litvinenko died, his supporters have nurtured a hope of one day learning answers to two critical questions: Did the Kremlin plan his poisoning in central London in November 2006? And could British spymasters have prevented it? The answers would have weighty implications for both Moscow and London. Mr. Litvinenko, 43, was a turncoat KGB officer, a whistle-blower assailing organized crime and the Kremlin; he was a newly naturalized British citizen with ties to the late Russian oligarch Boris A. Berezovsky; and according to his widow, he was an employee of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. The toxin that killed him, moreover, was a rare radioactive isotope, polonium 210, the bulk of which is produced supposedly under strict safeguards in Russia. British prosecutors accused another former KGB officer, Andrei K. Lugovoi, of murder — a charge he denied. Last Friday, Robert Owen, the senior judge acting as the coroner at an oft-postponed inquest into Litvinenko's death, ruled in favor of a request from the British foreign secretary, William Hague, to exclude evidence relating to the “possible involvement of Russian state agencies” and to the British authorities’ “knowledge and/or assessment of threats to Mr. Litvinenko’s life.” With those words, the central questions — and the likelihood of answers — were removed from the inquiry.

Russia expels former American embassy official

05/20/13:  The New York Times reports a former senior Justice Department official at the American Embassy here was declared “persona non grata” and barred from Russia this month, according to people familiar with the case, possibly because he had rebuffed an effort by the Russian Federal Security Service to recruit him as a spy. The former official, Thomas Firestone, had been living and working in Moscow as a lawyer for an American law firm, and had extensive contacts in the Russian government. He was detained at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow on May 5 while trying to return to Russia from a trip abroad; the authorities held him for 16 hours and then put him on a flight to the United States. Mr. Firestone was contacted in March by Russian intelligence operatives who sought to enlist him to spy for the Russians, according to one person who is familiar with the case. Mr. Firestone turned them down, the person said. It was not clear whether the episode was the cause of his ejection from Russia. The Obama administration has raised the matter of Mr. Firestone’s expulsion with the Russian government, according to one American government official. Spokesmen for the White House, the State Department, and the American Embassy in Moscow all declined to comment.

Syria crisis: Russia 'sends sophisticated weapons'

05/17/13:  The BBC reports Russia has sent sophisticated anti-ship missiles to Syria, US media report.  The New York Times quotes unnamed US officials as saying the missiles could be used to counter any potential future foreign military intervention in Syria. Without confirming details, Russia's foreign minister said Russian supplies did not break any international rules. It comes amid growing alarm that chemical weapons may be being used in Syria, something US President Barack Obama has said would be "a red line". Meanwhile efforts continue to arrange an international conference on Syria. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Mr Lavrov in Sochi on Friday to discuss the plans for the conference, which would aim to bring together the Syrian opposition and members of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia building up missile systems while seeking to limit US defenses

05/16/13:  The Washington Times reports Russia is engaged in a major buildup of both nuclear and conventional missile defense systems at the same time Moscow is seeking legal limits on US missile defenses, according to US officials. The Russian military is developing and deploying an array of new and modernized anti-missile interceptors that are part of a strategic doctrine that calls for defending against what Moscow believes to be an increasing threat posed by offensive ballistic missiles, said US officials with access to intelligence reports. New systems monitored by US intelligence agencies under development or in the deployment phase include an advanced S-500 missile defense system currently being built in addition to the already available, and very capable, S-400 and S-300 defenses. Additionally, the Russians are upgrading the SH-08 nuclear-tipped anti-missile interceptors that have been deployed around Moscow for more than two decades. US officials said the defenses are assessed as effective against cruise missiles, bombers, jet fighters, short- and intermediate-range ballistic missile, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Disclosure of the Russian missile defense buildup comes as the Obama administration is seeking to reach an agreement that critics say could result in legally binding restrictions on US defenses.

CIA agent intercepted in Moscow

05/14/13:  The BBC reports an alleged CIA agent has been briefly detained in Moscow for allegedly trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer, Russian media report. He was held overnight before being released to US officials, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said. Photos have emerged of the man, said to be an employee of the US embassy, being held face down on the ground. The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry. The man was reportedly arrested with a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the agent he had tried to recruit. Named as Ryan Fogle, he is said to be third political secretary at the US embassy. There was no comment from the embassy. Russia and the US recently said they wished to step up security co-operation after the Boston Marathon bombing. While it is a sensitive time for US-Russian relations because of the crisis in Syria, the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequence, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from Moscow.

Russia says no new plan to sell air defense systems to Syria

05/10/13:  Reuters reports Russia's foreign minister said on Friday Moscow had no new plans to sell an advanced air defense system to Syria, but left open the possibility it could deliver such systems under an existing contract. The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Israel had informed the United States a Russian deal was imminent to sell S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. That would significantly boost Syria's ability to stave off outside intervention in its civil war, such as the air strikes launched by Israel this month. Asked by a journalist in the Polish capital about the reports of a missile deal, Sergei Lavrov said: "Russia is not planning to sell. Russia already sold them a long time ago. It has signed the contracts and is completing deliveries, in line with the agreed contracts, of equipment which is anti-aircraft technology." The question referred to S-300 systems, but in his reply the minister did not specify whether the items already being delivered were S-300 complexes or another system. Lavrov, in Warsaw for a meeting on regional cooperation with his German and Polish counterparts, said the deliveries were in line with international law and for self-defense only. Russia is Syria's main arms supplier and has continued fulfilling defense contracts despite the civil war. Moscow, along with China, has blocked moves in the United Nations for international intervention to halt the bloodshed in Syria.

US fears Russia may sell air-defense system to Syria

05/09/13:  The New York Times reports the US, which is trying to bring Syrian rebels and the Syrian government to the negotiating table, is now increasingly worried that Russia plans to sell a sophisticated air defense system to Syria, American officials said Wednesday.  Russia has a long history of selling arms to the Syrians and has a naval base in the country. But the delivery of the Russian S-300 missile batteries would represent a major qualitative advancement in Syria’s air defenses. The system is regarded as highly effective and would limit the ability of the United States and other nations to operate over Syrian airspace or impose a no-fly zone. It is also able to track and fire missiles at multiple targets, including aircraft and some missiles. “There are concerns that this might happen,” said a senior United States official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, referring to the possible delivery of the S-300. A Western intelligence service has also warned that the Russians may soon send S-300 air defense batteries to Syria, said another American official who asked not to be identified because he was discussing intelligence reports. Russia and Iran have supported Mr. Assad politically and have provided military support — support that American officials say has fortified Mr. Assad’s determination to hang on to power. American officials had been concerned that Russia might sell S-300 air defense batteries to Iran. But after the United States and Israel raised alarms, the weapons were not provided to the Iranians. 

Kremlin forces out Putin’s former Domestic Policy Adviser

05/08/13:  The New York Times reports the Kremlin on Wednesday announced the resignation of Vladislav Y. Surkov, a longtime domestic policy adviser and architect of Russia’s highly centralized political system, now under strain from protests. Mr. Surkov, a former advertising executive, had coined the phrase “sovereign democracy” to describe the Russian system under President Vladimir V. Putin, a system that preserved popular elections but stripped them of meaning by closely manipulating the process. After waves of protests that began in 2011 by middle-class Muscovites angry about vote rigging, others in the Kremlin elbowed Mr. Surkov aside. “Stabilization devours its own children,” he said then. He was reassigned to a low-key position overseeing innovation in the economy. The Kremlin published a statement saying Mr. Putin had signed a decree removing Mr. Surkov from his position “in accordance with his own wishes” and effective immediately. The Kremlin statement offered no explanation for why Russia’s prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, who was Mr. Surkov’s direct superior, had not issued the decree. It was a peculiarity, one sure to reinforce the impression lately that Mr. Medvedev is being sidelined in Russian politics, despite the loyalty he showed to Mr. Putin last year by declining to run for a second term as president and endorsing Mr. Putin to run instead. A public dispute earlier this week with a powerful law enforcement organization telegraphed Mr. Surkov’s ouster.

DNI supports review of intelligence on alleged Marathon bomber Tsarnaev

05/01/13: CNN reports Director of National Intelligence James Clapper believes an independent review of how the government handled its investigation of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev prior to the attack is a prudent step “to ensure that nothing was missed.”  Clapper spokeswoman Shawn Turner said the DNI believes all of the agencies involved in collecting and sharing information “took all the appropriate steps,” but that the Intelligence Community inspector general, a watchdog that investigates risks, vulnerabilities, and deficiencies within sixteen intelligence-related agencies and departments across the government will lead a review.  Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with Boston police days after the April 15 bombings.  His brother Dzhokhar, also a suspect, remains in custody and has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction.

Analysis: Obama's "red line" on Syria blurs

05/01/13: The Hill reports President Obama further blurred the “red line” he has imposed against Syria over chemical weapons on Tuesday, declining to lay out specific consequences if the line is crossed but reiterated that it would be a “game changer” for the entire international community.  Asked about possible US military action if it’s confirmed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have used chemical weapons, Obama said only that the administration would “rethink the range of options” available.  As the President sounded a cautious tone, however, there were reports Tuesday afternoon that he might be planning to take new steps, including that Obama is now ready to provide arms to the opposition, although he had not made a final decision.  National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to confirm or deny that report.  Obama also spoke by phone Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a strong supporter of Assad, about the chemical weapons allegations.

NATO eyes progress with Russia after US cancels missile shield

04/01/13: Reuters reports a top NATO official says the Alliance hopes a US change to global missile defenses will dispel Russian concern and foster cooperation on an issue that has long strained relations.  “The change in the US plans ... just simply makes the situation much less ambiguous,” Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said.  “There is now no reason for concern that the system going into Europe will have any effect whatever on Russia’s strategic deterrent.”  Russia has said US missile shield plans could erode its nuclear deterrent, but has softened criticism since Washington announced on March 16 that it would station fourteen missile interceptors in Alaska in response to North Korean nuclear threats and at the same time forgo a new type of interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe.

Raids in Russia target ‘foreign agents’

03/29/13:  The New York Times reports it has been a nerve-jangling week for civil society groups in Russia as they awaited a knock on the door by state officials on the hunt for “foreign agents.” Amid concerns among international advocacy organizations about what has been described as the worst crackdown on Russian democracy since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the authorities have raided scores of offices of rights groups, foreign cultural bodies and other nongovernmental organizations. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Transparency International, the corruption watchdog, were among those targeted, as well as Memorial, Russia’s oldest human rights organization. The Russian Justice Ministry said the checks by judicial and tax officials were to investigate if the real activities of these organizations matched the declared ones. Responding to Western criticism that the raids amounted to harassment and intimidation, President Vladimir V. Putin described them on Thursday as “legal and routine.” The raids follow adoption last year of a law requiring NGOs that receive foreign funding to declare themselves foreign agents, a term that, to Russians, evokes Cold War-era espionage. Although noncompliance carries large fines, possible jail terms, and potential closure, no organization has so far registered. Reacting to the wave of raids that began on March 21, High Williamson, Human Rights Watch’s Europe director, said the scale of the operations was "unprecedented and only serves to reinforce the menacing atmosphere for civil society.”  The US State Department expressed deep concern at what looked like a witch hunt, while German and French officials warned that the inspections could damage their countries’ relations with Moscow.

 

China reportedly to buy Russian submarines, fighter jets

03/26/13:  NPR reports China has reportedly signed a deal to buy new submarines and Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, the first such arms deal in nearly a decade. The agreement, long in the works, was inked during last week's visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, according to China Central Television CCTV.  But, somewhat oddly, Russia's ITAR-TASS has denied the reports. According to Chinese media, the agreement was for four Amur-1650 class diesel-electric submarines and 24 Su-35s, one of Russia's most advanced fighters. The submarines would supplement China's existing fleet of about 65 subsurface vessels, including indigenously built nuclear and ballistic missile submarines. China has also produced several of its own variants of Russia's Sukhoi Su-27, Su-30 and Su-33 warplanes and is in the process of developing its own stealth fighters. The BBC quotes China's People's Daily as saying the advanced Su-35s from Russia would "effectively reduce pressure on China's air defense" as China moved ahead with its stealth planes. The reports come as Beijing and Moscow have moved closer in an apparent desire to counterbalance U.S. interests in Asia and Europe and The China Daily described Xi's visit to Russia as a "well-deserved riposte to Washington for America's military 'pivot' to Asia. Xi is executing China's own 'pivot' — the visit to Moscow to cement ties with" Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC.

Russian authorities raid Amnesty International office

03/25/13: The New York Times reports Russian authorities on Monday raided the local headquarters of the human rights group Amnesty International, the latest in a continuing series of office searches aimed at putting pressure on nongovernmental groups.  The head of Amnesty International, Sergei Nikitkin, said officials from the general prosecutor’s offices and from the tax police arrived Monday morning unannounced to conduct what they described as an “audit” and demanded a list of documents, most of which Nikitkin said were already on file with the government.  “They don’t have any concrete complaints.  They say it’s a regular check and other cliché phrases,” he said.  Last week, the authorities conducted a similar raid at the offices of Memorial, an international historical society and human rights group that has operated in Russia for more than two decades.

Russian police raid rights group Memorial and other NGOs

03/22/13:  The BBC reports Russian police and tax inspectors have raided the offices of the human rights group Memorial and other civil society groups which get foreign funding. Memorial is famous for documenting human rights abuses in Russia. The US embassy in Moscow has voiced concern and asked the Russian government for an explanation. A new Russian law says foreign-funded non-governmental groups (NGOs) linked to politics must register as "foreign agents" - a term which suggests spying. In the worst repressions of the Soviet period the label "foreign agents" was used to denounce dissidents - or simply political rivals of Joseph Stalin - and could lead to execution. Memorial says inspectors returned to its Moscow offices on Friday, having already seized 600 documents including accounts on Thursday. A statement on the Memorial website said the inspections were directly linked to the new law on NGOs and the targeted groups' compliance with it. Memorial director Arseny Roginsky, quoted by the Russian news website Vesti, said it was "a complete check on everything concerned with our sources of funding". He insisted that the NGO law "will not change our position at all". "We won't refuse foreign donations, nor will we register as a 'foreign agent'," he said.

Russia launched massive nuclear drill, Pentagon alarmed

03/07/13:  The Washington Times reports Russian nuclear forces conducted a major exercise last month that tested the transport of both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons near Europe, according to United States officials. The exercise raised concerns inside the Pentagon and with the US European Command because it was the largest exercise of its kind in 20 years and involved heightened alert status of Russian nuclear forces. The nuclear drills were part of other military maneuvers in Russia carried out between Feb. 17 and Feb. 21. The exercises followed a recent surge in Russian strategic bomber flights that include a recent circling of the US Pacific island of Guam by two Tu-95 Bear bomber and simulated bombing runs by Tu-95s against Alaska and California in June and July. However, a US official said the exercise was a concern within the US national security community because of the scale of the exercise and the number of weapons being moved. “Certainly it’s a concern when you have this kind of exercise going on,” this official said.

Russian Foreign Minister too busy to take Kerry's call over North Korean nuclear test

02/17/13: CNN reports Secretary of State John Kerry's call to his Russian counterpart has gone unanswered for nearly a week after North Korea tested a nuclear device.  Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the top diplomats South Korea, China, and Japan.  But couldn't connect Lavrov, who was in Africa for a conference and had "a very overloaded work schedule," according to Russian government spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.  He said the United States did not make additional attempts to call Lavrov.  Russia is an ally of North Korea and a member of the six nations that have held talks over the North Korean nuclear program.  Washington and Moscow are also on opposite sides of the situation in Syria and have sparred over Russian restrictions on adoptions between the two countries.

Meteorite fragments rain down on Siberia; hundreds of injuries reported

02/15/13:  The New York Times reports bright objects, apparently debris from a meteor, streaked through the sky in western Siberia early on Friday, accompanied by a boom that damaged buildings across a vast territory. Russia’s Interior Ministry said more than 1,000 people were hurt, 200 of them children, mostly from shards of glass that shattered when the meteor entered the atmosphere.  Many of the injuries were suffered by residents of the city of Chelyabinsk, about 950 miles east of Moscow, in a region where many factories for defense, including nuclear weapons production, are situated. But there was no indication of damage that resulted in any radiation leaks, officials said.  Russian experts believe the blast was caused by a 10-ton meteor known as a bolide, which created a powerful shock wave when it reached the Earth’s atmosphere, the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement. Scientists believe the bolide exploded and evaporated at a height of around 20 to 30 miles above the Earth’s surface, but that small meteorite fragments may have reached the ground, the statement said.

Pentagon study: US missile shield plans seriously flawed

02/10/13: Haaretz reports secret Defense Department studies cast doubt on whether a multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe will ever be able to protect the US from Iranian missiles as intended. The studies described in a report from the Government Accountability Office are the latest to highlight serious problems for a plan that has been criticized on several fronts. Republicans claim it was hastily drawn up in an attempt to appease Russia, which had opposed an earlier system, but Moscow is also critical of the plan, which it believes is really intended to counter its missiles. A series of governmental and scientific reports has cast doubt on whether it would ever work as planned.

Russian officer jailed in coup plot

02/09/13:  The New York Times reports a Moscow court sentenced a former Soviet intelligence officer on Friday to 13 years in a prison colony for plotting an armed coup against the Russian government. The officer, Vladimir Kvachkov, a former colonel in the Soviet military intelligence service, was convicted of plotting to seize weapons from military caches and launch an attack on Moscow with a small group of ultranationalist supporters in 2010. Mr. Kvachkov told the RIA Novosti news agency shortly after his arrest that he was accused of trying to lead two groups of men armed with crossbows against government troops. He denied the charges. Earlier in 2010, he was acquitted of charges of trying to assassinate Anatoly Chubais, the architect of Russia's unpopular market reforms, in 2005.

Canadian navy officer who sold US secrets to Russia convicted of espionage

02/09/13:  The Washington Times reports a Canadian navy intelligence officer who pleaded guilty to selling military secrets to Russia was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.  Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle will serve 18 years and five months behind bars because of time he has already served, Provincial court Judge Patrick Curran said. Curran also ordered Delisle to pay a fine of nearly CA$111,817 ($111,700). Delisle, 41, pleaded guilty in October to espionage for selling secrets to the Russians. He worked at a naval intelligence center and had access to information shared by Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The prosecution said he would search for Russian references on his work computer, transfer it to a USB key, then take it home and paste it into an email program that he shared with his Russian handler.

Russian fighter jets 'breach Japan airspace'

02/07/13:  The BBC reports two Russian fighter jets have violated Japanese airspace, prompting Tokyo to scramble its own aircraft, reports say.  Japan lodged a protest after the planes were detected off the northern island of Hokkaido for just over a minute.  The incident happened after Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said he was seeking a solution to a territorial dispute with Russia over a Pacific island chain.  Russia's military denied the incursion, saying the jets were making routine flights near the disputed islands.  Mr Abe was speaking on the anniversary of an 1855 treaty which Japan says supports its claims to the islands.  The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute.  Because of the dispute, the two nations have not yet signed a peace treaty to end World War II.

EU proposes Iran nuclear talks in Kazakhstan

02/03/13: Al Jazeera reports a spokesman for the European Union’s foreign policy chief said Sunday that world powers have proposed holding a new round of talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program the week of February 25 in Kazakhstan.  But Catherine Ashton’s team, which coordinates diplomatic contacts with Iran on its nuclear program on behalf of the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain, is still hoping for confirmation of the date and venue from Tehran.  Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed the proposal for the new round of talks but stopped short of pledging Iran’s attendance.  Iran and the six nations held three rounds of talks last year aimed at resolving the standoff over Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iran 'steps up Syria support'

02/01/13:  The BBC reports Iran has stepped up its military and financial aid to the Syrian government, departing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned.  Mrs Clinton said there were also signs that Russia continues to supply Syria with money and "equipment".  A spilling-over of the conflict into neighbouring countries was "within the realm of the possible now", she said.  Her comments came amid contradictory claims of an Israeli strike in Syria.  The Syrian army said Israeli war planes had bombed a military research centre north-west of Damascus, but the US and others said lorries carrying weapons bound for Lebanon were hit.  Israel has maintained silence about the incident, but Syria has made a formal complaint to UN, saying it reserves the right to defend itself. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have strongly denounced the attack.

Russia's freedoms crackdown 'worst since USSR fall'

02/01/13:  The BBC reports Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed the worst political crackdown in the country's post-Soviet era, a human rights group has said.  In a report, Human Rights Watch said Mr Putin had signed a raft of laws quashing freedoms after his return to the Kremlin for a third term in 2012.  Mr Putin's fear of mass street protests had been behind the moves, the report's authors said.  Moscow has so far made no direct comment on the document's findings.  Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said an official statement would be issued soon.  But he added that Russia's "human rights situation is not the worst" and its critics were not "perfect" themselves, pointing to alleged human rights abuses in the US and the EU.

Russia scraps law enforcement deal with US

01/30/13: Reuters reports Russia abandoned a law enforcement agreement with the United States on Wednesday, further turning back the clock on a “reset” in relations since President Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin last year.  An order to end the deal, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, was posted on the government’s website. It said the agreement, under which Washington provides financial assistance for law enforcement and drugs control programs, “does not address current realities and has exhausted its potential.”  Lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, a Putin ally who heads the parliamentary committee on international affairs, welcomed the move.  “Russia is reformatting its relationship with the USA: this is already the third agreement cancelled in the last half-year.  We are saying farewell to our dependence on ‘Power No. 1’,” he said on Twitter.

Russia explores old nuclear waste dumps in Arctic

01/24/13:  The BBC reports the toxic legacy of the Cold War lives on in Russia's Arctic, where the Soviet military dumped many tonnes of radioactive hardware at sea.  For more than a decade, Western governments have been helping Russia to remove nuclear fuel from decommissioned submarines docked in the Kola Peninsula - the region closest to Scandinavia.  But further east lies an intact nuclear submarine at the bottom of the Kara Sea, and its highly enriched uranium fuel is a potential time bomb.  This year the Russian authorities want to see if the K-27 sub can be safely raised, so that the uranium - sealed inside the reactors - can be removed.  They also plan to survey numerous other nuclear dumps in the Kara Sea, where Russia's energy giant Rosneft and its US partner Exxon Mobil are now exploring for oil and gas.

Russia warns Israel, West against attacking Iran

01/23/13: Reuters reports Russia warned Israel and the West on Wednesday against any military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities but suggested Tehran should be quicker to cooperate over inspections of its nuclear sites.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mixed words of caution over attacking Iran with a gentle nudge to Tehran over the inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  “Attempts to prepare and implement strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and on its infrastructure as a whole are a very, very dangerous idea.  We hope these ideas will not come to fruition,” Lavrov said.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted strongly at possible military action to stop Iran from developing an atomic bomb.  Lavrov added that he hopes Tehran will agree to inspections by the IAEA and should act “a little bit faster.”

New Russian nuclear submarine enters service

01/10/13:  The Miami Herald reports the Russian navy on Thursday hoisted its flag on a new nuclear powered submarine intended to form a key part of the country's future nuclear deterrent. The Yury Dolgoruky, which carries 16 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles, is the first of a new series of Borei-class submarines that will replace older Soviet-built ships. Another submarine of the same type is currently undergoing sea trials and two others are now under construction.  Commissioning of the new submarines is part of an ambitious arms modernization program that envisages spending over 20 trillion rubles ($657 billion) on new weapons through 2020.

Russia demands action over UN helicopter downed in South Sudan

12/22/12:  The BBC reports Russia has urged South Sudan to identify and punish those responsible for shooting down a UN helicopter and killing its four Russian crew. The helicopter was apparently shot down on Friday while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state. The UN strongly condemned the "shooting down... of a clearly marked UN helicopter" by South Sudanese forces. South Sudanese officials have given conflicting accounts of why the helicopter may have been downed.

Syria government 'losing control' - Russian official

12/13/12:  The BBC reports a Russian official has said for the first time that the Syrian government may be defeated by opposition forces. President Bashar al-Assad's forces are "losing more and more control and territory", deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said. He said Russia, one of Syria's staunchest allies, was making plans for a possible evacuation of thousands of its citizens. Separately, Syria denied reports it had fired Scud missiles at rebels. Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen earlier said the organisation had detected the launch of such short-range missiles, saying it showed an "utter disregard" for the lives of the Syrian people.

UK Navy submariner jailed for Official Secrets Act breach

12/13/12:  The BBC reports a Royal Navy petty officer who offered nuclear submarine secrets to MI5 agents posing as Russian spies has been jailed for eight years. Edward Devenney, gathered classified coding material after being passed over for promotion, the court was told. He had been "prepared to betray his country and his colleagues", said Mr Justice Saunders at the Old Bailey. Devenney admitted breaching the Official Secrets Act.

US and Russia to meet on Syrian conflict

12/06/12:  The New York Times reports a new round of diplomacy on the conflict in Syria will begin on Thursday afternoon when Lakdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy, hosts an unusual three-way meeting with Secretary of State Clinton and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. The session, which is being held on the margins of a meeting on European security, comes amid reports of heightened activity at Syria’s chemical weapons sites and signs that Russia may be shifting its position on a political transition in Syria.

Obama calls on Russia to renew weapons pact

12/04/12:  The New York Times reports President Obama called on Russia on Monday to renew a two-decade-old nuclear disarmament program that Moscow has threatened to cancel as the two sides try to figure out the future of a rocky relationship now that elections in both countries are behind them. Russia declared this fall that it would not renew the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which has helped rid the former Soviet Union of thousands of nuclear weapons since the end of the cold war. But in a speech, Mr. Obama chose to interpret the Russian statements as a negotiating position to change the program rather than halt it altogether.

US denies Russia's request to extradite arms dealer Bout

11/12/12: Reuters reports the United States has refused a request from Russia that convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout be returned to his home country to spend the remainder of his twenty-five-year prison term, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Saturday.  Bout, 54, was sentenced in April after a jury convicted him on charges that he agreed to sell arms to people he thought were militants intent on attacking American soldiers in Colombia.  Bout’s case has strained ties between Moscow and Washington: he said he was a legitimate businessman and the Russian Foreign Ministry has argued he was convicted on unreliable evidence.  Konstantin Dolgov, Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law at the Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Russia’s bid to have Bout extradited had failed.