WASHINGTON PLANS FOR NEW NUCLEAR DEAL WITH RUSSIA...
Irrespective of who takes office on January 20th, 2009, the next American president is likely to press for a new arms control agreement codifying further bilateral nuclear reductions with Russia. "I am confident that… whoever is elected president, we will go to the bargaining table," Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on October 28th. In order to be successful, however, this new arms control deal will need to be "shorter, simpler and easier to adjust to real-world conditions than most of the strategic arms agreements that we've seen over the last 40 years," Gates said in comments carried by the Washington Post (October 29).
...AS MOSCOW REJECTS MISSILE DEFENSE TALKS...
Russian authorities say that missile defense discussions between Moscow and Washington have run their course, and that the diplomatic ball is now in the American court. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has told reporters in comments carried by the Agence France Presse (October 21) that his government "simply doesn't see the point of continuing the same thing… We gave the Americans several questions but haven't received answers." Among the questions that the Kremlin would like answered, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency (October 20) reports, is whether Washington would be amenable to a sustained Russian oversight presence at the missile defense facilities it hopes to build in the Czech Republic and Poland.
...AND ARMS ITS ALLIES
In a move reminiscent of the Cold War, Moscow is poised to offer Havana advanced air defense technologies as a notional hedge against the United States. Reuters (October 27) reports that, during a visit this week to Cuba by a Russian military delegation, Russian officials planned to "discuss the prospect of training Cuban servicemen at the tactical air defence academies and training centres in Russia, using upgraded Russian-made military hardware." The overall aim of the delegation is to strengthen military relations between the Russian military and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, a Russian official has told the Interfax news agency.
THE “THIRD SITE” IN STASIS
The Bush administration’s plans for a European leg to its missile defense shield have ground to a halt as America’s partners in Eastern Europe await the results of the U.S. elections. The Agence France Presse (October 29) reports that the Czech government intends to delay a final vote on the “third site” – in which it would play a key role as an outpost for early warning radars – until at least early next year. The purpose of the pause? To gauge the incoming administration’s commitment to missile defense partnership. "We want a delay to make sure about the attitude of the new American administration," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has told reporters.
ISRAELI SEA-BASED DEFENSES COME ONLINE
The Israeli Navy is ready to deploy a new, advanced ship-based missile defense system intended to safeguard the country’s maritime military fleet. According to the October 26th edition of Ha’aretz, the “Barak-1” – a vertical-launch, terminal-phase sea-to-air interception system - has completed its testing phase and is ready for operational use. The “Barak” is said to be effective against short- and medium-range missiles, as well as against cruise missiles, aerial bombs and “smart” bombs.