Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1634

May 8:

The Kremlin is actively aiding the nuclear ambitions of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. According to Venezuela's El Universal, the country's legislature, known as the National Assembly, has ratified a recent agreement between Moscow and Caracas on the use of nuclear energy for "peaceful purposes." The ten-year pact also encompasses "the development of nuclear infrastructure, the safety of nuclear facilities and radioactive sources, industrial production of components and materials to be used in nuclear reactors," the paper reports.

Observers are eyeing the new deal - and Venezuela's nuclear ambitions - with considerable trepidation. "Any agreement with Russia, at a time when that country is eager to revive polarity and play an active role in global geopolitics, means that Venezuela could enter into a nuclear arms race that will be of great concern to neighbouring countries, especially Colombia and Brazil," warns Julio Cesar Pineda, the former President Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission.


May 9:

Russia has commemorated the 64th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany with a massive military parade - and a warning to the West. The Agence France Presse reports that the show of force, which included a roll-out of missiles, was accompanied by a warning from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that "any aggression against our citizens will be given a worthy reply." "The victory over Fascism is a great example and a great lesson for all peoples and is still current today when people are again starting military adventures," Medvedev said.


May 10:

Is Vladimir Putin contemplating a presidential comeback? According to London's Guardian newspaper, Russia's current premier may soon seek to reclaim the post he gave up to his hand-picked protégé, Dmitry Medvedev, last year. "Depending on the effectiveness of our work, President Medvedev and I will take decisions about what to do in the future," Putin has told reporters in Japan. The comments, the paper editorializes, are the "strongest hint yet that he is pondering a comeback that would see him return to the Kremlin as president in 2012."


May 12:

As part of its diplomatic outreach to North Korea, Russia has offered to become a logistical base for Pyongyang's space program. The Voice of America reports that, during his tour of Asia last month, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signaled that Moscow -- which is a member of the now-moribund Six Party Talks over North Korea's nuclear program - was willing to help the Stalinist state put commercial satellites into orbit. "Russia is cooperating with many countries in the peaceful exploration of space, including launching satellites by our boosters," Lavrov is reported as saying. "We have such agreements with South Korea and we are ready to develop similar projects with North Korea, and hope our proposal will be examined."


May 13:

Russia may soon face new conflicts over energy, and must stand ready to defend its interests by force, a new Kremlin strategy document has declared. "In a competition for resources, problems that involve the use of military force cannot be excluded that would destroy the balance of forces close to the borders of the Russian Federation and her allies," Reuters reports the strategy document, which has been approved by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, as saying. "The attention of international politics in the long-term perspective will be concentrated on the acquisition of energy resources."