Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1850

September 14:

In Russia’s latest play for disputed Arctic territory, the country’s Defense Ministry announced plans to resume a military presence in the Subarctic region. “We have come, or rather permanently returned, to where we belong, because it is originally Russian land,” said Army General Arkady Bakhin, Russia’s First Defense Minister. RIA-Novosti reports that ten warships and support vessels have already arrived in the region, including Russia’s most powerful battleship and the flagship of the Northern Fleet, Peter the Great. “The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will fully implement the task of permanent military presence in the Arctic to secure the legal access of the country to resources and spaces of this region,” concluded Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov. “This will be a constant presence.”

September 15:

After three days of talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, agreed on a framework to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons stores. Within a week, CNN reports, Assad’s regime is expected to submit a comprehensive list of its chemical weapons stockpile. Under the new plan, initial inspections of declared chemical weapons sites are scheduled to conclude by November; all “production and mixing and filling equipment” must be destroyed by November; and finally all chemical weapons material will be eliminated by mid-2014. In the interest of retaining international control of the weapons arsenal, as much of it as possible will be removed and destroyed outside Syrian territory. Personnel from the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will carry out the verification and destruction process.

September 17:

Lithuania became the latest country to complain over Russia’s strongarm tactics. Reuters reports that Russian authorities last week introduced extra checks on trucks and goods from Lithuania, along with lengthy border checks for Lithuanian-registered passenger cars. As a result, the number of crossings already has dropped by 90 percent. Lithuanian authorities called for action under WTO rules, in a letter sent to the European Trade Commission. “We consider these restrictive measures applied by the Russian Federation absolutely ungrounded, discriminatory and violating commitments of the Russian Federation to the WTO,” said the letter signed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. Officials estimate that transport firms and traders lose two million euros every day due to the extra checks. Analysts note that Lithuania, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, is driving the organization’s efforts to sign a free trade deal with Ukraine, as well as initial cooperation agreements with Moldova and Georgia. The Kremlin has long sought to convince all three countries to join the Russian-led Eurasian Union.

September 18:

Egyptian officials announced a series of agreements with the Kremlin, ranging from wheat to a lift in Russia’s Egyptian travel ban. According to Egypt Independent, the Kremlin has pledged to “meet Egypt’s needs” in wheat for the next three to five years, and to invest up to $260 million in Egyptian silos. The announcement marks the first notable trade agreement between the two since Egypt’s 2011 revolution. Egyptian investments in Russia declined drastically in that time period, from $47.4 million in 2010, to only $8.4 million in 2011.

The Kremlin was quick to decry the U.N. report revealing evidence of a massive chemical weapons attack responsible for killing hundreds of civilians. “We are unhappy about this report,” said Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister. “We think the report was distorted. It was one-sided. The basis of information upon which it is built is insufficient.” The New York Timesreports that while the report itself didn’t assign blame for the attack to either the Assad regime or rebel forces, analysis of the evidence it presented indicates that the attacks were carried out by elite military forces loyal to Assad. Nonetheless, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued that there is still “serious grounds to believe” that the August 21 attack was actually a provocation carried out by the rebels, and Russian officials maintain that the Syrian government provided information that showed insurgents used chemical weapons on several occasions.

September 20:

Kremlin officials believe as many as 400 Russians may be fighting in Syria as mercenaries. “Recruitment of mercenaries really does happen,” said Sergei Smirnov, first deputy director of the Federal Security Service. “They will return, and, naturally, this poses a major danger.” The Moscow Times notes that there is no method in the Russian legal system for stopping mercenary activities, and it is believed that active mercenaries in Syria in fact come from a number of different countries. The problem was among those identified by President Putin in his argument against military intervention in Syria for the New York Times. “Might they not return to our countries with experience in Syria?” he suggested.