September 2, 2014

RUSSIA TO REVISE MILITARY DOCTRINE IN RESPONSE TO NATO

Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[Russian foreign policy has long focused on NATO as a threat. Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said a recent initiative by the Ukrainian government to shed its nonaligned status and to join NATO could scuttle efforts to negotiate a peace settlement between Kiev and separatists in southeast Ukraine.]


By Andrew Roth

An aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia did not deny a report that  Mr. Putin had
 told José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, “if I want, I will 
take Kiev in two weeks.” Credit Pool photo by Alexey Nikolsky
MOSCOW — With NATO leaders expected to endorse a rapid-reaction force of 4,000 troops for Eastern Europe this week, a senior Russian military official said on Tuesday that Moscow would revise its military doctrine to account for “changing military dangers and military threats.”

In an interview with the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, the official, Mikhail Popov, deputy secretary of Russia’s military Security Council, called the expansion of NATO “one of the leading military dangers for the Russian Federation.”

Mr. Popov said Russia expected that leaders of NATO would seek to strengthen the alliance’s long-term military presence in Eastern Europe by establishing new military bases in the region and by deploying tanks in Estonia, a member of NATO that borders Russia.

“We believe that the defining factor in our relationship with NATO remains the unacceptability for Russia of plans to move military infrastructures of the alliance to our borders, including by means of expanding the bloc,” Mr. Popov said.

Russian foreign policy has long focused on NATO as a threat. Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said a recent initiative by the Ukrainian government to shed its nonaligned status and to join NATO could scuttle efforts to negotiate a peace settlement between Kiev and separatists in southeast Ukraine.

Before a NATO summit meeting begins in Wales on Thursday, President Obama is expected to visit Estonia to highlight the United States’ commitment to the military alliance and the alliance’s determination to protect all 28 members from aggression — from Moscow or elsewhere.

On Tuesday morning, an aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia played down but did not deny a report that Mr. Putin had told José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, “if I want, I will take Kiev in two weeks.”

The comments came as Mr. Barroso asked Mr. Putin about Russian troops in Ukraine. Mr. Putin, who has repeatedly denied having any troops there, then turned “to threats,” Mr. Barroso told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Yuri V. Ushakov, an aide to Mr. Putin, said Mr. Barroso’s recounting of a private conversation was “inappropriate.”

“Whether these words were said or not, in my viewpoint, this quote given is taken out of context and it had absolutely different sense,” Mr. Ushakov said.

On a nationally televised call-in show in April, Mr. Putin said, “When the infrastructure of a military bloc approaches our borders, we have grounds for certain apprehensions and questions.”

“We wanted to support the residents of Crimea, but we also followed certain logic: If we don’t do anything, Ukraine will be drawn into NATO sometime in the future,” Mr. Putin said, adding that “NATO ships will dock in Sevastopol, the city of Russia’s naval glory.”

Mr. Popov, the military adviser, also said that Russia believed it had sufficient forces in Crimea “to repel an invasion from a potential aggressor on the territory of the republic.”

“Crimea today is the territory of the Russian Federation, and armed aggression against Crimea will be seen as aggression against the Russian Federation with all of the resulting consequences,” Mr. Popov said.

PAK ARMY CHIEF ADVISES NAWAZ SHARIF TO QUIT, MEDIA REPORTS CLAIM

[Duniya TV reported that Gen Sharif has asked the PM Sharif to resign for a temporary three-month period as demanded by protesters to let an independent commission probe alleged rigging in last year's general election.]

 

Press Trust of India 

ISLAMABAD: Fresh controversy erupted after Pakistan's powerful army chief on Monday met PM Nawaz Sharif to discuss ways to resolve the deepening political crisis with media reports claiming that the embattled Prime Minister was advised to step down during the meeting.

After TV channels reported that Army chief General Raheel Sharif has advised Prime Minister Sharif to step down, both the government and military issued separate denials, dismissing the claims as "baseless".

Duniya TV reported that Gen Sharif has asked the PM Sharif to resign for a temporary three-month period as demanded by protesters to let an independent commission probe alleged rigging in last year's general election.

READ ALSO: Clashes resume in Islamabad, Imran Khan, Qadri booked under anti-terrorist act

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek have been demanding that Sharif should step down for a limited period so that claims of rigging can be investigated.

A government spokesperson immediately denied and denounced rumours broadcast on TV channels. The spokesperson termed the rumours "baseless" and "fake".

Military spokesperson Major Gen Asim Bajwa also denied the reports, tweeting, "News of #Army #Chief asking #PM to resign or going on leave is baseless."