Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Russia Ready for Pre-Emptive Strikes to Avert Terrorist Threat — Defense Minister
Created: 10.06.2005 18:19 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:19 MSK, 57 minutes ago


MosNews


Russia is ready to start a preventive war against other countries to avert terrorist thereats, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an interview with Russian weekly Profile.

“The right to the strike has been announced, and we reserve it for ourselves,” Ivanov warned. But he stressed, however, that a preventive war is possible only on one condition: “If we are 100 percent sure that the threat (to Russia) is right here and right now,” he explained.

Speaking on the “threat issue”, Ivanov pointed out in particular that the possible placement of NATO military bases on the territory of the Baltic countries will be considered the military threat not only to Russia, but to a number of CIS states. At the same time he supposes that even some CIS countries, for instance, Ukraine, may become NATO member states within a decade.

Nevertheless, Sergei Ivanov pointed out that Russia currently does not have direct enemies as it used to 50 years ago. He recalled that China, India and the U.S. are the county’s main partners at the moment, while the Kremlin shares most views on foreign policy issues with France and Germany.

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/06/10/ivanovonwarissue.shtml