CT, "From Russia's point of view Germany, Japan, India and Brazil are deserving candidates for the expanded permanent membership of the (Security) Council," Russia's permanent envoy in the world body Sergei Lavrov said in an interview to ITAR-TASS in Moscow. http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/world/20031229-1.html
Sources in the Argentine Army confirmed to PRAVDA.Ru that even in peacetime, Brazil and Chile are always targets for military actions and the Armed Forces have defensive plans to neutralize hypothetical neighbor attacks. This is mere speculation as an armed conflict in the region is unthinkable with democratic governments.
Notwithstanding, Foreign Officers in Buenos Aires became puzzled by Amaral declarations. "Argentina and Brazil have several mutual agreements, which forbid nuclear development for military purposes and allow mutual controls on this subject", said a source at the Foreign Ministry to the Argentine newspaper Clarin.
Analysts are also concerned on Brazil's rocket launching programs. Brazil has initiated negotiations to develop a new space program with Ukraine and has a base in country's NorthEast to launch satellites. The combination of both capabilities: atomic power and rocket launching is what Argentina is scared of.
Ukraine manufactures some of the guidance and control components used in current Russian ICBMs and SLBMs. It also has the infrastructure to design, develop, and produce both liquid- and solid-propellant ICBMs and space launch vehicles and related components. However, the planned space program with Ukraine to which Brazil admits probably according to the following references includes Russia.
During a joint press conference in the Brazilian Defense Ministry, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Viegas announced that they consider Russia and Brazil as strategic partners.
Sergei Ivanov underlined that during negotiations the sides discussed issues of military and military-technological cooperation, especially in the sphere of space and aircraft industries.
According to Mr. Ivanov, in terms of space exploration, the sides discussed Russia's assistance to Brazil in manufacturing liquid-fuel carrier-rockets. "Russia has vast experience in developing and using such carriers, and we do not exclude the possibility of mutual cooperation in the development of spacecraft," said the Russian minister.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE, KAZAKHSTAN, BELARUS: NBC WEAPONS AND MISSILE PROGRAMS
Nuclear Operational strategic nuclear warheads reduced by about 40 percent since 1991.
......All strategic and tactical nuclear warheads consolidated in Russia.
......Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus are nuclear weapons free.
......All states have ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the signed Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Chemical Russia has declared the world’s largest chemical agent stockpile: 40,000 metric tons.
......Russia may be developing new generation of chemical agents.
......Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus have no chemical warfare programs.
......Russia and Belarus have ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. Ukraine and Kazakhstan have signed it.
Biological Key components of the former Soviet Union’s biological warfare program remain intact in Russia.
......Russia may be continuing some research related to biological warfare.
......Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus have no biological warfare programs.
......Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention; Kazakhstan has not signed it.
Ballistic Missiles Operational strategic nuclear delivery vehicles have been reduced by nearly half since 1991.
......No operationally deployed ICBMs remain in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, or Belarus.
......Russia has a large SRBM force and reportedly is marketing SRBM-related technology. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus also have SRBM forces.
......Russia is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime; Kazakhstan and Belarus are not. While Ukraine is not a member of the MTCR, it has committed to unilaterally adhere to the MTCR Guidelines and Annex.
Other Means Of Delivery Available Russia and Ukraine have land-, sea-, and air-launched cruise missiles; some are anti-ship; some have longer ranges. Kazakhstan and Belarus have air-launched tactical missiles. Only Russia has any land-attack, nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
......All have a variety of combat aircraft and ground systems.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that President Leonid Kuchma can run for a third five-year term next year, a move likely to further heat up the already tense political situation in the ex-Soviet republic. Ukraine's first post-Soviet constitution approved in 1996 limits a president to two terms in office. The Constitutional Court ruled that Kuchma's first term, which started in 1994, didn't count because it began before the constitution's approval, Antonina Stakhovska, the court's spokeswoman, said by telephone. Kuchma, who headed a missile factory during Soviet times, finishes his second term next year. He has said publicly that he wouldn't seek another term in elections set for October.
Kuchma's spokeswoman Oksana Kosareva said that his position hasn't changed "yet." Kuchma, 65, is currently on a trip to Baden-Baden, a famed spa town in Germany, following last month's abdominal surgery.
The court's ruling is certain to infuriate the opposition, which has long accused Kuchma of corruption and involvement in the killing of an opposition journalist and pushed for his ouster. The opposition has long suspected Kuchma of seeking a legal loophole to extend his tenure.
Last week, the Ukrainian parliament gave preliminary approval to a set of constitutional amendments that would have the country's president elected by the legislature instead of popular vote starting in 2006.
The opposition vainly tried to block the amendments drafted by Kuchma's supporters, saying they represented an attempt to keep him in office beyond term limits or help him install a hand-picked successor in elections set for October.
The opposition tried to unseat Kuchma in a wave of street protests in the fall of 2002, but he has weathered the pressure. During that period, Ukraine's relations with the United States soured as the U.S. administration accused Kuchma of sanctioning the sale of sophisticated military radars to Iraq.
Kuchma has denied the accusations, and U.S.-Ukrainian relations improved this year after the Ukrainian government sent peacekeepers to Iraq in an apparent attempt to placate Washington.
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