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Nixon Center urges U.S. to allow Russian conventional arms exports

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, February 19, 2001

WASHINGTON — Russia and the United States are again arguing over the extent of Moscow's military aid to Iran as a leading strategic think-tank has urged the Bush administration to ease opposition to Russia's conventional weapons exports.

The Bush administration is terming Russia a leading proliferator of missile and nonconventional weapons technology. Russia said the United States is hurling baseless charges.

The argument comes as U.S. officials said Russia is conducting a huge military exercise that includes missile flight tests and the Bush administration is being urged to change Washington's policy toward Moscow.

"Let's be very honest about what Russia is doing," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "Russia is an active proliferator. They are part of the problem. They are selling and assisting countries like Iran and North Korea and India and other countries with these technologies which are threatening other people including the United States and Western Europe and countries in the Middle East."

A leading Russian Defense Ministry official was quick to respond. The official said there was no point in a meeting between Rumsfeld and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeyev.

"Russia is irreproachably fulfilling its international obligations, including under the regime of nonproliferation of missile technologies," Gen. Leonid Ivashov, who heads the Russian Defense Ministry's international department, told the Interfax news agency. "Even America's allies don't believe in the U.S. fairy tales about missile threats that Rumsfeld talks about."

In Washington, a new study by the Nixon Center calls on the Bush administration to change U.S. policy toward Russia. The center urges President George Bush to be very firm with Moscow on ending Russian missile and nonconventional weapons proliferation while being flexible on Moscow's sales of conventional arms.

On Thursday, Russia signed a deal to sell $600 million worth of weapons to India. The contract calls for the delivery and license to build 310 T-90 tanks.

"The United States has more leverage than it has used to induce Russia to halt its assistance to Iran's missile and nuclear development programs, especially due to Russia's interest in cooperating with American companies on a number of important and potentially lucrative technology projects," the report said. "Moscow should understand that any restrictions applied to U.S. technology may have to be implemented across-the-board rather than against suspected violators alone."

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is scheduled to visit Moscow on March 12 and could conclude details for a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Russia.

Monday, February 19, 2001

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