Russia vows to defy sanctions

MOSCOW [MENL] -- In the wake of NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, Russia plans to defy United States sanctions and continue aid to Iran's ballistic missile and nonconventional weapons programs, officials said.

The officials said Russian-U.S. relations have reached a turning point and will probably never return to the level of cooperation and warmth seen over the last five years. "We've lost something that can never be recovered again," Alexei Arbatov, deputy chairman of State Duma Defense Committee, said.

Arbatov said NATO's action against Yugoslavia marks the "apex of Russian-US relations in the last few years and, to some extent, in the post-Cold War period, that is since the early 1990s."

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Arbatov said Moscow is limited in its response to the NATO attacks. But he said it will continue its military aid programs to countries Washington considers as dangerous.

"It is obvious that the US attempts to limit our cooperation with Iran, India and China will fail," Arbatov said. "On the contrary, this cooperation will grow. It is also clear that Russia has so far limited its response only to words. It has to limit itself to words. We are heavily dependent on the West financially. Russia's military potential has also been substantially sapped of its strength."

Arbatov said anti-West sentiment has been sweeping Russia since the NATO campaign. He said many Russians feel that Moscow will be the next victim of the West.