MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin plans to market Russia's
newly-reformed arms industry during his upcoming trip to the Middle East.
Russian officials said Putin would be accompanied by a large delegation
in his visit to such countries as Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in early
February. They said the delegation would include senior officials from the
state-owned arms export agency Rosoboronexport, which has come under direct
presidential control.
"Putin scored a huge success in Algeria in 2006 and wants to market
Russian weapons to other countries as well," an official said. "The
president has clearly been the most effective salesman for our arms
industry."
Officials said Rosoboronexport has briefed Jordan, Qatar and Saudi
Arabia on a range of Russian military platforms. They said Jordan and Saudi
Arabia have agreed to consider Russian weapons procurement, which would
include defense industry cooperation.
Putin plans to meet Saudi King Abdullah on Feb. 11 and 12, the Kremlin
said in a statement on Jan. 29. From Riyad, the Russian president was
scheduled to fly to Qatar. Jordan would comprise the last leg of Putin's
tour in the Middle East.
"Russia's relations with Gulf states are a positive factor in resolving
conflicts in the Middle East," Putin told a news conference on Thursday.
Officials said Russia has also offered nuclear energy cooperation to
several Middle East states. They said Amman and Riyad have already expressed
interest.
In December 2006, Putin assigned all weapons exports to Rosoboronexport.
The decree, meant to take effect on March 1, would affect such major, and
formerly independent, arms suppliers as MiG as well as Instrument
Manufacturing Design Bureau, or KBP.
A report by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation asserted that
Rosoboronexport's monopoly over Russia's arms trade enables direct control
by Putin. The report, authored by Pavel Felgenhauer, said profits from
Russian weapons exports, including those to the Middle East, have been
tremendous.
"Russian-made weapons have also shown up recently in the Middle East,"
the report said. "KBP supplied Syria with the modern anti-tank Russian
Kornet missiles that Hizbullah allegedly used against the Israelis in
Lebanon last summer. The fact that Islamists or their supporters
in Lebanon and in the Horn of Africa used independently exported Russian
weapons may have lead Putin to impose a strict arms trade monopoly."
