Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia with Venezuela, Syria and Iran Is Based on Swindle and Corruption

In the mass-media expressing the point of view of the Kremlin there were comments connected with the fact that the countries of the world presented official annual reports on export and import of arms in 2006 to the Register of conventional armaments of the United Nations.

 

The register was created under the decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations from December, 6th, 1991. It is an official report of the states on transfers of conventional armaments according to seven categories of arms and military hardware: tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery of heavy gauge, warplanes, fighting helicopters, military ships and rockets. Since 2003 there is separate data in the register about deliveries of portable antiaircraft-rocket complexes.

 

Specificity of arms traffic leaves traces on format and completeness of the data presented leaving serious doubts in reliability of reports of many participants of the register. Non-mentioning into the register of "inconvenient" deliveries - is widespread practice. Incomplete representation of data on transfers of the rocket weapon is also usual.

 

Nevertheless annual reports in the Register of the United Nations - is a valuable source of information, first of all in the field of identification of small transfers of arms, deliveries of already used military hardware as well as about the deliveries to the underdeveloped countries and conflict zones. Data about these categories rarely get in press.

 

The greatest interest of the commentators in Moscow, as one could expect, was caused by the reports not of the Russian Federation but of neighbouring countries of the CIS - Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan. So, in their opinion, the Ukraine in its report confirmed reputation of the leading world exporter of arms from arsenals of the Soviet Army. In 2006 the Ukraine delivered abroad tanks T-72 and T-55, APC and Infantry Combat Vehicle, artillery systems and warplanes Mig-29. Among the buyers - Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Vietnam and other countries.

 

Commentators (with obvious reproach) drew special attention to military-technical cooperation of the Ukraine and the USA. In particular, to the transaction on delivery from the Ukraine to America portable antiaircraft-rocket complexes - 14 launchers 9P58M and 33 air-to-missile systems 9M36-1 of a complex 9K34 "Strela-3", 29 launchers 9P519 and 71 antiaircraft guided missiles 9M313 of a complex 9K310 "Igla-1", 49 launchers 9P516 and 99 antiaircraft guided missiles 9K39 of a complex 9K38 "Igla". Working off systems MANPAD created by the Americans was referred to as the purpose of the deliveries.

 

Another reproach, thrown to the Ukraine, consists its ostensible playing a destabilizing role on Caucasus supplying Georgia and Azerbaijan with arms. For both countries the Ukraine is - the main arming supplier. Delivery from the Ukraine to Azerbaijan in 2006 of the first five fighters MiG-29 sharply raising fighting opportunities of the Air Forces of Azerbaijan drew special attention of commentators. Delivery to the Azerbaijani of tanks T-72 and 120-mm mortars started in the last years proceeded.

 

As to Georgia there is no mentioning in the Ukrainian report of the purchase by Georgians of six training aircrafts L-39 (their actual transfer was made in the beginning of 2007) taken place in 2006, as well as deliveries appearing in the Georgian report of antiaircraft guided missile system "Osa-AKM" and small arms from the Ukraine.

 

The Georgian report of 2006 is - the most detailed from all presented by the postSoviet states, it includes, in particular, data on purchase of anti-tank and uncontrollable aviation rockets as well as of small arms. Georgia remained in 2006 the pure importer of arms having continued to buy them.

 

According to the report in 2006 the basic source of heavy arms for Georgia was Czechia whence there were imported 35 basic tanks T-72 (in addition to 35 received from the Czechs in 2005), 12 self-propelled howitzers Dana of 152 mm caliber (in addition to 12 bought since 2003) and 30 towed howitzers D-30 of 122 mm caliber (in addition to 12 got in 2001).

 

There were bought in Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 mortars of the Yugoslavian manufacture (15 units of 120 mm calibre, 25 units of 82 mm calibre and 50 units of 60mm caliber).

 

There were got in the Ukraine one "system" (the battery - four launchers) and 48 of antiaircraft guided missiles 9M33M3 of antiaircraft guided missile system 9M33M3 "Osa-AKM", 64 mounted grenade launchers AGS-17 of 30 mm calibre, 10 thousand automatic devices AKM, 11,7 thousand automatic devices AK-74 and 53 machine guns PK and PKM.

 

There were received from Kazakhstan 758 of antitank guided missile 9M114 "Storm-B" and 5552 aviation uncontrollable rockets S-5KPB of 57 mm caliber (to arm helicopters).

 

From Bulgaria - 450 ground antitank guided missiles 9M111 "Fagot" and 9M113 "Konkurs".

 

By the report, Georgia in 2006 did not receive helicopters in spite of the messages (received from the Russian special services) of the Ukrainian "left" about purchase by the Georgians in the Ukraine a party of helicopters Mi-24 and Mi-8 (up to 13 units) as well as 40 tanks T-72 and antiaircraft guided missile systems "Buk".

There is no mentioning in the report of Georgia of six planes L-39 delivered from the Ukraine in 2006 as well as of import from Bosnia and Herzegovina of long-range 262-mm uncontrollable rockets system M-87 Orkan.

 

The report of Azerbaijan contains the data corresponding official data of other states about export of arms to this country in 2006. Reception from the Ukraine of 17 tanks T-72, three armored personnel carriers APC-ZU, 13 towed mortars PM-38 of 120 mm caliber and 5 fighters MiG-29 is declared as well as the reception of 41 tanks T-72 from Belarus.

 

As to MiG-29, the contract on delivery to the Air Forces of Azerbaijan of 12 capitally repaired and partially modernized fighters MiG-29 and two training-combat MiG-29UB was signed by "Ukrspetsexport" in the end of 2005. The works are being made by Lvov state aircraft-repair factory and Joint-Stock Company "Phasotron-Ukraine". Azerbaijan received within the limits of that agreement two training-combat MiG-29UB in the end of 2006 and first five single fighters arrived in February-March, 2007.

 

Political scientist Vladimir Filin by phone from Kiev told that he suspected he knew what was behind the comments of the content of the Register of the United Nations in the Russian mass-media which were on the orbit of the Kremlin. He named them "actives of the Russian special services", "a component of information-psychological war which the Kremlin conducts against independent Ukraine" and also "the tool of further horsing the Russians, formation an image of enemy on behalf of the Ukrainians, the Georgians, the Azerbaijani and others once fraternal peoples of the USSR".

 

Concretizing his idea, Vladimir Filin said:

 

"The Ukraine has really delivered to the USA - our future military ally on NATO - MANPAD for working off the ways of counteraction. But Russia also delivered MANPAD for the same purpose to, for example, the Great Britain.

 

We really arm Georgia and Azerbaijan recognized by the international community, including Russia, independent states which are a part of the CIS and organization GUAM. In 4-5 years as well as the Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan will become the members of NATO. That is they will officially become our military allies. On what basis we should refuse in deliveries of arms and military hardware to our allies? On the ground that the president of Georgia is not pleasant to the Kremlin? And we don't care...

 

Probably, Georgia has lacks. But they can't be in any way compared with odious neo-feudal (Victor Cherkesov's expression) Vladimir Putin's mode which has put Russia beyond the framework of western civilization. The Ukraine delivers weapon to the one it considers necessary, despite of the opinion of our probable enemy - I insist on this definition and not only I.

 

As to information provocations of special services of the Russian Federation about ostensibly destabilizing role of the Ukrainian deliveries to Caucasus, such provocations will meet quite rigid reaction from our side.

 

If to think it over in details, in reality destabilizing, cleanly provocative role is being played by the deliveries of arms from Russia to Venezuela, Syria and Iran which often not are not reflected in the reports represented by Moscow into the Register of the United Nations.

 

Russia delivered in 2006 to Venezuela 100.000 automatic devices AK-103. The transaction had frankly corruption character owing to that fact ostensibly "new" AK-103 were assembled from the accessories made for other updatings of the automatic device Kalashnikov, sometimes during Soviet time. The same, by the way, could be observed also on the example of AK-103 for Libya.

 

Similar sort of swindle involved on international corruption became integral feature of military-technical cooperation of Russia with foreign countries. So, within the limits of the contract on delivery of antiaircraft guided missile systems "Topal-M1" to Iran from 29 systems delivered approximately half were not new but old ones, made within the limits of the Greek contract of 1999.

 

But swindle and corruption is only a part of a problem. The same Ak-103 from Venezuela even more often get to the next Colombia to insurgents of the organization FARC which carries out terrorist war with the government of the country and is involved in drug traffic and kidnapping. 

 

It's even more disturbing with Syria and Iran. Deliveries of the Russian weapon there seriously break balance of forces in Near-Eastern region, frankly work on destabilization, provoke preventive actions of the USA and Israel.

It's not a secret that Syria and Iran have or develop rocket arms and weapon of mass destruction - chemical, biological, radiological and, in several units in Iran, - nuclear weapon. Besides, Syria and Iran deliver weapon, including, rocket of the Russian origin to the Lebanese terrorist organization "Hezbollah".

 

By the way, in Lebanon terrorists in 2006 intensively fired the north of Israel having killed among other many peace citizens of the country who also had citizenship of the Ukraine or Russia from the weapon delivered from Iran and Syria.

 

It's possible to say a lot about provocative, corruption and other specific aspects of military-technical cooperation of Russia with foreign countries, naming infinitely long "names, passwords, places of secret meetings". I consider that we haven't to wait for long for an hour when it will be necessary to do it".