Russia creates its own NATO: 2

Russia can never become the power it wants to become, again, if former Republics balk at its offer to 'collectivize security'. We will see Russia 'urging' through various means, the various Republics to sign on, willingly, or face an unhappy future from rogue influences.

Meanwhile the US should push, as the Bush administration did, to assist as many provinces / states as are interested to ensure the Soviet union does not once again expand across Europe.






New Zealand
The Press
June 16, 2009

Two former Soviet republics refuse to sign security deal

Two former Soviet republics have refused to sign a deal to create a Nato-style rapid reaction force for a Moscow dominated security alliance, undermining a Kremlin bid to bolster its power and prestige amid a struggle with the West for regional clout.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko boycotted the Moscow summit of yesterday’s Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), amid a politically charged trade dispute with long-time ally Russia.

Uzbekistan attended the summit but balked at signing a deal that could increase Moscow’s influence over its affairs. Russia and its partners in the seven-nation CSTO agreed in February to create a collective force that could be dispatched to stem terrorism, drug trafficking and local conflicts. But only five presidents signed yesterday’s deal on its mandate, makeup and potential operations.

Lukashenko snubbed the summit to protest a Russian ban on his country’s milk and dairy products. Long a staunch backer of Russia in its disagreements with the West, the authoritarian leader of Belarus has been courting the US and European Union amid increasingly strained ties with Moscow.

Lukashenko accused Russia of trying ‘‘to force Belarusians to their knees’’ with the ban. ‘‘How can we talk about strengthening collective security in this situation?’’ Lukashenko said. After signing the deal with the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it would strengthen the alliance and enable it to ‘‘respond much more effectively to the most serious threats’’.

An effective rapid reaction force would raise the profile of the alliance, seen as an anemic answer to Nato, and would increase Moscow’s influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus, where the Kremlin is competing with the West over political influence, energy resources and export routes.

Uzbekistan and Russia have close security ties, and hardline Uzbek leader Islam Karimov won Russia’s support for a violent 2005 crackdown that led to Western condemnation. Uzbekistan evicted US forces from a staging base for operations in neighbouring Afghanistan, but its relations with Washington have improved somewhat since. Russian officials shrugged off Belarusian claims that the rapid-reaction force deal was illegitimate without Lukashenko’s signature.

Medvedev said Karimov had vowed to give it more thought, and expressed hope Belarus would also come around. But he seemed to acknowledge the lack of a consensus could hamper plans. ‘‘I hope that these milk hysterics do not in the end spoil work on the collective rapid-reaction force,’’ Medvedev said, standing alongside Armenia’s president at a postsummit news conference that none of the other leaders attended. Lukashenko said Belarus would withhold approval until the dairy dispute was resolved.

He suggested Moscow risked losing the military support of Belarus – a buffer between Russia and Nato – if it withdrew longstanding economic backing. Medvedev warned Lukashenko he was playing with fire, saying 93 per cent of Belarusian meat and dairy exports went to Russia. ‘‘Russia is a very important market for Belarus,’’ he said.


[This article comes from The Press, a New Zealand paper, and while they have an online site located here, the version above is from their paid version site, which I cannot link to.]












Russia