Moscow is encouraging arms race in the Third World

"Angel of Peace” Putin at Security Conference in Munich: Hypocrisy knows no bounds - Moscow is encouraging arms race in the Third World

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) accused on Monday the Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy on account of his warnings of a new arms race. No state exports more weapons to the Third World than Russia, said the GfbV. Russia sold arms to developing countries in the year 2005 for seven thousand million US dollars and in 2004 for 5.4 thousand million dollars. But, said the GfbV Africa expert Ulrich Delius, it is not only the genocide in Darfur which is being encouraged by arms from Russia. Moscow is, regardless of the areas of tension, also delivering arms to Iran, Syria, China, Nepal, India and Indonesia and to 54 other states. Under President Putin the Russian arms exports have increased15-fold from 2002 up to 2005, said the Russian government arms export agency Rosoboronexport on 21st November 2005. Putin stated with pride on 30th March 2006 that Russia’s arms exports had exceeded expectations by 25 percent. Putin warned at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday of a new arms race in the world.

70 percent of the Russian arms exports go according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) to China and India (43% to China, 25% to India). China’s rearmament, which is seen as a threat by the neighbouring Japan and Taiwan, threaten stability and peace in Eastern Asia in the opinion of Delius. India too must still be seen as a crisis area in the light of its tensions with Pakistan. While India and Pakistan were in the year 2002 on the brink of an atomic war Russia delivered jet fighters to India.

Particularly problematical are the continuing arms deliveries to Iran, Syria and Sudan. In spite of massive international protests Russia has delivered 29 TOR M1 air defence systems to Iran to the value of 700 million US dollars in December 2006. In the year 2006 Russia concluded agreements with Iran for arms exports to the value of four thousand million US dollars and with Syria to the value of two thousand million (above all for SA-18 ground-air rockets).

It is particularly in Africa that Russia is encouraging the arms race. Thus it is delivering arms to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Angola, Morocco, Algeria and Libya. In Somalia and the Congo war is being carried out with Russian weapons. In the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea (1998-2000), which cost 100,000 lives, it is above all Russian weapons which are being used.

Sudan is also an important recipient of arms. In October 2006 the Sudanese Defence Minister Abdelrahim Hussein asked Moscow for a loan of a thousand million US dollars for more weapons. In spite of the genocide in Darfur Russia delivered in 2004 ten MiG-29 jet fighters and two MiG-29 trainers to Sudan. Putin also takes no steps against the regular bombing by Russian Antonov aircraft of Darfur before the Janjaweed militia carry out attacks on villages. This, in spite of the Security Council’s declaration of a no-fly zone over Darfur in the summer of 2006 to put an end to the terror against the civilian population.