The Russian military department is strengthening ties with strategic partners
God forbid you to live in an era of change, one of the wise men noted. We all seem to be out of luck. We were at a turning point in time, and it is not known how all this will end. And all because the sole power of the United States in the world has cracked at the seams, everything is moving towards multipolarity. How can we ensure the peaceful coexistence of numerous centers of power? The participants of the IX Moscow Conference on International Security were puzzling over this, which even covid did not prevent from holding in 2021.
Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Defense
Even then, when the NATO countries once again unanimously ignored the Moscow Security Forum and refused to participate in it, it was clear that there would be no heated discussions and disputes on the Moscow platform. Because there was no one to argue with. Those high-ranking military representatives of foreign countries who came to Moscow, as well as those who took part in the discussion of security and strategic stability issues online, were unanimous in their assessments of threats and who they come from.
Of course, it would be very interesting to see the reaction of representatives of the Pentagon or the NATO command, if they were among the participants of the conference, in the hall at the speech of, for example, the Minister of Defense of the People’s Republic of China, Wei Fenghe. Although he spoke about the United States in the third person, without naming it directly, he was very disrespectful and threatening. Including about Taiwan, which the People’s Liberation Army of China “will never allow to tear off”.
And there were many more similar denunciations of the United States and NATO. For example, from a high-ranking Iranian military officer who spoke online, or from the Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, who accused Washington of state terrorism.
According to tradition, the conference was opened by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He set the tone for the problems discussed. As a priority, he called a new trend-the formation of global coalitions, the division of the world into “friends” and “strangers”. Another recent trend, Shoigu noted — is aggressive economic pressure as a means of forcing changes in the policies of sovereign states.
Taking into account the composition of the conference participants, Shoigu paid special attention to the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. “As in Europe, advanced high-readiness groups are being created here, carrier strike groups are being deployed. In addition to the states of the region, ships of the Alliance countries are increasingly involved in naval exercises, which increases the risk of incidents during military activities,” the minister said.
At the same time, according to him, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region is aggravated by the presence of territorial disputes, as well as US plans to deploy missile defense systems in this region, coupled with strike means, as well as medium-and shorter-range missiles.
Among Russia’s strategic partners, Shoigu named China, India, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Mongolia. According to him, the dialogue with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brunei has expanded. A solid company, given the huge potential of these rapidly developing countries, where more than half of the world’s population lives.
Shoigu also assessed the situation in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of most of the American troops from there. He did not rule out the resumption of civil war in this country and noted that the solution of the regional problem is impossible without the participation of neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Iran.
Among the key problems of international security, Shoigu called the strengthening of the terrorist threat in Africa, including in Mali, the Central African Republic, and Mozambique. According to him, Russia is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of the Black continent, as well as with most countries of Latin America.
As for the situation in Europe, according to Shoigu, ” the trend towards strengthening military confrontation has been steadily consolidated on the continent.” NATO is increasing the number of high-readiness groups, working out routes for the rapid transfer of troops to the borders of Russia and Belarus.
The alliance is turning from a regional into a global military-political alliance, the main task of which is to contain Russia and China, Shoigu concluded. The military confrontation in Europe over NATO policies is “fixed for a year,” he said.
Shoigu criticized the military activity of NATO near the Russian borders, which, among other things, provokes the Kiev authorities to solve the problem of Donbass by force.
Having clearly identified the problems, Shoigu did not stop there and again demonstrated his readiness to discuss these problems openly and with mutual respect. And he even named possible steps for de-escalation. For example, the withdrawal of exercise areas from the contact line or a moratorium on the deployment of medium-and shorter-range missiles in Europe.
Shoigu also outlined new topics for discussion that have emerged as a result of military-technical progress: hypersound, digitalization and robotization. “As part of the armed forces of a number of countries, space and cyber commands are being created, the main task of which is not defense, but planning and conducting offensive operations in the relevant areas,” Shoigu drew attention.
He finished his speech quite kindly, recalling the outstanding musician and humanist Mstislav Rostropovich, who once told Shoigu that he knew how to stop the war.
“I will put an orchestra on the front line, stand up and play something that will make them stop, lay down their weapons,” he said. At that time, I had questions about this proposal. However, today I understand that he was right. After all, an orchestra is not only a group of musicians. First of all, it is a team of experts in their field, unitedsolving a common problem. The Moscow Conference is attended by real security professionals — a kind of orchestra designed to find ways to de — escalate, and ultimately prevent armed conflicts in any region of the world,” Sergei Shoigu addressed the participants of the Moscow Forum.
There is no doubt that the orchestra of experts gathered in Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Defense will play properly. It remains to be hoped that his harmonious notes will be heard and appreciated by Western listeners.
The Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, named several key problems of strategic stability. The General Staff is called the brain of the army. Not so long ago, General Gerasimov participated in the Russian-American summit in Geneva as part of the Russian delegation.
Gerasimov explained why it became possible to extend the START-3 Treaty. “The Russian Federation and the United States have shown an equal desire to prolong it. Both states are interested in predictability regarding the development of the other side’s nuclear forces,” the general said.
But we need to think about future agreements, the Chief of the General Staff believes. Gerasimov explained why a dialogue on the future mechanism of nuclear arms control is needed: new factors have emerged that determine strategic stability. This is the creation of high-precision, hypersonic and kinetic weapons, attack drones. All these weapons, according to the head of the General Staff, “blurs the lines between the potentials of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.”
The military commander emphasized: the nuclear policy of our country is purely defensive in nature. The Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, as well as in the case of aggression against Russia with the use of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened, the head of the General Staff confirmed.
What worries the Russian General Staff? First of all, the promotion of the NATO infrastructure to the borders of Russia, the deployment of advanced formations on the territory of the new members of the alliance. In Eastern Europe, there are units of NATO countries that have come from far away on a permanent basis. And there are up to 10 thousand such people. And the number of troops on the territory of the same Poland will grow.
Another threat to us comes from the US missile defense facilities in Europe. For the use of the Tomahawk sea-based cruise missile with a launch range of up to 2,400 km, the Mk-41 universal launchers of the Aegis Eshor anti-missile systems located in Romania and, in the future, on the territory of Poland can be used.
The General Staff records the increased activity of the NATO Navy near the borders of Russia, including in the Black and Baltic Seas. Moreover, the NATO members are going to direct provocations, which it is not known how they can end. So, on October 13, 2020, the destroyer URO “Dragon” of the British Navy, making the transition with the weapons control radar stations turned on for radiation anddetection of air targets, violated the right of peaceful passage through the territorial sea of the Russian Federation 22 km west of Sevastopol. A month later, the destroyer URO of the US Navy “John McCain” distinguished himself. He violated the state border of the Russian Federation in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan on the approaches to Peter the Great Bay 93 km south of Vladivostok, going deeper into the Russian territorial sea by more than 2 km.
“Thus, the prerequisites for the occurrence of incidents are created, which do not contribute to reducing tension in the military field,” Gerasimov warned.
Another region where, according to him, Western countries are looking at is the Russian Arctic. “In the Russian Arctic, there is the shortest sea communication between Europe and Asia — the Northern Sea Route. The Russian Federation has everything necessary to ensure the safety of navigation in difficult ice conditions, as well as the protection of the Arctic ecosystem,” Gerasimov made a clear hint to lovers of foreign things.
As for the formation of a multipolar world, the head of the General Staff was not diplomatic and put everything on the shelves: “The situation in the world clearly demonstrates that the time of sole domination of individual states has passed. The number of states with significant military and economic potential is increasing, without which it is impossible to solve regional and world problems today. Among them are Brazil, India, China, Russia, the United States, the countries of the European Union and other states that are centers of power on a global and regional scale. Their number will only increase.”
Washington’s egocentrism was “pressed on the corn”, putting the “hegemon” on a par with the BRIC countries.
But Gerasimov also did not slam the door on his Western partners. According to him, “it is in our common interests to continue working on the peaceful political and diplomatic settlement of regional conflicts and crises , ensuring strategic stability.”
The head of the General Staff advised the contenders for world domination to “show political will, wisdom and foresight.”
For seven years now, NATO has been avoiding military contacts with Russia. But a holy place is never empty. As the Moscow Security Conference once again showed, Russia has someone to be friends with and discuss strategic stability.
By the way, the Russian military department actively used the time of the conference for negotiations with the military leaders of a number of countries. For example, with Ajir, Myanmar, Venezuela, Mexico, Serbia, and other countries.
A characteristic touch to the atmosphere at these negotiations: during a meeting with the Supreme Commander of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu addressed the vis-a-vis with a greeting in Burmese, which is considered one of the most difficult in the world.
When there is mutual respect, there are no barriers, especially the language barrier. Perhaps this simple truth will soon reach our Western partners.