Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security – Rogozin

Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security – Rogozin

The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s former envoy to NATO.“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security,” stressed Rogozin.
Dmitry Rogozin, who served as Russia’s special envoy to NATO in 2008-2011, was appointed deputy prime minister by Vladimir Putin in December. On Friday he was bidding farewell to his NATO colleagues in the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. As for Syria, if NATO persists in interfering in its affairs, a catastrophe will be hard to avoid, said Rogozin, talking to journalists on the premises of the Russian mission to the alliance. “The example of Libya should have cooled everybody down in matters dealing with foreign civil wars,” he said, stressing that this is his personal point of view.

“Syria must be left alone and the sides to the conflict must be assisted in breaking the stand-off and starting negotiations. No one must interfere with Syria. This is dangerous,” added Rogozin. The West’s attempts to improve democracy in the Middle East and North Africa have resulted in Islamists coming to power. It is now up to the West to decide how comfortable they feel with neighbors who determine their politics with Sharia law, says Rogozin. “If we add the escalating tensions around Iran to the situation in Syria and the consequences of the Libyan war, then the upcoming 'scorching' Arab Summer, which is following the Arab Spring, will hardly be to anyone’s taste.”

Russia’s response will make AMD ‘a waste of money’

Despite his recent promotion, Rogozin is still in charge of Russia-NATO discussions on anti-missile defense (AMD) issues.  A legal binding that the European and American missile defense systems will not target Russia has not been taken off the table, Rogozin pointed out. “It seems strange that it is Russia who is required to show flexibility. This is not our project. If an architect is building a house, it is up to him to offer a design which would not violate property rights, area design and neighbors’ interests. So it is our US colleagues who should demonstrate miraculous flexibility to ensure that their AMD system does not violate the interests of other countries if it is to be located in Europe.” Rogozin also called on European leaders to stop being “political puppets” in the AMD game, adding that everyone should stand for their own interests, not for some “Atlantic solidarity.” If Moscow’s position is ignored and the range of the US anti-missile defense system covers the European part of Russia, this will be considered a situation requiring defensive action.

“I will certainly ensure Russia will give a corresponding technical response if the AMD system endangers our national interests. This will result in the American AMD being considered a waste of money,” said Rogozin.  Russia has everything needed to annihilate any attempt “to strip” its strategic potential, he added. This also means the era of imported weapons is coming to an end. In a farewell gesture, Rogozin said he was considering planting a tree in the alliance’s headquarters. Symbolically enough, this would be a poplar, or “topol” in Russian, which brings up associations with Russia’s modern intercontinental ballistic missiles Topol-M. But NATO replied that planting a tree within the headquarters perimeter “is not possible,” so the tree will have to be planted nearby.

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Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Western meddling would lead to 'a very big war that will cause suffering not only to countries in the region, but also to states far beyond its boundaries', the New York Times reported. Russia has warned of a 'very big war' causing suffering across the world if Western countries encourage anti-government uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. It came as Iran's foreign minister warned its Arab neighbours not to put themselves in a 'dangerous position' by allying themselves too closely with the U.S. in the escalating row over Tehran's nuclear activity.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov (left) warned of a 'very big war' if Western countries meddled in the Middle East, as Iran's foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi (right) told Arab neighbours not to cosy up to the U.S.

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The Russian Armed Forces are ready to retaliate to any threat to the country's security, including by using nuclear weapons, Chief of the Russian Army General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said on Wednesday. "If there is a threat to the integrity of the Russian Federation, we are entitled to use nuclear weapons. In that case, we will," Makarov said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station. The General Staff sees the nuclear element of the Armed Forces as the basis for strategic stability, he said. "As regards our nuclear forces, we invest the allocated funding up to the last kopek. We are working very seriously to upgrade our nuclear potential," Makarov said.

In particular, the Russian Defense Ministry is buying new-generation nuclear underwater missile carriers, planning to renew and upgrade its strategic bombers, and introducing new missile systems, including Yars, in the service of the Russian Strategic Missile Troops, he said.

Concurrently, efforts are being made to develop general-purpose forces, Makarov said. "Unfortunately, we are facing threats from a number of unstable states, where no nuclear weapons but well-trained, strong and mobile Armed Forces are required to resolve any conflict situation," Makarov said.