#6
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
February 6, 2002
Money in Exchange for Security
The U.S. may write off part of Russia's debt if we increase protection of our nuclear and chemical arsenals
By Varvara Aglamishyan
(therussianissues.com)

It looks like the U.S. authorities are beginning to think about what makes people associate Russia with world terrorism. "There are many sources for weapons and it takes years to get or build them. But there's a shortcut, a place that has it all. It's "the candy store.' Other people call it "Russia,'" said Joseph R. Biden, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. To distract us from this kind of business, the U.S. is likely to help us by providing funds.

The senator called for reducing "Russia's Soviet-era debt" and increasing the spending on securing Russian nuclear and chemical weapons. In his view, increased spending for these purposes would prevent these weapons from appearing in Iran, Iraq or other countries. Biden believes that poor security in keeping weapons of mass destruction in Russia makes them easy prey for Iran or Iraq.

Last year the Bush administration ignored similar recommendations given by the Foreign Relations Committee, although Russian nuclear and chemical arsenals presented a direct threat to U.S. national security at that time. Now it looks like the U.S. is inclined to approach the matter in a different way.

Incidentally, the view that Russia, which in recent years has had insufficient funds for maintaining its military bases and arsenals, may become a supermarket for terrorists is shared also in the Middle East. Israeli Vice Prime Minister Natan Shcharansky said the other day that Russia should revise its policy with regard to Iran. There is a close link, he said, between the war against terrorism and the policy of countries like Iran and Iraq, which are trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction. "Iraq even is prepared to risk its own existence, but it will not give up the idea of having these kind of weapons," the Israeli Vice Prime Minister said. According to Shcharansky, "there is an understanding [in Israel and Russia] of this danger and of the need to take actions against technology leaks," but Russia can do much more to that end.

Expressed in figures, "much more" looks frightening. It has been estimated by Senator Biden that $45 billion will have to be spent in the coming decade on reducing Russia's nuclear arsenal, destroying its chemical weapons, creating a system of tracking down and securing its missing radioactive materials, and taking other actions to that end. However, Russia's debt to the U.S. exceeds $3 billion and other creditor countries hold several times that much. Biden believes that debt reduction will help Russia secure its strategic materials and technologies and avoid the expected debt repayment crunch in 2003.

It turns out that Russia still benefits from what was produced in the Soviet era. Some time ago, Russia was granted loans for restructuring its economy and now its debts may be written off so that it could secure its arms. Unfortunately, Russia's political dividends come in only to prevent a disaster

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