A traditional meeting of the Chairman of the Committee on Defense, Vladimir Shamanov
Vladimir Anatolievich
, with military attaches accredited in Moscow took place in the State Duma. About 150 military attaches from 90 countries attended the meeting.
In his speech, the parliamentarian spoke in detail about the current geopolitical situation in the world, stressing that ”Washington and its close allies continue the frenzied anti-Russian orgy,“ while ”the absolute majority of claims against Russia have just stochastic nature.“
Actions of the American administration with respect to the treaty base, which for decades guaranteed international stability, are also of serious concern, said Vladimir Shamanov.
In particular, in his opinion, the USA artificially creates uncertainty around the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). ”We believe that the American side artificially creates uncertainty around this bilateral agreement — the most important legal tool that we need to think about by the entire world community,“ said the Chairman of the Committee on Defense.
According to him, “its termination can lead to global catastrophic consequences. We need to think about it today.”
Vladimir Shamanov also dwelt on the situation around the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). “In any case, the failure of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty can hit hard the system of international security and stability. And for Europe, this would mean the risks of a return to the worst days of the Cold War. The Americans themselves will remain out of reach,” said the Chairman of the Committee.
He reminded that Russia reserves the right to take mirror-image actions in the development, production and deployment of short- and intermediate-range ground-based missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty.
At the same time, Vladimir Shamanov stressed that Russia does not intend to be the first to deploy short- and intermediate-range missiles in Europe and other regions. ”We do not intend to be the first to deploy such perspective weapons in those regions, including Europe, where there will not be similar American systems,“ he said.
Vladimir Shamanov spoke about the main results of the development of the Armed Forces in 2018. According to him, ”in 2018, the goal to increase the combat potential of the Armed Forces was realized.“ “Last year, the successful implementation of a set of necessary response measures to ensure the military security of the Russian Federation continued,” he added.
At the same time, ”the development of strategic weapons is conducted in strict accordance with international obligations, the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,“ said the parliamentarian.
He also stressed that Russia does not intend to get involved in the ”devastating“ arms race.
During the briefing, Vladimir Shamanov invited foreign cadets to study at Russian military universities, noting the high interest of Russian young people in military training. “In higher education institutions of the Ministry of Defense, students from more than 80 states are studying, and we invite your young students, cadets. We will be happy to admit and teach them everything that is needed in a modern battle,” said the parliamentarian.
The Dean of the Corps of Military Attaches of Foreign States in the Russian Federation, Colonel Bruno Russi, on behalf of the military diplomats who were present at the meeting, thanked the Committee for the briefing and the opportunity to get answers to their questions. “It is very important for us to understand what laws, what bills the Parliament of the Russian Federation will adopt,” said Bruno Russi.
