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The defence ministers of NATO countries naturally enough are not satisfied with this, are disaffected
with the state of affairs and Russia is also disaffected with this fact that it still has a very little number of
standing readiness. Units have still very little numbers of professionalized service personnel and units which
could be at trial, which are capable of tackling in efficient way the objectives to assert defence of a state which
covers ten time zones with overall numeric strength of the armed forces of one million.
We believe this figure to be an optimum, the best possible one, and we are not going to embark on any
further reductions in this strength of the military. The armed forces of Russia should also reinforce its mobile
agile component and the training of such units for the actions to be taken in different emergency situations. So,
on this there are problems which are ….. by the armed forces of Russia and NATO are absolutely identical. I
would like to stress it once again.
Today, priority tasks and problems which are encountered by the armed forces of Russia, all of the
security agents, power wielding agencies of Russia are naturally enough the proliferation problem and terrorism,
as well as ethnic and religious radicalism, drug trafficking in large scales... On a large scale.
Today, I have pointed out the fact that our cross-border service men of the Tajik-Afghan border
confiscates on an average per annum about three tonnes of pure heroin. They gauge it up exactly in tonnes, not
in grams as people do out in the streets. The police, the law forces do that. We count heroin confiscated in towns
and we are pretty well aware of the fact that's just the tip of the iceberg, but that most of the drugs unfortunately
makes it out to Europe and to a less extent to the U.S. As well.
We also came to a conclusion, to a unified conclusion, that their principal stress should be placed upon
the timely identification and neutralization of the root causes of such phenomena as terrorism extremism and not
on the ramifications thereof to be eliminated.
And in conclusion, I would also like to say that I have raised an issue of the necessities sooner or later to
elaborate a unified set of rules to go by, of unified standards from the standpoint of countering the threats of
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and counter-terrorism, I can briefly tell you what I mean.
When we say about the …… say, one of the installations in Iran that's a light water reactor unit, that's a
nuclear power station, power plant, which has been built by Russia without transcending, any international
controls or regimes.
As we hear accusations, allegations hurled at us that by doing so we promote any nuclear arms program
in Iran, we naturally enough cannot accept such an allegation at the same time when pretty well of a number of
other objects, installations where such equipment is identified, spotted, which in case of supply of it by Russia
and not by other states, including by the developed, industrialized states would cause... would arouse a storm of
public outcries and repercussions, indignations, resentment, but in this case, we do not see any outcries or
outrage.
So in respect to those who have supplied this, if we are to talk about terrorism, unfortunately there are
still instances where a number of states, a number of states does not co-operate with us in terms of extradition
of... Extradition of such persons who are officially by the UN black-listed as international terrorists or of any
other persons who are still not recognized as such. But in respect to whose, the Russian Federation, year in, year
out, sent out a great quantity of documents corroborating their implication in the past into the terrorist activities
upon Russian soil. So far silence is anything, dead silence is what we get in response.
So that's why we believe that sooner or later what is required is an establishment of unified standards in
terms of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and counter-terrorism.
So that's about all for this. Start taking of your questions.
Questions and answers
Q: that's the RIA novosti question. You have now outlined in general that the... Your colleagues positively
taken your explanation... Clarifications as to this new open doctrine of Russia, a new one. What questions they
pose to you? Could you please clarify what they said?
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