Putin Shows His True Colors

The United States made a big mistake by relying on Russian President Vladimir Putin's help in stopping Iran's nuclear program. Both China and Russia have been helping Iran. Putin, while in Iran, said, "that any use of military force in the region was unacceptable" and at a summit meeting of five Caspian Sea nations, in a "declaration the countries agreed that none of them would allow their territories to be used as a base for launching military strikes against any of the others." (NYT)

Putin went so far as to say, "“It is important… that we not only do not use any kind of force but also do not even think about the possibility of using force.” Putin went further, saying the United States "has no rights to launch military action against Iran."

United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Iran. "With a government of this nature, only a united front of nations will be able to exert enough pressure to make Iran abandon its nuclear aspirations -- a source of great anxiety and instability in the region," Gates said. France has also not ruled out military force.

Let's review Russian-Iranian Economic Ties, thanks to Insight Into Today's Middle East:

Relations between Russia and Persia (pre-1935 Iran), officially commenced in 1592 during the reign of the Safavid dynasty

During the Iran-Iraq war, the USSR supplied Saddam Hussein with large amounts of conventional arms

After the war, especially with the fall of the USSR (and the death of Ayatollah Khomeini), Tehran-Moscow relations witnessed an increase in diplomatic and commercial relations, especially Iranian puchases of weapons from Russia

By the mid 1990s, Russia had already agreed to continue work on developing Iran's Nuclear Program, with plans to finish constructing the nearly 20 year delayed Nuclear Reactor plant of Bushehr

For Russia, Iran is a regional power and an important trade partner

Trade between Iran and Russia has grown steadily over recent years, rising to $2.02 billion in 2005 from $661 million in 20001

Sergei Mironov, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, stated that, “Throughout recent years, Iran has steadfastly expressed solidarity with Russia and has spoken together with us on many global and regional issues, including inter-Tajik, Afghan and Iraqi settlements, as well as strengthening the UN’s role in international affairs”2

Russia needs Iran, both in terms of arms sales, as well as helping to maintain the security of Russia’s southern borders; Iran needs Russia for military equipment and energy security

Iran values its relationship with Russia, in terms of energy, defence and regional security issues, dubbing Russia a “strategic neighbour”3

In 2005, Russia was the seventh largest trading partner of Iran, with 5.33% of all exports to Iran originating from Russia4

The value of arms transfer agreements between Iran and Russia increased from $300 million between 1998 and 2001 to $1.7 billion between 2002 and 2005

Russian exports to Iran last year -- mostly conventional weapons, military equipment and cars -- reached $1.9 billion5

After China and India, Iran is the third largest buyer of Russian arms: between 1991-2002, Iran bought some $3.6 billion worth of Russian military equipment, some 54% of Iran’s total arms imports during the period6

Iran has announced a massive rearmament programme, spending $1 billion per year over the next 20-25 years, and at the current rate of expenditure this could amount to $300 million per year which, spread over 25 years, would mean Iran would import Russian weaponry worth $7.5$8 billion at current prices. With Russia's arms exports running at around $5bn a year, this is a market which the Russian government, and its military industry, would not want to lose7

Since 1992, Russia has sold Iran hundreds of major weapons systems, including 20 T-72 tanks, 94 air-to-air missiles, and a handful of combat aircraft such as the MiG-299

Late last year, Russia agreed to sell Iran a $700 million surface-to-air missile defense system (SA-15 Gauntlet) along with thirty TOR M-1 air-defense missile systems, ostensibly to defend its soon-to-be-complete, Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Those 30 air-defense missile systems were delivered to Iran in January 2007.10

During its month-long war with Hezbollah last summer, Israel found Russian-made anti-tank weapons, including RPG-29s, which proved highly effective against Israel’s Merkava tanks.11 Russian officials first denied that those were Russian weapons, but finally agreed there could be a possibility that Syrian officers would have sold it to the Hezbollah.12

The work at Bushehr is worth a lot of money to Russia and provides profitable and useful employment, it is worth $800 million to Russia; it employs approximately 1,500 CIS citizens on site – the majority of them are Russian – with a further 20,000 employed inside Russia itself, keeping 300 Russian firms ticking over.13

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1 Interfax news agency reports

2 BBC Monitoring, “Russia, Iran have ‘unique’ co-operation potential, Speaker Mironov tells Majlis”, 12 December 2004.)

3 M Belen’kaya, “Iranskiy Gorbachev’ v Moskve”, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 13 March 2001

4 http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/?NewsCode=20922&NewsKind=Business+%26+Economy

5 Interfax news agency reports

6 M Kenzhetayev, “VTS Rossii so stranami Blizhnego Vostoka i Srednego Vostoka”, Yadernyy Kontrol’, No 1 (71), Summer 2004, Vol 10, p140.

7 Ibid, 143.

8 www.cfr.org

9 www.cfr.org

10 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6289981.stm

11 www.cfr.org

12 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/20/europe/EU_GEN_Russia_Israel_Hezbollah.php

13 S M Zadonsky, Yadernaya programma Irana i rossiysko-amerikanskiye otnosheniya, Moscow, 2002, 75-80; Einhorn, ibid, 61; V Kuzar, “Sleduyushchiy-Iran?”, Krasnaya Zvezda, 3 August 2004; Yu Petrovskaya, “Revolyutsiya atoma v Irane”, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 21 October 2004

I propose that Putin created the assassination threat against him from Iran, in order to make himself look brave, by going to Iran in spite of the reported threat on his life.

PUTIN IN TEHRAN FORGES PROPHETIC ALLIANCE WITH IRAN AND CENTRAL ASIA, Joel C. Rosenberg
What a difference a few weeks makes, Carson's Post

And then there's this from ScrappleFace: Bush, Putin Agree: Iran Seeks Peace with Nukes
Japan Set to Test Sea-Based Missile Defense System and Russia: Japan-U.S. Missile Defense “Of Concern”, from Peace and Freedom II

Comments

[Debbie]

Rastaman: The Chinese are well on their way to competing/defeating the US in world trade.

[Rastaman]

Russia has been the enemy of the world ever since the Communists took over. The Communists still run the country even though the party is out of power.

The Germans have a Superhero myth virtually ingrained into their psyche that had a lot to do with their willingness to get into 2 world wars. The Russians have a different psyche but just as potent, which is paranoia. Russians are paranoid. They think everyone is out to get them and it probably stems from the repeated invasions in their past.

Whatever the cause, it's this national paranoia that prompts them to make friends of the most belligerant small nations, fear the large ones and try to dominate the most peaceful ones. The Russians, like the Chinese, won't be happy until they rule the world. The Islamists have something to say about that as well.

You don't have to be crazy to want power but it really does help.

Rasta