Russian Bombers Have Right to Use Foreign Airfields - General

Moscow, 23 July: Russian experts think that the reaction of Gen Norton Schwartz, [nominated to be] the chief of staff of the US Air Force, to potential appearance of Russian strategic bombers in Cuba was "inappropriate".

"Russian strategic bombers have the right to use airfields in any country, including Cuba, if the leadership of that country does not object. Therefore, Gen Schwarz' statement can only be described as inappropriate and childish," Anatoliy Kornukov, former commander-in- chief of the Air-Force, told Interfax AVN on Wednesday [23 July].

"As a professional, Gen Schwartz should also know that missile carriers have the right to fly over neutral waters, in any region of the world, which is what American bombers do, by the way," he said.

At the same time, A. Kornukov doubts that permanent presence of Russian strategic bombers in Cuba is expedient from the military point of view. "If one has in mind facilities on the territory of the USA, there is no need at all to base aircraft 'under the Americans' noses', where they will be within the reach of conventional missiles. A Tu-160 can launch its ammunition when it is thousands of kilometres away from the set targets," the expert said.

For his part, the former commander of the long-range (strategic) aviation of the Russian Air Force, Lt-Gen Mikhail Oparin, also expressed surprise at N. Schwartz' "such inappropriate reaction" to the reports about a possible use of airfields in Cuba by Russian strategic missile carriers.

"First, no-one has said that our long-range aviation targets facilities on the territory of the USA. On the other hand, the existing Russian-American agreements on strategic arms do not bar Russia from stepping up the capabilities of its combat aviation systems," Oparin told Interfax-AVN.

"The use of airfields in Cuba as forward staging bases, or to base our refuelling aircraft to provide support to our strategic missile carriers, could substantially increase the capabilities of our combat systems in terms of reaching remote military-geographic areas," M. Oparin said.

The president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Col-Gen Leonid Ivashov, described N. Schwartz' statement as blackmail of Russia.

"Many American military men suffer from paranoia. They want to be in charge of the whole world and are trying to impose their conditions on everyone. As regards Russia, such blackmail - Mr Schwartz' statement cannot be viewed in any other way - will not work," L. Ivashov told Interfax-AVN.

N. Schwartz said last Tuesday that Russia would have crossed the line if it decided to deploy strategic bombers in Cuba. [Passage omitted]

Earlier an informed military-diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax-AVN that Russian strategic bombers could use an airfield in Cuba for refuelling during air patrols over the Atlantic.

[The head of the analytical department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, Aleksandr Khramchikhin, has told a news conference in Moscow that the silos for the interceptor missiles the United States wants to deploy in East Europe could potentially be used for medium-range nuclear-armed missiles, Interfax-AVN news agency reported on 23 July. "The elements of the missile defence system being deployed in the Czech Republic and Poland do not pose a threat to the current Russian nuclear forces. Therefore the suspicion arises that nuclear-armed medium-range missiles, not interceptor missiles, will be placed in the silos," he said. Khramchikhin said Russia could target the new facilities with a couple of missiles, but said there was no need to place missiles in Kaliningrad Region. Aleksandr Pikayev, of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told the news conference that Russia should consider opening an electronic surveillance base in Lourdes. As regards non-military steps, he suggested stopping drinking Czech beer.]

Originally published by Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow, in Russian 1101 23 Jul 08; Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow, in Russian 1149 23 Jul 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Story Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union