"Moscow's developing bilateral security relations with Latin American governments have become a matter of some concern for Washington," the study says. It contains both official reports and information leaks about Russia's contacts with Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico on past and future deliveries of Russian weapons, including fighter and transport planes, helicopters, missiles, air defense systems, tanks, armored personnel carriers, launches, submarines, and even small arms.

According to the study, "it cannot be denied that at a certain point Moscow's military sales may have gradually altered the geo-security landscape of much of the Americas. These results are not likely to please Washington policymakers." The report also cites figures from the Congressional Research Service, showing that between 1998 and 2001, Russia supplied $300 million worth of arms to Latin America, and $600 million worth between 2002 and 2005. Congress forecasts a growth in Russian weapons deliveries to the region in the next few years. The question is, why all this is taking place in the United States' "backyard," as Washington has always described countries south of the 30th parallel?

The answer is not as obvious as it may seem at first sight. It is not only that some South and Central American countries have leaned leftward in recent years, with so-called "popular leaders" coming to power, above all in Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It is also that they believe Washington's policy in the region is selfish and has nothing to do with maintaining mutually beneficial relations of partnership with its southern neighbors. In addition, the harsh control always exercised by the United States over Latin American governments and their foreign policies and economic development has eased somewhat lately.

Washington is now having problems in the Middle East, and the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan shows no sign of letting up. Iran, refusing to obey UN Security Council resolutions, is also showing defiance. Nor has it been plain sailing in relations with NATO strategic allies, with France and Germany coming out against the occupation of Mesopotamia. The cozy picture of a unipolar world is beginning to fall apart.

What is more, Washington's run-of-the-mill techniques of exerting pressure on unfriendly regimes in South America by applying economic sanctions are not working. Neither in Venezuela, nor even in Colombia, where Washington has always felt at home. The United States' refusal to supply spare parts for F-16 fighter jets in service with Venezuela's air force prompted President Hugo Chavez to ask Russia to sell him the latest Russian multi-role Su-30MK fighters.

Surely Moscow could not refuse this request. Arms exports are for Russia not only a way to profit from and re-equip its defense sector, but also business pure and simple. These transactions stem from a desire to earn money for economic development and make the country's army more defense-capable.

Rosoboronexport, Russia's only arms dealer that exports and imports military equipment and defense services, says that Russian arms deliveries to Latin America are not aimed to oust the U.S. from this market. They have little if any effect on the balance of forces in the region, where the United States continues to prevail. This is easy to see if you open any reference book with a breakdown of the military equipment and weapons in service with any regional army, air force, or navy, including the renowned publication The Military Balance 2006-2007.

Moreover, arms exporters say, there is nothing personal about this work; it is just business. Any other country would do the same were it in Russia's place, especially the United States, whose exports are displacing Russian arms in Eastern and Central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Outdated American arms are being foisted on these countries at high prices. Washington is pursuing the same policy towards Georgia and Kazakhstan. The American company Raytheon, for example, is trying to clinch a deal with Kazakhstan on upgrading its air defense forces. Warships made in the United States are already plying the waters of the Caspian Sea under the Kazakh flag. They are few and far between, it is true, but the fact remains that U.S. military equipment has managed to get into a land-locked sea. It is not, therefore, surprising that Russian weapons should have penetrated Latin America. Business is business.

If the United States fails to defer to Russia's business interests in the former Soviet Union, why should Russia take into account its business and, to be blunt, its selfish interests in South and Central America? Reciprocity in business and partner relations has not been banned yet. On the other hand, it is not Moscow that is forcing its weapons on Caracas, Buenos Aires, Managua, Rio de Janeiro, and other capitals. They themselves want to buy Russian arms, perhaps because they are just as good and in some cases even better than American ones. They are no less effective in combat than what is made in the United States, and they are sometimes much cheaper. The main point is that Moscow, unlike Washington, does not link its arms business to the political views of a country's government. The new Russia has learned from the mistakes of the U.S.S.R.

earlier related report
Russia To Respond To US Missile Shield Plans In Europe
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Mar 28 - Russia will be guided by a principle of "reasonable sufficiency" in its response to U.S. missile shield plans in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper Wednesday.

"Russia is ready to open its eyes wide to unfolding developments," Lavrov said. "We cannot stay indifferent to our partners' unwillingness to consider the problem collectively, to estimate potential threats, which have not yet materialized, and to adopt and implement joint decisions," the Russian official said.

Washington has announced its intention to deploy elements of its missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, citing possible threats from Iran or North Korea as a reason for the program, and will soon begin consultations with these countries.

On Wednesday, the Czech government confirmed that it will begin official talks with the U.S. on the deployment of the system on its territory. The negotiations will start as soon as possible, and will last through the end of 2007.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has spoken out in support of the initiative, saying it met his country's national interests and would reinforce its defense capabilities and raise the security of the country and of Europe as a whole.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said elements of the U.S. missile shield in Poland would guarantee that the country is no longer under Moscow's influence.

Lavrov said the United States had so far failed to offer a clear explanation of its hasty unilateral efforts, which "provoke concern."

"We will have to formulate an answer, since Russia's security should and will be ensured in any event," the Russian foreign minister said.

Lavrov believes that the U.S. plans could erode the continent's strategic stability and damage the regime of "checks and balances" in global politics.

Russia is also worried over the silos used for U.S. interceptors, which "dangerously copy the launch mechanisms for intercontinental ballistic missiles."

The minister said Russia could not move aside from the issue, since the European shield will be part of a global missile defense system, whose elements have been drawing closer to Russian borders.

"The parameters of a missile defense system in Europe are being fixed unilaterally, which affects the interests of all European countries and, of course, of Russia," the Russian minister said in an interview.

Lavrov said U.S. plans dismissed the possibility of collective missile defense efforts in Europe, and actually brushed aside the possibility of settling proliferation issues through political and diplomatic means, a tendency reflected in talks on North Korea's nuclear program and the situation surrounding Iran.

"An analysis of statements by U.S. officials prompts a conclusion that Washington does not wish to rely on relevant multilateral efforts involving its international partners," Lavrov said.

"Decisions that will determine our fate and that of future European generations are being taken without our participation," Lavrov said. "A serious discussion of the issue would be appropriate and should be held now," he concluded.

U.S. plans to deploy elements of the missile shield in Central Europe are expected to cost $1.6 billion over the next five years. The program will later be expanded to include sea-based missiles and missile tracking systems in space.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Brian Green regretted Russia's refusal to accept the missile shield, but promised to inform Moscow about progress in the program and to look into opportunities for future cooperation on the issue.

Some European Union officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called on the U.S. to coordinate its missile defense program with NATO.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

Email This Article

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com