Originally appeared at A-specto, translated by Borislav exclusively for SouthFront
In a lecture to senior staff of the Ministry of Defense and to members of the public, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that in the near future it is possible to transfer the restraining factor from the nuclear to the non-nuclear field. The fighting potential of Russia’s strategic non-nuclear forces will grow four times till 2021. According to the Minister this will reduce international tensions and build confidence. Sergey Shoigu also emphasized that Russia does not intend to be dragged into a new rearmament race. “The Navy will acquire modern multipurpose ships and submarines equipped with cruise missiles. By 2021, the strength of the fleet will form the basis of carriers with long-range precision weapons”, said the Minister. Moreover, the new aero-complexes of the Russian Military Space Forces will increase the efficiency of destroying enemy cruise missiles by 1.5 times, according to the statement of the Russian defense minister. The political leadership of nuclear countries gradually began to understand that nuclear weapons are actually useless if humanity is to continue living on this planet. At the same time the great nations need weapons with which to defend their geo-strategic interests in regional and local conflicts. Nuclear weapons are not helping Russia in the war in Syria, nor can they be used by the Americans in Iraq, for example. In this sense the Russian Federation’s orientation to increase the non-nuclear potential is reasonable. Despite that, the development of the nuclear arsenal will not be ignored and is currently undergoing a large-scale modernization, according to Minister Shoigu. The Russian Defense Ministry will carry out modernization of about 72% of its nuclear potential until 2021.
“The situation in the world is becoming ever more confused” – said Minister Shoigu. – “Competition for global leadership and the acquisition of resources is growing. Among the leading countries there’s a lack of coherent vision for the organization of the world.” Along with that, international organizations are very unstable and there is the threat of terrorism. “We see a growing role of military force as an instrument for the realization of interests among states, and weakening of institutions related to global security.” From the words of Minister Sergey Shoigu is also clear that the West as before, does not want to take into account the vital interests of Russia and discusses the strengthening of Russian influence in the former Soviet sphere of influence as a threat to national and coalition security. “So in these conditions it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of various institutions of the state, for the development of military organization in Russia” states Shoigu.
