Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Russian warning on Nato warships

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Russian warning on Nato warships

    Russian warning on Nato warships

    http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestne ws/-Russian-warning-on-Nato.4439182.jp
    Date: 29 August 2008

    By Gerri Peev


    RUSSIA has issued a stark warning over what it says is a build-up of
    Nato ships in the Black Sea, as tensions rise to their highest level
    since the outbreak of hostilities in Georgia.

    The missile destroyer USS McFaul is already off the coast, with the US
    Coastguard ship Dallas docked in Georgia's port of Batumi, both to show
    support for the Caucasus nation. Washington has now ordered the
    flagship of its 6th Fleet, the sophisticADVERTISEMENTated command ship
    Mount Whitney, into the area, saying it will deliver humanitarian
    supplies. But the flotilla has angered the Kremlin.

    Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian ambassador to Nato, warned against western
    interference in Georgia's two breakaway regions, saying: "If Nato takes
    military actions against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, acting solely in
    support of Tbilisi, this will mean a declaration of war on Russia."

    Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, dragged the
    United States presidential candidates into the row. He suggested
    Georgia might have been pushed by someone in the US into using force to
    protect the two separatist states, saying the anti-Moscow rhetoric
    would help give a competitive advantage to one of the candidates.

    Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of the
    general staff, claimed up to 18 Nato=2
    0vessels were in, or expected to be
    in, the Black Sea, and he attacked the use of warships to deliver aid
    to Georgia as "devilish".

    Three frigates ` from Spain, Germany and Poland ` sailed into the Black
    Sea eight days ago. They were joined later by a US frigate, the Taylor,
    for port visits and exercises off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria.
    Four warships of Nato member Turkey are also in the Black Sea.

    Mr Putin's spokesman said: "The appearance of Nato battleships here in
    the Black Sea basin ¦ and the decision to deliver humanitarian aid (to
    Georgia] using Nato battleships is something that can hardly be
    explained.

    "Let us hope that we do not see any direct confrontation."

    Russia claims the build-up is contrary to the 1936 Montreux Convention,
    which regulates the passage of warships there. But that charge has been
    denied by Carmen Romero, a Nato spokeswoman, who said the alliance had
    applied for transit into the Black Sea in June and stressed that the
    vessels would stay less than 21 days, as required by the convention.

    "There is no Nato naval build-up in the Black Sea," she said. "Nato is
    conducting a routine and long planned exercise limited to the western
    part of the Black Sea. The exercise is not related to the crisis in
    Georgia."

    Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, Mr Putin, the former president,
    suggested the conflict was orchestrated to give one side in t
    he battle
    for the White House an advantage. Although he did not single out John
    McCain, the Republican candidate has been more strident in his
    criticism of Russia than his Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

    Mr McCain has said that Nato's failure to sign up Georgia into the
    military alliance had left the country vulnerable. And while Mr Obama
    has called for restraint on both sides, he has condemned Russian
    aggression.

    Mr Putin said he suspected someone in the US had provoked the Georgia
    conflict to make the situation more tense and create "a competitive
    advantage for one of the candidates fighting for the post of US
    president".

    He went on: "The fact is that US citizens were, indeed, in the area in
    conflict during the hostilities. It should be admitted they would do so
    only following direct orders from their leaders."

    Mr Putin added that the US had armed and trained Georgia.

    But a White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said: "To suggest that the
    United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate ` it
    sounds not rational."

    Pressure on Russia will mount on Monday at an emergency summit of
    European Union leaders, to be attended by Gordon Brown, the Prime
    Minister.

    Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, suggested the EU would
    consider sanctions against Russia.

    As current president of the EU, France said it would aim to get
    consensus among all 27 countries of20the bloc if sanctions were
    envisaged.

    While the EU is not contemplating the most stringent of sanctions, such
    as the travel bans and arms embargoes imposed on Iran, it could
    postpone talks on a new partnership and co-operation agreement with
    Russia scheduled for September. The EU could also scrutinise the
    activities of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, which obtains 70 per
    cent of its profits from sales to Europe.

    Washington said it was considering scrapping a US-Russia civilian
    nuclear co-operation pact in response to the conflict.

    In a related development, Moscow, which has been incensed by the
    proposed US anti-ballistic missile shield in Poland and the Czech
    Republic, announced it had successfully tested a long-range Topol-M
    intercontinental ballistic missile.

    According to the Russians, the missile has been modified to avoid
    detection by the anti-missile defence systems.

    Meanwhile, after previous tough criticism of Russia, David Miliband,
    the Foreign Secretary, yesterday said "there is no question of
    launching an all-out war with Russia".

    He said: "No-one ever doubted that a Russian army of up to 800,000
    people was going to defeat a Georgian army of up to 18,000 people.
    Indeed, that has happened over the last two weeks. The question,
    though, for Russia is whether it wants to suffer the isolation, the
    loss of respect and the loss of trust that comes from that."

    A statement signed by Mr Miliband, alo
    ng with the foreign ministers of
    the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, said they "deplored"
    Moscow's "excessive use of military force" in Georgia.

    Moscow was offered one supportive comment, however. Alexander
    Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, Russia's closest ex-Soviet ally,
    said the Kremlin "had no other moral choice" but to recognise the
    Georgian regions.

    The crisis flared early this month when Georgian forces tried to retake
    South Ossetia and Russia launched an overwhelming counter-attack.

    Russian forces swept the Georgian army out of the rebel region and are
    still occupying some areas of Georgia proper.

    PROFILE

    THE USS Mount Whitney, a Blue Ridge class command ship, is the flagship
    of the United States navy's 6th Fleet.

    It is also the command and control ship for Nato's southern European
    strike force.

    It is currently based out of Gaeta, Italy.

    Considered by some to be the most sophisticated command, control,
    communications, computer and intelligence (C4I) ship ever commissioned,
    Mount Whitney incorporates various elements of the most advanced C4I
    electronic equipment and gives the embarked joint task-force commander
    the capability to control all other US naval sea units.

    Mount Whitney can receive and transmit large amounts of secure data
    from anywhere through HF, UHF, VHF, SHF and EHF communications paths.

    The vessel carries little in the way of armaments, other than guns for
    close-
    range defence.

    Mount Whitney typically carries enough food to feed the crew of over
    300 for 90 days and can transport supplies to support an emergency
    evacuation of 3,000 people.

    Its distilling units make over 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day.

    Traditional allies of Moscow denounce force

    CHINA and several central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of
    international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement
    yesterday denouncing the use of force and calling for respect for every
    country's territorial integrity.

    A joint declaration from the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, or
    SCO, also offered some support for Russia's "active role in promoting
    peace" following a ceasefire, but overall it appeared to increase
    Moscow's international isolation.

    The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, had appealed to the SCO
    alliance ` whose members include Russia, China and four central Asian
    countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ` for
    unanimous support of Moscow's response to Georgia's "aggression".

    But none of the other alliance members joined Russia in recognising the
    independence claims of Georgia's separatist regions, Abkhazia and South
    Ossetia.

    Mr Medvedev's search for support in Asia had raised fears that the
    alliance would turn the furore over Georgia into a broader
    confrontation between East and West, pitting the United States and
    Europe against their two main Cold War foes.=2
    0But China has
    traditionally been wary of endorsing separatists abroad, mindful of its
    own problems with Tibet and Muslims in the western territory of
    Xinjiang.

    The joint statement, which was unanimously endorsed, made a point of
    stressing the sanctity of borders ` two days after Russia sought to
    redraw Georgia's territory.

    "The participants¦ underscore the need for respect of the historical
    and cultural traditions of each country and each people, and for
    efforts aimed at preserving the unity of the state and its territorial
    integrity," the declaration said.

    Internet maps 'are wiping out' British landmarks

    THE internet is wiping thousands of British landmarks off the map, a
    leading geographical society warned yesterday.

    Churches, ancient woodlands and stately homes are in danger of being
    forgotten as internet maps fail to include the traditional landmarks,
    said Mary Spence, the president of the British Cartographic Society.

    In recent years, web applications such as Google Earth have become a
    popular way for people to search for maps and satellite images.

    Speaking yesterday at a Royal Geographic Society conference, Ms Spence
    said: "Corporate cartographers are demolishing thousands of years of
    history ` not to mention Britain's remarkable geography ` at a stroke
    by not including them on maps which millions of us now use every day.

    "We're in real danger of losing what makes maps so unique;=2
    0giving us a
    feel for a place even if we've never been there."

    But Ed Parsons, the geospatial technologist at Google, said the way in
    which people used maps was changing. He said: "Internet maps can now be
    personalised, allowing people to include landmarks and information that
    are of interest to them.

    "Anyone can create their own maps, or use experiences to collaborate
    with others in charting their local knowledge.

    "These traditional landmarks are still on the map, but people need to
    search for them," Mr Parsons said.

    "Interactive maps will display precisely the information people want,
    when they want it.

    "You couldn't possibly have everything already pinpointed."

    1936 treaty comes under the spotlight

    THE Montreux Convention cited by Nato with regard to Black Sea access
    may be regarded by some as an obscure treaty, but amid the current high
    level of tension in international politics with Russia, its terms are
    coming under close scrutiny.

    The agreement, signed on 20 July, 1936, gives Turkey full control over
    the Bosphorus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates military
    activity in the region.

    It permits Turkey to remilitarise the straits and imposes new
    restrictions on the passage of combatant vessels.

    The treaty also guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in
    peacetime.

    It severely restricts the passage of non-Turkish military vessels and
    prohibits some types of warships, such
    as aircraft carriers, from
    passing through the straits.

    The terms of the convention have been a source of controversy over the
    years, most notably concerning Russia's military access to the
    Mediterranean.

    Under the agreement, Turkey must be notified 15 days before military
    ships sail into the Black Sea, and warships cannot remain longer than
    21 days. The convention applies limits on individual and aggregate
    tonnage and numbers.

    These limitations effectively preclude the transit of major "capital"
    warships and submarines of non-Black Sea powers through the straits,
    unless exempted under Article 17.

    That clause permits a naval force of any tonnage or composition to pay
    a courtesy visit of limited duration to a port in the straits, at the
    invitation of the Turkish government.
Working...
X