French and German navies may join the Russian fleet in the Arabian Sea!

["Steven" <mailinglist@xxxxxxxxxx>]

This story was posted on a discussion forum at pravda.ru by an
individual calling himself CHORNYVOLK (ULTRA NATIONALIST RUSSIAN).  This
post can be found at
http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php3?threadid=11269&referrerid=575

The post appears to be an english translation of a Russian language
story originally published by
http://www.ng.ru/world/2003-04-02/1_flot.html .  I'd appreciate it if
one of the forum members, who speak's Russian, would confirm the
contents of this post/article.

If this proves to be credible and accurate, do you believe that the
Russians are simply seeking "to follow the situation, and if the need
arises, to land assault forces in Iraq and take parttake part in the
post-war reconstruction of the country"?

One quote to note:  Russian Minister of Defense, Sergey Ivanov ....
stated "that the new global security architecture is 'breaking apart'.
He said, 'This again forces us to pay constant attention to the
condition of our Armed Forces, so that under any contingencies, we can
guarantee a reliable and total defense of Russia.'"

Complete post follows.....


French and German navies may join the Russian fleet in the Arabian Sea!
The vice admiral of the Black Sea Fleet Evgeniy Orlov was summoned to
Moscow for instructions on the upcoming wargames close to the Persian
Gulf combat zone. The sources indicate that the vice-admiral will be
meeting not only with the defense minister, but with President Putin
himself.

The analysts suppose that a Russian naval presence in the combat zone
will allow Russia to follow the situation, and if the need arises, to
land assault forces in Iraq and take part in the post-war reconstruction
of the country. The Russian General Staff was correct in its
assessment--the war in Iraq will be a long one. This is why the naval
mission is being prepared without hurry. According to sources in the
Russian Navy, the warships will be ready to go 5-6 days after a decision
is taken and agreement with the nations who control the Bosphorous and
Suez canal.

The preparations for the war-games in the Indian Ocean have been
completed by the Pacific Fleet. It is notable that the Baltic Fleet is
also preparing to take part in the deployment to the Arabian Sea.
Moreover it is possible that the Baltic Fleet will act jointly with
French and German Fleets.

Preparation for deployment into the conflict zone is being combined with
active military maneuvers. Different branches of the Russian Armed
Forces are being brought into different degrees of combat readiness.
However, in the Ministry of Defense, they are saying that these events
have no connection to the war in Iraq, and were planned in advance. It
is true that in general military maneuvers in Russia take place at the
end of March and beginning of April (the biggest of which took place
after the beginning of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia). However the
new military maneuvers are notably larger.

In RSVN (Strategic Missile Forces) from 17 to 28 March, combat training
took place in Vladimir strategic missile units. In the space center
"Plesetsk", a mobile nuclear ballistic missile launcher "Topol" fired an
inter-continental ballistic missile against an imaginary foe in
Kamchatka. Similar combat drills are taking place in the 37'th air army
(strategic air force). On March 28, in the Southern Federal District,
under the command of Russia's Chief of Staff Anatoly Kvashnin, the
biggest military maneuvers in 10 years have begun.

On the Caspian Sea, combat training is conducted with the Caspian
fleet/coast guard. The training is taking place close to Dagestani
ports, as well as next to the border with Iran. According to the
official versian, the fleet there is conducting joint training with the
Ministry for Emergency Situations forces, and the Federal Border Guards.
The training stresses the delivery of humanitarian aid into combat
zones. It is not ruled out, that such a combat zone for the participants
of the training could well be Iraq. Russia could deliver humanitarian
aid to Iraq via Iran. The Caspian direction is looking most favorable in
case decision is made about the participation of Russian peacekeepers in
a UN operation in Iraq.

The unprecedented activity of the Russian military confirm the
noticeable nervousness of Moscow regarding the situation in Iraq. For
example, Minister of Defense, Sergey Ivanov, fully backed the proposal
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work on the ratification of
the arms control agreement with the US. He also angrily condemned
flights of American spy planes close to Russian borders. On March 24, he
visited in Sarov, the Federal Nuclear Center, where he got acquanted
with the latest developments in the area of nuclear weapons. He later
commented on the goals of his visit to Sarov, stating that the new
global security architecture is "breaking apart". He said, "This again
forces us to pay constant attention to the condition of our Armed
Forces, so that under any contingencies, we can guarantee a reliable and
total defense of Russia."