Posted on 02/13/2005 8:29:18 AM PST by SJackson
Russia Says It's Ready to Arm Saudi Arabia
Lyuba Pronina, Staff Writer Moscow Times February 10, 2005 No. 3103
[From David Isenberg's Weapons Trade Observer, http://lists.topica.com/lists/sento] [With thanks to www.mideastweb.org/mewnews1.htm ]
Moscow is preparing its first major defense contract with Saudi Arabia, the world's largest arms buyer that has traditionally spent its petrodollars on U.S.-made weapons. The deal is part of a strategy aimed at diversifying Russia's arms buyers away from China and India, Sergei Chemezov, general director of state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport, told reporters Wednesday.
Russia also signed an arms contract with Morocco last month, he said, the first since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Chemezov refused to give any details, but said that Russia is stepping up negotiations with Middle Eastern countries for jointly developing air defense systems on the basis of the domestically produced S-300, Buk and Tor-M1 systems.
"If a contract with Saudi Arabia is signed, it will be a landmark event in Russian arms exporting," said Marat Kenzhetayev, an expert with the Center for Arms Control.
From 1991 to 2002, Saudi Arabia imported $ 93 billion worth of weapons, Kenzhetayev said, while Morocco imported $ 1 billion.
In that same period of time, Riyadh signed $ 40 billion worth of arms contracts, of which $ 28 billion flowed to the United States and not a penny went to Russia, he said.
After U.S.-Saudi relations dampened following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the situation now seems to be swinging in Russia's favor, Kenzhetayev said.
While Moscow already sells arms to Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Iran, Kuwait and Algeria, a deal with the Saudis could push its neighbors Jordan and Oman to sign Russian contracts as well, Kenzhetayev said.
For Moscow, which sells arms to 59 countries, finding new customers is important as it tries to diversify away from major clients China and India, which account for 80 percent of Russian arms sales.
"We have reached the ceiling of $ 5 billion to $ 6 billion in annual arms sales abroad," Chemezov said. "We have to change something drastically." Last year, Rosoboronexport, which mediates over 90 percent of the country's arms deals, delivered $ 5.1 billion worth of arms out of $ 5.8 billion exported by Russia as a whole.
Rosoboronexport has orders of $ 12 billion through 2007, but Chemezov said that this year Rosoboronexport can expect to make $ 1 billion less in revenues.
"The reason? Our companies cannot produce more modern weapons. The industry is in need of investment either from private companies or from the state," he said. "Today we sell weapons that were designed in the late 1970s and early 1980s." Rosoboronexport plans to boost control over defense production by placing its directors on the boards of arms makers and buying stakes, Chemezov said.
Chemezov said that all sales are strictly in line with international agreements and do not violate any United Nations sanctions.
"However, if some country, including the United States, makes its own decision on sanctions , pardon us, we are not obliged to do as America says," Chemezov said.
Last month, Israel and the United States expressed concern about the possible sale of SA-18 surface-to-air missiles to Syria.
Asked whether any such contract was discussed during Syrian President Bashar Assad's recent visit or is planned, Chemezov said: "No."
The book is an easy read and you'd enjoy it. I'm sorry that my notes (posted above) from the book aren't more detailed.
But Gertz was quite clear that the governments of Russia, China and France APPROVED the sale of the UN forbidden equipment. He gave the names of the companies and talked about how they are controlled by their governments.
Additionally Gertz talked about paperwork that was found in Iraq once we got there that showed just who did the selling and when and how it's been traced back to these countries...with their knowledge. Phone intercepts confirm that also.
It's why Rumsfeld was so angry at Old Europe (pertaining to France and Germany, not China, of course).
And that is where Gertz falls down. 'Phone intercepts'? Where is Gertz obtaining this info from? Sounds very much like journalistic padding. I remember when Gertz was harping on about A-10s being shot down by French supplied Roland missiles and trying to imply that these were factory fresh.
Was Gertz even aware that French Air Force Mirage IV recon aircraft were overflying Iraq on the run up to the conflict? It doesn't quite ring correct that France was directly supplying military equipment to Saddam and at the same time flying recon missions over Iraq.
It’s nothing personal, it’s strictly business.
Good article. In my limited experience with Saudi officers, I found nothing to contradict the author’s points.
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