DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Iran, Pakistan, N. Korea May Pose Nuclear Threat to Russia

Defense News: DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Iran, Pakistan, N. Korea May Pose Nuclear Threat to Russia

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 6, 2012: A nuclear-armed Iran, Pakistan and North Korea could potentially trigger regional chain reactions that ultimately threaten Russia's security, the former director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, said.

“Even if Iran, Pakistan and North Korea are not Russian adversaries, their current and projected nuclear potential could destabilize the regional situation. It could trigger a chain reaction of proliferation (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) that gives rise to a new missile threat for Russia,” Trubnikov said in an article included in the digest for an international conference on missile defense in Moscow.

History shows that relations with unstable states and radical regimes can rapidly deteriorate and their nuclear potential could become a real threat to Russian national security, Trubnikov said.

That is why Russia needs to work toward mutual understanding with the United States and NATO on the issue of missile defense, he said.

Russia's military leadership has for the first time acknowledged a nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea.

“The threat is always there, so we closely monitor the nuclear program developments of many countries," Army General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the General Staff, told RT television.

"The analysis that we conducted together with the Americans confirms that, yes, there is a probability that the threat exists. And we agreed that it is necessary to create a missile defense system,” Makarov said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has previously held that there is no nuclear threat to Europe and Russia from Iran and North Korea, because they do not have the capacity to build nuclear weapons or deliver them.

“Many countries that claim not to possess nuclear weapons do in fact have them,” Makarov said.

“Certainly, if it gets into the hands of extremists, it represents a threat to international security,” Makarov said.

He added that in order to counter these threats, Russia is ready to work together with other countries.

“Let's solve this problem. Let us work together to get rid of the threats that may arise, not only for Europe but for Russia because we too are part of Europe,” the general said.

North Korea has conducted two underground nuclear weapon tests, in 2006 and 2009.

Earlier in April South Korean media reported that intelligence indicated North Korea was preparing a third in a row underground nuclear test. The information was based on satellite photographs of North Korean test site, where underground nuclear test had been previously conducted.

U.S. and other Western countries suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of peaceful nuclear energy program. Tehran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is aimed at meeting the country's electricity needs.

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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