…AND FOR ESTABLISHING MILITARY BASES IN THEM.

Publication: Monitor Volume: 1 Issue: 47

Speakingto the Federation Council also on July 6, Kozyrev said that Russiamust establish military bases in the CIS countries and developother forms of military cooperation with them as well. Some CIScountries are themselves interested in hosting Russian troopsto defend against threats from abroad, the Russian foreign ministersaid. He also argued that Russia must bear the "very heavyburden" of peacekeeping in the ex-USSR in order to preventdestabilization along Russia’s borders, refugee waves, and generalYugoslavization of the region. Although claiming that Russia mustperform this role because "others"–specifically theWestern powers–would not, Kozyrev himself ruled out the participationof outside parties in settling conflicts in the CIS area. "Thereis nothing imperial in this," he said. Kozyrev accused theWest and international organizations of "double-dealing"for supporting various international peacekeeping operations,but not those of Russia in CIS countries. And he accused the UNand OSCE of "discrimination against the CIS" by refusingto treat it as equivalent to NATO and the WEU" and exerting"heavy moral and political pressure on Russian delegates"who seek such treatment for the CIS. And when asked about Japaneseclaims to the Kurile islands, and about suggestions that Russiashould demilitarize Kaliningrad, Kozyrev said "Russia rejectseverybody’s territorial claims."

2500 Russian Servicemen Refused to Fight in Chechnya.