Russian Sub To Join NATO Exercise for 1st Time

BRUSSELS - A Russian submarine will take part in the world's biggest submarine rescue exercise with its former Cold War foe, NATO, next week, the military alliance said May 27.
The Russian submarine, the first to participate in any NATO exercise, will drop to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea along with Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish submarines and will await listless for a rescue mission off the coast of Cartagena, Spain.

About 2,000 military and non-military personnel as well as ships and aircraft from more than 20 nations will take part in the exercise, dubbed Bold Monarch 11, that will run from May 30 to June 10.
Held every three years, it "is the world's largest submarine rescue exercise," said a statement from NATO's SHAPE allied military headquarters based in Mons, Belgium.
"The exercise is designed to maximize international cooperation in submarine rescue operations - something that has always been very important to NATO and all the submarine-operating nations," it said.
The inclusion of a Russian submarine in the exercise comes amid a warming of ties between Moscow and the 28-nation alliance, nearly three years after Russia's war with Georgia had sparked tensions between the two sides.
The U.S., Russia, Italy and Sweden are contributing submarine rescue vehicles and sophisticated gear to clear debris. France, Norway and Britain will use a jointly owned rescue system.
Aircraft will deploy from Italy, Britain and the U.S. to help locate the submarines and drop parachutists to provide emergency assistance.
The vast exercise will culminate with a 48-hour coordinated rescue and evacuation of 150 survivors, including casualties, from a submarine acting in distress.

Medvedev to EU, U.S.: Don't Sideline Russia on Missile Defense

MOSCOW - Systems to protect Europe from missile attack risk being ineffective and a threat to stability if they do not include Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev warned May 14.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, shown here during a May 13 speech, made his comments in a letter sent to NATO heads of state. (Kremlin pool photo via AFP)

The Kremlin said Medvedev has written a letter to NATO heads of state to make clear Russia's position on missile defense amid continued tensions with the West over the longstanding dispute.

The letter appears to be a sign of growing frustration from Moscow that it is being sidelined by the West in discussions on the issue despite signs of progress late last year.
"A European missile defense system can only be genuinely effective and viable if Russia participates in an equal way," the Kremlin quoted Medvedev as saying.
Medvedev said it was necessary to be sure that the missile defense systems placed in Europe do not "disrupt strategic stability and will not be directed against either of the sides."
Russia earlier this month reacted with concern to an agreement between the United States and Romania to place U.S. missile interceptors at a Soviet-built airbase in the EU member state.
At a summit of NATO leaders in Lisbon in November, Medvedev proposed that Europe be divided into sectors of military responsibility, including one overseen by Russia and one by NATO, to better protect the continent.
But so far the plan, which was hailed by Russian officials as a chance for a major breakthrough in Moscow-NATO ties, appears to have attracted little interest in the West.

Libyan Rebels Say Italy Will Provide Weapons

BENGHAZI, Libya - Libya's rebel government said May 7 that Italy has agreed to supply it with weapons to fight against Moammar Gadhafi, but government sources in Rome said only "self-defense material" would be sent.
"They will supply us with arms and we will receive them very soon," Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, the vice chairman of the National Transitional Council, told reporters in the rebel capital Benghazi.

Ghoga said military officers from the rebel council had travelled to Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler, and reached an agreement with officials there for the supply of arms.
He gave no details on what weapons would be supplied.
If the arms supply goes ahead, that would make Italy the first European nation to provide weapons to the badly-armed and poorly-trained rebel force that has led the fight against Gadhafi since the uprising began in mid-February.
Foreign ministry sources in Rome said that Italy has agreed to send "self-defense material" to the rebels following agreements last month within the framework of UN Security Council resolution 1973.
They said these would not be assault weapons but gave no further details.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said last month during a visit to Rome by NTC chairman Mahmud Jibril that Italy was thinking of sending "night-vision equipment, radars and technology to block communications."
Italy, France and Britain have each sent a small number of military advisors to Benghazi to help organize the ragtag rebel force.
Rome last month said it wanted the international community to consider arming the rebels under UN Resolution 1973, which authorized the use of all means to defend civilians.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Prime Minister David Cameron have both said they believe U.N. resolutions on Libya allow arming the rebels.
But other nations in the NATO alliance that is enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and bombing Gadhafi's military have opposed arming the rebels.
Belgium came out against the idea and Germany has insisted there could be "no military solution" in Libya.
China and Russia, which hold permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, have argued that NATO's bombing campaign may already be stretching the U.N. mandate.
The head of the rebel council said last month that "friends" had already supplied the insurgents with arms, without saying which countries had done so or what weapons they had provided.
Russia had been a traditional supplier for Libya since Soviet times but the lifting of a previous European Union arms embargo in 2004 opened up a new market to European contractors, who rushed into the oil-rich North African state.
The most vocal backer of lifting the embargo was Italy, which quickly became one of the top European arms suppliers to the Gadhafi regime before the uprising began in February.
France, Malta, Germany, Britain and Portugal also secured lucrative arms contracts with Tripoli.