The ill wind Mistral By Romain Rosso and Alla Chevelkina published on 07/03/2014 at 17:45 In the coming months, Paris should engage in Moscow two warships that would allow the Russian navy to regain its power. This contract was signed in 2011, under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy has become a diplomatic headache at a time when the Kremlin multiplies warlike gestures, Ukraine and elsewhere. AFP Since the time of the Cold War between the West and the Soviet bloc, the navies of NATO have learned what to expect with Russia. There is one year, however, when a frigate Alliance crosses the road to one of the many ships patrolling Moscow off the Syrian coast, the captain did not believe his eyes on his radar, he sees his Russian counterpart operate its weapon system. He did not intend to shoot, tells an officer he wanted to serve his hostility The message was clear:.. Syria is a preserve. € 117 billion to reset its navy Syria, Georgia, Ukraine ... On land and sea, Russia and its army reconnect with an imperial or imperialist gesture, depending on your point of view. Memory marine, such a deployment is unprecedented since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Forgotten the humiliation of World Kursk, this powerful nuclear submarine submerged in the waters of the Barents Sea, 12 August 2000, with 118 crew. Today, Russian destroyers again show their imposing gray bow on most oceans. And reconstruction of the navy became a priority in the next six years, 117 billion will be spent on rearmament. More than twenty new ships must therefore join the fleet in the Black Sea, six submarines. Problem since last March, the annexation of the Crimea and the intimidation of Ukraine stoke any fears. And some wonder in Europe and the United States, the role played by France in the affirmation of a newfound power. I expressed concern and Im not the only one, said Barack Obama, June 5. Would have been preferable that [the French government] button is pressed pause . A tool of power and domination The purpose of this apprehension fleet these days in the port of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), where 400 Russian sailors are already training on Vladivostok, a Mistral class ship built on site and must be submitted to Russia in October. French soldiers, in their jargon, the call building projection and command (PCBs); capable of long campaigns at sea, it is the largest ship made in France after the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The contract, signed under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, provides for the delivery of a second ship, the Sebastopol in 2015. These jewels of the French navy, 199 meters long and capable of carrying 16 helicopters, 13 tanks and 450 soldiers , became the symbol of the Russian renaissance, not just naval. The Mistral is a tool of power and domination, says Thomas Gomart, director of strategic development of the French Institute of International Relations. He embodies the desire of Russia to regain its prestige and out of its continental space. Vladimir Putin so does the choice of a power that is not trying to find its place in the global economy.s vision of the world, the most important thing is not to seduce but to be feared. in this sense, it is very Russian. Vladivostok, one of two Mistral class warships commanded by Russia to France. In the months that preceded the signing of the contract on 17 June 2011, the French government has sought to reassure its partners and praise, even the supposed benefits of a strategic partnership with Russia in the post-war cold. Faced with a power of this nature, it is better to bring in signing trade agreements, says a high-ranking Moscow familiar. This avoids a fight. Seen from Paris, especially, the very real benefits of EUR 1.2 billion project and more than 500 jobs over four years-exceed diplomatic considerations. But Moscow wants to have technology skills that are lacking: since the mid-1980s, its fleet suffers from a total lack of investment. The decline of the Pacific Fleet, in particular, is spectacular falls naval historian Alexandre Sheldon-Duplaix (1): 3 strategic submarines (formerly 30 against), 9 submarines nuclear attack, including 3 operational (against 49), no aircraft carrier ... of the 9 major warships, only 5 would be up to the task, and all exceed twenty or thirty years old. The Russian Navy is composed of the ruins of the Soviet fleet, summarizes Vadim Kozyulin expert PIR Center, an institute of Political Studies in Moscow. Since 2011, however, the time has passed, and the Russian giant did not hesitate to violate international law and the integrity of its Ukrainian neighbor. What Mistral? In the Baltic countries, a senior alarmed: It is clear that the Russians will use this ship The question is against whom There is no evidence that it will not be against us.?. The hypothesis of a redemption, raised by American and Canadian senators, asks a series of legal problems, because the stern of a ship is made in Russia. For now, Paris does not intend to abandon the contract. How could it be otherwise? The state has guaranteed, and Russia has already paid two-thirds of the total. Officially, the defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, referred the decision to October, the Interministerial Commission for the Study of exports of war material shall meet. But the sale unless surprise, will take place. At the Hotel de Brienne was repeated two Mistral will not, alone, change the face of the Russian Navy, especially as the boats are sold unarmed. Of eighteen to twenty-four months will be needed to make the Russians themselves in the shipyards in Saint Petersburg. A speech which hardly soothes concerns of a Baltic diplomat: It is as if they are selling a gun without bullets! is he exclaims. A gun without bullets! In fact, the Mistral is not just a shell with navigation systems. It allows you to manipulate landing craft and transport troops accompanied by helicopters. The flight deck of Vladivostok has been specially designed for extreme cold, and sheds have been enhanced to accommodate combat helicopters Ka-52 Alligator. It is obvious that the Russians will use this ship. The question is against who? In the coastal countries around Russia, the concerns include the versatility of the ship, which can land in record time, men both by air and by sea. The Mistral has a great ability to maneuver; he demonstrated during the evacuation of French nationals in Lebanon in 2006 and in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, in 2008 (see The Express 4 December 2008) and during the intervention . Libya in 2011 or interested in these multiple operational capabilities strategists in Moscow: Thanks to their versatility, the Mistral will be a huge asset in latent local conflicts as Ukraine and the Caucasus, said Alexander Golts, an expert Russian military independent. For now, the army has no expeditionary force ready to pounce as the U.S. Marines. Eventually, however, his goal is to create smaller and more mobile than traditional deployments of forces of the Red Army units ex. In Saint-Nazaire, demonstrators protesting against pro-Ukrainian military-trade agreement signed in 2011. As its name suggests, Vladivostok is expected to join the Pacific Fleet in the Bay of Ulysses, where the docks are being built to receive it. Its primary mission is the defense of the Kuril Islands, says Sheldon-Duplaix. By 2016, Russia intends to reset these fractions of Japanese territory, annexed by Stalin at the end of the Second World War, three days after the surrender of Tokyo. The dispute prevents over sixty-five years the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries. Since its future homeport Mistral also strengthen the defense of the island of Sakhalin and Siberian gas reserves. Russia aims to become a Pacific power, says Thomas Gomart. With the road north to the Arctic, where ships from Chinese and European trade transit is its major geopolitical purpose. This is not the only one. Starting next year, the arrival of the second Mistral sold by France to Russia, Sevastopol, in its new homeport eponymous strengthen the supremacy of Moscow on the Black Sea. Since annexed territory of Crimea, the ship will have access to warm seas, and in particular the port of Tartous, Syria, and logistics platform pivot of Russian influence in the Mediterranean. His mere presence would play a symbolic deterrent size. lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/europe/le-vent-mauvais-des-mistral_1556139.html#4T7CdDiO5FKr1YHk.99
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:14:15 +0000
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