Russia-US formally inaugurate new START treaty; Russian Defence Minister visits disputed South Kuril Islands; Japan terms the development as “extremely regrettable”; Medvedev allows an expert panel to reexamine the Khodorkovsky conviction;
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  • After two years of intense negotiations, Russia and the United States have formally launched the new START nuclear arms treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchanged the final ratification papers for the New START treaty in Munich on February 5 while attending an annual security conference. The START treaty has been at the center of Washington's effort to improve ties with Moscow, which hit a low with Russia's 2008 war against the pro-western Georgia and were further strained by disagreements on trade and U.S. concerns over Russia's record on human rights and free speech.1

    The START treaty commits the two nations, with 95 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, to a ceiling of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads in seven years, up to 30 percent lower than in the 2002 Moscow treaty. It is hoped that the pact will pave the way for a better security climate in the Euro-Atlantic area. The two countries will initiate the process of exchanging information about the status of their nuclear forces and, within weeks, hold the first on-site inspections of each other's nuclear arsenals in nearly two years.2

    Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has inspected military facilities in the disputed South Kuril Islands. This has evoked sharp criticism from Japan which has claimed territorial rights to the island which have been occupied by Russian troops since the end of the Second World War. Serdyukov arrived on the islands to check the troop’s combat readiness and inspect the military hardware stationed there. Japan has termed the development as “extremely regrettable”. The issue of the territorial tights continues to be a source of political tension and distrust between the two states even though economic relations have improved in the recent past.3

    The visit of the Defence Minister comes in the backdrop of Russian President Medvedev becoming the first Russian President to visit the islands. Japan’s reaction at that time had been described as ‘furious’ with the Japanese government recalling its ambassador to Russia and issuing a strict warning against future visits. The importance of the Kuril Islands lies in the prevalence of a rich fish catchment area and more importantly off shore oil and natural gas reserves apart from gold and silver deposits.4

    Reports noted that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has unexpectedly decided to let an expert panel reexamine the sentencing of billionaire anti-government activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky for laundering state oil and its proceeds. A committee set up for the promotion of human rights and civil society will now produce a report on the conviction, which drew international criticism. Civil rights activists had earlier demanded presidential pardon for Khodorkovsky.5

    Khodorkovsky, who was nearing the end of an eight-year sentence for tax evasion, received a second sentence in December 2010. The expert panel will not dispute Khodorkovsky's sentence but will speak about systemic problems linked to such cases and legal deficiencies. The experts will also look into other high-profile court cases which include cases related to child rights, the detention of opposition activists, last summer's disastrous wildfires, and police and judicial reforms.6

    According to the Russian investigators, the suicide bomber who killed 35 people and injured 180 at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport was a 20 year old man from the North Caucasus. Security forces have launched a manhunt for two residents of Russia’s Ingushetia (predominantly Muslim) region who are believed to have played a significant role in the massacre. It would be worth noting that a decade after security forces drove separatists out of power in the second of two wars in Chechnya, the North Caucasus is still plagued by violence. The bombing was the worst in the Russian capital since last March when a double suicide bombing killed at least 40 people in the Moscow subway. Two women responsible for those attacks were from Dagestan.7

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