RUSSIA: Russian communists and nationalists hold anti-NATO protests in Yaroslavl and Moscow

Hundreds of Russians staged a protest against NATO in the northeast city of Yaroslavl on Thursday (September 14). The event was organised by an alliance of local communist and nationalist groups and was the latest in a wave of protests held across Russia in recent weeks. "We are against any military exercises (with NATO), against American and NATO soldiers' presence on Russian territory. We think that this is against Russian national interests, and against the sovereignty of the Russian Federation," said Anatoly Lokot, a communist deputy to the Russian parliament from Yaroslavl. Lokot later addressed the crowds at the rally which was attended by a mixture of young Russians and older Communist party supporters. After his speech Lokot released anti-NATO balloons as a symbolic rejection of any ties with the West's top defence body. A smaller crowd also took part in a rally against NATO in Moscow on Thursday. Russia is watching NATO's expansion towards its borders with unease. On September 5, a planned military training with the United States was postponed indefinitely, because it had angered some influential nationalists. More than 200 U.S. servicemen, including about 60 carrying firearms, had been supposed to take part in the Torgau-2006 joint training in central Russia in late September-early October. A similar training was held in Russia last year. But Russia's Defence Ministry was quoted by local news agencies, saying it had called off this year's exercise because "the status of the presence of foreign military on Russia's territory is yet to be cemented into law". Moscow has so far not ratified last year's Partnership for Peace Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement signed with NATO. The agreement is supposed to facilitate the movement of alliance forces in Russia and of Russian troops in NATO member states. Moscow's ties with NATO have been strained by the prospect of ex-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia joining the Western alliance. Russia clearly sees NATO's overtures to Ukraine and Georgia as a potential threat to its national security and a sign of the alliance poaching in what Moscow sees as its sphere of interests.

ITN Source | September 18, 2006

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