MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's updated military doctrine should identify the country's main foe and clearly stipulate conditions in which the Russian nuclear deterrence forces can deliver a preemptive strike, Army Gen. Yury Yakubov, a coordinator of the Russian Defense Ministry general inspectors department, told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"This strategic document's primary purpose should be to clearly identify Russia's potential foe, which the 2010 Military Doctrine does not. In my view, our main foe is the U.S. and the North Atlantic alliance," Yakubov said.
It was reported on Tuesday that Russia would amend its military doctrine by the end of 2014, in particular, taking into consideration the events in Ukraine, NATO's enlargement eastwards, and the U.S. plans to deploy its missile defense elements in Europe.
The new document should reflect radical changes that have occurred in the organizational and staff structure of the country's armed forces, including the establishment of the Aerospace Defense Forces, the formation of prompt response forces based on the Airborne Forces and the national defense command center, and some others, Yakubov said.
"In particular, in my view, it is necessary to carefully develop the forms and methods of the Aerospace Defense Forces' functioning in close interaction with the strategic nuclear deterrence forces, the Strategic Rocket Forces, strategic aviation, and the Navy. In doing so, it is necessary to work out conditions in which Russia may deliver a preemptive strike by the Russian nuclear deterrence forces," he said.
"Only a couple of years ago, the leadership of the U.S. and NATO declared at all levels that the North Atlantic alliance and the West in general were not Russia's enemies. And what do we see now? A real information war has been unfolded against us, and our state is purposefully being presented as the West's enemy, with far-reaching ends. And what is the most important is that U.S. and NATO bases are approaching next to our borders. These global changes and challenges, in my view, should be clearly reflected in an updated military doctrine," Yakubov said.