MOSCOW. Dec 31 (Interfax-AVN) - International terrorism, NATO enlargement and the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty are the key threats facing Russia, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The main threat to Russia's security is posed by terrorist groups active in the North Caucasus and Central Asia," Ivanov pointed out.
"To counter terrorist threats, we are maintaining close international ties within the anti-terrorist coalition. We are ready for active ties with any country combating this evil," he said.
"The discussion of key military threats would be incomplete without mentioning the U.S. invalidation of the 1972 ABM Treaty and the ongoing enlargement of" NATO, he said. Although "these steps do not pose an immediate threat to Russia's national security, they undermine the existing strategic stability system," he said.
"However, the new format of international relations in the Russia-NATO Council strengthens security and stability worldwide. While expanding these ties, Russia wants to obtain more information on the goals behind the alliance's enlargement and be actively involved in its political decisions," he said.
"At present, the Russian Armed Forces are able to resolve nuclear deterrence tasks in addition to localizing and neutralizing possible military conflicts in chief strategic trends. In the meantime, the threat of international terrorism requires a certain reorientation of defense efforts towards averting and countering it," he said.
"International terrorism is the most dangerous phenomenon both for single countries and for the mankind in general. Enhancement and activation of terrorist activity boosts the threat stemming from proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means," the minister noted.
"At the present and in the near future, the threat of a direct military aggression against Russia is unlikely," he said.