北約峰會告知成員國清除俄羅斯武器
NATO Summit Tells Member States to Get Rid of Russian Weapons
但規則總是有很多位可走盞的
But there are always ways to get around the rules.
July 16th, 2018
The final declaration of the recent NATO summit in Brussels says that the allies are committed to “working to address, as appropriate, existing dependencies on Russian-sourced legacy military equipment through national efforts and multinational cooperation” (paragraph 31). From now on they will “foster innovation to maintain our technological edge.” Actually, the very need to include such a clause into the text of the document speaks highly of “Made in Russia” weapons. The pledge to get rid of them is an attempt to please the US chomping at the bid to fill the void with American systems. At the same time, it hardly expresses the sincere desire of the nations that have Russian arms in the armed forces’ inventory to dispose of them. This is a very interesting issue worth having a closer look at.
There is nothing new in this. It’s a time-worn topic. But whatever is said and promised, the allies continue to use Russian weapons. Some of them even make new purchases. It was assumed that former Warsaw Pact members, such as Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, would get rid of them upon entering NATO (1999-2004). It turned out differently.
The government of Poland is known for its anti-Russia stance but the Polish military has failed to replace Russian small arms, anti-tank and air defense systems, and Grad multiple rocket launcher systems, including the RM-70, the Czech version of Grad. Its aviation continues to use MiG-29 fighters, Su-22M4 attack planes, Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters. Warsaw has decided to shift an armored division in the east. The force will use modernized Soviet-made T-72 tanks.
Hungary is the only former Warsaw Pact member to replace Russian (Soviet) combat planes. Germany withdrew from service its MiG-29s only in 2003 transferring 22 of the remaining 23 to Poland. Formally, they were sold for a symbolic price.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/nato-summit-russian-weapons/245943/
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