NEW MILITARY DOCTRINE TO BE READY IN THREE MONTHS. Talking to journalists on 27 April, Defense Minister Igor Sergeev expanded on his recent comments about the revision of Russia's military doctrine. Sergeev said Moscow is particularly concerned about two provisions of NATO's new strategic concept that enable the alliance to use force outside NATO's zone of responsibility and without the UN's consent. He added that the possibility of Baltic States' joining NATO "poses a serious threat to Russia" and "we will never be able to agree." If the Baltic States join NATO, Russia will have to take additional steps to minimize its security risks, he said. In an interview published in "Krasnaya Zvezda" the same day, Ivanov said that Russia's new military doctrine will be finished in three months and submitted to President Yeltsin for approval. Before NATO began air strikes against Yugoslavia, Ivanov predicted that a plan merging the armed forces strategic nuclear forces would be ready by May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 February 1999). JAC NEW 'TOP-SECRET' NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM DISCUSSED. Russian President Boris Yeltsin on 29 April chaired a closed-door meeting of the Security Council on the development of Russia's strategic nuclear weapons policy. Russian Television reported that Yeltsin said Russia's nuclear forces are the "key element in ensuring the country's national security." After the meeting, Security Council Secretary Vladimir Putin told reporters that Yeltsin signed two decrees on the development of strategic nuclear and tactical weapons and approved the adoption of one program, which is of a "top- secret nature," ITAR-TASS reported. Putin also said that "Russia has not tested its nuclear weapons for a longer period of time than all other countries and this raises certain problems." He added that Russia is thinking of giving its specialists the possibility of moving ahead in "this sensitive sphere" without withdrawing from outstanding agreements. JAC
