MOSCOW, June 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Russia reserved the right to deliver preventive strikes on border zones of neighboring post-Soviet republics in case of a direct threat of terrorism.
"We put it plain that a preventive strike was possible in case of a terrorist threat to Russia and if we were a hundred per cent sure that the source of the threat was in a particular place. We proclaimed this right and reserve it," Ivanov said.
The idea of a preventive strike was first mentioned, when Russia accused Georgia of sheltering terrorists, who had acted in Russia, in the Pankisi gorge.
"I emphasize that we do not consider a preventive strike as warfare or an attack against some or another country, but as a one-time measure," Ivanov added.
According to the minister, the events in CIS countries did not pose any direct threat to Russia's security, in spite of the dramatic developments in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The minister said that the ministry had considered a possibility to use its resources for peacekeeping purposes when public unrest had occurred in Bishkek in April. "Now I can say that we considered a possibility to render help to embassies and Kyrgyzstan's interim government in order to protect vital strategic facilities," Ivanov said.
He explained that such measures were possible upon a written request of the Kyrgyz authorities, but fortunately, the situation was brought under the new government's control within 24 hours.
If plundering, looting and murders had continued all night long, we would have been ready to send military transport aircraft to evacuate all Russian nationals, who would have asked for help," the minister said.
He added that such involvement would not have suggested the use of military force.
"We were not going to shoot at anybody or interfere with domestic political processes. We considered only possible evacuation. By the way, the armed forces were not faced with a task like this earlier, but life is bringing it to the foreground," Ivanov said.
According to him, the Russian Defense Ministry did not consider the possibility of interference in the conflict that had broken out in Uzbekistan's Fergana valley in May.
"The issue of interfering or sending Russian troops to help Islam Karimov was not considered a priori," Ivanov said.
