"It would be erroneous to believe that redeployment of the foreign American military contingent is aimed against Russia. However, the U.S. should further coordinate such actions with relevant Russian ministries and departments," Mr. Margelov stressed.
After September 11, the U.S. military department plans to change the location of troops preserved since cold war times to make it more correspond to the aims of fighting against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Pentagon believes that danger emanates from rogue states, religious radicalism and social instability in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.
"Instability in those regions threatens the interests of Russia's national security too, that's why both we and the Americans are interested in coordinating our actions with one another," Mr. Margelov said.
He said that the news of redeployment is not a surprise for Moscow. In his words, such plans have been worked out for several years now; last November, George Bush asked the U.S. Department of Defense to activate talks both with the Congress and with the countries that may be affected by these changes. By his speech, the American President will just make this fact public.
Mr. Margelov believes that the time for making this news public was not chosen by the U.S. Administration by chance.
"Saying that some 70,000 American military will return home, the President will try to attract voters," Mr. Margelov said.
