Ivanov denies sending strategic bombers a return to cold war era

Moscow, Aug 23 (UNI) Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, in charge of defence industry, denied here that Moscow's resumption of Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers to long-distance patrols was a return to the Cold War-era.

''This has nothing to do with 'bloc mentality' or confrontation, let alone a return to the Cold War,'' Ivanov told journalists referring to the accusations by the West to the effect that Russia was returning to the Cold War-era by resuming the strategic bomber patrols which were suspended in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He stressed that patrol flights were being conducted ''in line with the statutes of international law, and do not violate anybody's territorial interests.'' ''Strategic bomber patrol flights are completely transparent and our US partners need not worry,'' Ivanvov said who is widely tipped to succeed President Vladimir Putin, in March.

Putin announced on August 17 that Russia had resumed its strategic patrol flights on a permanent basis, with patrol areas including zones of commercial shipping and economic activity.

During the Cold War, Russian long-range bombers, which could carry strategic nuclear weapons, played cat-and-mouse with Western air forces.

Earlier, Deputy Commander of the Russian Long-Range Aviation Major-General Anatoly Zhikharev said long-range strategic aircraft were flying on continuous patrol missions without having any nuclear weapons on board.

''All such planes are provided with training missiles,'' Zhikharev said.

''We have continued the Soviet times tradition and are flying missions in the north-eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, over the Norwegian, Northern and Japanese Seas, and also beyond the North Pole and over the Aleutian Islands,'' he added.

Zhikharev denied that Russian pilots were intruding into foreign airspace.

UNI