MEANING OF HANUKKAH

Unpacking The Meaning Of The Festival Of Hanukkah
Wednesday 5th December 2007
Paul Calvert investigates

Hanukkah at homeSeth Ben Haim is the Assistant Pastor of King of Kings Community Church in Jerusalem. He's a Messianic Jew and he spoke to me about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.To many people's surprise Hanukkah isn't found in the Old Testament but it's found in the New Testament.The holiday is found in John chapter 10 verse 22 and it says the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the Temple in Solomon's Porch. It's clear that the festival of celebrating Hanukkah which literally means the Feast of Dedication was already in place at the time that Jesus was walking here on earth. The occurrence historically that it commemorates took place in between the writing of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

In the Festival of Hanukkah we are commemorating the miracle of the restoring of Jerusalem into the hands of the Jewish people and the re-dedicating of the Temple. After the Greeks had attacked Israel and forced the Jewish people to worship idols, they had desecrated the temple that Nehemiah had rebuilt, they forced the sacrificing of pigs actually in the Temple so we're celebrating the re-dedication of the Temple. The Menorah in the Temple, which was a seven branch menorah, needed very special olive oil; it needed to be purified in a special way. They only had a very small amount of this special oil when it came to rededicating the Temple. The tradition is that one day's oil lasted for the full 8 days until they could replenish the supply. During Hanukkah we don't light a regular Menorah; we light a Hanukkah which is a 9 branch Menorah. We have the 8 days of Hanukkah then we have the one branch which is the servant candle.One of the fun things about Hanukkah is that children get new gifts each new day of the festival so every night we have the lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah, the 9 branch Menorah, eating the special festival foods, jelly donuts and potato pancakes and we also have the receiving of gifts.

During the festival there is a traditional blessing that's said about the lighting of the Hanukkah light and there's a memorial of God's amazing covering and protection for His people for all time and some of the scriptures that are read relate to the Menorah. The scriptures read are from Zachariah 2 through 4 which speak about the olive tree and the Menorah and the priestly garments which are cleaned, so there's definately a connection in looking at the significance of purification and sanctification and much light. As believers in Jesus, we read in the beginning of the book of John about Him being the true light. It says in John chapter 1 v 9 the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world, we speak about the servant light which can be an example to all of us, even as Jesus lights us we are to light those around us, so in the same way we have the servant candle that lights all the other candles.

Today I would say that the believer in Jesus can have great joy in celebrating this holiday and seeing the memorial of God's faithfulness to the Jewish people from all time and that in itself is an assurance to us that other covenants He's made to us and the Jewish people are true and His faithfulness is everlasting. But also this picture of light coming into the world, this light we light our Menorah with and this idea of being a servant to light others, is really the modelling of servant hood we saw Jesus do with His disciples; we're called to this as well, to be a light in the dark world around us. We shouldn't hide our light but display it like the Hanukkah in the window of your house; we want to display the light and the love of the Lord with those around us.

My prayer for this time of year is that many Jewish people would recognise that the light, the hope of Israel is the Messiah Jesus, that Jesus who came 2000 years ago and is within us today in our hearts, He's here to save, He's here to give light in the place of darkness and hopelessness and to give true freedom from the eternal fight with sin; victory over sin through the blood of Jesus our Messiah. The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

An Earthquake was Recorded in Primorye
It occurred in Lazovskiy district of the Territory

VLADIVOSTOK, December 5, vladivostoktimes.com. An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 at the depth of 420 km was recorded in Primorsky Territory, 72.4 km to the south of Melkovodnyi settlement of Lazovskiy district. According to the operative duty officer of the senior management of Emercom of Russia in Promorsky Territory, this earthquake wasn't perceptible in The territory. There are no victims, destructions, threat of tsunami.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Countdown to big bang enlargement of Schengen zone begins
05.12.2007 - 18:27 CET | By Renata Goldirova

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The EU's border- and passport-free Schengen zone is going to see its biggest ever enlargement in two weeks time, as interior ministers are set to give their final blessing to the move on Thursday (6 December). It will be a quite nice Christmas gift, EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini said on the eve of the ministerial decision, which will allow people from Central and Eastern Europe to move freely across the rest of the EU bloc. Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - which all joined the EU in 2004 - are part of this latest enlargement. Checks at internal land and sea borders will be abolished on 21 December, with air borders to follow in March 2008.

With [Thurday's] decision, the last barrier to our full EU membership will fall, Slovakia's deputy prime minister Dusan Caplovic said on Monday (5 December), adding that it is time for the 'old versus new' divide in Europe to come to an end. The Schengen area - established in 1985 in a small Luxembourg village at the geographical meeting-point of Germany, the Benelux countries and France - currently consists of thirteen EU states, plus Norway and Iceland. The UK and Ireland have chosen to stay out and participate only partially in police and judicial cooperation. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania are yet to meet necessary requirements, while Switzerland is expected to fully take part in Schengen in the coming months.According to commissioner Frattini, the enlargement of the Schengen area will not mean the reduction of security, as 58 monitoring missions were carried on the ground in 2006 and additional fifteen re-evaluations in 2007.The EU's external borders are secure and safe, he said, adding I, as an Italian, will consider the Polish-Ukrainian border to be my border.

Brussels to tighten evaluation

Originally, the Schengen area was supposed to be enlarged by October this year, but the move had to be postponed due to technical problems surrounding the installation of a new central database, known as the SIS II. The database - the updated version of the existing system - is considered the technical soul of Schengen, as it connects member states' national databases on all kinds of information related to border security, such as stolen documents, cars or firearms. After pressure from the nine Schengen-hopefuls, who suspected political motives for the delay, the Portuguese EU presidency tabled a compromise, known as SIS one 4 all, suggesting that the newcomers join the existing database (SIS I). Sometimes Europe is able to make progress in a very short time, commissioner Frattini said, adding that the new information system, SIS II, should be up and running on 18 December 2008.
Around the same time, the EU's executive body is set to propose changing the way how the member states' performance in the area is evaluated.Currently, you have to knock on the door and only then carry out an evaluation, one EU official said, adding that Brussels aims at changing announced missions for unannounced ones.
But EU capitals will not lose the power to decide where and how often to carry out such check-ups. 2007 EUobserver

Merkel criticises Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union plans
06.12.2007 - 09:24 CET | By Honor Mahony

German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that French plans for a Mediterranean Union risk splitting the EU.Speaking at a conference in Berlin on Wednesday (5 December), Ms Merkel indicated that if French president Nicolas Sarkozy pushed ahead with his proposals for a union of countries from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa the core of the European Union would be threatened.The chancellor said that cooperation between some member states has to be also open to the rest and it has to be approved by all member states.It cannot be that some countries establish a Mediterranean Union and fund this with money from EU coffers, said the German leader.This could release explosive forces in the union I would not like, she said, according to news agency DPA.Mr Sarkozy floated the idea for such a union during his presidential campaign earlier this year.

Since becoming president in May, he has elaborated on the proposal saying in October that in the Mediterranean will be decided whether or not civilisations and religions will wage the most terrible of wars...whether or not the North and the South will clash.Under the plans, the group would tie southern Europe with Northern Africa as well as Israel and its Arab neighbours and tackle topical issues such as counter-terrorism, immigration, energy, trade, water and sustainable development.Just seven EU states - Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain - are envisioned to take part.Mr Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union idea – he suggested on Wednesday that France and Algeria be the main axis of the Union - has also raised eyebrows in Brussels.

The European Commission fears it will undermine the 12-year-old Barcelona process, aimed at promoting dialogue between the EU and ten countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean.There are also fears that it is a ruse to enmesh Turkey – which would be a member – into the process and detract from its current EU negotiations, with Mr Sarkozy being strongly opposed to Ankara's EU membership bid.

Division of powers

Speaking at the same meeting, Ms Merkel also offered some criticism of the new EU treaty, a document that was formed under her presidency of the bloc, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt.While praising the treaty, due to be signed next week, as representing historical progress she added that naturally it is still far from the clarity of our constitution on how powers are really delineated.Summing up the effect of the treaty, she said that a lot will change in the European Union noting that because not all loopholes in the document had been closed off, member states will have to keep a close eye on how it is implemented.

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

EU must support, not dictate Mideast peace process: Livni
05 December 2007, 18:40 CET

(LJUBLJANA) - The European Union's role in the Middle East is to support the (peace) process, not to dictate it, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said here Wednesday.Speaking after talks with her Slovenian counterpart, Dimitrij Rupel, on a one-day visit to Ljubljana, Livni said that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians later this month consist of a bilateral process, in which there is no need for a third party.The international community's role, including that of the EU, is to support the process, not to dictate it, she said.Slovenia will take over the six-month rotating EU presidency in January and Livni's visit here, where she also met with president-elect Danilo Turk, was to prepare for that.The visit was to present Israel's position on current regional issues to the incoming EU president and to find ways to strengthen the dialogue between Israel and the EU, she said.Rupel also saw the visit as a means to launch a mutual exchange of information between Europe and Israel.

Trade tensions could overshadow EU-Africa summit
Thu 6 Dec 2007, 15:51 GMT

BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Tensions over trade talks could overshadow a summit of European and African leaders this weekend, testing the EU's plans for a new era in its ties with former colonies now wooed by China.Ahead of the Dec. 8-9 summit in Lisbon, the European Union says it sees more trade within Africa and with Europe as the best way to end decades of poverty and political wrangling.What we need is an end to the paternalism, the neocolonialism, the never-ending moralising, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told a news conference on Thursday. We need a real dialogue, now.But disputes between Brussels and some African countries over a string of planned new trade and aid deals have led to accusations that the EU still resorts to old-fashioned bullying in its dealings with the continents.We all agree that we should be allied with Europe...but the method is outdated, Senegal's president Abdoulaye Wade told television station France 24 on Thursday. You can't put us in a strait-jacket, that won't work.

The EU says it needs to clinch new Economic Partnership Agreements with former European colonies in Africa, and other regions of the world, before a World Trade Organisation waiver on current preferential treatment expires on Dec. 31.Some African nations protest they will face too much competition and that they are being strong-armed into signing the deals after the EU refused to seek a new waiver at the WTO.Diplomats also fear the aim of Lisbon summit, the first between the EU and Africa in seven years, in which they hope to forge a new partnership, will be overshadowed by controversy over the participation of Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe.

HIGHER TARIFFS

So far only a handful of mostly small countries in eastern and southern Africa and in the Pacific have agreed deals.Bigger economies such as South Africa and Nigeria have refused to sign. Wade said his country could not face the competition and would not sign.Europe needs to walk the walk on partnership, not just talk the talk, said Oliver Buston of Africa advocay group DATA.The European Commission is being very aggressive, bullying some ministers, said San Bilal of the European Centre for Development Policy Management.For its part, Brussels says Africa has nothing to fear from the EPAs and accuses critics of working against Africa's interests.Michel said the EU had done everything it could to take African interests into account and help boost trade, including by increasing aid to help Africa's transport infrastructure.The EPAs would give the former European colonies immediate duty-free and quota-free access to EU markets, except for rice and sugar. Local tariffs on EU imports would be phased out in periods of up to 25 years.Without the deals, the poorest of the African countries, including Senegal, will continue to benefit from almost tariff-free exports to the EU. But more developed economies like banana exporter Ivory Coast or Namibia would face higher EU import tariffs once the WTO waiver expires.

The EU is Africa's largest commercial partner with trade totalling more than 200 billion euros ($291.1 billion) last year. But China leapt into third place in 2006 with 43 billion euros and has stepped up investments, raising concerns in Europe about Beijing's growing influence in the continent. (for background see EU-AFRICA/TRADE (FACTBOX) or click on [ID:L06708552]) (Editing by William Schomberg and Philippa Fletcher)

Dec 5, 2007 18:14 | Updated Dec 6, 2007 3:03
Second Temple palace uncovered By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

Israeli archeologists have uncovered a monumental Second Temple structure opposite the Temple Mount that was likely Queen Helena's palace, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

Major 2nd Temple structure uncovered

The building was unearthed during a six-month excavation in the Givati parking lot just outside the Old City's Dung Gate, ahead of the planned expansion of the Western Wall parking lot. The site also indicates that the ancient City of David was much larger than previously thought, said archeologist Doron Ben-Ami, who is directing the dig at the site. The palace, which was destroyed by the Romans when they demolished the Second Temple in 70 CE, was dated to the end of the Second Temple period by pottery and stone vessels, as well as an assortment of coins from that time, Ben-Ami said. He said the elaborate edifice, which is an anomaly in the landscape of the lower city at the end of the Second Temple period - otherwise marked with only modest buildings - was probably a palace built by Queen Helena, a wealthy Babylonian aristocrat who converted to Judaism and moved to Jerusalem with her sons. Helena became known for her generosity in helping the city's poor during a famine. She was buried in Jerusalem.

According to the prominent 1st century historian Josephus, Helena's family built lavish buildings in the City of David, which stood out at the time in a largely residential area that was noted for its almost complete absence of public or monumental buildings.
The archeologists carrying out the dig have not yet found any inscription to identify the building they uncovered, but Ben-Ami said there was a high probability that the site was indeed Helena's palace. We need more evidence to decide, but almost everything fits, he said. The well-preserved structure being uncovered in the excavation is an impressive architectural complex that includes massive foundations; walls, some of which are more than five meters tall and are built of stones that weigh hundreds of kilograms; halls that are at least two stories tall; a basement level that was covered with vaults; and remains of polychrome frescoes, water installations and mikvaot. The narrow openings that were discovered in the basement level of the structure were likely used by its inhabitants to flee shortly before the Romans destroyed the palace, Ben-Ami said. The building was destroyed by dismantling the walls of the large structure, causing the massive stone walls and ceilings from the upper stories to collapse onto the basement. The large edifice was covered with remains that date to later periods - Byzantine, Roman and early Islamic. Below it there are remains from the early Hellenistic period and artifacts from the time of the First Temple. It is like an open history book of Jerusalem, Ben-Ami said.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Russia could boost forces after CFE freeze: MP DEC 6,07

Added tension... Russia's suspension of the CFE treaty is on top of the uncertain relations with the US over plans to locate a missile defence shield in easter Europe (File photo). (Reuters)
Russia could build up military forces near its western borders after it suspends its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty next week, a senior member of parliament said.

Russia's plan to freeze compliance with the CFE treaty, which limits conventional weapons levels on either side of the old Iron Curtain, is seen in western capitals as a worrying sign of Russia's more assertive foreign policy.Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the outgoing parliament's foreign relations committee, said Russia would not initiate an arms build-up after December 12, but would retaliate if NATO ramps up its arms levels in eastern Europe.The CFE pact, signed in 1990 as the Cold War came to an end, limits the number of battle tanks, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed and stored between the Atlantic and Russia's Ural mountains.It is possible in the future, no one is ruling this out if things develop in a worst case scenario, that there could be a review of certain levels of armaments, Mr Kosachyov told a news conference.We will follow the actions of our partners very carefully. If these involve a significant increase in weapons levels near our borders, then we will respond in a corresponding way. But not before.Mr Kosachyov, who has ties to the Kremlin and is expected to keep his job in the next parliament, said: I repeat that according to the explanations we received (from the Russian military) this is not some kind of immediate aim.

Western tension

The row over the treaty has caused additional tension between Russia and the west at a time when relations are already fraught over the United States' plans to locate a missile defence shield in eastern Europe in the face of Russia's opposition.President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month that will suspend Russia's participation in the treaty at 00:01 Moscow time on December 12. Moscow is 3 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.Russia says the treaty is an outdated relic of the Cold War that sets tight restrictions on Russian troops levels while giving NATO scope to move its forces into eastern European states that are now members of NATO.It says an amended version of the treaty is not effective because western states have refused to ratify.NATO members say they will not ratify the amended treaty until Russia honours an agreement to withdraw its forces from ex-Soviet Georgia and Moldova. Russia says it has already withdrawn, leaving behind only peacekeeping troops.Anatoly Antonov, the official in charge of security and disarmament at the Russian foreign ministry, said Russia's aim was not to threaten Europe. He said Russia wanted a dialogue which would come up with a more effective treaty.He said NATO's response would be crucial in determining what happens next.

We are announcing a moratorium not in order to build up our military right away, he told the same news conference. We are saying that in the future everything will depend on an appropriate reaction from our partners.