Russia issues new missile defence threat
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russia issues new missile defence threat
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Luke Harding in Moscow
Wednesday July 4, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Russia warned today that it would position its rockets close to the
Polish border and point missiles at US bases in Europe if Washington
rebuffed its latest offer of cooperation on missile defence.
Russia's hawkish first deputy prime minister, Sergei Ivanov, made it
clear that Moscow would be forced "to respond" if the Bush
administration snubbed Vladimir Putin's offer to work together on
missile defence using a Soviet-era radar base.
"If our proposal is not accepted we will take adequate measures. An
asymmetrical and effective response will be found," he said. This
response would include basing "new rocket forces in the European part of
Russia" in the enclave of Kaliningrad, he said. The Russian missiles
would be able to "parry the threats that will arise from the [US]
missile defence system," he added.
The Kremlin's latest warning comes after two days of meetings between Mr
Putin and George Bush at the US president's seaside family retreat in
Kennebunkport, Maine. Ahead of the talks the Pentagon had incensed Mr
Putin by announcing plans to place elements of its missile defence
shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Mr Putin has derided US claims
that the system is aimed at dealing with rogue missiles fired by Iran
and North Korea, saying it is actually aimed at Russia.
Last month Mr Putin suggested the US scrap its existing plans and
instead share a Soviet-era radar station in Azerbaijan. During talks
this week he went further - offering to work with the US administration
over missile defence within the framework of the Nato-Russia Council,
and promising use of another early-warning system in southern Russia.
Mr Bush's answer, however, was decidedly lukewarm. Although the
president praised Mr Putin's offer as "innovative and strategic", he
made it clear that Washington was likely to go ahead anyway with its
missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. "As I told Vladimir, I
think that the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of
the system," Mr Bush said.
Most experts now believe that Russia will take active military
countermeasures. They include targeting the US's new defence bases in
central Europe with Iskandar missiles based in Kaliningrad. Russia will
also upgrade its nuclear missile arsenal, put more missiles on mobile
launchers and move its fleet of nuclear submarines to the north pole,
experts predict.
Mr Putin - who is in Guatemala to hear the fate of Russia's bid to host
the 2014 Winter Olympics - struck a conciliatory note today, describing
US-Russian relations as "mutually satisfactory".
"I am sure that, despite known disagreements, which are unavoidable in
an open and honest dialogue, the policy of comprehensive development of
bilateral ties in all areas will continue," he said.
Mr Ivanov is, like his boss, a former KGB agent and he is a strong
candidate to succeed Mr Putin as president next year. He said that if
the Bush administration accepted Mr Putin's offer there would be no
point in talking about a "new cold war".
"You, journalists, will forget the term 'cold war' after that. It will
just disappear. Ground for using it will just cease to exist," Mr Ivanov
said at a news conference in Tashkent.