Putin warns he will point missiles at Europe
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sunday June 3, 8:10 PM Reuters
*Putin warns he will point missiles at Europe*
By Robin Pomeroy
ROME (Reuters) - Russia will once again aim its missiles at targets in
Europe if U.S. plans to build a missile defence shield near Russia's
borders go ahead, President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Sunday.
In an interview reported in Italy's Corriere della Sera, Putin
acknowledged Russia's response risked restarting an arms race but he
said Moscow would not be responsible for the consequences because
Washington had started it.
Putin made the tough statement days before a Group of Eight summit in
Germany on June 6 where, among other world leaders, he will come face to
face with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Russia has not expressly targeted its missiles at Europe since the end
of the Cold War but, asked if it would do this again if the U.S. missile
shield plant went ahead, Putin said: "Yes, naturally."
"If the American nuclear capability widens across European territory, we
will have to give ourselves new targets in Europe," Italy's leading
daily quoted Putin as saying.
Russia's combative response to the U.S. missile shield has prompted
comparisons with the Cold War. Putin has directed angry rhetoric at the
White House, last week calling U.S. policy "imperialist".
But Russia has gone further, test-launching a new ballistic missile in a
move it tied to the U.S. missile plans, and suspending its compliance
with a treaty limiting the deployment of conventional forces near
Russia's western borders.
POLITICAL GESTURE
Putin's warning that missiles might once again be pointed at European
targets carries a clear political message but it has few practical
implications.
Even after the Cold War ended, Russia retained the capability of hitting
European and U.S. targets. Training ballistic missiles on a particular
target is a fairly simple technical task that can be done in a matter of
minutes.
The Corriere della Sera report was based on an interview Putin gave on
Friday to selected media from G8 countries to set out Russia's position
before the summit.
Russia's response to the U.S. missile moves would be to develop "more
effective offensive systems", the Italian newspaper quoted Putin as saying.
"We know that that risks restarting an arms race, for which we will not
be responsible. It was not us who started altering the strategic
balance, it was not us who unilaterally abandoned the ABM
(anti-ballistic missile) treaty."
The United States pulled out of the 1972 ABM treaty in 2002 so it could
begin deploying its missile defence shield.
Washington wants to locate elements of its planned shield -- including a
radar station and interceptor missiles -- in Poland and the Czech Republic.
It says the shield is not a threat to Russia but is designed to protect
against possible missile attacks from what it calls "rogue states" such
as Iran and North Korea.
Putin said that was not credible. "There are no Iranian missiles with
the necessary range," he said. "So it becomes obvious that this
innovation is about us Russians."