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U.S. cajoles Russia on nuclear plan
The U.S. wants missile defense in Europe.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 24, 2007
MOSCOW - Defense Secretary Robert Gates failed Monday to coax Russia from its opposition to U.S. missile defense bases in Europe, but he suggested Moscow may be more flexible than it seems. Gates, on his first visit to the Russian capital since 1992 when he was CIA director, made the opening bid in a series of high-level Bush administration diplomatic moves aimed at softening Russia's view on missile defense. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will follow later this week at talks in Norway, and Gates said Russian and U.S. technical experts would confer in the weeks ahead. After a full day of meetings, including a session with President Vladimir Putin, he sounded modestly optimistic and said talks would continue. "I felt like we made some headway," he said. "I think there are some misunderstandings" on the Russians' part, Gates said, about some of the technical aspects of the missile defense system that the Pentagon wants to place in eastern Europe. The intent is to give a degree of protection to Europe - including parts of Russia - from missiles fired from Iran. Washington is engaged in talks with Poland about building a missile defense base there to house 10 interceptor rockets, and with the Czech Republic about hosting a missile tracking radar. "Those are the kinds of things that we can clarify," Gates said. Washington has repeatedly insisted that an antimissile system in Europe would not threaten the viability of Russia's offensive nuclear missile arsenal and would offer it some protection from an Iranian attack. The Russians not only question the seriousness of the threat from long-range missiles, which U.S. officials say is real and growing, but also the feasibility of U.S. antimissile technology as a response to any such threat. The Bush administration sees the extension of its existing missile defense system to Europe as crucial. President Bush also spoke with Putin on Monday by telephone about missile defense and other issues, the White House said. The Kremlin said the call was initiated by the White House and included international political problems, cooperation on humanitarian issues and a planned meeting between the two leaders in June in Germany.
[Last modified April 24, 2007, 01:14:50]
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