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Putin backs out of arms pact over missile feud

Angered by U.S. plans in Eastern Europe, he announces a suspension.

By WASHINGTON POST
Published April 27, 2007

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he was suspending Russia's obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, ratcheting up a tense standoff with the NATO alliance over U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

The treaty dates from the last days of the Cold War and limits the deployment of conventional arms, including tanks and other heavy weapons, on either side of the old Iron Curtain. Putin linked his decision, which he said could lead to full withdrawal from the treaty, to the U.S. missile plan.

NATO countries are "building up military bases on our borders and, more than that, they are also planning to station elements of antimissile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic," said Putin, delivering his annual state of the nation address to both houses of parliament, the Cabinet and regional leaders. "In this connection, I consider it expedient to declare a moratorium on Russia's implementation of this treaty."

Western governments have contended for years that Russia has not fully complied with the treaty and amendments to it, due to force levels it keeps in the Chechnya region and the continuing presence of its troops in the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Moldova. The missile defense plan has raised disputes over the treaty to a new level of intensity.

The Kremlin has expressed deep hostility toward the American system despite assurances by the Bush administration that the planned 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and radar station in the Czech Republic would pose no threat to Russia.

U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who visited Moscow this week have said the system is small and directed against potential threats from Iran, and could be easily overwhelmed by Russia's strategic missile forces.

Russia's announcement appeared to surprise NATO officials, who are gathering in Oslo for a meeting with their Russian counterparts. They said they would be discussing Putin's remarks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"I expect Foreign Minister Lavrov to explain the words of his president," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in Oslo. "NATO allies attach great importance to the CFE treaty."

U.S. officials appear increasingly tired of what they depict as willful distortion of the missile system's aims. "The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Fast Facts:

On other topics

- President Vladimir Putin told Russians more clearly than ever Thursday that he will step down when his second term ends next spring, but left his choice of a successor tantalizingly unclear. "It is premature for me to declare a political will" on a successor, he said.

- Putin rejected claims that he has retreated from democracy, and warned against foreign interference in the political process. "There is a growth in the flow of money from abroad for direct interference in our internal affairs." He did not name any countries, but Russian officials have complained about democracy-building projects funded by Western governments.

Associated Press

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 01:32:15]