Putin expands defense plan

Russia's president goes far beyond an earlier counterproposal to a U.S. missile shield.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 3, 2007

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an expanded counterproposal to U.S. missile defense plans on Monday, challenging President Bush to build a regional European missile shield that could include a new radar facility on Russian soil.

Putin's proposal went far beyond the cooperation he first suggested in Germany last month and surprised Bush as the two leaders wrapped up two days of informal meetings at the president's family compound in Kennebunkport. Bush welcomed the plan, and his advisers said Putin's suggestions convinced them that he is serious about working together, not just posturing, as they initially suspected.

But the two sides remained at odds over the core issue: whether Bush would deploy antimissile facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic over the objections of Putin, who sees them as a threat to Russian security.

"The deck has been dealt, and we are here to play, " Putin said at Bush's side. "And I would very much hope that we are playing one and the same game."

The discussion of missile defense dominated a visit intended to repair the deepening fractures in the U.S.-Russian relationship. Putin in recent months has denounced U.S. antimissile plans as the start of a new arms race, threatened to withdraw from a conventional-forces treaty and implicitly compared Bush's international policies to those of the Third Reich.

Bush hoped to use the relaxed atmosphere in Maine to re-establish a bond frayed since he first met Putin in 2001. After a speedboat outing with Bush's father, in which Putin caught the only fish, the two presidents emerged from the estate to address reporters and reaffirm their friendship. Playing to wounded Russian pride, Bush hailed the "amazing transformation" in Russia since Putin took office 71/2 years ago.

"Is it perfect from the eyes of Americans? Not necessarily, " he said. "Is the change real? Absolutely. And it's in our interests, in the U.S. interests, to have good, solid relations with Russia."

Bush reiterated that he considers Putin a friend.

The two presidents avoided the announcements and signings that typify a formal summit, but U.S. officials later said that today in Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement negotiated over the last year as well as a declaration on fighting nuclear proliferation. They will also release a joint statement on the future of nuclear arms after the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 2009.

Bush and Putin discussed other issues that have challenged the relationship, including how to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear program and whether the Serbian province of Kosovo should be granted independence.

Putin's missile defense proposal caught Bush and his advisers off guard. Last month Putin suggested using a Soviet-era radar facility in Azerbaijan as an alternative to building a new one in the Czech Republic. U.S. officials indicated the Russian-run facility is too antiquated to target incoming missiles.

Putin addressed that concern during the two-day meeting, saying that if the radar in Azerbaijan is not adequate, Russia will modernize it. And if that is not feasible, he said, Russia will build a modern radar facility in southern Russia. He also proposed putting the system under the auspices of the NATO-Russia Council to make it a European antimissile shield and advocated setting up joint early-warning centers in Moscow and Brussels.

[Last modified July 2, 2007, 23:23:43]