Mr. Putin, Put Down That ICBM

NATO Voices `Grave Concern' Over Russian Threat to Arms Accord
By James G. Neuger
April 26 (Bloomberg) -- NATO voiced ``grave concern'' over Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to pull out of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, as the strategic confrontation between the two former enemies escalated.
Putin stopped abiding by a 1990 conventional arms pact and said Russia might abandon it altogether, accusing the U.S. of upsetting Europe's strategic balance by widening its military presence on former Soviet territory.
``That message was met by concern, grave concern, disappointment and regret,'' North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a press conference in Oslo after a meeting of alliance foreign ministers.
Russia is striking back against U.S. plans for missile- defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, warning that President George W. Bush is triggering a new arms race that would destabilize Europe.
The U.S. defended the missile-defense plans again today, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying the system is designed to guard against attacks from countries like Iran and would have too little firepower to menace Russia.
Poland would be the site for 10 missile interceptors, and an early-warning radar system would be located in the Czech Republic. The U.S. is negotiating with both countries over basing rights for the system, due to be fully operational by 2013.
``The Russians have thousands of weapons,'' Rice told a press conference in Oslo. ``The idea that you can somehow stop Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesn't make sense.''
`Actions,' Not Words
Russia will stop abiding by the 1990 arms-control agreement, known as the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and may withdraw from it altogether, Putin said in his annual state of the nation address in Moscow.
``It is finally time for our partners to contribute to reducing arms in actions and not words,'' Putin said. Putin blamed NATO for not ratifying a 1999 update to the treaty.
NATO says it won't ratify as long as Russia maintains a military presence in Georgia and Moldova. The treaty sets limits on tanks, artillery pieces, combat vehicles, combat aircraft and helicopters.
``These are treaty obligations, and everyone is expected to live up to treaty obligations,'' Rice said.
Russian Message
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov carried Putin's message to the NATO meeting in Oslo, accusing the Western alliance of ``continuing the search for an enemy'' in the post- Cold War era.
``We cannot be unconcerned by the fact that NATO military infrastructure is creeping up to our borders,'' Lavrov said. The U.S. would ``radically change the security situation in Europe.''
Russia has balked at a U.S. offer for wide-ranging cooperation on missile defense, which would include the conduct of joint research, the sharing of radar imagery and the staging of joint exercises.
Putin has tried since February to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies in NATO over the American plan for missile-defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
``I'm not sure the violent protests coming from Russia are actually only due to the missile-defense system,'' Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said. ``They have excellent knowledge of missile defense, so they know it is not a danger to them. They have political aims and are using this as a tool.''
Czech Opposition
American overtures to Russia are partly intended to overcome opposition to the missile-defense program in Europe. The proportion of Czechs opposed to the radar site rose to 68 percent in April from 61 percent in February, according to a CVVM survey released this week.
NATO allies are also questioning how the U.S. will defend the southern flanks of the alliance -- Turkey plus parts of Greece and Bulgaria -- that the planned long-range system would leave exposed to a shorter-range Iranian attack.
NATO is working on a smaller-scale system to protect troops in the field against enemy missiles. Alliance officials last week discussed using that system to plug any holes in the American coverage.