WORLD / America
Putin suggests new missile shield site
(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-08 00:45
Russian President Vladimir Putin, bitterly opposed to a U.S. missile
shield in Eastern Europe, told President Bush on Thursday that Moscow
would drop its objections if the system were installed in Azerbaijan.
U.S. President George W. Bush (L) shakes hands with President of Russia
Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm June 7, 2007. U.S.
President George W. Bush sought to calm tensions with Moscow on Thursday
ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Group of
Eight (G8) summit in Germany. [REUTERS]
Putin told Bush he would not seek to retarget Russian missiles on Europe
if the United States agreed to put the radar-based system in Azerbaijan,
a former Soviet republic bordering the Caspian Sea.
Bush's reaction to Putin's idea was: "Interesting proposal -- let's let
our experts have a look at it," according to White House National
Security Adviser Steve Hadley. Hadley was in their hourlong meeting on
the sidelines of a summit of the world's eight major industrialized
democracies -- the leaders' first since the dispute erupted earlier this
year.
Bush has proposed basing the radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor
rockets in Poland, rousing Moscow's suspicions that a system built in its
backyard had to be aimed at it. The United States insisted the shield was
aimed at any potential nuclear threat from Iran, not Russia, but Moscow
declared the explanation "insufficient" as recently as Wednesday night.
With the dispute flaring in recent days into Cold War-style rhetoric and
threats from Moscow, Putin's proposal to put the system in Azerbaijan
came as a surprise.
U.S. officials were clearly scrambling to react afterward, huddling
hurriedly before trying to explain it to the press.
"I think President Putin wanted to de-escalate the tensions a little bit
on this issue, and I think it was a useful thing that he did," Hadley
told a few reporters.
Putin said the existing radar station, built during Soviet times, is
rented by Russia under a continuing agreement between Russia and
Azerbaijan.
He argued the benefits of his suggested substitute: An Azerbaijan-based
system would cover all of Europe rather than just part of it, and
destroyed missile debris would fall in the ocean rather than on land.
Appearing together before reporters, Bush spoke before Putin and did not
mention the alternative presented by his Russian counterpart, saying only
that Putin "made some interesting suggestions."
The two leaders agreed to discuss the issue further during two days of
talks beginning July 1 in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the Bush family's
oceanfront compound. Lower-level officials in both governments also plan
to explore it.
"This will be a serious set of strategic discussions," Bush said. "This
is a serious issue, and we want to make sure that we all understand each
other's positions very clearly."
The Russian leader said the proposed relocation would alleviate Russia's
concerns about a European missile shield. "This will make it unnecessary
for us to place our offensive complexes along the border with Europe,"
Putin said.
He laid out several other conditions, as well:
* Taking Russia's concerns into account.
* Giving all sides "equal access" to the system.
* Making the development of the system transparent.
"Then we will have no problem," the Russian leader said.
He also warned the United States not to proceed with building the system
as planned while negotiations with Moscow take place.
"We hope these consultations will not serve as cover for some unilateral
action," Putin said.
Hadley did not rule out the possibility that the end result would be some
mix of the Russian and the U.S. proposals.
"We asked the Russians to cooperate with us on missile defense, and I
think what we got is a willingness to do so," Hadley said after the
Bush-Putin meeting.
U.S. Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner said he didn't known
whether Putin's proposal would work. "I don't know if there have been any
studies done that would consider the geometry on places like Azerbaijan,"
he said.
The agency looked at all of Europe and "the interceptor and radar sites
that met our requirements were Poland and the Czech Republic," Lehner
said. The plan for two countries rather than one was considered more
effective because it gives more time to track the missile, he said.
Both sides portrayed Putin's idea -- far from becoming a reality -- as
proof that the U.S.-Russia relationship has not fallen so far as people
have speculated amid the dispute. The leaders said they agreed Iran is
the threat to focus on, not each other.
"We have an understanding about common threats, but we have differences,"
Putin said.
He declared himself "satisfied with the spirit of openness" he
encountered in Bush. The U.S. president said they had demonstrated they
share "the desire to work together to allay people's fears."
The two leaders, at loggerheads for weeks ahead of the much-anticipated
meeting, appeared friendly as they spoke on the grounds of the upscale
resort here where the summit is being held. They stood so close they
often touched.
"I'd like to confirm what the president of the United States has said --
except for one thing: I've not said that friends do not act in this way,"
Putin said, to which both laughed heartily and jostled each other.
There are many items on the disagreement list between Washington and
Moscow.
Russia is unhappy about U.S. support for independence for the breakaway
Serbian province of Kosovo. It bristles at what it sees as U.S. meddling
in its affairs and its traditional sphere of influence.
Washington, meanwhile, is getting fed up with Putin for overseeing what
the U.S. perceives as an era of muzzled dissent and centralized power.
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