Russian Ire at U.S. Missile Plan Seems to Ease After Talks

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

MOSCOW — In the wake of high-level talks between the United States and Russia, the Kremlin appears to be expressing somewhat less hostility toward the Bush administration’s plan for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

In an interview published Thursday in the newspaper Izvestia, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said the American side had presented proposals that could assuage some Russian concerns. The proposals were offered during a visit this week to Moscow by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

The exact details of the proposals have not been disclosed by either side. President Vladimir V. Putin said at the talks that a letter from President Bush containing the proposals was “a very serious document.” Mr. Putin seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone than he had at earlier such meetings.

Still, the two countries are not close to an agreement on the missile defense system, and the White House has made clear that it will press ahead no matter what.

In the Izvestia interview, Mr. Lavrov said the Americans had promised that the Russians could monitor the system in Eastern Europe.

“The American side is prepared to offer us a whole series of confidence-building measures so we can be convinced that the system does not work against us,” Mr. Lavrov said. “The idea of these measures boils down to the following: we will have an opportunity to watch what the radar is doing and what the real condition is of the base for interceptor missiles, using both human and technical means.”

The Bush administration wants to put tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, both intended to counter missile attacks from Iran. Mr. Putin has opposed the plan, saying that it could threaten Russia. The Kremlin also appears to be angry because the system would be in former Soviet satellites that are now part of NATO.

The White House has repeatedly emphasized that the system was not intended to be used against Russia, but the Kremlin has not relented.

On Thursday, Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates told Mr. Bush that their meetings in Moscow had been “good and constructive,” said Dana M. Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

In an interview on Wednesday with Radio Farda, an American-financed Persian-language station, Mr. Bush said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations.

“I don’t know whether we can find common ground,” he said. “But we are trying to find common ground, and that’s what’s — that’s the first step, is to make the attempt.”

Pentagon chief talks tough on Russia

By Peter Spiegel
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

March 17, 2008

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Sunday expressed frustration with Russian leaders about the pace of talks over a new U.S. missile defense site in Eastern Europe.

Gates, who will be joined in Moscow by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for two days of talks with Russian leaders starting today, said the Bush administration in October had offered a "very forward-leaning" proposal that would allow Russia to participate directly in the controversial new system.

"At some point, the Russians are going to have to decide whether they want to be true partners, which we're offering, or whether this is just all a sham game on their part to stall the whole deal," Gates told reporters aboard his plane en route to Moscow.

Gates' remarks were among the most pointed by a senior administration official about the stalled bilateral talks and reflected a growing frustration that the Kremlin may be looking to wait out the current administration in Washington, betting that Poland and the Czech Republic will not agree to allow the United States to begin construction on the sites without Russian acquiescence.

The missile defense system has become among the thorniest issues between Moscow and Washington, with senior Russian officials accusing the Bush administration of building the system to counter Russian ballistic missiles.

The Bush administration has vehemently denied the accusations, insisting the system is aimed at shooting down Iranian long-range missiles that could reach NATO allies in Western Europe and the U.S. mainland sometime in the next decade.

peter.spiegel@latimes.com

U.S.-Poland to move ahead on missile defense

By Tabassum Zakaria and Chris Borowski

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush and Poland's president on Monday emphasized the need to build a missile defense system in Europe that has strained relations with Russia.

"There's no better symbol of our desire to work for peace and security than working on a missile defense system," Bush said with Polish President Lech Kaczynski at his side in the Oval Office.

The missile-defense system would provide security for Europe from countries where "leaders don't particularly care for our way of life and, or, are in the process of trying to develop serious weapons of mass destruction," Bush said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin late last week suspended Moscow's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty from mid-December. The move was widely seen as an effort to raise pressure over U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

NATO on Monday expressed concerned at Russia's decision to suspend participation in the treaty, which covers the deployment of armed forces in post-Cold War Europe.

Kaczynski is one of Moscow's most outspoken critics and a key U.S. ally in Europe. He said he wanted to emphasize the "defensive" nature of the proposed missile shield and its intended use in protecting against countries that might have weapons of mass destruction.

"I do hope the whole project will be completed successfully," Kaczynski said through a translator.

The White House said it would keep working with Russia on missile defense.

Bush and Putin met earlier this month at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine in an attempt to improve ties that have become frayed partly over the missile shield.

Putin made a new counter-proposal that expanded on his previous offer to use a radar system in Azerbaijan as an alternative to the U.S. missile-shield proposal.

He suggested in Maine incorporating a radar system in southern Russia and bringing more European countries into the decision-making through the Russia-NATO Council.

"The comments that the Russian president made up in Kennebunkport offered a certain amount of promise for moving forward. We continue to have discussions with them on it," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Washington wants to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect against attacks from what it calls "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

Bush last month visited both Poland and the Czech Republic, which has agreed to host the radar site on its territory. Poland has held out, hoping to negotiate related military contracts or other concessions.

Polish and U.S. negotiators held a round of talks in late June in Washington and will continue the talks later this summer.

Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, who represents Poland in the talks, expects a deal in September or October.

Senate Panel Faults Missile Defense Plan

Location in Eastern Europe Is Criticized

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 5, 2007; A03

Democrats in Congress are building a legislative roadblock to the Bush administration's plan to place elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Senate is expected to join the House next week in reducing funds in the fiscal 2008 Defense Authorization Bill for construction of 10 interceptor missile sites in Poland and for deployment of an X-band radar in the Czech Republic. The House, in passing its version of the legislation last month, cut $40 million from the bill, which would have funded preparation of the Polish sites next year. The move prevents the White House from proceeding unless President Bush vetoes the measure.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, justifying its decision to delay funding for the European antimissile sites, emphasized not only foreign policy concerns but also technical issues surrounding the interceptor missiles.

As illustrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements last weekend during his visit with Bush in Maine, Russia remains opposed to the U.S. deployment plans. In its report on the authorization bill, the Senate committee cited Moscow's opposition and said any funding should await completion of talks between the two governments.

The panel also noted that moving ahead without NATO participation in a system that is in part intended to protect Europe from Iranian missiles would cost the United States an estimated $4 billion through fiscal 2013. "NATO, which has not yet decided to pursue missile defense of its territory, has not endorsed or rejected the proposed deployment," the panel's report added.

Although preliminary talks have begun with Polish and Czech leaders, the committee said that "these negotiations may not be concluded before the end of this year, and then would have to be ratified by the parliaments in each nation." At the same time, residents of the areas where U.S. facilities would be located have voiced overwhelming objections in local referendums.

Tomas Klvana, the Czech special envoy for missile defense, recently told reporters in Washington that some of the opposition has been generated by anti-Americanism and by concerns about foreign soldiers in the country. "We have some catching up to do," Klvana said to the group, brought together by the German Marshall Fund. "We have given a free ride to the people opposed."

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has told the Senate panel that construction and deployment could not begin until the two countries ratify agreements with the United States, estimating that such actions "would not take place before 2009," according to the report. Polish officials, hearing Russian objections to the U.S. system so near their border, have also raised questions about the additional U.S. military support that would come with placement of the interceptors on their soil.

The Senate panel also noted that the interceptor to be placed in Poland "has not yet been developed or tested, and is not currently planned to be flight-tested until 2010." Therefore, the committee concluded, "it could be several years before it is known if the interceptor will work in an operationally effective manner."

The committee also raised in its report the timing of a potential Iranian threat.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, recently testified before the panel that U.S. intelligence misjudged North Korea's ability to launch a long-range missile in 1998. "Right now, the experts are saying that Iran will not have an ICBM until the 2010-2015 time frame," Obering said. "But it's going to take us at least that long, until 2011 or 2012, to get a first capability in the ground."

Pushing to move ahead rapidly with a missile defense system, he added: "What we're trying to do is stay ahead of what we believe to be an emerging threat, because we can't wait until they actually demonstrate it and then say, 'Now let's go find a way to counter it.' "

The Senate committee, according to its report, apparently did not embrace that argument. "There is uncertainty about whether Iran will have such long-range missiles, or nuclear warheads that could work on such missiles, by 2015," it said.

Putin Offers to Expand Plan for Missile Defense

By JIM RUTENBERG

KENNEBUNKPORT, Me., July 2 — Announcing he was “here to play,” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said today that he was ready to expand his proposal for a shared missile defense system with the United States during meetings with President Bush here, a step that he said would take American-Russian relations to a new level of cooperation.

But the system would be based almost entirely in the former Soviet Union, and Mr. Putin’s proposal represented a continued rejection of an American plan to base it in the Czech Republic and Poland.

And the proposal seemed likely to lead to still more haggling over a joint missile defense plan after a set of meetings at the Bush family compound here that had been portrayed as an attempt to smooth over differences that both sides consider to be the most daunting since the cold war ended.

“We support the idea of consultations on missile defense and believe that the number of participants should be expanded to include the European states,” Mr. Putin said during a brief news conference here today. “This should be done within Russia-NATO council.”

Mr. Putin, who had proposed only weeks ago that the United States place its antimissile system in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, said he did not believe it was necessary to install it in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Mr. Bush, who smiled through much of the news conference, described in his own words the talk of “a regional approach to missile defense,” then added, “I’m in strong agreement with that concept.”

But Mr. Putin’s proposal seemed to catch the Americans by surprise to some degree, although Mr. Bush made it clear that he still intended to pursue plans for missile radar instillations in the Czech Republic and Poland. “I think the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system,” he said.

The two met in this serene, seaside setting with the intention of smoothing over the deep wrinkles that have developed in their relationship during the past six years. But they approached reporters with an air of grimness that only broke when they discussed their morning fishing trip, during which Mr. Putin caught a fish. (Mr. Bush and his father caught none during three outings this weekend.)

Mr. Putin’s new suggestions for the missile defense system came in spite of Russian officials’ statements — offered as late as 10 p.m. Sunday — that he would offer no new proposals this weekend.

It was unclear where exactly the two leaders’ discussions left the issue. The United States has been negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over its plans to place missile defense bases in those countries, but American officials were taken aback by the ferocity of Russian opposition to those plans. That opposition was one the many factors that led to the Kennebunkport meeting.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin today also emphasized their common concerns about the Iranian nuclear program.

“We discussed a variety of ways to continue sending a joint message,” Mr. Bush said.

“When Russia and the United States speak along the same lines, it tends to have an effect, and therefore I appreciate the Russians’ attitude in the United Nations,” he said. “We’re close on recognizing that we got to work together to send a common message.”

Mr. Putin predicted that “we will continue to be successful” as the United Nations Security Council seeks ways to pressure the government in Tehran to halt a uranium enrichment program that Iranian leaders insist is peaceful but which other nations fear could lead to Iran’s developing nuclear weapons.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin left unclear whether they had agreed on any new approach toward Iran — with which Russia has major economic relations — or simply had found a way to imply a more comfortable unity.

Security Council members are weighing an American proposal for sanctions against Iran if it continues to enrich uranium. The United States and Russia, along with the other permanent members of the Security Council, have said they will delay those sanctions if Iran stops its work as they attempt to revive negotiations over the nuclear program.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin made their comments came toward the end of a two-day visit in Kennebunkport. It was the first time the current president had invited a head of state to the family estate here. The meeting was crafted to give Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin the most comfortable and relaxed possible setting to deal with a series of issues dividing the two powers, from Iran to the Middle East and Kosovo.

Earlier today, with former President George H.W. Bush at the wheel, the two leaders took a 90-minute spin in a powerful speedboat near the shoreline around the oceanfront estate.

As they spoke, the current President Bush in particular looked at ease, frequently smiling. He wore a striped long-sleeve blue shirt open at the collar, while Mr. Putin sported a white short-sleeve shirt, also open at the collar.

“We had a good, casual discussion,” Mr. Bush said. “There’ve been times we agreed on issues and times we haven’t agreed.” But he asserted that Mr. Putin had been “consistent, transparent, honest” and open to discussing both opportunities and problems.

Mr. Bush said the men had discussed a wide range of issues in what had been a “very long, strategic dialogue.”

Mr. Putin said he was “pleased to note that we are seeking the points of coincidence in our positions and very frequently we did find them.”

He thanked Mr. Bush for “a very nice fishing party this morning.”

But the smiles and warm words stood in uneasy juxtaposition with months of uncommonly chilly rhetoric from the Russian president and some of his aides — climaxing with Russian warnings that if the United States proceeded to build the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia might “target” those American allies.

Starting early this year, Mr. Putin has assailed American “unilateralism,” said an “ideology of confrontation and extremism” was emerging global threats, and even — though the Kremlin later denied it — seemed to compare the United States to the Third Reich and to some of the darker days of Stalinism.

Diplomatic analysts believe such language is not unconnected to the approach of parliamentary elections in Russia in December and the nation’s presidential elections three months later.

Brian Knowlton contributed reporting from Washington.