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Russia Threatens Missile Deployment But US Shrugs Off Threat As Not Constructive
Moscow (AFP) Jul 04, 2007 Russia issued a veiled threat on Wednesday to deploy rockets in its Kaliningrad region bordering the European Union if the United States built a missile defence shield in central Europe. Moscow and Washington are locked in a standoff over the US plans for a radar station in the Czech Republic and interceptor rockets in Poland. Russia says the plans threaten its security. The threat to put missiles in Kaliningrad was made by the influential First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov only two days after President Vladimir Putin again raised the missile shield dispute with US President George W. Bush. Putin has suggested to Bush that the United States use a Russian-controlled radar in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, near the Iranian border, instead of having a shield in central Europe. Putin has also offered the use of another radar under construction at Armavir in southern Russia. "If our offers are accepted, Russia will not consider it necessary to deploy new rocket units in the European part of the country, including Kaliningrad, to counter the threat" from the United States, Ivanov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Ivanov, who was on a visit to Uzbekistan, said Russia had "found an asymmetrical and effective response" to the US project for a European shield. "We know what we're doing.... If our proposals are not accepted, we will take adequate measures," Ivanov said. Washington insists that its proposed missile shield is intended to guard against possible attack from "rogue states" such as Iran. Moscow believes the systems are directed against Russia. On Friday Ivanov stressed Russia's readiness to pool information with the United States gained from its radar facilities and said Moscow would be ready to update the radar in Azerbaijan if necessary. "Today there is no better station for locating rockets, including cruise missiles.... If a question arises about modernising the station, we will do it," he said. Ivanov's comments suggested that tensions remain high despite efforts to calm the atmosphere at a meeting between Putin and Bush in Kennebunkport, Maine this week. Putin has already suggested that Russia could point its missiles at European targets if the US plans go ahead. Kaliningrad, which Russia won at the end of World War II, lies on the Baltic Sea separated from the rest of Russia by EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The territory gives Russia extra influence in the Baltic region, being home to the navy's Baltic Fleet, although Russia has officially declared it a nuclear-free zone, a press official at the defence ministry confirmed to AFP. Analysts in Moscow said that Russia currently lacks missiles suitable for firing from Kaliningrad to hit Poland. Moscow scrapped its medium-range arsenal under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Its planned Iskander short-range missile has become bogged down due to manufacturing problems, said Alexander Konovalov of the Institute for Strategic Assessments. Kaliningrad in any case would be an unsuitable site for such missiles as its location makes it vulnerable, he said. "I'm extremely sceptical that Russia is ready to produce the Iskander system quickly. Not all components of the system are ready to be produced seriously," Konovalov said. "It would be stupid to deploy them in this easily accessible enclave." Independent defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer agreed. "It's a threat aimed at the Polish people" designed to encourage them to protest against the US plans. "It's an empty threat," he said.
related report "While we have not bridged what are obvious differences on the issue of missile defense, I think that there's a very constructive conversation that's going on," McCormack told reporters. Bush's chief spokesman, Tony Snow, also acknowledged Russo-US tensions on the issue but said Bush and Putin had laid out a way forward during their "lobster summit" at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. "The clear message is that there are going to be a lot of technical issues to work out and we're going to work on them," said Snow. "There would be some political issues involved, as well." Moscow and Washington are locked in a standoff over the US plans for a radar station in the Czech Republic and interceptor rockets in Poland, with Russia saying the plans threaten its security. Putin has suggested to Bush that the United States use a Russian-controlled radar in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, near the Iranian border, instead of having a shield in central Europe. Putin has also offered the use of another radar under construction at Armavir in southern Russia. "If our offers are accepted, Russia will not consider it necessary to deploy new rocket units in the European part of the country, including Kaliningrad, to counter the threat" from the United States, Ivanov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Asked about that warning, Snow said that "the two presidents made pretty clear their view of things" during their public appearance after talks at the oceanside compound of Bush's parents. "The president also made it clear that he thought Eastern European nations ought to be an important part of these conversations, including the Czechs and the Poles; the Russians have their own ideas about where they'd like to be putting satellite sites and so on," said Snow. "And those are going to continue to be matters of discussion. So we're continuing to work the issue," he said. "At the end of those meetings, you had President Putin talking in terms of a discussion on a regional architecture for dealing with missile defense, and also acknowledging the fact that there is a threat. So that's positive," said McCormack. A four-way meeting between defense and foreign affairs ministers on both sides is expected in September or October, said McCormack.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Israel Cannot Afford To Confront Iran Says Deputy Minister
Jerusalem (AFP) Jul 03, 2007Israel's armed forces lack sufficient funds to confront the perceived threat posed by arch foe Iran's nuclear ambitions, an outgoing deputy cabinet minister charged on Monday. "We need more funds than we receive currently to deal with this threat," outgoing deputy defence minister Ephraim Sneh told public radio. "If the (international economic) sanctions (against Iran) were adopted more firmly and more quickly, we may not have needed to talk about other options." |
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