Missile shield tensions build in Europe as Russia freezes treaty
NORWAY: A dispute over US plans to station anti-missile bases in
eastern Europe escalated as Russia froze a key defence treaty in a move
that raised “grave concern” among NATO allies.
In heated NATO talks in Oslo, Norway, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov warned that Russia was to halt its application of the
Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty and could even pull out if
the allies did not endorse it.
“It means that we will halt the compliance of our obligations under
the treaty,” he told reporters, after launching what was described by a
US official as a 20-minute “diatribe” against NATO.
His remarks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a state
of the nation address, called for the freeze in response to the US
missile shield plans.
The CFE treaty was signed in 1990 in Paris by the countries of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the former Warsaw Pact to
limit troop and hardware deployments in Europe.
It was adapted in Istanbul in 1999 following the collapse of the
Warsaw Pact, in order to limit deployments on a country-by-country
basis.
NATO states have refused to ratify the new pact on the grounds that
Moscow has failed to honour commitments made in Istanbul to withdraw
Russian forces from the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Moldova.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Russia’s involvement
in the CFE was a treaty obligation “and everyone is expected to live up
to treaty obligations.”
She had earlier complained that Russia was applying Cold War logic to
the missile defence issue, and said any suggestion the system was
directed at Moscow was “ludicrous”.
In Washington, a White House official who refused to be named said:
“We regret President Putin’s comments today on the CFE Treaty which
inaccurately portray US and NATO adherence to the treaty.”
Lavrov insisted that “the balance has been impaired for a long time
and seriously in favour of NATO. The CFE was a very valuable treaty and
that has been made valueless”.
He expressed hope that the allies would eventually ratify the adapted
pact, but said: “I didn’t hear today any kind of desire for the urgency
of that.”
“All I heard today was the same old tune about the Istanbul
commitments, about the situation of Moldova and Georgia.”
Lavrov said that Russia, one of only four countries to have ratified
the adapted CFE, found itself “in a position where we don’t want to be
the only actors in a theatre of the absurd.”
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who described the
two-hour session of the informal NATO Russia Council as lively, said the
allies were deeply concerned by Moscow’s move to place a “defacto
moratorium” on the treaty.
“That message was met by concern, grave concern, disappointment and
deep regret because the allies are of the opinion that the CFE treaty is
one of the cornerstones of European security,” he said.
US officials said Lavrov had railed against NATO over issues ranging
from enlargement to the planned missile shield extension, which will see
10 interceptors based in Poland and a radar tracker in the Czech
Republic.
“He listed a litany of complaints about NATO,” a senior official
said, but added that the remarks may have backfired on Russia by
consolidating support among the allies for the shield, meant to counter
“rogue states” like Iran.
Lavrov noted that the shield leaves gaps in its coverage of Europe,
with Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey undefended.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lavrov tried
to use this gap as proof that Washington was not interested in defending
Europe but he was met with “universal” opposition from NATO
representatives.
Earlier Thursday Rice urged Moscow to “be real” about the system and
reiterated that it posed no threat to Russia.“Let’s be real about this,”
she said.
“The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in eastern
Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic return is purely
ludicrous and everybody knows it,” she said.
Oslo, Friday, AFP |
