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Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

 
Russia's president condemns Washington
over NATO expansion, 'missile defense'
 
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS  
In a February 10 speech at an international security conference in Munich, Germany, Russian president Vladimir Putin sharply criticized the expansion of NATO and Washington's moves to place troops, radar, and other components of its "missile defense" system in eastern Europe.

Over the past decade the governments of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia in eastern Europe, as well as the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have become members of NATO. Putin said the admission of these countries has nothing to do with "modernization of the Alliance" and present a "serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust."

"It turns out that NATO has put its frontline forces on our borders," he said. "And we have the right to ask: against whom is this expansion directed?

"The use of force can only be considered legitimate if the decision is sanctioned by the UN," Putin said. "And we do not need to substitute NATO or the EU for the UN."

The Russian president was also critical of construction by Washington of "forward operating" military bases in Romania and Bulgaria, with similar plans being pursued in Poland and Hungary.

"Plans to expand certain elements of the antimissile defense system to Europe cannot help but disturb us," Putin stated. He was referring to talks between Washington and the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic on placing U.S. antimissile radar and interceptors on their soil. A day earlier Russia's defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, spoke at a NATO session in Seville, Spain. Ivanov also criticized the U.S. antimissile system expansion. He warned that Moscow has "the capability to surpass any antimissile system," the February 10 New York Times reported.

A spokesman for the U.S. president said the White House was "surprised and disappointed" by Putin's remarks, according to Reuters.  
 
 
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