VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russia’s prime minister, yesterday said the Obama administration’s decision to scrap plans for a missile defence shield in Europe was a positive step – but gave notice he expected other US concessions, including backing for a bid by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“I expect that after this correct and brave decision, others will follow,” Mr Putin said in a speech in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The measures should include “the complete removal of all restrictions on the transfer of high technology to Russia, and activity to widen the membership of the World Trade Organisation to Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus”, he said.
Mr Putin’s comments provide ammunition for critics who say that rather than earning Russia’s goodwill, the US climbdown may have emboldened Moscow’s hawks to push the US further. “Anything that looks like a concession can be viewed by the Russian side as a sign of weakness,” said Masha Lipman of the Carnegie Moscow Centre.
Russia on Thursday denied the US step to scrap missile defence plans was part of a quid pro quo, and Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister, the same day reiterated Russia’s opposition to sanctions on Iran, the area where the White House was hoping for flexibility.
The coming weeks will show if Russia will continue to take a hard line on Iran or work with the US by twisting arms in Tehran to win concessions behind the scenes. The Moscow newspaper Kommersant yesterday quoted an anonymous source in the ministry of foreign affairs, saying the US was asking Russia not to go ahead with an agreed sale of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, and to support a “tough resolution” against Iran by the UN Security Council in exchange for its decision to scrap missile defence.
In a speech in Brussels, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato’s secretary-general, insisted Russia must be urged to co-operate with the western alliance. He urged Russia to work with Nato on missile defence and proposed looking at ways to link US, Nato and Russian anti-missile systems.
“I would like Russia and Nato to agree to carry out a joint review of 21st-century security challenges, to serve as a firm basis for our future co-operation,” Mr Rasmussen said. “We should explore the potential for linking the US, Nato and Russian missile defence systems at an appropriate time.”
He said he sought “maximum” Russian pressure on Iran aimed at its nuclear programme.
Nato has been developing its own plans for defence against short- to medium-range missiles and has co-operated with Russia to ensure such systems work with each other. Mr Putin’s call for the US to back Russia’s WTO entry as a customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus is likely to confuse western diplomats.
The US and the European Union have both been strong supporters of Russia’s membership. But this year, Mr Putin abruptly halted Russian negotiations to join and said it would join only in union with Kazakhstan and Belarus. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)