Posted on 04/23/2007 2:39:44 AM PDT by familyop
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates launched a charm offensive in Moscow Monday aimed at overcoming Russia's fierce opposition to Washington's plans to extend its missile defences into central Europe.
Gates, who arrived early Monday, was to meet President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
The Pentagon plans to station 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a targeting radar in the Czech Republic, countries that lie close to Russian territory and during the Cold War were under Moscow's control.
Russia, increasingly emboldened by new oil wealth, has strongly opposed the plans. It regards them as an encroachment into Moscow's sphere of influence that could raise tensions and spark an arms race.
The issue has also sparked debate among Washington's traditional allies.
Germany has said Washington must work to ease Russian concerns, while the Czech Republic and Poland have asserted that Moscow has no right to interfere.
Ahead of Gates's visit, the United States has assembled a package of incentives aimed at allaying Russian concerns, said officials travelling with the defence secretary.
These incentives, already presented last week, include an offer to share missile warning data and cooperate in developing and testing missile defence technology with the Russians.
"We outlined a series of areas where we might be able to cooperate with Russia and this involves both sharing of information and potentially of technology," said a senior administration official.
"It includes things like sharing sensor data for early warning, common research and development, testing of various components of systems," said the official, briefing reporters aboard his plane.
"I hope we at least get a preliminary response from the Russians.... But I wouldn't expect them to have had the time to do all the analysis to give a definitive answer," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The United States insists that existing defences need to be extended to protect against attack from "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea and says its missile shield plans are not directed against Russia.
But Russia has maintained its opposition and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said last week that Russia was not interested in cooperating on the US plans.
"We cannot understand what Eastern Europe needs this system for," Ivanov was quoted as saying. "I honestly see no basis for speaking of possible cooperation."
Officials travelling with Gates said that while they believed cooperation on missile defense was in both countries' interest, Russia would not have a veto on the issue.
On Monday Russia's Vedomosti business daily stressed that Moscow was not interested in cooperation on the plans.
What Moscow really wants is to begin negotiating new agreements on limiting strategic weapons, including a renewal of the START 1 treaty that entered into force in 1994 and has a 15-year duration.
"Discussions on this theme are needed by Russia due to the increasing lag of its strategic forces behind America's and because this is the only international problem where Moscow can look like an equal partner of Washington," Vedomosti said, quoting a Russian analyst.
After his meetings, Gates will travel to Warsaw to confer with Polish leaders and also stop in Berlin to touch base with German leaders.
Hasn’t charm always worked when dealing with the Russians? When the Russians have come up with something that will totally screw us and be beneficial to them, we will have a deal.
“What Moscow really wants is to begin negotiating new agreements on limiting strategic weapons, including a renewal of the START 1 treaty that entered into force in 1994 and has a 15-year duration.”
When did North Korea and Iran sign START-1?
The Russians are worse than the French about living in the past.
Robert Gates is wasting the tax payers time attempting to negotiate any meaningful missile shield protection deal for former Eastern Bloc nations from either Iran, North Korea (& Russia) due to the brutal totalitarian nature of Russia's neo-Soviet dictator.
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