Putin Suspends NATO Arms Treaty
By Peter Finn
President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday he was suspending Russia’s obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, ratcheting up a tense standoff with the NATO alliance over U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.
The treaty dates from the last days of the Cold War and limits the deployment of conventional arms, including tanks and other heavy weapons, on either side of the old Iron Curtain. Putin linked his decision, which he said could lead to full withdrawal from the treaty, to the U.S. missile plan.
NATO countries are “building up military bases on our borders and, more than that, they are also planning to station elements of anti-missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic,” said Putin, delivering his annual state of the nation address to both houses of parliament, the Cabinet and regional leaders. “In this connection, I consider it expedient to declare a moratorium on Russia’s implementation of this treaty.”
Western governments have contended for years that Russia has not fully complied with the treaty and amendments to it, due to force levels it keeps in the Chechnya region and the continuing presence of its troops in the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Moldova. The missile defense plan has raised disputes over the treaty to a new level of intensity.
The Kremlin has expressed deep hostility to the American system despite repeated assurances by the Bush administration that the planned 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and radar station in the Czech Republic would pose no threat to Russia.
U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who visited Moscow this week, have said the system is small and directed against potential threats from Iran, and could be easily overwhelmed by Russia’s strategic missile forces.
In a wide-ranging speech, Putin, who is barred from seeking re- election, noted that the next state of the nation address would be given by a new president. He said, however, that “it is premature for me to declare a political will” on who should succeed him. Russia plans to conduct national parliamentary elections in December, followed by presidential elections in March.
The constitution adopted under Boris N. Yeltsin forbids presidents from serving three straight terms. But Putin’s popularity — and Russia’s lean experience with democratic power transfers — led to persistent speculation that he might stay on.
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