Vladimir Putin delivered the strongest attack of his seven-year Russian presidency on the United States on Saturday, blaming it for fanning conflicts across the world through the unilateral use of “hyper-force”. He said the US is seeking to impose its standards on other nations, triggering new arms races and the spread of nuclear weapons, and threatening Russia through new missile-shield programmes.
In a blistering assault that reflected the Kremlin chief’s self-confidence and conviction that he has restored Russia’s international clout after years of decline, Putin told a security conference in Munich that the US is destroying the international system and seeking to eliminate nuclear deterrence through the uncontained use of its power.
“One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way,” he told dozens of Western ministers and policymakers, including the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, and a likely Republican presidential contender, Senator John McCain.
“This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure any more because nobody can hide behind international law,” Putin said. “This is nourishing an arms race with countries seeking to obtain nuclear weapons … We’re witnessing the untrammelled use of the military in international affairs … Why is it necessary to bomb and to shoot at every opportunity?”
The Russian leader accused Washington of plotting to evade its commitments to cut nuclear arsenals — already made through US-Russian arms treaties — and raged against the Pentagon’s plans to site parts of its missile shield project in Poland and the Czech Republic. “I don’t want to suspect anyone of aggressiveness,” said Putin. “But if the anti-missile defence is not targeted at us, then our new missiles will not be directed at you.”
The tirade indicated that the Kremlin is gearing up for confrontation with the Americans. He did not have a good word to say about Washington’s policies.
McCain told the Observer the speech was “the most aggressive from a Russian leader since the end of the Cold War”, adding that it was confrontational, with some of the observations bordering on paranoia. The US defence secretary sat stony-faced throughout Putin’s words,
Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov denied that his leader had intended to be aggressive or confrontational, but said that the time was right for Putin to throw down the gauntlet.
On several key disputes dominating the international agenda, Putin came out in flat opposition to the Americans. Russia is supplying Iran with air defence equipment, for example, so that Tehran does not feel surrounded by enemies.
With the US pushing for independence for the Albanian-dominated province of Kosovo in former Yugoslavia, Putin said he would block independence unless Serbia agreed to it. In Russia, he added, Western NGOs operate as “instruments” of Western governments.
He reserved his bitterest complaints, however, for the US drive to expand Nato into former Soviet Eastern Europe and for the plans to deploy parts of the missile shield in central Europe. “Why do you need to move your military infrastructure to our borders?” he declared.
McCain insisted that the missile shield is defensive and does not threaten anyone. — Guardian Unlimited Â