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Russia Backs Off on Europe Missile Threat
 BUT...President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia retreated Friday from his threat to deploy missiles on Europe's borders, but only if President-elect Barack Obama joined Russia and France in calling for a conference on European security by next summer. At a meeting in Nice hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Mr. Medvedev backed away from the bellicose speech he gave last week, just hours after Mr. Obama won the United States presidential election. On Friday, the Russian leader argued instead that all countries "should refrain from unilateral steps" before discussions on European security next summer. Mr. Sarkozy, who presided over the meeting between Russia and the 27 European Union nations in his capacity as the union's president, helped ease the way for Mr. Medvedev's retreat. The French leader supported the idea of talks on a new security architecture for Europe and suggested that they could be held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in June or July. Both Russia and the United States belong to the organization. Mr. Sarkozy made clear that he wants the United States to think again about the missile defense systems that it plans to build in Poland and the Czech Republic. Mr. Medvedev last week threatened to respond by stationing missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, both of which are members of NATO and the European Union. "Between now and then," said Mr. Sarkozy, referring to the summer summit meeting, "please no more talk of antimissile protection systems." Although he holds the rotating presidency, Mr. Sarkozy appeared to be speaking beyond his mandate because the bloc has little power over defense decisions. His intervention provoked immediate criticism from the Czech Republic, a member of NATO and the next in line for the presidency of the European Union. Alexandr Vondra, the former Czech foreign minister, said he was surprised by Mr. Sarkozy's comments, which, he said, had contradicted French statements on missile defense at the last NATO summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania. He also said the comments had exceeded Mr. Sarkozy's portfolio as the European Union's president. "It is my understanding that Mr. Sarkozy met Mr. Medvedev on behalf of the French presidency of the E.U.," Mr. Vondra said in a telephone interview. "There was nothing in the E.U. mandate to talk about missile defense." Diplomats saw the intervention by Mr. Sarkozy as another example of his hyperactive brand of diplomacy, which has given him a global profile but proved controversial within the union. Nevertheless, the move to defuse the dispute over missiles helped smooth European relations with Moscow before this weekend's meeting in Washington to discuss the institutions that have governed global finance for 60 years. Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-11-15 |
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