Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
March 21, 2008
Pg. 3
By Clifford J. Levy
MOSCOW — In the wake of high-level talks between the United States and Russia, the Kremlin appears to be expressing somewhat less hostility toward the Bush administration’s plan for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In an interview published Thursday in the newspaper Izvestia, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said the American side had presented proposals that could assuage some Russian concerns. The proposals were offered during a visit this week to Moscow by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
The exact details of the proposals have not been disclosed by either side. President Vladimir V. Putin said at the talks that a letter from President Bush containing the proposals was “a very serious document.” Mr. Putin seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone than he had at earlier such meetings.
Still, the two countries are not close to an agreement on the missile defense system, and the White House has made clear that it will press ahead no matter what.
In the Izvestia interview, Mr. Lavrov said the Americans had promised that the Russians could monitor the system in Eastern Europe.
“The American side is prepared to offer us a whole series of confidence-building measures so we can be convinced that the system does not work against us,” Mr. Lavrov said. “The idea of these measures boils down to the following: we will have an opportunity to watch what the radar is doing and what the real condition is of the base for interceptor missiles, using both human and technical means.”
The Bush administration wants to put tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, both intended to counter missile attacks from Iran. Mr. Putin has opposed the plan, saying that it could threaten Russia. The Kremlin also appears to be angry because the system would be in former Soviet satellites that are now part of NATO.
The White House has repeatedly emphasized that the system was not intended to be used against Russia, but the Kremlin has not relented.
On Thursday, Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates told Mr. Bush that their meetings in Moscow had been “good and constructive,” said Dana M. Perino, a White House spokeswoman.
In an interview on Wednesday with Radio Farda, an American-financed Persian-language station, Mr. Bush said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations.
“I don’t know whether we can find common ground,” he said. “But we are trying to find common ground, and that’s what’s — that’s the first step, is to make the attempt.”
March 21, 2008
Pg. 3
By Clifford J. Levy
MOSCOW — In the wake of high-level talks between the United States and Russia, the Kremlin appears to be expressing somewhat less hostility toward the Bush administration’s plan for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In an interview published Thursday in the newspaper Izvestia, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said the American side had presented proposals that could assuage some Russian concerns. The proposals were offered during a visit this week to Moscow by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
The exact details of the proposals have not been disclosed by either side. President Vladimir V. Putin said at the talks that a letter from President Bush containing the proposals was “a very serious document.” Mr. Putin seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone than he had at earlier such meetings.
Still, the two countries are not close to an agreement on the missile defense system, and the White House has made clear that it will press ahead no matter what.
In the Izvestia interview, Mr. Lavrov said the Americans had promised that the Russians could monitor the system in Eastern Europe.
“The American side is prepared to offer us a whole series of confidence-building measures so we can be convinced that the system does not work against us,” Mr. Lavrov said. “The idea of these measures boils down to the following: we will have an opportunity to watch what the radar is doing and what the real condition is of the base for interceptor missiles, using both human and technical means.”
The Bush administration wants to put tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, both intended to counter missile attacks from Iran. Mr. Putin has opposed the plan, saying that it could threaten Russia. The Kremlin also appears to be angry because the system would be in former Soviet satellites that are now part of NATO.
The White House has repeatedly emphasized that the system was not intended to be used against Russia, but the Kremlin has not relented.
On Thursday, Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates told Mr. Bush that their meetings in Moscow had been “good and constructive,” said Dana M. Perino, a White House spokeswoman.
In an interview on Wednesday with Radio Farda, an American-financed Persian-language station, Mr. Bush said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations.
“I don’t know whether we can find common ground,” he said. “But we are trying to find common ground, and that’s what’s — that’s the first step, is to make the attempt.”