Putin calls US bluff with base offer
By Andrew Ward in Heiligendamm and Neil Buckley in Moscow

FT
June 8 2007 00:52

Vladimir Putin on Thursday seized the initiative in the dispute over US
plans to site anti-missile defences in central Europe by suggesting
instead a joint plan to base part of the system at a former Soviet
radar station in Azerbaijan.

The Russian leader took George W. Bush by surprise when he made the
proposal at the G8 summit in Germany following weeks of rising tensions
over the programme.

Mr Putin said he had secured agreement from Azerbaijan to use the radar
as part of a collaborative system that would protect Europe from
incoming missiles.

If Washington accepted the proposal, he would not have to carry out his
recent threat to retarget Russian missiles against Europe, Mr Putin
said.

`This will make it unnecessary for us to place our offensive complexes
along the border with Europe,’ Mr Putin told reporters, standing beside
his US counterpart.

Mr Bush described the proposal as `interesting’ and said both sides had
agreed to engage in `strategic dialogue’ to `share ideas’ over missile
defence.

Stephen Hadley, US national security adviser, said the proposal
demonstrated Russian willingness to engage in `real co-operation’ on
missile defence.

But the two sides were at odds over the potential role of the
Azerbaijan radar. Mr Putin portrayed it as an alternative to a planned
US facility in the Czech Republic that Russia opposes. But Mr Hadley
said only that Azerbaijan could make a `contribution’ to the broader
system.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a defence analyst in Moscow, said the Gabala radar
station involved in the proposal was not a suitable substitute for the
Czech Republic as it was too close to Iran ` one of the countries
Washington says its missile shield is designed to defend against. It
was also too far from the planned US interceptor base in Poland to be
viable. `The Pentagon won’t want this at all,’ he said. `The White
House will not reject it out of hand, but I don’t forecast any
agreement.’

US officials sought to portray the proposal as a breakthrough in
efforts to secure Moscow’s backing for its missile shield and a first
step towards serious negotiations about co-operation.

But it appeared highly unlikely that Washington would sacrifice its
Czech base or put a key part of its missile shield in the hands of a
former Soviet state.

Mr Putin has argued that US anti-missile equipment in the heart of
central Europe would turn the continent into a `tinderbox’. Washington
has said its proposed facilities are too close to Russia and too
limited to protect against its ballistic missiles.