Reuters - 02.08.2002

 

Johnson's List

Nunn warns of pitfalls threatening Russia-US ties

By Jon Boyle

MOSCOW, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Influential former U.S. senator Sam Nunn urged Moscow and Washington on Friday to quickly flesh out their new relationship or see their improved ties eroded by disputes over Iran and Iraq.

After a four-month honeymoon born of Moscow's stalwart support for the U.S. war on terrorism, underlying strains are re-emerging -- witness Russian outrage at a new CIA report accusing Moscow of helping spread weapons of mass destruction.

Late on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry branded as "categorically unacceptable" a declassified agency report which said Russia was still selling sensitive missile and nuclear know-how that helped Tehran's nuclear weapons programme.

"If we do not have some meat on the bones in the next six months, no matter what the personal relationship between our two leaders may be, I think these problems...as well as others, will start gnawing away at the relationship," Nunn told reporters.

Nunn was in Moscow to mark the office opening of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a private foundation funded by U.S. media magnate and CNN-founder Ted Turner. It aims to reduce the risk of weapons of mass destruction spreading.

He said tensions had been fuelled by last December's decision by U.S. President George W. Bush to withdraw from the 1972 ABM arms control treaty, and the Pentagon's reluctance to destroy warheads to be removed under a new nuclear arms deal.

"Those two features are not assets in forming a partnership. But those two points (and) arms sales to the Iranians, disagreements over Iraq... loom much larger if we don't have the strategic framework."

Despite all the bonhomie at last November's summit between Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior staffers were way behind their leaders with concrete programmes that could "institutionalise the relationship," he said.

SECURITY RELATIONSHIP

Igor Sergeyev, advisor to President Vladimir Putin on strategic stablity, told Friday's Nezavisimaya Military Review he hoped a binding accord lowering nuclear arms ceilings would be ready in time for a May presidential summit in Moscow.

But he repeated Russia's insistence on the need for a legally-binding document. "Otherwise in the field of strategic stability we will have no guarantees whatsoever."

Russian concerns were again evident on Thursday, when Yuri Koptyev, head of Russian Space Agency, who told state television during a tour of a factory destroying Cold War era "Black Satan" ballistic missiles, Moscow might yet backtrack on arsenal cuts.

"We cannot rule out that in the near future, in view of changes in the political situation and new realities, initial plans could be changed, not just in terms of keeping existing rocket systems until the end of their service life, but also the rate of deployment of new systems."

RUSSIAN OUTRAGE

Moscow's mounting frustrations boiled over on Thursday when the Foreign Ministry issued a scorching statement lambasting a CIA report. It said Moscow continued to supply Iran, India, China and Libya with ballistic missile goods and know-how, adding that "monitoring Russian proliferation behaviour... will remain a very high priority." Any Russian aid that furthered Iran's nuclear weapons programme would be closely scrutinised, it said.

"The Russian government's commitment, willingness and ability to curb proliferation-related transfers remain uncertain," added the CIA report. That sparked "not just extreme bewilderment but serious concern" from the Foreign Ministry, given tighter export controls were introduced in 1999.

The ministry said it would demand an explanation at ongoing U.S.-Russian security talks.