NATO proposed a new era of cooperation with Russia on Friday, calling for joint work with Moscow and Washington on missile defense after the US scrapped a planned anti-missile system.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described as “correct and brave” US President Barack Obama’s decision to drop the missile shield intended for Europe by predecessor George W. Bush. Russia’s NATO envoy welcomed the NATO cooperation proposals.
Some military experts saw the moves as a sign of weakness by Obama that Moscow hardliners would want to exploit. Putin called in a speech on Friday for Obama to follow up with concessions on trade and technology transfer.
Others described abandonment of the system as a bold gesture that could improve frosty relations between the West and Russia but also said many obstacles remained to better ties between the former Cold War foes.
“I do believe that it is possible for NATO and Russia to make a new beginning and to enjoy a far more productive relationship in the future,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in his first big policy speech since taking office last month.
“We should explore the potential for linking the U.S., NATO and Russian missile defence systems at an appropriate time,” he said.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Armavir radar in southern Russia “actually would fill a gap in coverage.”
“And we would welcome the Russians networking with us in this. We think that we could make that happen,” Gates told reporters in Washington.
Rasmussen called for more cooperation on ending the conflict in Afghanistan, fighting piracy at sea and ensuring Iran does not develop nuclear arms. He also proposed a joint review of global security threats.
He gave few details of how his proposals would work but they were welcomed by Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s NATO envoy and one of Moscow’s loudest critics of the planned US missile shield.
“It was very positive, very constructive and we have to analyze together all the sec-gen’s proposals for the new beginning of NATO-Russia cooperation,” Rogozin said.
He indicated Russia would not go ahead with plans to deploy medium-range missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, if the US abandoned its plans to place ground-based interceptors in Poland and use a radar site in the Czech Republic.
NATO’s ties with Russia have improved since the Cold War ended but deteriorated again following the defense alliance’s eastward expansion to take in former Communist-ruled countries in eastern Europe and Moscow’s war in Georgia last year.
Contentious issues include NATO’s offer of eventual membership for Georgia and fellow former Soviet republic Ukraine, which was opposed at a NATO summit last year by France and Germany, and is deeply resented by Russia.
NATO is troubled by Russia’s recognition of the rebellious South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions in Georgia as independent states, and there is lingering mutual mistrust.
“If I was only born yesterday, I would be delighted, but I was not born yesterday,” Rogozin said, adding that there had been several false starts in efforts to improve relations.
Washington had proposed the shield because of concerns Iran was trying to develop nuclear warheads — something Iran denies — and could mount them on long-range missiles. But Russia saw it as a threat to its own missile defenses and overall security.
Under a new plan, Washington would initially deploy ships with interceptors and in a second phase would field land-based defense systems.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to use the talks to ease fears over its nuclear program or risk greater isolation.
“There will be accompanying costs for Iran’s continued defiance; more isolation and economic pressure, less possibility of progress for the people of Iran,” Clinton said.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
‘A THREAT’: Guyanese President Irfan Ali called on Venezuela to follow international court rulings over the region, whose border Guyana says was ratified back in 1899 Misael Zapara said he would vote in Venezuela’s first elections yesterday for the territory of Essequibo, despite living more than 100km away from the oil-rich Guyana-administered region. Both countries lay claim to Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. Guyana has administered the region for decades. The centuries-old dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits a decade ago, giving Guyana the largest crude oil reserves per capita in the world. Venezuela would elect a governor, eight National Assembly deputies and regional councilors in a newly created constituency for the 160,000
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
At a calligraphy class in Hanoi, Hoang Thi Thanh Huyen slides her brush across the page to form the letters and tonal marks of Vietnam’s unique modern script, in part a legacy of French colonial rule. The history of romanized Vietnamese, or Quoc Ngu, links the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, colonization by the French and the rise to power of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It is now reflected in the country’s “bamboo diplomacy” approach of seeking strength through flexibility, or looking to stay on good terms with the world’s major powers. A month after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) visited,
RSS