US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is making his final trip to Russia as a US Cabinet member this weekend, as the two military powers struggle to find common ground in the campaign to put a missile defense shield in Europe.
Gates’ trip came just days after Moscow helped open the door for military action in Libya by not blocking the UN Security Council resolution — a move that defense officials said reflected the broader spirit of cooperation between the nations. He was scheduled to leave yesterday afternoon.
However, the travel will take Gates away from Washington just as the US and its allies threaten a military attack on Libya if Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi does not halt his brutal assault on civilians rebelling against the government.
The US is expected to play a key role if allies move to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further violence against the rebels.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Friday that officials did not consider delaying the trip because of the Libya situation.
FLYING FORTRESS
Gates travels on a flying command center, known as the Doomsday Plane, which was designed to allow a US president to control strategic nuclear weapons during a nuclear war.
Gates’ visits to St Petersburg and Moscow will be especially poignant for the former CIA director, who studied Russia and spent much of his intelligence career focused on the then-Soviet Union and the Cold War threat.
This is Gates’ first trip to Russia since US President Barack Obama’s administration vowed two years ago to hit the “reset button” on US relations with Moscow.
As part of that effort the White House dumped former US president George W. Bush’s plan — vehemently opposed by Russia — to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an advanced radar in the Czech Republic.
The new proposal for a European missile defense shield to protect against future Iranian threats now begins with ship-based, anti-missile interceptors and radars, and would add land-based radars in Southern Europe later this year.
FOUR PHASES
The four-phase plan would put land and sea-based radars and interceptors in several European locations during the next decade.
Russian leaders have balked at the missile defense plan and a senior defense official said on Friday that there is still much work ahead to assuage their concerns. Moscow fears that the system could target Russian warheads or undermine their deterrence strategy.
DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT
Russia does not share the US’ assessment of the missile threat or its immediacy, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings have not taken place. The two nations have disagreed on how quickly Iran would acquire missiles with sufficient range to threaten Europe, with the Russian side saying it would be 15 or 20 years, and the US saying sooner.
However, last month the two countries brokered a new arms control treaty that would limit each to 1,550 strategic warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200. The Russians have said that it could withdraw from the New START deal if the US significantly boosts its missile shield.
Morrell said that unlike Gates’ previous three visits to Russia as defense chief, this one would not be dominated by missile defense debate or the New START.
The meetings with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, are likely to also address the latest uprisings the Middle East, proposals to expand Moscow’s assistance in Afghanistan, regional security concerns and ongoing efforts to reform their respective militaries to make them more efficient.
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