2ND US, Russia seek to defuse fears of new Cold War By Shada Islam and Leon Mangasarian

dpa German Press Agency Published: Sunday February 11, 2007

By Shada Islam and Leon Mangasarian,
Munich- Defence ministers of the United States and Russia
on Sunday sought to defuse fears of a new Cold War fuelled by a
speech harshly critical of the US and NATO by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
"One Cold War was quite enough," US Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates said in an address at the Munich Security Conference where
Putin made his remarks on Saturday

Gates said Putin's words "almost filled me with nostalgia for the
old times" but that "there is no desire for a new Cold War with
Russia."

Using humour to tone down the row, Gates joked that "old spies
have a habit of blunt speaking." The Russian leader is a former KGB
agent and Gates used to head the CIA.

Gates insisted that both countries had to work together and said
he had accepted invitations from both Putin and Russian Defence
Minister Sergei Ivanov to visit Russia.

Ivanov - who is seen as a possible Putin successor in 2008 - was
also at pains to play down the remarks made by his boss.

"I don't think (the speech) was aggressive or confrontational -
not at all," he told the meeting.

Ivanov said Russia's ties with the US and European Union were "so
mature that we are free to speak what we really think." Moscow was
not seeking to impose its will on any country, he added.

In his keynote speech, Putin slammed US policies which he said
were fuelling an arms race and encouraging other states to obtain
weapons of mass destruction.

He also attacked NATO's enlargement into former parts of the
Soviet bloc and criticized US plans to establish anti-ballistic
missile systems in Europe.

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Putin's strident
tone had shown why NATO enlargement had been necessary.

"He clearly and convincingly argued why NATO should be enlarged.
And he presented a very convincing argument," said Schwarzenberg to
applause.

While insisting the US and Russia remained partners, Gates
questioned some of Moscow's recent initiatives.

"We wonder ... about some Russian policies that seem to work
against international stability, such as arms transfers and its
temptation to use energy resources for political coercion," he said.

Putin warned that a US-led "unipolar world" was unacceptable and
had led to more wars and conflict across the globe.

"Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper-use of
military force in international relations," Putin said in one of his
strongest-ever criticisms of the US.

He warned the growing sense of insecurity caused by US policies
were prompting a drive in many countries to produce weapons of mass
destruction.

The Russian president sharply criticized the planned deployment of
anti-ballistic missile systems by the US - to be stationed in Poland
and the Czech Republic.

He said Russian military planners assumed US anti-missile forces
could at some point "neutralize" the deterrence threat posed by
Moscow's nuclear missiles.

"The balance will be upset," Putin said, adding that the US would
then have "a feeling of complete security" which would give it a free
hand to impose its will in local and global conflicts.

The US in 2002 withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
which was signed in 1972 between the US and the former Soviet Union.
Washington said this was necessary in order to build anti-missile
systems to protect the US from so-called "rogue states."

Both Gates and the Czech Republic's Schwarzenberg dismissed
Putin's missile defence concerns.

"It's not directed against Russia. It's not directed at
undermining their deterrent," said Gates.

Schwarzenberg underlined that the entire tone of Putin's
performance made it more likely that his government would decide to
host the US missile defence facility.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency