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Russia backs out of arms treaty

Putin's 'blackmail' plan tied to radar base, according to analyst

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 18th, 2007 issue

Russia’s decision to withdraw from a Cold War–era weapons treaty is directly tied to plans to host part of the U.S. missile-defense system in the Czech Republic, one analyst says.
“Russia feels threatened,” said Vít Beneš, a researcher at Prague’s Institute of International Relations. “I think the link is quite clear. … Russia is trying probably to blackmail Europe.”
The 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) agreement restricts the arms member countries can amass and was a major factor in bringing the Cold War to a close.
On July 13, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree withdrawing Russia. According to a statement released through Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry July 14, the pullout resulted from “exceptional circumstances” and will take effect in 150 days.
The United States formally requested in January to build a radar base in the Czech Republic and a corresponding missile base in Poland, countries once members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. Russia has condemned the plan.
Despite its role in Russia’s decision, the Czech Republic will not react on its own, said Defense Ministry spokesman Andrej Čírtek. “We will negotiate our reaction as a member of NATO,” he said. “There won’t be any individual reaction on the part of one member country.”
While NATO has yet to retaliate, officials said in a July 16 press release that Russia’s decision is “deeply disappointing” and has left NATO “very concerned.”
“We consider this treaty one of the foundation stones of European security,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalová said in a July 14 statement.
Despite the symbolism of Russia’s decision, it is unlikely to threaten the Czech Republic and other NATO members, at least in the short term, Beneš said. “It’s more about rhetoric than about a real security threat.”
Countries like the Czech Republic, dependent on Russian resources, “are more concerned with the issue of economic security rather than hard security,” he said.
Putin’s move is also partly a populist gesture “fueled by … a renewed wave of Russian nationalism,” he said.
Still, the long-term effects could include a renewed fear of Russia, which declined through the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he said. “But I wouldn’t say that feeling of threat … would reach the height of the Cold War.”

Hilda Hoy can be reached at hhoy@praguepost.com


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