Putin threatens to back out of treaty

MOSCOW – President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday that in protest of U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, Russia would suspend its observance of a treaty limiting the deployment of troops and conventional military equipment in Europe.

The announcement, made in Putin’s annual speech to parliament, further ratcheted up tensions between Russia and the United States over the missile system, which Moscow views as a step toward building a much larger system directed at Russia and China.

It was unclear, however, whether Russia’s moratorium on observing the treaty would have any effect, because the current version was never ratified by the NATO countries that signed it. Those countries have demanded that Russia first honor commitments to withdraw Soviet-era military bases from Georgia and Moldova.

Putin, in his speech, said that if NATO signatories continued to refuse to ratify the treaty, Russia would consider withdrawing from the treaty. While Russia has abided by it, he said, the effect has been that Russia faces restrictions on the deployment of its own troops on its own territory.

“It is hard to imagine that, for instance, the United States could restrict itself in transferring its troops in its own territory,” he said.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking at a news conference in Oslo, Norway, responded sharply to Putin’s declaration, which concerned the Conventional Forces in Europe pact, initially signed in 1990 and revised in 1999.

“That message was met by concern, grave concern, disappointment and regret,” Scheffer said, according to wire reports.

The United States appears reluctant to publicly acknowledge Putin’s concerns, with American officials repeatedly insisting that the facilities planned for deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic could not possibly threaten Russia’s massive nuclear arsenal.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeated the U.S. position to reporters in Oslo Wednesday, according to wire reports.

“The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous and everybody knows it,” she said, making a slip of the tongue in saying “Soviet” rather than “Russian.”

In his wide-ranging address to parliament, Putin also reaffirmed his intention to step down next year as required by Russia’s constitution. He declined to indicate his future plans. “I think it would be inappropriate for us to assess our work and premature to declare my political will,” he said.