Putin Warns to Target Europe

[USMCDevilDog]

New Cold War Era? What do you think?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070603/ap_on_re_eu/russia_us_missiles

Putin warns on U.S. missiles in Europe By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
40 minutes ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe would force Moscow to target its weapons against Europe.

The threat, in an interview published Sunday in Italy's Corriere della Sera and other foreign media, marked one of Putin's most strident statements to date against the U.S. plans and came just days before he is to join President Bush and other leaders at a Group of Eight summit in Germany.

In the interview, Putin was asked whether the proposed missile defense shield would compel Moscow to direct its own missiles at locations and U.S. military sites in Europe, as during the Cold War.

"If the American nuclear potential grows in European territory, we have to give ourselves new targets in Europe," Putin said, according to Corriere. "It is up to our military to define these targets, in addition to defining the choice between ballistic and cruise missiles."

Russia has not overtly targeted Europe since agreeing after the fall of the Soviet Union not to direct missiles against specific countries, according to Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst based in Moscow. He added however, that that was simple technical matter, since a missile can be given a target within minutes.

Previously, some Russian military officials have said Moscow could aim Russian weapons at Europe-based missile systems.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek accused Russia on Sunday of misleading the public about the planned missile defense bases in the Czech Republic and Poland to hide Russia's internal problems.

"Russia needs an outside enemy to hide problems at home," Topolanek said.

The United States made a formal request in January to place a radar base in a military area southwest of Prague, Czech Republic, and 10 interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland as part of plans for a missile defense shield that Washington says would protect against a potential threat from Iran.

The U.S. plans have brought a strong reaction from Russia, which accuses the United States of threatening Russian territory and of trying to start a new arms race.

Putin was interviewed Friday at his dacha by journalists from each of the G-8 countries, Corriere said.

The three-day summit, Wednesday to Friday at the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm, will bring together leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and Japan.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Danilova contributed to this report from Moscow.

 

[waltky]

Gorby on Vladimir...

Putin should not run for president again: Gorbachev
Fri, Mar 04, 2011 - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, turning 80, accused Russia’s leaders of rolling back democracy and advised Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to learn from the Arab experience and stay out of next year’s presidential vote.

In a show of respect for a statesman still reviled by millions of compatriots for his role in the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Gorbachev and granted him Russia’s highest state medal on Wednesday. The Kremlin handling of Gorbachev’s 80th birthday underscored the Russian leadership’s delicate ties with a man who helped create the country they rule, but has become an increasingly vocal critic of their tight grip on power. It came one year before the presidential election in March in which Putin has hinted he will return to the presidency or endorse his protege, Medvedev, for a second term.

“Vladimir Vladimirovich has already served two terms, and one more as prime minister. I would not run for president if I were in his place,” Gorbachev told the weekly Argumenty i Fakty in an interview published on Wednesday. “People ... do not want to be a mass, a flock led for decades by the same shepherds,” Gorbachev said, pointing to Arab unrest as proof. Toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak “stayed too long, people were fed up with him,” he said.

Gorbachev said he likes both members of Russia’s ruling “tandem” as people. “But both of them must understand: Their time is limited,” said Gorbachev, whose 1980s reforms eased decades of oppression in the Soviet Union, but hastened its breakup in 1991. President from 2000-2008, Putin steered Medvedev into the Kremlin when term limits barred him from seeking re-election. If Putin returns to the presidency next year, he could then run for another six-year term in 2018.

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[Cain]

I thought the Arms race was over, you know, since their government kind of...ended . lol.

 

[B. Kidd]

Who seriously believes Russia ever stopped overtly targeting Europe with their missles?
I sure as hell don't.