Political controversy has erupted within the Usa after an open microphone at a nuclear security conference in South Korea caught U.S. President Barack Obama telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he's going to have more "flexibility" after the U.S. election in November. On Friday, the highest American arms control negotiator visited Moscow and gave the yank outlook for arms control and missile defense.
Rose Gottemoeller, Washington’s lead negotiator on arms control, told Russian students and reporters that the political controversy simply underlined President Obama’s point. The yank election season is a time for technical meetings, not political initiatives on arms control.
"I see the likelihood for homework, as I call it, not just in missile defense cooperation, but in preparing the groundwork for brand spanking new nuclear reduction negotiations besides. i'm also here in Moscow to work on new conventional arms control initiatives," said Gottemoeller.
Gottemoeller recalled that Americans and Russians have 40 years of expertise in negotiating arms control pacts. She said she is confident that the 2 countries, the world’s largest nuclear powers, will find common ground on missile defense.
Russia is anxious about Washington’s plan to construct a missile defense system to offer protection to Europe from missiles launched from Iran. More from Gottemoeller, who's acting under secretary of state for arms control and international security:
"The technical capabilities of the system are simply not people who would undermine Russian strategic offensive forces," Gottemoeller added.
Washington’s blueprint for missile defense requires several land- and sea-based batteries that could knock down one or two missiles launched on a westward path from Iran. Compared, Russia has about 3,000 rockets which are designed to hit america by flying north, over the North Pole.
"I consider it an awfully serious matter that my president has confirmed for your president - and should be willing to continue to take action - that this technique is not any threat to the Russian Federation or any of your military capabilities," Gottemoeller explained.
In the audience at Moscow State Institute of Diplomacy was Victor Mizin. Before joining the institute as deputy director, he worked on arms control as a Russian diplomat. He said that diplomats in both countries still must work against the powerful legacy of the Cold War.
"There are still huge backlogs, i'm afraid, of mutual suspicion, which still haven't been overcome," said Mizin.
On May 7, Vladimir Putin will return to the Kremlin as president of Russia. A former KGB agent who once served in East Germany, Putin is typically seen as a hardliner on relations with Washington.
But Mizin would not predict a tremendous change in policy. He noted that Putin served for the last four years as Russia’s prime minister, closely coordinating policies with President Medvedev. Under the present plan, both men are to modify jobs, with Medvedev becoming prime minister in May.
"Probably it will likely be just a little tougher, with just a little more accent on Russian sovereignty, self-assertiveness," said Mizin on Putin’s return to the Kremlin.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, believes that NATO will build a missile defense for Western Europe whether Moscow likes it or not.
"Any discussion about joint missile defense, which started 2010, officially still is a target. I don’t believe it's any sort of real talk, it's only cover for, empty shell for, nothing," said Lukyanov.
He agrees that it'll be impossible for both countries to barter common ground in the course of the heat of an American presidential campaign.
"This year, nothing will happen in missile defense area," Lukyanov added.
So everyone interviewed in Moscow said that for any movement in negotiations on missile defense and arms control, check back 365 days from now.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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