World

Putin Renews Missile Defense Threat

February 14, 2008 / 8:03 AM EST / CBS/AP

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday repeated his threat to aim Russian rockets at former Soviet satellite states if U.S. missile defense facilities are deployed there.

Speaking about U.S. plans for interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, Putin said that "our experts consider that this system threatens our national security and if it appears, we will be obligated to adequately react to this."

He said Russia's action would be to "retarget our missiles toward a system that we aren't creating."

"We are warning people ahead of time: if you take this step, then we will make this step," Putin told an annual news conference in the Kremlin. Thursday marked Putin's last scheduled annual press conference as president, and his comments touched on a wide range of issues, from missile defense to his own personal wealth.

Putin also said Russian missiles could be aimed at neighboring Ukraine - a former Soviet republic whose pro-Western leadership is pursuing NATO membership - if it were to host a missile-defense facility. Putin had issued the same warning in a meeting with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko earlier this week.

He suggested that the United States and the leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic were going ahead with plans for the missile defense system without asking for public approval, which he called undemocratic.

Turning to another sore point in Moscow's relations with the West, Putin also lashed out angrily at the United States and other NATO nations over their refusal to ratify an amended version of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. Putin suspended Russia's participation in the pact in December.

He said the restrictions Russia faced under the treaty were made unacceptable by NATO's eastward expansion after the 1991 Soviet collapse, likening them to a situation in which U.S. troop movements from California to Texas would be subject to Russian approval.

"We will no longer fulfill any colonial conditions," Putin said.

Other points Putin made:

The president spoke of Russia's renewal of the Soviet-era practice of global bomber flights close to other countries' borders, saying that Moscow is not looking for a fight but must conduct the flights to keep its military in shape. "No clash is planned, and I hope that will never happen," he said. His remarks came five days after U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers, including one that buzzed an American aircraft carrier in the western Pacific. The bombers were among four Russian Tupolev 95s launched from Ukrainka Air Base in the middle of the night, including one that Japanese officials say violated their country's airspace over an uninhabited island south of Tokyo.

He said recognizing an independence declaration by Kosovo would be "immoral and illegal," and that European countries supporting the region's bid to break away from Serbia should be "ashamed" of double standards. "I will yet again emphasize that we consider that unilateral support for independence for Kosovo is immoral and illegal," Putin said, days before the expected independence declaration by the province's ethnic Albanian leadership. Russia, a traditional supporter of Serbia, adamantly opposes any final decision on Kosovo's status that is not supported by Serbia.

The president said it was "nonsense" that he has amassed a personal fortune of tens of billions of dollars during his eight years in office. "They picked it out of their noses and smeared it on paper," Putin said, using the kind of colorful language that he has become known for during his presidency. Stanislav Belkovsky, a political analyst with close Kremlin ties, has claimed that Putin effectively controls stakes in Russian oil and gas companies worth $40 billion. The stakes, he and others claim, are hidden behind a nontransparent network of offshore trusts. If the claims were true, it would make Putin the richest man in Europe.

President Putin said he has no reservations about becoming prime minister under Russia's next president, saying the No. 2 post would give him sufficient power.

While the president sets the main course for the country, the prime minister has control over the budget, sets economic policy and is responsible for national defense, he said at the Kremlin news conference.

"The highest executive power in the country is the government of the Russian Federation," Putin said.

He is expected to hand over the presidency in May to Dmitry Medvedev, a longtime, loyal associate who is all but certain to win next month's presidential election. Putin has said he would agree to become Medvedev's prime minister.

"I should not cry but be happy that I have the opportunity to work in another capacity, and in another capacity to serve my country," Putin said.

He suggested he would retain a strong role in ruling Russia for years to come.

"I will be involved in the same tasks as when I was president," he said. As long as Medvedev is president, "I will continue working."

Putin noted that he himself has set the course for Russia's development through 2020.

"The premiership is not a transitional post," he said. "If I can see that in this capacity I can fulfill these goals, I will work as long as possible. There is no other answer."