Putin Says U.S.-led Wars Erode Safety, Condemns Missile Plan

By Andreas Cremer

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are eroding global security and plans to build a missile shield in eastern Europe will spur a new arms race.

``The U.S. has overstepped its political limits in almost all spheres,'' Putin told a meeting of policy makers including U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in Munich today. ``We are witnessing an almost unrestrained hyper-use of force in international relations.''

Putin, addressing the annual Munich conference of 250 security and defense experts from 40 nations, said the U.S. approach to world affairs ``is extremely dangerous'' and has led to ``no one feeling secure anymore.'' Russia doesn't need lessons in democracy from ``people who didn't practice it themselves.''

The U.S. is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet satellites, to set up an anti-ballistic missile system resembling the ``star wars'' defense proposed by Ronald Reagan near the end of the Cold War. The Bush administration says the missile shield is designed to protect against attack by states with nuclear aspirations such as Iran or North Korea and wouldn't pose a threat to Russia.

``We must react to this,'' Putin said, noting the U.S. defense shield would ``completely neutralize'' the deterrence threat posed by Russia's own nuclear missiles. ``There will be no more balance of power,'' he said, adding that Russia will aim to achieve weapons of its own to ``overcome'' such arms systems.

Putin, turning to Gates, said ``you have made a mistake'' when judging that missiles launched from Iran could threaten eastern Europe. The Islamic Republic's missiles can reach no more than between 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) and 2,000 kilometers and warheads planned by Iran won't exceed 2,400 kilometers, the Russian president said.

Military Capability

The Russian leader also accused the U.S. of strengthening Iran's military capability by continuing to supply spare parts for F-14 warplanes used by Iran. Russia's own military cooperation with the Muslim nation is ``minimal,'' he said.

The expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Russia's borders ``reduces the level of mutual trust,'' Putin told the audience, which included NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Three former Soviet republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have already joined the 26-member alliance. Another two, Ukraine and Georgia, are seeking membership. Several former members of the Warsaw Pact, the Cold War-era military alliance dominated by the Soviet Union, have also joined, raising Russian concerns about the growing reach of its old military rival.

``NATO is no universal organization like the United Nations, it's primarily a military-political bloc,'' Putin said. ``We have the right to ask against whom is this aimed?''

Separately, Putin rebuffed criticism expressed by German lawmaker Markus Meckel at Russia's civil rights. Refusing to comment on the murder last November of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Putin asked the German Social Democrat: ``Do you know where most journalists were murdered in past years? In Iraq.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Andreas Cremer in Munich at [email][email protected][/email] ; Philipp Encz in Munich at [email][email protected][/email] .

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