In a phone call yesterday initiated by Vladimir Putin, President Bush and
the Russian leader agreed to continue discussing Moscow's concerns about
independence for Kosovo, a sensitive subject expected to come up next month in
the U.N. Security Council.
The United States and the European Union support a plan by U.N. special envoy
Martti Ahtisaari, a former president of Finland, that would grant Kosovo
independence from Serbia but keep it under international supervision until a new
constitution is enacted and a multi-ethnic government is established
Serbia have publicly opposed any Security Council resolution that would put
the independence plan on track. A Russian veto of such a resolution could
exacerbate growing tensions between Moscow and Washington, which, along with the
E.U. nations, wants to move ahead in the next two months on this issue and
others.
Adding to the new East-West tension, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced in
Moscow yesterday that it has called for an emergency conference next month to
discuss the post-Cold War Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, an arms
control pact that limits conventional troops and weaponry in Europe. The Russian
statement said there are "serious problems related to the observance of the
treaty by NATO nations as a result of the alliance's expansion and their
foot-dragging on the ratification of the 1999 agreement to amend the CFE."
Unmentioned, but expected to be involved in the CFE conference, is the U.S. plan
to put 10 anti-missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic
by 2012 as part of a new American defense system against potential missile
attacks from Iran or North Korea.
In April, Putin declared a moratorium on Russia's implementation of the arms
treaty in response to the U.S. missile defense plans, calling them a reason to
withdraw from the pact.
Congress has taken steps to slow down the proposed interceptor missile site in
Poland. The House voted this month to delete money for preparation of the site
from the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill, and last week the Senate Armed
Services Committee agreed to hold back any funding for the site until it can
review and approve any U.S. agreements with Warsaw and Prague.
Unless the situation changes dramatically, it is doubtful that there will be
money in the final legislation to begin work on the Polish site.
The issues of Kosovo and the proposed U.S. missile defense system will be the
subject of discussions when Putin and Bush meet next month at the Group of Eight
summit in the German resort of Heiligendamm. After the June 6-8 sessions, Bush
plans to visit the Czech Republic and Poland.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
are expected to meet again shortly to continue discussing both issues in
preparation for the G8 sessions. They met two weeks ago in Moscow with the same
matters on the table.
On May 15, Rice told reporters in Moscow that, while the two sides "don't
see eye to eye" about the proposed anti-missile system, "it is still
quite a long time until such deployments would come into being, and we very much
value the opportunity to discuss the issue with Russia and to talk about the
emerging threats."
Three days after their meeting, Lavrov told the BBC World Service that
"these Czech and Polish locations perfectly fit into the overall global
design of the American missile defense, which is surrounding the perimeters of
the Russian borders."
Kosovo has been under U.N. supervision since the Serbs were driven out in 1998
by NATO forces, and its ethnically Albanian majority population has been
pressing for independence. At the May 15 news conference in Moscow, Rice said
those desires deserve recognition.
"Ultimately the time has come to make de jure what is de facto," she
said, "and that's the point that I made to President Putin."
Lavrov said that at that same session, "it was agreed to search for a
solution on Kosovo that would be acceptable for all, but there is no such
solution immediately in sight."
A diplomat close to the Kosovo talks cast doubt yesterday on a report in the
Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List that Russia, the United States and the European
Union had reached a compromise on Kosovo. "I have heard nothing about such
an agreement," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he
is not authorized to discuss the subject.
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, speaking about the
Putin-Bush phone call, said only, "They discussed the importance of
continuing their dialogue on Kosovo and other issues of mutual concern
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