Moscow agrees to soften anti-U.S. rhetoric, but many issues remain

Moscow agrees to soften anti-U.S. rhetoric, but many issues remain
By C.J. Chivers
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: May 15, 2007


MOSCOW: Russia agreed on Tuesday to tone down the harsh rhetoric its senior officials have used against the United States in recent months, but the two countries remained at an impasse on several issues that have strained relations between Washington and the Kremlin.

The agreement to soften the public language was announced by the Kremlin after a meeting outside the capital between President Vladimir Putin and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice's visit followed remarks by Putin on Red Square on May 9 that appeared to compare the United States to the Third Reich - the most severe of several criticisms he has made against the United States during his second term.

After the meeting, Rice told reporters that while she had not discussed the Third Reich comment directly with Putin, she had raised the issue of tone and pointed out that President George W. Bush has refrained from any pointed public criticism against Russia.

"I have said while I am here that the rhetoric is not helpful," she said. "It is disturbing to Americans who are trying to do our best to maintain an even relationship."

The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously backed away from the Third Reich comparison, saying that Putin had not meant it as a reference to the United States. But as Rice was meeting reporters on Tuesday, Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, said that the Kremlin had agreed that more moderate language is needed.

"The president supported the American side's understanding that it's necessary to tone down the rhetoric in public statements and concentrate on concrete business," Lavrov said, according to Russian news service reports.

On matters of pressing business, however, there was little sign of progress.

Relations between the two countries have suffered in part from disagreements over a U.S. plan to install a missile defense system in Europe, and over Russia's resistance to a U.S.-backed plan that would give effective independence to Kosovo.

On both issues the two sides remained apart. "Russia confirmed its position on the antimissile shield," Lavrov said, signaling that the Kremlin remained entrenched in its distrust of the proposal, which would put missile interceptors in Poland and a supporting radar network in the Czech Republic.

The Bush administration insists that the system is necessary to keep pace with evolving missile threats from Iran and North Korea. Rice reiterated U.S. plans to install the system in spite of Russian objections.

"The United States needs to be able to move forward to use technology to defend itself, and we're going to do that," she said, and added that the United States would not allow a foreign country a "veto" on its national security interests.

The two sides also reported little progress on the question of the status of Kosovo, the Serbian province under United Nations administration.

Russia opposes a plan that would grant Kosovo a form of independence under European Union supervision, and has suggested that it might veto it at the United Nations. Russia insists that the plan be accepted by both Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo's government has overwhelmingly endorsed the plan, but Serbia's leaders have opposed it.

Rice also said she had raised anew the United States' concerns about Russia's domestic politics, in particular the crackdowns on political opponents and independent electronic media, as she has in previous visits. Russia has bristled over the criticism in the past.

But Rice emphasized areas where the two countries have been cooperating effectively, which she said included not only the longstanding efforts on nonproliferation but also intelligence sharing.

She also told reporters that the United States was open to criticism about elements of its foreign policy, including on the war in Iraq.

Recent use of American military power has been a potent theme in Russia, and Putin gave a searing speech in Munich in February in which he excoriated the United States for its handling of the Iraq war, for backing NATO expansion to Russia's border and for what he called risking a new arms race with its missile defense plans.

Rice struck a conciliatory tone, saying the United States was willing to consult with Russia on its foreign policy matters to minimize misunderstandings. "If there are concerns about how the United States has and is continuing to exercise power, we can have that conversation," she said. "And we're not offended by it."

But she remained inflexible on American efforts to expand relations with countries that have gained independence from the former Soviet Union, saying that the United States is a global power and it is normal for it to seek relations in any region.

Although Bush has said he prefers not to criticize Russia in public, both Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney have strongly criticized Russia for its near absence of political pluralism and for what the West perceives as the use of its energy resources to punish countries that fall from the Kremlin's favor.

The meeting between Putin and Rice came as Russia is also preparing for a summit on Friday with the European Union, which both the union and Russia have been trying to salvage in the face of increasing tensions.

The two sides disagree on several issues, including missile defense, a Russian ban on meat imports from Poland and Russian anger of Estonia's relocation of a memorial commemorating Soviet soldiers, which Estonians regard as occupiers.