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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on
Tuesday that his administration planned to make it clear to
Russian President Vladimir Putin that it did not see Russia as
an enemy, although it may be a threat. In an interview with reporters from regional newspapers,
Bush explained his theories about Russia in relation to missile
defense. ``Missile defense is the ... beginning of focusing resources
on the true threats facing America,'' Bush said in the
interview, a transcript of which was released by the White
House. ``Russia is not an enemy. They may be a threat, if they
decide to be, but they're not the enemy,'' he said. ``And it's
going to be very important for my administration to make that
very clear to Mr. Putin.'' Bush and Putin are at odds over Bush's plans to build a
missile defense shield. Putin is a strong supporter of the Cold
War-era Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which Bush has vowed to
scrap if necessary to build the shield. Bush has said the United States needs to create a national
missile defense umbrella to protect its territory from a
surprise attack by ``rogue states'' such as Iran and North Korea. ``Anybody with a nuclear weapon is a threat,'' Bush said.
''But the true threats to stability and peace are these nations
that are not very transparent ... that don't let people in to
take a look and see what they're up to.'' The United States urged Russia this week not to provide
Iran with advanced conventional weapons or sensitive military
technologies when it resumes its arm sales to Iran. Putin has
told the United States he would go ahead selling arms to Iran
and to complete construction there of a nuclear power plant. The United States has complained repeatedly to Russia about
the transfer of missile and nuclear technology to Iran.
See the original at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010313/pl/bush_russia_dc_1.html
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