Risk of renewed east-west confrontation, says German FM

HONOR MAHONY

30.04.2007 @ 09:40 CET

German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned of a risk of a new east-west conflict following a sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and western states in recent months.

Reacting to the news that Russia wants to suspend a key arms treaty, Mr Steinmeier said this was a "cause for concern" and "goes in the wrong direction."

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"We must prevent this. It cannot be allowed to come to a new spiral in mistrust between the west and Russia," he told Germany's Bild newspaper on Sunday, adding that there can only be security if both sides work "together and not against one another."

"It is in the urgent interest of Europe to avoid an escalation," he said.

His words come after Russian president Vladimir Putin during his state of the nation address last week said Moscow would suspend compliance with a treaty on conventional arms in Europe.

In place since the end of the Cold War, the treaty puts limits on the number of conventional weapons and foreign troops that can be deployed in the signatory countries.

The catalyst for the sharp rhetoric coming out of Moscow is Washington's decision to build a new missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, which it says will block threats from countries such as Iran and North Korea.

Moscow rejects this explanation, with Mr Putin last week saying Russia's partners are "conducting themselves incorrectly."

The subject was also a matter of intense discussion during a charged meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the end of last week, and is expected to come up during the EU-US summit in Washington today (30 April).

Estonia-Russia

Adding to the general tension is a spat between Russia and EU member Estonia over the removal of a Soviet WWII statue in Tallinn.

Estonia says that the statue divides the nation and represents Soviet occupation, but Russia has called the removal an act of "neo-facism," while its parliament has called for a suspension of diplomatic relations with Tallinn and for trade sanctions to be imposed.

Both the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana and German chancellor Angela Merkel, currently heading the bloc, have intervened, following riots in Tallinn in which one Russian national was killed.

Mr Solana on Saturday called Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, to express concern about the violence used against protesters following the removal of the statue, while Mrs Merkel called Mr Putin the same day to hear his views on the issue.

Although the tone has sharpened up in the last few days, the rift in east-west relations comes in the context of more long-term problems including EU worries over energy dependency on Russia, Russian trade relations with some eastern European EU states and western criticism of Russia's democratic standards.

The EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, last week even remarked that relations had sunk to levels not seen since the Cold War.

The issues are set to be showcased once more when the EU and Russia have a bilateral summit at the end of next month.