Putin to take up missile defence with Blair

By Thomas Abraham

LONDON, APRIL 16. The Russian President-elect, Mr. Vladimir Putin, arrived here on a visit in which he is expected to raise concerns about possible British participation in the proposed U.S. national missile defence system, and the prospects for NATO enlargement.

This is the Russian leader's first trip abroad since his election earlier this year, and reinforces Britain's role as the main link between the West and the new Russian administration.

The British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, had a made a controversial visit to St. Petersburg last year to meet Mr. Putin before the elections, and the latter is reciprocating by making London his first port of call. ``We should answer him (Blair) in the same vein, and so my first trip to western Europe will be to Britain,'' Mr. Putin said before his departure.

Mr. Blair's decision to engage with Mr. Putin has been criticised by Western critics of Russia's policy in Chechenya, and the Russian acting President is likely to face placard-waving protesters during his two days here.

A British lawyer, Ms Gareth Peirce, has filed a case on behalf of a Chechen woman in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, claiming that Russia was in breach of its obligations under the European Human Rights Convention. Other organisations such as Amnesty International have also written to Mr. Blair urging him to raise human rights violations in Chechenya with Mr. Putin.

Even though the Blair Government has declared respect for human rights to be a cornerstone of its foreign policy, in practice, it has adopted a pragmatic approach which has placed hard national interests above moral and ethical issues. In response to his critics, Mr. Blair said he would definitely express British concerns over Chechenya ``freely and frankly,'' but also made it clear that it was in Britain's interests to engage Russia. ``Russia remains a great and powerful country, and an increasingly important partner for us in business'', he pointed out. He added that the best way to get Russia to respond to international concerns over Chechenya was ``engagement not isolation.''

Mr. Putin has indicated that he will put Russian concerns over U.S. plans for a missile defence system to Britain. Two U.S. satellite tracking stations in Britain will form part of the defence system, and Mr. Putin is expected to urge Britain not to participate in the programme.

The missile defence system will violate a 1972 treaty that the U.S. and the then Soviet Union signed, and Russia has warned that this would undermine the global nuclear arms control regime. The Russian Parliament, which earlier this week ratified the START-II treaty, gave Mr. Putin authority to abandon other arms control treaties if the U.S. went ahead with the missile defence programme.

Mr. Putin will meet Queen Elizabeth. This is an unusual gesture on the British monarch's part since Mr. Putin is still to be sworn in as President.

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Section  : International
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