RUSSIA:New tensions between Nato and Russia erupted last night after President Vladimir Putin threatened to freeze his country's commitment to an international arms treaty.
Launching a fresh attack on Nato in the final remarks of his annual state of the nation address, Mr Putin accused the West of using the little-known treaty as a pretext for a military build-up on his country's borders and reminded the US of his displeasure at plans to site a new missile shield in eastern Europe.
There was almost instant reaction from Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said Russia must explain its actions.
The latest sharp exchange centres on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), which was agreed in 1990 and amended in 1999. The treaty limited military strengths throughout a vast area, stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals and covers conventional, but not nuclear, weapons. Russia complains that although it ratified and adhered to the revised treaty, other signatories have not.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer responded that the North Atlantic alliance was still keen to ratify the amended 1999 version, but that Russia must fulfil its commitments, too, such as the withdrawal of troops from the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester.
The timing of Mr Putin's attack was also sensitive, just hours before a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Oslo, which Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is also attending.
As she arrived in the Norwegian capital, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice described as "ludicrous" Russian objections to the establishment of 10 defensive missiles plus a radar station against what she called the "Soviet" nuclear arsenal - an unintended Cold War reference to the growing dispute.
However, Mr Putin was unequivocal: "Our partners are behaving, to put it mildly, incorrectly in this case." He accused the US and its allies of using "far-fetched pretexts" to beef up military bases near Russia's borders.
"In this connection, I consider it expedient to declare a moratorium on Russia's implementation of this treaty - in any case, until all countries of the world have ratified and started to strictly implement it," he said.
The US, he said, would not accept similar controls preventing it shifting troops from California to Texas, but this was the kind of restriction imposed on his country's military.
The Kremlin later put a year-long time-frame on Russia's moratorium, to give other signatories time to ratify the treaty, before making a final decision on renouncing it.
Russia's gesture on the CFE is a likely response to US plans to site the missile deterrent in Poland and the Czech Republic, both former Warsaw Pact member states now in Nato.
In his final address to Russian lawmakers, including regional governors such as billionaire Roman Abramovich and the Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov, Mr Putin made clear he would not be in charge next year.
He also attacked foreign interference in Russia's political process, claiming foreign countries were helping to fund "extremists".
The 72-minute speech, punctured by applause from ministers, governors and MPs, called for a return to traditional Russian values and announced a dramatic €20 billion boost in budgetary spending in a wide range of areas, from pensions to nanotechnology research.
Mr Putin also called for a major drive to upgrade the country's electricity generation, including the construction of 26 new nuclear reactors, and to improve transport infrastructure.