PUTIN ACCUSES U.S. OF MAKING WORLD UNSAFE
MUNICH, GERMANY — Russian President Vladimir V. Putin berated the United States in a major speech Saturday before senior American and European officials, declaring that Washington's militarism had fostered global instability and forced vulnerable nations to seek nuclear weapons.
In harsh language sometimes reminiscent of the Cold War and at other times pleading or mocking, Putin accused the United States of attempting to create a world in which it was free to ignore international law and impose its economic, political and military will.
"We are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper-use of military force in international relations," Putin said. "One country, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way."
Putin's litany of accusations was not unfamiliar. The Russian leader has been able to leverage high demand for Russia's oil and gas into an increasingly assertive role on the world stage. But the tenor of his remarks sent a quiver through the hall. Participants said that, coming after a conciliatory opening speech by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin's comments were widely resented by the hosts. One German questioner jokingly told Putin that he hoped the president had not set off "another world war."
In Washington, Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, said, "We are surprised and disappointed with President Putin's comments. His accusations are wrong."
Johndroe said the Bush administration expected to continue to cooperate with Moscow in areas such as counter-terrorism and reducing the spread of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
The speech was a first for a Russian president at the increasingly high-profile Munich Security Conference. It was delivered with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates seated stoically in the front row flanked by a stone-faced congressional delegation led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, considered a leading candidate to be the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
The symbolism was all the more stark given that it came on the new defense secretary's first formal trip to Europe and that it occurred at a conference once dominated by his predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld. Putin spoke in a prime first-day time slot once used as a platform for Rumsfeld; Gates is to address the gathering today.
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