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Headlines, Part I

* U.S. AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR 'STRATEGIC DIALOGUE' WITH RUSSIA

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U.S. AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR 'STRATEGIC DIALOGUE' WITH RUSSIA.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia William Burns said in Moscow on March 1 that the two countries need more "dialogue" to remove "misconceptions" on issues such as the planned U.S. missile-defense system and the future of nuclear arms reduction treaties, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 9, 10, 11, 21, 22, and 23, 2007). He told a gathering of nuclear experts that "we may not be able to agree on every issue, but neither of us can afford miscommunication or the absence of genuine consultation." Burns said Washington and Moscow need to plan on how to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) which expires in 2009 and the Moscow Treaty, also called the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, which expires in 2012. He stressed that "there is also much more that can be done to enhance communication between us on everything from data exchange on ballistic-missile launches to difficult questions of missile defense and space and deterrence posture, to...the future of [the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty].... There are no easy answers to any of these questions but all of them require a candid, sustained, systematic strategic dialogue between us." General Yury Baluyevsky, who heads the Russian General Staff, and Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, who commands the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, recently suggested that Russia might abrogate the INF treaty. PM

RUSSIAN GENERAL SAYS HE'S NOT CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE U.S. RADAR STATION IN CAUCASUS.
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Henry Obering, who heads the Missile Defense Agency, said in Brussels on March 1 that the United States wants to set up an antimissile radar station at an unspecified point in the Caucasus, news agencies reported. He reiterated the U.S. position that the projected missile interceptors to be based in Poland are not directed against Russia, although President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials have argued that they are. Obering said that "what [we] are talking about is 10 interceptors that we would locate in Poland. First of all, from a numbers perspective, there is no way that they can challenge the hundreds of missiles and thousands of warheads that the Russians have. [Secondly,] even if we were trying to target those missiles, we cannot catch those missiles from Poland. In fact, if we were trying to target Russian missiles we would not put the interceptors in Poland -- it is too close to Russia. They would be in a different location." On March 2, Russian Air Force Commander in Chief Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov said that the possible deployment of a U.S. radar site in the Caucasus is of no real concern to Russia, RIA Novosti and ITAR-TASS reported. "We have everything necessary in order to respond appropriately to such deployments. They have lots of money, so let them spend it," he said. The daily "Kommersant" on March 2 summed up the Russian attitude towards the missile-defense project as "predictably hostile." The same paper reported on February 28 that First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told the government's Military and Industrial Commission recently that Russia needs to set up its own defense system against aircraft, missiles, and space weapons. PM

PROMINENT RUSSIAN LEGISLATOR SAYS BUDGET CONCERNS UNDERLIE U.S. TOUGH TALK ABOUT RUSSIA.
Mikhail Margelov, who chairs the Federation Council's International Relations Committee, said in Moscow on March 1 that recent critical comments about Russia by U.S. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell before the Senate Armed Services Committee were prompted by McConnell's desire to shore up his agency's budget, news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28 and March 1, 2007). Margelov argued that "[U.S.] security services come to Capitol Hill with their budget requests, and it is understandable that in order to make those budget requests sound more convincing, security chiefs have to make their presentations as colorful as possible." Margelov added that "if we compare the Russian and U.S. military budgets, the difference between them is not even in tens but in hundreds of times [in favor of the United States]. So, in my opinion, to say that Russia could present a threat to the United States is not serious." The daily "Vedomosti" noted on March 1 that "all talk of a 'strategic partnership' between Washington and Moscow has come to an end. After a recent visit to the United States, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Washington as 'our most difficult partner.'" PM

ISRAEL WARNS RUSSIA OVER POSSIBLE MISSILE SALES TO SYRIA.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said in Jerusalem on March 2 that Russia should scrap plans to negotiate a new arms deal with Syria involving advanced antitank and antiaircraft missiles, dpa reported. Peres warned that such sales would encourage Syria to "turn to a road of war." The news agency noted that Israeli media have recently quoted unspecified Israeli officials as saying they have learned that the negotiations are in their final stages and involve selling several thousand of the missiles to Damascus for hundreds of millions of dollars. The missiles are reportedly able to pierce the armor on any modern Western tank. Israeli Radio quoted unnamed "senior government officials" as warning that the missiles would probably "reach" Hizballah in Lebanon, which would then use them against Israeli tanks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 7 and 12, and October 17, 2006). Former Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, of the opposition Likud party, told Israeli Radio on March 2 that President Putin wants to return Russia to the era of the former Soviet Union and the international status it had at the time. Shalom stressed that Putin "is playing with fire." On March 2, Foreign Minister Lavrov called on Israel to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as a step toward making the Middle East a nuclear-free zone, news.ru reported. PM

ARE ARMS SALES HELPING DRIVE RUSSIAN POLICY IN MIDDLE EAST?
The Russian daily "Vedomosti" noted on March 1 that "Russia has become one of the chief problems for U.S. policy in the Middle East," particularly where Iran is concerned, which "enables Moscow to demonstrate the potential geopolitical benefits of friendship with Russia to other Middle Eastern countries." The paper stressed that "Moscow and Washington have disagreed in the Middle East before, but matters have not gone this far since the Cold War era.... As recently as 2005, Russia bowed to pressure from the United States and Israel and declined to sell portable surface-to-air missiles to Syria. [Instead, it] signed an agreement with the United States on reciprocal notification about any such arms deals in future." The daily pointed out that "the Middle East is a key area for Russia's arms and nuclear technologies exports. Putin is relying on this potential in his efforts to diversify the Russian economy." PM