Putin Lauds Obama For Scrapping Missile Defense System In Europe

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, 11 Sep 2009Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says U.S. President BarackObama's decision to scrap plans for a missile defense system in Polandand the Czech Republic is "correct and brave."

In televised remarks Friday, Mr. Putin said he hopes other measures that would improve ties will follow.

PresidentObama announced Thursday that he is dispensing with the plans for amissile defense system for central Europe in favor of what he calls anew approach for defending the United States and its NATO allies.

Hesaid the new approach will provide "stronger, smarter and swifterdefenses" and employ "proven and cost effective" capabilities.

TheU.S. Defense Department says the new system will involve sensors andinterceptors in northern and southern Europe as well as missiles onships.

Russia had fiercely opposed the earlier planned system as a threat to its security.  

Mr.Obama said the change follows a new assessment of Iran's missileprogram.  The missile defense system planned for central Europe wassupposed to counter an attack from Iranian intercontinental ballisticmissiles.

But the White House says the Iranian ICBM threat isdeveloping more slowly than previously thought, while the threat fromIranian short and medium-range missiles is developing faster thanprojected.

U.S. Republican Senator John McCain calls the change"seriously misguided."  He said the decision is a step backwards at atime when eastern European countries are increasingly wary of what hecalls "renewed Russian adventurism."

Some Czech and Polishofficials said the development will not endanger the security of theircountries. But others, such as former Czech Prime Minister MirekTopolanek, whose government negotiated the missile deployment accord,said the decision threatens Czech security.

Poland's ForeignMinister Radek Sikorsky called the timing of the announcement clumsy,noting that it came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion ofhis country during World War Two.

Former U.S. President GeorgeW. Bush first proposed building a missile defense system in Poland andthe Czech Republic in 2006. Russia immediately condemned the move andthreatened to place its own missiles on the European Union borders ifWashington carried out its plans.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.