Putin, in Iran, warns against use of force
"International Herald Tribune",
October 16, 2007
Tehran: President Vladimir Putin of Russia told a meeting of five Caspian Sea nations in Iran on Tuesday that any use of military force in the region was unacceptable and in a declaration the countries agreed that none of them would allow their territories to be used as a base for launching military strikes against any of the others.
"We should not even think of making use of force in this region," Putin said.
Putin's comments and the declaration came at a time when France and the United States have refused to rule out military action to halt Iran's nuclear energy program, which they believe masks a desire to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Asked Tuesday morning about Putin's remarks, Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary, played down Putin's remarks, saying simply, "That sounds like a good policy."
Putin arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for meetings with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and leaders from three other Caspian Sea nations that have rich oil and gas resources, promising to use diplomacy to try to resolve the international debate over Iran's nuclear program.
He is the first Kremlin leader to travel to Iran since 1943, when Stalin attended a wartime summit meeting with Churchill and Roosevelt. His statements, which were consistent with his past positions cautioning against military action against Iran, were nonetheless stark in their setting and firmly emphasized his differences with the United States over the extent of Iran's threat and the means to counter it.
"Not only should we reject the use of force, but also the mention of force as a possibility," Putin said. "This is very important. We must not submit to other states in the case of aggression or some other kind of military action directed against one of the Caspian countries."
Russia has blocked a third set of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations that are intended to persuade the country to stop enrichment activities, which Western nations fear could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
Putin, who has emphasized the need for further dialogue and working within the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that Iran's nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes, was scheduled to meet Ahmadinejad twice Tuesday.
He has further called into question the concerns of the United States and France that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, saying that while he seeks to have Iran's program be transparent he as yet has not seen clear evidence of any Iranian intention to make nuclear weapons.
In spite of Putin's strong statements and the evident show of solidarity among the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, significant regional tensions remain.
The principal reason for the meeting in Tehran was further discussion among the leaders of nations that border the Caspian Sea, including the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, about the division of the sea's resources, particularly oil.
With world oil prices at about $86 a barrel, the legal status and ownership of oil and gas deposits under the sea bed, and potential transit routes, have become contentious issues.
Iran and the Soviet Union once recognized a water boundary between the two governments and had agreements for sharing its resources. Before 1991, each country took 50 percent of the oil and gas from the sea.
But since the Soviet Union collapsed, the successor governments in the newly independent Caspian nations have quarreled over where their sea borders should be drawn. Iran, whose coastline makes up about 13 percent of the sea, has insisted that it will not agree to a share of less than 20 percent.
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have also expressed interest in building pipelines along routes under the sea, which would allow Central Asian governments to bypass Russian pipeline systems as they ship their resources to the West. Russia opposes the idea, which would break its monopoly, citing environmental concerns.
In the absence of a multilateral agreement and mutually accepted borders, the Caspian nations are developing the oil resources as they see fit, although analysts have said that the absence of clear at-sea borders has limited the sector's development.
"The division of the sea is not less important than the nuclear program," said Ahmad Nateq Nouri, a former parliamentary speaker, in a report carried on the Fars News Agency.
But the issue of Iran's nuclear program overshadowed the others. Putin's remarks also underscored a longstanding unease in the Kremlin with what it regards as a creeping American military presence in Central Asia, a region formerly solely under Moscow's control.
Since the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, the Pentagon has built a military base in Kyrgyzstan to support operations in Afghanistan and has expanded its military collaboration with Azerbaijan, including underwriting an upgrade of a former Soviet airfield there.
It also has an agreement allowing military transport planes en route to Afghanistan to refuel in Turkmenistan, a country that has made neutrality a cornerstone of its foreign policy.
The American presence and collaboration in the region has alarmed Moscow, and its potential access to improved airfields in two countries bordering Iran - Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan - has fueled speculation that the airfields could support actions against Tehran.
Ahmadinejad intimated as much in his statements Tuesday. "On many issues we have reached final agreement, but we also need collective cooperation," said Ahmadinejad at the gathering. "The goal is to keep the sea clear of military competitions and keep foreigners out of the region."
Although Putin and Ahmadinejad were resolute, their statements appeared to have more political than military significance and were not a departure from the status quo.
The United States does not have existing agreements with any Caspian state to launch attacks on another. Rather, the Pentagon has negotiated limited bilateral agreements in the region that allow for overflight to Afghanistan, refueling, emergency landings and the like.
Moreover, with American military assets assembled in Iraq and other Gulf nations, and warplanes and submarines in the region as well, it is not clear that any of the Caspian states would be essential for a raid on Iran.
The Caspian meeting also concluded without a clear agreement on territorial demarcation. The leaders said in the declaration that the sea would be used for peaceful purposes and its issues would be resolved by the coastal states.
As part of the talks expected later, Putin and Ahmadinejad planned to discuss the completion of a nuclear power plant that Russia is building in the southern city of Bushehr. Russia has given various reasons for the delay in completing the plant.
The Russian president's visit appeared to underscore the many levels of bilateral ties between Russia and Iran.
Putin said as much himself.
"Trade with Iran has been increasing continually and has already reached $2 billion," he said.
Putin said that Russia and Iran planned to cooperate on space, aviation and energy issues and suggested that the tensions with the West over Iran's nuclear program had provided Russia a unique role. "Russia is the only country that is helping Iran to realize its nuclear program in a peaceful way," he said.
By Nazila Fathi and C. J. Chivers
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