President Vladimir Putin threatened to point Russia's nuclear weapons at Ukraine yesterday if Kiev agreed to host the controversial US missile defense shield.
Moscow would regrettably be forced to redirect its missiles at its post-Soviet neighbor, he said, if Ukraine went ahead with its plan to join Nato and allowed US infrastructure on its territory.
Speaking after talks in Moscow with Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushshenko, Putin said the real target of the Bush administration's shield in central Europe was Russia - not a rogue missile fired by Iran or North Korea.
The true purpose was "the neutralization of our nuclear missile potential, which prompts Russia to take retaliatory action", Putin declared.
Asked what would happen if Ukraine joined Poland and the Czech Republic, which have already agreed to host elements of the Pentagon's system, Putin gave an emotional reply.
"It's horrible to say and even horrible to think that, in response to the deployment of such facilities in Ukrainian territory, which cannot theoretically be ruled out, Russia could target its missile systems at Ukraine. Imagine this for a second. That is what worries us," Putin said.
Russia has already said it would take "asymmetrical action" should the US deploy radar stations and missile interceptors in former eastern Europe. It has threatened to target both Poland and the Czech Republic with short-range missiles fired from the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
The latest comments suggest Russia will target any former Warsaw pact country that agrees to the Bush administration's plan. The Kremlin has repeatedly complained of Nato's "encroachment" into its back yard.
The US has not yet asked Ukraine to play any role in its defence shield.
Both Yushchenko and Ukraine's new pro-western government, led by Yulia Tymoshenko, have described Nato membership as a strategic goal. But years of anti-Nato Soviet propaganda have left most Ukrainians skeptical and any attempt to join would be deeply unpopular.
Yesterday Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also derided Washington's "excessive" missile defense plans and dismissed the threat from Iran as non-existent. It would need at least another 10 years to build a long-range missile, he said.
"Our position is based on facts, and the facts are as follows: Iran, which is thought to be the main threat, does not have and will not have missiles from which one has to protect itself in the long term," he said.
Lavrov also announced that Putin would attend a Russia-Nato council summit in April in Bucharest - the first time he has taken part in the summit since 2002. The president - who will leave office the following month to become Russia's prime minister - was keen to discuss "problems of collective security", Lavrov said.
Yesterday Putin reached a deal with Yushchenko to settle Ukraine's gas debts and resolve a crisis that could have led to a cut in supplies this week to the EU.
Yushchenko promised Kiev would pay off a $1.5bn (£750m) bill which Russia's state energy company, Gazprom, says it is owed for the delivery of gas from Russia and Central Asia. Gazprom had threatened to cut off supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine from 6pm yesterday.
"We have agreed that Ukraine will start paying off the debt starting Thursday," Yushchenko said after a three-and-a-half hour meeting at the Kremlin.
Putin said Gazprom was satisfied with the proposals. Formal agreements would be signed within the next few days, he said. "We hope that all agreements will be fulfilled," he said.
The deal follows an unusual Kremlin concert on Monday night celebrating Gazprom's 15th anniversary. The company hired the veteran British rock band Deep Purple and the singer Tina Turner to play for the evening. Russia's first deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev - whom Putin has anointed as his presidential successor - is a devoted Deep Purple fan.
Moscow would regrettably be forced to redirect its missiles at its post-Soviet neighbor, he said, if Ukraine went ahead with its plan to join Nato and allowed US infrastructure on its territory.
Speaking after talks in Moscow with Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushshenko, Putin said the real target of the Bush administration's shield in central Europe was Russia - not a rogue missile fired by Iran or North Korea.
The true purpose was "the neutralization of our nuclear missile potential, which prompts Russia to take retaliatory action", Putin declared.
Asked what would happen if Ukraine joined Poland and the Czech Republic, which have already agreed to host elements of the Pentagon's system, Putin gave an emotional reply.
"It's horrible to say and even horrible to think that, in response to the deployment of such facilities in Ukrainian territory, which cannot theoretically be ruled out, Russia could target its missile systems at Ukraine. Imagine this for a second. That is what worries us," Putin said.
Russia has already said it would take "asymmetrical action" should the US deploy radar stations and missile interceptors in former eastern Europe. It has threatened to target both Poland and the Czech Republic with short-range missiles fired from the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
The latest comments suggest Russia will target any former Warsaw pact country that agrees to the Bush administration's plan. The Kremlin has repeatedly complained of Nato's "encroachment" into its back yard.
The US has not yet asked Ukraine to play any role in its defence shield.
Both Yushchenko and Ukraine's new pro-western government, led by Yulia Tymoshenko, have described Nato membership as a strategic goal. But years of anti-Nato Soviet propaganda have left most Ukrainians skeptical and any attempt to join would be deeply unpopular.
Yesterday Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also derided Washington's "excessive" missile defense plans and dismissed the threat from Iran as non-existent. It would need at least another 10 years to build a long-range missile, he said.
"Our position is based on facts, and the facts are as follows: Iran, which is thought to be the main threat, does not have and will not have missiles from which one has to protect itself in the long term," he said.
Lavrov also announced that Putin would attend a Russia-Nato council summit in April in Bucharest - the first time he has taken part in the summit since 2002. The president - who will leave office the following month to become Russia's prime minister - was keen to discuss "problems of collective security", Lavrov said.
Yesterday Putin reached a deal with Yushchenko to settle Ukraine's gas debts and resolve a crisis that could have led to a cut in supplies this week to the EU.
Yushchenko promised Kiev would pay off a $1.5bn (£750m) bill which Russia's state energy company, Gazprom, says it is owed for the delivery of gas from Russia and Central Asia. Gazprom had threatened to cut off supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine from 6pm yesterday.
"We have agreed that Ukraine will start paying off the debt starting Thursday," Yushchenko said after a three-and-a-half hour meeting at the Kremlin.
Putin said Gazprom was satisfied with the proposals. Formal agreements would be signed within the next few days, he said. "We hope that all agreements will be fulfilled," he said.
The deal follows an unusual Kremlin concert on Monday night celebrating Gazprom's 15th anniversary. The company hired the veteran British rock band Deep Purple and the singer Tina Turner to play for the evening. Russia's first deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev - whom Putin has anointed as his presidential successor - is a devoted Deep Purple fan.
