U.S., Russia Trade Gibes Over Iran
Kremlin Vows 'Tough' Reply to American Sanctions, Threats
By Daniel Williams
The Washington Post Friday
January 15, 1999
Jan. 14-Relations between the United States and Russia have gotten off
to a rocky start this year, as for the second straight day officials here
harshly criticized Washington for taking Moscow to task over arms proliferation
issues.
In the latest instance, the Kremlin reacted testily to a threat -- issued
Wednesday by State Department spokesman James P. Rubin -- to forbid U.S.
companies from launching commercial satellites aboard Russian rockets.
Rubin said a freeze on such transactions could be imposed if Russia fails
to curb technology transfers to Iran. Washington says the transfers help
Iran develop long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.
A U.S.-imposed quota of 16 American commercial satellites to be launched
aboard Russian rockets is set to be filled by the end of this year, Rubin
said, adding: "If we don't get progress on the missile proliferation
problem, we are not going to be able to support increasing that quota."
He said such a cutoff would deprive Russia of hundreds of millions of dollars
in potential revenue. The threat closely followed Washington's imposition
of sanctions on three Russian technological institutions that allegedly
have been helping Iran develop its missile program.
"The accusations are groundless," Foreign Ministry spokesman
Vladimir Rakhmanin said today. President Boris Yeltsin's spokesman, Dmitri
Yakushkin, said Russia is preparing to make a "quite tough" response
to Washington's actions and that Russian specialists will look into the
matter. In Washington, Rubin said, "We are very confident in the
[intelligence] information we have." A Clinton administration decision
to end U.S. satellite launches on Russian rockets would harm one American
company in particular -- Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. Communications
firms pay it handsomely to orbit satellites aboard Russia's huge Proton
rockets from a launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Moscow and Washington have been sparring over the Iran arms issue for
the past few years, but the latest give-and-take falls within the context
of deepening bilateral disputes over other issues. Russia is pressing for
the United Nations to lift economic sanctions on Iraq, against Washington's
wishes. Moscow also opposed the recent U.S. bombing of Iraqi military installations
and briefly recalled its ambassador from Washington in protest. Moscow,
a traditional ally and patron of Serbia, also opposes NATO military activities
in the Balkans and proposals to expand the NATO alliance into the Baltic
states -- which formerly were Soviet republics.
The tone of Russian relations with United States has gradually sharpened
since the early years of Yeltsin's rule, when Moscow and Washington talked
of partnership. Yevgeny Primakov, who had served as foreign minister until
he become prime minister last summer, has made it a point to express opposition
to American "hegemony."
But it may be an untimely moment for Russia to flex its muscles. Primakov
is counting on the International Monetary Fund to provide new loans to
shore up Russia's floundering economy, yet he has engaged in a high-profile
wrangle with the United States, the largest contributor to the fund.
Yuri Maslyukov, Primakov's top economic adviser, is meeting with IMF
officials in Washington, where he dismissed the U.S. threat to halt cooperation
on commercial satellite launches. "I am sure this will not happen,"
he told Russian reporters. In Moscow, meanwhile, there is conflicting
opinion over whether Russia has been supplying Iran with weapons technology.
Ecologist Alexei Yablokov said the Americans "may have good reasons"
for their suspicions. On the other hand, the Federal Security Service,
Russia's domestic intelligence agency, chided Washington and said U.S.
spies might be "defective."
"We hope that the situation is the result of a misunderstanding,"
an agency statement said. Russian officials said the security service,
a successor to the Soviet KGB, had investigated the three sanctioned institutions
and found "no violations."
Staff writer John Mintz in Washington contributed to this report.
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