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Authors: Angus Roxburgh
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for the presidency on a promise to build an American national missile defence system, and the ABM treaty stood in his way.
The issue was top of the agenda when Putin made a state visit to the USA in November 2001. The Americans tried to convince the Russians that they had nothing to fear from a missile shield, since its aim was to protect the United States from missiles that might be developed in the future by ‘rogue states’ such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea (countries he would soon refer to as the ‘axis of evil’). As such the defence system would not destabilise the US–Russian strategic balance. Colin Powell recalls: ‘The president wanted to convey to President Putin that he, Bush, understood that the Cold War was over and that we had to avoid looking at the Russian Federation through the lens of the Cold War.’ 23
According to deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley, Bush said, ‘My preference would be that we both agree to leave the ABM treaty and we announce cooperation on ballistic missile defence. If it’s better for you, Vladimir, for me just to go unilaterally, so that you’re not part of it – and maybe even criticise it a bit – that’s okay.’ 24
It was the Americans’ turn now to try to seduce Putin with some good mood music. He was invited to the Bush family ranch at Crawford, Texas. Putin felt rarely privileged. He explained that he had never been to the home of another world leader. The atmosphere was cosy. While a thunderstorm raged outside, a log fire burned inside. Van Cliburn – a hero in the Soviet Union, where he won the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition back in 1958 – played for the guests. Condoleezza Rice danced and Putin’s foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, chatted in Spanish with President Bush. He recalls: ‘I speak Spanish because I used to work in Spain, and when Bush found this out he always used to chat to me in Spanish. He called me “Iggy”. “Hey, Iggy,” he would say, “Como estas?” ’ 25
But nothing could remove the log-jam over the ABM treaty – and Putin certainly did not intend to provide a fig-leaf by agreeing to abandon it jointly with the Americans. The most that could be agreed was that Bush would not embarrass Putin by announcing the withdrawal while he was still in the States.
In December Secretary of State Powell flew to Moscow to bury the treaty. In three days’ time, he told Putin, President Bush would publicly announce America’s unilateral withdrawal from the ABM. He described the curious reaction he got from Putin. ‘Putin looked at me with those steely eyes of his and started to complain: “This is terrible, you are kicking out the legs from under the strategic stability, and we will criticise you for this.” I said, “I fully understand that, Mr President.” And then he broke into a smile, and he leaned forward to me and he said: “Good! Now we won’t have to talk about this any more. Now you and Igor [Ivanov] get busy on a new strategic framework.” And I said. “Yes, sir.” ’ 26
Within five months a new strategic arms limitation treaty had been cobbled together. It was rather less imposing than its predecessors, the SALT treaties of the Cold War era and the START treaties signed by Gorbachev and Yeltsin with George Bush Senior. Covering just a couple of sides of A4, it was pretty thin, and though it reduced each side’s nuclear arsenals, it lacked any verification provisions or even any obligation to destroy arsenals permanently. But both Bush and Putin needed it for its symbolism. These two leaders were getting on like a house on fire, and they needed a treaty to prove it.
After the signing, Putin and his wife showed George and Laura Bush around the Kremlin, and then took them home to their dacha, where they did some fishing in a pond. Putin was repaying the Crawford experience. The next day they flew to Putin’s home town, St Petersburg, where they visited the city’s massive war memorial, the Hermitage gallery
The issue was top of the agenda when Putin made a state visit to the USA in November 2001. The Americans tried to convince the Russians that they had nothing to fear from a missile shield, since its aim was to protect the United States from missiles that might be developed in the future by ‘rogue states’ such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea (countries he would soon refer to as the ‘axis of evil’). As such the defence system would not destabilise the US–Russian strategic balance. Colin Powell recalls: ‘The president wanted to convey to President Putin that he, Bush, understood that the Cold War was over and that we had to avoid looking at the Russian Federation through the lens of the Cold War.’ 23
According to deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley, Bush said, ‘My preference would be that we both agree to leave the ABM treaty and we announce cooperation on ballistic missile defence. If it’s better for you, Vladimir, for me just to go unilaterally, so that you’re not part of it – and maybe even criticise it a bit – that’s okay.’ 24
It was the Americans’ turn now to try to seduce Putin with some good mood music. He was invited to the Bush family ranch at Crawford, Texas. Putin felt rarely privileged. He explained that he had never been to the home of another world leader. The atmosphere was cosy. While a thunderstorm raged outside, a log fire burned inside. Van Cliburn – a hero in the Soviet Union, where he won the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition back in 1958 – played for the guests. Condoleezza Rice danced and Putin’s foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, chatted in Spanish with President Bush. He recalls: ‘I speak Spanish because I used to work in Spain, and when Bush found this out he always used to chat to me in Spanish. He called me “Iggy”. “Hey, Iggy,” he would say, “Como estas?” ’ 25
But nothing could remove the log-jam over the ABM treaty – and Putin certainly did not intend to provide a fig-leaf by agreeing to abandon it jointly with the Americans. The most that could be agreed was that Bush would not embarrass Putin by announcing the withdrawal while he was still in the States.
In December Secretary of State Powell flew to Moscow to bury the treaty. In three days’ time, he told Putin, President Bush would publicly announce America’s unilateral withdrawal from the ABM. He described the curious reaction he got from Putin. ‘Putin looked at me with those steely eyes of his and started to complain: “This is terrible, you are kicking out the legs from under the strategic stability, and we will criticise you for this.” I said, “I fully understand that, Mr President.” And then he broke into a smile, and he leaned forward to me and he said: “Good! Now we won’t have to talk about this any more. Now you and Igor [Ivanov] get busy on a new strategic framework.” And I said. “Yes, sir.” ’ 26
Within five months a new strategic arms limitation treaty had been cobbled together. It was rather less imposing than its predecessors, the SALT treaties of the Cold War era and the START treaties signed by Gorbachev and Yeltsin with George Bush Senior. Covering just a couple of sides of A4, it was pretty thin, and though it reduced each side’s nuclear arsenals, it lacked any verification provisions or even any obligation to destroy arsenals permanently. But both Bush and Putin needed it for its symbolism. These two leaders were getting on like a house on fire, and they needed a treaty to prove it.
After the signing, Putin and his wife showed George and Laura Bush around the Kremlin, and then took them home to their dacha, where they did some fishing in a pond. Putin was repaying the Crawford experience. The next day they flew to Putin’s home town, St Petersburg, where they visited the city’s massive war memorial, the Hermitage gallery
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