Russia and the conflict with the United States over missile defense: Perceptions, strategies and initiatives 1999-2002

Abstract

For a long time the Russian Federation firmly rejected US plans to deploy a national ABM system. It did so because the Russian leaders sought to maintain its Cold War status of a nuclear armed world power opposed to the American challenge. After the 11 September attacks, President Putin abruptly changed his policy. Russia began looking for a closer relationships to the U.S. because of the interest it shared with the Americans in eliminating Muslim fundamentalist terrorism. Nevertheless Russia could not prevent the withdrawal by the US from the ABM treaty in December 2001. Meanwhile the conflict over NMD has diminished in importance because the technological and conceptual basis for it is obviously still weak. There is still potential for future conflicts between Russia and the United States centered on the inconsistency of Russian non-proliferation policy, a certain tendency to global hegemony on the part of the US, and the uncertain future of Central Asia.

Keywords:

• Russia
• Russian Relationship To The U.S.
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
• Muslim Fundamentalist Terrorism
• Conflict Over National Missile Defense
• Central Asia