Chill falls on U.S.-Moscow relations

The widening gap between the United States and Russia expanded further Thursday as formerly communist Poland sought formal U.S. protection and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates threatened the Kremlin with “consequences” for its actions in Georgia.

Heightening tensions between the White House and the Kremlin resembled a 21st-century version of the Cold War, with Washington and Moscow trading diplomatic barbs and implied military threats over the Aug. 7-8 invasion of Georgia by Russian troops.

Poland, a former Soviet Union satellite, Thursday signed a deal to host 10 American interceptor missiles to shoot down offensive missiles, a deal fiercely opposed by Russia. The pact included what Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called a “mutual agreement” that each country would defend the other in case of attack.

In another move certain to anger Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko denied Russian warships deployed near Georgia the right to dock in their home port of Sevastopol on Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula without first obtaining permission.

Mr. Gates questioned the Bush administration’s long-standing policy of relying on personal trust between leaders such as President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resolve international disputes.

“I have never believed that one should make national security policy on the basis of trust. I think you make national security policy based on interests and on realities,” Mr. Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.

As recently as this week, Mr. Bush has talked about his “good relationship” with Mr. Putin, and said he does not view relationships with other leaders in terms of “leverage.”

Speaking of his relationship with China’s leaders, he said he has sought to engage in “constructive engagement where you can find common areas … but also be in a position where they respect you enough to listen to your views.”

Mr. Gates warned that Russia’s invasion of Georgia had damaged its standing in the world and put its relations with the U.S. at serious risk.

Moscow and Washington exchanged barbs in multiple press conferences throughout the day, and the fate of a two-day-old cease-fire appeared uncertain amid conflicting reports from the Georgian city of Gori, best known as the birthplace of Josef Stalin.

A large-scale Russian unit of 150 armored vehicles headed out of the western city of Senaki toward Kutaisi, which, like Gori, lies on the main east-west route that bisects the tiny Caucasian country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the world should “forget about any talk about Georgia’s territorial integrity,” indicating that the Kremlin considered two pro-Russian breakaway enclaves independent of Georgia - not unlike the recent Western decision to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state in the Balkans.

White House press secretary Dana Perino called Mr. Lavrov’s talk “bluster,” and said the Bush administration would ignore it.

But it was Mr. Gates’ comments during a Pentagon press conference that offered the most expansive, compelling insight to date on how the Bush administration views Russia’s actions in Georgia, a tiny country of about 4 million people on Russia’s southwest border.

“In terms of international institutions, in terms of cooperation with Russia, in terms of the overall relationships between many nations and Russia … there may be consequences,” he said.

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