US-Russia tensions in spotlight at Munich security conference

MUNICH, Germany, (AFP)

President Vladimir Putin is expected to assert a Russian view of global security sharply at odds with that of the United States, when he speaks at a security conference here Saturday.

Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are the key speakers at the Munich Conference on Security Policy, an annual high-level gathering that examines current thinking on conflicts worldwide.

The conference, which began with a speech on Friday by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and concludes on Sunday, will also see one of the first speeches abroad from new US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani is also due to attend, despite an earlier announcement that he was to pull out, organisers confirmed Friday.

Ahead of the conference, Russian media have talked of a new arms race between Russia and the United States reminiscent of the Cold War, arguing that Washington is increasingly wary of a newly assertive, oil-rich Moscow and wants to encircle Russia. That could lead to sparks flying as Putin and Gates come face-to-face at a conference that has traditionally favoured lively exchanges due to its relative informality, predicted one Russian newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, on Friday.

Putin, who has tried to restore Russia's influence on the world stage in a presidency due to end next year, has vowed Russia will produce a "highly effective" response to US plans to base an anti-missile defence system in two former members of the Soviet-era Communist bloc, the Czech Republic and Poland.

That response would include development of guided ballistic missiles capable of evading interception, Russian officials have said, although Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday that Moscow would not be drawn into a new arms race.

Moscow is also concerned about moves to further enlarge NATO into ex-Soviet territory, a tension likely to be highlighted when Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko addresses the conference.