arms race

In Moscow's strongest public statement yet on the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that an agreement would be reached soon on a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States.

The United States is absolutely right to reject Vladimir Putin's criticism of the proposed missile defence shield. Talk of "maintaining the balance" is misleading: Putin simply does not want his country to lose the one playable card it holds.

President Medvedev's proposal for a new European Security Pact, intended to replace NATO in Europe, came a step closer to fruition this weekend. During the EU-Russia summit on November 14th he raised the matter, reminding delegates that Nicolas Sarkozy is firmly behind the proposal. Angela Merkel is also known to be supportive.