President Vladimir Putin issued an acerbic warning Thursday to the United States, saying the recent test of a new Russian missile was a direct response to US actions and condemning "imperialism" in world affairs.
"Our American partners have quit the ABM Treaty," Putin told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart, referring to the landmark 1972 US-Soviet treaty limiting the missile defenses of the Cold War superpower foes.
"We warned them then that we would come out with a response to maintain the strategic balance in the world. Yesterday we conducted a test of a new strategic ballistic missile with multiple warheads, and of a new cruise missile, and will continue to improve our resources."
The United States informed Russia in 2001 that it was exercising its option to withdraw unilaterally from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) pact. It has since stepped up controversial plans, fiercely opposed by Russia, to deploy a missile defence shield in eastern Europe.
Putin warned Wednesday that the US missile defense plan would turn Europe into a "powder keg" and he repeated on Thursday previous assertions that the planned deployments would ignite a new Cold War-style arms buildup.
"We are not the initiators of this new round ...   more »

KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait’s decision to stop pegging itsdinar to the dollar has only confirmed speculation that oil-rich Gulf states will not be able to meet a 2010 target to launch their single currency, economists said on Monday.
“Certainly, the decision casts a serious doubt over the Gulf states’ ability to launch their single currency in 2010... I think such a step is difficult now. It’s premature,” said Saudi National Commercial Bank chief economist Saeed al-Shaikh.
“It makes it much more difficult to prepare the necessary groundwork for a single currency... It’s a step backward,” Shaikh told AFP.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups energy-rich Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, has already taken a number of measures in its bid to launch a monetary union and a single currency by 2010.
But last year, Oman said it would not be able to meet the target date while some countries have reportedly expressed reservations on a number of criteria, fuelling speculation that the launch date may not be met.
In a surprising decision on Sunday, Kuwait pegged the dinar to a basket of currencies, more than four years of linking it to the dollar in preparation ...   more »