America’s “almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations” was criticized by Russian president Vladimir Putin who added that America is “nourishing” a nuclear arm race and risking global safety. Putin�s comments were told to a security summit which was attended by senior security officials from around the world. “One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way,” Putin added. “This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law.�

The White House expressed dismay that Putin would state the obvious so publicly. However, press secretary Gordon Johndroe said they would continue relations with Russia to fight the very things Putin accused America of increasing, terrorism and the �threat of weapons of mass destruction.” Neo-con-in-training, Joseph Lieberman, said Putin’s speech was reminiscent of �Cold War� rhetoric. Lieberman himself is more a fan of Iraq war rhetoric.

Republican Senator John McCain added, “Moscow must understand that it cannot enjoy a genuine partnership with the West so long as its actions at home and abroad conflict fundamentally with the core values of the Euro-Atlantic democracies. In today’s multi-polar world there is no place for needless confrontation.” However, Putin’s spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the speech was “not about confrontation, it’s an invitation to think.” He continued, �Until we get rid of unilateralism in international affairs, until we exclude the possibility of imposing one country’s views on others, we will not have stability.”

Earlier, German chancellor Angela Merkel said that Iran will be stopped by the international community from getting nuclear weapons. “What we are talking about here is a very, very sensitive technology, and for that reason we need a high degree of transparency, which Iran has failed to provide, and if Iran does not do so then the alternative for Iran is to slip further into isolation,” she said. Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani repeated his country�s position that it wanted nuclear power, not nuclear weapons. Larijani later said he believes the issue can be solved through negotiation. In compliance with UN sanctions, the IAEA halted 22 technical aid projects which Iran is involved in.

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