0010 GMT, 000204 United States Tests Russian Limits
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The USS Monterrey, a U.S. Navy cruiser, detained a Russian oil tanker Feb. 2 in the Gulf of Oman on suspicion of smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of U.N. sanctions. U.S. naval personnel boarded the tanker and then diverted its course for inspection. This is first time in 18 months that a Russian vessel has been boarded on suspicion of breaking the sanctions, according to The Associated Press. However, the interdiction of the vessel is less about oil and more about defining the relationship between the United States and the post-Yeltsin Russian government.
The interception of the tanker, the Volgo-Neft-147, was a calculated political decision. Sanction busters smuggle hundreds of thousands of tons of oil out of Iraq each year, much of it under flags of convenience. But the United States monitored the movements of the Volgo-Neft for some time, according to Agence France-Presse. This suggests a conscious decision to follow the Russian-flagged vessel, with sufficient time to decide how to respond and to warn Russia against taking on Iraqi oil.
Nearly a month before the Volgo-Neft was interdicted, the United States contacted Russia, according to the State Department, most likely in hopes of quietly resolving the situation. These talks trickled up to the highest levels; U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reportedly raised the subject during her meetings in Moscow this week, apparently with little success.
In sum, the United States had plenty of time to single out the Russian vessel, follow it and warn the Russians against breaking the sanctions and make the political decision to intercept it after the Russians attempted to call the U.S. bluff. This was a decision by the United States to ratchet up the confrontation, probing the Russian political will to see just how Moscow will react.
The United States appears to be testing the limits of its relationship with the new Russian government, and to see how it has changed under acting President Vladimir Putin. The United States attempted to assert its dominance in the Persian Gulf by quietly pressuring the Russians into halting the vessel. When the Russians rejected the pressure, the United States thrust the confrontation into the public eye, ironically making it more difficult for Russia to back down.
The question now is how the Russians will respond while caught red-handed. Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev bristled at the fact that a Russian trading vessel was intercepted by American military ships, reported Agence France-Presse. Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Seredin demanded the immediate release of the tanker, according to Interfax news agency. It appears the Russians have chosen to play up the incident and possibly use it to attack the United States policy on Iraq and the Middle East. This again, is a test to define the new parameters of the relationship.
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-- Possible Impact (posim@hotmail.com), February 03, 2000