CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) — The United States on Friday shrugged off Russia's resumption of permanent long-range strategic bomber flights reminiscent of the Cold War, saying "old aircraft out of mothballs" pose no threat.
Asked whether the patrols threatened US national security, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters: "I don't think our military has those concerns about it."
"Militaries around the world engage in a variety of different activities and so it's not entirely surprising that the Russian Air Force, the Russian military, might engage in this kind of activity or exercise," he added.
At the US State Department in Washington, spokesman Sean McCormack was blunter: "If Russia feels as though they want to take some of these old aircraft out of mothballs and get them flying again that's their decision."
Their comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would immediately resume long-range strategic bomber flights on a "permanent" basis, ending its 15-year suspension of such missions.
Johndroe, speaking while US President George W. Bush spent time on his Texas ranch, called it "an internal decision." "That is a decision for them to take; it's interesting," said McCormack.
"We certainly are not in the kind of posture we were with what used to be the Soviet Union. It's a different era," said McCormack.
US officials said the move was not a surprise because Putin has taken a series of steps meant to emphasize Russia's military strength and international influence in what they described as an effort to stoke nationalist sentiments.
At the same time, US-Russia relations have soured over issues like Washington's planned missile shield in Europe, which Moscow opposes, and Putin's sharp attacks on US global influence.
The announcement came days after Moscow said its strategic bombers had begun exercises over the North Pole, and just a week after Russian planes flew within a few hundred kilometers (miles) of a US military base on the island of Guam.
A top US commander said Tuesday that the long-range Russian bombers were flying more often and closer to US territory.
General Gene Renuart, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command, the agencies charged with protecting US and Canadian airspace, said US forces would continue to monitor the activity.
"Over the last few months the Russian air force has been flying a little bit more than we've seen in the past; certainly they're ranging farther than they have in the more recent past," Renuart said in a statement.
"NORAD has intercepted them out over international waters, near Alaska, and the command continues to monitor all of their long range bomber flight activity, even today," he added.
In the five-day exercises over the North pole that began Tuesday, the nuclear-capable bombers practiced firing cruise missiles, navigation in the polar region and aerial refueling maneuvers, the Russian air force said in a statement.
Last week, several Russian strategic bombers flew over the Pacific to near Guam and, according to a Russian general, exchanged grins with US fighter pilots.
The incident capped a summer in which Putin has sought to project power far and wide, building on a rearmament programme fueled by oil and gas revenues.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
