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Last Updated: Saturday, 10 February 2007, 19:36 GMT
Putin attacks 'very dangerous' US
Vladimir Putin
Mr Putin said the US overstepped its borders in every way


Correspondents say the strident speech may signal a more assertive Russia.

The White House said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the Russian president's comments.

"We expect to continue co-operation with Russia in areas important to the international community such as counter-terrorism and reducing the spread and threat of weapons of mass destruction," said Gordon Johndroe, press secretary for the White House National Security Council.


What we are talking about here is a very, very sensitive technology, and for that reason we need a high degree of transparency...
Angela Merkel




BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson, in Munich, said Mr Putin's speech was a strident performance which may well be remembered as a turning point in international relations.

An Iranian technician works at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities
Iran says it wants nuclear power, not nuclear weapons
US defence secretary Robert Gates, also attending the summit in Munich, said only that the Russian leader had been "very candid".

Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said Mr Putin's speech was "provocative", adding that its rhetoric "sounded more like the Cold War".


Mr Putin's spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the speech was "not about confrontation, it's an invitation to think".

"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," he said.

'Power not weapons'


Earlier, German chancellor Angela Merkel told delegates the international community was determined to stop Iran getting nuclear weapons.

There was "no way around" the need for Tehran to accept demands from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), she said.

"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, also at the conference, has been repeating Iran's position that it wants nuclear power, not nuclear weapons.

"We believe the Iranian nuclear dossier is resolvable by negotiation," Mr Larijani was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying on the sidelines of the conference.



President Putin's comments about the US

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