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ISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at a U.S. missile-defense plan Thursday saying it threatened countries in a regional grouping that has emerged as a powerful bloc countering American interests.

Ahmadinejad spoke at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China and four ex-Soviet Central Asian countries. Iran has observer status in the SCO.

Russia has vehemently objected to U.S. plans to place elements of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying the system could be used against Russia and would wreck the strategic balance of forces in Europe.

But Ahmadinejad said "these intentions go beyond just one country. They are of concern for much of the continent, Asia and SCO members."

The United States says the system is intended to head off the threat of possible missile attacks by rogue countries, including Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in turn told the summit that "any attempts to solve global and regional problems unilaterally are hopeless," and called for "strengthening a multi-polar international system that would ensure equal security and opportunities for all countries."

He did not mention the United States by name, but the comments echoed Russia's frequent complaints that the United States dominates world affairs. The phrase "multi-polar" is often used by Russia to push for efforts to counter the United States' power.

The SCO summit in the capital of Kyrgyzstan was being watched closely by Washington. The United States maintains an air base near the capital, and the SCO previously has called for a timetable to be set for withdrawing American military elements from member countries.

The SCO emerged 11 years ago to address religious extremism and border security issues in Central Asia. China and Russia have been pushing for strengthening the group since the U.S. military set up air bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan after the Sept. 11 attacks to support the anti-terror campaign in nearby Afghanistan. Uzbekistan evicted its U.S. base in 2005.

In recent years, with Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia signing on as observers, the group has been emerging as potentially a broader and more powerful bloc aimed at resisting U.S. domination in world affairs. Ahmadinejad is attending the annual summit for the second consecutive year.

Although the SCO has welcomed Ahmadinejad, accepting Iran as a full member will not be on the table any time soon, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the Russia in Global Affairs journal. "Making Iran a member would be seen as an open challenge to the United States, a call for confrontation," he said.

The organization, whose members are some of the world's biggest energy producers and consumers, also has begun to embrace economic cooperation. At Thursday's summit, the leaders plan to discuss the creation of an SCO Energy Club, a Kremlin official said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

A further sign of the group's intention to influence energy markets is the participation in the Bishkek summit of Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, whose country is the second-largest producer of gas in the former Soviet Union after Russia. Turkmenistan is not a SCO member; the president is attending as a guest.

Ahmadinejad stopped in Turkmenistan on his way to Bishkek to meet with Berdymukhamedov.

The Turkmen president also received a visit this week from Daniel Sullivan, U.S. assistant secretary of state for economic, energy and business affairs. The United States wants Turkmenistan's support for an undersea Caspian gas pipeline, which would circumvent Russian-controlled export routes.

For Washington, a more immediate worry is the fate of its military base in Bishkek. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said the organization's opposition to a prolonged U.S. military presence in Central Asia has not changed, according to an interview published Wednesday in the Vremya Novostei newspaper.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said during a visit to Bishkek in June that the U.S. air base there was a bilateral issue and "not an issue for discussion between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization."

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev has signaled in the run-up to the summit that his country is not seeking closure of the U.S. base, saying that it is important for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Russia also maintains a military base in Kyrgyzstan.

After the summit, the leaders of all six member countries � Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev � will head to Russia to watch joint war games.

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Associated Press writer Bagila Bukharbayeva in Moscow contributed to this report.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/16/europe/EU-GEN-Kyrgyzstan-Security-Summit.php

[stevemcgarrett]

It's a good sign for U.S. foreign policy-making whenever Iran is uncomfortable with something we do.

But as you know, Iran and Russia have been butt buddies for decades now.

So anything one says the other will likely chime in on too.