EU leaders decry Russia after speech

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- European leaders say a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany underlines the strained relations between Russia and the European Union.

Putin said at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy that the United States is a "unipolar" power and criticized U.S. plans to create anti-missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, the EU Observer reported Monday.

The Russian leader also criticized NATO expansion.

"I don't want to accuse anyone of being aggressive," Putin said of the U.S. missile plans, adding that he is considering an unspecified "asymmetric" response.

He said the NATO expansion is "a serious factor provoking reduction of mutual trust."

Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves used Putin's remarks to urge the EU to rethink relations with "a country that considers democracy on its borders as a threat, or despotism inside its borders as a source of stability."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates countered Putin's words with softer rhetoric, The New York Times reported.

"Russia is a partner in endeavors," he said. "But we wonder, too, about some Russian policies that seem to work against international stability, such as its arms transfers and its temptation to use energy resources for political coercion."