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Russia: "Let us
h/t: Drudge (again)A senior Russian lawmaker called Saturday for Russia to be included in US plans to build a missile defence system in Europe, warning Moscow will otherwise view the antimissile shield as a threat. "Russia has every reason to be interested in close cooperation in creating Eurasian missile-defense systems," Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the State Duma, wrote in an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune. "And any attempt to build them without Russia (which is not only an interested party but also geographically and technically the most suitable place for an effective antimissile defense) automatically means they are being built against Russia," wrote the lawmaker. Russia has repeatedly criticised the United States' plans to place missile defence equipment in countries that were once part of Moscow's orbit. The United States has asked the Czech Republic to host a radar system and Poland to host interceptor rockets as part of its missile defence plans. Washington insists the anti-missile shield is intended as protection against attacks from "rogue states" such as For now... Kosachev argued building an antimissile shield without Russia wouldn't be effective and counterproductive as Moscow would view it as a threat. "Our colleagues in Europe should understand this basic principle: Any attempt to build a security system without Russia (still less against it) by definition cannot be comprehensive or effective," he wrote. "Instead of security for Europe's people we will have a new division and new targets on our densely populated Continent," Kosachev noted, echoing warnings by other Russian officials that Moscow would be forced to target the anti-missile shield. On Friday, the lower house of the Russian Posted by: Jackal 2007-04-07 |
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