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Russia to US: Scrap Missile Defense
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's foreign minister laid out a tough negotiating position on America's missile defense plans Thursday ahead of a visit by President Bush, saying the best solution would be for the U.S. to scrap the idea altogether. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russian experts were studying the latest U.S. plans—intended to ease Russian concerns about the proposed missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic—but he reaffirmed Moscow's call for Washington to drop them. "We are convinced that the best way to assuage Russia's concerns ... will be to abandon such plans and turn to a truly collective project," Lavrov told reporters. Earlier this month, the U.S. secretaries of state and defense visited Moscow with new proposals that would allow Russia to closely monitor the prospective missile defense sites. Lavrov previously has said the proposals reflect the U.S. recognition of Russia's concerns but that Moscow needs to study them in details before replying. Bush plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Putin's Black Sea residence on April 6 to try to resolve the missile defense dispute. Putin has rejected U.S. arguments that the missile shield is needed to counter a prospective missile threat from Iran. He said the U.S. plan would erode Russia's nuclear deterrent. Last summer, Putin proposed that the U.S. jointly use an early warning radar in Azerbaijan instead. The U.S. has promised to consider that Russian offer, but said it couldn't replace its planned facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic. Bush plans to visit Russia after attending a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, April 2-4. Putin also plans to attend part of the summit, which is set to discuss membership aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia. Russia has strongly warned NATO against granting its two ex-Soviet neighbors a so-called "membership action plan," a roadmap to joining the alliance. Putin has threatened to aim nuclear weapons at Ukraine if it joins NATO and accepts the deployment of anti-missile defenses on its territory. And the Russian parliament last week urged the Kremlin to consider recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in Georgia, part of a campaign to keep it out of NATO. Lavrov on Thursday reaffirmed Moscow's strong objections against putting Ukraine and Georgia on a track to NATO membership, saying an expansion of the Cold War-era alliance would be "at odds with realities of the modern world." Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-03-27 |
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