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Russia sees US 'reset' boost from shield U-turn
Moscow (AFP) Sept 17, 2009 Russia on Thursday applauded the United States for moving to scrap its contested missile shield in Eastern Europe but denied the change could be linked to a secret deal on policy towards Iran. Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer announced that US President Barack Obama informed him that the United States had given up its plan to build the missile shield, a scheme that inflamed tensions between Moscow and Washington. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed the move as a responsible step by the US and hinted it would help thaw relations between the two countries. He praised the "responsible decision of the US president" in comments on Russian television and added: "I am ready to continue dialogue." Medvedev recalled that during Obama's visit to Moscow in July, the leaders had agreed to cooperate on assessing missile threats and working out how to respond to them. "Washington's declaration today shows that there are good conditions for such work," the Russian president said. He said he would discuss the issue with Obama during a visit to the US on September 23. The president added he wanted to work with America and European countries to "develop efficient measures against the proliferation of risk presented by missiles." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave a more cautious response, saying that Russia was still waiting for official confirmation from the White House that the plan had been scrapped. "We need to see what this is about. Our estimations of the US plans are well known," he said, according to the ITAR-TASS news agency. The Wall Street Journal said the decision to scrap the plans to place a radar base in the Czech Republic and install interceptor missiles in Poland, was to be announced after the end of a 60-day review ordered by Obama. Along with Moscow's August 2008 war with Georgia, the US missile defence plan was one of the issues that plunged US-Russian relations to a post-Cold War low in the final months of the George W. Bush administration. The United States had insisted that the initiative was aimed at countering a missile threat from "rogue states" such as Iran. Moscow retorted that it posed a direct threat to Russia. Pro-Kremlin political analyst and MP Sergei Markov said: "Without doubt the scrapping of the missile defence shield is not just a positive signal for Moscow but a concrete action that is good for Russia's security." But Russia denied there had been any secret deal between Moscow and Washington for the United States to drop the missile shield in exchange for Russia taking a tougher line on Iran. The New York Times had reported in March that Obama sent a letter to Medvedev saying the shield would not be necessary if Moscow helped stop Iran from developing long-range missiles and nuclear bombs. "Some media outlets have said we are supposedly agreeing some sort of deal with respect to missile defence," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters. "I can say that this does not correspond to our policies and our approaches to the solution of any problems with any countries... These are all conjectures." Russia, which has relatively strong commercial and political ties with Iran and is building its first nuclear power station in the southern city of Bushehr, has often been reluctant to impose tougher sanctions on Tehran. Russian news agencies quoted foreign ministry sources as saying that the scrapping of the plan would be good news for bilateral relations if confirmed by top officials. "If such a decision (to scrap the shield) is taken it would be a positive fact which would be in line with the development of US-Russian relations," an official told the ITAR-TASS news agency. After the verbal sparring that marked the Bush presidency, the tone of bilateral exchanges has improved dramatically under Obama with both sides vowing to "reset" ties. The apparent scrapping of the plan comes as Russia and the United States seek to negotiate a new agreement on nuclear weapons cuts by the end of the year. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Japan missile-interception test successful: govtTokyo (AFP) Sept 17, 2009 Japan said it successfully shot down a mock ballistic missile late Wednesday in its second test of a US-developed surface-to-air interception system, the defence ministry said. The Japan Air Self-Defence Force "successfully intercepted a mock ballistic missile at Japan time 11:46 pm on September 16 in a test conducted in New Mexico," said a defence ministry spokeswoman. In September last ... read more |
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