German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has said that his country will not play a mediator role in the dispute between Russia and the U.S. over the latter's plan to build and deploy a national missile defense (NMD) system.
"There is no need here for any mediators," Fischer said at a Monday news conference in Moscow. He said solidarity with the United States, Germany's main NATO partner, is his country's duty.
However, in view of the role of the planned U.S. NMD in the international security system, Germany is discussing the matter with the United States, NATO and Russia, he said. Germany is "very pleased with Russia's constructive approach to all aspects of the national missile defense problem."
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told the same news conference that Russia will be acting "constructively in the interests of the strengthening of strategic stability in the world" during talks on the limitation of strategic weapons and on missile defense. "The approach of Russia to regional and other problems will be as constructive," he said.
Ivanov also said that more extensive international cooperation in meeting new challenges is in Russia's interests. This "creates a good basis for interaction between Russia and Germany in the international arena," he said.
Copyright 2001
