Nevertheless, Gates said he remained "cautiously optimistic" after meetings with President Vladimir Putin, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Defence Minister Anatoly Serdukov.

Both sides agreed to continue discussions on US proposals for cooperation on missile defense research and development, missile warning data and joint operations.

Gates even held out the possibility of co-locating a radar with the Russians.

"I think we are beginning to get down to specific issues of concern to Russia, and I believe the experts will clear up any misunderstandings as well as address Russian concerns," he told reporters.

Gates' upbeat view contrasted with a statement read by the Russian defence minister saying Russia's position on the US missile shield "remains unchanged".

"We believe the strategic missile defence system is a seriously destabilising factor that can have a significant influence on regional and global security," Serdyukov said, speaking through an official interpreter.

Moscow was Gates' first stop on a European trip to try to ease tensions aroused by US plans to establish missile defence sites in Europe, to counter what Washington views as a growing missile threat from Iran.

Russia in particular has adamantly opposed plans to station 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a targeting radar in the Czech Republic, countries that lie close to Russian territory and were once under Moscow's control.

Gates said he believed Serdyukov's rebuff was prepared before their hour-long meeting and did not reflect the tone of the discussions.

"One of the concerns that we are going to have to address and work with them over time is their concern that someday in the future, at some distant point a few years from now, the character of these sites might change, and in fact become a greater concern in terms of Russian strategic security," Gates said.

He said that might involve placing restrictions on missile defence sites.

The Russians also voiced concern about the US deployment of conventional intercontinental ballistic missiles, Gates said.

But the talks focused mainly on missile defence and a US proposal for cooperation presented to the Russians last week at a NATO meeting.

The United States was "willing to explore cooperation with Russia across the full spectrum of missile defence activities", Gates said.

"We could potentially work together to explore new concepts and technologies, conduct research and development on missile defence systems and components, to share early warning data, to promote stability and to improve the capacity of our forces to conduct successful cooperative missile defence operations during peacekeeping and other joint military activities," he said.

He told reporters later that he invited the Russians to inspect the US missile defence site at Fort Greely, Alaska, and a radar in California similar to the one proposed for the Czech Republic.

"We would like to have the Russians as partners in this process. We would like to share information with them, we are prepared to co-locate radars with them. We think there are some real opportunities here for both sides," he said.

Gates will visit Warsaw on Tuesday to brief Polish leaders on his talks here and will also make a brief stop in Berlin.

The missile defence issue has threatened to divide Washington's traditional allies.

Germany has said Washington must work to ease Russian concerns, while the Czech Republic and Poland have said Moscow has no right to interfere.

US officials travelling with Gates said that while they believed cooperation was in both countries' interest, Russia would not have a veto on the issue of missile defence.

earlier related report
Gates Announces Formation US-Russia Working Group On Missile Defense
by Linda D. Kozaryn
Moscow, Russia (AFNS) Apr 24 - The United States and Russia will form a working group of experts to discuss the proposed U.S. plan to base missile defenses in Eastern Europe, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced here today. "The key to this is cooperation," the secretary said. "We would like to have the Russians as partners in this process. We would like to share information with them. We're prepared to collocate radars with them. We think there are some real opportunities here for both sides."

Gates spoke with U.S. and Russian reporters following meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, First Deputy Premier Sergey Ivanov at the Russian White House government building, and Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukovat the Ministry of Defense.

"A bilateral working group will address technical details and questions about the proposed sites and also Russian concerns that current proposed sites and designs might someday take on a different and larger form," Gates said. "I believe the experts will both clear up any misunderstandings as well as address the Russians' concerns."

Gates said the Russians are fairly clear that the current design and the current plan for 10 interceptors are not a threat to Russia in any way. What U.S. officials need to address, however, is the Russians' concern that "someday in the future, the character of these sites might change, and would become a greater concern in terms of Russia's strategic security," he said.

The secretary said he invited the Russians to inspect the U.S. interceptor site in Alaska and a radar site in California. Gates noted that this is in keeping with President Bush's desire to approach this issue "transparently and cooperatively" with both the Russians and the Europeans.

From Moscow, Gates is slated to travel to Poland and Germany, where he will also discuss the missile defense plan.

U.S. officials want to deploy the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic to deal with possible missile attack from rogue nations such as Iran. Gates said the Russians are "skeptical that the Iranians will have a ballistic missile that will have the range to hit targets in Western Europe in the foreseeable future."

"My view is, and what I expressed to both Minister Serdyukov and President Putin, was that we have to look at this strategically and that we need to look 10 to 20 years out," the secretary said. "Based on my own experience in the intelligence world, I would argue that (saying) countries in the Middle East might not have missiles with that kind of range or capability would be making a very risky assessment."

At the start of his meetings with Putin and Serdyukov, Gates noted this was his first visit to Russia in 15 years and said he was impressed by the changes. Gates said he last visited Moscow in 1992 as the director of the CIA at the invitation of the head of Russia's intelligence service to establish a new way forward after the end of the Cold War.

"We established a foundation for cooperation on counternarcotics, counterterrorism and nonproliferation, subjects which clearly still remain at the top of the agenda," Gates said. "In the interval, a robust military-to-military relationship has developed, and there are opportunities for future cooperation as well as current issues between us."

Russian and American relations are very important, Gates said and added that he looks forward to positively developing the relationship. While today's meetings touched on a wide range of topics, he said, the primary focus was on missile defense.

While Putin expressed some of his concerns about the missile defense plan, Gates reported that Putin received him "very cordially." The secretary said he felt very welcome and that the meeting had a very positive tone.

Gates said he expressed his appreciation for the invitation, noting this was the first visit to Russia by a U.S. defense secretary in six years.

"I felt we made some real headway in clearing up some misunderstandings about the technical characteristics of the system that are of concern to the Russians," he said. "I would say I came away from the meetings cautiously optimistic."

Although the Russian defense minister told reporters after his meeting with Gates that the Russians' position on missile defense "remained basically unchanged," Gates said he had the impression the minister's statement was prepared before the meeting.

"I just felt there was a good atmosphere in the meeting," he said. "And while we were waiting to meet with the press, there were a number of side conversations going on among the experts -- senior Russian military officers and our experts -- that I think even went beyond some of the discussions at the table.

"I don't want to put words in their mouths, and I don't want to characterize this more optimistically than perhaps is warranted," he said, "but I felt this was a useful meeting, and I thought we made some headway."

earlier related report
Gates Asks Russia to Partner on Missile Defense Development
Moscow (AFNS) April 23 - The United States intends to be prepared for future threats and is inviting Russia to become a partner in a defensive endeavor, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

"We now face new threats that require new strategy for both deterrence and defense," Gates told U.S. and Russian reporters. "Moreover, the ever-increasing pace of technological innovation, combined with the proliferation of mass destruction and delivery systems, means the threats we face now may be much more ominous in 10 to 20 years.

"Indeed, who can say in 2007, what states or groups may have such capabilities in 2017?" he asked.

Gates came to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior defense leaders to discuss U.S. plans to deploy missile defense assets in Eastern Europe. He said the main focus of his trip was to continue developing responses to the challenges posed by weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile proliferation.

Following his first meeting with Defense Minister Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov at the Russian Ministry of Defense, Gates said he would reiterate in all his meetings that the United States is willing to "explore cooperation with Russia across a full spectrum of missile defense activities."

"We could potentially work together," he said, "to experiment with new concepts and technologies, conduct research and development on missile defense systems and components, to share early warning data, to promote stability and to improve the capabilities of our forces to conduct successful, cooperative missile defense operations during peacekeeping or other joint military operation."

Gates reassured the Russian defense minister that the U.S. plan for missile defense is not aimed at Russia or any particular country.

"They are oriented against potential aggressors in the Middle East and Southwest Asia whose leaders could someday use a handful of ballistic missiles in an attempt to blackmail Europe and America and sow chaos and sap our collective will," he said.

President Bush believes "the deployment of missile defense is an essential element of our broader efforts to transform our defense and deterrence policies and capabilities to meet the new threats we face," Gates said. "To that end, the United States is responding with a comprehensive political, diplomatic and military strategy that includes working with our allies and partners in other countries.

"We invite Russia to join our defensive endeavor as a partner," he said. "We've agreed an expert group will continue our discussions on ballistic missile defense and other subjects of mutual interest and concern."

Gates thanked the Russian defense minister for hosting their first meeting. The secretary said he found it "to be quite valuable as we engaged in honest and frank discussion of current challenges and opportunities in the world and the ways in which we can jointly address them."

"The days of the Cold War are over," he said, "and no one can seek to return to them. In today's post-Cold War yet still challenging world, no longer is it presumed that one side must win and one side must lose when addressing specific issues. When both the United States and Russia work together, both countries and others win. The inverse is just as true: When we fail to work together, both countries may lose."

Serdyukov said he hopes the negotiations with Gates would make a significant contribution to the further improvement of regional and global security.

Email This Article

Related Links
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com