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2 April 2013 |
| http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/nato-seeks-continuous-antimissile-coordination-russia/ |
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NATO hopes to conduct continuous coordination and sharing of ballistic missile defense data with Russia via two facilities, Interfax quoted a top alliance official as saying in a Monday newspaper article. Moscow and NATO for years have sought avenues for collaboration on defense against missile threats. A major obstacle has been U.S. plans for fielding increasingly capable missile interceptors in Europe, which Russia says could pose a threat to its strategic deterrent. U.S. and NATO officials have said there could be an opening for compromise after the United States announced last month it would not move ahead with development of a next-generation Standard Missile 3 system that was to be fielded in Europe around 2022. The weapon would have had a limited capacity to destroy ICBMs. The new NATO and Russian centers would allow for nonstop sharing of information and collaborative antimissile activity, alliance Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow told the newspaper Kommersant. He reaffirmed that NATO is seeking separate but coordinated antimissile coverage with Russia. Moscow has sought a unified shield. NATO aims to increase the level of discussions with Russia in coming months toward a deal, according to Vershbow. He discussed missile defense on Monday during a meeting with Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, ITAR-Tass reported. |
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