New US ABM plan not a threat to Russia – FM
Published: 07 October, 2009, 20:37
Edited: 09 October, 2009, 09:00
TAGS: Arms, Military, Russia, Politics, USA
Moscow does not see the new US plan for missile defense in Europe as a threat to Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told a news conference held in the city of Kharkov in Eastern Ukraine.
“The project cancelled by President Obama’s administration – the missile shield bases in Eastern Europe – was definitely creating risks for Russia’s security. The new project, which replaces it, creates good conditions for dialogue. Our initial evaluation shows it isn’t creating risks for us,” Lavrov said.
He also added that, these days, the Russian side has planned to hold consultations with American partners in order to “better understand the configuration of the mobile US ABM system, which is aimed at neutralising threats.”
Dmitry Polikanov, a political analyst from the Russian public opinion research center, told RT that the new US missile defense project has a major difference.
“The Patriot missile systems are designed for the interception of short- and medium-range missiles, so they are more a tactical, than strategic weapons. The major Russian concern with the missile defence project was that it could be a threat to the Russian strategic nuclear arsenal. However, the deployment of Patriots will not create a security challenge for the Russian strategic forces,” Polikanov said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Moscow on October 13 to discuss the issue with Sergey Lavrov, as well as the new START treaty, Iran and North Korea, the Itar-Tass news agency says.
The sixth round of Russia-US ABM talks recently ended in Geneva and, summing up the results, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the discussions were held “in a business-like and constructive atmosphere.”
Russia and the US agreed to continue talks on the new START treaty in Geneva in the middle of October.
And Mikhail Troitsky, a political analyst from Moscow State University of International Relations, believes that although the worst may be over in Russian-US relations, it's still too early to expect Moscow and Washington to create a joint missile defense shield.
“The major – and I guess the only – stumbling block to substantive cooperation on missile defense between Moscow and Washington is the situation of mutual deterrence, of nuclear deterrence in relations between Russia and the US. So if we overcome the situation of nuclear deterrence, then we will be able to move beyond symbolic agendas in missile defense cooperation and towards a genuine joint missile defense system,” Troitsky said.
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“The major – and I guess the only – stumbling block to substantive cooperation on missile defense between Moscow and Washington is the situation of mutual deterrence, of nuclear deterrence in relations between Russia and the US. So if we overcome the situation of nuclear deterrence, then we will be able to move beyond symbolic agendas in missile defense cooperation and towards a genuine joint missile defense system,” Troitsky said. Good idea, just not with missiles.
The age of nuclear deterrence is largely already over. I think since the end of the cold war the major powers have had time to truly assess the intentions of both sides and neither side wants to destroy one another. Theres a great potential for cooperation between our two great nations, and we are taking steps in the right direction. Even in another major war, no country would want to use nuclear arms. That is one lesson from the past that the world has learned well. I think Russia, China, the US, and the EU have to hold firm to make sure that rogue nations dont get such devastating power, while continuing to dismantle their own ridiculous stockpiles of nukes. The missile defense shield is more for show than anything else. I can see why Moscow wouldnt like it, but in all likelyhood those missiles wouldnt be very effective anyway. The most important thing is for countries to elect leaders who truly want to have dialogue and cooperation. Too long we have been pointing fingers and making veiled threats. Pretty soon there will be another major dispute about something. Its up to us to make sure we dont fall for propaganda and lies.