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Russia Offers Joint Missile Defense Plan
Russia on Friday offered NATO a joint missile defense proposal but the NATO chief said the plan was still short on details.
Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev explained to the western military alliance about the joint European anti-missile defense system Russian President Vladimir Putin had put forward days ago.
Speaking at a press briefing, Sergeyev avoided questions concerning details of the Russian proposal and only went so far as to say that the Russian proposal would not breach the 1972 Anti- Ballistic Missile treaty.
"The Russian proposal by President Putin does not violate or compromise in any way the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty," said Sergeyev, "These are proposals on the creation of a tactical ABM system."
Russia as well as some NATO allies were afraid of the United States national missile defense system and oppose the American plan to deploy a limited anti-missile defense system.
U.S. Defense Minister William Cohen said on Friday that if the Russians were talking about a theater missile defense system, that would not be sufficient to protect the United States and much of Europe.
"So it is now an idea that does not sound to be feasible or desirable for protecting us against the kind of threats that are emerging," said Cohen.
A final test on the American system, a small number of interceptors that would shoot down incoming missiles, is scheduled for early July while U.S. President Bill Clinton is to decide in the autumn whether to begin deployment of the system.
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