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Canadian Defense Minister on 1st Visit to Moscow
Canadian Defense Minister Art Eggleton is in Moscow for two days of talks in advance of a key NATO meeting later in the week, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper said Monday.
Eggleton, the first Canadian defense minister visiting Moscow, held discussions Monday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Vladimir Rushailo, chief of the Russian security council, the newspaper said.
Although the public agenda is vague on topics to be discussed, the issue of the U.S. missile defense is certain to loom in the talks, a Canadian official was quoted as saying.
The Russians are "going to put the blocks to Mr. Eggleton" and will likely demand Canadian help in persuading Washington to back away from its plan to deploy a limited shield against ballistic missiles, said David Rudd, executive director of the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.
"What Mr. Eggleton should be doing is lending a sympathetic ear to legitimate Russian concerns," Rudd added.
U.S. President George W. Bush has said his administration will push ahead with the controversial national missile defense (NMD) system in replacement of the 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union.
Most countries, including U.S. allies in NATO, still look at the treaty as a cornerstone for strategic balance and international security, even though Bush said the treaty has become out of date. The Bush administration has so far failed to win widespread support it expected for the NMD plan.
The visiting Canadian defense minister is also expected to discuss with senior Russian officials NATO-Russia relations, Balkan security issues and Canada-Russia defense cooperation, the newspaper said.
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