US President George W. Bush offered on Wednesday to give Moscow a detailed explanation of his plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe, the Kremlin said, as Washington tried to cool Russian anger over the scheme.
Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the planned shield in a telephone conversation on the day the Czech Prime Minister said he was opening talks with the United States on hosting part of the missile defence system.
The United States wants to build a radar station in the Czech Republic and a missile battery in Poland to defend against possible missile attacks from what it calls "rogue states" like Iran or North Korea.
Russia has opposed stationing elements of the missile shield close to its borders. It says the plan is a threat to its national security and does not believe US assurances it is designed to defend against Iran.
"Putin laid out the reasons for Russian concerns about US plans to create anti-missile defence bases in central Europe," the Kremlin said in a statement after the telephone call, which was initiated by Washington.
"In this connection, the US president's expression of readiness for detailed discussion on this subject with the Russian side, and for cooperation in the interests of joint security, was received with satisfaction," the Kremlin said.
In Washington, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said Bush and Putin had spoken about "missile defence cooperation" but did not mention any Bush offer of detailed talks.
The head of the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency later told reporters the United States was "very open" to co-operating with Russia to strengthen missile defences, including possible technology and data transfer that could help protect Russia.
Air Force Lieutenant General Henry Obering said: "We are very open to Russian participation ... and to collaboration on missile defence in the broadest sense. "We would love to share that data and collaborate in that."
FORMAL TALKS: Offering Russia detailed talks may go some way to meeting complaints from Russian officials that Washington had not consulted adequately.
The project moved a step closer to becoming reality on Wednesday when Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said his government was ready to start formal talks with Washington.
"The Czech Republic recognises the threats against which the defence shield should be set," Topolanek told a news conference. He said his government would hand over a note to the United States setting out conditions for the talks.
Some European states have objected to the US approach over the missile plan, saying they would have preferred a multi-lateral, Europe-wide defence scheme. Topolanek said he hoped the US radar station on Czech soil would eventually be part of a broader, Nato missile shield.
The missile shield has become a major new irritant in Russian-US relations already strained by differences over Iran, the Middle East and Moscow's suspicions that Washington is encroaching on its traditional spheres of influence. A senior US Defence Department official, speaking to reporters in Berlin, acknowledged that Washington could have done a better job of explaining its intentions.
"I'm hoping we're going to try and make up for the lost time," said Eric Edelman, US under-secretary of defence for policy. But Edelman described Russia's argument that the missile shield would upset the delicate strategic balance in Europe as "a bit flawed".
"It would be good not to have any missiles in Europe," he said. "I certainly hope there won't be any incoming ones from any of the 20 countries that are developing ballistic missile capabilities. But one can't guarantee that."
Comments
Comments are closed.