.US ambassador tries to reassure Russia
MOSCOW (AP) - The U.S. ambassador to Moscow on Thursday tried to reassure Russia that the placement of American missile interceptors in Romania would not threaten Russia's nuclear capability.
Ambassador John Beyrle, in a statement posted on his blog, said the system is intended to counter current and future threats from the Middle East, and is designed only to intercept medium-range missiles, which Russia doesn't have.
"These missiles do not threaten Russia," Beyrle said.
The plan to place interceptor missiles in Romania is a sore point between Russia and the U.S., as both sides seek to reach an agreement on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expired in December.
Beyrle's comments apparently reflect an attempt by Washington to smooth the way for approval of a START follow-on agreement.
His blog entry followed Tuesday's statement by Russia's top military officer that U.S. missile defense plans threaten Russia's security.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov's comments were the strongest yet on the revamped U.S. missile effort and showed that the arms control talks were in serious trouble.
Beyrle also said the U.S. had agreed to include treaty language sought by Russia that would acknowledge the link between defensive systems - such as the missile shield - with offensive systems.
"The treaty deals with offensive, not defensive systems, but since we acknowledge a logical link between them, our presidents have agreed that the treaty will contain a provision on the interconnection between strategic offensive and defensive weapons," he said in his Russian-language blog.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to include such a provision during their July summit in Moscow.
But experts say the language on linkage of defensive and offensive systems has been a sticking point in negotiations.
"As far as I understand it, the main conceptual problem was the link" between offensive and defensive systems, Sergei Karaganov of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy told The Associated Press.
MyWay
Ambassador John Beyrle, in a statement posted on his blog, said the system is intended to counter current and future threats from the Middle East, and is designed only to intercept medium-range missiles, which Russia doesn't have.
"These missiles do not threaten Russia," Beyrle said.
The plan to place interceptor missiles in Romania is a sore point between Russia and the U.S., as both sides seek to reach an agreement on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expired in December.
Beyrle's comments apparently reflect an attempt by Washington to smooth the way for approval of a START follow-on agreement.
His blog entry followed Tuesday's statement by Russia's top military officer that U.S. missile defense plans threaten Russia's security.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov's comments were the strongest yet on the revamped U.S. missile effort and showed that the arms control talks were in serious trouble.
Beyrle also said the U.S. had agreed to include treaty language sought by Russia that would acknowledge the link between defensive systems - such as the missile shield - with offensive systems.
"The treaty deals with offensive, not defensive systems, but since we acknowledge a logical link between them, our presidents have agreed that the treaty will contain a provision on the interconnection between strategic offensive and defensive weapons," he said in his Russian-language blog.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to include such a provision during their July summit in Moscow.
But experts say the language on linkage of defensive and offensive systems has been a sticking point in negotiations.
"As far as I understand it, the main conceptual problem was the link" between offensive and defensive systems, Sergei Karaganov of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy told The Associated Press.
MyWay
posted by madtom at 8:19 PM
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