Moscow and Washington’s positions on the U.S. plans concerning the European missile shield still differ greatly and bilateral consultations on this issue will continue, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
“Concerning this issue, we have agreed to continue searching for the possible solutions, taking into account that our [Russian and U.S.] positions are still far away from each other,” Medvedev said at a news conference after a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.
Medvedev met with Obama on the sidelines of the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, held in the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu on November 12-13.
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile defense system at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.
Washington has invited Russia to use its own radars to measure the test-flight of one or more U.S. interceptor missiles.
Russia has agreed to cooperate on the new system, but warned it may strengthen its own defenses if it is not made a full partner in the U.S.-led shield.
NATO says it needs the shield, which will be eventually deployed in the Mediterranean, Poland, Romania and Turkey, to counter the threat of missile attacks from “rogue states” such as Iran. Russia views the shield as a threat to its national security.
HONOLULU, November 13 (RIA Novosti)