U.S., Russia to Discuss Missile Defense Today

U.S. and Russian technical experts are expected to discuss competing plans today for a European missile defense system and might address a key conventional arms treaty recently suspended by Moscow, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 26).

“We hope that the meeting would be productive and Russia and the United States can agree to some serious cooperation on missile defense against common threats,” said one U.S. official.

The missile defense plan championed by U.S. President George W. Bush would place radar installations in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland.  Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently decried those plans, earlier this month offered to cooperate with the United States by incorporating Azeri radars into a missile defense array (see GSN, July 3).

Russia views the two plans as mutually exclusive, according to AFP.

The Russian proposal “will be possible only if the United States declines to deploy … a missile shield on European territory, as well as strike components in space,” said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

Officials hope to start resolving these discrepancies at the Washington talks, AFP reported.

The experts also planned to discuss the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, which Russia recently renounced in a thinly veiled response to the U.S. missile defense plan (see GSN, July 16; Agence France-Presse/Turkish Press, July 27).

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