EUR: NATO chief: US missile shift a 'positive step'
Fri Sep 18 04:34:48 EST 2009
Thu Sep 17 18:34:48 UTC 2009
BRUSSELS, Sept 17 AP - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and European leaders have hailed the US decision to shelve plans for a missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland, calling it a welcome step to improving relations with both Russia and Iran.
With his announcement, President Barack Obama scrapped a plan that was troublesome to ties with Russia, and that the Pentagon says was ill-suited to the threat from Iran. The United States wants Russian cooperation in an international pressure campaign against Iran's suspected nuclear program.
Arriving at a European summit in Brussels on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the decision "a hopeful signal to overcome the difficulties with Russia concerning a common strategy for fighting the threat posed by Iran".
"I hope we will now manage to speak with Iran together, and if that is not successful, to implement sanctions," she added.
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he was "pretty sure" the US announcement would have a positive impact on ties with Moscow, and rejected suggestions that the decision would hurt relations with eastern European nations that fear Russia's influence in the region. "We are strong allies and strong partners," said Fischer.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he strongly supported the decision, adding: "I think as a world there is a chance of making some progress on this big international issue (nonproliferation) over the next few months."
Under a plan proposed by former President George W Bush's administration, bases were to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic, installing 10 US interceptor missiles just 185 km from Russia's westernmost frontier.
Bush said the idea was to protect the US and its European allies from future attacks from states like Iran. Moscow saw the plan as a direct threat to Russia.
In Moscow, President Dmitry Medvedev called the decision a "responsible move".
The 28-nation NATO alliance has also been drafting its own short-range missile defence system to complement the wider US plan. NATO leaders agreed at their summit in Strasbourg, France, that there was a growing missile threat to Europe from Iran.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said alliance defence ministers would analyse the issue at their next meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, on October 22.
The new US plan calls for a phased approach to missile defence, based largely on constantly upgraded versions of the proven and versatile Aegis/Standard SM-3 missile system.
It would eventually extend coverage to all NATO members, Fogh Rasmussen said, adding all allied nations "will play an even greater role in the US plans of missile defence".
