Russia and U.S. discuss creation of the European missile defense network

[News_Editor]

Russia and U.S. discuss creation of the European missile defense network

2011-05-03 04:34:23 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- Russian and U.S. on Monday gathered at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters to discuss the possible creation of the European missile defense network.

According to RIA Novosti, high-ranking Russian and U.S. military official met to discuss the so-called Euro missile shield after the European country agreed with NATO to cooperate in the project.

The Russian delegation is headed by Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, while the U.S. is represented by James Miller, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense, and Patrick O'Reilly, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

In November 2010, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that Russia agreed to explore ways to cooperate on a missile defense system during the Russia-NATO Council summit in Lisbon.

Rasmussen stressed that the proposed missile network should consist in two independent systems that exchange information but Russia wants a joint system with full-scale interoperability.

In April, Gen. Oleg Ostapenko, Commander of Russian Space Forces, said that Moscow proposed creating a network of defenses divided in sectors where each member state or coalition of states will assume responsibility for intercepting and destroying missiles over such assigned territory.

Ostapenko remarked that Russia is ready to provide a missile shield over Eastern Europe, the Black Sea, the Barents Sea and the Baltic Sea. He added that this system will be logical and efficient.

Russia was concerned that the missile network could be harmful to Russia but NATO's Rasmussen assured Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the system was aimed against threats from other countries armed with ballistic missiles.

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