Russia warming to NATO missile defense plan: U.S.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

From Reuters:  Philip Gordon, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said that Russia was showing willingness to work with NATO on the system, aimed at countering ballistic threats from the Middle East, in particular Iran.

[L]ast week Russia pledged to boost cooperation with NATO in Afghanistan and consider a joint missile defense shield, after a meeting between President [Dimitri] Medvedev and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. …

As well as Russia’s concerns about how the proposed NATO missile defense system will affect its own missile capability, Moscow also wants to have a role in deciding its architecture.

Gordon said Russia would not have a veto on the system’s design, but the sooner talks begin on the issue, the more say Russia is likely to have.  (photo: NATO)

United States and Canada

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