France and Germany at odds as NATO eyes missile shield (Roundup)

Oct 14, 2010, 17:29 GMT

Brussels - France and Germany went head to head on Thursday over the question of nuclear disarmament as NATO foreign and defence ministers edged closer to agreement on setting up a NATO-wide system for shooting down ballistic missiles.

Germany is pushing for a reduction of nuclear weapons in Europe, and argues that a missile shield would allow NATO members to cut their arsenals.

But France insists on keeping its own nuclear deterrent, and rejects any foreign intervention in its policy.

'The French position was very pointed in stressing the importance of nuclear powers ... something that the Germans do not want to underline. On this, there is a clear Franco-German disagreement,' Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

Thursday's meeting was convened to discuss plans for a new NATO strategy to cover modern security threats. NATO member states have long since warned that among those threats, the risk of a missile attack from a 'rogue state' such as Iran ranks highly.

'I think we will need (missile defence) in the future, because the technology is developing and missiles are growing in importance,' Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said.

The United States is already developing a missile defence system, and plans to base some parts of it in Europe.

A NATO summit in Lisbon on October 19-20 is expected to tackle the question of whether all 28 NATO nations should link themselves to that system.

NATO ministers gave sweeping backing to the ambition.

'We are all of the opinion that there is a need for a missile defence, given the present and future level of risk,' German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said.

But they remained at odds over the details, with the cost - estimated at just 200 million euros (280 million dollars) for the control systems, but hundreds of millions more for hardware such as rockets and radar stations - a key sticking point.

'Nobody is saying 'No we shouldn't' (adopt missile defence), the question is how and who pays the bill, as usual,' Estonian Defence Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that he was 'confident' that member states would iron out their differences, with 'some technical work' still to do.

But the question turned political as France and Germany came out with opposing visions of how any decision on the missile shield should link into the larger question of arms control.

Arms control and disarmament must be 'the trademarks of our political alliance,' German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

But French Defence Minister Herve Morin quickly hit back, comparing a missile shield to the Maginot Line, the massive French fortress system which failed to prevent German invasion in 1940.

'You protect yourself against the Apocalypse, when the best way of avoiding Apocalypse is to be able to make yourself respected with a military tool and a credible defence,' he said.

The German call also met with a cool reaction from Central and Eastern European states, who warned that it would only make sense to cut the US arsenal if Russia, the largest holder of nuclear warheads on the continent, also scrapped its weapons.

'I am very in favour of disarmament if it happens on both sides. I have something against unilateral steps,' Schwarzenberg said.

And US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that he had not even heard the idea of linking the missile shield to nuclear issues.

'A number of speakers said that as long as we live in a world of nuclear weapons, it's important that NATO remain a nuclear armed alliance,' he said.

Rasmussen has called on NATO to invite Russia to join the overall missile-defence system, once the alliance has agreed on one.

That met with broad support from ministers on Thursday.

'I think it's fair to say if we can involve other countries, first and foremost Russia, that would be a step forward,' Aaviksoo said.

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