Russia warns NATO against going alone on missile defence

Jul 4, 2011, 8:34 GMT

Moscow - A planned missile defence system to be deployed in the NATO region would directly threaten Russian national security and the Kremlin 'strongly advises' Brussels not to go forward with it unilaterally, a senior Russian official said Monday.

'Real strategic partnership would not be possible,' said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. 'Russia would have to respond.'

Russia's senior diplomat made the comments at a NATO-Russia Council meeting held in the Russian Black Sea resort city Sochi, where the sides discussed and failed to agree on a controversial European missile defence initiative.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said many obstacles divide Moscow and Brussels on the issue, and called the alliance's decision to build the system 'a reality.'

'This is a decision that has been made,' he said. 'We will not change it.'

Rasmussen said he believed the Sochi talks had helped the two sides move towards an eventual resolution of the dispute, saying: 'I hope that when we meet in less than a year at the NATO summit in Chicago, we will be able to agree on missile defence.'

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's post-conference remarks were more direct, and negative.

'We did not agree,' he said. 'We accepted the NATO position as an accomplished fact.'

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a speech was nonetheless upbeat on those limited conference results.

'I think we are all inspired by the result. The meeting was very fruitful and I hope that we have advanced the agenda which is relevant for us,' he said.

Kremlin officials on Friday said Russia would initiate retaliatory steps against the NATO missile defence plan if there is no progress in talks on the issue by the end of 2011. The Chicago round of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled for May 2012.

The US-led NATO missile defence plan proposes basing the system in Poland and the Czech Republic. Brussels officials have said it is not aimed at Russia.

Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said a NATO decision to go ahead with the missile defence system in its present form, without consulting Moscow, would have 'serious consequences.'

Russia, in retaliation, could deploy its own missile defence system on its western border, deploy short-range nuclear-tipped missiles aimed at Europe or withdraw with a strategic weapons limitation treaty recently concluded with the US, he said.

'The implementation of such a scenario does not depend on who wins the (US) presidential election in 2012 or sits in the Kremlin,' said Rogozin.

NATO and Russia also remained at clear odds with Russia on Libya, which was the other major topic discussed at the conference, Interfax reported.

Russia has repeatedly criticized months of NATO airstrikes against Libyan government forces as a violation of a UN resolution to protect Libyan civilians, as it effectively allows NATO to back the rebels in Libya's civil war.

NATO officials have said the airstrikes are aimed at eliminating the capacity of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi and forces controlled by him to harm Libya's population.

'I will tell you honestly, we do not have a common view with NATO on how the resolution is being fulfilled,' Lavrov said.

'But we have a complete agreement in positions on how there is no alternative to a peaceful resolution (in Libya), there is no alternative to a shift to peaceful talks there,' he said.

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