Russia says may boycott NATO summit over missile shield controversy

Oct 3, 2011, 13:04 GMT

Moscow - A senior Russian diplomat said Monday time was running out for an agreement with NATO on missile defence, and warned that a summit set to resolve the conflict might not even take place.

'A decision about Russia's participation in a summit of the Russia-NATO council will be made by the next president,' said Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO.

'He will swear his oath of office in May, and before then I can't even say if the Chicago Russia-NATO summit will even take place,' Rogozin said, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency.

Russian presidential elections are scheduled in March, with current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin heavily favoured to win the vote. A NATO-Russia Council summit is scheduled to take place in Chicago in May 2012.

Russia is at odds with NATO nations over a US initiative to set up a missile defence shield in Europe. Washington says such a shield is needed to protect the region from a possible Middle Eastern attack.

Russian officials have said the system would give NATO the ability to shoot down Russian missiles as well, giving the Brussels-based organization a powerful advantage in a confrontation with Moscow.

'There is still time for talks but they are diminishing,' Rogozin said.

Rogozin's remarks marked the first time a senior Russian official publicly suggested the May summit between US President Barack Obama and Russia's next president might not even take place.

An article published Monday in Russia's influential Kommersant magazine went even further, citing an unnamed senior government official who suggested the Kremlin had already decided to avoid a confrontation with the United States and NATO on missile defence.

'There is no more chance of agreement. Now we either must build our own missile shield, or deploy additional nuclear weapons capacity,' the official was quoted as saying.

Kremlin officials have threatened to deploy Russian missiles to the Baltic region, sharply increase the number of conventional forces on Russia's western frontier and develop new-generation nuclear weapons if NATO goes ahead with the missile defence plan.

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