See also:
other related news items.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Polish President Lech Kaczynski discussed plans for a US missile shield system in their countries during a visit to Warsaw, but Russia – which bitterly
opposes the idea – said it would hold high-level talks on the issue later this month with US officials.
In June, the Czech Republic agreed to a US proposal to station anti-missile radar sites on its territory. However, Poland, where the US plans to install 10 anti-ballistic missile silos, is
yet to give a definitive answer.
This week, Kaczynski is due to hold talks on the controversial plan in Washington, but the roiling troubles are heading toward a showdown with Russia, which will hold consultations on
missile defense issues at the expert level soon, US Ambassador to Russia William Burns told Interfax. “President Bush and President Putin had a very constructive discussion of the issue of
missile defense in Maine,” Burns said of Putin’s July 1-2 visit to the United States.
“President Putin brought very interesting ideas with him. President Bush made clear our commitment to trying to do everything possible to develop a common approach, a cooperative approach to
the issue of missile defense, and that includes working together bilaterally, first with experts’ meeting beginning this month to look at the threat, as well as the various capabilities for
dealing with that threat and help us to organize those capabilities.”
Poland and the Czech Republic are currently mulling the American proposal to site elements of its missile defense system on their territory. Russia, which is opposed to the plan on the
grounds that it would pose a security threat, has suggested using the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan and a second base in southern Russia.
Burns said that at the summit in Kennenbunkport the two presidents “also made clear our interest in working through the NATO-Russia Council to develop an effective regional approach.”
“I don’t have any illusions - this is a complicated issue, but I think there’s a commitment on both sides to begin a serious process to try and explore cooperation,” he said.
“Our foreign and defense ministers will meet in the autumn in the so-called 2+2 meeting. There’s obviously a lot of work to be done between now and then on missile defense and on other
security issues. But I think there is a real opportunity to find a basis for cooperation,” the ambassador said.
Asked whether Russian proposals on missile defense could encourage the US side to review its attitude to the deployment of missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic Burns
said: “President Bush publicly made clear that we think it’s important to pursue the discussions that we’ve begun with Poland and the Czech Republic. But at the same time, he made very clear
our interest in trying to develop an approach to regional cooperation on this issue and to working with Russia.”
|
