Medvedev, Obama to discuss missile issue at G8 summit
May 16th, 2011 - 10:20 pm ICT by IANS
Moscow, May 16 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his American counterpart Barack Obama will address a crucial missile issue at the G8 summit to be held in France in late May, Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said Monday.
Rogozin said Russia needed “credible guarantees” that a US missile defence system in Europe would not be directed against it.
Rogozin, however, said there was “no rush”. “We are ready to wait.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday Russia was concerned at the US’s refusal to provide legally binding guarantees that its European missile defence system would not be directed against Russia.
“The Americans are insisting on the importance of launching practical cooperation without any preconditions,” he said.
Russia “cannot start cooperation on specific projects without legal guarantees that a future system will not be directed against our security interests,” he said.
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile shield during the NATO-Russia Council summit in Lisbon in November 2010.
Russia is opposed to the planned deployment of US missile defence systems near its borders, claiming they would be a security threat. NATO and the US insist that the shield would defend NATO members against missiles from North Korea and Iran and would not be directed at Russia.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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Tags: american counterpart, barack obama, defence systems, dmitry medvedev, dmitry rogozin, future system, g8 summit, legal guarantees, missile defence system, missile issue, missile shield, nato members, nato russia, preconditions, ria novosti, russian envoy, russian president, security interests, security threat, us missile defence