Moscow (RIA Novosti)
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed surprise at Moscow's sharp criticism of American plans to deploy anti-ballistic-missile (ABM) interceptors in Poland and early-warning radars in the Czech Republic. "The idea that we somehow surprised them [Russians] about missile defense and then to go and say these things about Poland and the Czech Republic, independent countries, NATO members, was, I think, unnecessary and unwarranted", Rice said in a February 25 interview on Fox News.
"When it comes to missile defense, no one would suggest - anyone who knows anything about this would [not] suggest - that somehow 10 interceptors deployed in Poland are going to threaten the thousands of warheads in the Russian deterrent. ...What we'd like to do is to pursue with the Russians the missile defense cooperation that we once talked about."
The "iron lady" of the State Department was speaking to an audience that knows very little, if anything, about the issue.
Rice most likely knows that Kremlin officials have told their Washington counterparts more than once that the deployment of elements of a U.S. ABM system in Eastern Europe is unjustified.
The only credible argument in this case is that there is a desire on the part of the Pentagon generals and their White House bosses to inflict maximum damage on the Russian-American partnership, pit Russia against its Western neighbors, and spur on the arms race.
This is exactly what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to when he said Moscow was baffled by Washington's plans to deploy ABM elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.
There are people in Moscow who know almost everything about the ABM dispute. One of them is Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces.
Solovtsov has said: "If Poland and the Czech Republic make the decision [to accept a U.S. proposal to base 10 interceptor missiles and a radar in their countries], Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will aim its missiles at them."
General of the Army Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian General Staff, supported that statement. He had earlier said that such a move by the United States would complicate bilateral relations, and that the Poles should think about "what may fall on their heads [in the event of a conflict]"
He has expressed disappointment with the U.S. plans in a recent interview with the state-owned newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta. MORE
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Moscow_Baffled_By_US_Plans_For_European_Missile_Defense_999.html
Please also see:
EU tries to ease Russian fears over US missile project
The EU has no plans to participate in a US anti-missile system but its member states are free to join, the bloc's foreign and security affairs chief said on Thursday in an attempt to ease Russian concerns over the project.
http://euobserver.com/9/23611/?rk=1
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed surprise at Moscow's sharp criticism of American plans to deploy anti-ballistic-missile (ABM) interceptors in Poland and early-warning radars in the Czech Republic. "The idea that we somehow surprised them [Russians] about missile defense and then to go and say these things about Poland and the Czech Republic, independent countries, NATO members, was, I think, unnecessary and unwarranted", Rice said in a February 25 interview on Fox News.
"When it comes to missile defense, no one would suggest - anyone who knows anything about this would [not] suggest - that somehow 10 interceptors deployed in Poland are going to threaten the thousands of warheads in the Russian deterrent. ...What we'd like to do is to pursue with the Russians the missile defense cooperation that we once talked about."
The "iron lady" of the State Department was speaking to an audience that knows very little, if anything, about the issue.
Rice most likely knows that Kremlin officials have told their Washington counterparts more than once that the deployment of elements of a U.S. ABM system in Eastern Europe is unjustified.
The only credible argument in this case is that there is a desire on the part of the Pentagon generals and their White House bosses to inflict maximum damage on the Russian-American partnership, pit Russia against its Western neighbors, and spur on the arms race.
This is exactly what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred to when he said Moscow was baffled by Washington's plans to deploy ABM elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.
There are people in Moscow who know almost everything about the ABM dispute. One of them is Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces.
Solovtsov has said: "If Poland and the Czech Republic make the decision [to accept a U.S. proposal to base 10 interceptor missiles and a radar in their countries], Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will aim its missiles at them."
General of the Army Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian General Staff, supported that statement. He had earlier said that such a move by the United States would complicate bilateral relations, and that the Poles should think about "what may fall on their heads [in the event of a conflict]"
He has expressed disappointment with the U.S. plans in a recent interview with the state-owned newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta. MORE
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Moscow_Baffled_By_US_Plans_For_European_Missile_Defense_999.html
Please also see:
EU tries to ease Russian fears over US missile project
The EU has no plans to participate in a US anti-missile system but its member states are free to join, the bloc's foreign and security affairs chief said on Thursday in an attempt to ease Russian concerns over the project.
http://euobserver.com/9/23611/?rk=1