Russia, US to hold missile defense talks
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Russia and the United States will hold their first round of talks on missile defenses before the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The talks at the expert level will take place in Moscow, ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said at a press briefing.
Nesterenko said the Russian delegation will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, while the U.S. delegation will be led by Deputy Secretary of State Ellen Tausher, the Interfax news agency reported.
The spokesman also said results of the talks may be reported to Clinton, who will be in Russia on Oct. 12-14, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting in Moscow on Oct. 13.
Nesterenko also did not rule the possibility that the two countries might conduct a joint analysis of missile challenges using radar stations in Gabala in Azerbaijan and Armavir in southern Russia.
"We are operating under the assumption that such information (on the radar stations in Gabala and Armavir) may promote a joint analysis of joint missile challenges, which is known to be a key element of Russia's approach to international interaction in the sphere of missile defense," the spokesman said.
Moscow asked Washington to set up a joint air defense system in 2007, using Gabala and Armavir as alternatives to elements of the U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.
"Before taking military and technical steps, we need to conduct an unbiased analysis of the situation and reach an agreement on the consistency of actions, through the use of political and diplomatic methods," Nesterenko said.
Lavrov said Wednesday that a new U.S. missile defense plan poses less risk to Russia than did the original proposal, which was widely regarded as the latest positive Russian response to the U.S. revamp of its missile defense plans.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Sept. 17 that Washington would abandon a Bush-era missile defense shield program while initiating a "phased, adaptive approach" in Eastern Europe.
Under the new U.S. plan, land-based missile-defense shields will not be installed before 2015 and sea-based defenses will be operating in the Mediterranean up to 2015.
The Bush administration had planned to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of its European missile shield to protect its European allies from missile threats from "rogue states."
Russia strongly opposed the plans, saying they posed threats to its national security.
After Obama's announcement, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev officially declared scrapping plans to install short-range Iskander missiles in its western Kaliningrad enclave.
Medvedev also said Russia was ready to continue missile defense cooperation with the United States and Europe, describing the U.S. decision to overhaul its missile shield plans as "sensible."
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