ID :
165479
Thu, 03/03/2011 - 07:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/165479
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NATO says mechanism of cooperation with Russia on missile defence
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Itar-Tass) -- NATO said it would be possible to devise a mechanism for cooperation with Russian within the framework of the missile defence system being created in Europe.
NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai told Itar-Tass on Wednesday, March 2, that the allies had made it clear that their plans did not include a single missile defence system with a single control centre, where NATO and Russia would be responsible for separate sectors.
However NATO and Russia have a shared understanding of what this
system should look like -- there should be operational compatibility,
cooperation, trust, and transparency, Appathurai said at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
An understanding has been reached in some areas, he added.
He said Russia wants guarantees that phases 3 and 4 of missile defence deployment will not undermine its strategic deterrence capabilities.
Appathurai said that NATO had neither intension nor possibility to
create a system that would undermine Russia's deterrence capabilities.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed sectoral missile defence at the Russia-NATO Summit in Lisbon in November 2010.
However Appathurai ruled out a joint sectoral missile defence system with Russia.
He said NATO was closely watching Russian leaders' statements and was aware of its responsibility for protecting its member states and could not transfer this responsibility to anyone.
In his opinion, Russia cannot allow itself to be guarded by anyone
either and for that reason does not intend to delegate responsibility for its security.
According to Appathurai, the dialogue on missile defence involved the construction of completely independent but coordinated missile defence systems, which he said should be transparent and reliable.
There should be no doubt that NATO is more interested to ensure the transparency of these systems, he added.
In his opinion, Russia's statements on NATO's aggressiveness can upset further bilateral cooperation, but described Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's latest remarks on this issue as encouraging and coinciding with NATO's point of view.
He stressed that Russia would have an independent missile defence, but this does not rule out close cooperation and joint work to address technical and organisational issues in the first place.
The alliance is considering building a missile defence system for all of its member states.
NATO experts have confirmed that the cost of expanding the existing theatre missile defence to a territorial missile defence would be less than 200 million euros.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said experts had
confirmed the technical possibility of expanding the existing project
designed to protect several thousand troops involved in a NATO operation to a territorial system that can protect the whole NATO area and a population of 900 million people in the 28 NATO member states.
At the same time, he said that the stated sum would only cover the
cost of integrating national missile defence capabilities into a unified NATO missile defence system. Additional investment will have to be made in the creation of national missile defence systems, but they are already provided for in the effective missile defence project, Rasmussen said.
The theatre missile defence is based on mobile anti-missile systems (such as Patriot-3) integrated into one system complete with early warning means and air monitoring capabilities for protecting a NATO military contingent from tactical missiles during a peacekeeping mission.
Work under this project has been on for about ten years and includes close cooperation between NATO and Russia, which has already confirmed the technical possibility of integrating their missile defence systems.
NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai told Itar-Tass on Wednesday, March 2, that the allies had made it clear that their plans did not include a single missile defence system with a single control centre, where NATO and Russia would be responsible for separate sectors.
However NATO and Russia have a shared understanding of what this
system should look like -- there should be operational compatibility,
cooperation, trust, and transparency, Appathurai said at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
An understanding has been reached in some areas, he added.
He said Russia wants guarantees that phases 3 and 4 of missile defence deployment will not undermine its strategic deterrence capabilities.
Appathurai said that NATO had neither intension nor possibility to
create a system that would undermine Russia's deterrence capabilities.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed sectoral missile defence at the Russia-NATO Summit in Lisbon in November 2010.
However Appathurai ruled out a joint sectoral missile defence system with Russia.
He said NATO was closely watching Russian leaders' statements and was aware of its responsibility for protecting its member states and could not transfer this responsibility to anyone.
In his opinion, Russia cannot allow itself to be guarded by anyone
either and for that reason does not intend to delegate responsibility for its security.
According to Appathurai, the dialogue on missile defence involved the construction of completely independent but coordinated missile defence systems, which he said should be transparent and reliable.
There should be no doubt that NATO is more interested to ensure the transparency of these systems, he added.
In his opinion, Russia's statements on NATO's aggressiveness can upset further bilateral cooperation, but described Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's latest remarks on this issue as encouraging and coinciding with NATO's point of view.
He stressed that Russia would have an independent missile defence, but this does not rule out close cooperation and joint work to address technical and organisational issues in the first place.
The alliance is considering building a missile defence system for all of its member states.
NATO experts have confirmed that the cost of expanding the existing theatre missile defence to a territorial missile defence would be less than 200 million euros.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said experts had
confirmed the technical possibility of expanding the existing project
designed to protect several thousand troops involved in a NATO operation to a territorial system that can protect the whole NATO area and a population of 900 million people in the 28 NATO member states.
At the same time, he said that the stated sum would only cover the
cost of integrating national missile defence capabilities into a unified NATO missile defence system. Additional investment will have to be made in the creation of national missile defence systems, but they are already provided for in the effective missile defence project, Rasmussen said.
The theatre missile defence is based on mobile anti-missile systems (such as Patriot-3) integrated into one system complete with early warning means and air monitoring capabilities for protecting a NATO military contingent from tactical missiles during a peacekeeping mission.
Work under this project has been on for about ten years and includes close cooperation between NATO and Russia, which has already confirmed the technical possibility of integrating their missile defence systems.
