US Calls for “Strategic Cooperation” on Missile Shield
The US said on July 9th that Europe and Russia should stand as “equal partners” in terms of its Missile Defence Shield, following Moscow’s threat to launch military action against any deployment close to its territory.
"We seek strategic cooperation on preventing missiles from rogue nations like Iran from threatening our friends and allies”, Gordon Johndroe – a spokesman for the White House – stated, adding: "We will continue to have a dialogue with the Russians."
Stressing the collaborative nature of the shield, he said: "We want to design a system between the United States, Russia and Europe, with everyone participating as equal partners."
Bush, Medvedev Talks
President Bush and his Russian equivalent, Dmitry Medvedev, failed to see eye-to-eye during talks on the shield held July 7th. On the next day, news broke that the US had signed a deal with the Czech Republic for radar facilities – a component of the shield – to be based there.
Russian Military Action
In rapid succession to this, Russia reacted by threatening the prospect of military action if the US set up new facilities on its former territory.
"If a US strategic anti-missile shield is deployed near our borders, we will be forced to react not in a diplomatic fashion but with military resources", a statement issued by the foreign office asserted.
It added: "There is no doubt that the grouping of elements of the strategic US arsenal faced towards Russian territory" could result in Moscow taking “...adequate measures to face the threats to its national security.”
“Rogue” State Attacks
The US Missile Defence Shield is a measure designed to halt the progress of attacks launched by what the US has referred to as “rogue” states – specifically, the likes of North Korea and Iran.
Polish Missiles
In addition to the Czech radar site, the Shield would also incorporate a fleet of interceptor missiles based in Poland, but a firm agreement on the latter has not yet been reached.
Lithuania has put itself forward as another choice for the missiles, should agreement between the US and Poland fail to be solidified at all.
Source – Armed Forces International’s US Correspondent
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US Missile Defence Shield: Czech Rep Agreement "Close"
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