October 14, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 1, 1428

TOKYO, Oct 13: Russia is concerned that a Japanese-US missile defence plan could be an effort to preserve military superiority, Moscow’s foreign minister said in a news interview published on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow regarded the joint missile defence effort as an “object of concern”, expressing wariness over what he called the possibility that the system could be directed against Russia and China.

“We oppose the construction of missile defence systems whose purpose is to ensure military superiority,” Lavrov wrote in response to questions from Kyodo News agency, ahead of a visit to Japan later this month.

Citing the views of specialists, Lavrov also expressed wariness over the possibility that the system could be directed against Russia and China, Kyoto said.

Tokyo and Washington have been jointly developing an advanced missile defense system, and have stepped up joint missile defence programmes since North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear test last year.

The two countries held a regional ballistic missile defence drill in July, with another round of exercises scheduled for November.

The US keeps about 50,000 troops across Japan under a bilateral security pact.

US and Russian negotiators ended high-level talks in Moscow on Friday at an impasse over a range of issues that have chilled bilateral relations, including a missile defence system the US wants to build in Eastern Europe.

Washington says the system is aimed at stopping possible missile launches from Iran and North Korea. Russia says the system is a strategic threat to its missile capabilities.—AP