October 26, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 13, 1428

NOORDWIJK (Netherlands), Oct 25: Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Thursday that the United States had failed to ease Moscow’s concerns about its moves to extend a vast missile shield into Europe.

After talks with Nato defence ministers, Serdyukov suggested that Russia had not been convinced by proposals outlined on Tuesday by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to monitor new installations in the Czech Republic and Poland.

“All that has been proposed to us does not satisfy us, our position remains the same,” he said, briefing Russian media after the talks in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Other media were not permitted to attend.

But he said Washington was “beginning to better understand our concerns”. The United States is currently negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic to base 10 interceptors and a radar, respectively, on their territories to deal with missile threats from ‘rogue states’ like Iran.

But Moscow vehemently opposes the plan, fearing that the system could eventually be used against Russia, and is angered that its Cold War foe would base military hardware in what in Soviet times was its backyard.

To allay those fears, the United States has offered to allow Russian personnel to work at the installations, as well as a so-called ‘joint architecture’, essentially a data sharing arrangement on missile threats.

Another idea would involve building the installations in Poland and the Czech Republic – construction is meant to start next year – but delaying the operational start-up in a bid to convince Moscow of their primary function.

“We would consider tying together the activation of the sites ... with definitive proof of the threat, in other words Iranian missile tests and so on,” Gates said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters after the Nato-Russia talks, alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged Moscow to take its time in considering the proposals.

“I think that is a very substantial offer,” he said.

“I can only hope ... that the Russian federation will continue this discussion with their American friends in a very constructive atmosphere and in a very constructive way.” French Defence Minister Herve Morin said the 26 Nato allies agreed that Iran does pose a threat with ballistic missiles but that they were not in complete agreement over when it would have the capacity to fire them long distances.

“On this point we need to sharpen up our own analyses, because we do not necessarily have the same analysis, not on the threat itself, but whether it is imminent,” he said.—AFP