Russian-NATO talks on US missile defense have reached a stalemate, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said. He noted that first achievements of European missile defenses will be announced at the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20, which means that NATO will continue development of its missile defenses regardless of Russia’s concerns.
The defense minister noted that Russia and the US cannot find common grounds on European missile defense. Some believe that negotiating the issue is impossible.
Serdyukov reminded that Russia and the US managed to reach Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The document allows fair partnership between Russia and NATO.
An agreement on European missile defenses would benefit all sides. Russia is ready for a dialogu on the issue.
Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said that an optimal decision is for Russia and NATO to develop missile defenses together to enforce security of all states. He believes that such system would be possible.
A high-ranking official of the Kremlin told RIA Novosti that the sides need to identify threats together. There is still time until 2018 and an agreement may be reached, as US President Barack Obama asked Russian President Medvedev to tell new President Vladimir Putin.
It would be harder to reach an agreement if a different president takes office in the US after the elections in November.
Vladimir Yevseyev, Director of the Russian Center for Socio-Political Studies, said that all depends on who becomes the new president. Romney seems to be opposed to any talks on the issue. But pre-electoral speeches may differ from what a person says when becoming a president.
The expert made the right forecasts about Patrushev’s proposal to launch two centers, one for data exchange and the other for joint development of missile defenses. The US invited Russian experts to monitor missile launches in April, joint computer training at Munich.
