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Russian diplomat: Russia-NATO missile defense problematical if concerns disregarded
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax on Tuesday that Russia-NATO interaction in theater missile defense would become more than problematical if Russia's concerns are disregarded.
Grushko stressed that Russia's further cooperation with NATO under a theater missile defense project "would directly depend on the choice of final configuration of the layered missile defense system being developed directly by NATO, and the impact of the American missile defense system on it".
"If our concerns are not taken into account and if the danger of undermining or deforming the military-strategic balance persists, new forms of interaction with NATO in missile defense will become more than problematical," the Russian diplomat said.
Unilateral moves are ineffective and are often dangerous in the international security sphere, Grushko said.
"Attempts to build a U.S. defense outpost in Europe could entail consequences opposite to the ones declared, and trigger a new spiral in the arms race, increase regional and global instability, and basically provoke the use of force in tackling security matters instead of opting for international instruments of control over armaments," he said.
Missile defense issues, including the implementation of the joint theater missile defense project, will be addressed in comprehensive consultations of the Russia-NATO Council, he said.
Grushko said that Russia and NATO have been working on a theater missile defense project for several years. "The goal is to reach a level of interaction that would create the capabilities of missile-defense coverage for the Russia-NATO common continent in a peacekeeping operation," the Russian diplomat said.
"Since joint deployment of forces can only be authorized by a resolution of the UN Security Council, this project fully fits into the system of international law and cannot arouse concerns in other countries" he said.
"The Russia-NATO theater missile defense project is just one aspect of our countries' efforts to enhance the compatibility of the armed forces. Since we are jointly prepared to resist common threats and challenges, this readiness must be backed up by the ability to act jointly "in the field," Grushko said.
Concerning the CFE Treaty, he said that Moscow believed the adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty is losing its relevance and has called on all signatories of the treaty to make a crucial decision.
"The adapted CFE Treaty, which was signed in 1999 but which did not come into force due to the NATO's position and which has not been developing since, has been losing its connection with reality," Deputy Russian Foreign Minister told Interfax.
"The treaty must be brought into accord with the current situation from the legal point of view," he said, adding that "international agreements cannot be efficient in conditions that totally differ from the one they were signed in."
"One thing is clear: the current situation cannot last forever and the signatories of the CFE Treaty must make a crucial decision," the deputy minister said.
"Russia has been taking active measures to preserve the CFE Treaty regime over the past years," the source said. "We have fulfilled CFE-related Istanbul agreements and ratified the adapted treaty. Unfortunately, NATO member states have failed to follow our example and have not covered their stretch of the road," he said.
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