Russia plans U.S. missile talks

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Russia plans to move swiftly to establish a "serious dialogue" with U.S. president-elect George W. Bush and his team over missile defence, the Russian foreign minister has said.

But Igor Ivanov made it clear that Moscow was not ready to drop its opposition to a proposed U.S. national missile defence (NMD) shield which would violate an arms control treaty.

In an article published in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily Ivanov wrote: "We intend without delay to start a serious dialogue with the new American administration on the entire range of disarmament issues, including the retention of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM)."

Russia has refused to re-write the agreement and warned the NMD would spark a new global arms race that would draw in China.

Bush vowed during his election campaign to push ahead with the $60 billion "Star Wars"-style national missile defence shield, even if that meant unilaterally violating the ABM treaty.

RESOURCES How the proposed missile system would work

Washington says it needs the system -- which would shoot down incoming nuclear missiles -- to protect America from possible attack by so-called "rogue states" like Iraq and North Korea. Both are developing missile and nuclear capabilities.

Moscow says American fears are exaggerated and any concerns could be met by jointly developing a non-strategic missile defence system (which would leave ABM intact), lower nuclear arsenals and a diplomatic drive focused on states of concern.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to scrap all disarmament accords with the United States if Washington deploys the NMD regardless of Moscow's security worries.

But last month the head of Russia's strategic rocket force, General Vladimir Yakovlev, caused a stir by suggesting for the first time that Moscow could live with the NMD if the United States in exchange agreed an "ABM tariff."

That would mean any improvements in missile defence would be automatically compensated by cuts in offensive capability, thus restoring the strategic balance.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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National Missile Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
Russian Government

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