Missile plan fears spread

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Sweden and the United Kingdom have joined the list of nations voicing concerns over the anti-missile system being proposed by George W. Bush's administration in the U.S.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh has urged the United States to abandon plans for its national missile defence (NMD) shield.

Her British counterpart, Robin Cook, pleaded in Washington for the U.S. to be aware of increasing world tension with plans for the defence system.

NMD, which Washington says is vital to defend the U.S. against possible attack by states such as North Korea and Iraq, is being developed to destroy missiles in flight

Lindh expressed fears that a new arms race could develop if the U.S. goes ahead with its controversial defence system.

She said: "We urge the U.S. to consider the consequences for disarmament and (nuclear) non-proliferation efforts if NMD is developed, and to therefore abandon it."

Bush's administration has said it intends to develop and deploy NMD as a defensive system to protect against a limited attack.

Tension with Russia

Sweden currently holds the rotating European Union presidency. Lindh's comment was made in her foreign policy speech during a debate in the Swedish parliament.

It was one of the strongest calls to date by a senior EU country cabinet minister for Washington to refrain from deploying NMD.

China and Germany are among other nations who have urged caution over plans for the anti-missile system.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said NMD plans should only be implemented in a way that does not increase tension with Russia.

Cook, in Washington for talks with the new U.S. administration, stressed the need to respect the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the old Soviet Union.

The U.S. has not so far asked Britain to agree to upgrade a strategic radar base in Yorkshire that is likely to be needed by the U.S. programme, Cook told the BBC.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week during a visit to Munich that Washington would not act alone but would consult its European allies.

Russia has said that the proposed U.S. scheme would be ineffective against Russian technology anyway.

Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev said old Soviet technologies developed in the 1980s to oppose Ronald Reagan's Star Wars plan could easily pierce the NMD system.

And Sergei Ivanov, secretary of Russia's security council, has said the plan would undermine world stability. He offered Washington talks on substantial arms cuts if it abandoned the scheme.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Munich Conference on Security
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
Swedish Government Offices
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

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