PUTIN DEMANDS MISSILE DEFENSE GUARANTEES
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 2, 2012 - 10:51 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will hold partner-like dialogue on missile
defense with Western countries if it has guarantees that the missile
shield is not directed against it, President Vladimir Putin said on
Friday, June 1.
"We are constantly being told that the missile defense system is
not directed against Russia. We would like to receive military and
technological guarantees fixed in legally binding documents," Putin
told journalists after talks with his French counterpart Francois
Hollande in Paris.
"Only then will we be able to feel safe and hold normal partner-like
dialogue," he said.
"Statements like 'don't be afraid, we promise that nothing will happen'
are clearly insufficient in the modern world. This is childish. We need
guarantees and serious agreements in the security sphere," Putin said.
He added that he hopes constructive dialogue with France and other
NATO members is possible, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile
defense system at the Lisbon summit in November 2010. NATO insists
there should be two independent systems that exchange information,
while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.
Russia's military and political leaders have repeatedly warned their
western partners that if talks fail, Moscow may take a series of
measures including deployment of Iskander short-range nuclear-capable
ballistic missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave.
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 2, 2012 - 10:51 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will hold partner-like dialogue on missile
defense with Western countries if it has guarantees that the missile
shield is not directed against it, President Vladimir Putin said on
Friday, June 1.
"We are constantly being told that the missile defense system is
not directed against Russia. We would like to receive military and
technological guarantees fixed in legally binding documents," Putin
told journalists after talks with his French counterpart Francois
Hollande in Paris.
"Only then will we be able to feel safe and hold normal partner-like
dialogue," he said.
"Statements like 'don't be afraid, we promise that nothing will happen'
are clearly insufficient in the modern world. This is childish. We need
guarantees and serious agreements in the security sphere," Putin said.
He added that he hopes constructive dialogue with France and other
NATO members is possible, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile
defense system at the Lisbon summit in November 2010. NATO insists
there should be two independent systems that exchange information,
while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.
Russia's military and political leaders have repeatedly warned their
western partners that if talks fail, Moscow may take a series of
measures including deployment of Iskander short-range nuclear-capable
ballistic missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave.