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US argues case for missile shield Nato chief dismisses Russia fears
(about 8 hours later)
Nato member states say a US missile defence system - strongly opposed by Russia - must protect all of them. Nato's chief has discounted concerns in Moscow that US proposals to build a missile defence system in Europe could lead to a new arms race with Russia.
The anti-missile shield is being discussed at Nato headquarters in Brussels and a Russian delegation is presenting its objections there too. Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the system would not affect strategic balance or threaten Russia.
A Nato spokesman said Nato members agreed that "there is a threat to Europe of missiles" and that their security must be "indivisible". Moscow strongly opposes the system. Washington says it is needed to protect the US and Europe from possible attack by hostile nations such as Iran.
The US wants parts of the shield to be sited in the Czech Republic and Poland.The US wants parts of the shield to be sited in the Czech Republic and Poland.
"There were no critical comments, but there was the strong belief that we should pursue the indivisibility of security and maintain maximum transparency," said Nato spokesman James Appathurai. He was commenting on talks among senior officials of the 26-nation alliance.
Iran was named as a country that "could potentially pose a missile threat to Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community," he said.
Deployment plan
The plan is to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland with an associated radar in the Czech Republic.The plan is to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland with an associated radar in the Czech Republic.
"Ten interceptors will not, cannot and will not affect the strategic balance and 10 interceptors can also not pose a threat to Russia," Mr de Hoop Scheffer said after talks at Nato headquarters in Brussels.
'That extra mile'
The proposed US missile defence system will not protect all Nato member states - Turkey and parts of Greece.
The secretary general said there was a desire among the 26-nation alliance that any US system should be able to work alongside any additional Nato defensive system to extend coverage to these two member states.
Earlier, alliance members agreed that "there is a threat to Europe of missiles" and that their security must be "indivisible".
How defence system worksHow defence system works
But due to its location, the system would not protect Turkey or even parts of Greece from attack, the BBC's Jonathan Marcus reports from Brussels. "There were no critical comments, but there was the strong belief that we should pursue the indivisibility of security and maintain maximum transparency," said Nato spokesman James Appathurai.
The Americans explained how an additional Nato defensive system could be bolted onto their plan to provide the additional coverage. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says winning the Russians around, or going that extra mile to try and embrace Moscow's concerns, may be a vital condition if harmony within Nato is to be maintained.
Mr Appathurai said there was a feeling at the meeting that the proposed system "cannot pose any threat to Russia's capabilities nor change the strategic balance," the AFP news agency reported. US officials said a number of confidence-building proposals had been put to the Russians and that discussions would continue.
The US team includes both Under Secretary of Defence Eric Edelman and the Director of the US Missile Defence Agency, Lt Gen Henry Obering. The Russian ambassador, Konstantin Totsky, said that if there was a common missile threat as the US says, then there should be a common security approach to meet it.
They are trying to convince the Europeans that there really is an urgent need to deploy defences against a potential Iranian missile attack. Mr Totsky hinted that Russia's response would be to deploy new systems of its own - what the Russian diplomat described as an asymmetric response that would be cheaper than the US programme, says our diplomatic correspondent.
But equally - at a meeting of the Nato-Russia Council - they must try to convince Moscow that it is not threatened by the scheme.
The ruling German coalition is deeply divided on the missile issue, and the government in Berlin is eager to establish a consensus within Nato before any plans go ahead, our correspondent says.