Moscow offers missile shield to Europe

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, FEB. 16. Russia will try to convince NATO that its non- strategic missile defence proposal can protect Europe better than the U.S. plan of building a strategic national missile shield.

Gen. Leonid Ivashov, head of the Russian Defence Ministry's international cooperation department, told a press conference in Moscow that details of the Russian plan for a compact and inexpensive missile shield for Europe would be handed over to the NATO Secretary-General, Mr. George Robertson, when he visits Russia next week.

Gen. Ivashov said the Russian plan calls for ``a special mobile, non-strategic missile-defence force'' that can be deployed near a potential aggressor. Such a force would be far cheaper and simpler to build than Washington's ``Star Wars'' shield, he said. Deploying a mobile anti-missile force near a potential aggressor would be a move of last resort, if political and diplomatic efforts failed to defuse the threat.

The NATO chief has already said he will be seeking details of the Russian proposal during his forthcoming visit to Moscow on Feb. 19-21.

Gen. Ivashov dismissed as ``fairy tales'' Washington's protestations that its National Missile Defence (NMD) was to protect the U.S. against a missile threat from ``rogue states'', such as North Korea or Iran.

``If the U.S. builds an NMD this will be above all against the strategic arsenals of Russia and China,'' the Russian General said.

He claimed the U.S. offer of deploying its missile umbrella over Europe was aimed draining European states financially so that they cannot pursue their own defence programmes such as setting up an armed force separate from NATO.

Gen. Ivashov denied reports that Russia had moved its tactical nuclear missiles to its Western border in Kaliningrad, but did not rule out this option if NATO grants membership to the former Soviet Baltic states.

``We regard the further Eastward advance of NATO as a threat to our security,'' he said. ``In this case, even NATO's tactical weapons will become strategic as far as we are concerned. We reserve the right to take adequate steps to protect our national security if NATO pushes further to the East,'' Gen. Ivashov said.

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Section  : International
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