Russia expects serious and frank negotiations with NATO concerning European ABM system

Added: (Thu Dec 08 2011)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Session of the Council Russia-NATO at level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will take place in Brussels on Thursday, December, 8th. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will take part in it. According to the press-service of foreign policy department, Russia is waiting for serious and frank dialogue with NATO concerning European system of antimissile defense.

It is expected that the intermediate results of the fulfillment of the agreement reached on the summit of Council Russia-NATO in Lisbon in November, 2010 about “original strategic modernized partnership of Russia and the North Atlantic alliance on principles of indivisibility, safety, mutual trust, transparency and predictabilities to create the united are of peace, safety and stability in Euro-Atlantic will be discussed during the meeting.

Let's remind, there are essential disagreements between Russia and NATO concerning creation ABM systems in Europe after the summit in Lisbon. The concept of this system which was revised and supplemented when Barack Obama was elected as the president doesn't suit official Moscow which suggests uniform Russian-NATO antimissile defense. However NATO command doesn't intend to give Russia the right to key decisions in questions of defense of Europe and the USA in case of possible rocket attack from Iran or other Near-Eastern states. Thus the head of the Alliance doesn't intend to give any official written guarantees that missile launchers in the Old World won't threaten strategic potential of Russia and military forces of the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Such guarantees should be based on the objective criteria, allowing to estimate conformity of the created ABM of the declared purpose — to counteraction to the missiles from outside of Europe. We are ready for the further negotiations upon these questions. It is a reaction to real actions — a materialization of antimissile plans when we are just pinned before the facts”.

It is expected that at session in Brussels. the ministers will present Russian approaches to possible interaction in the sphere of antimissile defense according o the speech of the president of Russia on November, 23rd, 2011. Dmitry Medvedev declared readiness to leave SNF in case the USA and NATO won't consider opinion of Russia in realization the program of the ABM in Europe. He also reminded that Moscow has been trying to get any legal guarantees from Washington concerning safety of system European ABM. Dmitry Medvedev underlined that the state is ready to strengthen the ABM system, objects of strategic nuclear forces, to equip strategic ballistic missiles with perspective complexes of overcoming of the ABM and new highly effective fighting blocks, and also to place in the west and the south of the country modern strike systems providing fire defeat of the European component of the ABM.

Deputy Director and Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Disarmament, Arms Control, and Risk Technologies of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg Goetz Neuneck said in the interview to the news agency “PenzaNews” that the measures sounded by the president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, won't promote overcoming of the dead-locked situation.

According to the expert, the main supporters who discharge Russia from participation in creation of the European system of the ABM are republicans in Washington. Goetz Neuneck explained that those who would like to have the future US president republican are convinced that Obama’s disarmament policy failed. Russia doesn't intend to obey Americans, therefore it is necessary to increase expenses on the military purposes, including creation of the antimissile defense not only against Iran, but also Russia.

Goetz Neuneck said: “Now it is difficult to predict the actions of NATO. However it’s possible that we will face new cold war and race of arms. However there is a possibility to continue discussion and come to considered, better decision”.

As a whole Europe and the USA practically doesn’t react to the statement of the Russian president. American leaders tried to convince Russia in safety of the European ABM system and Europe in general preferred not to take part in any negotiations.

Russian analysts believe that it is due to the fact that Europe realizes its inability to create own defense system, therefore it relies on America providing antimissile umbrella.

Besides, the European leaders understand that the measures taken by Russia are defensive. The actions sounded by Dmitry Medvedev, won't mention Europe and won't create risk of new confrontation. According to the president, if it is necessary the defensive systems can be used against joint threats together with Europe. By this time Moscow have already taken the first measures. During the visit to Kaliningrad which on Tuesday, November, 29th, the president ordered to put anti missile radar station “Voronezh-DM” in-commission status.

According to the president, putting into operation of the new station is the first signal for NATO, however its creation doesn't mean that the dialogue will be completed. Russia is still ready to discuss offers of the western colleagues.

In turn, the American officials declare that they don't aim to deprive Russia its own defence. However, in connection with the internal reasons, Obama's administration can't give legal guarantees which will deprive Washington possibility to protect Americans and their allies from foreign rocket attack. The only thing, what administration can give are undocumented political guarantees.

The observer of “The Wall Street Journal” Alan Cullison considers that the statement of the president Dmitry Medvedev shouldn't shock Europe and the USA. As he said, similar measures were sounded in 2008, but subsequently they have been reconsidered after Barack Obama's refusal of George Bush's plans on creation of an antimissile board in Poland and Czechia. However now Dmitry Medvedev's speech shows increasing tension in the relations between Moscow and Washington, considers an observer.

Experts of the Council of Europe under the international relations Ben Judah, Jana Kobzova and Nicu Popescu have the same opinion. They assert that the security policy in which maximum progress was reached after “reboot”, became an obstacle in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Their joint analytical material said: “At first Russia was happy with Obama's decision about refusal of Bush's plans to put an antimissile board in Europe including the radar station in Czech and long range missiles in Poland. However “European stage-by-stage adaptive approach” of new administration of the USA designated subsequently the plan on expansion of interceptors of rockets of small range and after 2010 long range missiles in Poland and Romania. Then president Medvedev said about his fears that it can lead to new race of arms and warned that Russia should answer the plan of the USA”.

According to experts, America’s relation to Russia is that long-term expansion of foreign policy of the USA from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean reduced the priority of Russia for Washington. At the same time, the USA can afford such relation to the Eastern Europe, Russia and Caucasus, exept EU. Russia has closer relations with European Union, than the USA has, therefore Europe should find common language with Moscow.

According to experts of the Council of Europe under the international relations, EU can't develop consecutive strategy which will fill vacuum in the relations, created by the USA. In the future America will keep the influence on political, economic and military affairs of Europe, thus EU needs to take the leading position in creation more democratic and safe Big Europe.

Meanwhile, the director of research programs of Institute of democracy and cooperation John Laughland said in the interview to the news agency “PenzaNews” that NATO plans to put ABM systems in Europe “look funny and grotesquely”.

He said: “It’s only a game, a product of American “megapowerful” military complex. Actually they build this antimissile complex in Europe only elementary to earn money. A bullet can’t bring down another bullet. But, obviously, it isn't meaningful because of a vicious circle in relations between Russia and America”.

John Laughland said: “Russia has already informed Europe that it will take part in the project of joint antimissile defense with pleasure. But Europe supports America due to the European elite is completely Americanized. Europe was under the influence of America last 50-60 years. I think that in general it is impossible to represent separately American and European elite because they are completely identical”.

The question of the missile defense system has been discussed by Russian and the U.S. leaders since the end of 1960s. NATO joined the conversation in the end of 1990s.

Missile defense system in the U.S. (NMD) is created, according to the U.S. administration, to protect the country against nuclear missile attack of North Korea, Iran and Syria (previously Iraq and Libya were also called).

Missile defense system created by the U.S. includes a control center, stations and early warning satellites tracking the missile launch, station of guidance the interceptor missiles, launchers for derivation interceptors in space for destroying enemy ballistic missiles.

NATO's Strategic Concept of 1999 indicates the need of missile defense against nuclear, biological and chemical threats for all NATO states.

It is expected that NATO states will provide detection tools and combat weapons systems, while NATO will develop the system and will facilitate the integration of all these components.

NATO considers that future cooperation with Russia in the sphere of missile defense may be in building two separate but interacting systems. In particular, cooperation with Russia on missile defense can be through information sharing and possible joint activities with a combination of features and capabilities of NATO missile defense system, available in Russia.

The Russian proposal includes cooperation in the “sectoral” form, where the parties are responsible for ballistic missiles defense of denoted geographic areas. Such a system provides a joint mechanism between Russia and NATO on threat assessment and decision making.