Source: Global Security Newswire Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said missile defense and Western military operations in Libya are key sticking points to hopes of strengthening relations between his nation and NATO, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 30).
"The dialogue is not proceeding as easily as we expected after the Lisbon summit,” Lavrov said.
Leaders from the former Cold War antagonists agreed during the November session in Portugal to pursue avenues for cooperation on missile defense. Moscow has pressed for a unified operation in which each side would have responsibility for defending a particular geographic area, while the military alliance wants two distinct but collaborative systems.
An expert report is due this month on the effort.
“Many key issues need to be addressed. We never said we would agree on ballistic missile defense in a few weeks or months,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. “But we are determined to keep up the dialogue and keep up the work, and we are making progress.”
He added: "The spirit of Lisbon lives on and continues to guide us. Cooperation is the best choice, partnership is the only path forward" (Associated Press/Washington Post, July 4).
Lavrov and Rasmussen spoke during a NATO-Russia Council session in Sochi, Russia.
The NATO chief said the two sides would try to come to accord on missile defense at the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago, RIA Novosti reported.
"The potential for cooperation is great. From military viewpoint, benefit from enhanced cooperation and transparency would be substantial," Rasmussen said. On the political side, "agreement on antimissile defense could fundamentally change our vision of each other and the way we work with each other."
The United States and its NATO allies say plans to connect and enhance missile defenses for Europe are aimed at countering threats from the Middle East, specifically Iran. Russia, though, has said the system could threaten its own strategic security; it has warned of pursuing an arms buildup if an agreement on the matter remains out of reach.
Such threats are "unnecessary" and "out of date," according to Rasmussen.
"Large parts of Russia, and many Russian citizens, face a missile threat too. And NATO is convinced that cooperating with Russia on missile defense is in the interest of all of us and Russia. It makes sense politically. It makes sense practically. And it makes sense militarily," he said.
"What does not make sense, is for Russia to talk about spending billions of rubles on a new offensive system to target the West," Rasmussen added. "This type of investment is a waste of money. Because we don't pose a threat to Russia. We will not attack Russia. We will not undermine the security of Russia" (RIA Novosti I, July 4).
Lavrov acknowledged on Monday that the two sides were not likely to reach accord on establishing a unitary program for missile defense, RIA Novosti reported.
"It won't be a big secret to say that agreement will not be reached on a sectoral approach," he said. "Our partners from NATO say they have mutual defense obligations under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, and this obligation cannot be delegated to anyone," Lavrov added.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty commits NATO states to taking military action or other measures to support another member nation faced with an "armed attack" (RIA Novosti II, July 4).
The Kremlin's envoy to NATO said Russian participation in the May 2012 summit in Chicago would be based on the potential for reaching a deal on missile defense during the event, Interfax reported.
"I can tell you definitely that whoever will be Russian president in May 2012, he will not just fly to America to join their celebrations," said Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin.
"Either it will be a serious meeting, where we will have an opportunity to sum up the results of the joint work on missile defense and reach an agreement or even sign something important, or no Russia-NATO summit will be held at all," he added (Interfax I, July 1).
Rogozin said Russia would forge ahead with its own antimissile infrastructure, no matter what happens with NATO, Interfax reported.
"Concerning our aerospace and national missile defense, we will be working on it irrespective of what the United States and NATO are going to build," he said in Sochi.
While Washington today has the edge on missile defense capabilities, Moscow has pushed forward significantly in the last year, according to the diplomat.
"In my estimate, if we add the S-500 system to our arsenals by 2015, this will be our first surface-to-air system with a missile defense capability. So we will catch up in the coming years," he said (Interfax II, July 1).
Rogozin added that any Russia-NATO missile defense collaboration would not give either side "red button" access to the other's key weapons systems, according to Interfax (see GSN, June 1).
"Giving anyone access to this virtual red button ... is something that can never happen. It is impossible," he said.
"We will not put our system of strategic nuclear forces and system of aerospace defense under anyone's control. They will always remain under Russian sovereign national control," Rogozin stated.
Also, "no illusions should be built concerning the Russian finger being on some NATO, or American virtual red button. This is unrealistic. Cooperation must proceed within absolutely different parameters," he added (Interfax III, July 1).