Reuters AlertNet Lite - Russia: no new arms race despite U.S. missile plan

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Russia: no new arms race despite U.S. missile plan

09 Feb 2007 15:03:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

SEVILLE, Spain, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov on Friday rejected U.S. arguments for deploying an anti-missile defence system in eastern Europe and insisted Russia would not be drawn into a Cold War-style arms race.

Ivanov said there was no need to base part of the system in NATO countries Poland and the Czech Republic to defend the United States from rockets launched in Iran and North Korea, as Washington argues.

"What is the real intention of these activities?," Ivanov asked during a news conference after meeting NATO counterparts including U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the Spanish city of Seville.

He said Russia would upgrade its own defence systems to make sure its strategic arsenal were not rendered ineffective.

"This will not harm the Russian deterrent. We will develop our own strategic system which will have the capability to surpass any missile system," he said after meeting Gates.

"Our response will be asymmetric. It will not be very expansive. We will not be back to the arms race."

Earlier Gates said he had sought to reassure Ivanov during the meeting that the system posed no threat to the Russians.

"We've made quite clear to them that it's not directed at them," he told reporters.

Despite fierce public opposition, centre-right governments in Poland and the Czech Republic seem determined to push through plans to host the U.S. missile defence system.

The system would be composed of a radar station in the Czech Republic and up to 10 ground-based ballistic rockets, or interceptors, in Poland.

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Last updated:Fri Feb 9 15:05:17 2007