Reuters AlertNet Lite - German minister defends U.S. missile shield plans

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German minister defends U.S. missile shield plans

26 Mar 2007 08:15:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

BERLIN, March 26 (Reuters) - Conservative German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung defended U.S. plans to build a missile shield in eastern Europe, an idea that has been attacked by Russia and the conservatives' own coalition partners.

In a German newspaper interview published on Monday, Jung said the purpose of the U.S. missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland was to protect NATO territory and was not aimed at Russia as Moscow alleges.

Jung, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative camp, also played down the significance of comments by members of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel's partners in the "grand coalition" formed in 2005, attacking the shield.

"I acknowledge the various statements, but I represent the position of the government. I assure you that in the cabinet, we're united," Jung told Handelsblatt newspaper.

The United States wants to deploy a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland by 2011-12. It says the system would counter threats from so-called "rogue states" like Iran and North Korea.

Last week Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an SPD member, urged the United States to reconsider the missile defence plan, saying Washington risked paying a steep price to protect itself against non-existent threats.

Jung dismissed the idea that the threats do not exist.

He said a recently updated German government defence strategy study made it clear that the threat from proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems was on the rise -- for Germany as well as elsewhere.

Russia, which sees the missile shield as an encroachment on its former sphere of influence, has accused Washington of using Cold War tactics to persuade Europe to host the system.

Jung said it was good that Washington was trying to work with both NATO and Russia on the issue.

"I consider it correct that U.S. bilateral efforts will also be debated inside NATO and every effort will be made to get a clear agreement with Russia," Jung said.

"Russia should be included (in discussions) via the NATO-Russia Council. I assume that this will have a good conclusion," he said.

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Last updated:Mon Mar 26 08:20:39 2007