Russia, U.S. Still Disagree on Missile Shield, Envoy Says

Friday, Feb. 18, 2011

The Russian ambassador to the United States on Wednesday said the two nations have not yet reached a common view on how Moscow could work with NATO in establishing a European ballistic missile shield, the Associated Press reported (see GSN*, Feb. 16). The Kremlin has long worried that U.S. and NATO missile defense initiatives are aimed at weakening Russia's nuclear deterrent. Moscow is determine to hold on to strategic parity with its former Cold War antagonist, Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak said at a nuclear deterrence conference near Washington. "We want to be reassured that whatever you do there doesn't undermine the stability of deterrence, because deterrence is still with us," Kislyak said. "We haven't reached a state ... between our two countries that would allow us to abolish it. We would like to see it happen. But that's going to be a long way (off)." The two military powers earlier this month enacted New START -- a nuclear arms control pact that requires both sides to cut their deployed strategic arsenals to 1,500 warheads apiece.

* GSN. Feb.16