Russia, the United States and the European Union still have time to agree on ways of ensuring security before missiles are deployed in Poland and Russia”s Kaliningrad Region, the Russian foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Sergei Lavrov said a security agreement based on respect for common interests would negate the planned deployment of a U.S. missile shield in central Europe, on the one hand, and the possibility of tactical missiles being stationed in Russia”s western exclave bordering Poland, on the other.
“We still have time to consider real, not contrived threats to Europe and reach a collective rather than a unilateral decision,” Lavrov said.
He said the main topic at an OSCE ministerial meeting, scheduled for early December in Finland, would be Euro-Atlantic security.
A European diplomatic source said earlier Tuesday that the issue of the possible deployment of Russian tactical missiles near the Polish border may be raised at the upcoming EU-Russia summit in Nice on Friday.
“The possible deployment of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad is not on the agenda of the upcoming Russia-EU summit, but it may still be raised,” the source said.
President Dmitry Medvedev said in his state of the nation address on Wednesday that Russia would be forced to deploy tactical Iskander missile systems in response to the United States” missile shield plans for central Europe.
Washington said on Thursday it had provided new proposals to ease Russia”s concerns over the planned deployment of 10 U.S. missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, which the United States said were needed to counter possible attacks from “rogue” states like Iran.
Russia, which says the missile defense system is a threat to its national security, has indicated it will not address the U.S. proposals until after President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated in January.
