The decision of the US administration to scrap plans for a missile defense system in Europe has received positive response from global community.
At their meeting in Brussels Thursday the European leaders welcomed the US decision to drop plans to extend its anti-missile shield into the continent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the move could help improve strained ties with Russia, while French president Nicolas Sarkozy named the initiative of Barrack Obama “excellent in all aspects”.
In the US the President’s statement also found understanding and support. Chairmen of the US Helsinki Commission Benjamin Cardin and Alsy Hastings said that the US administration had showed flexible approach to the problem of missile defense system in Europe. A well known American political analyst Dmitry Simes said that such move was reasonable. According to Simes, Obama’s administration takes into account the interests of Central and Eastern Europe but unlike George Bush’s administration it is not ready to be led by the nose by Prague and Warsaw. The latter two likely consider the location of anti-missile shield on their territory as a mean to put pressure on Moscow.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that the decision by the Obama’s administration to scrap plans for a missile defense system in Europe is a "responsible move." Here is a statement of the Russian President.
Mr. Obama and I discussed the issue of missile proliferation in our meetings earlier this year in London and Moscow and we agreed to work together to reduce that risk. The announcement made today in Washington shows that the conditions for such work are not bad.
However there is no reason to ride high about the decision of Washington. We hear from Konstantin Kosachyov, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament).
This is not the final. And it is neither a harmony nor complete mutual understanding. But this is definitively a dialogue and the right comprehension of Russia and its arguments which not less serious and grounded than the interests of US national security policy.
The decision of Barrack Obama does not mean complete rejection of the new anti-missile system plan. Instead of locating a stationary anti-missile system in Czech republic and Poland the US plan to build a flexible antimissile system by 2015 which will comprise mainly mobile units based in sea. That is why according to Russian envoy in NATO Dmitry Rogozin a certain threat will remain.
The ship which will carry new elements of strategic anti-missile system can sail in one direction today and tomorrow to go in another direction. In case of tension between Russia and NATO or Russia and US they can even approach Russian coast.
So far the first step has been made in resetting the anti-missile system issue which darkened Russia-US relations. This trend should be confirmed by means of constructive dialogue on forming global security system which would take into account equally the interests of both parties.
Please rate: