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US canvasses for NMD
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RUSSIA dismissed Washington's arguments on Friday for deploying its disputed “national missile defence (NMD)" plan after high-level talks in Moscow.
On the last leg of a tour of European capitals, a delegation led by US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz spent two hours explaining the US plan to build a sophisticated if costly system to intercept incoming ballistic missiles.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry's chief spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said Moscow remained convinced of the need to preserve the landmark 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), which bars such systems.
“It looks like the American side did not provide adequate arguments for scrapping the international security system of the past 30 years," Yakovenko told journalists after the talks at the foreign ministry.
The meeting was the first direct contact between Russia and the United States in the long-running row over missile defence since President George W Bush was elected at the end of last year.
Russia has led opposition to the US initiative, which aims to protect the United States from missile attack by “rogue states" such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea, warning it will destroy strategic stability and unleash a fresh arms race.
Ukraine believes it is necessary to avoid unilateral actions and decisions on the issues of building national NMD system by the United States, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Kharchenko said on Saturday. He stressed the importance of launching an international dialogue on the NMD plans after talks with a visiting US delegation headed by Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Avis Bohlen.
Kharchenko said the US delegation briefed its plans of deploying such a defence network. “The two sides agreed to hold further consultations on this issue", he added.
The United States' own allies in Europe have also voiced concerns about the plan, fearing it will harm international stability and antagonize Russia.
Wolfowitz faced tough questions on the issue in Germany and France, while in Britain, the closest US ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair said he is still considering whether to allow Washington to use two tracking stations in northern England essential to the scheme.
On Thursday, residents near the two installations, at Menwith Hill and Fylingdales in North Yorkshire, threatened a campaign of civil disobedience unless the NMD plan is dropped.
In Asia, Pakistani Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday Pakistan was opposed to US controversial plan to build a missile defence shield. “We are against any action that re-initiates nuclear and missile race," Musharraf said. India has however appeared supportive of some elements of the project although South Korea remains wary because it fears it could undermine its efforts to ease tensions with the North.
Australian Labour Party would oppose plans for a Star Wars missile defence system, Australian Opposition leader Kim Beazley told the United States on Friday.
Beazley met Assistant US Secretary of State James Kelly to hear about President George W Bush's missile defence plans. Beazley told Kelly that the Labour Party could not support Star Wars. “We believe the NMD will risk making the world less secure," he said.(SD-Agencies)
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