MOSCOW - The United States is ready to look at re-modelling its missile defence plans to include Moscow, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Friday in a concession to Russian opposition. The Kremlin has been pressing Washington to give ground on the proposed missile shield in exchange for Russia helping supply the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan—a priority for new President Barack Obama.| Bambi's gonna cave ... |
“(Washington is) open to the possibility of cooperation, both with Russia and NATO partners, in relation to a new configuration for missile defence which would use the resources that each of us have,” Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns as saying.
The U.S. embassy in Moscow confirmed the text of the interview. Burns, a former ambassador to Moscow, was in Russia this week for talks with officials. Burns gave no details on what form the new missile defence configuration might take, but the wording he used appeared to go further than previous U.S. proposals aimed at easing RussiaÂ’s concerns.
Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told Reuters in an interview that Moscow would have to wait to see how Washington follows up on Burns’ remarks. But he said if the United States reviewed its missile defence plans “it will be a big present not just to Russia but a gift to Europe and Russia and the American people themselves because we will be able to find an alternative answer for the defence of our peoples from rogue states”.