UKRAINE: United States defends plan for missile shield in Eastern Europe

During his visit to Ukraine, director of the United State's Missile Agency defended U.S. plans for a missile shield in Eastern Europe. The U.S. says the shield is necessary to protect Europe from a possible Iranian attack, but the plan has angered Russia who says it real aim is to protect against Russian weapons. The United States hopes fresh talks will persuade Russia to drop its opposition to a proposed missile shield in Europe aimed at countering a possible Iranian attack, the plan's top proponent said on Wednesday (March 14). Lieutenant General Henry Obering, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, was in Ukraine to explain the scheme under which Washington hopes to install a missile battery in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic. He said no other country, Ukraine included, had been asked to deploy part of the scheme and proposed new contacts to persuade Moscow to accept a plan aimed at protecting Europe - and U.S. forces there - from a possible Iranian attack. "We had a reaction from the Russians that was unexpected. They referred to changing the strategic balance between the United States and Russia. We disagree with this respectfully," Obering told a news conference in Kiev. The interceptor missiles and radar, he said, would "have no effect" on Russia's thousands of warheads and their positioning was such that they would anyway prove ineffective against them. Russia says the system has no military logic since Iran lacks a missile capability which could reach the United States. Moscow has implied the system's real purpose is to guard against Russian weapons and has promised countermeasures. Germany, which Obering is to visit this week along with France, has criticised the project's planners for failing to discuss it sufficiently with Russia. Obering said the system would only be used in the event of an Iranian attack and denied that there was any danger from falling debris from an intercepted missile. Obering was briefly interrupted at the news conference by scuffles between reporters and extreme leftist demonstrators until they were forcibly dragged out by security guards. "I'm very glad to see that democracy is alive and well" in Ukraine, Obering said after the brief disruption. A group of pro-Russia protesters also demonstrated outside the building. Holding anti NATO banners, the protesters shouted slogans like "Yankee go home!" During his visit, Obering met officials in Kiev close to both pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko and his more Moscow-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich who share power uneasily. Yanukovich has accused Washington of failing to consult on the plan while the president has said any deployment is a matter for the Polish and Czech governments to decide.

ITN Source | March 15, 2007

Tags:. .brief. .aimed. .aim. .russias. .russians