Russia's foreign minister criticizes U.S. proposals over missile defense

After a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov expressed disapproval of U.S. proposals over missile defense in Europe.

Photo: Russia's foreign minister criticizes U.S. proposals over missile defense

Deep disagreements remain despite several rounds of talks aimed to ease the dispute between the Cold War foes over U.S. plans to deploy missile defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, which has contributed to severe strains in ties between Moscow and Washington.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said formal proposals the United States submitted last week represent "a significant rollback from what American representatives said" when he met with Rice and the two nation's defense chiefs in Moscow in early October.

Speaking in Washington, in remarks broadcast on state-run cable channel Vesti-24, Lavrov suggested the United States is determined to implement its own plans and merely wants Russian help, rather than real cooperation in defining and opposing threats.

"If by joint work they mean pursuing unilateral plans to install missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe, and inviting us only to help them and provide information we have, that's not what we have in mind when we propose ... together conducting analyses to determine threats and together discussing measures to neutralize them," he said.