George W.Bush To Launch Consultations On National Missile Defence

Next week, US President George W.Bush will launch consultations with the key allies of the USA about the national missile system (NMD). According to presidential counsellor Karen Hughes, Bush is planning to talk to several Western leaders and dispatch a few representatives of the administration abroad to hold preliminary talks about the NMD issue. On May 1, Bush will deliver a speech at Washington's National Defence University and give his reasons for deploying the NMD, linking it with the reduction of the US nuclear arsenal. His speech is intended as a starting-point of upcoming NMD consultations, said the presidential counsellor.