Moscow's "sectoral" Missile Defense Proposal Fully Matches Russia's, NATO's Logic - Rogozin
BRUSSELS. July 19 (Interfax) - It would be pointless to discuss media reports claiming that the United States has finally rejected the Russia-proposed sectoral missile defense idea, said Russia's NATO Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin.
"How does the U.S. understand 'sectoral' missile defense and how do we? We have not come an agreement yet on the terminology, so they may have rejected something absolutely different from what we understand by this project," Rogozin told Interfax on Monday.
"Several contents are to be found in the sectoral missile defense idea as in the corporative missile defense the U.S. has been forcing on us, one of which could be considered," he said.
"Sectoral missile defense implies that either state will have its responsibility sector," Rogozin said.
"These sectors are contiguous and have elements of mutual support, cooperation and information exchanges. Moreover, NATO is not going beyond its responsibility sector and is not trying to cover our security sector with its missile shield. This is a cooperative, rather than a sectoral approach. Therefore, I think that our NATO colleagues have lost themselves in the terms and do not understand what they have brushed away," he said.
"Our proposal is intellectual and fully reflects Russia and NATO's logic. Our position is that if anyone wants to build a missile shield, he must limit its geography to the national territory, or the national security sector. That's all. Russia has not authorized anyone to hit targets over its territory - in space or in the air. Similarly, NATO does not want us to do this in their space," Rogozin said.
"If we manage to agree on these principles - excellent! But the question arises how will we seal the agreements reached. I think American statements of this sort carry an exclusively propaganda content and are calculated for their effect on the domestic audience and aim to demonstrate to the Senate and House of Representatives the American negotiators' unshakeable patriotism," he said.
But this rhetoric does not give the Russian side any idea of the United States' actual position in the talks, he said. "Therefore I want to travel there with a delegation of thorough experts. I myself am a person well versed in the problem. I hope while in the United States I will finally understand what the U.S. wants to reject and what it wants to accept," Rogozin said.
A Russian inter-agency delegation will arrive in the United States on a visit on July 21, which will be of great importance for finally detailing Russia and the United States' positions in the talks on the deployment of American missile defense infrastructure in Europe.
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