Russian Military Rules Out U.S. Sharing Sensitive Missile Defense Info With Russia
Interfax - 3.28.12 - JRL 2012-58

BRUSSELS. March 28 (Interfax) - A senior Russian diplomat has argued that a U.S. offer to share sensitive information on NATO's plan for a European missile defense with Russia cannot be put into practice because of the U.S. Senate's opposition.

"For the past two years, the U.S. administration has very persistently suggested to us that we sign an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense technology, which is the subject of negotiations that have been going on for 10 years already," Sergei Koshelev, head of the Defense Ministry's international relations department, said in answering a question from Interfax in Brussels after a meeting with a U.S. Defense Department delegation.

"It's a framework agreement, it includes a section on the exchange of sensitive, confidential information. In that case, the Americans are assuring us, we would be given sensitive, secret information. Very unfortunately, the U.S. Senate, when it was ratifying the new treaty on strategic offensive armaments last year, wrote in its ratification resolution that the administration has no right to share sensitive information on missile defense with Russia. In other words, there is domestic U.S. legislation that prohibits them from sharing confidential information on the missile defense with Russia," Koshelev said.

"Yes there have been promises that, after such an agreement is signed, there will be a higher level of transparency and we will know a lot more. But nothing specific has been said about what exactly it is that we would know more about, or how we would be able to use that information," he said.

Ellen Tauscher, U.S. special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, had said earlier that the United States would not share technology for the guaranteed target destruction, telemetry or any other information about anything that is crucial to U.S. security with Russia.

"First of all," said Koshelev, "I don't think that such an agreement would give us access to any secret information. Secondly, it is impossible today to carry through a 'confidential' test of a ballistic missile that can't be detected by national tracking devices anyway. Yes, there will be questions during preparatory stages, but as soon as a missile test starts the telemetry of the missiles becomes clear immediately. It is usually open and decipherable not only by Russia but by other countries as well. In other words, there will be an idea of what the new missile is like."

"What can the Americans tell us? Of course, they will never tell us anything as regards technology. That is definite. As for the physical principles of interception, the American military reports them both to (the United States') NATO allies and Russia. In view of the tough stance of the U.S. Senate, I don't think we would be able to get anything significant," Koshelev said.

Keywords: U.S.-Russian Relations - Russia, Missile Defense - Russian News - Russia

BRUSSELS. March 28 (Interfax) - A senior Russian diplomat has argued that a U.S. offer to share sensitive information on NATO's plan for a European missile defense with Russia cannot be put into practice because of the U.S. Senate's opposition.

"For the past two years, the U.S. administration has very persistently suggested to us that we sign an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense technology, which is the subject of negotiations that have been going on for 10 years already," Sergei Koshelev, head of the Defense Ministry's international relations department, said in answering a question from Interfax in Brussels after a meeting with a U.S. Defense Department delegation.

"It's a framework agreement, it includes a section on the exchange of sensitive, confidential information. In that case, the Americans are assuring us, we would be given sensitive, secret information. Very unfortunately, the U.S. Senate, when it was ratifying the new treaty on strategic offensive armaments last year, wrote in its ratification resolution that the administration has no right to share sensitive information on missile defense with Russia. In other words, there is domestic U.S. legislation that prohibits them from sharing confidential information on the missile defense with Russia," Koshelev said.

"Yes there have been promises that, after such an agreement is signed, there will be a higher level of transparency and we will know a lot more. But nothing specific has been said about what exactly it is that we would know more about, or how we would be able to use that information," he said.

Ellen Tauscher, U.S. special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, had said earlier that the United States would not share technology for the guaranteed target destruction, telemetry or any other information about anything that is crucial to U.S. security with Russia.

"First of all," said Koshelev, "I don't think that such an agreement would give us access to any secret information. Secondly, it is impossible today to carry through a 'confidential' test of a ballistic missile that can't be detected by national tracking devices anyway. Yes, there will be questions during preparatory stages, but as soon as a missile test starts the telemetry of the missiles becomes clear immediately. It is usually open and decipherable not only by Russia but by other countries as well. In other words, there will be an idea of what the new missile is like."

"What can the Americans tell us? Of course, they will never tell us anything as regards technology. That is definite. As for the physical principles of interception, the American military reports them both to (the United States') NATO allies and Russia. In view of the tough stance of the U.S. Senate, I don't think we would be able to get anything significant," Koshelev said.