Top U.S. officer denies that Europe missile shield will be anti-Russian
ST. PETERSBURG. May 6 (Interfax) - The United States' top military officer has denied that the planned European missile defense would be an anti-Russian system and has said it would solely be used to defend Europe against potential attacks from countries such as Iran.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that this is the position of the U.S. government and that he stated it during talks in St. Petersburg on Friday with the chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. of the Army Nikolai Makarov.
Makarov told reporters that there had been a tremendous amount of disagreement between the two parties on the missile shield plan but that it had been possible to reach agreement on some of the points.
"We must look for common principles and breakthrough positions," Makarov said.
He and Mullen were also expected to sign a memorandum in St. Petersburg on joint action against terrorism.
"The agenda for the meeting includes discussions on the current state of and prospects for Russian-American military cooperation, on key problems of regional and global security and on the missile defense problem," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
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