NATO Talks
June 14, 2007
The talks mark the first time that the military alliance has included the US shield, which has deeply angered Russia, in its own barely nascent plans to build a missile shield to cover all 26 NATO allies.
"NATO's approach is based on the principle of the indivisibility of allied security and on transparency with our partners, of course including Russia," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said as he opened the meeting.
Washington announced in January that it wants to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic linked to an early warning system, probably in the Caucasus, all to be operational by 2013.
The shield is aimed at countering attacks from nations that Washington regards as "rogue states" such as Iran.
Unprotected areas
The problem for NATO is that four members -- Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey -- are only partly covered or left out of the umbrella all together, undermining this very "indivisibility of allied security."
To resolve this, the alliance is likely to "bolt on" to the US shield a smaller missile system -- an "in-theater" type usually used to protect troops in battle -- which it is developing and hopes to have in use by 2010.
"The cost of a complementary system would be a small fraction of the cost of a full and independent missile system for NATO," said senior NATO defense planning official John Colston ahead of the talks.
Any progress in the talks is likely to inflame emotions in Russia, which has conducted a highly-public ballistic missile test in response to its former Cold War foe's plans, and raised the possibility of turning its arms towards Europe.
Possible cooperation
The meeting also takes place as NATO and Russia review a key Soviet-era arms pact -- the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty -- in Vienna, which the allies refuse to endorse, while Moscow claims that its restrictions are unfair.
Amid the heightened rhetoric, exacerbated by elections in Russia late this year, President Vladimir Putin surprised his US counterpart George W. Bush by proposing that they set up a joint US-Russian radar base in Azerbaijan.
US and Russian officials are studying the proposal.
"The most interesting part of it was that it was Bush and Putin both together," Dutch Defense Minister Elmert van Middelkoop said as he arrived for the talks. "So it's interesting for NATO to consider it and I think it can be a part of the pacification of the subject."
The military alliance has not yet said whether the Azeri base could work, as it might be too close to Iran to be effective against long-range missiles.
"We have an expression in Britain: 'It's not rocket science,'" Colston said. "The trouble with missile defense is that it is rocket science."
The 26 defense chiefs, including US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will also seek clarification from their Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on Moscow's surprise offer.
Afghan civilians
Ministers are also due to review operations in Afghanistan as concerns grow about civilian casualties in the country. The talks come just days after US forces inadvertently killed seven policeman in an air strike.
De Hoop Scheffer has said he wants to explore ways of improving cooperation between the Afghan army, US troops and NATO forces in the country. The NATO chief has also called for additional training of soldiers in the Afghan National Army.
NATO is worried that the recent wave of civilian deaths and damage to civilian property in Afghanistan risks eroding European public support for the mission. It also damages NATO's drive to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.