US, Russia rebuff each other over European missile defence plan

Moscow: Talks between the United States and Russia have failed to settle a long simmering dispute over US plans to build a missile-defence shield in Europe, with Washington turning down Moscow''s request to halt the project.

Talks between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Russian counterparts ended with Russia restating its long-standing concerns about the proposed plan.

The US missile shield for Europe is premised on a possible attack from ''rogue nations,'' such as Iran, launching a missile attack. Russia questions this scenario, and claims that the plan is actually meant to undermine the deterrent value of its nuclear arsenal.

Under the missile defence shield plan, the United States plans to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland, that will be guided by a missile-tracking radar in the Czech Republic.

Even as Ms Rice and Gates had arrived in Russia hoping to convince Moscow of the merits of their position, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov ended discussions by asking for a freeze on the project.

"We see two serious problems with these proposals," Lavrov told reporters. According to him the two sides still disagree about the nature of the missile threat to Europe and further that the Bush administration refuses to freeze its deployment plans while the issue is being discussed.

Ms Rice rejected calls for a freeze, saying talks with Poland and the Czech Republic will continue. "We will work during this time to address Russian concerns," she said.

Ms. Rice said the ideas that she and Gates presented at the talks are "conceptual" and would be taken up by experts for further consideration. The next meeting between the two sides is scheduled in about six months and will be held in Washington.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to travel next week to Teheran, where he will meet Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even as the West has been drumming up accusations about Iran''s nuclear programme, Putin stated clearly that Russia sees no evidence of an Iranian bomb-making programme.

At the news conference, Lavrov also rubbed it in further by stating that the US policy of unilateral sanctions, and also threat of military action, was not helping to persuade Iran to be open about its nuclear plans.