 Iran missiles prove US shield not needed: Russia
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-12 07:21 Russia said on Friday Iran's missile tests showed there is no military justification for US plans to deploy missile defences in eastern Europe because Teheran's rockets cannot travel that far. Iran this week test-fired missiles which it said were capable of reaching Israel and US bases in the Middle East. Washington says the shield in Europe is needed to defend against any missile attacks from countries such as Iran. Russia says the US plans are a direct threat to its security. "The tests in Iran have only confirmed that Iran at the moment has rockets with a range of up to 2,000 km. That confirms what we have said before," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news briefing. "That is that the current idea of deploying a US missile shield in Europe, with its parameters, is not needed to monitor and react to these particular rockets with this range." "We continue to be convinced of the invented nature of discussions about the Iranian rocket threat as a motive for the deployment of the missile shield in Europe," Lavrov said after talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Salaheddin Al-Bashir. The United States and European powers suspect Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, using its civilian nuclear program as a cover. Teheran denies any such intention and says its nuclear program is exclusively to generate electricity. The United States has refused to rule out military action against Iran over the nuclear issue, although it says it is committed to finding a diplomatic solution. Lavrov said negotiations, not threats, were the only way to resolve the dispute. Agencies (China Daily 07/12/2008 page10) |
