Ukraine ‘interested’ in European missile defense – NATO chief
RIA Novosti
February 24, 2011
Ukraine is interested in cooperating with NATO in building the European missile defense system, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday.
“This morning, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister and I discussed our cooperation in building a missile defense system, and I have taken into consideration that Ukraine is interested in such cooperation,” Rasmussen said after talks with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko in Kiev.
During the talks the sides discussed the possibility of launching expert consultations aimed at analyzing Ukraine’s possible contribution to the cooperation, the NATO chief said.
Rasmussen said Russia has also been invited to cooperate in the creation of the European missile defense system.
Moscow insists on setting up a joint European missile defense network with NATO, while the alliance favors two separate systems that would exchange information.