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Russia awaiting US response on missile proposals: ministry

MOSCOW, Jan 9 (AFP) - Moscow said Thursday it was eagerly awaiting a reply from the United States to its proposal on a draft of a new strategic stability agreement to replace the abandoned Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty. The United States withdrew from the 1972 ABM treaty last year despite fierce Russian protests in order to pursue the construction of its controversial missile defense project, which the treaty had banned.

Moscow has since urged Washington to sign up to a new limitation agreement and received some encouragement this week when the US ambassador to Moscow said Washington was willing to improve cooperation with Russia on missile defense.

"We expect that (those comments)... can accelerate a positive response to Russia's project for a new political missile defense agreement, which would support rather than undermine strategic stability," the Russian ministry statement said.

However the statement did not give details of Moscow's proposal.

The two sides have repeatedly hinted at talks in which Russian missile technology like the medium-range S-300 and S-400 interceptor rockets could be incorporated in a US or European defense shield.

Moscow in 1994 offered to take part in a limited European defense system. Yury Baluyevsky, Russia's deputy chief of general staff, said Thursday that work on building such a system could begin as early as this year.

Meanwhile Alexander Vershbow, the US ambassador to Moscow, said in an interview published here Wednesday that Russia and the United States are "in an exploratory phase as to identifying the areas for cooperation" on missiles.

The Russian statement issued Thursday said that Russia "in recent months" presented to Washington a document building on a broader agreement reach by US President George W. Bush and his counterpart Vladimir Putin in May.

The ministry referred to a "series of concrete proposals" but gave no other details.

Russia last month voiced "regret" that Bush had decided to deploy a limited US missile shield by 2004.

US officials said an approved blueprint called for 10 ground-based interceptor missiles to be deployed at Fort Greeley in Alaska by 2004 and another 10 interceptors by 2005 or 2006.

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