Talks Between Russia and United States Are Vital to Deployment of U.S. European Missile Defense

To: POLITICAL EDITORS

Contact: Mike Terrill, +1-602-885-1955, for Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Riki Ellison, President of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), http:// .www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org, has declared that the Russian and the United States talks in Moscow are vital to the deployment of U.S. ground-based interceptors and X-band radar in Europe. Mr. Ellison has described the alternate views of Russia and the United States on missile defense in Europe and the challenges that they face in this weekend’s talks.

“On the eve of U.S.-Russia talks in Moscow, it is important to note that the proposed United States European missile defense sites in Poland and in the Czech Republic will be a primary agenda item of which two different views of political perceptions will be confronted and discussed. In the conclusion of these talks on Monday, we as a nation and a world would hope for a mutual understanding and transparent sharing of information that could defend both countries and their national interests from current and future WMD threats.”

“Russia perceives U.S. missile defense based in Europe as a threat beyond the technical capability of 10 ground-based interceptors and one large X-band radar. Russias concern is a U.S. military presence in two former Warsaw Pact countries once under Russian influence. A U.S. military presence in Poland and the Czech Republic changes political perceptions both externally and internally in Russia and in Eastern Europe. Thus President Putin has worked over the last year to offer counterproposals and other alternatives to the U.S. missile defense sites located in Poland and the Czech Republic. These proposals, including the Moscow/NATO forum and the radar in Azerbaijan, have some merit; however, they have not and cannot address the technical merits of detecting, discriminating and destroying ballistic missile warheads coming from the Middle East aimed at Europe or the United States.”

“The United States recognizes Iran as a current and future ballistic missile threat with WMD capability to the United States national security and that of its allies and friends. As such, a missile defense capability that can seek and destroy ballistic missiles fired from Iran before they land in Europe or the United States is a necessity that this administration and U.S. Congress are committed to acquiring and fielding. The United States will continue to increase its determination to deploy a missile defense system in Europe as Iran continues defiant international behavior and proliferation programs. It is also important to note that the U.S. missile defense system that would be deployed in Europe is the most technically proven and desirable in both development and physical location.”

“The talks this weekend among Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be a diplomatic negotiation of opposing wills and perceptions. In this international art of diplomacy, selling perceptions can go so far in a room of skilled and experienced diplomats, as the diplomatic skill of what and how much to compromise is the true value of a successful summit between confronting powers.”

We believe that the compromise between Russia and the United States should be the transparency of the system and the amount of information shared from these U.S. European Missile Defense sites to Russia. The future of missile defense and our ability to counter threats relies on the international participation of fielding and sharing these missile defense technologies.”

Riki Ellison has recently been to Poland and the Czech Republic and can share his experiences with the local governments and people on their feelings about deploying missile defense systems. He has also sponsored public surveys in both countries and met with State Department and Foreign Government officials on this subject. He was at the last successful intercept of our ground-based intercepted flight at Vandenberg AFB, and this is the system that will be deployed in Europe. Ellison has more than 25 years of experience working on the nation’s missile defense program. He is available for on-the-record interviews. Call Mike Terrill at 602-885-1955 to arrange.

SOURCE Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance

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