Missile Defense Quick Links for Wednesday
>> We blogged earlier this week that the Ukraine may be part of our country’s new missile defense shield plans. According to RIA Novosti, Ukraine’s president said the U.S. has yet to ask his country to host shields.
Such facilities in the Ukraine would be part of an early warning radar system, although it already has two missile radar systems. When Barack Obama dropped plans to deploy missile defense shields to Central Europe, Russia was pleased. But the former Soviet Union apparently reflected on the decision and realized it may not like the new plans, either. Russia’s Sergei Lavrov said, “We would like to receive full clarification.”
Russia and the U.S. seem to have different ideas about which countries pose the greatest nuclear threat. Russia doesn’t believe Iran’s missiles can reach Europe, and the U.S. doesn’t want to downplay Iran’s capabilities. Whether Hillary Clinton accomplished anything significant in Russia remains to be seen.
>> In recent talks with Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer at Forum 2000, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed concern about Iran.
“Iran is a threat to the entire world and not just Israel,” he said. “The international community needs to unite together against this threat and recruit countries like Russia, China and India. Israel believes that everything needs to be done to stop Iran from becoming nuclear.” (Source)
>> North Korea seeks bilateral talks with the U.S. and remain uninterested in six-party talks. The country invited U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth to meet with leaders to discuss the matter, but there’s been no official acceptance.
North Korea walked out on discussions in April. The State Department’s Phillip Crowley said, “We continue our close consultations with the other partners in the Six-Party process, but our position remains the same: North Korea has to eventually come back to the Six-Party process and recommit towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” (Source)
Tags: Barack Obama, Czech Republic, Iran, Israel, Noreth Korea, Russia, Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine