Russia-NATO Summit Cancelled
MILITARISM, 26 Mar 2012
Itar-Tass – TRANSCEND Media Service
Mar 23 — A Russia-NATO summit, which was scheduled in May, is cancelled. According to the official version, the summit was cancelled over “an intensive domestic political calendar in Russia.” However, the experts believe that this step is caused by disagreements of the parties concerned over the European missile defence system.
The Russia-NATO summit has stalled over the European missile defence system, the Kommersant daily reported. Experts noted that the decision to cancel a May [2012] meeting between Vladimir Putin and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is linked with the disagreement over the vital issue. This is the missile defence system in Europe. The Russia-NATO summit was scheduled in Chicago in May, the newspaper recalled. However, the NATO general secretary stated that the summit will not be held at the scheduled time. He called as the reason “an intensive domestic political calendar in Russia.” The negotiators have nothing to say to each other, this is why the summit was postponed, director of the Institute of Strategic Planning and Forecasting Alexander Gusev noted.
“The postponement of the Russia-NATO summit is certainly linked with a quite serious political situation, primarily in Europe, over the deployment of the European missile defence along the borders with Russia. The question was certainly not settled. This primarily concerns relations between Russia and the EU states, so, the places, where the European missile defence systems will be deployed,” he noted. “I would like the summit to be held. All parties are interested in this, namely the United States, the NATO leadership, the EU states and Russia in the same way.”
The participation of the Russian president in the Russia-NATO summit was doubted already for several months, the Vedomosti noted. The Russian Foreign Ministry linked his visit to Chicago with the negotiations over the European missile defence system. In December 2011 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov explained that a summit will depend from its substantial agenda. “If we had agreed on the missile defence by this time, it would have been easier for us to take a decision in favour of the summit,” Ryabkov said. For his part, Rasmussen acknowledged that the negotiators did not reach any progress in the negotiations.
Russia demands from NATO to give legally-binding guarantees for the European missile defence system not targeted against Russia and offer its own configuration of a common missile defence system for Russia and the West, the newspaper recalled. NATO representatives insist that Russia’s concerns are groundless. The European missile defence is not targeted against Russia, but against rogue states, primarily Iran, which is developing actively its nuclear program.
The decision to cancel the summit is correct and positive, chief editor of the Russia in Global Politics magazine Fyodor Lukyanov is cited by the Vedomosti as saying. If Putin had come to Chicago all the same, the predicted words on Russia’s dissatisfaction with the European missile defence architecture voiced two weeks after the inauguration would set a negative keynote to the relations between Russia and the West in years to come. This would be a bad start, both sides understand this, cancelling the meeting, Lukyanov stated.
A substantial dialogue before the presidential elections in the US in 2013 is impossible, the missile defence is not the issue for the pre-election year, the political scientist believes. If a Republican candidate wins, the negotiations will stop at all, if Obama is re-elected, the negotiators will get back to the positions, when the negotiations were suspended.
Go to Original – itar-tass.com
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.