US shield won't threaten Russian deterrent: Rice

Oslo, Apr 26: The United States needs to dispel Cold War ''suspicion'' that a planned US missile defence shield in Europe could threaten Russia's nuclear deterrent, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

Washington angered Russia and unsettled some European allies with a plan to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic from 2012 to help shield Europe from possible missile attack by nations such as Iran and North Korea.

Russia has yet to be persuaded by US arguments that the system is not a threat and has so far rebuffed US invitations to cooperate on the missile shield.

Rice is expected to make the US case during a 24-hour visit to Oslo for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council and brief talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

''We have to demystify some of the things that are being said about it. It's simply not possible that this could be considered a system that could in any way threaten the Russian strategic deterrent. It's just not capable of doing so,'' Rice told reporters yesterday as she flew to Oslo.

''There is a lot of suspicion out of the period of the Cold War,'' she added.

During the US-Soviet standoff, many analysts believed the fact that the two nations did not have effective missile defences ensured neither would launch a first strike because of their vulnerability to retaliation.

Rice said the plan to extend the US missile defense shield into Europe may have awakened fears the United States could use it to undermine such strategic calculations.

Cold War 'Hangover'

''That's not the kind of system or the strategic environment today but perhaps there are echoes of that that are a bit of a hangover,'' she said. ''We've got to get past it and look at the world at it is, not at the world as it was.'' European officials appear to be growing more comfortable with the plan but Rice acknowledged that popular anxieties remain.

''When people understand in these countries that we are talking about the defense of Europe and the defense of the United States against rogue threats, I think you'll start to see that people want to be defended,'' she said.

''Why would you leave yourself defenceless to an Iranian or a North Korean missile? It simply doesn't make sense,'' she added.

Today's NATO gathering is also expected to focus on Afghanistan, where the Western security alliance is confronting a revived Taliban insurgency, and Kosovo, where a plan to grant the province independence under European Union supervision is opposed by Serbia with Russia's support.

Rice said she would continue to argue for US allies to reduce the restrictions or caveats that restrict how their troops can operate in Afghanistan.

She also said that she planned in the next few weeks to identify countries that might contribute more trainers for Afghan forces but did not name them.

On Kosovo, Rice said the province's current status is ''not sustainable'' and stressed the US desire to see a UN Security Council resolution that calls for ''very strong'' protections of the ethnic Serb minority.

Reuters>