State Department Noon Briefing
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2001 - 12:40 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Q: What is the US view of the Russian missile defense plan that was presented? Do we think this is a serious proposal, or is it just something attempting to block our own --
MR. BOUCHER: Well, the US view of the Russian missile plan is that we will look at it, that we need to study it in detail, I think, before we can make a realistic assessment of what Russia has in mind.
We would make two general observations. One is that we welcome the fact that Russia recognizes that Europe faces a serious threat from weapons of mass destruction and missile delivery systems, and that Russia believes that defensive systems are necessary for protection and stability.
Obviously we have welcomed questions of cooperation in general, but I would also note that the deployment of a missile defense for Europe would not protect the United States against ballistic missile launches, and so it would not be a substitute for the deployment of a National Missile Defense.
Q: You seem to - how much detail have you seen on this? Has Secretary -- General Robertson got back to you?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure if we actually have a copy of it yet. What I do know is we haven't had a chance to really look at it in any detail.
Q: Will this be discussed in Cairo in the meeting between Powell and Ivanov?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know for sure. They will discuss a lot of things. I'm sure missile defense generally, including Europe, would probably come up. But whether this specific proposal comes up or not depends on whether they want to raise it, and after we have looked at it, if we find anything we need to talk about.
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