NATO might be in favour of creating a defense system for the entire Europe as a consequence of the anti-ballistic missile threat. The American anti – missile shield is to be included in this defense system. NATO shall make a favourable decision at the Bucharest NATO Summit, as stated by Peter Flory, NATO Deputy Secretary General for defense investments. “Our target is to develop a system which can protect all 26 NATO member states, and not only against the American anti – missile shield”, Peter Flory said. “The Bucharest NATO Summit has all the premises to be a very important sumit on this issue”, Flory highlighted. NATO official admitted that “not all allies agree on all the aspects of the anti – missile shield, especially on the technical ones, but this fact will not stop the Alliance from working on a document, especially created to inform the allied leaders, so that they could be fully aware of their decisions concerning the NATO policy on the anti-missile defense system”.
According to Flory, the western allies’ statement that might be signed at the Bucharest Summit, shall remind everybody of the anti-ballistic missile threat and shall recognize the USA contribution. The statement shall highlight the anti-missile defense system role in a general strategy against the mass destruction weapons and the importance of this NATO system. However, at the Bucharest NATO Summit, “no order shall be given” concerning the NATO anti – missile shield, and the allied leaders will be invited to “examine different alternatives at the next Summit in 2009”, the official from Brussels added. The same NATO official explained that, by installing an interception battery in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, the American anti-missile shield will cover most parts of Europe. As for the South – Eastern European states – Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey – not covered by this extension of the American anti-missile shield, it is intended to use the NATO defense system, which is being studied at the moment, in order to protect the allied troops.
This system, named “the battlefield”, is created to resist to short or medium distance missiles (not more than 3,000 km), that could be launched from the Middle East or Asia against Turkey or the Balkan region.
“I consider that there is a way to adapt this system to protect any NATO territory”, the NATO Deputy Secretary General stated, adding that it implies both maritime and land military operations. Flory highlighted that, without the USA contribution, “the NATO anti-missile shield would cost up to 20 / 27 billion Euros for a period of 20 years”, according to a feasibility study conducted by the Atlantic Alliance. Peter Flory highlighted that Russia, which vehemently expressed its opinion against the American anti – missile shield project in the Central Europe, cannot take any decision regarding the NATO complementary shield, but he mentioned that “this issue shall be definitely an element to be discussed.”
(Source: Rompres)
