Russia's defense minister met with the U.S. defense attache in Moscow to discuss the U.S.-led project to deploy a missile shield in Europe, a ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
Anatoly Serdyukov and Rear Admiral Douglas J. Venlet talked about the missile defense shield, which Washington says is designed as protection against the "rogue states" of Iran and North Korea.
Serdyukov said the missile shield should not be targeted against Russia's strategic forces and added that this point must be laid down in a legally binding document rather than in verbal declarations. Washington has repeatedly said the missile shield would not be directed at Russia.
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate in the missile shield project at a NATO summit in Lisbon last November but so far Russia's role in the U.S. plans has remained unclear.
