The United States has announced plans to build a radar installation in the Czech Republic and a missile base in Poland in the next five years. The U.S. insists that the European missile shield is meant to counter possible attacks from Iran or North Korea, but Russia says the deployment of missile bases close to its borders could only mean it is the real target.
The U.S. plans stirred heated debates in Russia and the European Union over possible consequences of the missile shield's placement in the heart of Europe.
"I would like these debates to be conducted without anti-American insinuations," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told a news conference in Berlin following talks with his Russian counterpart.
"I also believe that the discussion on the [missile shield] issue should not contain any protests and should not harm the arms control process," he said, adding that all countries involved in the issue must be part of the discussion.
The German minister welcomed the initiative of the U.S. Secretary of Defense to visit Russia in the near future and discuss the deployment of the U.S. missile bases with newly appointed Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is currently on a visit to Germany, said that the deployment of the "third ring" of the U.S. missile defenses in Europe will have a direct impact on global stability and security.
"There is a technical aspect to this problem, because according to some reports the third missile defense ring in Poland will have missile silos that are similar to those built for launches of ballistic missiles," Lavrov said, adding that it is wrong to ensure one's own security while threatening the security of other countries.
Russia's top military officials earlier issued strong warnings to the U.S. regarding its plans to deploy elements of its anti-missile defense system in Central Europe.
The chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Yury Baluyevsky, said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily that the unilateral U.S. actions could damage the balance of power in Europe and undermine Russia's nuclear deterrence potential.
"Knowing the potential technical characteristics of fire support and weapons systems, we can confirm that despite numerous assurances that these systems are not targeted at Russia, they could still affect our deterrence capability under certain circumstances," the general said.
Baluyevsky reiterated that Russia is strictly adhering to its nuclear disarmament obligations while the U.S. is driving to base missile shield elements in Europe, which coincides with NATO expansion closer to Russian borders.
The Russian military chief earlier said that in response to the U.S. missile deployment plans, Moscow might pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) which eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (300 to 3,400 miles).
Following his remarks, Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, said the SMF would be able to track elements of the U.S. missile defense system if deployed in Central Europe.
"If the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic make such a decision, the Strategic Missile Forces will be able to target these systems," he said.
He also said Russia possessed the technology and the capability to resume production of intermediate- and short-range missiles in the near future.
But Tom Casey, the State Department's deputy spokesman and deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, said it was hard to believe that Gen. Solovtsov was really speaking on behalf of the Russian Government on the issue.
"The system that's being put in place is designed to counter threats from the Middle East or from other potential rogue states out there, and it's something that we're sharing with our European friends and allies and, frankly, with the entire international community," he said.
He said the system "is not physically capable of threatening Russia, or threatening any other country for that matter. It's for defensive purposes," adding that the first briefings on the issue began for the Russians in 2004 and 2005 through the U.S.-Russia Missile Defense Working Group.
He said that was then replaced by another series of senior-level meetings in 2006, and that "since March of 2006, at which point Under Secretary of Defense Edeleman briefed his Russian counterparts, there have been more than 10 instances where we've had senior level officials get together to discuss the details of our missile defense plan, including meeting with the head of the Missile Defense Agency and their respective Russian counterparts."
"So, frankly, there's been a lot of information shared back and forth on this issue and again, for that reason I'm having a hard time understanding how those comments are reflective of that broader discussion. Certainly, those weren't the reactions of Russian officials who heard these briefings," he said.
The governments of Poland and the Czech Republic reaffirmed Monday their readiness to allow the U.S. to base parts of its missile shield on their territories, but formal agreements between the U.S. and the Central European states have yet to be concluded.
