Moscow — Russia hopes to negotiate agreements that would put limits on the U.S. missile defense program, a senior general said in an interview released Monday.
The statement by Col. Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky is the first official indication that Russia is trying to get restrictions on the U.S. missile shield, although Washington has shown no willingness to bend.
"In our opinion, these agreements must put certain restrictions on the missile defense system the United States intends to build," said Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, who last week led the Russian delegation to arms talks in Washington. The comments were made in an interview with the Interfax-Military News Agency released Monday.
There was no immediate comment from Washington. But U.S. officials have said repeatedly they would go ahead with the system despite Russian objections.
Analysts said Russia is unlikely to win any concessions.
The U.S. government "wants to have free hands on missile defense and is unlikely to accept any technical restrictions," said Ivan Safranchuk, who leads the Moscow office of the Washington-based Center for Defense Information.
He said Russia missed the chance to negotiate some restrictions on the U.S. missile defense plan by blindly opposing any changes in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
The United States decided last month to withdraw from the treaty, which bans a defense system of the kind the administration wants to build against potential threats from such nations as North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
"Russia has no bargaining chips and can only plead that the United States limits its missile shield," the analyst said.
While scrapping the ABM, President Bush has pledged to reduce U.S. nuclear arsenals by about two-thirds, to 1,700 to 2,200. Putin has said that Russia could go as low as 1,500 warheads.
Baluyevsky said Russia hopes new arms control agreements can be reached by the time Bush visits in May or June despite differences that emerged during the consultations.
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