The decision by NATO's top civilian official to invite Russia into a possible future missile-defence (MD) system is "brilliant," dpa quoted one of the alliance's top soldiers as saying today. General Stephane Abrial is NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, the top military commentator on how to reform and modernize the alliance's forces. As such, his endorsement of the idea to invite Russia to participate in an anti-missile screen lends military weight to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's proposal. "If NATO agrees that MD should become a mission for NATO, then I think that opening it, offering an architecture which would involve Russia, would be very beneficial for the global security of this continent," Abrial told journalists in Brussels. But any debate among NATO allies on inviting Russia into such a system is likely to be heated, since it would involve sharing information on key security matters, the French general acknowledged. NATO members such as the Baltic States still see Russia as a potential security threat, making them reluctant to grant it too much access to their military installations. "Even with the closest friends, you don't share everything. Information sharing is always something you have to question and work on," Abrial said. "It will probably be one of the most difficult aspects of it, but if we can overcome it, then the rest will be easy." NATO's mission is to protect its members' security. Member states are currently debating whether part of that protection should come in the form of a NATO-wide anti-missile screen to defend them against ballistic threats from "rogue" states such as Iran. The debate is set to come to a head at a NATO summit in November, where national leaders are due to finalize a new alliance strategy. On April 14, Rasmussen in a video message proposed that NATO invite Russia into any future anti-missile screen. "This is the most significant step we can take to integrate Russia more fully in Euro-Atlantic security. We would develop trust and prevent hostility between NATO and Russia," Rasmussen said. The US has already made moves to site anti-missile systems in Europe. The systems are officially meant to defend against rogue states, but Russia reacted to them with outrage, saying that they were designed to weaken its nuclear deterrent. Inviting Russia into a NATO-wide system would "defuse the concerns and the questions which might be asked if this umbrella stopped at the Russian border," Abrial said. On April 27, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave a cautious welcome to Rasmussen's idea, telling Danish broadcaster DR that his country would be willing to participate if the idea was "serious."
