SOCHI – Russia and NATO cannot agree on the establishment of a so-called sectoral missile defense system in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday following the NATO-Russia Council in Sochi, RIA Novosti informs.
However, according to a NATO communiqué, the two sides agreed to cooperate on the European missile defense system at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.
Under a proposal put forward by President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia would reportedly be responsible for shooting down missiles aimed at NATO members but passing through Russia’s airspace or sector, with NATO members committing to protect Russia in a similar fashion.
Russia and NATO have also failed to narrow their differences over the Western air campaign in Libya, after Moscow accused the alliance of interpreting a United Nations resolution on military intervention any way it wished, Radio Free Europe reports.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen defended the alliance’s Libya mission where he discussed Libya with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and visiting South African President Jacob Zuma.. Zuma has led the African Union’s efforts to help negotiate a peaceful settlement in Libya. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there is “no common understanding” about how the resolution is being implemented. He said Moscow wants the U.N. mandate to be fulfilled as worded, without expanding its interpretation.
TNC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil distanced himself from earlier comments attributed to him that Libya’s rebel leadership may consider allowing Gadhafi to remain in the country as part of a transition deal, provided he resigns and orders a cease-fire.
