NATO backs alliance-wide missile defence

LISBON - NATO leaders have decided that the alliance should set up a system to shoot down ballistic missiles targeted anywhere on NATO territory, US President Barack Obama said at a summit Friday in Lisbon.

The US is already developing a long-range anti-missile system. Friday’s decision would bring parts of that system to Europe and create a computer programme to link various European short-range systems to it.

“I’m pleased to announce that - for the first time - we’ve agreed to develop missile defence capability that is strong enough to cover all NATO European territory and populations, as well as the United States,” Obama told journalists during a pause in the summit.

The US is currently developing a long-range anti-missile system, dubbed the “Phased Adaptive Approach,” to ward off missile attacks aimed at its territory.

In parallel, a number of European states - France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain - have developed their own short-range anti-missile systems or obtained US Patriot missiles.

The US has already announced plans to bring parts of its system to Europe, starting with Aegis-class warships, which would be stationed next year in the Eastern Mediterranean. Land-based missiles would follow in Romania (2015) and Poland (2018).

NATO’s decision mandates the alliance to create a computer programme that would allow a single NATO commander to use all the systems at once, including the US missile system, to tackle incoming missiles.

“It offers a role for all of our allies. It responds to the threats of our times. It shows our determination to protect our citizens from the threat of ballistic missiles,” Obama said.

Ahead of the summit, diplomats said that the decision would be accompanied by an invitation to Russia to join talks to “explore the possibility” of linking its own missile defences into the system.

That came after Russia in 2007 and 2008 accused the US, under the administration of George W. Bush, of undermining its own nuclear deterrent by planning to bring anti-missile rockets to Europe.

“I wish for Russia to be as involved as possible” to boost trust, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday, adding that this could form a new phase of cooperation between NATO and Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to join the summit Saturday, and is widely expected to agree to such talks.

“Tomorrow, we look forward to working with Russia to build our cooperation with them in this area as well, recognising that we share many of the same threats,” Obama said.

Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, questioned the rationale of the NATO plan, suggesting that it was on such a large scale that it looked as if it was aimed at Russia anyway.

“The NATO gamekeepers invite the Russian bear to go hunting rabbits together. The bear doesn’t understand: why do they have bear-hunting rifles?” he asked in a posting on Twitter late Thursday.

Obama’s announcement came after diplomats said that a number of pre-summit rows between individual states had been solved.

France and Germany clashed over the question of how the missile shield should affect alliance nuclear policy. They came to a compromise on Friday morning.

Turkey, meanwhile, was said to be pushing for one of its officers to be given a high command in the missile system. NATO’s easternmost state is considered the most advantageous place to site an early-warning radar, giving it powerful leverage.

Last week, Turkey fought off attempts to name Iran as the main missile threat to NATO, fearing tensions with its neighbour.